Stunning

Stunning is the eleventh book in the Pretty Little Liars series.

Emily is working hard to put move past the lonely and lost feeling as she makes baby steps towards healing emotionally over having put up her daughter for adoption. Feeling better every day a sense of dread suddenly fills her as she runs into her old boyfriend and the infant's father. Torn on what to do she struggles to figure out the correct course of action while hoping the new A won't stick her fingers into the mess of her life.

Thrilled at having been invited to Princeton by the eating club she has her eye on joining Spencer cannot wait to get away from Rosewood and the snooping eyes of the new A. Wanting a fresh start and a chance to escape all her problems Spencer throws herself totally into enjoying the campus but Spencer should know she cannot run far enough to get away from the new A.

Excited to have figured out her love life and be reconciled with Noel Aria is on cloud nine until she finds out a sensitive secret about Noel's father. Torn on what to do Aria is beyond horrified when the new A learns the secret and unable to defend herself Aria finds herself once again at the mercy of doing what A wants her to do.

Hanna has had enough with player guys and just wants a normal boyfriend who dotes upon her. Deciding she lost out on a good thing when she called it quits with Mike Hanna ventures out to try to win him back and along the way finds out what it is like to be an A.

I may have gotten some details mixed up since it was a few weeks ago that I read Stunning and I did jump right into Burned.

Ruthless

Ruthless is the tenth book in the Pretty Little Liars series. It has been several weeks since I read Ruthless so I am a bit unsure where book nine left off and where eleven started.

Aria cannot seem to have a smooth relationship with the love her life. Instead she is threatened by Noel going after other girls to the point it breaks them apart. Then a memory of the past appears, one of her first crushes and biggest taboos. Former teacher, Erza is back and yearning for Aria. Not sure what to do Aria struggles to control her feelings as the new A torments her with tidbits about her various crushes.

Hanna is done with Mike and on the look for a new guy. While doing a political rally for her father's campaign Hanna runs into a hot guy who she immediately clicks with. It is a little too late for her when she realizes the boy is the son of her father's political rival.

Spencer just wants to get over with high school and move onto Princeton. However reality comes crashing back when a demon from her past appears suddenly. Struggling to keep up with her advanced placement classes Spencer does the unthinkable she uses drugs to help her focus and study better. When the cops bust her she throws it all on her friend who takes the fall. Thinking the incident is behind her Spencer is shocked when the girl appears in her step-sister's music class which takes place in her house.

Emily is struggling to come to terms with having given up her baby girl and dealing with the crazy woman who she almost sold the infant to. Desperate for a friend and lost on what to do Emily turns to partying and meets a fun loving girl. Emily hopes for more then friendship with her but the new A has something to say about that.

I read Ruthless pretty quickly since I was house sitting. Sara Shepard has done a good job defining all the girls and making the mystery fun while adding new twists.

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Sword Princess

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Sword Princess was a delightful find at a local pop culture convention I attended. What makes it even better is Suzette Hollingsworth is a local author. I love supporting local authors!

I was intrigued by the idea of the legendary Sherlock Holmes having a crush on someone besides Irene Adler and I wondered what kind of character could possibly live up to Holme's vast expectations. Hollingsworth did not a disappoint in creating a well rounded, unique character, full of sass and spirit. Mirabella was an excellent well developed character who I would love to have a cup of tea with and talk about life. Raised on a farm as a hard working girl she moves in with her aunt who happens to be the landlady for the building where Holmes lives. Needing a job Mirabella agrees to work for Holmes doing everything from tiding up his study to cooking his meals. Dreaming of going to the university to go study science Mirabella impresses Holmes with her scientific mind and exceptional knowledge about a scientific laboratory. 

After a couple chapters I was hooked and even when I was not reading I was thinking about the story and what would happen next. Mrs. Hollingsworth wrote a well rounded story that neatly tied up all the pieces of the mystery while leaving room for the next story to be slipped into place. The historical aspects were honored and I loved the part at the end presenting information about people who really lived and were represented in the story. I cannot wait to pick up Sherlock Holmes and the Dancing Tiger. I am eager to see how the relationship between Mirabella and Holmes develops.

Soundless

One night I was bored and chose a book at random from the local library. Soundless had an interesting cover and a unique synopsis.

Fei has never heard the sound of her own voice or the rustling of the wind in the trees, instead everyone in her village relies on sight to make a living. Trapped on the high mountains her village is at the mercy of the zip line that sends up supplies in exchange for the precious metals the miners dig out of the mountain every day. At the mercy of the people controlling the zip line the villagers have no choice to continue their assigned positions despite the concern of people starting to lose their sight. The blindness is just a small worry to Fei until her sister starts to lose her sight and her position in society. Determined not to let her sister become a beggar Fei decides to attempt the climb down the mountain to meet the line man and explain their dire need for more food and medicine in the village.

Fei was an interesting character in some regards, since she was a pamper artist in the village and was a favorite of the elders she had little ideas about how life really worked. At times Fei's innocence seemed a bit much and her moments of being brave felt a bit forced. As I got near the end of the story I was worried it would not end up well since so much was left unresolved but shockingly all the lose ends were tied up and I was left with no questions. It is refreshing to read a stand alone novel and not have to wait for the next book in the series to be released.

Wolf Season

Wolf Season was given to me as a Christmas gift by a close friend. It is not a novel I would have chosen for myself but I am glad it was given to me since it broadened my horizons in literary experience.

It took me a long time to get interested in Wolf Season and when I was finally to the point where I could not wait to see what happened to everyone the novel ended. Which was frustrating in it's own right but looking back I see why Helen Benedict stopped when she did.

Rin just wants to be left alone to live with her shadowy demons that haunt her every movement. Tormented with PTS to the point where she can barely function Rin struggles to realize she is no longer in the war or that everyone is out to get her or her blind daughter Juney.

Naema works hard to become a doctor in the US and take care of her son who lost a leg in Iraq. Determined to give her son as normal a life as possible Naema gets a job working at the local veterans hospital until a devastating storm hits that lands her in the hospital.

Beth has it all or so it would seem, the picture perfect girl in high school married to the school jock. While her husband is busy being a war hero Beth is busy hitting the bottle. Torn up every time her husband comes home and is more and more a stranger Beth has no idea what to do about her destructive husband or her ever delinquent son.

All three of these women have very different back stories and different problems but they all want a better life for their child. It becomes very clear as the story progresses that any of them will do anything to keep their child safe and well cared for, the love they posses for themselves may be in short supply but it never dwindles for their child.

The writing took a long time to grab me. It felt like I could not make a connection with the character and I am not sure if that was due to the characters all being so reserved or if it was due to the writing not pulling me in. Like I said earlier just as I really started to get into the story it ended. I do wish a few more details had been shared and while it does say novel Naema is in another novel by Helen so maybe these characters will appear again. I do not think I would seek out anything else by Helen but if I happened to see it at the library I would most likely check it out, the story is one that I cannot stop thinking about it and parts of it haunt me.

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett

I am not sure what I was really expecting from The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett and even after reading it I am not really sure what to say about the story beyond it was strange. I randomly chose The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett from the library while I was stocking up on reading material to keep my occupied while on a vacation from work.

Right away the book came off as strange to me and I was not sure what was really going on however since I wanted to know what happened to Lizzie Lovett I read until the end.

Hawthorn is not a normal character and I do admire Chelsea Sedoti for that, writing characters with interesting quirks and personalities is not easy. In no way does Hawthorn come off as cookie cutter anything she is a teenager who desperately wants to fit in with everyone at school while maintaining her uniqueness. I really do not feel like I can do Hawthorn justice in a review.

The writing was not something that screamed amazing at me while I read the story but looking back I see how complex of a character Hawthorn is. I am not sure I would ever actively seek out anymore of Chelsea Sedoti's work but I would not shun it either.

Twisted

Twisted is the ninth book in the Pretty Little Liars series and I was wondering where Sara Shepard would go with things since everything seemed tied up nicely in the eight book. In a way I was surprised at how the story started out.

Immediately the hint of a new secret is pushed at the reader but I was not as interested in the secret at least until the new A showed up and started tormenting the girls.

Hannah continues to want her father to accept her and thinks his companion is the perfect way to grow closer to him at least until she realizes her step-sister, Kate, is getting the majority of camera time. Overcome with jealousy and rejection issues Hannah continues to struggle with her self  esteem.

Aria finally has it all, peace with her fathers new wife, her mother getting rid of her sleazy boyfriend, and the perfect boyfriend who she has had a crush on since seventh grade. All that starts to fall apart for her though when her boyfriends family decides to host a foreign exchange student who is a dream girl right down to the perfect Finnish accent. Caught up in the girl's little games Aria does her best to stay one step ahead of her in keeping her boyfriend all to herself.

Emily is in a serious slump, having lost the love of her life again she just does not know how to function. Hoping against all hope that Ali survived the massive inferno somehow she also fears to tell her friends the truth she left the door open hoping Ali would escape. Needing a friend she is glad when a new girl moves in down the street. The two girls quickly bond and Emily starts to trust her new friend with some dangerous secrets which quickly turns deadly when a new A starts texting Emily about her secrets.

Spencer has it all, she got her grades up, took extra AP classes, and is even getting to see her mom happy as she dates a gentlemen with two children of his own. With everything turning around Spencer is able to forget the horrors of her summer until her mom's boyfriend's daughter starts holding music practice in the house. Confronted with the horrors of what she did Spencer is certain nothing will come from it until a new A starts sending her incriminating texts.

All in all Twisted felt like a dead horse was being beaten until the new A showed up. At first I was confused as heck at what was going on. Things did not transition that smoothly like previous books had. While some time had passed the characters seemed different in some ways and like they had got a bit more childish in other ways. I am still enjoying the series and I do plan on reading Ruthless soon.