Flawless

Flawless is the second book in the Pretty Little Liars Series.

While I really like the suspense building, characters, and story lines that Sara Shepard writes I struggle not to get the characters mixed up. I had hoped with the second book I would get more of a handle on which secret goes with which girl but alas that is not the case. I do enjoy reading about the girls with their every day problems and flaws, it makes them feel real.

Spencer seems like the perfect student who gets all As and has everything set up for a college scholarship. Yet the stress of school and her parents expectations are clearly getting to her. Without a doubt I can relate to Spencer the most.

Emily is obviously struggling to come to terms with herself and is terrified that the mysterious A knows more about her then anyone else. Terrified of the truth Emily does much better hiding who she is from everyone including herself. Once again Emily comes off as a totally believable character who is trying to learn to that what she sees as flaws is not flaws.

Hannah has never come to terms with her parents divorce or the fact that her father is spending time with his new wife's daughter and not her. Comparing her body to everyone else is literally making her ill while her world crumbles around her.

Aria lives in fear that her mother will find out she knows what her father is doing and does her best to protect everyone from the truth while trying to fix things on her own. Dealing with the stress of having found out the guy she dated over the summer is now her teacher she struggles to move on with dating boys her own age.

All the girls have serious life problems that plague girls in real life and I love how Sara Shepard is not scared to expose the ugly truth to people. Appearances can be deceiving and all these girls have a lot to learn. At this point I have no clue who the killer is and I do plan on reading Perfect as soon as it is available from the library.

Pretty Little Liars

Last year I read The Lying Game and loved it so I finally checked out Pretty Little Liars from the library. Pretty Little Liars is a bit slower to start then The Lying Game was but none the less it held my attention long enough for me to finish it and check out Flawless from the library.

It has been three years since Alison disappeared and her best friends have moved on with their life after facing the struggled that Alison may never come back. Starting high school the girls eagerly anticipate ruling the school as the cliche group to be in but that dream is soon crushed when the girls start getting notes, texts, and emails reminding them of  their deep dark secrets. Each message is simply signed A and the girls do not know what to think.

It did take a bit for the suspense to build and really get me to the point where I could not put the story down. I do enjoy Sara Shepard's writing style and the way she builds up characters. I do hope to continue with the series and get to each girl along with their secrets. My only issue with the story right now is how self centered each girl is but hopefully they outgrow that as the story progresses.

Nefertiti

I downloaded a sample of Nefertiti awhile ago on my Nook and just now got to it.

They story is told from Nefertiti's younger sisters points of view Mutnodjmet. Hungry for power Nefertiti is beside herself when she is chosen to be the chief wife to the ambitious Pharaoh. Determined to be the only one in the Pharaoh's eyes Nefertiti thinks through each move beautifully all the while winning the love of the people of Egypt. With a strong desire to be needed and remembered Nefertiti feeds the Pharaoh's ideas of a lesser deity becoming the main God of Egypt and joins the venture to move the capitol of Egypt. While the story is told from Mutnodjmet's point of view it still feels like Neferitit's story and I loved every word of it. 

I am happy to learn that Michelle Morgan wrote a sequel to Neferititi and I cannot wait to see if the library has it.