Crushed

Crushed is the thirteenth book in the Pretty Little Liars series.

The time of prom is quickly approaching and Hanna cannot be more excited until A sends her a message declaring she had better not campaign for queen or else her secrets will make it into view. Crushed Hanna struggles to ignore all the prom actives while working out who A could be.

Determined to figure out if the new A is Ali Emily visits the Preserve in an attempt to find out information about Ali. Bonding with her old room mate Emily tries to pry secrets out of her while keeping A from sharing her secrets.

Beyond frustrated Spencer finally turns to the internet and a private eye to try to get one over on the new A. Doing her best to help her friends and her stay safe she leads the girls as they attempt to stop A from contacting them by using burner phones and no internet activity. The extreme is using the panic room in one of her soon to be step father's properties as they try to brainstorm who A is.

Aria has it worst of all her, the deadly secret that has had her in a panic has caught up to her. Terrified of her friends taking the fall with her Aria walks a thin line as she looks at the person closest to her as possibly being her cyber tormentor. Horrified at the thought Aria tries to convince herself things are not what they appear to be.

I could not read Crushed fast enough, everything moved along at a brisk pace as new possibilities were introduced at every turn of the page. The ending had me begging for more and I quickly rushed to check out Deadly and was devastated upon finding out the local library does not have it. I am not sure what I will do at this point but I have to know the end of the story.

Burned

Burned is the twelfth book in the Pretty Little Liars series. I liked the idea of girls leaving their troubles behind on a tropical cruise and still being tormented by the new A.

Emily is beyond excited for a tropical cruise, it is a chance to get away from her cold and distant parents who are shunning her for having had a baby. Not overly thrilled with her roommate from a different school Emily is shocked when a girl falls out of the closet and proclaims she is a stowaway. Not really sure what to do Emily invites the girl to stay in her room with her and the two soon form a friendship as Emily hopes for more.

Aria is excited that her and Noel have made up and are a dream team again. Everything is going perfectly until the two love birds cannot agree on a ship activity the two of them can do together. Finally they part ways and Aria joins a treasure hunting team and is paired with a cute boy who has a deep sadness about him. Determined to make her new friend smile Aria walks a thin line as she attempts to keep her secrets and make other people happy.

Spencer is determined to have fun on this cruise and win the boy of her dreams. Thrilled to be going on a cruise she joins the scuba diving group and is over joyed when the boy she has a crush on joins as well. Feeling happy for the first time in ages Spencer works at wooing the boy and keeping her rival away from him.

Hanna cannot believe her luck when her roommate suddenly wants to be friends. Naomi and her have been enemies as long as she can remember however all that changes when the two are assigned to the same room. Opening up to each other the girls work at coming to an understanding until Naomi reveals she is the cousin of the girl Hanna framed for drunk driving. Terrified she will find out and that Naomi knows Hanna digs around attempting to learn if Naomi is the new A.

I liked Burned a lot, it finally showed the girls fighting back and working at trying to figure out who the new A is.  

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.