A review by imme_van_gorp
Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Everyone always says that the books are really different from the TV show, so I thought it would be interesting to check this out. However, although I can see that a lot of the relationships, for example, will turn out very unlike the TV show, this first book was extremely similar plot-wise to the first few episodes, so it was all a little predictable and repetitive for me. 

That said, I think things will become completely separate later on in this series, so I might just keep at it to get to that point. Because I have to say I do find these books very entertaining. They’re a little trashy, but in a fun and addictive way.

Personally, my favourite chapters were definitely those by Spencer first, then Aria, then Emily, and then Hanna. 

-Spencer is a character that is very realistic in how much pressure and loneliness she feels. She works so hard, but her parents will never truly acknowledge or love her, always favoring her sister over her, and that understandably breaks her heart. It’s why I kind of understood why she felt it was okay to steal her sister’s boyfriends the way she did…  Even though, of course, it shouldn’t be. Besides, her and Wren were honestly kind of cute, even though I actually want her with Andrew. I know he doesn’t have many scenes and he literally doesn’t even exist in the TV show, but still. He just seems so utterly adorable and his unrequited crush on Spencer is truly precious. I hope she will start to notice him in the next books, because I know he would be the sweetest boyfriend to her.

-Aria’s gentle and quirky yet confident personality was genuinely nice to read, and I personally like her best out of the four girls. I really want to find out what happens to her next: I hope she’ll eventually dump creepy Ezra for good (who was honestly much worse here than in the TV show) and she’ll find a good guy in the end. Maybe Noel has potential? Even though he seemed to be quite dumb so far.

-Emily is a sweetheart, but she’s a little too passive and therefore kind of boring. I want to care about her, but so far I don’t really. Her swimming is not something I care about, and her relationship with Maya hasn’t really sparked an interest in me yet either.

-With Hanna, I do feel pity and sympathy for her struggles and self-loathing, but I genuinely do not like the person she is right now. That said, Sean deserves to get kicked in the groin for what he said to her and he needs to be knocked off his high-horse so badly. I want to see that happen in the future!

Lastly, I just want to quickly mention that all of these parents are the literal worst. Emily’s parents are racist bigots, Aria’s father is a cheating groomer, Hanna’s mother is a distant workaholic, and Spencer’s parents are cold, unloving and abusive. They all made my blood boil.