Review: The lying Game by Sara Shepard

   

Title: The Lying Game

Author: Sara Shepard

Series: The Lying Game #1
Pages: 307
Publisher: Harper
Release Date: March 31st 2011 (UK)
Source: For review
Rating: 4.5 stars

I had a life anyone would kill for.

Then someone did.

The worst part of being dead is that there’s nothing left to live for. No more kisses. No more secrets. No more gossip. It’s enough to kill a girl all over again. But I’m about to get something no one else does—an encore performance, thanks to Emma, the long-lost twin sister I never even got to meet.

Now Emma’s desperate to know what happened to me. And the only way to figure it out is to be me—to slip into my old life and piece it all together. But can she laugh at inside jokes with my best friends? Convince my boyfriend she’s the girl he fell in love with? Pretend to be a happy, carefree daughter when she hugs my parents good night? And can she keep up the charade, even after she realizes my murderer is watching her every move?

From Sara Shepard, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Pretty Little Liars books, comes a riveting new series about secrets, lies, and killer consequences.

I LOVED this book so much. I have only read the first in the Pretty Little Liars series but I have to say I much prefer this one. Why? I can't quite tell you. I liked being able to get to know Emma and Sutton really well as they are the only two main characters. 

The narration was extremely unique. It was written in Sutton, the dead twins, point of view. It felt like a mix between first and third person as it was a third person narration of Emma yet a first person narration from Sutton. I thought this was cleverly done and it incorporated Sutton's reactions to Emma's discoveries about her life.

The plot was full of mystery and surprises. The drip drip of information of Sutton's life and how she died kept me on edge and made me keep reading. It was done very effectively. 

The characters were all really great. Sutton's group of friends revealed a lot about Sutton's character and the life she led. They also developed the plot and really added an extra dimension. Ethan was also a lovely edition to the story!

The ending was good. It left off at a good place and had enough surprises to keep me intrigued for the next book. I was surprised by some aspects of the ending yet it seemed plausible in the novel.

The book was great overall and I am so intrigued to read the next book Never Have I Ever.

Waiting On Wednesday (7)

Never Have I Ever by Sara Shepard 
(The Lying Game #2)

August 2nd 2011

I can't seem to find a summary yet. Sorry!

I Just finished The Lying Game and I just adored it. It was full of drama and mystery and excitement and I cannot cannot wait until the next book. In comparing the first books of Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game, The Lying Game wins in my opinion. Not too long to wait now for Never Have I Ever!!

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Title: Pretty little Liars

Author: Sara Shepard

Pages: 286

Release Date: October 1st 2006

Publisher: Harperteen

Source: Bought

Rating: 4 out of 5

I think it is best that I tell you I love the show and this could have either enhanced or reduced my enjoyment of the book, so just take this into account. I imagine the characters as I saw them in the show therefore I wasn’t always thinking of them exactly how Sara Shepard wrote them to be.

It took me a while to get into it. It started quite slow and it was quite a foreign style of writing to me. It seemed quite simple and childish at first but it became more and more addicting. The brand dropping didn’t really bother me but it took a while to adjust.

My favourite character is Aria. She is so headstrong and confident and I love that in a character. I felt I really grew to understand all the characters really well and despite it being in 3^rd person they all had their own voice in their chapters. It felt really personal when I was reading their chapters, allowing me to see what secrets they were keeping from their friends and themselves.

Because I have seen the show the things that happened in the book weren’t too much of a surprise. The book mirrors the first programme really well. Having said that I still really enjoyed it and some things still caught me my surprise. There is a LOT that happens so there isn't any opportunity to get bored. It moves very fast and keeps you on your toes!

Was it the best written book in the world? No. Did that affect my enjoyment? Not at all. I got so addicted that I sat in the bath reading it for hours, getting wrinkly toes. It pulled me in and I didn’t want to let go. It is all boy drama, secrets, gossip and I have to say I’m a sucker for all this. You should really go pick it up for a fun, light read! I'm so excited to read the next in the series as well!

4 out of 5 stars

Cover Crazy: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

It took me a while to decide whether or not I liked the cover. At first it seemed very immature and looked like  it was targeted towards 12 year olds (which it probably is). After a while I really grew to like the cover and could appreciate it. 

I like:

• The significance of the doll. A seems to control the girls and is definitely like a puppet master. Spencer, the girl on the cover, along with all the other girls are just dolls in the game A is playing.
• The font. It is gorgeous and girly and pretty.
• The tagline. "Never trust a pretty girl with an ugly secret". I love it!

I dislike:

• The placement of the font. I don't know where I would put it but I found it quite difficult to read.
• The placement of the tagline. It feels like it was just shoved there for the sake of it.
  

What do you think of the cover?