Flawless (Pretty Little Liars #2) | Review

Series: Pretty Little Liars

Published: February 19th, 2008 by Harper Teen

Pages: 330

Date Finished: December 4th, 2015

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Age Recommendation: 13+

Okay... Let's be real here. That book just blew me away. Honestly. There were even more plot twists and lies and grimy secrets. I couldn't believe it. This series just keeps getting better and better.

Spencer and Hanna did piss me off a little though with the way they treated guys. For example, Andrew Campbell was so adorable and you could tell he really liked Spencer. He was practically giddy over her and when he asked to do karaoke with her, Spencer's reply really rubbed me the wrong way. My heart instantly broke for Andrew. Same with the way Hanna treated Sean. She was just awful to him at times. Especially when he was with Aria at Foxy.

Now... There's something on my mind that is making me feel like a disgusting, putrid human being... I was sympathetic toward Toby and when he took the pills and died, my heart broke just a little. I know what he did to Jenna was horrible and disgusting but it seemed that he had really changed or was at least trying to. The things he did for Emily were just so sweet and I'm so torn over his character.

There's only one thing that I wasn't too fond of in this book... With every new secret/lie/bit of information, it became hard to follow the story at times as there was so much going on. The story itself was amazing but it could be confusing at times which is why I docked half a star.

I can't wait to continue this series and if you don't mind investing a lot of time in a series that has tons of books, then I totally recommend this.

Wet Silence by Sweta Srivastava Vikram | Review

Series: World Voices

Published: July 1st, 2015

Pages: 56

Date Finished: September 4th, 2015

Rating: 5/5 stars

Age Recommendation: 16+

I received Wet Silence by Sweta Srivastava Vikram in exchange for an honest review and I was really excited to read it. I haven't read much poetry before and when I got to the final page of this book I was blown away.

Wet Silence is a collection of beautifully crafted poetry based on the true stories and interviews of  Hindu widows in India and how society treats them as well as how they feel after the deaths of their husbands. Each poem was seamlessly written and I was left with a new perspective after each one.

Some of the things depicted in this book had me in shock. I had no idea this type of thing happened in the world and I my heart truly goes out to anyone who has been affected by events like these. The poetry was raw and real and stunning and I couldn't have asked for a more fabulous book to review. It really opened my eyes and made me be grateful for all of the good things in my life.

I highly advise everybody to give it a read if they are looking for something full of amazing strength and courage and something that will make you extremely thankful.

If you have a moment please take a look at this wonderful video of Sweta doing a reading of Wet Silence in Queens. It would be greatly appreciated.

About the Poet

Sweta Srivastava Vikram, featured by Asian Fusion as "One of the most influential Asians of our time," is an award-winning writer, three times Pushcart Prize nominee, Amazon bestselling author of nine books, novelist, poet, essayist, and columnist, who currently lives in New York City with her husband. Her work has appeared in several anthologies, literary journals, and online publications across nine countries in three continents. A graduate of Columbia University, Sweta reads her work, teaches creative writing workshops, and gives talks at universities and schools across the globe.