EvilEva Reviews... Pretty Little Liars: Ruthless

EvilEva reviews ...... Pretty Little Liars: Ruthless by Sara Shepard. 

WARNING!

This Is The 10th Book In This Series!

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Dissecting The Cover:

Typical PLL cover. Real girl on the back, doll version made to look like the real girl on the front.
It's gimmicky, I guess, but this particular gimmick seems to work on me cos I love these covers!
They're bold, they're sassy and they make me slightly nostalgic for my old Barbies.

Let's Review:

Spencer, Hanna, Emily and Aria can't seem to stop it with the secret-keeping. Which is bad for them but good for the ever mysterious A. That bitch is still in business, stalking and toying with the girls and generally wreaking havoc on their lives.
A continues to torment them with the terrible truth about what happened in Jamaica. As well as a few other secrets.
Spencer did a bad, bad thing over the summer. And she feels super guilty about it. Not guilty enough to confess though. See, she needs to keep a squeaky clean record to get into Princeton. Which is tough since she went all Jessica-Spano-on-caffeine-pills-singing-"I'm So Excited"- to-a-bewildered-Zack-Morris and someone got hurt.
Now Spence is trying to put it behind her and focus on her part in the school's production of Macbeth. But it seems the role of Lady M is hitting a little too close to home what with all that Out, damned spotting.
Aria has the misfortune of being paired with her arch nemesis and possible boyfriend thief, Klaudia, for an art history project. Which Klaudia is all about leaving for Aria to deal with.
But things start looking up when Aria reconnects with her old flame/English teacher, Ezra Fitz. And he's written a novel! About their inappropriate relationship! And it's called See Me After Class! Eww!
Emily's found a really sweet girl who reminds her of Ali. (Cos that worked out so well for ya the first time, sweetie?) But she finds out that Kay has a secret of her own. Oh and there's the slight possibility that Kay might be A!
Hanna's all about helping her dad with his campaign..... until she meets a super hot guy named Liam! So of course she gets all whipped up in a clandestine relationship with him. And of course Liam isn't being 100%  honest with her.
It seems the more things change, the more they stay the same in Rosewood.
Can't anyone just tell the truth?

Here's What I Think:

I was a little disappointed in this book because to me it seemed like none of the storylines from Twisted were picked up in Ruthless.
In fact, the book starts out with Spencer in trouble with the police, worrying that a girl named Kelsey might rat her out. And I was like "wait a second. who's Kelsey? should I know her? was she in Twisted? why is Spencer in jail? what's she so concerned about being ratted out for? I'm sooooooo confused!"
Then I realized that most of what happened in the previous book was pretty much moot now. Ruthless is basically a whole new story.
True, Klaudia is still a thorn in Aria's side, trying to ruin her relationship with Noel Kahn. But not with as much gusto as before. Aria's mainly fangirling about having Mr. Fitz back in her life. Even though he comes off as an insecure d-bag.
And Hanna's still helping her dad with his Senate campaign. But early on in the book she comes clean about the whole Patrick Thing, how he blackmailed her with racy pictures and she had to steal money from petty cash to pay him off and someone else got fired because of it. Hanna's dad is actually pretty understanding about it but then we never hear about the situation again. Instead, Hanna gets all twitterpated over a guy she just met.
Emily and Spencer have completely new secrets this time around.
Chloe Roland and her skeevy father that hit on Emily aren't really mentioned in Ruthless.
Instead of worrying with that shizz, Emily lets her hair down when her sister Beth comes to town for like four chapters. I guess her sister's visit was just supposed to set up Emily meeting a girl named Kay at a party she attends with the aforementioned sister because from that point on Beth's back in Arizona and Emily is all  about her new girlfriend. 
Spencer's story is the most dramatic shift. Her mom and Mr. Pennythistle's relationship is no longer a topic and her soon-to-be stepbrother Zach who was sent to military school because of his homosexual tendencies is pretty much forgotten. 
In Ruthless, Spencer is in some deep doo doo. Like trouble-with-the-law, betrayed-a-friend doo doo. 
And while it's fun to read about all the secrets and lies, I would have preferred if the storylines were more cohesive. Maybe things will come back together in Stunning (coming to a bookstore near you June 5th.)

Swoony Times:

So it seems like each girl had a little somethin' somethin' going on in this book. But none of the moments were particularly swoontastic. Or memorable.
I was kinda rooting for Spencer and Beau. There were a few does-he-like-her-or-not moments. I thought Beau was a good match for Spencer. They could have benefited from Sebastian the crab paddling up in his rowboat though.

Bonus Shizz:

Red Herrings!
Sara Shepard is pretty much the queen of red herrings. Just when you think she's gonna zig, she surprises you by bustin' out a zag. I like that about this series. Even though we're 10 stories in, it's never short on twists and turns.

If You Liked That, Try This:

The Lying Game by Sara Shepard.
Private by Kate Brian.

The Scale of  Judgment Says:

...... 3 and a half.
The little liars secrets are getting a little stale.

EvilEva Reviews... Divergent

EvilEva reviews ...... Divergent by Veronica Roth.

Dissecting The Cover:  

I actually like this cover. It's simple but to the point. It gives you a sneak peek without telling you the entire 487 page story.
There's a symbol and a cityscape and that's perfect.

Let's Review:

Beatrice Prior lives in a dystopian society in Chicago which has been divided into five factions- Dauntless, Candor, Erudite, Amity and Beatrice's home faction, Abnegation.
When Beatrice turns 16 she must take a test, attend a ceremony and choose which faction she'll devote her life to.
Beatrice has never felt particularly selfless so she takes a big risk and makes a big change, choosing Dauntless instead and renaming herself Tris.
She and the rest of the initiates must survive a series of grueling tests to prove themselves worthy of the Dauntless name.
For Tris these tests are mentally and physically challenging. And as a transfer from Abnegation, it's difficult for Tris to find where she belongs in this new faction.
Add to that the fact that Tris may be different from the other initiates. And in a dangerous way. Plus the fact that she's starting to have feelings for one of her instructors, a mysterious boy named Four.
But Tris doesn't have time to worry about all of that because she soon finds that all is not what it seems. And that there may be something ugly lying beneath this seemingly perfect society.

Here's What I Think:

Prepare yourself cos it's about to get real fangirly up in here.
Got your confetti ready? Well toss it on up in the air cos I friggin' LOVED this book!!! Yeah, three-exclamation-point-love!
This is Veronica Roth's debut novel and homegirl brought it!
It would be very easy to right this off as "just another dystopian novel." But don't. Because it's so not.
This is an amazing book with compelling characters set in a captivating dystopian setting that'll have you feverishly flipping the pages until the very end. At which point you'll be longing for the chance to read Insurgent, the sequel which will be out May 1st. And then you'll be all like dammit why does May 1st have to be so far away.
Anyhoozies, yes it's true this is a book about "holy crap the world has gone to hell and we've been lied to our entire lives and dangerous secrets are being kept from us," but it's also a coming of age story. There's danger, sure, but there are also sweet parts where you realize that even though Tris is totes badass, she's also just a teenage girl trying to find herself and her place in this world. So she's part Sydney Bristow, part Angela Chase.
The Sydney part is kicking ass at initiation. But the Angela part is finding it hard to make friends because Tris has the misfortune of hailing from the seemingly most hated faction of them all, Abnegation. She eventually makes friends though. She bonds with three fellow transfer initiates Christina, Will and Al.
But Tris also makes a few enemies, initiates that are jealous of how awesomely Dauntless she is. And they're all too happy to make trouble for her, what with the constant teasing and the nearly killing her and all.
Then there's Four. Oh, Four. What can I say about Four? Four is one of Tris's instructors. He might like her. He might hate her. Maybe he's indifferent. Tris can't tell because one moment it seems like Four might kiss her and the next he's throwing knives at her head. Tres confusing, no? 
So Tris is just your normal girl. Dauntless initiation is her high school. Christina, Will and Al are her besties. Peter, Drew and Molly are her bullies. And Four is her Jake Ryan. 
And then things get cray cray. Nothing is as it seems. People she thought were her friends betray her. Everything she thought she knew is a lie. And it's all about to get worse. 
Well, worse for Tris and her friends but better for the reader. Cos shit gets real, y'all. Veronica Roth is not afraid to kill off beloved characters. She is not afraid to point out their flaws. That's one of the things that I really liked about her writing actually. She wasn't afraid to make her characters flawed, to make them real and less than perfect. Her characters don't always do the right thing. And I'm not just talking about the baddies. She shows that good people can do bad things too. And that's life.
I think it made Divergent disturbingly real. And I think that's what makes it such a great story.    

Swoony Times:

Ok, I'm gonna do something weird here and compare this book to Anna and the French Kiss. Now I'm sure all of you that have read Anna are probably thinking "Evil Eva, since when did you start obviously doing hard drugs?" Well y'all should know that I prefer hugs to drugs but regardless here's my actual point: Much like Anna and St. Clair, there isn't that much sexy business happening between Tris and Four. Instead of blatant makeout sessions and boot-knockin', it's more about the sexual tension. And holy crap on a cracker, y'all, do Tris and Four have some sexual tension! My loins were all "hold the phone. why are we so excited? this is all secret glances and little smooches." And I was all like "pipe down, loins, I'm trying to enjoy this." What I was trying to convey to my loins (and now to you, dear reader) is that sometimes it's the little things that are waaaaaaay hotter. Tris and Four prove (like Anna and St. Clair before them) that swoony times don't have to be all in yo face. Sometimes the slow swoon is the very best swoon!

Bonus Shizz:

Dystopian Societies!
Y'all, books about dystopian societies have been killing it for me lately! First there was The Hunger Games trilogy, then the awesome sauceness that is Delirium, then the super heartbreaking The Knife of Never Letting Go and NOW the totes mcgotes amazing Divergent! This whole "dystopia is the new vampire" is really rocking my socks off. And it's one book trend that I'll happily keep reading.

Kick Ass Chicks!
I always love a book with a strong female lead and Tris does not disappoint. She's small and her whole life she's been taught to defer to adults and keep her opinions to herself. So when she finally gets the chance to choose her own path, she takes it. Not only does she choose a faction other than her own, she chooses one that couldn't be more different from everything she knows. It takes a brave girl to buck the expectations placed on her in order to follow her heart and choose her own destiny. And Tris is a very brave girl indeed.

Tattoos!
Tris gets a few tattoos in Divergent in order to fit in better in her new faction. I'm not super butt-crazy in love with tattoos. I do like them though. It's kinda like having a sticker. On your body. For All Of Time! And I LOVE stickers, y'all!!! I don't have any tattoos YET but since this year I'll turn the big 3-0, I've decided to get one on my wrist. I've been thinking about this for a while and so I've picked something that's meaningful to me. I liked that Tris' tattoos meant something special to her too, that she didn't just get a rose or a butterfly just to look especially Dauntless. Not that a rose or a butterfly really strike fear in the heart of, well, anyone but you know what I mean. A rose or a butterfly are like the go-to tattoos for girls. I liked that Tris thought outside of the box but also stayed true to who she is. No offense to anyone out there that has a rose or butterfly tattoo.

If You Liked That, Try This:

Delirium by Lauren Oliver.
The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins.

The Scale of Judgment Says:

...... 5!
An amazing action-packed adventure with realistic characters dealing with shizz that will break your heart! 

Supernatural Shakedown: Season 7 Episode 9 OR Don't Order The Turducken

It's Friday night. It's 9 o clock. So sit your Ass-butt down and lets watch some Supernatural!

Drink-Along!

Episode #9: How To Win Friends and Influence Monsters.
Previously on Supernatural...
Sam got married to Crazy Becky. Then got an annulment from Crazy Becky. Dean had to hunt with the awesome sauceness that is Garth. But alas, Garth has gone back to wherever Garth's go. And Sam and Dean are reunited and it feels so good. The guys worked a crossroads demon case and had a run-in with Crowley. We learned that Crowley hates him some leviathan and would love nothing more than for the Winchesters to kill them all. So Crowley made a deal with the bros. He'll keep his demons at bay, leaving Sam and Dean with only the leviathan to worry with. For the time being, anyway. 

Now...
Someone or something is panting. It seems we might be camping, y'all. At Wharton State Forest in The Pine Barrens, New Jersey.
There's a couple on a bed in sleeping bags. So it's like camping for pussies?
Anyhoo, cut back to the panting thing.
And now back to the Couple That Doesn't Know How To Camp. It's time for bed. The guy starts Soothing Sounds of Nature on his Ipod. Dude, if you were actually camping you'd be hearing actual soothing sounds of actual nature as you would actually be all up in it. What a dumbass.
Anyhoo, it seems those sounds were a little too soothing because the guy is now strung upside down in a tree in his sleeping bag. And now he realizes he's in a tree.
Uh oh! Tree creature! The guy starts screaming. His Ipod falls to the ground along with what used to be his ear.
Exploding black goo. Supernatural logo. Showtime!

Hammonton, New Jersey! Sam and Dean are in a basement somewhere. They use jumper cables to jump start the electricity in the house that they're evidently squatting in.
The boys go back upstairs. Bobby comes in. The guys have been hiding out for weeks because of the cray cray leviathan.
The electricity pops off. Sam turns on a lantern while Dean complains about saving the world. He thinks maybe the world wants to end. Bobby wants Dean to chillax. Dean takes a beer and a seat.
Sam tells Bobby about sightings of a fast-moving, human-like creature that's been spotted in a forest in Jersey. Snooki? Or maybe Ronnie? Maybe it's Sammy Sweetheart. That show is so fucking stupid.
Anyway, Sam explains that the locals think it's the work of the Jersey Devil. Seriously. Snooki? Sorry. i'll stop it now.
Bobby was under the impression that the Jersey Devil was just tall-tale bullshizz. Sam thinks they should check it out because of the man-burrito it just polished off. That's not a dick joke, bee tee dubs. That's what was written in a newspaper article. Anyhoosie, apparently Man-Burrito's wife is missing too and four other people have disappeared in the last 3 weeks. The article says that state troopers think it's just a bear. Dean makes a funny.
Bobby's all for going legitimately hunting. Dean wants to suit and tie it first to make sure they're not just dealing with a backwoods crackhead.
Biggerson's Sizzlin' Grill & Bar! There's a poster for the Pepperjack Turducken Slammer. Only $4.99!
Suits of Sexiness are interrogating a park ranger named Ranger Rick. Sam and Dean ask about Man-Burrito. Ranger Rick doesn't believe a bear did it. He gives the Winchesters a HighTimes speech about mother nature as he chows down on his Turducken Slammer. Ranger Rick and Assistant Chief Ranger Phil have been finding leftovers from the whatever it is for weeks. Come to think of it, Ranger Rick hasn't seen Phil in a few days. Sam asks if he thinks Phil might be missing. Ranger Rick laid-backily replies he should probably report that.
Bobby enters the restaurant in his Trench of Justice and nary a ball cap. He motions for the boys to join him.
Bobby's been off having a looksie at what was left of Man-Burrito. He tells the boys that the bite marks are too small to be from a leviathan. Bobby doesn't know what this thing could possibly be. Dean suggests they eat. He stops a waiter named Brandon that's rocking Pieces Of Flare! Dean asks if they can get a booth and Brandon acts like a complete turd. Dean tries to make a comeback but fails. Brandon stalks off. Sam makes a funny about Dean's non-comeback. Then Bobby makes a funny about hoping not to get seated in Brandon's section.
Uh oh. They got seated in Brandon's section. He calls Sam Big Bird, Dean Ken Doll and Bobby Creepy Uncle. Dean asks Brandon what his problem is. Brandon screams that Dean is his problem and huffs off. 
Dean gets back to business and tells Sam and Bobby that it didn't seem like Ranger Rick believed in the Jersey Devil theory. He and Sam both agree that Rick did seem quite high though.
Meanwhile, Dean's in love with his turducken.
Sam says Ranger Rick did seem to think something was in the woods. Bobby's ready to camp it up.
Meanwhile, Brandon loses his damn mind and storms out.
Dean continues to enjoy his turducken and now i kinda want a sandwich.
Woods! Bobby leads the way. It looks like they might run into Bella and Edward soon. Have we left Wharton State Forest and entered Forks?
Bobby finds hair on a tree and decides it's from two bucks having a turf war. Sam forgot that before Bobby was a monster hunter, he was an actual hunter. He also apparently used to take Dean and Sam hunting back in the day.
The guys come upon a rotting body hanging from a tree. It's probably Phil.
Woods at night! Ranger Rick drives up. Dean points out Phil's yucky body. Rick is gonna call it in. Sam makes a funny.
Creature vision! It's looking at Ranger Rick.
While Rick calls in Phil's dead body, the guys hear noises. We've got company.
Whatever it is takes Ranger Rick down. The boys draw their guns to go after him.
Commercial time.

The boys search for the ranger. They hear rustling in the trees. Bobby tells the boys to turn off their lights and turn on their ears. They can hear the monster eating Rick.
Bobby takes a shot and a body falls out of the tree. The boys haul it back to the house.
They ponder what the hell this thing could be. Whatever it is suddenly jumps its ass off the table. The guys draw their guns and shoot the shit out of it.
It's down again. Dean checks the thing for ID. He makes a joke and Bobby asks if he's feeling alright. Dean says he's fine. The thing is a man named Gerald that lived in town. He apparently used to be very fat but since becoming some cray cray monster zombie thing he's lost a lot of weight.
Bobby pokes at Gerald's guts with a stick. There's some kind of yucky goo. Bobby suggests looking under Gerald's hood.
Bobby and Sam autopsy it up. Dean asks if they're getting hungry. They both look at Dean as if he's lost his damn mind.
Sam and Bobby root around inside the body and discover a whole host of weird junk. Dean looks on unaffected. Even as Sam pulls out a whole cat's head.
Bobby finds the guy's adrenal glands which are huge and black but are supposed to be relatively small and orange.
Sam rules out the Jersey Devil. Dean seriously wants to get some grub.
Back to Biggerson's we go! Sam researches Gerald on his laptop while Bobby enjoys a cup of coffee and Dean chows down on more turducken. Apparently Gerald went missing eight days ago. So that explains all the people that have been eaten in the last eight days but what happened to Gerald to make him so hungry for man-burritos?
Bobby and Sam are kinda grossed out by Dean's eating. Sam asks Dean what he thinks about the case. Dean's not really worried about it. Sam and Bobby get all huh?-faced.
Sam looks around the restaurant and notices all the other patrons grossly enjoying their turducken. Bobby notices too. They both look very unsettled by this.
Sam snatches the sandwich from Dean.
Back to the Eternal House of Squatting! They've got the Turducken Slammer wrapped up in a tinfoil swan. i just realized the first four letters of turducken spell turd and now i'm even more grossed out.
Dean declares that his sandwich didn't do anything.
Bobby tells him that there's something wrong with him. Dean tells Bobby that no there's not. In fact he hasn't felt this great in awhile. He doesn't really care about anything and furthermore doesn't care that he doesn't care. Sam informs Dean that he is high as a kite.
On the table, Dean's Slammer belches out blue goo. It kinda looks like hair gel. Dean's freaked out because that goo must be in him too. Sam makes a funny.
So whatever this goo is is responsible for turning Gerald into a man-burrito eating crazycake.
Dean makes a funny.
Parking lot at Biggerson's corporation! Dean's passed out in the back of the Mystery Machine. Sam talks to Bobby about how he's worried about Dean. Bobby tells Sam that he and Dean need to stop worrying about each other and just deal with shizz. Sam talks a little about Satan too.
A delivery truck pulls into the cargo bay at Biggerson's corporation. They deliver a crate and leave. The Scooby Gang follow the goo-meat delivery truck.
Elsewhere, A woman walks in front of a law office.
Creature vision! It's Brandon and his Pieces Of Flare! He jumps out of a bush, grabs the woman and slams her head into the pavement.
A car drives up. A guy gets out. He backhands Brandon and his Pieces Of Flare.
Meanwhile, Sam and Bobby spy on the meat and poultry distribution truck as it pulls into the parking lot of the meat and poultry distribution center.
Sam thinks it's weird that a big chain like Biggerson's would get their meat and poultry from such a seemingly podunk meat and poultry operation. Sam suggests they wait until the center closes up, then go snooping.
But a car pulls up. Out steps Car Garage Guy!
Flashback to when we flattened him!
Car Garage Guy hands Brandon and his Pieces Of Flare over to the guy at the distribution center.
Ruh roh.
Commercials again.

Inside the bizarro meat and poultry distribution center! Car Garage Guy or Edgar as he's apparently actually named, tells his lackey to put Brandon and his Pieces Of Flare with "the others." Enter Evil Dr. Salt N Pepper Sexypants!
He's been doing some experiments which Edgar is here to check on.
Brandon and his Pieces Of Flare are shoved into a cage. There are other cray cray man-burrito-eaters in cages near his.
Edgar tells Evil Dr. Salt N Pepper Sexypants to burn them.
Evil Dr. Salt N Pepper Sexypants is all "huh?" Edgar informs him that Dick is coming. Evil Dr. Salt N Pepper Sexypants tells his bizarro meat and poultry distribution orderly to burn the man-burrito-eaters.
Mystery Machine Stakeout! Sam checks the back of the building and radios to Bobby that it's clear. Bobby tells him to come back. Dean continues to drink coffee and nurse his turducken hangover. Bobby asks Dean about his head. Dean says he's fine but Bobby's talking deeper shit. Dean doesn't really wanna hear it and makes a funny. Bobby is very concerned about Dean's talk of the job. But Dean's had it with this whole saving the world every time it needs saving.
Bobby tells him he's not a person, he's a hunter. Dean tried to hang it up and be normal with Lisa and Ben but he came right back. Bobby gives Dean a firm talking to and tells him he needs to focus and get his head in the game or he's gonna wind up dead. Bobby says he's been to enough funerals. He tells Dean that if he dies before him, he'll kill him.
Sam returns and informs the gang that something's up.
An SUV enters the parking lot. Edgar and Evil Dr. go out to greet Dick.
Bobby recognizes Dick as Dick Roman, some corporate douche.
Montage of corporate doucheyness!
Sam tells Dean that Dick Roman is one of the most powerful men in America.
Sam asks what their plan of attack should be as they certainly can't outgun them.
Bobby says they've at least got the drop on the leviathan so it'll give us time to figure out what they're doing in Bumblefuck, New Jersey.
Bobby breaks out his giant listening device so that they can listen in on the leviathan.
Cut to a fat family eating turducken in front of the TV! Evil Doc shows off the fat family to Dick and tells him the additive he's added to the sandwich has near 100% effectiveness. So eating the turducken makes the humans crave it which causes their metabolism to slow down and causes them to get fat, which results in making them complacent.
Dick's excited by this progress but now he'd like the scoop on Evil Dr. Salt N Pepper Sexypants' failures.
Turns out Dick is not happy about the human-burrito story making the paper. He wants to teach Evil Doc a lesson.
Sam and Dean continue their stakeout in the Mystery Machine.
Bobby appears to be on the roof with his listening device. He tells the boys something's going down in the meeting room.
The bros position their binoculars accordingly.
Dick and his assistant enter the meeting room with Edgar and Evil Doc. Dick informs Evil Doc that they'll be shutting his program down. You can't make the papers and make people all jittery about monsters.
Evil Doc begs for Dick to let him make it right.
Dick's assistant opens a briefcase and pulls out........ a piece of paper? Evil Doc looks scared.
Oh apparently the piece of paper is a bib. Dick's assistant puts the bib around Evil Doc's neck.
Bobby continues to look on from his rooftop vantage point.
Evil Doc gets full-on Venus flytrap vagina face and eats his own hand!
Bobby relays this info to the bros. Oh noes! Bizarro meat and poultry distribution orderly has found Bobby's hiding spot! He clocks Bobby in the face!
Noooooooooo! Commercials!

Sam and Dean go to Bobby's hiding spot. They can't believe the leviathan got Bobby. Sam's very concerned because HELLO! we still don't know how to kill the leviathan.
An industrial cleaning company truck drives into the parking lot. Sodium borate, y'all! Let's get those motherfuckers!
Dick's assistant is blathering on about his itinerary. Meanwhile, THEY'VE GOT BOBBY!
Dick's assistant exits, taking Evil Doc's black goo stained bib with her.
Dick didn't even bother tying Bobby up because he knows Bobby can't get past him.
Bobby's impressed the leviathan snatched Dick Roman's body. 
Dick informs him they can have whoever they want. They could have Bobby if he were worth it. Shut up, Dick!
Dick brags about a set of guns he picked up at an auction.
The wheels in Bobby's head? They are a-turning. 
Dick starts loading one of the guns, then he cocks it. Bobby wants him to cut to the chase. He wants to know why Dick's keeping him around.
Dick tells Bobby that he's gonna eat him but he likes his meals prepared. Plus he figures holding on to Bobby will draw out the Winchesters. 
Sam and Dean enter with their cleanser and start spraying Edgar and the rest of Dick's lackeys. The leviathan's faces start burning up. 
Commercial time.

Meeting Room! Dick hears the brouhaha downstairs. He advises Bobby to stay in the chair while he goes to check this situation out. Dick leaves.
Of course Bobby doesn't just stay in his chair. He goes over to Dick's desk and checks out some files. Inside the files are some maps. Bobby grabs the other gun and starts loading it. He takes the files and the gun and heads out. But Dick's assistant stops him at the door and punches poor Bobby in the face. 
But Bobby recovers quickly by shooting Dick's assistant in the face. He races out the door. 
Downstairs! Sam sprayed Dick in the face! Dick merely wipes his face with a hanky. But now Sam's outta juice. Oh noes!!!
Bobby comes up behind Dick and shoots him in the back. Dick is temporarily distracted which gives Dean the chance to sneak up and douse him with more cleanser. 
The boys start running. 
Bobby starts after them but he's cornered by a big leviathan. 
Sam and Dean make it to the Mystery Machine. They wait for Bobby. 
Back to Bobby! He finds a crowbar and whacks the black goo outta big leviathan's face. Bobby starts running again. Go Bobby! HURRY!
Bobby makes it outside and runs for the van.
Out comes Dick brandishing his pistol. That's not a dick joke either.
Bobby hops in the van and tells Dean to haul ass. Bobby starts closing the van door. 
Dick shoots.
The Mystery Machine speeds off. 
Dick shoots two more times.
Sam tries to give Bobby his hat back but then he notices that there's a bullet hole in it! Oh noes!!!!!! The boys yell for Bobby but there's no answer.

Next time on Supernatural...
Boooooooooobbbbbbbbyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please don't let Bobby be dead! We already lost Cass this season! Come on, Supernatural! You can't do this to me!!!!!! Booooooobbbbbbbbbbyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!! Noooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Book Resolutions For 2012!

Do you remember way back when at the end of 2010 when i posted this about my book resolutions for the coming year?
i did pretty well in 2011. (Except for that whole Classics Challenge thing. Erg. i did not excel at that one at all.)
But now it's 2012 which means it's time for new resolutions!!!

So here are my New Year Book Resolutions for 2012!!!

My first Book Resolution is to try to read at least 100 books.

i have a notebook in which i've been keeping track of the number of books i read in a year since 2008. In 2011 i read a total of 74 books. Which is pretty good but this year i'd like to read even more! i've come very close in the past few years but i've never actually been able to do it. i'm hoping 2012 will finally be the year in which i crack 100!

My second Book Resolution is to read more adult fiction.

As my little bloggermuffins know, i love me some YA. It's almost all i read. So this year i thought i would broaden my horizons and actually try to be a grownup.

My third Book Resolution is to try to do what i couldn't last year.

That's right y'all, i'm gonna try The Classics Challenge again. This year i'm gonna aim a little lower. Maybe i can read at least 3 classics in 2012.

So those are my Book Resolutions for 2012. What about you guys? What ways are you looking to challenge yourself this year? Comment it up, y'all! Or tweet me @girlsleuth with the hashtag #BookResolutions.

Happy 2012 And Good Luck With Your Reading Resolutions!!!



Nancy Drew Is Getting A Facelift!

Hey guys. Sorry i've been neglecting my bloggy duties. i know it seems like i've only been Fangirling and Top Tenning lately. i haven't done a book review in awhile and i have yet to shake down the last two episodes of Supernatural. My bad.
i've been completely sabotaged by that infamous Year End Chaos that always sneaks in around Thanksgiving. My brain has been running on buying gifts and making cookies, wrapping gifts and eating cookies. Well now it's 2012 and i've got multiple paper cuts and a bellyache. So it's time for a little changy-change!
That's right! i'm about to get super focused up in this bitch!

i've decided to revamp Nancy Drew Is My Homegirl (hence the title of this post) so things will start to look a little different around here. But never fear. i'm still the same smart-mouthed, sassy-pantsed, book-loving, Supernatural-watching, cray cray fangirl i've always been.

The biggest change you'll notice is that the format for my book reviews will be different in this new year. It'll look a little reminiscent of my Super Nostalgic Book Flashback Challenge reviews. i'll be Dissecting The Cover, i'll have Bonus Shizz, and i'll be dishing about Swoony Times (as well as Sexy Times if the book calls for it.) i'll still give my honest opinion about whether i loved, hated or felt nothing for the book and my Scale of Judgment will still be in use too.
So, like i said, that'll be the biggest change.

There may be a few other changes here and there. Even i don't know all the ways i wanna spruce up my blog yet. So just know that this will kinda be a construction site from here on out. But a pretty construction site.

i'm still gonna recap all the new episodes of Supernatural. i'm still gonna dish about books and books into movies and books into TV news. i'm still gonna participate in Top Ten Tuesday and i'm still gonna host Fangirl Five Friday.

So i'll change a little but i'll stay the same a little too.
i want your feedback though so dish those comments up, y'all.
And i hope that you guys have an amazing, prosperous and booktastical New Year!

The TBR Back Burner Challenge: Round 12 Reviews

And now for the reviews of the final two books I read in 2011!

EvilEva reviews...... The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.

On a random Sunday night in New York City, Clary Fray and her friend Simon decide to hit the Pandemonium Club in an effort to beat boredom.
But Clary's night suddenly becomes anything but boring when she witnesses a murder. And finds out that the boy that was murdered was really a demon and the three teenagers who murdered him are Shadowhunters, a special group of warriors whose duty is to rid the world of his kind. Also shocking? It seems no one else is able to see them.
So obvs Clary's life is about to change big time. And it does. Her mother disappears and a demon attacks Clary in her own home. Then Clary is surprised to find one of the Shadowhunters, golden-haired pretty boy Jace, has come to her rescue. He whisks her off to the Institute to keep her safe and informs her that her mother might be in serious trouble. Like demon/warlock serious trouble. Oh and also that Clary herself may be a Shadowhunter.
So with this new, crazy information Clary begins her harrowing journey to find her mother and to find out the truth of who she really is.

I don't really know how to write this review. I wanted to like this book. I mean, I liked it but I wasn't exactly swept up into the Shadowhunter world like Stephenie Meyer evidently was based on her front cover blurb.  
And while I am curious to see what happens next, I'm not exactly clamoring to go out and buy City of Ashes right this very minute.
Truthfully I wasn't all that impressed with Clary as a heroine. There was something very Bella-esque about her in that she was constantly getting pushed to the side so that the menfolk could defend her honor and keep her safe. I mean, get some ovaries and go kick some ass, lady.
My problem wasn't solely with Clary though. Oh no. It was mainly with Jace. I felt NO swoon for him. He did absolutely NOTHING for my lady parts. I found him to be arrogant, condescending, cocky and rude. I understand that he's the Bad Boy and every girl loves a Bad Boy but I honestly don't. I don't care how many times you refer to his golden locks or his rock hard body. I will always wanna punch him in the throat.
I would much rather have Simon. Or maybe Luke. They were my favorites and I couldn't help but wish they were in the story more.
As for the story, I really should have liked the hell out of it. I mean, it's basically all about monster hunting. As is my favorite show, Supernatural. So this should have been a total slam dunk. But Clary and Jace are no Sam and Dean. And I never fully connected with either character.
That being said, there were a few good twists that I didn't see coming. However I feel like I didn't really get a chance to enjoy them because I first had to slog through 40 pages of filler that really had little to do with the book on the whole. Like Simon being turned into a rat and being stolen by the vampires. Other than introducing the werewolves who would play into the story later on, I really didn't see what that scene added to the story.
Running up against those filler scenes was frustrating. It's like my brain could tell when one was coming up and so it would kinda shut down so it took me longer to read through because I was busy trying to determine what this had to do with anything.
I don't know. I was really bummed that I didn't like this book more. I know a lot of people that do so I'm wondering if there are any other weirdos out there like me that couldn't really get into it.

The Scale of Judgment says...... 3.

EvilEva reviews...... The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.

When Reynie Muldoon, an orphan from the Stonetown Orphanage, sees and advertisement in the local newspaper proclaiming:
"ARE YOU A GIFTED CHILD LOOKING FOR SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES?"
he's very interested at the prospect of putting his smarts to the test.
But they are very odd tests with very odd questions, which makes Reynie very nervous.
In the end, however, Reynie and three other children (Sticky, Kate and Constance) pass and are escorted to the home of the strange Mr. Benedict.
Mr. Benedict has a special task for the four children to complete. They are to become spies. They'll be sent to an island that houses a mysterious school called the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened.
Once there, they are to assume the role of regular students while secretly spying on the founder of the Institute, the disturbingly familiar Mr. Curtain.
Their mission is to take what they've learned from Mr. Benedict, use their specific gifts and work together to take down Mr. Curtain and his diabolical plot to control the world.
But Reynie and his new friends are just children and Mr. Curtain is an evil genius.
Do they have what it takes to complete their mission?

This is really fun kid-lit. The characters are very likable. There are adventures a go-go. Plus there are puzzles and mind benders and even a quiz at the end of the book so that you can see if you've got what it takes to be a part of The Mysterious Benedict Society.
I read reviews where people drew parallels between this book and those of Roald Dahl and Lemony Snicket. I get those comparisons. The Mysterious Benedict Society is made up of four kids that are whip-smart and that need to use their unique brands of brilliance in order to outsmart the smarmy adults. They are also four kids that seem misplaced which is what brings them to the testing facility to begin with. They're looking for these "special opportunities" but they're also looking for a place where they belong.
The story is told primarily from Reynie's point of view. Reynie is an orphan with no real friends except for his tutor, Miss Perumal who encourages him to pursue the opportunities advertised in the paper. Reynie is smart but he truly excels at puzzles and brain teasers.
The day of the final test, Reynie meets Sticky (aka George) Washington. Sticky is a shy runaway that seems to have a photographic memory. He's very book smart and retains everything he reads. Unfortunately he's not very brave. But that's ok because on that day the boys also meet Kate Wetherall (aka The Great Kate Weather Machine) (also aka my personal favorite Society member) who is brave enough for all of them. She has a red bucket which she carries everywhere with her and which contains all of her special things. Kate is super resourceful and uses her special bucket things like a 12 year old girl version of Macgyver. She's always up for an adventure and she's very strong, qualities she no doubt cultivated when she RAN AWAY TO JOIN THE CIRCUS!!!
Lastly but not leastly, the children meet the final member of The Mysterious Benedict Society, Constance Contraire who is quite contrary. Constance is a short little thing with a short little fuse. She's fussy and stubborn and not at all agreeable. Reynie, Sticky and Kate often wonder throughout the book how Constance passed Mr. Benedict's tests as she doesn't seem particularly clever, resourceful or brave. But Constance proves to be as valuable a member of the society as any of the children. 
So Reynie, Sticky, Kate and Constance make up The Mysterious Benedict Society and it's up to them to stop the evil Mr. Curtain from succeeding in his dastardly plot to brainwash the world into submission.
Like I said before, this is fun kid-lit. If you're an adult, it brings you to that Goonies state of mind. Where kids can have fantastical adventures and outsmart the bad guys and inevitably save the day. If you're an actual kid, I imagine it's even better. :)

P.S. At the end of the book there's a letter from Mr. Benedict encouraging the reader to figure out his first name. If you wanna figure out the mystery yourself then by all means skip this part cos I'm about to amaze the fudge out of ya!

For the answer you'll have to check out the back of the book. Underneath the synopsis you'll notice a series of dots and dashes. This is Mr. Benedict's super-secret-unless-you-know-morse-code-which-I-of-course-do-because-i'm-a-girl-sleuth :) first name. It reads: 

-.  ..  -.-.  ....  ---  .-..  .-  ...   

AKA* 

The Scale of Judgment says...... 3 and a half.





*Nicholas!