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The fifth book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series that inspired the hit ABC Family TV show Pretty Little Liars.

In idyllic Rosewood, Pennsylvania, four very pretty girls just can't help but be bad. Hanna will do anything to be Rosewood's queen bee. Spencer's digging up her family's secrets. Emily can't stop thinking about her new boyfriend. And Aria approves a little too strongly of her mom's taste in men. The girls think they’re in the clear now that Ali's killer is finally behind bars. But someone new is mimicking “A’s” blackmailing ways with wicked and mysterious messages. And it’s only a matter of time before they let some secrets slip.

Full of unexpected twists and shocking revelations, Wicked is the fifth book in New York Times bestselling author Sara Shepard’s compelling Pretty Little Liars series.

312 pages, Audiobook

First published November 25, 2008

1160 people are currently reading
32513 people want to read

About the author

Sara Shepard

128 books14.7k followers
Sara Shepard graduated from NYU and has an MFA from Brooklyn College. She has lived in New York City, Brooklyn, Tucson, Arizona, Philadelphia, and now lives in Pittsburgh, PA. Sara's Pretty Little Liars novels were inspired by her upbringing in Philadelphia's Main Line.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,216 reviews
Profile Image for Geraldine O'Hagan.
134 reviews168 followers
October 17, 2012
Somehow, it continues. There’s another ‘A’. We still don’t know who killed Alison. It’s almost as though the previous four books were a total waste of time. And Cycle Two begins.

In the flashback prologue we are re-introduced to every single Rosewood Day student whose name has ever been mentioned in the books, all of whom are entranced by some nonsensical annual treasure hunt/time capsule thing the magnitude of which, Shepard assures me, does not need explaining. All I learn from this is that the whole of the school grounds must be full of buried flags, which no one either currently or in the future could be interested in. I suppose the whole matter can serve as a microcosmic representation of Rosewood’s attitudes in general though: the focus is entirely on the privilege of winning the competition and the glamour of being recognised, but no one stops to think what the actual purpose of burying time capsules full of decorated flags is, since there is no purpose. It’s all just fuss and glamour around an empty centre, designed so that someone can be the best at something and everyone else can be losers.

At any rate, once we have heard once again about how embarrassed both Hanna and Emily are of their hair-colour (“poop-brown” and “chlorine-greenish” respectively, as we are told repeatedly in each book) the story proper begins. The four girls are now having group sessions with a grief counsellor, which means we have to hear every plot-point from the previous four books reiterated. The counsellor’s advice is to put all the items which remind them of Alison into a bin-bag and bury them, which is not only quite stupid but also pretty much what they decided to do off their own bat at the end of the last book. So I’m not really sure what their families are paying the “very best grief counselor in the Philadelphia area” for. Particularly since none of them seem especially grief-stricken. Still, I suppose they may as well waste money on unnecessary pseudo-therapy as on anything else.

The rehashing of old events from the previous books drags on tediously for some time, leavened with the occasional new development. Apparently the ‘A’ blackmail notes have become a nationwide phenomenon, which seems rather wishful thinking on Shepard’s part. Otherwise nothing much is happening. Hanna is so stupid she keeps trying to send Mona texts about ”mani-pedis”, forgetting that Mona is in fact dead, and that prior to her demise she tried to kill Hanna. Mike continues to be a sexual pervert, but a girl has unwisely agreed to go on a date with him. Aria does the talking-to-someone-at-an-art-show-and-realising-too-late-he’s the-artist storyline, but she’s not concerned because she can tell by the way the artist in question sexually assaults her just after they meet that he thinks she’s sexy, and since he is a man this is flattering and she would like to sleep with him. Spencer is annoyed that she is being lightly punished for the essay competition cheating thing, which is still being mentioned as though it was in any way interesting. Spencer’s male equivalent Andrew continues to clumsily express sexual interest in her, despite her numerous previous rebuffs. Emily watches a Christian rock band at her local church and notices that the male lead singer has the same shoes as her. She then gets a feeling like electricity flowing through her, and is suddenly not a lesbian anymore. Apparently Jesus can cure gays after all. I’m uncertain how much of this is deliberate, and how much is down to massive stupidity.

Quite a lot of time is taken up with Hanna wondering how she could possibly have failed to notice for 3½ years that her best friend was a deluded psychopath who knew all her secrets and wanted her dead, even though they were incredibly close and loved each other like sisters. Hanna is pretty thick, but it does stretch credulity that even someone as dense as her could have been completely unaware of the situation. Strangely however, having the characters of the book as baffled as the reader as to how they are supposed to take the plot seriously does not make the books any less awful.

The new plots continue the sub-soap-opera awfulness of the earlier books. Spencer’s grandmother dies and leaves each of her grandchildren $2 million, except for Spencer. I was too distracted by the disgusting privilege of the Hastings family to care why, but I assume it’s because Spencer will turn out to be illegitimate/adopted. Meanwhile Aria’s new inappropriate love interest turns out to have all the combined flaws of her last two, being both older and involved with someone she knows, in this case her own mother. Since absolutely nothing of interest came of the previous two unsuitable liaisons I don’t have high hopes for this storyline. Ian is released on bail due to his mum developing Plot-Convenient-Cancer, and immediately afterward the girls all receive another ‘A’ message. This means that ‘A’#2 is obviously not Ian, but naturally we have to sit through page after page of various people assuming that it is, and telling the police as much. After all, they all saw him on the news report putting his hand into his pocket. And what’s kept in pockets? Mobile phones, obviously. Case closed.

The usual nothing-much occurs. Emily takes up a lot of pages falling in love with stereotypical sensitive-musician-type Isaac, who is as intensely boring as she is. Hanna decides to be best-friends with her three worst enemies, which is hard to care about if you’re not 10 years old and an idiot. Aria’s family bond with her mum’s new boyfriend over their mutual hatred of all Icelandic people, who are apparently weird. Hanna continues to drop her boyfriend every time she has any friends and then expect him to pick up the pieces when she falls out with them. Ian suddenly appears and tells Spencer that there’s something very important she doesn’t know related to Alison’s death, but he can’t tell her what it is yet because it’s not near enough to the end of this cycle. Mike continues to harass Emily for being a lesbian. Spencer jumps onto the prophetic dream bandwagon, seeing a vision of an older and a younger Alison (aged 13 and 12 respectively) arguing with each other over Ian. Luckily she can tell the difference because she is able to match any outfit of Alison’s with the time and date she wore it anywhere up to 4½ years ago. As can all of Alison ‘s other friends. Obviously. It increasingly seems that I am supposed to believe that Alison is literally haunting people’s dreams whenever the plot is getting a bit thin, although why she can’t find anything better to do as a ghost than offer the vaguest of useless clues and bicker with herself over boys I’m not sure. Alison’s family appear now-and-again and we are informed that they are behaving weirdly, although nothing in the writing indicates this. After endless running away crying and making a scene in public places Emily finally tells her new boyfriend that she used to go out with a girl, and he graciously “accepts” this, which is exactly as you would expect from the smug type of Christian he represents.

The trial is eventually reached, but unfortunately doesn’t get very far as it turns out that Ian has escaped the Rosewood police, who are on typically effective form, and disappeared. In response the police amp up the security on the girls, although for some reason this personalised security only applies when they’re at a party. Spencer fails to tell the police that she has seen Ian, basically because she can’t be bothered. Everyone continues to drone on incessantly about the flag-hunt thing from 4½ years ago, which they have suddenly simultaneously decided is massively relevant. The magical website which Spencer joined automatically finds her a potential birth mother by using only Spencer’s name and address, which seems a touch unlikely. Hanna continues to be more stupid that a normal human mind can comprehend. Spencer joins in by deciding to dig up the bin-bad they buried at the beginning of the book because she thinks Alison told her to do so in a dream. Inside it she finds a sketch Aria drew of Alison and Ian 4 years ago, and uses it as actual concrete evidence of their feelings and emotions at that time. The only actual clue she finds is yet another hint about the flag-hunt thing, which I very much do not care about. Meanwhile, in yet another example of Rosewood’s excellent parenting, Hanna’s father punishes her for bullying her step-sister by decreeing that they can now only attend social events if they are together. Which I’m sure will resolve matters. Then for some reason the girls all end up running about in the dark outside, exactly like they were told not to, in danger from ‘A’. As usual none of them die, but since something dramatic has to occur to conclude the book Ian is found dead. Which is entirely his own fault for telling someone that he had a big secret, but refusing to disclose it, since according to the rules of badly-written drama that’s exactly the same thing as signing your own death warrant.


Worst Item of Interior Décor

“A large, wrought-iron statue of the Eiffel Tower”

Mentioned six times. No idea why. Hopefully it will be an “amusing” murder weapon in the next book.

Stupidest Names
Savannah
Wolfgang (Admittedly an alias, but still…)
Xavier Reeves
Smithson Pierpont Hastings
Alexandra Pratt
Sienna Morgan
Briony Kogan
Jackson Hughes
Hester Pembroke
Binky Byers
Olivia Zeigler

Laziest Mistake
“Aria shrugged. As seventies rock went, she was more of a Velvet Underground girl.”

Really? Because 3 books ago she couldn’t remember which “old album” had a picture of a banana on the cover. So I guess she’s not that big a fan.

Stupidest Review of a Band
The Rolling Stones – disliked by Aria because “MickJagger was thinner than she was, and Keith Richards was downright terrifying.” Not sure why singer thinness is an issue, and “downright terrifying” seems ever so slightly over the top. No mention of their music, so I’m going to assume that Aria has never actually listened to any, as her musical knowledge seems somewhat limited and she is too self-obsessed to notice things that don’t involve her.

Michelangelo Montgomery at Home: A Selection of Statements Made to his Mother and Sister
“I only date girls with money.”

“You know what I think makes women look better? Implants!”

On his sex life : “That’s for me to know and for you to obsess about.”

“We’re getting a prime seat at Steam so we can check out Hanna Marin and her hot stepsister.…You talk to Hanna sometimes—do you know if they sleep in the same bed?”

“You know, she’s pretty sexy for a blind chick. I’d do her.”


Most Over-Competitive Attitude
“Every December, Rosewood Day Elementary held a schoolwide snowflake-making contest, and the winning designs were displayed in the elementary and high schools all winter. Spencer used to feel so devastated when her classroom lost—the judges announced the winner right before winter break, so it kind of ruined Christmas.”


Rosewood Day’s competition-mania is certainly breeding some healthy young people. Honestly, I’m not even what criteria you would use to judge a snowflake.

Least Interesting or Informative Character Detail
“Fake peach, Hanna decided, was her least favorite scent in the whole world.”


Most Painful “Lesbian-Specific” Christmas Presents
A poster of a female athlete in a bikini, to replace the previous male athlete in speedos picture; a box-set of “The L-Word” and from Emily’s father a box of jasmine tea because “he’d read on the Internet that “uh, ladies like you” preferred tea to
Coffee.”
How ignorant are these people? And has Emily’s father seriously been googling “What do lesbians like?”, and come up with jasmine tea?

Most Ridiculously Childish and Emo “Falling in Love” Moment
Emily instantly realized the band was covering her favorite Avril Lavigne song, “Nobody’s Home.” She’d listened to it over and over … feeling like she was the confused, empty girl Avril was singing about.


Oddest Character Extrapolation Based on a Name
“The guy’s name was Wolfgang, for God’s sake. What if he spoke in rhymes? What if he was the guy who impersonated Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for the Hollis Conservatory’s Great Composers of History festival? What if he showed up in a doublet and hose and a powdered wig?”

I admit that Wolfgang is indeed a worrying name, but none of these theories seems terribly likely, does it?


Most Unfortunate Common Characteristic on which to Base a Relationship
“They’d compared favorite books and TV shows and discovered they both liked M. Night Shyamalan movies, even though he was terrible at dialogue.”

He’s also terrible at movies.

Least Appropriate Comment in Front of Your Father
“I hate honeydew,” she said primly. “It tastes like sperm.”


Most Unusual Example of School Discipline
“Because she’d plagiarized an econ paper, Rosewood Day had mandated that if she didn’t get an A this semester, she would be removed from the class permanently.”

So plagiarism is okay if you’re clever enough to have not needed to do it? And being removed from a class you have trouble with is a punishment? I don’t understand.

Oddest Misunderstanding of Sexuality #1
“Emily hadn’t even been offended, and that worried her too—if gay jokes no longer bothered her, did that mean she wasn’t gay?”

No. Why would the gender of the people you are sexually attracted to be inexorably linked to your tolerance of jokes/harassment? Also, why is Emily so stupid?

Oddest Misunderstanding of Sexuality #2
“ “So, does this mean you’re…bi? Or what?”
“I don’t know what I am,” Emily answered quietly. …Maybe I just like…people. Maybe it’s the person, not necessarily their gender.” “

So bi then. Like he said. What exactly does Emily think bisexuality means, if not exactly what she just specified?


Once again, the majority of this book was just rephrasing of previous scenes from the series, with occasional new nonsense sprinkled in. Surely there has to be some significant new plot development in the next book to keep this series dragging on?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Tylah Marie.
173 reviews16 followers
February 5, 2018
Like always.. this series is always entertaining and you never find yourself feeling bored. Although this is only the 5th book in the series I've read - I did feel like something was missing. Suspense, maybe. The story never felt dull but I did feel like the heart of the story got a little bit lost.

Can't wait to read the next book! :)
Profile Image for Kate.
373 reviews
September 27, 2015
Wicked by Sara Shepard
Actual Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

This isn't 5 stars, because I'm still waiting for that PLL book that just blows me away... I do believe it's coming!! hahaha

I loved this instalment in the absolutely addicting PLL series!
This book was full of creepiness, intense moments, friendships, and not so much 'friend'ships...

I loved getting to see more of Kate she has a great name and Hanna's relationship, it was so interesting.
The matter going down with Aria and Xavier was also really interesting, can't wait to see how that goes down in the books to come!
I feel like this book didn't have much of Emily in it, which I enjoyed, because i think she's my least fav character, although the parts she was in, I did still enjoy.
Spencer was great, as usual, although I think this book focused a lot more on Hanna than anyone, which I also loved, because Hanna is so complex and fun to read about.

I predicted the ending...because of the TV-show, even though it didn't exactly happen the same way, haha
I also loved the chapter where Hanna was running on the trail, such a picturesque scene.

I completely love this addicting series, and I just love Sara Shepard's writing so much, she definitely knows how to write a thrilling and nail biting novel!
Can't wait to keep reading!!! Onto number 6 now? I think, yes.

Order of my fav to least fave PLL books so far:
1. Wicked
2. Pretty Little Liars
3. Unbelievable
4. Flawless
5. Perfect

P.S- I really recommend reading these books in exam season, they're a great relief when you need it, and don't require a lot of thought! :) xx

Happy reading, guys
Profile Image for Meg.
13 reviews1 follower
February 22, 2009
ok, so i LOVE these book, as soon as i finish one, i automatically HAVE to know what comes next. it's such an obsession, like, i cannot stop thinking about the next book until i have it, so, of course i was very upset once i finally finished this one. i can't find ANY info about the next one! :( this one really leads into a sequel, there are so many new and interesting twists! like, i SO did not expect ian to get killed! and i am insanely curious of who A could possibly be! i also am DYING to know what happens with emily and her new boyfriend. he sounds like a nice fellow and i'm glad he didn't mind that she's bi, but something is bound to go wrong.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jennifer Wardrip.
Author 5 books518 followers
January 6, 2009
Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

Ian Thomas is in jail awaiting trial and the girls are able to relax and return to their lives. Or can they??? Just when the reader thought that the mystery of A has been solved at the end of UNBELIEVABLE, more bizarre events await the girls of Rosewood.

Hanna, Spencer, Emily, and Aria slowly try to settle back into their normal lives. Hanna is working through the trauma of learning that her best friend tried to kill her. She tries to live with her soon-to-be step-sister, Kate, and build up new friendships at school. Spencer is dealing with the cold shoulder she is receiving from her family. And through her grandmother's will, Spencer has just learned that she might be adopted. Aria has ventured to an art exhibit on her own, only to learn that the guy she was maybe flirting with was the artist himself. And finally Emily has met a boy. A boy that sends tingles through her.

The four girls still meet to discuss their grief and pull themselves together for the trial that is about to begin. But when Ian is released on bail to attend to his dying mother, the mysterious text messages start again.

Each girl receives messages that are more haunting than the ones before Ian was arrested. Now, the sender seems to be stalking them. The messages are sent at the most inopportune times, and some even come with photos attached; photos that were taken mere moments before the text arrived.

As the trial looms nearer, the girls are again thrust together trying to piece together the life that was Alison DiLaurentis. In WICKED, the reader gets a glimpse of the past and how the five girls initially became friends. The story hints at the Time Capsule and the flag pieces that bring the girls together.

In WICKED, Ms. Shepard brings the reader even deeper into the intrigue that is Rosewood. Told in alternating voices by each of the girls, the pieces of the puzzle slowly start to come together.

The wonderful thing about the PRETTY LITTLE LIARS series is that Ms. Shepard is able to lead the reader down one path, only to leave the ending wide open and wandering off in a different direction. With the shocking ending of WICKED, the reader will be waiting anxiously for the next installment, KILLER, due out in June 2009.

Profile Image for rachel, x.
1,795 reviews937 followers
May 19, 2022
#1) Pretty Little Liars ★★★☆☆
#2) Flawless ★★☆☆☆
#3) Perfect ★★★☆☆
#4) Unbelievable ★★★☆☆


3.5 stars - spoilers for the previous books in this series.

This series has always created mixed feelings for me, and rightly so. It's a thriller but at the same time, it's loved for its entertainment value which is really its best feature. I never know what to expect going into these books: something simply amusing or something with a bit more chill factor? Wicked was the first book that I can happily say managed to create a perfect blend of those two elements.

The book started off a little slow and with an almost hesitant tone. I understood that the readers were heading into uncharted territories and the author had to carefully set everything up for the new disasters about to fall on the girls without hinting at anything too much. (As we thought that everything was practically over!).

While the plotline lacked the action of some of the previous books, it made up for it with an incredible level of suspense and general eeriness. I loved the final third and have to say that while it wasn't "scary", it definitely gave me goosebumps and flip the pages with anticipation. I also enjoyed most of the subplots for once; though they were a little repetitive and some were simply rehashes of the last book's "secrets".

I was a little dissatisfied with the lack of character development though, especially concerning Hanna and Emily. I find them both irritating and I am always tempted to skim their sections. I didn't like the way Hanna treated Lucas and the lack of exploration into her grief frustrated me. There was a great opportunity there for some tremendous character development and I was saddened that wasn't tapped. Emily's excessive giggling and crying bothered me, like always. Spencer and Aria remained consistent though, and I still adored reading about them both.

Overall> Not much happened in this sequel but the suspense factor worked wonders. I'm eager to pick up Killer as soon as I can.

Trigger warnings for .

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Profile Image for Stephanie.
615 reviews39 followers
February 20, 2016
This series is so good. The books get better every time. Stay tuned for reviews :)
Profile Image for Jenn.
2,050 reviews328 followers
November 19, 2018
Ok, so everything we've read in the first 4 books has been alive and what we thought we knew is all wrong. Ali's killer is still out there. A is not who everyone thought it was. And Emily isn't gay - kinda...maybe?

Welcome to Rosewood where everything is a lie.

Sigh. These girls man. Honestly, they bring all of it on themselves. Also, is there any other memory of Ali these girls have? For being such good friends, these books only seem to talk about the sleepover where she disappeared and this stupid find the flag game at their school. And we get this stupid game description every single book, multiple times from multiple POV's and for multiple pages. NO ONE CARES ANYMORE. Again, why were these girls friends with this horrible child?

Anyway, the girls.

Spencer: dealing with the fall out of having cheated on her English paper and also the bombshell that she may be adopted. Her parents, instead of talking to her about this recent revelation, just choose to ignore her. Solid parenting right there. Melissa is still a conniving brat of a sister - so not much has changed there. And Spencer still makes stupid decisions when it comes to Ian.

Aria: Umm goes from living with dad to living with mom to living with dad again. Also the author seems to think it's okay for 16 year old girls to have relationships with men in their 30's because once again, Aria is after an older man - until she realizes he's dating her mom. But then when he assaults her she doesn't tell her mom what a skeeze this guy is but just leaves so that everyone can be happy. Sigh...

Emily: The most useless character of this series. Still whiny, still in love with Ali. And also, now not so gay. Even has a boyfriend

Hanna: Still a bitch who only cares about being popular. Had a boyfriend who treated her like the world, but oh no, he's a dork so I must dump him to remain cool with these people that I honestly hate. Grow up Hanna.

Honestly, I think that's my main issue. There is still no character growth in any of the girls and we are through 5 books. And they're still not friends so everything is still very disjointed. Maybe I should have skipped these and just stuck with the TV show.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Elisa ♡.
702 reviews1 follower
December 5, 2021
so freaking boring!

the girls are finally free from A, but now they have to deal with the repercussions from the previous book.
A barely appears which makes this book feel like a filler.
also, Hannah is so ANNOYING! all she cares is about being popular, and for me, that's just stupid.
Profile Image for Em.
69 reviews20 followers
February 26, 2023
i love these books dearly but they are quite honestly not great lmao
5 reviews
Read
August 12, 2010
okay... im just going to go over what's happened so far, so MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!


okay, here goes-
1.mona was a. i mean, no offense to her, but hannah has really got to start picking a better bff. its like, come on, how can you NOT know that your best friend hated you. the bad thing is, now hannah is convinced that everyone is part of this big A conspiracy.
2.aria, aria, aria. flirting with a weirdo that turns out to be your moms boyfriend? and then kissing him repeatedly!? that girl has some problems
3.well, spencer finally told the truth about the golden orchid. the bad news is, now everyone hates her- her teachers, her parents, her dead grandma (though that's another story)
4. i think that things are the best for emily. most people have forgiven her for being gay, she gets a great new boyfriend, and she is finally starting to move on
5. this one is strange. did ian actually kill ali? i dont think so. he's essentially a nice guy(besides being a weirdo that likes a girl in 6th grade. i mean, come on! ali was younger than me when she started flirting with a high schooler. and ian was totally in love with her- the picture in the garbage bag is proof.
6. here's another intriguing character in this story: kate. whats up with her? in flawless, she totally backstabbed hannah, taking her trust, and shoving the drugs under the adults' noses. and if she wasn't going to share hannah's binging problem, than what was that sinister phone call about? sure, she said she was practicing for hamlet, but as far as i know, ophelia never says, "(cackle) it'll work. i promise. trust me. and it's almost time- i cant wait! (snicker)" something fishy is going on there.
7. another time i dont understand the PLLs is this- why, oh why, is spencer dating andrew. hes been a total jerk to her before, so what changed her mind? who knows.
8. and lastly, the conclusion. things arent looking good for the PLLs. spencer might be adopted, aria's mommy's boyfriend keeps groping her, and hannah's daddy hates her, since she told everyone that kate had herpes.emily's fine, but something bad will undoubtedly happen to her too. oh yeah, and there's the minor problem of the girls finding ian's dead body in the woods. what'll happen next? i know. but you dont ;) as A would say,
Mwah!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
158 reviews2 followers
January 1, 2009
The addicting thing about this series is the mystery and unpredictability of it all! Who is the mysterious A? It wasn't Alison, but now Mona owned up to being A-but she fell off a cliff. Is it Ian? Is it Kate? Is it Jason?
This series is so painful sometimes to read, the way Spencer and Hanna get treated by their families. Hanna's dad and stepmom don't listen to Hanna at all. The golden child is Hanna's stepsister Kate, who is so evil that if she was my step sister I would have thrown my cleats at her. She pretends to befriend Hanna, and when Hanna tries to frame her the innocent act works for the parents and Hanna gets punished and Kate doesn't. Spencer's parents don't really care about her. They care about her harming their reputation, and even though she tries so hard to be perfect they don't say any praise at all. And they're always busy lauding Spencer's sister, Melissa.
Aria's mom has a sleazy new boyfriend, who is an artist. And Emily is too busy keeping her past escapades from this guy she met and really likes to do much else.
It's part murder mystery, part horror, part gossip girl TV show, and I just can't wait for the next one!
Profile Image for Abby.
48 reviews13 followers
May 4, 2011
Life is bustling in Rosewood, PA: there is a murderer on the loose; nasty girls snap at each other's throats; grown men make illegal romantic passes at teenage girls; under aged drinking goes unchecked... and just who is this mysterious A sending threatening messages to four former best friends?

Yup, that's right, it's Pretty Little Liars. Care to guess which installment this little snippet is about? I'll give you eight guesses!

While reading Wicked, I felt like I was stuck some sort of weird worm-hole, as if Wicked is restarting the series from book one and starting all over again. This tired story line is getting old, and while Shepard does an adequate job keeping readers in suspense, the overall plot is BORING. The series should have honestly ended after the fourth book, and the only reason why Shepard got away with another four books is because she was clever enough to twist Wicked into recreating the series with a semi-different outcome (which, in reality, is just different characters to blame-- the outcome is the same inevitably).

The Good News: Wicked was a very fast-paced read (since I could skip maybe 30 pages total of Shepard repeating herself for the 20th time in the whole series; or pages of nonsense details about fashion designer accessories) and I quickly move on to another book toward my reading challenge.

The Bad News: The characters are still hate-able; the girls are entitled, whiney brats and the parents are even worse; either immature and nonplussed (Ella) or completely insane and borderline abusive (Spencer's parents). I don't think Shepard has a grasp of human behavior. The plot is stretched and ridiculous. And if I have to read the words "Gucci", "Paris," or "Marc Jacobs" one more time, I'll scream.

The Worse News: I can't just drop a plot mid-series. Damn you, Shepard and your evil scheme to drag this series on and on! I guess I better stock up on some throat-drops.
Profile Image for fer bañuelos.
899 reviews3,816 followers
December 12, 2025
Segunda lectura: 12/12/25

*3*

La neta este si es de los que menos me gustan. No sucede mucho. Aria sigue siendo un pain in the ass, Hanna especificamente se pasa de tonta, Emily no hace NADA DIOS MIO y Spencer, bueno, tiene más pedos. En general lo que estaban pasando cada una de las liars en este libro me parece un snooze fest, pero como siempre, es entretenido af. Puntos extra únicamente porque este abre el segundo arco, que es el mejor de toda la serie así es.

Primera lectura: 13/08/15

*3.5*

Este libro no me termino de encantar. Pretty little liars se esta convirtiendo en una de mis sagas favoritas por su trama y por lo adictiva que es. Pero este en especial no cumplió con todo lo que esperaba. Sentí que en mas o menos 3/5 del libro no pasaba absolutamente nada, lo que hizo que me lo leyero un poco mas lento. Fue bastante disfrutable como todos los demás pero no me atrapo como los demás habían echo. Creo que este es el que menos me a gustado de los 5 que he leído hasta ahorita, pero también veo porque. Con este empezamos el segundo arco de trama asi que, obviamente, este iba a ser de introducción para los siguientes. Aún así lo disfrute bastante y continuaré con la saga.
Profile Image for Annabella.
66 reviews10 followers
January 3, 2009
This is the fifth book in the "Pretty Little Liars" series. It was SO good!
The series is about a girl named Ali, who gets murdered. Her four best friends start to get weird text messages from some mysterious person named "A."
In the forth book, "A" is revealed, and killed, but then in this book they start receiving more messages from her, meaning that she wasn't who they thought she was. In the 4th book, they also were sure they knew who killed Ali, but it turns out they were very, very wrong. In this book, Ali's real murderer ends up killing the person they thought killed her in the first place. So now both mysteries are unsolved!
I can't wait for the sixth book! I am so excited to find out what happens next.
You have to read all the other books before you read this one, though, or else it won't make any sense!
This is the best series in the world, except for maybe Twilight!
Sorry if this was review was a little confusing, you kind of have to read the series to understand everything!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Saumya.
73 reviews
May 20, 2022
This book was slow at first, literally like the first book all over again, but of course, as always, by the end of the book, I was hooked. I can't believe Sara Shepard killed Ian though! I knew he didn't kill Alison!!! I'd felt it! Poor guy...
Whoever this person doing this is, curse them!!! But I guess I'll have to read to find that out.
I hated Hanna in this book. Like, just why?! Okay, fine, Kate is still suspicious, but still, no, how could Hanna do that?! And I love Lucas sooooo much! He's sooooo sweet! Gosh, WHY HANNA!!!
I also really love Andrew and Spencer. I had always shipped Spencer with Andrew and I'm so glad it finally happened!
I feel sorry for Aria, like, she's trying. Stupid Xavier needs. to. stop!
Anyways, Imma go read the next book!
Recommended to everyone!!! (only 12+ though)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for emily !!.
145 reviews
February 14, 2024
a bit less same old same old…
glad there’s another murder mystery aspect again.
i also like how hannah’s problems this book weren’t the cruelest ever (istg every book before this could not go a without degrading her appearance.)

Profile Image for Maud.
771 reviews191 followers
June 20, 2017
This book is clearly setting things up for this second arc. It is not as tense or exciting as some of the previous books though that ending definitely made things interesting!
Profile Image for Vanessa.
378 reviews10 followers
June 27, 2012
The big problem is that this book has the same plot as the rest of the books in this series. It really feels like all of the girls are repeating the same mistakes that they made before. The entire book feels like filler. Not a whole lot happens in this book. Structurally, this book is very similar to the previous book. It really emphasizes the feeling that this series has told this same story before. When the same things happen to characters over and over again, it just isn't trashy fun anymore.

There are still some aspects of the story that I liked much more than the previous book, earning this two stars. Unlike the previous book, we did not start this book with a lot of exciting plot developments, only for them to be ignored. At the end of the previous book, it looked like Hanna should have an interesting story for this book. While I did not love it, Hanna's chapters in this book at least continued with what Shepard set up in the previous book.

If you are very concerned about spoilers, you might want to skip this part, though everything I mention occurs at least a little past the half-way point of the novel. All these books have problematic elements, but the one that is standing out to me the most is what these books seem to be saying about young women having relationships with older men. The book seems to be implying that Ali instigated a relationship with Ian, who is sometimes painted as completely innocent in the situation. Again, Aria's story centers around her relationship with an older man. This case seems to subvert the usual message of the series, but it did not work for me. It feels more like the message has just changed to statutory rape is fine, as long as the guy isn't in his thirties, because it's creepy then.
Profile Image for M.
60 reviews
July 6, 2009
Ugh, these books are like my favorite flavor of ice cream. So delicious but very bad for me. I always wait in anticipation for each book to come out even though I know I'll just be left unsatisfied again! And it drives me crazy to the point that I just want the series to end so that I can find out all the secrets and be done with. Although I have to give points to Sara Shepard and Alloy Entertainment for keeping readers like me on a hook.

Anyways, this is the fifth book in the Pretty Little Liars series. If you haven't read the others in order then I strongly suggest you to put this one down and pick those up. In fact, I command you to do so. You'll just ruin it for yourself by reading them out of order.

These books will particularly interest teen girls. It's like a Gossip Girl murder story, but so much better at the same time. They're not a a great piece of literature or anything, but you will be ashamed to admit that you love them.
Profile Image for alicia.
90 reviews5 followers
January 14, 2025
Rosewood? More like predatorwood. Seriously why is every single guy a freaking perv. It’s so weird

And don’t get me started on the parents

So imagine your daughter having a “relationship” with her teacher you know about it and the only thing you say to her is “did you get over him” like hihi haha, as if they’re discussing some silly crush.

Your daughter was groomed miss and that is your reaction.

Secondly spencer’s parents are freaking insane it seems like they really don’t give a shit but idk like there is a twist coming there so that needs to unfold first before I judge, but still she is a teen who needs love and you give her the cold shoulder.

I also noticed that the liars are meaner and bitchier than in the series. In the series they made the liars look like pure victims

But they do some weird as shit bro
Profile Image for Briar's Reviews.
2,298 reviews578 followers
September 9, 2020
Wicked was a fantastic novel by Sara Shepard that has me anxious for the next novel in this series!

If anything, this book felt to short. It was the same length as all the other novels, but it seemed to move to fast and not give enough information as to what was going to happen. I'm slightly lost as to where the plot will go, but I am definitely interested and hooked! Sara Shepard does an amazing job at making this book an addicting thriller!

Following these girls is also very interesting as we see them grow in each novel, and face more dramatic situations that are realistic.

Five out of five stars, due to the level of addiction Sara Shepard puts into these novels.
Profile Image for Josu Diamond.
Author 9 books33.3k followers
February 5, 2014
Quizá sea el libro que más rápido y con menos esfuerzo haya leído. Si no hubiera sido en época de exámenes, me habría durado apenas unas horas. Me encanta que Sara Shepard haya ahondado en las personalidades y problemas internos de cada protagonista y aunque no ocurran hecho reveladores (que los hay, pero no tan a menudo como en otros libros de la saga) te mantiene enganchado. En especial, Hanna me ha gustado bastante y Emily y Spencer son personajes que tienen un buen desarrollo, especialmente Spencer. Sara ha montado una gran historia que puede dar mucho juego.
Profile Image for Katie T.
1,316 reviews261 followers
May 19, 2023
All the girls are such shits in this.
Profile Image for Autumn.
474 reviews39 followers
September 21, 2017
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I was not crazy about this book. I felt that nothing actually happened and it built up to basically the last chapter. The end of the last chapter. It also seemed to have PLL TV dream logic and make little sense. Hanna seems like a terrible person in the book, and she is my favorite liar. I just do not know about continuing the book series. I am sure I will... eventually... but I am not jumping to it right now. It was okay, but nothing to write home about.
Profile Image for cass.
144 reviews3 followers
September 18, 2022
It’s so bad I want to give you a zero. But that’s not possible. So I give you, a one.

this book had absolutely nothing going for it not even spencer hasting’s wonderful presence could save a book where absolutely nothing happens except for when you had emily and her family finally accept herself and then proceed to date a man in the SAME chapter.
Profile Image for Kelly.
280 reviews3 followers
June 17, 2018
yaaaaa que alguien me diga el final de esto 😐
Profile Image for Renée.
574 reviews
May 30, 2024
Somehow these girls’ wild stories continue to be interesting. As always, the 00s nostalgia is a big part of why I love these books. But the mystery is really good too.
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