Pretty Wanted

Pretty Crooked #3

by Elisa Ludwig

Willa’s string of good-hearted but ill-conceived thefts at her former high school catapulted her into a life she hardly knows. She became a cult hero, but soon afterward, her mom disappeared, leaving only a cryptic message. When Willa hit the California highway to find her, she discovered a dark family secret: Joanne Fox is not who she says she is-and neither is Willa. Now, Willa and fellow trouble-maker Aidan must race to St. Louis, Missouri, Willa’s birthplace. There, they hope to find answers about Willa’s past. But uncovering the truth requires solving a decades-old murder case.

Unfortunately, the perps are still out there . . . and willing to do whatever it takes to keep the case cold. With Willa’s face on the nightly news and the police hot on her trail, it might not matter that Aidan and her friend Tre are there to help. Willa’s only hope is to find the truth before it finds her first.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Mystery, Crime, Adventure, Fiction

336 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 17, 2015

About the author

I'm the author of the PRETTY CROOKED trilogy (HarperCollins) and COIN HEIST (Adaptive), now a Netflix Original film starring Sasha Pieterse. My story "About You Now" is featured in the forthcoming anthology BEHIND THE SONG (Sourcebooks). Visit me at elisaludwig.com, @ElisaLudwigYA and www.facebook.com/ElisaLudwigYA.

Reviews

[Colette · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, this series is over, and not on the best note. After reading the first two books, I felt invested in the characters' lives, but then Willa's ending didn't satisfy me. I won't go into spoiler details, but I will say that Willa and Tre need more closure. Overall 2/5 stars; I was glad to see Leslie have her happy ending.

[Paula Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

One thing that I often dislike as a reader, is when you get hooked on a series and then it finishes, you know it has to finish but it's sad at the same time as you have to say Goodbye to those characters forever, unless you are a re-reader which sadly I am not. Reading the last book in the Pretty Crooked series, made me remember back when I picked up the first book on Amazon as it sounded like a fun read and readers, it has definitely been a heck of a ride with this series as in Book #1 it started off with Willa just being a modern day Robin Hood until the end of the book which saw her "mother" talking to an FBI agent. In Book #2 readers were given a big twist when it turned out that Willa's mum was in fact her older sister, her mother had been murdered when she was a baby and Willa Fox isn't even her real name , not to mention that this set Willa along with best friends Adrian , Tre and Cherise on a wild goose chase filled with Criminals and FBI all across the states and in Book #3 this continues as Willa tries to get to the bottom of her mother's murder, who killed her and why also what it has to do with her older sister and the guys after her . I have really enjoyed this series and if you are wanting something that is sort of a cross between Heist Society meets Robin Hood in the contemporary world, then check out the Pretty Crooked series by Elisa Ludwig.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)

This was a really good end to the series, and in my opinion the best book in the trilogy.

I liked Willa in this, she still made some silly decisions, but she seemed a little more mature, and thought about things a bit more rather than acting quite so impulsively. I think Aidan helped with this a bit though, as he seemed a little more sensible in this book too.

The storyline in this was pretty good, and I liked that we got a bit of action! I liked the mystery element, and I liked how it wasn’t easy to find out what had really happened to Willa’s mother.
There was a touch of romance, but not a lot, although the story didn’t suffer for that.

The ending was good and I was really pleased that things worked out for Willa, and that she finally had all the answers she needed. I really did like this book most out of the three, and I’m pleased that I continued with this series.
Overall; good end to the series,
7 out of 10.

[Nicole]

Find more reviews at

Pretty Bad. 


I thought I would love this one--I really did. As a fan of Pretty Crooked and Pretty Sly, I was ready to devour and fall in love with the last installment in this series. And, unfortunately, that just never happened.

Right from the beginning, there were small things that started to annoy me. Willa's character, Aidan, their attitudes, and even the writing. There didn't seem to be anything major--just a few bad word choices here, a stupid action there, and a couple of idiotic remarks everywhere else. I was willing to move on. But the small things just kept building up until I had no idea why I'd loved the first two books in the series. They hadn't been like this one, had they?

Willa just...wasn't a fantastic character. Throughout the entire story, she hated being "Sly Fox" which is completely understandable--it's just that she complained about it all the time. She would say that she hated the publicity because then her mother's murderers would know where to find her. Again, understandable. Except for this: she doesn't really care about her mother's murder. The entire plot seems to be Willa just trying to figure out who her mother was and completely ignoring the fact that two murderers were after her. Two murderers that rarely made an appearance until the last third of the book, despite Willa's face being plastered all over the country. You'd think a famous teenager would be easier to track down especially with a senator on your side. Any mystery-solving that actually happened seemed to happen by accident, and it wasn't even really Willa who solved things. I did DNF things, but I DNF'd them around page 250 so I read a good chunk of it and in those 250 pages, there was a code. A very easy, ridiculously simple code that Willa didn't even realize was a code.
And then, when it came to her mom, Willa was just...stupid. She made all these wild excuses for her mother that made absolutely no sense. She was so headstrong and stubborn about it too--I kind of wanted to slap her. I get it, I get it. She wants her mother to be this perfect angel. But in the face of so much evidence piling up against her, how the hell did she manage to maintain that delusion for so much of the book?

Then we had Aidan who, to be honest, just seemed to act like a random hang-on character. I didn't feel like he actually did much except to stir up trouble and honestly? His drama was completely random and didn't really have a purpose for the plot except to stir up more drama. Ugh.

The writing itself was...less than pleasant. There were things about it that seemed a bit juvenile. There were random little details added here and there that added absolutely nothing to the book. They were just...there and completely irrelevant to the story, character building, or plot. I know it's not a big deal, but the more sentences I found that had no use, the more I got annoyed.

I have no idea what happened with this book when I loved the previous books--did my reading tastes just change? Was I in a slump? Was it just not as great as the others? I have no clue. Definitely wished I'd loved it more though.

 

[Amphitrite · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked: I love being able to read an entire series in one go, because if one ends in a cliffhanger then I can immediately pick up the next one and continue on without having to wait sometimes a few years for the next book (I'm looking at you, Shadow Scale. I have wait for you since I read Seraphina three years ago) but at the same time, It's always a little nostalgic in a sense if I get attached to the characters. And funnily enough, I got attached to Aiden and Willa through their crazy adventure that started in Pretty Sly and continued into this one. I knew I liked Willa in the first book because I understood her motives and why she did what she did and cheered for her during her improvised escape at the end of Pretty Crooked. But along the way, I found that Aiden and Willa are characters who seem realistic in a sense and their story has been a fun one. I'm a little sad it has to end! That being said, this book took me on yet another while ride with the characters and everything they had to go through to try and solve a murder case a decade and a half in the dust. Willa would stop at nothing to try and solve it and Aiden was always there to help her in whatever way he could. Of course, he mucked things up a little a few times himself but besides that he made a great person to have by her side to help her. The plot was intense and kept me wanting to know what we were going to learn next about Willa's mom and the real reason why they had to flee St. Louis when she was a baby.

What I didn't like: I know it was put in the book as a sort of prologue but I think it would have been better if Willa and Aiden's escape from the casino had been, at the very least, summarized instead of just skipping from being spotted (again) to having already escaped, it felt really anti-clamatic and jarring to have the rush of anticipation of reading them escape suddenly be deflated because it was skipped over.

Overall Review: A bit more suspenseful to me than the first two books and still just as exciting I'm sad to let these characters go now but I love that I got to read these books. Willa was, while at times a very unreliable narrator, she was a fun one and I really liked watching her story unfold and see how everything came to an end for her. I really loved this series and I can't wait to revisit it again some day!

Recommend?: If you liked the first two then I definitely think you should pick up the third one!

[Jeff]

Man, I didn't love the first two books in this series, but revisiting it for the third really shows how this series kind of slowed into a mishmash of overly familiar plotting and the tire Bonnie and Clyde thing. Given the struggles with the first two I had, throwing in the towel on book 3 made sense for me even if Elisa Ludwig is forging her own interesting path in the greater YA genre.

[Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

2025

2022
3.5 stars

2018

[kareulla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally finished this series. It was OK. There were some exciting moments, also dull moments. But overall, it was an OK book.

[Cassie Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why do 90% of the characters in these books seem to be morally corrupt?
Also, Aidan is an asshole.

[Kayla · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really hated this Book

[Veli Girl · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story was a bit boring. Recommended for high schoolers

[Bibliojunkies · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I had any worries about being able to catch up with Willa and company in book three, they were quickly erased within the first few pages. Ludwig does a nice job of bringing the reader up to speed on Willa’s exploits – they’re heading to St. Louis to put the final pieces of the puzzle regarding her mother. Aidan, that trusty mischief-maker is with her as they dodge the authorities and make due with what little cash and resources they have. I can’t believe they’re still at it but Willa’s a stubborn young woman who’s nothing but determined to get to the bottom of all her family troubles.

The story still has plenty of energy with these two on the lam and now Willa and Aidan must put their minds together to solve the latest mystery which means drudging up details from a painful past. It’s a lot that can confuse Willa and there were a few times when she didn’t make the best decision. Still you can hardly blame a fifteen year-old who’s desperate to get at the truth. She and Aidan make more headway than any of the local or federal authorities have in all these years. The problem is that Willa has to accept some unpleasant facts about her family history. And when she’s not thinking straight, she could land herself in a spot of trouble.

It seems that being on the run and in the public eye has cured Willa of any of the adrenaline rush she initially experienced when her sensational Sly Fox persona first began. Now she wants nothing more than to just be normal and not in the middle of whatever mess she’s in. That longing isn’t enough though to change her mind about the direction she’s headed in. Her only guilt is that she has involved Aidan and her best friends Tre and Cherise in her problems.

There were a few moments where I wished Willa would think more clearly but like I said earlier, you can’t hold that against her. This has been a fun, clever series. Each book delivered a different adventure, all of them related. But I never would have predicted that what started out as a way to level the playing field between the haves and have-nots in Pretty Crooked and progressed in Pretty Sly, would ever lead to events by the end. And I think this is what I enjoyed most about the series – it kept me guessing. More impressive is that Willa herself had come very far from the person she was before. You'll be surprised by what she decides at the end. If you haven’t tried this series, definitely give it a go!

[Jennifer]

Pretty Wanted picks up where Pretty Sly leaves off, although it’s interesting how each book in the series focuses on it’s own part of the story. Put together they make the whole picture. In Pretty Wanted, Willa and Aidan are still on the run but are now trying to track down information on Willa’s mother. There is no way to avoid spoilers from the first books in this review, I just want to put that out there.

This leg of the series has us put on our crime solving thinking caps on. After Willa discovers that she has actually been raised by her older sister and not her mom, she heads to St. Louis to find out more about her real mom. Only to dive head first into a 15 year old murder case that has gone cold. With the help of Aidan and Tre she puts together pieces of the puzzle, which isn’t exactly the safest idea.

It’s so strange I don’t know if I have ever read a book with characters like this. Ones that I’m not exactly sure how I feel about them all the way through. I like Willa don’t get me wrong but sometimes her noble ideas almost have a selfish tinge to them. Even when she was helping out the girls at school as Sly Fox. She was doing it to make them feel good about themselves but also to get back at the Glitterati. It makes her interesting vigilante, a little on the flawed side. I actually like that about characters.Willa is also caring though and really feels like she needs to put the pieces of her mom’s death together to find some closure.

Aidan is kind of an immature but broken boy. He’s a mixture of bad and good for Willa. He really cares about her and has stuck with her through some sticky situations. He is also using her to escape his own problems as well though. Plus there is some shady business with him. Something about the two of them made me sad even when they were doing sweet or romantic things.

Tre of course is a good friend. He says things how they are and points out when Willa and Aidan are being idiots. Whether he is near or far though he is supportive.

The plot was pretty interesting but I really liked the ending. It was so different and not exactly what I was expecting! It was perfect in that way and a great wrap up to the series. Everything about this book just had a unique feel for me.

[Sarah-Jayne Briggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

(I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review).

(This review may contain spoilers).

I haven’t read the previous two books in this series, but I didn’t find that it detracted from my enjoyment of this book. I was able to pick up the storyline quickly and easily and I was able to understand the motivations of the main characters.

I found Willa a really easy character to get behind. It was nice that I was able to learn more about her past through little snippets and mentions of it throughout the course of the novel.

I could also really understand the goal Willa had to find out what had happened to her real mother. It was good to see how she interacted with Aiden through the book, but I wasn’t too fond of Aiden as a character. I liked him a bit at first, but I felt he didn’t really understand the danger they were in.

I did think it was good to see the way they had to figure out where to sleep at night. And it was good to see how they stayed in the places to sleep in. There were a couple of times when I felt there should have been a bit more security than there actually was… but on the whole, it was good to see how they had to deal with things.

It was good to see that there were fans of Willia’s actions in the previous book/s and I would have liked to learn a bit more about what she’d done in the past. I liked seeing Tre in this, too, although I did feel there was a bit of a love triangle, which I don’t really like… but it was interesting to see Tre and Aiden interact with each other.

I did enjoy reading this book and it was good to see that it was written only in first person. There was enough of a mystery to keep me reading and I did feel that some attempt was made to ‘humanise’ one or two of the bad guys. I’m sure I’d pick up the previous books at some point in the future.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thus ends a series that had so much potential but failed to deliver.
My attempt to finish books extends to series as well, so that's why I continued reading after the first book. Ludwig's idea for a modern Robin Hood did not quite register for me in the first installment, and the plot elaboration in the following two books felt like more of a chore to read than the excitement this genre promises. The books were not bad at all, and I did enjoy certain aspects of Ludwig's writing, but at times she attempted to install too much slang that didn't really work. Spoilers ahead:
In this last installment, Willa has finally caught up to her mother and realized she is her sister, leaving the last book to cover Willa's desire to find information on her real mother. With Aidan loyally helping her every step of the way, Willa still manages to find reasons to hold on to anger against him, failing to thank him for his support. She has people along the way, particularly a person who shows up only to fill the place in an awkwardly-forced love triangle, yet she still fails to convince readers that she deserves the help that lands in her lap. Don't get me wrong, I don't think people should be helped only if they deserve it, but at the conclusion of this final book, I feel that Willa's growth is not only minute, but fairly superficial especially in her dealing with the consequences of her actions. SPOILER: It was especially disappointing how she just let Aidan walk away from her while her suspiciously abrupt feelings for another sprouted up right at the end. It didn't work for me.

[Kendall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book picked up with Aidan and Willa in St. Louis trying to figure out more about Brianna, her mother. In the end Willa finds out that Brianna was part of a group with Chet, Granger, and Bailey that stole money from a bank in order to give it back to the community. After the heist there was a hit-and-run that resulted in a boy being paralyzed. After this Brianna wanted to be done with the group and wanted to come forward, so she moved to another place in St. Louis and changed her name. She was already pregnant though with Willa and Granger was the father. Chet went to go get the money back from Brianna and killed her. When Leslie was on the news because of Willa getting arrested Chet and Granger were worried that the police would trace the stolen money back to them so Chet and Bailey set out to find Leslie. Chet was going to kill Willa because he thought she had the money, but in the end he was arrested and Bailey was killed. Aidan escapes from the FBI and Willa and him realize they are not right for each other. Willa moves to Mexico to be with Leslie, but she is staying in touch with Tre and Cherise.

I really enjoyed this series, and I thought it really kept the reader guessing. I have to say that I absolutely hated Aidan and Willa's relationship. I thought he was so bad to her at many points, but the author clearly wanted the reader to like him. I am so much more of a Tre fan, and I hope they get together. Overall a really fun and enjoyable series.

[Ciara B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Willa Fox is still on the run with Aiden at her side. After life changing revelations about Willa’s past and family, they find themselves in St. Luis investigating her mothers murder. Willa has to take a hard look at who she is, who she wants to be, and what she is doing. She reaches an ultimatum turn herself in and face the consequences or live a life on the run forever? Will the Sly Fox live on?

My Thoughts:

I loved this book, it is the perfect ending to the trilogy. You really got to see Willa grow and become her own person and figure out what she wants to be. She started to think through her choices a bit more even though she still made some poor decisions and was impulsive she was trying to do the right thing. I liked that she took the last book further down the path of mystery forcing you to get completely invested in the suspense. The story never got boring and was thrilling all the way through. I could not put it down. Many stories end unfinished or leaving you wanting more but Elisa wrapped this journey up very well. I was also very happy that we got to see more of Tre in this book he is probably my favorite character in the trilogy and thoroughly entertaining.. Overall I was very happy with the conclusion to Willa’s story.

[Mackenzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this novel through the Goodreads First Reads program for free.

I enjoyed this trilogy at first, Willa Fox was the new girl in a small, rich town (because her artsy, mysterious, youg "mother" had a variety of business ventures that meant she had to move her and Willa all over the country) who was able to attend an extravagant private school. Soon, she realizes that the wealth is spread rather unfairly and decides to help the scholarship kids ala Robin Hood.
The novel was a bit stereotypical, I do admit, and some of Willa's character traits and actions aggravated me since they seemed I be poorly thought out.
The second novel was interesting, a quick read. There were several revelations about Willa's family's past and a few entertaining 'Hey, we're on the run' chapters.
The third novel was the worst.
I liked the plot, I enjoyed the premise, however, like many young adult novels, the mediocre writing aggravated me; if it wasn't a bad choice of words or a rash choice made by a character it was a too convenient issue arising to move the book forward.

[Once · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hands down, in my opinion, Pretty Wanted is the best in the trilogy. The puzzle was complete, things made sense, Willa has grown to mature young adult and did the unexpected. It was a good ending to the series.

We learned in Pretty Sly, Willa’s mother is actually her older sister. She learns her mother has been murdered. Even though she is in trouble with the law, she wants to uncover the truth of her past and takes a journey to reveal the truth. Pretty Wanted is this journey.

I was pleased with the ending. I liked the decision Willa made. She is usually careless. But as she learns more of the truth, this made her wise. She started to act like a mature young lady. What I liked most is she did not stop until everything made sense to her. This girl was on a mission and conquered. Overall, I’m glad I continued the series. If you're looking for a light, fun and adventurous series, you should give Pretty Crooked trilogy a try. - Leydy

[Diane Ferbrache · Rating 3 out of 5]

Willa and Aidan are on the run after a string of thefts that earned Willa the moniker of the “Sly Fox”. This time they aren’t on a crime spree exactly, but are looking for Willa’s mother – or at least the story behind why she was murdered.

A fast paced suspenseful story that’s a great adventure and a thrill to read. I admit that, as an adult, I had issues with how frequently Willa and Aidan “borrowed” cars and houses and food, etc. But when I think like a teenager, I found this book great fun. It’s the finale to a trilogy, but I hadn’t read the first two and still was able to follow along and enjoy the story. Some sexual content and profanity, but nothing overly graphic.

[T.M. Carper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid ending to the trilogy with good pacing and plotting, plus it ties up loose ends from the previous books and solves the mystery of what happened to Willa's mom. Would recommend the trilogy to teens and older who like a little humor with their mystery.

Bonus - it doesn't feel too implausible and there are real consequences for the characters.

[Reeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compared to the first 2 novels, this last novel in the series just wasn't as addicting and gripping as the previous novels. Yet, the novel was very adventurous, but I personally wasn't a big fan of the ending.

[Vicki Chicago-Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this final book in the Pretty Crooked series as much as I did the previous two. This was a very swell-written series, with just enough suspense & twists-and-turns to hold the reader’s interest until the very last page. A very well-done bit of YA fiction that I highly recommend.

[Kim Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great end to a fun trilogy!! Loved these books.

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, this was such an amazing book, different again from the other two, and yeah, we finally find out what Aidan did! That ending, oh! Really great, and I can't wait to read more by Elisa Ludwig!

[Alison James · Rating 2 out of 5]

You know when your not in the mood and you can't get into the book? that's me right now. Didn't even get passed the fort page.

[Kara · Rating 2 out of 5]

See my review here:
https://ekaralibrium.wordpress.com/20...

[Veronica · Rating 3 out of 5]

AIDANNNN