Intrigue

The Good: This was a fun, fluffy series to read and I was pretty pleased with the where the characters ended up. Not everyone grew or changed, but that's what makes the entire situation realistic. Some people are going to end up on the same path they started on. I loved that we get pretty definite answers to the few remaining questions lingering from the earlier books and that we knew where everyone is off to, for the most part, now that high school is over.

The Bad: This book didn't flow nearly as well as the earlier novels in the series. It seemed as though the author got sidetracked cramming in everything readers wanted to know that the book ended up weirdly fast paced. ( )

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

We left Anna Percy at the end of BEAUTIFUL STRANGER deciding if she should be spontaneous and follow Logan onto the plane and fly to Bali the week before she was due to head to freshman orientation at Yale.

Now, Anna has thrown all caution to the wind and has made a mad dash to the airport. With no luggage, and chucking her shoes that weren't equipped for sprints, she runs down the jet-way to board the awaiting plane. Anna is the last passenger to board, and she's not even sure that Logan is on-board the plane. For the last eight months while Anna has been living in California with her father, she has tried to shed the reserved exterior that everyone sees. She came to California in the hopes of reinventing herself and to quit thinking everything through before she acts.

Anna finds her seat and is relieved to find Logan ensconced in first class. He is pleased to see Anna, and the two sit back, ready to enjoy the impulsive flight to Bali. But things soon turn into a nightmare. The captain makes an announcement that the hydraulics for the landing gear have malfunctioned, and they have to return to LA and attempt to land on the belly of the plane. Anna immediately regrets her impulsiveness, knowing that her attempt to be carefree has caused the malfunction. Unable to contact her father, the only person Anna is able to reach is her dear friend, Sam.

Anna and Logan arrive in LA safely amid friends and family, all relieved to see their safe return. But the flight makes Anna start to reevaluate her future plans. Does she really want to spend the next four years locked into Yale? Does she want to try flying to Bali with Logan again in a few days? These are questions that plague Anna over the course of the next week, when her decision must be made.

On the other hand, we have Sam, who has also made an impulsive decision…she has accepted Eduardo's marriage proposal and they are to be wed in one week's time. Sam is an absolute wreck and her friend Dee has come to the rescue. Unknown to everyone, including Dee, Dee has a real knack for coordinating all the wedding plans and helps Sam bring everything together. But Sam is torn. Does she give up her dream of attending USC's infamous film school to follow Eduardo back to Paris?

All of these questions and others concerning Cammie, Dee, Ben, Adam, Jackson Sharpe, Sam's mom, Dina, and others come to a (tentative?) resolution. Ms. Dean seems to tie up everyone's future nicely by the end of the story. The action starts quickly and leaves the reader with a pounding heart, praying Anna and Logan come out safely from their flight. And Ms. Dean leaves the reader guessing up until the end what the wedding will entail. I enjoyed this story more than the last couple and am already eagerly waiting for her new era of A-List teens in HOLLYWOOD ROYALTY, due out in January 2009. ( )

This book was really good. I really enjoyed all the dedails the author used in her writing. From the start of the book to the end of the book, I wasn't able to put it down. It was a real page turner! ( )

This was a good ending to the series and my favorite since the first book, "The A-List." I admit, I'll miss this crowd and their totally unrealistic lives and adventures. ( )