2022 Update: also me, all these years later, totally and wholly ready for the Original Sin reboot here in 2022. Since updated with a couple more picks for books to read if you like Pretty Little Liars.
You ever have those shows that just go on and on and you have a love/hate relationship with them but you keep watching anyways? Pretty Little Liars has been that for me for the past 7 years.
Sometimes it would start to lose me or make me mad but then it would suck me back in somehow. I can’t deny how addicted I have been to that show — no matter what happened.
As I’m writing this it’s a couple hours before the finale of Pretty Little Liars (have no idea if I will finish it in time to post it before it airs) and I’m just SO sad it’s ending even though I think it DOES need to end. It’s the end of an era and that always makes me sad.
It’s always been my favorite twisty teen mystery to watch and scream in misery over as we get one answer for every 50 new questions that pop up. I never did read the books but maybe will someday to see how the diverge but I’ve just always enjoyed having this show to keep me on my toes.
So I figured I would put together a book list for fans of Pretty Little Liars to help us fill the void now that Pretty Little Liars is OVER. WAH.
But the good side to this is…with these books you won’t have to wait 7 years to find out the answers! So that’s a win?
I hope you will leave your own recs of books to fill the void for me in the comments!!
Best Books To Read If You Like Pretty Little Liars
Love the twisty, juicy goodness of Pretty Little Liars and need some good reads similar to Pretty Little Liars to help fill the void?
These YA thrillers will be great books to read if you like Pretty Little Liars! Full of twists and turns and mysteries that will keep you on the edge of your seat. But no commercials — so even better.
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Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
If you’ve followed this blog for a while you know how much I rave about this thriller. I devoured it from page 1. (This has since been repackaged to be called I’ll Never Tell).
It is twisty and suspenseful and you will be addicted in this story about a group of friends having the time of their life on Spring Break until one of the girls ends up brutally murdered in their house and the main character ends up being a suspect and being at the center of a murder trial in a different country.
Little Monsters by Kara Thomas
The new girl in town is accepted by a group of girls very quickly until they start acting distant and leave her out of the biggest party of the year — a party in which one of her new friends doesn’t make it home from.
Burn For Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian
Revenge is so much a part of PLL and the revenge plots of the characters in this novel (and its sequels) will definitely fill the void of all the twisty revenge plots from PLL.
Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-Iyimide
Two students, recently selected to be senior class prefects at their elite school, are targeted via mass school-wide text messages by someone called Aces who begins exposing secrets about them both. As the text messages become more damaging to their futures and take a more sinister turn, the two students must work together to figure out who Aces is and why they are being targeted.
If you wished Pretty Little Liars had a bit more substance in addition to being twisty, check this one out!
Get Even by Gretchen McNeil
A secret society that anonymously takes revenge on the school’s bullies, mean girls, and tyrannical teachers? BUT THEN (after one of their targets turns up dead) THEY REALIZE SOMEONE HAS FOUND THEM OUT AND WANTS REVENGE ON THEM. Double revenge and shenanigans….plus there is a sequel to this one!
Now also a book adaptation to a tv show on Netflix!
All The Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
This one isn’t YA but I loved that one part of the story deals with the case of a missing friend that happened when they were in high school and now, ten years later, there is another missing girl. The way the story was told (in reverse) made it extra compelling and I kept trying to guess endlessly at how the two missing girls could be connected all these years later.
One Of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
Five strangers walk into detention and only four walk out alive. Everyone is a suspect (kind of like how during Pretty Little Liars I suspected everyone probably at least once), and everyone has something to hide. Was it someone in that room? Or someone who set them up to take the fall and the real killer is on the loose??
The Secrets of Lily Graves by Sarah Strohmeyer
SECRETS. This one is about a girl who finds herself a suspect in a murder of a girl whose ex-boyfriend she’s been seeing and who she recently had gotten in an altercation with. She tries to track down who the real killer is, by finding out more about who Erin was, and clear her own name!
The Takedown by Corrie Wang
If you really enjoyed all the hacking and tech-y stuff that happened on the show, I think this one will appeal to you! The super popular main character’s reputation is on the line when somebody decides to take her down and a video of her (that isn’t really her) having sex with her English teacher (hey oh Ezra that you?) goes viral and she sets out to try to figure out how to take it down.
What books do you think should be added to my list for Pretty Little Liars fans to devour now that we are mourning the show??
PS. If you are looking for more reads for the summer, check out my ultimate beach read guide for this summer which features books from all sorts of genres! Or take a look at the best teen beach reads list!
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Stephanie says
I never made it past season 2 or 3 of PLL. Maybe I should give it another shot. I’d add The Devil You Know by Trish Doller to your list.
Jamie says
Definitely would be the time to do it now that it’s ALL out and you can binge it! It gets frustrating at times and eye-rolly but I still always enjoyed it overall even if I was annoyed with it or thought it was ridiculous at times. Ooh yes The Devil You Know..good pick!
Jordan Rose says
Ooh, Final Girls sounds really good! I’m definitely going to have to look into that one. I’ve also been eyeing One Of Us Is Lying for a little while now too, I’m intrigued! I’m definitely going to have to look into some of these – thanks for the recommendations, this is a seriously great list idea! 🙂
Jamie says
YAY glad you enjoyed the list! I’m sad I haven’t heard more people talking about One of Us Is Lying..I feel like RandomHouse doesn’t always do a great job of promoting what they have upcoming!
Ashley says
Little Monsters sounds enticing! I can’t wait till I can read it.
Jamie says
She has another one that came out last year I think if you haven’t read that while you wait! 🙂
Becky says
Oh gosh, I feel the same way about PLL. Such a love/hate relationship with that show, but I just can’t stop watching. I’m still catching up on season 7 but I definitely agree it’s time for it to end.
I love Dangerous Girls! It’s one of my favorite thrillers (and favorite books in general) and nothing else in that genre has really compared since I read it haha. But all your other picks are on my TBR list! I would also maybe add This Is Our Story by Ashley Elston…it has a similar vibe (5 boys go hunting, one ends up dead, girl tries to figure out who the killer is) but honestly it did start to drag a little near the end.
sam says
Dangerous Girls again! I really need to read this book. I have only read two of the books on this list, so there are plenty left for me to read. =)
Nienke says
With malice and 13 minutes are also great if you loved dangerous girls!
Stormy says
I love Dangerous Girls!
I haven’t watched Pretty Little Liars since season three or four, but I always meant to go back and catch up when the show was over. It was ridiculous, but I really enjoyed the three seasons I watched. I’d also add With Malice, which is soooooo similar to Dangerous Girls but I love it anyway(though not as much as Dangerous Girls. That one sets the bar high).
Becca @ prettylittlememoirs.com says
I loved PLL so much and I’ll be so sad now that it’s gone forever (but binging it on Netflix seems appropriate) and I’m definitely going to be adding some of these to my TBR, now! Thank you for the list, Jamie – and I’m so excited for you to be a Mom! You’ll definitely be able to give your child a magical childhood with all the great reads you’ve read!