Review: Sweet Return....
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 19, 2012
After two installments, I have to admit that the "Sweet Life" is a solidly better book than "Confidential".  Yes, the books are moving forward with the insane pairings from that wretched book....Liz is with Bruce, Jessica with Todd; Lila with Ken Matthews and (gulp) Steven Wakefield is with Aaron Dallas.  I was drawn in by the first installment of this e-serial and "Lies and Omissions"  keeps the Sweet Valley scandals moving.  We learn more about Bruce and his accuser.  Liz is back to being her too good to be true and somewhat condescending self.  She is lying and actually protecting Bruce's accuser while still trying to act like she is supporting Bruce.  I can't imagine Bruce is really guilty of these charges but we will have to see as the story unfolds.  He definitely had a shocking, `oh no, he didn't!' moment in this book.  There is definitely going to be a  some fallout after Ken starts dating Lila's new rival, and Caroline Pearce is up to her old tricks spreading gossip like wildfire.  Can Todd and Jessica ever make up after he finds out what happened with Liam?  We even get to visit with Aaron and Steven in a somewhat humorous scene that ALMOST makes me forget this `jump the shark' pairing.Yes, I really enjoyed this installment.  Darn it!  I didn't want to based on principal because of what crazy things had been done to my beloved characters but I definitely think with "Sweet Life" things are getting back on track.  I will say that two big inconsistencies still bothered me.  We are told that Lila never liked Bruce and we are told that Jessica always knew him far better than Lila, which just blatantly ignores the couples long pairing as a couple in Sweet Valley University.  The part featuring Annie Whitman was a nice addition and I did like that they mentioned some of what happened with her and Jessica in book#10 of the original series but I hate that they mistakenly give Charlie Markus the credit that Ricky Calpaldo deserved.  Charlie Markus in the books was always a semi-bum, not quite as bad as smarmy Rick Andover but not a good guy either.  I'd really like to see this series bring up more memories of the past and be as accurate as possible.  Yet right now things seem to be moving along quite Sweetly.