Reviewed by Harmony for TeensReadToo.com

Ashley Spencer is about to turn thirteen, so it's time to start planning her super-birthday bash that will leave the uninvited bawling in their tracks.

But, as it turns out, it seems that her parents don't exactly have the same plans.

Unfortunately, A.A., Lili, and Lauren all have their own problems to worry about. A.A. has to deal with the guy who broke her heart while dating someone else, Lili is lying to her parents and everyone else for the guy she likes, and Lauren has to deal with juggling not just one, but two boyfriends.

What's a girl to do?

Contrary to the title and jacket cover, BIRTHDAY VICIOUS, book three in THE ASHLEYS series, is not all about Ashley Spencer's party. There's much more going on than that, mostly relating to all of the girls' lovelifes and family.

However, unlike THE CLIQUE and other rich-girl books, the characters in this book continue to develop as the series goes on, making it extremely enjoyable and not just for tweens, either. This is definitely recommended to all fans of the previous books, and if you haven't read those yet, I suggest you do so before picking this one up. ( )

This is a first for me. My first unfinished book. That's right I didn't finish this book! Had I been reviewing this novel for the author or publisher I would have sucked it up and plugged through, but this is a book I was reviewing through Amazon Prime, and I'm not going to waste my time! Oh nice that rhymed! I hope, I really hope that there are no middle schoolers that are this superficial and shallow. I’m sure there are, but I really don’t want to read about them. I love Melissa de la Cruz, but I just can’t do it, not even for her. ( )

Having not read any of the other books in the series, I was worried that I would be completely lost when starting this book. I have read the author's other series, The Au Pairs, and I figured I knew the style of writing that was going to take place. Also I have read several other teen fiction series dealing with the same type of characters. Well, after starting the book I was totally confused at keeping track of who was who. The clique is named The Ashleys due to 3 of the members sharing the same name. Two of them end up with nicknames so not to confuse each other, but to this reader I had trouble keeping track of which was which Ashley. After a while I got it, but it probably would have helped to read the past two books as several events from the past kept getting mentioned. The biggest is probably the entire of reason of why Lauren is in the clique to begin with. Also the way these parents let their kids rule their lives is despicable. I mean, your mother is deadly sick and you're angry at her because she doesn't want you to ride in on a Vespa at a circus party?

However, I actually favored this book as compared to other popular tween offering that is out there, The Clique series. While once again, these girls are living over-extravagant lifestyles with constant label dropping, it's not as annoying. They don't speak in the coded, annoying "Eh my gawd!!!" slang that is on every page in The Clique. What is also refreshing about having younger teens, is that there is no talk about sex. Yes, girls like guys but since they are only 12-13, no one's having sex. Heck, you can't even tell if these girls have even hit puberty yet. Also of noted interest is the diversity of the main characters. The presence of minorities in the main cast is dutifully noted, yet it is cliched that the leader of the pack is blond and blue eyed. This is pretty much like a Mean Girls scenario with a younger set.

If you have a tween, and you want them to stay away from Gossip Girl or the It Girl for the time being, these books are recommended for them. I, myself, might have to go back and find the other two books to catch up on what has happened before. ( )