PRETTY LITTLE LIARS - (ABC FAMILY/ADAM ROSE) Pictured: CHAD LOWE, HOLLY MARIE COMBS

Holly Marie Combs wasn’t familiar with the popular books when she signed onto the ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars, but she learned fairly quickly what she was getting into.

Combs and her husband, David Donoho, visited their local bookstore and found those novels, but were also caught off-guard by what kids are reading today. No Nancy Drew for today’s tweenies and teen girls, but rather a more gritty appetite for worldly stories.

“We were kind of shocked at the covers alone of teen books today,” she explains. “It does not look like the teen section of my youth.”

And neither is the series Pretty Little Liars, which the actress is hoping will be as successful as her other TV ventures (Picket Fences, Charmed).

“The cast is fascinating in my opinion and I’m not saying us, the girls are fascinating,” Combs acknowledges.

It seems moms and teens agree. Pretty Little Liars debuted to 2.5 million viewers.

Click onto media bars for:

Combs reaction to today’s teen novels.

Combs reaction to Pretty Little Liars being broadcast on ABC Family.

Pretty Little Liars airs Tuesdays, 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on ABC Family.