This was a fun read. It definitely gave me Hunger Games/All of Us Villains vibes. I really enjoyed Adina’s character and loved her friendship with Saint.

The Finish was twisted and I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next.

This book is INTENSE.

After a fight ruins Adinas chances of going to any college much less an Ivy that she’s being working so hard for her entire life, she’s desperate to do anything to restore her academic standing. This is where an invite to The Finishing could turn everything around for her. The Finishing is a competition where girls compete in three unknown tasks and the winner gains the favour of the wealthy influential family that hosts the event. And they can get Adina back into school. Unfortunately, this book is a thriller and Adina finds out that the finishing is way more than what she thought she was signing up for.

I was sucked into this story immediately. It’s faced paced and intense. I spent so much of the book being stressed for Adina and rooting for her to make it through. I don’t read a ton of YA Thrillers but I’m glad this made it into my hands.

I love reading books for young adults and it’s always my hope that sex isn’t a topic or at least not in such a blunt, classless way. I am a mom of 2 teens and 2 young adults and feel like they get exposed to such garbage these days. I will not be recommending this book. I could let get through the first 30 pages. If this book was written for the 25 plus group I would say fine but not kids in high school.

This was a violent good time! It was such a wild ride. I liked the main character but honestly the most noticeable part of this book is the plot. It ramps up at the beginning and never slows down. I really liked the way the author wove commentary into the story, and I think this was such a good satire.
I will say, I think the marketing of this book might make people like it a little less. I think it should've been more clear in the description of this book that it was satire. If people go into it not knowing that, it might make them like it less.
That being said, I think this is an awesome satire, full of ridiculous over-the-top antics, strong commentary, and a main character you can root for.

If you’re looking for a book that pits student-against-student with a dark Hunger Games/Squid Game twist, then Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington is for you. Adina has been lucky to attend Edgewater Academy thanks to a scholarship and she has dreams to attend Yale. Those dreams fall apart when she gets in an argument with one of her friends that turns violent. This leads to all of her college offers being rescinded. Now without any prospects, Adina ends up with a mysterious invitation to attend “The Finish” which only a select few female students are invited to. Adina knows that winning will open up doors for her and she will be able to attend her dream college.

The Finish is not what it seems. Girls from local wealthy families are chosen to compete, and what isn’t said is that the competition is to find a wife for the next Remington heir and no one else survives. The heir has a girlfriend who was invited to compete. The competition consists of three challenges, all of which Adina is unprepared for. In this no-holds-barred contest of skill, malice, and luck, who will remain standing at the end to claim her prize?

This book was well-paced, filled with great (albeit morally questionable) characters, and the ending did not disappoint. This book is dark, providing a portrait of the most extreme entitlement I could imagine. Yet somehow, this book remains hopeful. I look forward to more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

😮‍💨
I had to start this review with the heaviest sigh, because what a ride!

This book opens up with us meeting Adina, a young middle-class minority student going to school with the kids of the top 1%. She quickly learns that money can do a lot of things and craves to get the best education, rise in ranks, and never again feel powerless. However, as she joins a competition that she believes to be her saving grace, she quickly faces the reality of the world she wants to join. One where a classist and racist elite can use and abuse others with impunity for their own entertainment!

Someone described this book as Bachelorette meets Squid Game and it couldn’t be more accurate. This book kept me on the edge of my seat with each chapter, constantly trying to discover what each character was hiding behind their mask! As we get toward the end of this book, we see Adina get to the conclusion that the solution to her predicament is to eat the rich. And what a feast it was!!!

This book was a delight and will be recommended by me to all my friends!

This book is marketed as Ace of Spades meets Squid Game meets The Bachelor, and I can’t think of a better way to describe this novel. We follow Adina Walker, a black teen who loses her scholarship to her dream Ivy League school, and the deadly competition she joins as a last ditch effort to reclaim her planned future.

Based on the book's description, I knew I would like this book, and I was right. It’s fast-paced, bloody, with an exploration of class and race directly woven throughout. The book’s ending absolutely blew me away and had me gasping, speeding through and wishing for a good resolution. I also really enjoyed the exploration of friendship, both toxic and supportive. My only complaint was that at times the writing seemed a bit repetitive, going over the same issues without giving much further insight into Adina as a character.

Overall, I liked this one, and I think you will too if you enjoy:
- Survival/competition shows like The Hunger Games and Alice in Borderland
- Plot-based storylines that keep you turning the pages to figure out what happens next
- Tackling systemic discrimination and entrenched privileges

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Canada and Netgalley for providing us with an advanced reader copy of this engaging YA thriller.

This was SO GOOD!! so much darker than I'd expected but so so good. I loved the story within and the characters were incredible. It gave me like Hunger Games meets The Inheritance Games with Ace of Spades mixed in heavily. I loved every second of this book

I realize that this type of Mystery Thriller book is not for me. When I read a mystery, I want it to be fast paced, get right into the plot and be able to follow along with the investigation as the MC goes through it. This story felt like it had potential but was lacking in turning that potential into an interesting story.

I think it has good topics like racism, misogyny, and that money can't buy you everything, that could be added into stories a lot more. But I just was not interested in the plot of the story to keep me interested throughout the whole book. I ended up skimming a lot of it unfortunately.

The characters seemed interesting and I think I'd want to get to know them more but the story and plot made it a little hard to continue on. I really didn't like the whole training the girls into the social hierarchy/prep school setting.

If the premise of the story interests you, and I'd definitely recommend reading some other reviews to get a better idea if this story is for you before reading. I'm not saying this was necessarily a bad book just was not for me and my personal interest in books.

"This is why they took our phones."
The rich never play fair and will kill to remain in their closed circles.

From the beginning, as we are introduced to 'The Finish', I had the worst feeling, especially for Adina. As we see her being 1 of 2 people of colour in the game, I just knew that she was going to be targeted because when you have rich white people, they will 'humour' opening up their world but will do everything to stop new/different people from winning and becoming a part of their group.
Chapter 8 confirms the horror we all anticipated, and the fear for Adina reaches a new height.
The fact that she tried to leave got massive applause from me! I know it would be impossible, but I still appreciate her attempt and realize fast she couldn't.

The viciousness & cruelty of the girls was strangely refreshing to see. I like when girls can be cold and calculating when trying to win. The only sad part is that it is always for the benefit of a man, but this book shows that this is a man-benefitting world (much like our world), and the girl's goal is for them, even if it is helping the men. They are taking advantage of a rigged world.
However, it's rigged again and again; through gender, status, and race. Because these girls are at an advantage, they are white & from wealthy families, even while competing with Adina. And at its heart, that is a strong message in this book.

I just couldn’t get into this book. It wouldn’t keep my attention.

Maybe I am just too old to read YA still 🤷🏻‍♀️

Found out about this book through a booktuber I adored and was soo excited when my request went through<33

One of the best YA mystery/thriller I've read yet! I loved how seamless the plot and the writing is, and the author is really good at creating intense scenes that are definitely necessary for the games. There were some parts that I genuinely had to hold my breath because of how intense it was LOL. This book definitely had its moments at making me mad that I have to remember this is supposed to be satire.

I think my only issue with this book was that even though the main character is written perfectly, I didn't really feel the motivation enough out of the other girls and also the Remington boys and I think that could be explored more while I was reading.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

I really enjoyed the story and the wide range of characters it introduced to us.

I was expecting more of a Panic type story, but I was wrong. The constant suspense left me eager to keep reading until the end. Such great writing and diversity is rather hard to find, and I'm here for it..

Their Vicious Games is a satire and I loved it. Adina wants to regain her acceptance into her dream school but has to enter a competition.

This book is Squid Games meets the Bachelor.

I love any book that gives the Eat The Rich vibes.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this arc.

Unfortunately I just couldn’t get into this one. I generally like YA thrillers, but sometimes the characters and the story just don’t work well for me.

Thank you to the publisher for an opportunity to give this one a try

This book was so intense in the best way ever. It was an awesome thriller/mystery. It gave me Hunger games vibes and a little bit of the setting of gossip girl. I really liked it, the author did awesome, I love her writing. It had everything I like in a book. Mystery-Thrill- Adventure- Dark-Bloody, . It was a page turned, I just needed to know what happened next. The main character is pretty bad ass and I love her. I will totally be checking out other books from this author.

Their Vicious Games is Ace of Spades meets Squid Games and it was perfect! It almost read like a satire and you have to suspend your disbelief, but it's worth it. The first 20% is super angsty but fun and then it quickly takes a turn. If you are looking for a pageturner, this is it. It is hard to believe that this is Joelle Wellington's debut novel and I will be looking out for what she writes next.

Since reading the book, I've found out that it's supposed to be satire. I didn't see that before initially reading and forming my opinions. I'm not sure if it changes anything now.

As soon as I got into this book, I knew how it was going to play out. For the most part, anyway. It is a very standard read for those who have read other Squid Game/Hunger Game style books. All I wanted to know was whether Saint could be trusted and whether Adina would get back into Yale. I'll leave you to read the book to find out the answers.

It was a quick read with it being so predictable. That's great for those who want to get through a few books in a week, but not great for those who really want to feel immersed in the world.

Read if you like:
- Squid Game and/or Ace of Spades
- The dark side of the rich
- Explorations of power and privilege

After losing her scholarship to Yale, Adina is willing to do anything to get it back. Even participate in the twisted games of the all-powerful Remington family.

This book meets its description of “Ace of Spades meets Squid Game”. I thoroughly enjoyed both of those and therefore was excited to pick this book up. I really enjoyed it overall - the premise is very interesting and intriguing, and the writing is very strong. It is well balanced with a thriller storyline mixed in with issues of classism, racism, and sexism. This is a book that makes you think, while you also enjoy a thrilling plot. I recommend it especially to anyone who read and enjoyed Ace of Spades!

4.5 This, to me, is the peak of YA thrillers. Of course, even as an adult, I absolutely devoured this. But specifically thinking about its target audience, it did everything it needed to do and executed it to perfection.

Wellington sets up the ideal story to get a teenager wrapped in: a mysterious, potentially violent game, a sexy love interest who has everyone falling at his feet but who only has eyes for our main character, witty dialogue that gets you riled up and keeps you on your toes, deep friendships but also complex high school relationships that will feel extremely relatable to any teenager who picks this book up. And then, once everything has been laid out perfectly, Wellington brings the reader down this terrifying, yet fascinating and (most of all) very real deep dive into the patriarchal, racist, and classist systems that dominate our society.

Wellington did an amazing job of not just analyzing the idea that racism, misogyny, and classism exist in our world, but showcasing just how deep they really go, just how much they impact one another, and just how much they truly affect every single person. The book allows the reader to explore the intersectionality of all these systems, while also becoming deeply invested in this horrifying game of death and psychological manipulation. Every single character was used to explore another facet of our world and, more specifically, the way that many people are simultaneously disadvantaged by and yet continue to perpetuate these systems of oppression and bigotry.

I don't think it was too complicated or analytical, to the point that a young reader might lose interest or not be particularly invested, while also not laying out the purpose of the novel word-per-word on page, allowing the audience to explore Wellington's message through the story itself. I also really appreciated that, while there is an element of romance and some charming moments between the main character and the love interest, it did not overpower the main point of the book, and it concluded in a way that I find was very realistic. It kept things interesting and alluring, while also never distracting from the main plot or overshadowing Wellington's true intention.

Overall, I had a great time with it and I absolutely recommend it. There is so much here to explore, so much depth to every single scene and character. Wellington writes in a way that is so intentional, it was a pleasure to experience, even amidst all the terror and emotional distress.