Delacorte Press and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of Little Monsters. I voluntarily chose to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Kacey has a new life with her father, stepmother and stepbrother, as well as a half sister. Escaping the troublesome existence that she had with her mother, Kacey is surprised as to how well received she is by family and new friends. When one of her friends goes missing after a party, Kacey soon learns that it is not so easy to escape your past reputation. Despite protesting her innocence, will the young woman become the scapegoat?

Little Monsters goes off the rails for me early on, especially regarding the format of the book. As the novel progresses, readers are treated to the inner mind of the missing girl, giving a different view as to the one that was presented. This act of blaming the victim did nothing to move the story along, as it only helped to change the readers' perspective. After the event in the barn, I thought the author was moving in a different direction than what ultimately occurred in the book. This fact was actually a disappointment because the story ended up too similar to other books that I have read. For these reasons, I would be hesitant to recommend Little Monsters to other readers.

I tried reading this book but sadly I didn't make it very far while reading this book. I think that the different point of views made it a bit difficult to understand . I usually love this author's books and I hoped that this one would work out for me.

This was one good thriller!

I liked the way teenage friendships were portrayed. I know it wasn't accurate, and that teenagers can form deep, pure bonds, but the truth is that in this case, being twisted and dangerous and always two-faced, created an atmosphere of dread and psychological thriller that was very compelling to me.

I loved the mystery. I wasn't trying to guess who the culprit was because I was busy enjoying the setting and the characters, but when it was revealed I could recall all the clues pointing in the right direction.

Also, cold weather and small towns will always speak to me, so of course I loved it.

When I saw Little Monsters by Kara Thomas on NetGalley, I jumped at the chance to read it. The book description drew me in and I had to know what happened. I am glad I was approved - this book took me on a thrilling ride from start to finish. It was so engaging I finished it in less than two days. I have this book to so many people, because after finishing it, I couldn't stop thinking about it and wanted to discuss it with someone!

The story is told from the main character, Kacey's point of view and alternates with entries from her friend, Bailey's journal. She has somewhat of a troubled past and moves to a new town - a small town - with her father, step-mom, and their other children. We meet Kacey as she is about to reluctantly sneak out with her friends Jade and Bailey. Her younger half sister, Lauren, follows them, as they sneak to the towns local haunted spot. While there, something so scary happens that Lauren, is very messed up over it. I'm not going to tell you what - because that would spoil the surprise. Then Bailey disappears. Kacey gets involved in trying to find Bailey and we discover that no one is as they appear. There are so many twists in this book - and so many of the characters are just awful people. It reminded me somewhat of Gillian Flynn's books. It's very sordid and twisted and shocking but it really draws you in. Reading Bailey's journal entries was chilling.

I have not read Kara Thomas's first standalone, Darkest Corner's - but I have since read her newest book The Cheerleaders, and it's equally twisted. She has become one of my favorite authors. Her writing is very creepy and her characters are very human and very flawed.

Summary from Goodreads:
Kacey is the new girl in Broken Falls. When she moved in with her father, she stepped into a brand-new life. A life with a stepbrother, a stepmother, and strangest of all, an adoring younger half sister.

Kacey’s new life is eerily charming compared with the wild highs and lows of the old one she lived with her volatile mother. And everyone is so nice in Broken Falls—she’s even been welcomed into a tight new circle of friends. Bailey and Jade invite her to do everything with them.

Which is why it’s so odd when they start acting distant. And when they don’t invite her to the biggest party of the year, it doesn’t exactly feel like an accident.

But Kacey will never be able to ask, because Bailey never makes it home from that party. Suddenly, Broken Falls doesn’t seem so welcoming after all—especially once everyone starts looking to the new girl for answers.

Kacey is about to learn some very important lessons: Sometimes appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes when you’re the new girl, you shouldn’t trust anyone.

Characters (A):Ok so I'm not gonna lie, Kacey as a main character can be a bit dry sometimes but overall I liked how she thought and her actions seemed realistic so she's good. What I really like, though, in terms of characters, was Kacey's relationships and chemistry with everyone and it was interesting to compare the relationships and what Kacey felt, with what was happening with other characters and what happened in the end. I know that sounds vague but you should read the book just to see the comparison because it really is cool!

Plot (A):The mystery was reallllllly good! Like it was creepy and weird at times and it definitely went places I didn't think of! It wasn't cliche and it wasn't easy to figure out and it definitely took you for a ride as you tried to figure things out but you never can because you won't see the end coming so I absolutely adored the plot and I definitely think you guys should read Little Monsters if you're looking for an interesting mystery!

Overall, I really enjoyed Little Monsters and am so happy I joined the street team! This is definitely going to be a mystery I tell people to read; it's weird and interesting and really cool!

This is quite a roller coaster. I do think that several of my students will really like this one. Know that there are journal entries interspersed between chapters, which gives a separate point of view.

Another brilliant book by Kara Thomas. I absolutely adored The Darkest Corners and was ready for another engaging read. Was not disappointed!

(This review will be posted on my blog, www.pingwings.ca, and on Goodreads on May 28)

Oh my gosh this book was so good! I read it in two sittings and I didn't want to put it down.

I read Kara Thomas's previous book, The Darkest Corners, a couple of years ago and I liked it, but this book was even better!

I had a vague idea before I started reading of what Little Monsters was about, but I didn't reread the synopsis because sometimes I like to just jump into a book. I'm so glad I didn't know too much going into this one!

It took me a couple of chapters to work out who was who and Kacey's family set up, but the story grabbed my attention right away. There was an underlying creepiness to everything, because of a local ghost story, and when one of Kacey's friends went missing, the creepiness amped up.

This is a great mystery, with a bit of a twistyness to it that I really enjoyed, but more than that, it was such a great story about young girls and friendship. I am always super drawn to those kinds of books, and I loved what this one did with my expectations.

I highly recommend this, and I think if you're a fan of Courtney Summers, you will like this book too. Kara Thomas has a new book coming out in July, The Cheerleaders, and I will definitely be checking it out!

Awesome premise. Equally awesome delivery.

Little Monsters was a deliciously, mystery-laden book you can’t help but love because of the page-turner plot. The plot and execution was inherently satisfying due to its puzzle feel. I wouldn’t refer to this little gem as compelling, but it was sure gripping!

I could feel the near-splitting tension, the back and forth speculation of whether Kacey played a part in the disappearance of Bailey. Whether Bailey was truly missing or just seeking attention. Whether Andrew was the killer. Whether Whether Whether.

No matter how many conclusions I came to, I did not arrive at the conclusion that the author presented. I did not foresee the twist until the author began the big reveal.

And THAT, is what I love about books – the unpredictability, the guessing, the rollercoaster ride, the complexity of twists to the point where you give up guessing.
I found myself speed reading to get to the end of many scenes; I haven’t speed-read in a while!

A note those out there: Be careful who you call your friends.

I love this type of story! Second guessing myself, not knowing who or what to believe, cheering the mc on, feeling like I'm being watched! This YA thriller will have you hooked!

Little Monsters is an engaging thriller about the lengths some dangerous girls will go to. Kacey's new best friends seem to be keeping secrets from her, but the biggest secret is when one of them goes missing and winds up dead. Now, the town is looking at a variety of suspects, but she is also a person of interest as the authorities think she knows something but is hiding it or protecting someone. Very soon, she is unsure of where the clues are leading her, and whether she even knew her friend well enough. There is also an urban legend plotline mixed in which adds to the thrill of the story and general creepiness of the atmosphere.

Within her house, she is unsure of her position with her family, considering her own history of anger management issues, and how losing her cool would affect her relationships with others. Meanwhile, an insidious rumor is spreading around about her, and she doesn't know how it did. The story is so well-constructed, you see how the pieces connect as the story goes on, especially when we get snippets of Bailey's journal spliced in throughout the book at appropriate intervals. There are a lot of red herrings, as you would expect from a mystery novel, and I was so caught up in them, I overlooked the possibility of the killer revealed at the end. (That was an amazing twist, by the way). Also, there is no romance in this book, and considering what caused the murder, it was a good choice! The only part which went off was the last few chapters, when it shifts from the mystery and starts recounting everything in a clinical form, giving us the 'what happened next' but still kinda breaking the atmosphere set up.

This book is dark, and a bit vicious, and you will love it. The characters are not good nor bad, all in complicated shades of grey. There are chilling choices, and there is a little horror mixed in. Overall, a treat for mystery lovers!

Review on https://smadasbooksmack.blogspot.com/

Kacey feels like she finally belongs, living with a family she didn't even know she had, getting along with her two step and half siblings, and being accepted into Jade and Bailey's tight-knit friendship. And then, all of the sudden, her friends aren't talking to her. But before she can even fix whatever she must have done wrong, Bailey goes missing. Kacey refuses to give up on her friend, but the truths she discovers will hurt the most. There is some darkness that is not meant to be seen.

Little Monsters has been on my radar since I first learned about it months before it was released since I enjoyed the book Dark Corners by Kara so very much, I just kept putting off reading it since I knew I needed time set aside to not be interrupted while reading. Kara has the ability to create multifaceted characters that feel real and you can empathize with, regardless of what they are capable of. And the plots! Oh geez, the plots- full of twists and painful, shocking surprises that totally take the story in unforeseen directions. This review will be short(ish) and to the point (ok relatively to the point since I tangent with the best of them, and I am fan-girling here, ok!) because I absolutely refuse to spoil and ruin something about this AMAZING story. Just know that I loved every minute that I was sucked into this dark, dangerous, completely messed up teen mystery. Nobody could be trusted (and yes, that means the main characters too!) and everyone has a secret, some more surprising than others.

This is the thing I have come to love about Kara's books- I can't guess the endings. I love a good mystery where I am pulled in multiple directions but the actual outcome was a surprise. I had at least four solid, potential suspects with perfect motives, yet none of what I expected happened. In fact, the story veered into a completely different path and I was horrified, shocked and could not get enough. Even the last few paragraphs at the end caught me by surprise and gave me chills.

This is the second book I have read from Kara and she has set the bar pretty high for herself. She has made a fan out of me and I will gladly read whatever twisty road she wants to lead me down next. I HIGHLY reccommend this book for those who want to stay up past their bedtime reading because you will litterally not be able to put this book down until you get to the shocking conclusion.

High five Kara, high five.

Book Review
Title: Little Monsters
Author: Kara Thomas
Genre: YA/Family Issues/Social Issues
Rating: *****
Review: The opening to Little Monsters was quite a nice opening, while not that gripping until the end of the chapter, it eases into the story nicely, we are introduced to Kacey and her younger sister Lauren just hanging out, however, it is clear to see that there is something more going on as Kacey’s friend Bailey and Jade as coming to pick her up after midnight in the dead of winter. After getting out of the house the gang head to Sparrow Kill also known as the Leeds House, the creepiest place for miles around to do something that Bailey thought of, but I have no idea what this thing is. It turns out the girls went to the old house to perform a séance to try and see the ghost or spirit of Josephine Leeds who was never seen again after her five children burned to death and her husband supposedly committed suicide. Despite the séance failing it seems to affect all of them more than they are willing to admit especially Lauren and things don’t get much better when Kacey learns that Jade and Bailey went to a party she really wanted to go to without her. However, she can’t stay mad for long when Jade rings her asking if she knows where Bailey is and that something is wrong.
As we approach the ¼ mark in the novel, we learn that Bailey is an outcast after she developed an obsession with Cliff and was blamed from him driving drunk. While Jade and Kacey track Bailey’s movements from leaving the party, they learn she left with Cliff and decided to head to his house where they find her phone dangling from a tree with everything erased and there seems to be signs of blood and something being dragged through the snow, whether this is a person, or a deer isn’t clear yet, but the girls are told by Bailey’s mother to head to the Sherriff’s department. Just like Kacey suspected the police don’t take them seriously but the more she thinks about the more she has a sinking feeling about Bailey.
As we cross the ¼ mark in the novel, we begin to see a very strange picture coming together. Everyone is looking for Bailey but some strange medium hints at the fact Kacey may have had something to do with Bailey’s disappearance and in the sections from Bailey’s diary we see Kacey’s history coming together. We learn that when they first became friends Kacey had a diary with the phrase “I was born with the devil in me” written inside which just happens to have been said by a famous serial killer and Bailey wants to know what Kacey is hiding from the world. With Bailey’s disappearance Kacey begins looking back at their friendship and notices some odd things but pushes them aside especially after she learns that Cliff left the party alone and not with Bailey. However, she does tell Jade that if the police ask about the barn to lie and say Lauren wasn’t there with them which she agrees to as Lauren is just a kid.
As we approach the halfway mark in the novel, I was noticing there are several mysteries wrapped up around Bailey’s disappearance and some interesting things may be revealed. After a while Kacey knows she must return to the barn where they performed the séance and when she does she finds some blood and immediately calls the police who set up a crime scene unit. While taking Kacey’s statement a detective lets slip that bloody clothes were found and when Kacey demands answers and is restrained things get interesting. The second the officers touch Kacey something inside her snaps and she just goes mad almost like a cornered animal. Shortly after Kacey finally decides to leave her bedroom and visit Bailey’s mother where Jade just happens to be. Despite, the fact that Jade is mad at Kacey they do have information and theories they can bounce off one another, however, the sheriff rings to arrange a meeting with Kacey and it is also here that Kacey has nosebleeds and blackouts that could be leaving her with gaps in her memory. As we get very close to the halfway mark in the novel Kacey’s life is spiralling out of control even attacking Chloe when she blames her from Bailey’s disappearance. The supernatural element of this novel also makes it seems like Lauren knows more than she is letting on and Andrew’s recent behaviour is also being called into question. Kacey thinks back to her police interview she begins to feel like the police are zoning in on her.
As we cross into the second half of the novel Kacey discovers that Bailey had been lying to her about so many things and now she needs to know the truth but in Bailey’s diary we learn the boy she was obsessed with isn’t Cliff like Kacey’s thought but her brother Andrew. It eventually comes to light that Jade and Bailey only got close to Kacey from Bailey to get close to Andrew but despite all her efforts he didn’t seem interested in starting a relationship with her. It is also revealed that Bailey was apparently fooling around with Cliff behind Bridget’s back and she is the one to reveal these things to Kacey.
As we approach the ¾ mark in the novel, the motive behind everything is becoming clear although the murderers’ identity is still a mystery. It seems that Bailey was in love with Andrew and he liked her, and they may have been planning to run away together but Bailey was under the impression that Kacey also liked her step brother, and this points to Kacey as the person behind it all. However, Jade warns Kacey that everything up until now, the séance, the phone being left a Cliff’s place, everything has been a decoy to draw attention away from the real person behind Bailey’s disappearance. Trying to piece everything from the past and present together is difficult but it seems like Bailey was the one with issues and I think it might be her trying to frame Kacey but apart from the wild emotional journey, we are on I have no idea whose done what.
As we cross into the final section of the novel, everything was looking like a double-cross within a double-cross, but I couldn’t wait to see how the novel concluded. When the mystery is finally resolved although it does have a smaller twist after the big reveal which completely threw me. This whole novel is designed to mess with your mind and make you paranoid about who you can and can’t trust. I highly recommend Little Monsters for anyone looking for a great murder mystery set in the modern world that is relatable and realistic.

Little Monsters is one of those compelling young adult novels that have you questioning everything you ever knew about friendship. It’s intoxicating, addictive, and it made me glad that, in this age of social media, I was a teenager in the early 00s when iPhone’s were just a speck in Steve Jobs’ eye. I’ve been on the receiving end of bullying, from supposed friends, and girls can be horrible to each other. I genuinely believe, also, that girls can be way, way worse than boys when it comes to bitchiness, to being two-faced, to all of that. Lasses turn on each other at the blink of an eye, and it’s an awful thing to have to face.

I started Little Monsters with no idea what to expect really – there aren’t many young adult thrillers on the market, but this was incredible. It was fast-paced, almost frantic at times, with the speed it moved and I actually really liked Kacey. Moving away from your home, to a new family you barely know is so hard. Then to have to start a new school and make new friends, it’s all so much pressure and stress but not only that, it seemed like Kacey went through some things in New York, with her mom. She seems like this lovely girl, but then you see glimpses that maybe all isn’t as it seemed (and I actually was a bit disappointed the book didn’t go into that more – it seemed like Kacey’s rage was a real issue, but it kinda just got swept under the rug. FWIW, I get rage like that for no reason – say the Internet is playing up and a page won’t load, I get angry enough to want to throw my phone (but common sense prevails)).

I also love toxic friendships. I shouldn’t, but I always find them super compelling and the trio of Kacey, Bailey and Jade was toxic to the extreme, the way that Bailey played them like fiddles, and manipulated things, like ignoring Kasey the night of the party where Bailey goes missing, was insane. There’s a part that bugs me girls let this kind of behaviour go, in the name of friendship, but then there’s the other part who loved these types of novels so lets it go. But even before Bailey goes missing, there was something wrong with those three – the whole vibe you get is intense and unreal and you just know there are things going to come out that will be shocking, but not surprising.

It’s been a while since I’ve felt so caught up in a novel. The breakneck pace certainly helped, because it felt like your foot was on the gas the whole time, and I had no idea what had happened to Bailey. I assumed she was dead, but I had no idea who the culprit was (actually, I did, but I got the wrong person – I was way off base). This is the type of novel that truly doesn’t let up – the kind of novel you don’t want to stop reading, either, because you’re so desperate to know if Kacey DOES know more about Bailey’s disappearance, if she was involved at all? And just generally what on Earth happened to Bailey. Not because I liked Bailey (I didn’t), but because you just have to know.

Kara Thomas can write a cracking thriller, let me tell you. Little Monsters was an incredible read, from beginning to end. It ended had a decent ending so bravo, Kara – perhaps you can teach other thriller writers that it’s OK to actually write a good ending in a thriller, it doesn’t all have to be open ended or left hanging. Probably my only issue, is that during the novel there’s mention of something between Kacey and her step-brother Andrew. They are not blood related AT ALL, FYI, her dad is married to his mom, but that isn’t the point. My point is that I kinda felt there was something there?! Maybe it was just platonic, like family, like Kacey finally felt she had a family member she could trust but, I don’t know, my romance detectors were tingling… Apart from that, this was a top notch book.

I had been patiently waiting to read this book since the beginning of this year. I read The Darkest Corners By Kara and I absolutely loved it. So the moment I heard she was coming out with a new book this year I got very excited. She even ended up being a part of a Teen Thriller Festival at Books of Wonder that I ended up going to. There I got to pre-order Little Monsters. So I was really anticipating this release. Did it end up living up to my hype? Let's find out.

I'm sad to say I was a little disappointed with this book. I did enjoy it overall and I do plan to buy Kara's next book but I felt like something was missing from this book. I'm not sure what it was. I did feel this story was a bit slower. There would be times that I felt were suppose to be surprising but if you thought about what you were told you could figure it out. I wasn't really shocked until the very end of the book.

I did feel the friendship aspect was relatable to an extent. I've been in friendships where it's been only 3 girls and it can get interesting. It was never as intense as the friendship in this book. I do feel we can get territorial over our friends at times. This just ends up taking it to the extreme.

Another thing I enjoyed was the different perspectives. I really enjoyed our main character, Kacey. She's the new girl in town and you can't help but feel bad for her. You also get the perspective of Bailey, the girl who has gone missing. The only thing is her point of view is before she went missing. i didn't like her at all. So it was fun being in the head of a character you really like and another character you dislike.

Lastly, I enjoyed that this story didn't have a romance plot to it. I saw someone talking about this in their review and I didn't even notice until they pointed it out. I do feel at times romance can be unnecessary at times. That isn't talked about a lot.

Overall I thought this was a decent book. I got through it quickly. I didn't love it like I thought I would but I enjoyed it overall. I did have a theory of what I thought happened. I was wrong about it so I am happy about that. I feel if you enjoy YA thrillers/mysteries you should give it a chance. I saw a lot of people really enjoyed this one.

When Kacey moves in with her father, she becomes part of a seemingly perfect family for the first time. She also finds some new friends, Bailey and Jade, who invite her to do everything with them. The three become fast friends, and soon, against her better judgment, she finds herself sneaking out and getting in trouble. So when her new friends suddenly "forget" to pick her up before to the party of the year, she is almost relieved, but not for long. The next morning Bailey is missing, and Jade is worried. Suddenly everyone is looking to her for answers, but she doesn't have any. Questions arise and Kacey is afraid to tell the truth because her answers might jeopardize her place in her new family.

Little Monsters by Kara Thomas is a disturbingly dark mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. As Kacey searches for the truth behind her friend's disappearance, she discovers that everyone has secrets, and that more than one person had a reason to get rid of Bailey. If you like intense psychological thrillers, you will enjoy this one. I couldn't put it down!

Deliciously disturbing. I couldn't put it down. The end left me reeling--I can't say more than that!

Summer really bums me out. I don’t like hot weather or buildings without AC, and there’s just too much sunshine. So the cold, dark winter of Little Monsters was exactly what I needed for escaping the summer heat. The eerie, snowy town of Broken Falls was a perfect setting for this creepy story.

This book explores one of my favorite topics in YA–toxic friendships. Teenage girls are strong, complex, and capable of anything. Little Monsters examines the way that teenage girls can use their power to manipulate and destroy each other. Kacey is the new girl in town and she’s immediately accepted into a friend group but the friendship begins to sour. I loved slowly uncovering the truth about the friendship. It can be dangerous to be the new girl in town when you don’t know the buried history of your friends.

I would’ve been invested in the book if it solely focused on the disappearance of Kacey’s best friend, but there was also some family dynamics and secrets thrown in the mix that kept me reading. Kacey has recently left a rough living situation with her mother to move in with her father and his family. She has to adjust to having an instant family with a past of their own and figure out where she can fit in.

Kacey is the new girl in her family, school, and town. She questions herself and questions what she knows to be true in the novel. I particularly loved this element of the book because I wasn’t sure if she was going to be a reliable narrator or not. As a reader, I was never sure who to trust and that kept me turning the pages late at night.

This thriller has a gloriously chilling setting, a multitude of secrets, and an ending that I did not see coming. It had a supernatural element and a few scares that will keep you on edge. Read this one now. Don’t let anyone spoil the ending for you.

I loved Darkest Corners, so I was excited to read Little Monsters. While I didn't love it as much, it was still a fairly good mystery. The story is told through Kacey's point of view. She has recently come to live with her father and his family. They are essentially strangers. Trying to fit in, she makes friends with Bailey and Jade. All seems to be going well until Bailey leaves a party and is never seen alive again. As I said, I thought this was a fairly good mystery. The ending was a bit surprising. One thing that helped make the book more intriguing was the little snippets from Bailey's diary. It helped me get a better insight into the missing girl.

The story, while fairly short, did drag in places. I also thought the main characters made some incredibly stupid mistakes. Why do people insist on speaking to the police repeatedly without a lawyer? Has no one watched a cop show? Also, why don't people tell the truth up front? There were a few truths that were held back from the police dragging out the investigation. That just got a little frustrating as it made the book drag out longer than it needed to be. That said, I would recommend this one. It's a fairly mild YA murder mystery. I look forward to Ms. Thomas's next book.