I adored Girls With Sharp Sticks, it was the one book that I read in 2019 that I couldn’t stop talking about. So, when a copy of Girls With Razor Hearts appeared in my mailbox I had to dive into it right away. It’s been a couple of days but all I can say is: wow. Girls With Razor Hearts was a thrill ride from page one and did not let up till the last page. Speaking of the last page: WHAT. THE. HECK. How can Suzanne leave us like that?!

Girls With Razor Hearts starts right where Girls With Sharp Sticks ended. Mena and the girls are fleeing from Innovations Academy after learning a devastating secret: they aren’t human. Coming to terms with the fact that they are AI, created by men to be controlled and dominated, they are devastated and shell shocked. But underneath the devastation they are desperate to get the other girls out of Innovations Academy. Leandra, the head master's wife appears to be a double agent and tells the girls to track down Winston Weeks, an investors in the academy. If Mena and the girls can identify the heads of the corporations they could shut down innovations for good. Their first lead is that a member is laundering money through Stoneridge academy, a private school in which their son attends. The goal is simple: get close to the investor’s son, get him to spill and get his father out of the way. Only, things aren’t that simple.

I talked about in my Girls With Sharp Sticks review that if a book doesn’t make you angry, then it isn’t doing it’s job. Girls With Sharp Sticks did that for me and now I am adding Girls With Razor Hearts. It makes me angry in a sense that some of the examples in Girls With Razor Hearts is something we see day to day, whether in real life or on the news. The dystopian setting or this novel is very close to our current world and as a woman that is unsettling.

Viewing not only how Mena and the other girls who escaped Innovations Academy but the girls who attend Stoneridge are treated is appalling. Mena is witnessing sexism and racism first hand for the first time and where many woman in this society have learned to back down and keep their heads down, she refuses too. Essentially, she escaped the Academy to be in another dangerous game.

The twists and turns that this book takes doesn’t slow down for a second. Every time I thought my heart was going to stop racing and things were going to calm down Suzanne threw another plot twist in to keep her readers on their toes. A lot of my questions from Girls With Sharp Sticks were answered but this book left me with so many more that I can’t wait to see answered in the next book.

Overall I really enjoyed Girls With Razor Hearts and I am eagerly awaiting news on the next book. I highly recommend this book to all sci-fi fans but also people who want to read about girls standing up for themselves and not taking anymore shit from the men who try to control them.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with a free advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I read the first book in this series so fast after I received it. I loved the first book. And it has felt like an eternity waiting to read the next installment. However, I must admit I was a little concerned about how the second book would flow after everything that happened in the first. But that is always the question when reading a series isn’t it. Will the next book be as good as the first? Well I am hear to tell you, Mena and the girls are back with a vengeance.

I must say that I think I may have enjoyed the second installment in this series more than the first. And let me tell you that is huge for me because I habitually hate the 2nd book of any series. However, I felt like this book truly introduced us to Philomena and the girls.

Having freed themselves from Innovations Academy they are now looking not only to free the rest of the girls but to take down those that run the academy. This task will not prove to be easy. The girls will not only learn more about themselves than they ever expected but who they can and cannot trust with their secrets. This installment brings many issues to the forefront that many women in our society are facing. Dare I say, it felt a little #metoomovement-ish. I am sure for some that may be an instant turn off, however for me it took this storyline to a whole other level. This book was action packed and engaging. If you’ve read the first, don’t stop, get the second. I highly recommend this book and the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

I was honestly surprised when I got approval for this book, but I was also excited! I liked the first book and wanted to see where the author went next. And... it's honestly really hard to describe how I feel about the book. Usually I talk through the negatives of the book first before getting into what I like, but even that's hard to shift through.

I understand why the book presents itself this way, but it frustrates me how there are so few decent men in this book. It seems like every single one they encounter-- except for a very rare few-- are gross, sexist, abusive, domineering, or looking the other way when disgusting behavior happens. I've never been in a private school environment so I can't say how things work there. It's also frustrating that the book shows all these things happening but the solutions are "kill them all" or "dominate them and let women rule". The main character doesn't agree with those mentalities but they don't really talk about what they can do instead. It's not like I'm expecting them to solve the world's problems, but at least talk about alternatives.

Another thing is that at the end of the day, these girls are machines that can be reprogrammed, so there's literally nobody they can really trust. All of those around them are trying to control or manipulate them in one form or another, and at any moment one of those they begin to trust could change them into behaving a different way. I'm still not sure it's explained why it was so easy for them to "wake up" and start acting for themselves, or what is it that allows them to love and show emotions despite everyone saying they shouldn't have that ability.

I'm not entirely sure what this book accomplished other than to continue highlighting how much women have to deal with in the world, and all the racist and sexist boundaries that are constantly in the way. We don't really learn that much more about the organization, we don't really see the girls evolving that much or even exploring the world much beyond a school environment, they don't even learn that much about how they were built. We are told they fall into certain "types" but it doesn't seem like the girls stray from those programs much. Yes, what happens to them makes me furious and makes me want to scream for somebody to do something about it, but the things that are done are still through lies and manipulation and violence. I think that's the part I have real problems with.

I still will probably check out the next book, and I would say to read this one if you're curious, but I can't say this book actually advanced that much in way of story or character.