These Vengeful Hearts by Katherine Laurin isn’t quite what I was expecting. I was looking forward to secret societies meeting in the dark of night, plotting to exploit the secrets of all whilst finally getting their own comeuppance. Instead, I got a bit bored. It’s not that it’s a bad book, per se, it was just a bit predictable and again, a bit boring. I felt that initially the story had a fantastic premise but it just fell flat in its execution. I was entertained for the most part but if there was a second book, I probably wouldn’t read it. What I did like was that it was a quick read, there wasn’t a lot of fluff/filler, and I liked the main character, Ember, she was relatable and well-developed.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review.

When I read the description for this book, I was incredibly excited to read it. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish the book and I ended up DNFing at 50%. I'm a huge fan of dark books, thrillers, secret societies... Everything about this book called out to me. However, from the very first page I had difficulty with the writing style. To me, a lot of this book read as a diary entry trying too hard.

Basically this book is about a secret society of girls who accept favor IOUs to complete a jobs or requests that the students ask of them. Anything from rigging prom queen to breaking up couples to changing grades. The MC believes they are responsible for her older sister's life-altering injury and has decided to infiltrate the secret society and take it down from within.

I thought this book had incredible potential and I was intrigued enough that I want to know what happened and how it ended, but I was not enjoying reading it, so I'll look for spoilers online. Like I said previously, I was not a fan of the writing itself. I also thought the characters fell flat, and I was just bored.

The cover is gorgeous and the story is promising. Unfortunately I was disappointed by the book itself and stopped reading at 50%.

I enjoyed the ideas of this book, a secret society of women. So, the main character Ember is taken down by the Red Court so she decides to beat them at thier own game. Driven by revenge she spends years enraged and full of hatred.
Now, this book was really good. Kind of reminded me of the Mean Girls movie in a way. This was a fast read and the book ended really well. Thus is a strong novel, I definitely will be recommending it to friends and my bookclub!!

This story was middle of the road for me, it has some great bones and I can see it becoming something grand; but as it is, it feels too simple and lacking. Let me explain.

The main character wants revenge on fellow classmates who are part of a high school secret society called the Red Court; as a few years ago they permanently injured her sister. Okay, the story has everything you would typically expect in this Mean Girls meets a less violent Heather's, with a mix of every other high school story out there. A strong female lead, her quirky minority sidekick, a secret society, a nasty girl leader, a soft but clueless teacher, pranks that go too far, easy dialogue and a predictable ending.

Now these stories keep being retold because they work, this one just didn't have any surprise twists or turn or gasping moments too keep me interested. There were plenty of times where the author could have taken it deeper or given a reason at all (some very thin explanations and motives here). If this was to be a success in my mind it needed more depth, intrigue, more bold choices and full bodied characters that had backbones and grit.

I did enjoy the character development. I thought each character was unique and different, easy to understand and not cookie cutter. I liked the way they spoke to each other, the dialogue was accurate for the age group and didn't try too hard. The story did feel like a high school tale, I found it to be as accurate to the time/place as can be expected in fiction. This is a face paced story with few lulls so it is an easy read.

While the story ends complete, it also end in a way where I can easily see a book two and kind of know where the author would take that story. If your looking for a fast read where you don't have to pay too much attention this is a good book. It's entertaining enough. I received an ARC via NetGalley and I am leaving an honest review.

The Red Court has ruled Heller High for as long as anyone can remember. They are the girls behind the scenes who accept requests of all kinds from the student body: grade boosts, election rigging, take downs--and Ember Williams is going to beat them at their own game. Ever since her sister, April, was in an accident that left her paraplegic, all thanks to a Red Court take down, Ember has spent years of her life enveloped in the need for revenge. But the further she gets into the court, the more she starts to unravel as her need for vengeance consumes her and she starts to drown in her own hatred. The outcome of her plan may be unsure, but one thing is certain: card decks will be shuffled and heads are gonna roll.

This book was deliciously evil and cunning to the end-I loved it! Not only was it a fast read, but there was a perfect blend of action and romance and I thought the plot was extremely well thought through since this was a book where several things were occurring all at the same time. Ember's realization about the cycle of use and the harming of the innocent struck a chord with me and I was reminded of the first time I realized that too, which brought out much more emotion in me than I was expecting from These Vengeful Hearts. Extremely well done.

The only discrepancy I noticed was there were some grammatical errors within the text, but that could be because of the version I was given to download.

Honestly, I didn’t think this book was for me but I decided to give it a shot. I am SO glad that I did! Within the first chapter I was hooked and couldn’t stop!

I was really into this book. I surprisingly liked all of the characters, which is rare for this kind of story. It ended in such a way that I think there may be a sequel. If so, I look forward to reading it. 3.5 stars rounded up.

#TheseVengefulHearts #NetGalley
I enjoyed this book. I think that secret society aspect is a little "much", but it's a book that will have you turning the pages. Sometimes it's okay just to read for fun!.

These Vengeful Hearts is a high school drama centered around a secret group called the Red Court. Because of an accident (or was it...) that happened to her sister two years ago, Ember Williams has been planning on a way to get into the group to bring it down. She does everything right: 4.0 student, Runner, Debate captain. When she finds a Queen of Hearts card in her locker and is sent on missions, Ember discovers that she has a talent for scheming and controlling others. However, people she cares about start getting hurt, and she needs to make decisions on which side she is really on and how her mission might change. The story is a fun, suspenseful read that will keep you wondering who is pulling the strings. This book is about knowing who you are, staying true to yourself, friendship, relationships, and family. The last sentence hints there might be a sequel in the works. It will be fun to see how Ember and her friends handle the challenge.

This was an enjoyable read. The characters and storyline were well written. This will appeal to YA readers who are looking for a psychological suspenseful thriller. For fans of The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas.

There was a lot of potential here, but for me it fell flat. There's so much buildup, but it all gets brought down by weak character development and an uninteresting execution. It does a lot of things right, such as getting tension and creating really interesting plot events. Again, the character and her motivations are weak, and I felt that she needed to be developed a bit more for me to be fully on board. I don't hate this at all, but I honestly expected more.

I was hoping that this book would be good. The cover is amazing and the idea of a secret society doing people's bidding sounded like a really intriguing plot. I'm glad that it was because I was needing something to help take my mind off the mediocre books I had been reading.

Ember Williams has one goal: take down the Red Court. There isn't a lot of information given in the beginning about why she is doing what she did besides the fact that her sister's accident was caused by the infamous group. There is a lot of sacrifice for revenge and sometimes it becomes too much for her to take on. I'm glad that even with what was going on she still had a conscious about it. There are definitely times that she gets swept into it and we get to see how unhealthy revenge can be.

I would say that this book is definitely more plot driven but there is a great cast of characters. Ember's best friend Gideon is basically her angel on her shoulder. There is also all the people in the secret society and we do get introduced to most of them. Honestly, I thought I knew who the Queen of Hearts was but I was wrong and super surprised at the end!

The whole plot was quite entertaining and I liked seeing all of the tasks unfolding, whether good or bad. The ending felt a bit rushed but it seems that there could be a second book? The ending was kind of left open.

Overall, it was a great read that helped me kick the reading slump blues.

I feel like this book had a lot of potential but instead fell back on what I can only imagine is the source material making what could have been a great story it’s own tragic queen of spades.

“These Vengeful Hearts” follows Ember as she finally joins the elusive Red Court, an organization of young women at school who trade favors for jobs giving you anything from the title of homecoming queen or breaking up the new it couple so you have a chance at your crush, in order to bring down the Queen but her plans go sideways when she finds that the hierarchy is a bit more tricky than she imagined especially when she finds that she enjoys the power that comes with the title.

This is literally a book version of mean girls.

I feel like the orchestration of this secret society is wasted on a plot that is so similar to the film that it was spoiled before I even turned the first page to the point that I can’t understand why one would go through the trouble of orchestrating a dynamic that could have been a high school version of Ocean’s 8 but instead of making that its own piece it decided to superimpose it onto Regina George and the plastics.

This one actually stings a little bit because I feel like it could have been such a fun read if it tried to be it’s own thing but instead the entire house of cards fell apart and nothing of substance or at least entertainment was left in its wake.

This was a huge disappointment.

**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

I enjoyed this book, the premise was interesting and I thought it was quite clever. I think the female secret society could accomplish a lot.

I liked that the author focused onthe realities of what happens when you let revenge consume you and the unhealthiness of it.

I will be recommending this book to customers.

This book was received as an ARC from Inkyard Press in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I did not know what to expect from this novel. Just by judgement of the cover, I thought it was going to be another adaptation of Alice in Wonderland and another scheme by the Queen of Hearts but, this book took a whole new turn. Here comes a secret society called the Red Court that their identities are to remain anonymous and the only one that knows their true identities is the Queen of Hearts. All set in Heller High School, the red court is thew source of all the gossip and the consequences they entail. Ember Williams was once a victim of the Red Court but finds a way inside as a member and is out for revenge. A brilliant plan comes with huge risk and Ember will stop at nothing to revenge the Red Court from the harm they caused her, even if it means risking it all. This book reminded me of any high school drama inspired YA novel. They all have the same concept and they all have the same result. As I read though the novel, I could not help but be bored because everything was so predictable. I was waiting for the huge twist but to what I thought just happened to connect to the original plot getting my hopes up.

For that reason, their may be a few YA enthusiasts interested in the novel but in this case, we have to give this book 3 stars.

The premise of this sounded amazing but the execution was a train wreck. You're immediately dropped into a confusing situation before being shuffled along to an awkward conversation between best friend and main character. There's no background at all to the plot or the characters. They're talking about a situation that you know nothing about and they're arguing based on the morals of a character that you've never met before or established a relationship with.

I wish I could give this book a good review but it was an immensely frustrating experience.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Inkyard Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*