These Vengeful Hearts is a YA thriller that follows Ember as she tries to take down the Red Court, a super secret society that basically controls the entire school. Ember has been planning the dismantling of the group since the Red Court caused the accident that left her sister paralyzed.

I thoroughly enjoyed These Vengeful Hearts! I was deeply invested in the story and I never wanted to stop reading. This book was definitely a page turner.

The Red Court intrigued me from page one! The all girl secret society accepts favors from classmates. This could be anything from breaking up couples, rigging elections or even takedowns. The group is notorious for ruining lives. I loved being right alongside Ember as she learned the ins and outs of the group while also trying to figure out the best way to get revenge for her sister.

I loved the main character Ember. She was determined and so relatable. Being part of the Red Court really took a huge toll on her. She entered the group with a clear mission and decided she would do anything to achieve it. Along the way though, she really struggled with the line between good and bad & right and wrong. I appreciated that Ember took note of her mistakes and learned from them.

The only real issue I had with this story was the ending. I found it to be rushed. The entire book was building up to what I thought would be a very dramatic conclusion, but that wasn’t the case. The actual ending wasn’t really unsatisfying per se, but it did seem way too simple and almost unrealistic. With that said, I am interested to see if there will be a sequel? If so, I will for sure read it!

All in all, this was an enjoyable, fast paced thriller. If you enjoy books about secret societies and revenge, I would definitely recommend giving These Vengeful Hearts a read!

This was a bit different than what I expected. I thought there would be some sort of mystical or magical element, maybe something spooky, but it was just a bunch of folks being mean - not really my cup of tea, but that's not the author's fault!! The book is well written with a gorgeous cover and an intriguing premise. I love secret society type stories, and this one did keep me interested enough to keep turning the pages despite some of the issues I had regarding the subject matter not really being my thing.

I did not enjoy this book. The plot seemed intriguing, but I feel like it did not reach its full potential. It is just another story of mean girls in high school. I thought there would be something new or more magic.

The concept of this book was so fun! A secret society in a high school that does the dirty work for other people?! This sounded like it was right by my alley. And for the most part it was. I loved the characters but wish there was a little bit more to the plot. It felt like everything almost came together too easily at the end and some of the plot twists were a bit predictable. But, overall I enjoyed reading this!

*Note: I received a free copy of this book from Netgally in exchange for my honest opinion

I love a good, suspenseful secret society story! This was a well written and engaging tale of a sister out for revenge. It is appropriately YA and in that regard has the YA level of angst and characters finding their way in the world. It had mean girls meets secret society vibes and kept me entertained.

***ARC received from Inkyard Press and NetGalley in exchange for honest review, opinions are all my own. Thank you!***

I wasn’t really sure at first whether I was going to like this book. I was mostly drawn in by the pretty cover art. The story itself is not something that I normally would reach for but its hard to pass up secret societies and tales of revenge set in the ultra drama filled world of high school students. In the end, it didn’t disappoint even if some things were left lacking.

We follow Ember as she tries to get in with the Red Court, a secretive group that basically runs the school with favors, rigging and take downs. Ember blames the Red Court for what happened to her sister and is bound to take it apart from the inside. Much of the book focuses more on Ember as she struggles with the moral grey area that the Red Court functions in. We don’t get to learn much about how the Red Court functions or how they go about getting all the information that they need for take down. You have to serioucly suspend your belief a bit and just accept that the high school is run by the most worthless group of adults out there. Seriously, other than showing up in classes they seem to have no control or the basic understanding over anything that happens in the school. Plus, the fact that the Red Court members are supposed to be secret to everyone but seem to do things in the school in broad daylight and are never noticed. You just have to kind of go with it since that’s not the focus of the story.

I did like Ember and her struggles with the Red Court. She goes into it with a very specific viewpoint of the Red Court and slowly comes to realize that the group is much more than what she believes. The Red Court only functions at the whims of the students, which Ember slowly comes to understand. A lot of what the Red Court does, even what seems like a genuine act to help someone can come from a selfish place. In the end the girls on the Red Court aren’t doing what they do because they themselves are mean but that they just carry out what is asked of them.

It doesn’t mean the Red Court is angels, their moral compass is clearly not pointing north and some of their actions go well beyond someone getting to be homecoming queen. I wish it had been addressed further. We live in an age of bullying and rising teen suicide rates yet this book seems to be completely removed from that. No one faces any real consequences which makes a bit of sense with how the book ended as it did.

The books ending sees Ember finally confront the Queen of Hearts and Red Court. It didn’t play out as I would hoped it would but I think it played out in the most real way with how Ember had developed as a character and what she has come to realize about the world as a whole. That actions should have consequences but who faces the consequences, the named members of the Red Court or the anonymous society that created and uses them? Something Ember figured out through struggling with what is right and what is wrong, so while not the satisfying ending the most true we would have expected.

The secondary characters are not fully fleshed out but they are much more than just paper cutout characters. Gideon is the gay best friend that was thankfully not just that gay stereotype best friend that is both encouraging and discouraging of Ember. Haley was my fav though, getting to watch her cold exterior slowly melt away after the book slowly reveals who she is and her own personal struggles. Chase is just, there I guess. The romance felt forced, once of the few tropes this book falls into, I could have done without it.

In the end, I would recommend it.

3-4 stars! Unfortunately, this book was just not what I expected by the cover and synopsis. It was a bit slow, confusing, and just hard to really get into it and enjoy. But I was able to finish and did enjoy many aspects of it. I think something may he missing or it could’ve been written a bit differently, to maximize on the premise, but even with these missteps, I do think many will be able to read and enjoy. There’s some really fast paced, great parts, and then some not great parts. If it looks intriguing to you, pick it up, as I’m a moody reader and may be judging a bit too harshly!
Will make sure to mention to others on platforms and use low Amazon reviewer number on release date!

The premise of this book was promising. A high school revenge story - intrigue, double agents, drama - what could be better? At the end, though, I don't think the story lived up to the premise.
The pacing was pretty quick. I didn't feel that the story slowed down much through the book. However, it felt a little juvenile to me. As the premise had included someone being permanently injured due to the secret society, I thought that the stakes would be a bit more life and death.
Even though the protagonist seemed to think that the stakes were very dire, I did not feel any real sense of dread or even urgency. Everything seemed very high-school; of course, this is set in high-school, with a 16 yr old protagonist. At 16, everything seems dire and high-stakes and dramatic.
I just felt that not enough weight was being given to circumstances that were/are actually serious.
There are so many real issues that teens face - sexual assault, alcoholism, drugs, physical violence, guns, pregnancy, etc. - and this book just seemed to be about boys and notes and who likes who. One character even came from a pretty uncomfortable home life, where the possibility of abuse was, I think, very real. But that situation was never really followed - just mentioned as a driving force.
I did find this to be an enjoyable, if a bit light, read; but ultimately I found it to be pretty forgettable. I may or may not read a sequel if there is one.
I would read something else by this author, though, as the writing itself was good.
**Many thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange my honest review.**

Enthralling! A favor for a favor! You want something, you must give something in return whenever you are called on or pay the price!
The Red Court is a society of female students at Heller High who are joined for the purpose of doing favors that result in personal gain. Need votes for homecoming queen, it will cost you but you won’t know how much until you are called on. Refuse to return the favor and suffer the consequences and social humiliation!
Ember is filled with a need for revenge after her sister April was seriously injured and unable to walk again after one of the Court’s plots. She is determined to take down the Red Court from the inside by infiltrating and becoming a member. She will find herself needing t make choices and she is left to wonder How far will she go for revenge?
Thank you Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review!

*I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

2.5/5

Review may contain very slight spoilers.

I feel like this book had an amazing premise, and so much potential, but it really lost me on the execution.

First of all, we are thrown right into the plot where the main character and her best friend are arguing about the morals of something that hasn't been explained to us yet. When it is explained, we sort of have to backtrack to that conversation at the beginning in our heads.

I thought that the idea of using the different cards in different ways in the Red Court was really clever, but it lost all sorts of reliability in how easy it seemed to be for the main character to find out these things that were supposed to be secrets so heavily guarded and kept and it just became unbelievable. The Red Court has supposedly been around for years and years and it is so feared in the school which was an amazing idea, but the main character Ember being able to stumble upon the answers to things so easily felt really unbelievable. If it was that easy, how come nobody else - including teachers- ever been able to figure it out before?

Coming to the characters, I just didn't like them. My favourite was easily Ember's best friend, Gideon. Ember herself was irritating and insufferable most the time and I found myself trying to relate to her in any way, and trying to care about what she was going through and it was just impossible. She put herself in such awful positions with people of her own doing and never once owned up to anything being her fault or a mistake. I found it impossible to care for her at all, even in the end. I really didn't like how she treated her friends

The romance seemed completely unnecessary and I just didn't believe it. These two people who we are told have always hated each other because they are rivals (we are told this, we never see them actually being rivalrous towards one another) all of a sudden seem to be obsessed with each other romantically, it made no sense and added nothing to the story in my opinion.

Coming to the ending, I found it mostly lacklustre and predictable. It was fine, but with all the build up before it after it was over I felt pretty disappointed.

This was a quick read and definitely one where the pages seemed to go by really quick which was nice. The authors writing was easy to digest and enjoyable to read, but unfortunately it was the characters and the plot that lost it for me.

I came for the secret society. I couldn't stay any longer for the cattiness. It's 2020, why are we still hyping girl drama? I know drama is a realistic teen thing but it was so over the top and ridiculous here. And for such a mysterious 'elite' club, why is their claim to fame breaking up couples or cheating to get on the Homecoming Court? 🙄 Need by Joelle Charbonneau is basically this but done better.

Thank you, Inkyard, for giving me the opportunity to read and review These Vengeful Hearts.

*Thank you Inkyard Press for the eARC from Netgalley.

2.5 / 5 stars

The Red Court has always lingered in the shadows of Heller High. Everyone knows of this secret society who works to collect favors and dish out what has been requested of them. Ember Williams knows exactly what the court is capable of. Ember’s sister was in an accident that left her with extensive damage because of a Red Court scheme. Ember’s goal for this year is to get into the secretive court so that she can find out the identity of the members and disband the court. Ember is determined to get justice for her sister.

The system of the court was interesting. I thought that the use of cards as different means of communication was a creative idea. Students know where to submit requests, and by making this location in a locker the reader gets a further sense of how much control the Red Court has. However, I find it a bit confusing that no one seemed to be able to see people acting suspicious or secretive around the locker; which might lead to identities being revealed for the Red Court or the favored. I think it would have been more interesting for the location to be changed and maybe have a creative system in order for announcing these things. I can tell that some creative thinking was used for elements of this plot, but overall most were just a bit too lacking.

The characters were okay most of the time, but Ember was insufferable most of the time. I saw Ember as a toxic character throughout the novel. Her desire to seek justice for her sister is admirable in a sense, but she helped cause grief for others in the process. I will add that she recognizes this, but all in all she still did it. Ember was also problematic towards those she loved the most. When others call her out on her behavior she chooses to deflect and attack them. I do not think she should have been so easily forgiven. She barely apologized and instead made others apologize to her, even though they basically did no wrong.

Also, there were some elements that just felt too thrown in. The rivalry between Ember and Chase felt so fake. They are apparently rivals because of academics? I pose this as a question, because it felt so staged and random. It was also so annoying that it kept being brought up in their conversations. It was exhausting.

Overall, this was disappointing. The ending was predictable and overall not worth it for me. I pushed through this to get to the ending, but it ended up just being a let down for me. If you are looking for a quick read with more gossip girl kind of revenge feel, then you may enjoy this.

Between the cover and the blurb, I was excited to read this book. A secret society? Yes, please! The story takes place in a high school setting. We meet Ember who has plans on taking down the Red Court. Can she pull it off?

I had really high hopes for this read. It was all there but it didn’t quite deliver. There were a lot of places where I was kind of bored. The story is good but I wish there was a bit more darkness to it. Again, this is just my opinion. The characters were good. I had some favorites. I really liked that they had more to them than at first glance. Some of them even surprised me towards the end! I wasn’t sure how I felt about the ending but there was one aspect of it that I really liked and it had me fist pumping and saying “Yes!”. Yes, I totally did it.

As a whole, this is a good book. I would recommend to friends. I just needed more. If there is a second, I would love to read it because I am invested in some of these characters. I give this 3 stars.

Let's talk about one of my most anticipated reads for this year - These Vengeful Hearts. A secret society of high school students that bring their own brand of justice while hiding behind a mask.

Such a fun high school drama that centers around a good girl turns bad girl. Ember joins the Red Court to get revenge for something that happened to her sister and finds joy in taking down other people. Ember shows extraordinary character development throughout the course of the book. Even the supporting characters grow well, including her best friend Gideon.

SO much happened in this book, but all of it tied up nicely in the end. This was a solid fun book with a wonderful small nods to Alice in Wonderland throughout the book (most notably through the red court).

I did enjoy this book though some parts fell flat for me, I would probably rate this at 3.5 stars. The secret society aspect was cool and all but some parts left me wanting more. I could probably pick up other books with secret societies and get the same feel.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book! It was a fun high school drama, centering around a "good" girl who sort of turns into a "bad" girl. Ember joins the Red Court to get revenge for something that happened to her sister, and finds that she enjoys taking down other people. She also learns a lot about herself and who she is through the course of the book. I enjoyed getting to know her, as well as many of the supporting characters, especially her best friend, Gideon, who I thought was the best character in the book. However, I felt like the plot fell a bit flat, or was a bit too superficial. Many things happened in the book, but it all tied up too nicely and never really achieved the deep, dark feel that I was expecting. Everyone ended up being too nice, and the ending was just a bit too sweet to be believable. This was a solid, fun book, but not amazing.

I really wanted to enjoy this book. I love the concept of a secret society, but it fell flat for me. I do have to be in a mood for different types of genres, so if I am not in that mood to feel for the book I tend to not enjoy it.

This is a DNF for me. I need to be engaged pretty quickly with a thriller and it’s just not catching on for me. It’s not horrible or anything, just not for me. I do love that cover though.

This was one of those titles that I really feel like I had to try to like. The concept was interesting, a secret society of high school students that hold their own brand of vindictive justice while hiding behind a mask of anonymity.

Unfortunately, it quickly fell flat for me though. I found the main character to be uninteresting, and her motives to be questionable. I also just didn't enjoy the idea of entitled high school students being cruel to one another for the sake of it.

All in all, while I can see why some would enjoy this title, it just wasn't for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. It was a quick read and grabbed my attention from the very first sentence. The main character was well rounded and likeable. The author kept my interest throughout the story and although I had guesses as to the course the novel was going to take, I really didn’t know until the end when it was unraveled.