I'm pretty much never one to read YA thrillers because there's usually too much "girl hate" in it - but She's Too Pretty to Burn is like, the opposite and wasn't a bad read at all. There's romance, murder, and thrills, obviously, and it's done in a way that is easy to read while also being exciting at every turn. Though I had some glaring problems with the main couple - mostly about how they seemed to just use each other for their own purposes - the ending redeemed the two girls and it was kind of sweet... besides the circumstances surrounding the climax that makes the whole scene pretty depressing. Also, the antagonist was pretty unexpected and an interesting character - I say this while still hating them, mind you.

If you're not convinced, just know that neither girl dies in the end. It's so refreshing, especially when lesbians always needlessly die in books!

"What a waste that would have been. You're too pretty to burn."

I admired what this book was trying to do. It is loosely based on one of my favorite books, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and it is a thriller centered around a sapphic romance in the art scene. Sounds amazing! I'm all in!

The first 60% of this book was pretty boring for me which is why it took so long for me to read. It did reach a point where I got excited but then quickly became boring afterward and picked up a little at the very end.

The writing was not as beautiful as I expected. It wasn't bad, it was fine but if you compare a book to The Picture of Dorian Gray you can't blame me for expecting the writing to be almost as lush as the writing in that book.

As a queer human, it was nice seeing other queer humans in a YA book, especially queer women, that aren't being fetishized. I appreciated the commentary on sexism, homophobia, and just toxic men in general.

As I said earlier, the ending was something I enjoyed but did not make up for the lack of enjoyment I felt during the rest of the book. I overall liked what this book had to say but I felt that the summary made me have elevated expectations for what the story would be.

3/5

I had been seeing this book everywhere and for good reason! This book was everything I wanted it to be, and more! Heard did a fantastic job and I am so glad I was able to read this!

I want to preface this by saying I've never read The Picture of Dorian Gray so I can't say if this a good retelling or not. With that being said, I found She's Too Pretty too Burn to be just OK.

Wendy Heard has a way of writing that sucks you in even if the plot feels all over the place. I felt like there was a lot of major events that happened but never any time for the characters to sit and think about what they did it just went into another event. I didn't like any of the characters. I understand the author had put Mick and Veronica in this toxic relationship but it didn't feel believable. It all just felt forced and rushed.

2/5 stars for me on this one
Although this wasn't my favorite I would still check out books from Wendy Heard in the future

This was a fast-paced, twisty thriller-romance combo that I think will appeal to fans of Kit Frick or Courtney Summers. I really didn't see where things were going from beginning to end and was kept on the edge of my seat! Would definitely look forward to reading more from this author.

***received ARC from netgalley***

Once I got about a quarter of the way into this book the action really picked up and I stayed up to finish reading it. It's a fast and easy read split up into alternating POV each chapter. I was disappointed in the ending. After Nico tried to kill Veronica and Mick, there were no repercussions for him. He disappeared and got away with it and continued to cause destruction. Mick's relationship with her mom was left unresolved. I just came away wanting more.

Holy crap, I started this book about 4 hours ago and finished it without ever putting it down. The beginning of this book starts off kind of like a contemporary LGBT romance book but then quickly turns into a perfect murder mystery. This book had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish!

I received an advanced readers copy from the publisher via NetGalley

She’s Too Pretty to Burn is a young adult/new adult drama. It follows Veronica and Mick as they meet, begin dating, and go on adventures together. This was a very well written book, and I enjoyed it a lot. The characters were, in my opinion, almost wholly unlikable. I wanted to shake them and tell them to make better decisions- that’s how you know that the author is skilled at writing teenagers. It was a good read though, and I found myself wondering what happened to the characters after the last page.

This book will have you hanging on the edge of a cliff.
WOW! Such a thrilling book. Probably the best book I've read in 2020.
Thank you NetGalley, Publisher and Author.

In her sapphic reimaging of 'A Picture of Dorian Gray', Wendy Heard crafts a passionate story of love, art, and life with her realistic characters and a plot that will thrill and chill you to the very end!

(3++ stars! Rounded up)
Setting is San Diego: Best friends Veronica and Nico are into art.
Veronica loves photography, she uses a camera with film (really not a digital camera) additionally has a darkroom to develops her photographs. Nico well Nico does environmentally themed installations. However, it is more chaotic performance art, which many are on the illegal side. (He is truly a unique person)

Veronica meets shy Mick at a party and hit it off. Mick is not comfortable in front of the camera but Veronica convinces her that she can become more comfortable with practice. Veronica tricks her to pose by saying there is no film in the camera. Veronica captures what she believes is the shot she has been waiting for; hence the connection to “The Picture of Dorian Gray”.
They develop a relationship and are falling in love. And now Veronica and Nico pull Mick into their dangerous art world!

Hmmm next part of the story to me was blah blah and I almost DNF

Then Yikes! What is happening? I like these characters ~ how did I miss what was really going on?
I was reading the last 1/3 of the story so fast I was getting afraid of a whiplash. In fact, this story kept me awake last night! I had to reread parts of it this morning to make sure I “got it” before writing down my thoughts.

Story is told from the POV of Mika and Veronica and then Nico steps in!

Want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing ~ Henry Holt and Co (BYR) for this early release granted to me in exchange for an honest professional review. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 30, 2021

She's Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard--Oh my gosh! I can't wait to out this into the hands of my students!! I couldn't put it down.
Mick is a beautiful introvert who would rather stay at home than join the mother/daughter photoshoot her model mom insists they do, after all, they desperately need the money. Victoria is a budding photographer who feels she can captures Mick's raw beauty..and possibly her heart. And then there's Nico, Victoria's best friend and talented artist who will stop at nothing to make his art perfect.
When Victoria and Mick meet, they feel they have found what they have been looking for. Nico even invites Mick to come with them to his latest art installation, a top secret project geared to make those who make the rules about our environment stand up and take notice. As the art projects progress, so does the level of danger. What was initially freeing for Mick may be a deeper hole for her to try to escape.
Wonderfully written: well-paced with a great storyline.
Comes out March 30, 2021. #shestooprettytoburn #wendyheard #netgalley

Other than the fast-paced aspect, the writing style just wasn't for me. It was kind of hard to follow and the scenes didn't really connect. I hated the characters. I think the point was that they're supposed to be unlikable and that they have a horrible and toxic relationship, but they were also boring. I've seen some people say that it's not like The Picture of Dorian Gray at all, but I wasn't expecting it to be a direct retelling, and I think it's pretty obvious how this book draws inspiration from it.

this book was good, different than many others i have read, it explores ideas of art used to heal and to harm, to revott. it explores love and self acceptance, risk taking, truth telling. it leaves us with an open ended, possibly a second book exploring these characters

So...okay once I finished this book, I felt like I had emerged from a fever dream. The writing is hypnotic, and the plot will keep you turning the pages. The characters are awful people, their actions have little personal consequence, and the storyline goes to some real dark places. Did I like this book? I still don't know, but I can't stop thinking about it.

This story is not a retelling of Dorian Gray, but I can see how it's inspired by the famous Oscar Wilde story. Some parts are pretty out there, and Nico's obsession doesn't really make any sense to me, but there were some pretty suspenseful scenes once the story got going. The relationship between Mick and Veronica is so unhealthy it made me nauseous sometimes. There is so much manipulation, lack of consent, and disregard for boundaries that I found their relationship more obsessive rather than romantic. The level of obsessiveness, however, makes me think Heard crafted these characters like this on purpose, and it definitely contributes to the all-around wild, hazy vibes I got while reading this book.

Overall, I'd recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a fast-paced, out-there thriller with morally ambiguous characters. It's marketed as YA, but I'd say it's a good fit for older YA readers.

This book was an action packed whirl that I could not put down. A thriller that started off with one of the characters, Veronica, staring up watching the birds as she died. And then fast enough to give the reader whiplash there was a story of teenage angst and love. Veronica sees Mick at a party and she has to get to know her. Veronica is a photographer and Mick is a swimmer who is pathologically afraid of having her picture taken. There is some predictable bumps in their road but their love story feels realistic and was compelling. Veronica’s friends have an art installation coming up but she could never predict what they truly have planned. The writing was excellent and I liked that we got to see what was occurring from both Veronica and Mick’s perspectives. There is murder and mystery and it’s definitely a thriller, but all of that is pretty much at the second half of the book. Definitely recommend pre-ordering this one! It comes out in March 2021 and while that seems like a far ways off it’s worth the wait!

WHEW. She's Too Pretty to Burn is one of those thrillers that grabs hold and doesn't let go. The tension is a bit slow to start, but by the 25% point I was all-in, reading on in terror, sure that every character I cared about was going to die. I had to force myself to put the book down and take a breath every once in awhile.

The story - as the back cover copy indicates - is about an artist named Veronica who meets a gorgeous, messy athlete named Mick. They both get wrapped up in Veronica's BFF's performance art installations...and from there everything grows more and more chaotic, tense, and dangerous.

I haven't been so genuinely afraid for the lives of characters in ages. 10/10 would recommend.

4.5

This is a spectacular thriller. I read it in two sittings only because during the first one, I started too late in the night and accidentally fell asleep in between chapters. Oops. Both times, though, I didn't want to stop, because everything just flowed into the next event and the tension just seemed to never stop. RIP to my neck and back muscles, because they were definitely tense every moment of that. And RIP to my REM cycles that were busted after reading this. (Both very valid reasons as to why I don't usually read dark thrillers, but I will do absolutely anything for a queer teen romance.)

Without giving anything away, I'll say that the ending is the sort of thing that leaves juuust enough hanging to keep you hanging off the edge of your seat until the very last line and to keep your thoughts spinning even after the last page. I personally find endings like these leave me just on the wrong side of wanting to pull my hair off, so I would have wanted the bows tied a little more neatly, but I know that a lot of my more thriller or suspense loving friends will absolutely love this ending.

Like I said, I was drawn in mainly by the Sapphic aspect of it, but I still wound up really enjoying the darker tones and suspense. Since this is mostly a thriller that happens to have a queer romance, not really a book /about/ being queer, I have no doubt that fans of suspense who pick this up are going to have a greeeeat time reading it. 2021 is looking like a good year for books!

What a wild story! I loved this one. It kept me on the edge of my seat constantly wondering what would come next. Fast paced romance, thrill, murder..truly an awesome thriller.

This was one heck of a book! It had me in complete tatters, waiting to have it all come together! Full of suspense, thrills, chills, and shocks! I felt it was a pretty realistic, unique book! It had amazing character development, which made me glued to knowing what’s going on! It’s one I won’t forget easily, which I absolutely love in my books! Unputdownable, suspenseful, and chilling! Not to be missed, highly recommend! Clear schedules and do not start prior to bed!

Will buzz around and use lower amazon reviewer numbers on release date!