An unconventional mystery that took me by surprise at first. Once I adjusted, I really enjoyed this story about a pair of young women and their relationship with each other and with a volatile street/performance artist and activist. It's a romance, it's a mystery, it's an interesting and memorable story.

If you like mysteries that have more unusual storytelling, definitely try this one!

I’m not sure how I feel about this book. I gave it 4 stars because I just sat here and read the entire thing in one go, buuut...

wlw relationship: thumbs up
plot: eh, weird, but good

*sigh* I may be too old to properly love YA books anymore—particularly wlw YA. would definitely recommend though.

This is one of those books that totally sucks you in from the beginning and you just have to keep reading it even if you're not actually enjoying it lol. My main issue with this book is that the two MCs never learned from their mistakes. That was so frustrating to read about. The adults in this book are all trash and there were parts of this book that you definitely need to suspend your disbelief for. I will say that there were some crazy plot twists throughout and it was really well paced, but other than that this book was kind of a train wreck.

I devoured this book. I was so hooked on the story and the mystery of it all that it just added more fuel to how quickly I could read it. I enjoyed Mick and Veronica as characters, flawed and realistic. I certainly did not see the climax coming so my anxiety was at an all time high while I road the roller coaster that is this story. Wendy Heard is wicked awesome and a true story teller. This story is not for everyone, there are certainly things that will trigger some people. If you are able to get past these triggers, I would highly recommend picking this one up. I did deduct a star due to a rushed/flat ending, I do prefer having closure when reading a stand alone. I will be be patiently waiting for the next book Wendy Heard will write. Okay, probably not very patiently.


*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this title.*

I was sucked into this book by the cover, the description, the author's previous books, and that first chapter that was more of a prologue.

Unfortunately, I'm in the minority of reviewers. I could not get past the sixty percent mark with any enthusiasm, and I forced myself to finish this book. While most describe this book as a rollercoaster, I just wanted off.

I can't understand the characters. A teenager who doesn't want to be famous for beauty? A photographer who can't see the bigger picture? Animals killed in the name of art? The poor choices all around had me frustrated and disgusted. I wish my review were something other than what it is, but I didn't like this one.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for an E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Let me first say that this book had so much promise. I enjoyed the idea of it, but the execution completely left a small 'eh' feeling when it came to finishing. Between the timeline and how fast the book progressed, and the characters toxicity, it left a bit to be desired.

Mick started off an intriguing as heck character. Her aversion to modeling and photographs, her descent into the 'bad girl' was definitely something I wanted to see. Then, she met Veronica. This meeting unfortunately took all my enjoyment away as immediately you could tell their relationship was going to be toxic from the get go. Already both girls were feeling things for one another, but already overstepping boundaries. Veronica completely ignores Mick's pleas for photography related things, then half the book Mick is completely not even telling or talking to Veronica at all.

This brings me to the third character. Nico. For a long bit I was confused on how old he was. Is he a teen, a older guy? Something in between? His characterization and how he did stuff never really made sense to me, and the more we figure out what's going on with the stuff behind the scenes, the more he seemed to be strong in a villain sense, but the execution just made his character 2d in a way.

The synopsis of this book had me with the Sapphic take on Dorian Gray.
Then it had me again at the words murder and mystery. Unfortunately, that's exactly where it left me.

First, let me say that this book was a rollercoaster and I am not quite sure how I feel about it. Second, let me tell you that aside from the use of art and the slight corruption of a muse, this had little to do with the masterpiece that is The Picture of Dorian Gray.

For starters, I think that all the wild events in this book, from the character's meeting to the drawings and the murders and arson, all took place within ten days hurt the story. Ten days for these characters to fall in love/ infatuation with each other, and for everything that could have gone wrong to go horribly wrong. The timeline made it hard to believe the relationship between the characters, especially since there wasn't any actual reason as to why Mick would have grown so attached to Nico and Veronica as quickly as she did. 

The unrealistic and toxic relationship between Mick and Veronica really bothered me at times. It's hard to believe that the two are friends, much less, girlfriends. Veronica constantly invades Mick's privacy and refuses to ask for consent before doing so. Then after a minor disagreement, the breach is treated as ok and Mick ultimately accepts and forgives Veronica. Also, Mick is a minor. A teenage girl whose face shouldn't be publicized either online or in print without permission, and whose half undressed pictures shouldn't be sold in auctions. There is no way that this relationship is healthy, despite the way the author tries to tell us that it is.

Also, the draw that both Veronica and Nico felt toward Mick was never explained and never made sense. Where Dorian Gray got the attention of Basil and Lord Henry through his beauty, innocence, and general charm, Mick is just sort of there, you know. 




Then there was the plot of the book. It was a rollercoaster. A dark, violent, and strangely bloody rollercoaster. I actually liked the writing in the way it set the scene and atmosphere. And yet, I wasn't actually too invested in all the craziness that was happening.   I also wasn't a fan of the ending either. Some characters got away with everything. There were too many loose ends, too many pieces that didn't need to be left on the board. Had the book ended a few chapters earlier it would have been better, in my opinion.

Lastly, there was no character growth. No big realizations being made about who these characters were. Mick is ok with taking pictures of herself. That's all the change we get from anyone. 

Maybe I am being harsh on this book. But when you compare yourself to something as highly regarded as The Picture of Dorian Gray, and you don't deliver, it's hard to keep from pointing out the flaws. I think I just kept waiting for it to be a lot more like that novel than it was.

Overall, this book was ok. That said, I read it in one sitting and actually enjoyed the author's writing style. Still, I felt nothing while reading other than shock and disgust at some of the things done in the novel. If anything, it was effective at showing just how crazy the antagonist was.

Rating: 2.5/5

This book was so intense. It was a ya psychological thriller. A sapphic reimagining of the Picture of Dorian Gray. 

The romance between Mick(ayla) and Veronica was very whirlwind and love at first sight. As Mick gets tossed out of her house and tests the immediate chemistry they have by asking to stay with her. Mick is a competitive swimmer with a toxic model mother. Mick is terrified of having her picture taken. Veronica an aspiring photographer takes an amazing shot that goes viral.

This book had fascinating art installation pieces that I didn't realize are things but may just be environmental and political terrorism masking as art the way it escalated. I love art and the art community but there are lines and I'm sure they majority of us wouldn't cross them.

The name of the book takes on a different meaning the farther in you get. And I was so worried for Mick with her unforgiving selfish mother having to make adult choices so she wouldn't have to live on the streets. So many difficult choices stacking on top of them. At least there were a few good people that she could rely on if only they would believe her. 

I'm a little terrorized by all the villain was doing and uh I'm pretty sure the metaphor at the end of you get one and another will always take their place.

Thank you @netgalley and @henryholtbooks for the e-ARC for my honest and voluntary review.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

I received an ARC of She's Too Pretty to Burn thanks to the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review:
I have had this book sitting on my TBR shelf for what feels like forever and I constantly wanted to pick it up and read it, but other commitments (aka I requested too many books with releases dates earlier than this one) kept pushing it back. However, I have finally read the story and I am so happy I finally had the chance! It definitely lived up to the hype.

Veronica (passionate photographer) and Mick (shy girl caught in the whirlwind) become caught up in Nico's performance art, which is not what I would call "typical'. Nico wants to make a statement, an impact, and these installations definitely do. I loved all of the characters and their development. I felt for Mick whenever a camera was involved because I am the same way (I hate my picture being taken) and I loved the way she described the reason behind not wanting them (the 'from' not 'of scene).

The story was quick, engaging, and took some wild turns. I would describe She's Too Pretty to Burn as a LGBTQ+ version of The Initial Insult, with a more linear progression and more fire. I highly recommend this book and I cannot wait to see what Wendy Heard writes next!

I was drawn to this book by the cover and the title, and when I realized it was inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray I knew I needed to read it! She’s Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard is a YA psychological thriller. I loved the twists and turns in this one and found myself with a dropped jaw quite a few times! It took me by surprise. The book is well-written and the characters come off as true teenagers which is always something I appreciate when reading YA. I flew through this book and was completely sucked into the story. I also really liked the way everything wrapped up in this one. I would highly recommend this book if you’re a fan of psychological thrillers that keep you turning the pages!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this title. All opinions are voluntary, honest, and my own.

This book requires some suspension of belief, but once you’re safely in that YA thriller mindset, it’s a wild ride. The story is set in an image-obsessed San Diego where two young girls find themselves tangled up with disaster and tragedy while also exploring their attraction to each other. I loved the intensity of this story, which is a retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray. I think if I’d read the original text first, I might have a better grasp on the references, but I felt just fine without it. Highly recommend this book for thriller fans and anyone who’s looking to diversify their romance reading!

4.5 Stars

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and it did not disappoint! At first I was suspicious of the immediate romance, but it fit in with the story and the passion in the relationship paralleled the danger in the novel perfectly. I am so pleasantly surprised as I have not been having great reading luck this year. Wendy Heard is a new fav and this book will likely be one of my 2021 favorites!

I LOVED She's Too Pretty to Burn. Hailed as a modern Picture of Dorian Grey, Wendy Heard manages to take the bones of that story but make it her own. She fills the book with twists and turns, creating just the perfect amount of tension and mystery that had me guessing until the very end. I hope to see more from Wendy Heard in the future and can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

4☆

Characters-
The characters were probably the weakest point in this book. I didn't mind so much them being unlikeable, but I thought the relationships they had with each other felt off and unrealistic. I especially felt this way about the two main characters and their romance. In my opinion there should have been more conversations about how toxic they were for each other, but I think either the author didn't see the relationship as toxic or she purposely didn't have much conversation about it.

Plot-
The plot of this book was strange. I know She's Too Pretty to Burn is inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, but I have never read that. This book kind of had two storylines going on which worked well, yet the thriller aspect that this book is described as having didn't fully come until the very end of the novel which was a little disappointing.

Writing-
I loved that the author chose to give us two points of view and she did really well with it. I could easily tell whose chapter I was reading without looking at the heading. The characters had very distinct voices and I applaud the author for that.


Overall, I really enjoyed this book and don't have a whole lot of negative to say.

4.5 rounded up to 5...

I may have requested this one based on the cover, the title, and having no idea what it was about, but it ended up being a great move on my part because I loved this one!

She’s Too Pretty Too Burn, has been said to have been inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, I don’t remember that one, so if you have read this, let me know your thoughts!

I loved the setting in this one, the last place I traveled to before the shutdown/Covid was San Diego, and I was totally transported back to sunny California.

I loved the LGBT romance, and the dark turns this story takes. It did a great job of keeping my attention, and I definitely didn’t want to put this one down.

I liked it so much, I’m interested in exploring @wendydheard backlist for sure. I been seeing some mixed reviews for this one, but if you like YA, I hope you give it a chance!

TWs: Animal Cruelty

Out today!

Thanks @henryholtbooks for my copy!

She’s Too Pretty To Burn by Wendy Heard is an electric, well-plotted, and action-packed entry into the YA thriller genre. The story revolves around Mick (Mikayla) and Veronica, two 16/17 year olds in San Diego, CA who meet at a party and begin dating. Mick is a student, swimmer, and has a troubled relationship with her single mom. Veronica is a student, aspiring artist, with a supportive family. Veronica is deeply immersed in the local art scene and introduces Mick to her friend, Nico, a political performance artist. Nico’s performance pieces become increasingly confrontational and propel both characters into making dangerous and poor decisions.

The fist part begins with their meeting and fledgling relationship. Then things become more precarious and unpredictable with each of Nico’s performance pieces. Heard captures that feeling about being a teenager really well. I loved that when Mick and Veronica meet, they understand they are kindred spirits and pursue an adventure. The story is told in both of their perspectives, which gives more color to how they perceive/act during each event. Though the characters sometimes made terrible decisions, they were strong and independent, and I always rooted for them. Some of the action is maybe not so realistic, but I could not stop listening to the audiobook! The audiobook is well-narrated by Frankie Corzo and Bailey Carr, who match their characters very well. I highly recommend this pulse-pounding thriller!

Thank you Henry Holt & Co., Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for providing this e-book and audiobook ARC.

Heard's young adult thriller follows the twists and turns at the intersection of three volatile young people--bored photographer Veronica; her best friend, mischievous performance art rebel Nico; and their new friend, Mick, who hasn't quite found her place in the world outside of being a competitive swimmer.

Mick, whose mother is emotionally unavailable (and barely physically present), has a lot to figure out and responsibilities weighing her down, meanwhile Veronica is pushing Mick past her comfort level into vulnerability. The girls fall hard for each other--but they've built their early relationship on lies that could destroy their possibility of true intimacy.

With Nico's troublemaking and incessant challenges to the status quo serving as a catalyst for fast-paced changes, everything begins to spiral out of control, threatening the girls' safety and the community around them. Veronica and Mick will have to figure out if they can trust each other with their lives.

I loved the girls' young love, but I was haunted by the fact that their relationship seemed doomed because of its basis in lies. Heard allows the teens to make realistically messy mistakes and experience devastating betrayals, but to also bravely try to trust each other again.

The stakes quickly ratchet up up up in She's Too Pretty to Burn so that the characters find themselves making life-and-death decisions, and their missteps aren't without serious consequences.

This was a lightning-fast read for me, and while the young people's circumstances build to be almost outlandishly complicated and disastrous, Heard presents what feels like a true yearning for connection between the two main protagonists, and that kept me hooked for anything else she threw at me.

I was haunted by how Mick's desperate situation and lack of options pushed her to say yes to uncomfortable compromises and take part in things she would likely otherwise have avoided.

I received a prepublication edition of this book (published March 30) courtesy of Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley.

She's Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard is a sapphic YA thriller centered around three teenagers in San Diego. Mick is a vulnerable girl dealing with struggles in her relationships with her friends and her single-parent mom when she meets Veronica at a party, who is magnetic and outgoing. Mick and Veronica develop an instant connection and soon start dating when Veronica introduces Mick to her long-time friend Nico. Like Mick, Nico has struggled with a troubled childhood and is now living on his own creating his own artwork. As the lives of these three teenagers intertwine, secrets are revealed with the teens realizing what they are each capable of.

When I saw this cover and then the synopsis I was instantly intrigued. I found each of the characters compelling from the beginning and the author does not hesitate to show you the morally gray aspects of each of the characters. However I did think Nico's character was a bit heavy-handed that it was difficult to understand towards the end. The tone of this book feels cute and hopeful with a good pace, but quickly ramps but the tension as the story brings the plot to a darker edge. I enjoyed the ending that it wasn't wrapped up neatly and kept the tension. Overall, I enjoyed this book and definitely recommend this book for individuals who enjoy YA, especially readers who are in late teens.

Many thanks to the publisher Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

4 STARS

Veronica wants to go to art school, and Mick wants to swim her way out of her mother’s clutches.

Neither girl really has the future they want, not yet. But when they meet at a party through mutual friends, a spark lights between them, quickly fanning into roaring flame. Between art installations, Instagram revelations, and a roaring hot California summer, nothing is going to be the same, especially not the futures they’ve been dreaming of.

But to reach those new futures, first, they’re going to have to survive.


“It never occurred to me that fear could be fun.”

She’s Too Pretty to Burn manages to show the best and worst of its cast all at once. I’m delighted with the way it pits characters against one another in such realistic ways, especially when it comes to the interpretation and justification of art. The main characters are constantly challenging one another with their own ideas of what justifies art, especially art that involves reluctant or outright unwilling participants. Larger conflicts aside, these interpersonal conflicts are what carry the book along, and lend it the air of a story about to catch fire. You know from the start that nothing about this is healthy, but it won’t stop now that the flames have caught.

Especially interesting is the way She’s Too Pretty to Burn approaches fear without necessarily being a horror novel. It’s a thriller instead, and toys with the ideas of fear as some kind of grand motivation, fear and shame as art, fear as the seeds of destruction. And most importantly, it looks at the ways fear plays into power and agency, or the lack thereof. Mick in particular skirts the edges of her fears, always testing their boundaries, or letting them get the better of her.

Overall, fear drives this book, makes it sharp and messy and surprisingly realistic in the most unsettling ways.


And can you believe we’re actually seeing realistic teens?

This is probably the thing that impressed me the most, in the end. Sure, the circumstances end up being extraordinary, even deadly, but the characters? They feel so intensely real.

Mick is working multiple jobs and swimming on a club team around all that, desperate to get a swimming scholarship to some school far away from her controlling, cold mother. Without a scholarship, her escape will be cut short.

Veronica is the artsy daughter of a community college art professor, and of a man who ran off to live in Florida with the second, secret family he cared about more. Now, her photography is her everything, and she’s struggling to find the inspiration that will take her portfolio to the next level.

Nico, though enigmatic, is Veronica’s best friend, and an artist in his own right. Passionate about both art and resisting environmental destruction brought on by California government officials, he’s dealt with the foster system, poverty, and homelessness while dedicating himself to his work.

In some ways, these characters are extraordinary. I certainly wouldn’t expect to meet anyone just like them, especially not all at the same time. And yet their individual circumstances are incredibly real, and their tendency to seek out trouble and thrills is equally plausible.

They’re all kids. Kids who want fame and glory and justice, and they’re kids who don’t understand just how far their actions can reach.


She’s Too Pretty to Burn is out now!

If you’re fascinated by the idea of a sapphic thriller inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, and you want to see art and fear and power catch fire, this is a book you’ll want to pick up. It’s a great way to prepare yourself for the summer months ahead (they’ll be here in no time!), or just to dive into a good story during your downtime. I recommend it to anyone who likes complicated, messy characters, and to readers who don’t need a concrete resolution to be satisfied.

And, of course, to anyone who wants to see all the ways that art can begin to burn.


CW: gore, violence, underage drinking, animal death, smoking, child death, nudity, suicidal ideation


[This review will go live on Hail & Well Read at 2pm EST on 3/30/21.]

OMG IDK I HAVEN’T ENJOYED A THRILLER IN LIKE A YEAR SO LET’S TAKE A MOMENT TO CELEBRATE

Thoughts 💭

This book. Sucked. Me. In.

✅morally gray, unlikable characters
✅artsy
✅sapphic
✅ fast-paced
✅ no unreliable-narrator-because-of-mental-illness trope

I went into this without knowing much about the story (like I saw it was a queer ya thriller and I requested it and that was it) and I’m so glad I did! It’s my most surprising read so far of the year. I’m not good at writing reviews for thrillers because I never want to spoil anything, so I’ll just say that this was really fckn good and if you’ve read it pls dm me tysm.

Also this book is supposed to be a retelling but I don’t really read classics so I don’t know anything about the original story. Do with that information what you will.

(This is technically a YA Thriller, but I’d caution that this is definitely meant for an older teen at the youngest).

Read if you like: unlikable/morally gray characters, dark fast-paced thrillers, retelling, psychological thrillers

⚠️TWs: Death, kidnapping, murder, stalking, animal death, child death, violence, suicidal thoughts, grief, parental abandonment, fire