This was the type of YA thriller I love to read. Parts of this one were a little scarier than I expected, but I loved it all the way through. The character needed to sort out puzzles, that the reader didn't know the answer to ahead of time - I was trying to figure it out along with her, so fun!

I didn't find any parts of the story dragged, and I got through it over a few busy days - would have been faster but life unfortunately got in the way,

Highly recommend thriller and puzzle lovers!

THESE DEADLY GAMES – by Diana Urban

That. Was. Intense!

‘Sometimes when you bury a secret, it claws at your heart like bloodied fingernails scraping against a coffin lid as you suffocate under the weight of all that compacted dirt.’

‘But now, after all this time, someone had dug up our secret—and they were trying to whack us with the shovel, one by one.’

Highly Recommend!

Young Adult Thriller
Reading Age: 14-18
Grade Level: 7-9

Thank you, NetGalley and Wednesday Books (St. Martin’s Publishing), for providing me with an eBook of THESE DEADLY GAMES at the request of an honest review.

This was my first book by Diana Urban and it was enjoyable. The ridiculous kind of a plot that this is requires suspension of belief and sometimes, that's exactly what's needed. The writing was easy to follow so I will be trying out other books by her!

A great read by this author. I definitely recommend checking this one out!
Thank you NetGalley for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fine read. It’s intended for YA readers and I think it’s just not my jam anymore. Nothing to do with the story just me not connecting to it. If you’re a fan of YA Thrillers this one’s for you.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for supplying this book in advance (though my review is much later than the release date). Firstly, I sorely regret having waited so long to read These Deadly Games. I've found that I've distanced myself from anything that is not, at it's core, a romance but These Deadly Games is a clear exception. The mystery is written incredibly and I was anxious for every twist that blessed my page. I highly recommend this book into anyone interested in a gripping mystery. 10/10.

Diana Urban does it again. She's so good at writing stories that incorporate twists, turns, and puzzles. Each of her books feels like an escape room of a sort. While These Deadly Games felt so unrealistic, it was such a shocking story and I was so immersed in what was going to happen next. I honestly couldn't believe the deaths that were happening, and the ending was so surprising.

I read this book so quickly. It was so great.

These Deadly Games by Diana Urban is a twisty YA thriller. It's a strong sophomore novel made for fans of Karen M. McManus and Jessica Goodman.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

I had a hard time getting into this book and connecting with the characters; however, if you like cat-mouse chase type of mystery/thriller books. This one will be up your alley.

YA Thrillers always miss the mark a little, for me. This was a pretty quick read at the start. It got a little slow in the middle but picked back up at the end. I’d read something else from this author, the writing was good.

I'm a fan of thriller books, so this was right up my alley. I enjoyed the suspense, the buildup, and the characters. All that being said, I often got confused because of all the gaming terminology. Don't get me wrong, I like playing Pokemon, but I'm not a hardcore gamer, so the use of terms often went right over my head. The overall development and characters of this story also gave me some issues and ended up pulling me out of the story. Even in a story where the main character is a villain, there is still a reason to like them or a character in the story you end up liking. I found no characters I liked in this story, and none of the characters liked each other. There were some plot twists and turns, but there were predictable and I was able to see them long before they were "revealed", which ended up making them boring.
This wasn't a bad story, but it definitely didn't live up to my personal expectations.

A fast paced YA thriller, the twists were pulled off well even though they were mostly predictable. Recommend to fans of Scream, Megan Abbott, or thrillers in general.

Absolutely hooked to the end! Perfect for the spooky season and for those who love a thriller to keep you guessing!

Crystal gets an anonymous message from a mysterious app on her phone accompanied by a video of her sister bound and gagged saying if she didn't play the game, her sister would die. Mundane and odd tasks turn into acts that are malicious and killing off her friends. Now she must choose between her friends and her sister, and find out who is doing this before it is too late.

I was given this ARC by the publisher in return for an honest review. Thank you!!

I really enjoyed Diana Urban's All Your Twisted Secrets, but this one fell really short for me in comparison. I thought the concept and plotline were so cool and the way that the "gamemaker" framed these weird and odd tasks to actually be tasks that were going to hurt her friends were so genius, but I just didn't like writing or the characters. I couldn't stand how much inner monologue there was from Crystal and some of the way she acted knowing her sister was being held captive somewhere. I mean she was legit playing video games and chilling with her friends while her sister was gagged and tied up and possibly being tortured somewhere.. it was so weird! Even if they asked her to play it cool and act normal, I could have never just played with my friends, and she was into it! I also couldn't stand the jump in timeline and it seemed so besides the point the entire book, even though I know it ties in at the end... it just didn't fit at all. I know some people will really enjoy this, just not for me.

these deadly games... more like these obnoxious games. lol.

this story is ‘need’ by joelle charbonneau mixed with ‘the dead list’ by jennifer armentrout. if you havent read these books, then you will probably find the plot of this exciting and jam-packed. but i have read them, so this felt pretty predictable and a little recycled to me.

but mainly, i just couldnt get on board with how ridiculous the story is. like, unrealistic to the nth degree. i mean, i knew it was going to be over-the-top based on the synopsis, but this is all kinds of absurd. and maybe its just me in my old age wanting a more realistic thriller, because im sure teens will have an easier time overlooking this and getting into it (but only if they can get past the highly unlikable and completely unrelatable characters).

so all in all, this was a miss for me personally, but i think thats largely because i know im not in the target demographic for this book. younger readers might find this fresh and engaging?

This book just felt like all the other YA Murder Mysteries I have read in the past. It was super boring and I could not get myself motivated enough to finish reading this book. It also did not help that it was super dry with very unlikable characters.

I really wanted to like this one as much as I liked some other YA Murder Mysteries, but this one was just not for me.

I had a long drive in front of me and decided to pop this one on for the audio. I was completely hooked right from the beginning. It was intriguing, I loved the video game aspect. It's competition but also a fun nerdy plot that gave a good reason why their realationships were so tight.

But the game of forcing Crystal to start doing things or her sister dies - it's quick, sudden and shocking. Good thing Crystal has always loved games so the coded clues that start tough just keep getting more and more difficult until they start pulling in everyone else she loves.

Each twist was pretty shocking and I kept shaking my head, wondering what I would do in her place. You can't tell and you can't help but want her sister to be okay. The additonal timeline, showing back to a day years ago - a part of the history of this group friendship - was an interesting touch and gave the high tension plot a small break as you see the birthday party 5 years after it's over. I had so many guesses along the way and distrusted everyone Crystal also distrusted. I never guessed her ultimate tormentor or how this would all wrap up. I loved it! I need to read more from this author!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

this was definitely a YA thriller and it read like one but it was also just so very enjoyable, i loved all the plot twists and i loved trying to solve the mystery. This book was fun and perfect for fans of thrillers like knives out.

This was such a great read! I really enjoyed her first thriller, and this one sounded really great, so I had to pick it up! I really enjoyed Crystal's story, of the desperation she had to save her sister, the horror of knowing that to do so, she'd had to harm her friends, and the potential that she's just losing her mind. Plus, along the way, we found out about the various secrets that they're keeping. It was such a great read! .It was such a great read!

We meet this gang of friends quickly-and just as quickly, Crystal gets contacted by Anonymous One, to start playing these games. They're high stakes, and games that don't make sense-until some patterns emerge, and Crystal makes attempts to fight back.

I really had a great time with the way the story was told, it was intense, and we'd switch between the present and 5 years ago, when something happened. And we know it's something bad, something that they lied about, but oh, when we found out, that was just so sad!

That reveal of who the bad guy was? And why they did what they did? That was pretty devastating. And I could understand why they're doing what they're doing, but not to the stakes and consequences that they went to. It's unlikely that we'll get a sequel, so I just imagine how things would go down. Unless we got a novella or something! I'd love that!

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait to read more by Diana Urban!

I was gifted this book by the publisher and Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Imagine someone kidnapped your sister and you had to play a game to save her. Imagine as you started this game that horrible things started happening to your closest friends and they were technically your fault. Could you do it? Could you kill and hurt others to save one?

You can't call the cops, you can't tell your friends, you can't show anything about what's happening.

That's the premise of this book. Overall I give it 3.5 stars. I had guessed really early on who the culprit was. Honestly the fact that the MC didn't was kinda frustrating. She just kept plugging along doing everything without really trying to think ahead until over half way through the book.

The writing was good, and the plot was okay. I just wish the twists were actually twists. I'd recommend it if you wanted to read a thriller but with the caveat of predictability. I enjoyed it but it could've been better.