After starting this book, I could not put it down. Cecilia moved to a new town filled with secrets and murder with her grandma following her mom’s death. The story covers grief, friendships, family, and mystery. I liked the characters. I did not see the ending coming either until almost the end. There were multiple twists in this book. I would recommend this book to friends and family.

This book was exactly what I wanted it to be: a quick read, young adult thriller. I greatly enjoyed this one and highly recommend it for fans of the genre. While I guessed "who done it" very early on I still enjoyed the book and found all the characters intriguing. I would love to read more books set in the same universe.

3 stars

i'm no stranger to YA thrillers and YA mysteries. i've read a lot, which is why i'm left wondering if either this book was predictable or if my extensive reading of YA thrillers/mysteries have lead to me being a detective.

i'm leaning towards the latter, ftr.

'pretty dead queens' is a YA thriller that follows our MC, cecelia, as she moves to the small town of seaview. with her author grandmother. shortly after her move, her classmate (and near homecoming queen) is murdered and it's seemingly connected to a very similar murder from a few decades back.

it's a fun plot and i did enjoy my read. i found the pacing to be near perfect. there was a slight slow start to lay the groundwork for the plot but after that, it's fast-paced. i liked the setting, especially. something about small towns that have more that meets the eye really gets me going. i also really liked how the two murders tied together and how cecelia worked out their correlation.

however, i found the plot twists to be predictable. i figured out the main ones pretty quickly. but granted, i've been reading this genre for years and i've always approached these books slightly suspicious.

i also thought that while some characters are fleshed out, most seemed to exist purely as a way for our MC to make progress in the investigation. she conveniently makes the right friends that allowed her to have access to records and evidence. all she had to was bat her eyelashes and boom, she found what she needed. everything seemed handed to her and it didn't really do any favors for the thriller aspect of this book.

my main gripe was that there was too much going on. while the two murders were woven together quite well, the little details seemed to swarm you. i found it difficult to keep track of what was what. but it did make it fun to try and solve the mystery. i feel like there could be some little details that could be omitted as they served no purpose, making more room for the details that DID matter in the end.

i'd recommend this book to newer fans of this genre. but older fans shouldn't rule this out completely. while it could be predictable, there's something to be said about how fun it was to solve the mystery and turn out to be correct.

Thank you Net Galley and the Publisher for giving me a free ARC.

I enjoyed this book for the most part. It contained many elements I liked, such as mystery, suspense, and prom queens! This story had me wanting to keep turning pages and held my interest for most of the book. There were times throughout the book the I did get a little confused due to too many characters, however it didn't deter me from liking this story and staying invested in it until the very end!

Rating: 4.5

Hitting shelves October 4, 2022, Pretty Dead Queens is your classic mystery with a slight twist. Following our main character Cecelia on not one, but two, evolving mysteries is quite honestly a treat. She’s reeling from the recent death of her mother and only knows how to deal with it by throwing herself into the task at hand, which happens to be the murder of a new friend. But she comes to find that her new friend wasn’t the only ill fated prom queen to grace their school. Every town seems to have its own version of a hometown beauty that was taken too soon and this book highlights just why that’s so painful and the types of emotions that evokes from the people around us. Cecelia navigates the situation with more confidence than most would be able to. She also lends her confidence to her romantic endeavors which is quite refreshing! Pretty Dead Queens will have you wanting to make your own murder board and trying to solve the mystery with Cecelia, Bronte, and Amber! Highly recommend for fans of Karen M. McManus and Holly Jackson.

Ahhh high school, rich kids...and murder. Specifically, dead homecoming queens One of my favorite combinations!

Seaview High's homecoming queen is dead . . . and she's not the first. Cecelia Ellis goes to live with her estranged grandmother after the death of her mother. But hey, guess what? Grandmother dearest is a best selling author of crime fiction...based on a prom queen murder of her friend (frenemy?) in high school. It's hard to tell who is a new friend and who is using her to get closer to her grandmother...and who wants her gone altogether.

I really enjoyed this book for the most part, though I did find it a bit...dense. I would have appreciated it if there weren't so many characters and so much running around. It was hard to keep up with both characters and their relationships/family ties. Overall, it was a fun summer read and I would definitely recommend it.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for my copy of Pretty Dead Queens.
A serious case of deja vu has descended on the town of Seaview. Two dead homecoming queens separated by half a decade with similar players in the same twisted game that ended their lives. Heavy is the head that wears the crown. Estranged granddaughter, Cecilia, is forced to live with her famous murder author grandmother after her mother's death. At first it seems the two have little in common that is until Cecilia finds the body of the dead homecoming queen. The same position her grandmother was 5o years ago.
It was just spectacular and amazing. I love a mystery that keeps me guessing and this one had me in a chokehold. I had no idea who done it so many motives and twists and turns I was not prepared for. I loved it and numerous times I found myself gasping for air and considering making my own murder board to solve it.

I loved The Ivies and Pretty Dead Queens surely didn't disappoint! This is a gripping story, I couldn't put the book down and powered through the last 80% of it in a day. Boy, did I have a good time! I called the murderers before the reveal and saw some twists coming, but it definitely didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book, on the other hand, it was very satisfying. Also, as always, great to see some criticism towards the rich. Pretty Dead Queens is a perfect blend of murder mystery with teenagers! (the characters actually behaved like teenagers, and that was great)

Thanks to NetGalley for the amazing ARC of this book.

Why have I not read this author before? Holy Smokes I loved this book. It's a perfect YA mystery. I cannot wait to order this one for my library.

The story revolves around Cecelia Ellis. Her mother passes away and she must go live with her famous author grandmother in Seaview, California. Her grandmother's first big novel was about the murder of one of her friends at homecoming at Seaview High and the story now seems to be repeating itself and Cecelia sets out to find who the real murderer is. With the help of a few friends.

Great read. I could not put it down.

I can never resist a thriller with a Nancy Drew-esque main character and Alexa Donne's sophomore novel delivered! Like Cecilia, I kept having theories about who could've murdered Natalie and who murdered Caroline Quinn over fifty years earlier, and I couldn't stop reading until I knew. While sometimes it did feel like the story was cast-heavy and there were too many leads for Cecilia to follow, the twists well made up for it.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Pretty Dead Queens
by Alexa Donne
Pub Date: 04 Oct 2022
Cecelia's mom just died, and she has no other family other than her mom's estranged mom who happens to be a world-famous mystery author. Not so bad, right? She lives in a huge (but old) house, has plenty of money, and the town, is pretty alright. Cecelia seems to be fitting right in despite her broken heart. She makes friends with the "in" crowd & has not one, but two guys interested in her. This just might be a good spot to call home for her senior year.
Then one of her newfound friends is murdered the night they announce the homecoming court. Her friend was destined to become queen but ended up face down in the school pool. She wasn't the nicest person in the school, but murdering her just because of her horrible attitude? Or maybe there's more to it.... the school's homecoming queen when her grandmother was a senior in high school was killed in the exact same pool. Is a copycat murderer on the loose? If so, why has he waited this long?
Cecelia, much like her grandmother, has an insatiable thirst to try to figure out who the murderer is. In doing so, she revisits the murder from so long ago, the one that jump started her grandmother's writing career. The more she digs, the more she believes the police locked away the wrong guy and the killer is still wreaking havoc.
Snooping around isn't making her any friends in this small town, and now, someone is out to get her.
Great read for YA mystery buffs. Reads like an Agatha Christie mystery. Great for fans of Karen M. Mcmanus.
#PrettyDeadQueens #AlexaDonne #NetGalley

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children’s for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 4.5/5 stars

A fun, thrilling YA mystery that is perfect for fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and teen slasher movies. Pretty Dead Girls follows Cecelia, a grieving teen who is forced to move to the small town of Seaview to live with her grandmother, Maura. Her grandmother is a prolific mystery writer (think Murder, She Wrote) who’s biggest novel is based on the murder of her friend. When Cecelia stumbles upon a body, she realizes someone is either copying the murder in her grandmother’s book or the true crime. Cecelia decides to solve the crime before any other murders can rock the small coastal town.

I so loved the “AGGGTM meets Scream” storyline. I was immediately invested in the story with the spooky setting and fun characters. There is a bit of a love triangle, some high school drama, and an emotional storyline involving grief. It had everything and I am hoping this isn’t the end of Cecelia’s story. I need more.

Perfect Fall read that I will be recommending to anyone and everyone.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Full review to be posted closer to release date.

Pretty Dead Queens -

💭
First, thank you Net Galley for the advanced read copy. I loved the “A good girls guide to murder” series so that’s why this one peaked my interest. Once I picked it up, I was immediately pulled in. I thought the book was set well, and had some twists I didn’t see but at the same time was predictable. Some pieces I did feel could be left out, and some parts needed to be a bit more in depth to truly paint the pictures.

📖
The story starts with 17 year old Cecelia who’s mom just passed away. Now, she has to move in with her grandmother who is a celebrity author for mystery/thriller novels based on crimes that happened in the very town she is moving to. Maura her grandmother lived through the murder years ago, a homecoming queen dead. Now novels later it seems we may have a copy cat murdered, as Cecelia finds herself in the same pool, and another homecoming queen dead which puts the whole town in shock. Cecelia can’t just sit back, so now she puts herself into the investigation to find out what happened years ago & now.

Interesting and well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. Just a little slow and unbelievable at some points. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Liked this Young Adult mystery, who doesn't get interested about two dead Homecoming Queens! Seems this is setup for a sequel which sill gladly read!

ok this book was literally so predictable like every single twist was predictable every plot point was predictable sorry to those who blurbed this but i'm just built different ig i hated how stagnant the characters seemed to be in their own story and also just the way the story flowed idk it's not memorable or special

Pretty Dead Queens by Alexa Donne is a quick, fun homecoming whodunnit that is perfect for fans of amateur yet intelligent teenage sleuths like Veronica Mars &/or Nancy Drew.
Cecelia Ellis is forced to move in with her elusive grandmother that’s the coastal town’s famous writer after the tragic loss of Cecelia’s mother, even though she’s never been close to her grandmother. As Cecelia adjusts to her new life & begins making friends with some of the high school elite, her life is once again turned upside as she discovers the high school’s queen bee dead in the school pool. Cecelia’s coping mechanism for navigating all the tragedy in her life is trying to become her very own Veronica Mars or Nancy Drew if you will. This is a town full of mystery in its’ history & there are many twists & turns along the way. It turns out that this homecoming resembles a tragic case from the town’s past as well as the plot to a famous book by Cecelia’s grandmother.
This story packs quite a punch with so many storylines in such a quick book. It kept my brain entertained & I loved the fast pace. I wasn’t able to solve everything so I always appreciate & applaud when that happens!
I also have always loved watching Murder She Wrote even though I wasn’t even alive when most of it aired. So I adored that the author took inspiration from that.
If you are in the mood for a fast young adult mystery, then Pretty Dead Queens is the perfect book for you!

Pretty Dead Queens comes out October 4, 2022!

Massive thanks to NetGalley & Random House Children’s for giving me the opportunity to read an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings: This book mentions &/or contains murder, death of a parent/child, grief, gore, violence, car accident & underaged drinking/smoking.

I will post on my social media as it gets closer to release date & add links once I do.

“I look like Bella F*cking Swan. They’re going to eat me alive .”A young girl returns to the town her mom grew up in and finds herself entangled in a current and decades old murder mystery. Her grandmother also happens to be a local celebrity/ mystery author. I did enjoy the book despite some of the very cringe language (“ok boomer”🤦🏾‍♀️is said way more than anyone should have to read).

Thank you to NetGalley for a free eArc in exchange for a honest review.

2.5 stars~
It’s written very messy. I’ve read much better ya mysteries. I didn’t think it was BAD, I just felt it was not great. It started off good, then about 25% in with still no murder I got bored, then it finally happened and it just went downhill from there. There was a lot of characters introduced all at once with not a lot of development. The characters fell flat for me and the writing had me rolling my eyes several times. It doesn’t help that every bit of dialogue or action felt like it was trying hard to feel suspenseful when it really wasn’t. This book didn’t come across as a murder mystery to me, just more like a ya contemporary that happened to have an extremely annoying girl investigating a murder. Really the only thing I enjoyed about it was my curiosity on if I guessed who did it, which I guessed exactly what happened very early on.

Pretty Dead Queens is a pretty solid young adult mystery. There were some predictable parts, but quite a few twists and turns I never saw coming. I would definitely recommend this as it is one of the better YA “who dunnits” that I’ve read in the last few years.

I received this arc from NetGalley.