Well written- a captivating plot which is actively made more captivating by the characters involved.

I was definitely intrigued by this book. The story line and plot kept me interested and I enjoyed the dystopian, bad-ass MC, and academia aspects of this story. The world building could have used some work though.
I love all things dark and twisty, which this book definitely had; Murder, poison, fight scenes, dark content, dismemberment, etc.
I think the main reason this wasn’t a 5 star for me is because the amount of run-on sentences is astounding. I had to reread several sentences and even whole paragraphs to figure out what was happening. There are a few grammar mistakes but they were small and easy to get past. But seriously, the run-on sentences are aplenty.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I hope the author is planning on a book 2 because I need closure.

Thank you to NetGalley and BugBotPress for the ARC of Prep School for Serial Killers. This review is my own personal opinion and I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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

Prep School for Serial Killers was read a while by my wonderful hazel eyes and I'm just now getting to the review portion. Now this book was good to a point, but I did find parts of this pretty slow here and there. Sure, the overall mystery kept the pages flying but the overall school was a little disappointing.

As for the characters, there were okay. At first, I wasn't a huge fan of Vex but I think that's because of what our main character was going through with the drugs they were taking. Like her being under the influence was making us dislike this other character? Which, I also get that they were roommates and competing against one another in this school for killers. I just was expecting more before they actually got their killslips?

Maybe it's just me. Still, I'm happy that I got the chance to jump into this and look forward to the next book that Tara writes.

I liked the idea of the plot, it was like hunger games but in a school setting. I didn’t care about the characters and the first half was really slow and the second half wrapped up so quick I barely had a chance to process what had happened. This has so much potential and I could see this being a good Tv show as it would be great to watch visually rather than read.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, and to an extent I did, but it did feel like this book didn't really hit the mark for me. There wasn't a moment though that went by when I was reading this book that I ever thought about not finishing it, so that's a win for me!

Character wise, I just found it really hard to warm to Anathema, but that was actually a really good thing because I felt it lent itself well to the dystopian and emotionally unavailable vibe that the book had going on! The characters were meant to feel unavailable to us, they were meant to feel a bit off and a bit prickly and the author did that so well.

The writing was good and the story flowed nicely, but I did find the blocks of text to be too much, it needed breaking up a bit more. And this may seem really nit picky, but it really bugged me and kinda ruined my reading experience, but I feel the book would have benefitted from a better distinction between the main body of text and the journal entries.

On the topic of the journal too, I didn't enjoy how long it took for the journal to become relevant to the story... It almost felt that until around the 55-60% mark it was just used as a space filler and I found it hard to see how it would fit into the book and provide value.

Plot wise, I did find it a little hard to follow at points, I felt the book got lost in itself and I found it difficult to keep track of what the story actually was. Which was really sad as I thought the premise of the story was good! A dystopian world where children are trained to become serial killers seemed SO cool but it just wasn't executed (pardon the pun) in the best way.

It just felt like certain elements of the plot caused the book to lose its way, there were too many things going on and the author would have been better focusing on one or two of them.

I also really liked how the ending was left open, but on the other hand I felt a bit like I've just read the entire book for that ending? It really had a mixed vibe at the end :(

Overall, I did quite enjoy Prep School for Serial Killers, it had a great premise and some really clever, well thought out story lines. I just feel it would have benefitted from a closer focus on one or two of those story lines and a little change in the writing and way the book was presented.

I loved this book!

Following a main character in a dystopian world, she attends a school that trains assassins. I love the concept, and the academia vibes. The gore was right up my street, and I liked the twisted concept and how it played out on the page. It was a thrilling read!

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an e-arc!

What a great premise for a book - and it really delivered! It kept me pulled in and guessing until the end with all its twists and the crescendo of a conclusion. I loved the characters who seemed very real and full of life to me as the reader. I really enjoyed it! I also think it would be great as a series…!

Quick read with lots of surprises. Anathema Is the main character and I enjoyed her perspective on things. The plot and killslip day had me hooked. I’m excited to see where this story goes. If you like teen killers club you will love this.

The title was instantly gripping and the story didn't disappoint. I loved the dark tone and really captivating world building. This type of twisted tale is exactly what I enjoy. If you like dark stories with great characters then you'll enjoy this.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Unfortunately, I could not get into the flow of this book as the premise was not too interesting. In addition, the flow and pace of the writing was choppy and strange.

Okay - let me start by saying I was really excited for this book. It sounded fun, I loved the idea of it, the writing was good. My biggest issue was... it just could have been better! Things I really wanted to happen or imagined could happen - didn't - and less exciting and more predictable things happened in their place. Maybe because I've read so so many books, but this one felt boring in comparison.

If you love dark, atmospheric, twisty reads that have an original plot and engage you from the very first line, then you have to add Prep School for Serial Killers to your to-read list.

This was such a good book and I loved the premise of it. There were so many twists and turns that I could hardly keep anything straight. I can't wait to see what Platt does next!

Absolutely amazing read! Such a captivating read! Amazing cover art that was super eye catching would definitely recommend to all!

3.5 stars

It is pretty hard to not compare this one to the Scholomance series, because we have some really similar settings, even if this one is sci-fi, and we have a lot of similarities between the MCs too. But I would try my best to set aside the comparison.
The book is fast-paced and quite compelling, but since it takes place inside a peculiar school we don't get to see much of the world at large. We get some info on how things work in this new world but I would have loved to have more of them. I mean, it is an interesting idea and there are some really interesting tidbits that the author drops here and there, but I wanted more. And I think it would have helped make things more real.
And I would have loved for more characters too. I mean, we have a lot of them, and most of them seem promising and interesting, but we have one MC and all the others are not even secondary but even far removed so... it was a bit plain.
It is an enjoyable book, and a fast reading so if the idea of it sounds appealing to you, go for it because it is entertaining and it is a good way to spend a day, but if you have doubts well... try something else, because even if this one is enjoyable is nothing to write home about.
3 likes

"Kill or Be Killed. There was nothing simpler than that."

When I say it's exactly as the title suggests, I mean it's exactly what the title suggests. We follow Anathema Blight (lovely name btw) as she goes through classes and homework, just your regular teenager, except for one thing. Oh yeah, she goes to a school for assassins.
It's a dystopian world set in the 22nd century, where most of the world is rubble and people's psychopathic and sociopathic tendencies have increased due to accidental poisoning of the water.

The government controls everything and everyone, including Anathema and her classmates - they are given pills with each meal to dull their senses and make them into mere killing machines.

Anathema has accidentally discovered the journal of an old student and as she begins to read it in secret, she starts to question what, exactly, is going on at her school? Who are they being trained to kill?

Even though it got a bit, well, disgusting at times, because of how these kids analysed all kinds of situations with a detached mindset, it made for a fascinating read. It started out slow, but before I knew it I was 60% in - Platt's writing sucks you into this depressing world of mystery where all the worst things about humanity have come true. Anathema slowly goes through the process of figuring out just what her purpose in life is, as she simultaneously grapples with enemies that seem to be everywhere.

While I do wish the side characters had more depth to them, in case it wasn't clear, I loved this book! And I really really hope there's another book because I want to know what happens next!

Overall I wasn't a huge fan of this one but I think that may be mainly due to it being a genre I do not normally read. This is why I am giving this one 3 stars because I feel that others may enjoy it more than I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars.

Spoilers ahead. I will not reveal anything big - most of the review vaguely alludes to plot, structure, and characters.

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I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. The premise was very interesting, and I am always a sucker for boarding school-type stories. The characters were pretty interesting, and I was fascinated thinking about how a school for serial killers would function and what it would teach. I felt like I didn't really get to know the characters beyond the surface of who they are - I wanted to know what they wanted and what drove the to do what they did. I also wanted to see more of the world outside of the school - what brought about the need for the school - rather than the actual day-to-day classroom sort of things. A good read for fans of lighter dystopian novels.

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Again, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I must admit, that when I started reading this book, I had a vague idea in my head: boarding school, rich kids, teen romance, probably some alcohol/drug abuse, some student surely in love with their teacher (or vice versa), and some above-the-law kids thinking they can get away with murder.

That is not remotely what this book is like. This book is Handmaid's Tale meets Hunger Games meets Josh Malerman's Inspection. This is a future where pills have taken away humanity's ability to feel much of anything, and kids who test high enough on the sociopath scale are sent off to special schools where they are actually trained to be assassins. When they reach their last two years of school, they take part in Killslip Day, when every student is assigned to kill another, and the class size is halved by day's end.

Enter protagonist Anathema, who discovers a secret diary from the past hidden under a loose floor tile, a diary which makes her start wondering about things she's never considered before, and maybe even *feeling*. Add to her new mental muddle the fact that every student in this school must be constantly on alert lest one of their classmates (or teachers) murder them out of turn, AND that she has begun noticing some highly suspicious activity among certain students and faculty, and Anathema is in for one heck of a school year.

The actual plot takes awhile to get going; the first half of the book sometimes feels like a school syllabus of ways to poison and torture people. Once that second half hits, however, and the plot thickens up nicely, with one dangerous mystery piling on top of another, the pace picks up and snowballs to a tense conclusion on Killslip Day, when Anathema must make choices that will alter not only her life, but may possibly put things into motion that will affect the world.

Anathema herself is a character that takes a while to like. In the beginning she's rather cold and unrelatable. As the story progresses, however, she gains a bit of humanity and I found myself rooting for her in the end.

A school-based thriller unlike any I've ever read, this one leaves itself wide open for a sequel and I hope we get one. I'd like to see what the students of the Prep School for Serial Killers do, the choices they make and the beliefs they follow, as they go out into the world.

4/5 stars

Thank you to Netgally, the publishers, and Tara Platt for allowing me to read this book and post a review of it.

I greatly enjoyed this book. I loved figuring things out along with the main character. Who in my opinion was excellently written. Dystopian is a genre that I love and that got me into the love of reading, even though it is not written much anymore. This book was well written with characters you will love, hate, and not know how to feel about.

This book was easy to read and follow. It also kept me wondering what would happen and what decisions the characters would make throughout. The added element of all of the characters being sociopaths with very few true feelings really made predicting what would happen hard.

The only element I did not enjoy was the brief scene of the main character killing and skinning an animal.

I love how the book played out and ended, but I also kind of hope Tara Platt decides to write a sequel one day so we can learn more about the world, the circumstances, and learn more of the characters. I could see this world being a good one to see more experiences from.

******SPOILERS*****

I love that the book ended kind of open ended. I do wish we could have gotten a few more answers, but I am also glad the author knew where a good stopping place was. Now the book can continue to be a stand alone, or the author can later write a sequel, and either way would work well.