If you crossed Squid Game with Crazy Rich New Englanders...

What have we here? Let's take a look at the publisher's blurb... "searing thriller that’s Ace of Spades meets Squid Game with a sprinkling of The Bachelor". Later we have "Because the ... stakes aren’t just make or break…they’re life and death." OK, so we already know the plot. A group of contestants are going to compete in some weird artificial game-like thing in which most of them are expected to die, leaving only the winner standing at the end. What about the characters? Well, most of them are people who are, in the words of Crazy Rich Asians, "richer than God". And they are awful. You already know them. You met them in Crazy Rich Asians and Knives Out, and for that matter, Squid Game.

Adina Walker is the grain of sand in this oyster, the Seong Gi-Hun, the Katniss Everdeen of these games. As the book begins she is a student at the tony Edgewater Academy. Edgewater is owned or subsidized or something by the Remington Family. The Remingtons are richer than people who are richer than God -- they are rich enough to literally get away with murder. (The exact formal relationship of the Remingtons to Edgewater is never entirely clear, nor does it matter -- they run the place.) The Remington brood are (or were) students at Edgewater. The other students are mostly the children of the aforementioned richer-than-God families. Adina (Our Hero!) is not, though. Her mother is a professor at Edgewater, allowing her to attend on a scholarship. Suburbia is her secret stigma -- the shame she strives to deny.

Adina is bright -- she is in line to be class valedictorian, and she has been accepted at a bunch of good colleges, one of them Yale, where she intends to go. But she makes a mistake. Her former friend Esme betrays her. Stung, Adina revenges herself by spreading a vicious rumor about Esme's family. (This rumor happens to be true, but make no mistake, Adina is not motivated by her love of truth -- she wants to GET Esme.) There's a fight with fingernails and blood. Subsequently all Adina's acceptances, Yale and all the other schools, are mysteriously rescinded. She sees only one way to get back on track -- a mysterious annual competition known by the ominous name of the Finish, in which a dozen young women compete. Usually these young women are the scions of wealthy families, not grubby suburbanites like Adina. But Adina gets herself invited. (I will not tell you how she makes this happen -- let us just say that it is not an edifying tale.)

Are you getting the impression that I don't much like Adina? If so, have a lollipop -- you are correct. Adina begins as a not at all admirable schemer (who is not even very good at scheming). Fine, so she's a flawed character. Hamlet is a flawed character. Tony Stark is flawed. Meg Murry is a flawed hero. That's why I called Adina the sand in the oyster -- she's there to become a pearl.

We know the plot and all the other characters in advance. (view spoiler) Thus, Adina's growth is the essential center of this story. Perhaps 10% of the way into the book, I was thinking to myself, "I hope Wellington has some mighty big rabbits ready to pull out of her hat." Rabbits do in fact come out of Wellington's hat. Adina grows. By the end of the book she has become something more interesting than the petty schemer she was at the beginning. But the bunnies appear late, and they are not terribly impressive. I dislike Final Girl Adina less than Starting Line-up Adina, but I do not love or admire her.

I thank NetGalley and Simon and Shuster Canada for an advance reader copy of Their Vicious Games. This review expresses my honest opinions. Release date 25-Jul-2023.

Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster Canada for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The second I heard about this book, I just HAD to read it and I am not disappointed in the slightest. It lacked immaturity sometimes I just have to look the other way and remind myself that they were still just teenagers/young adults growing into themselves. This book was a debut for this author, from my understanding, and at times it certainly read like one, but it was overall still very well written. This book does not shy away from topics like racism and makes a point to discuss it at length, all the while keeping you engaged and intrigued the entire time. Adina is great, and I'm excited to see what Wellington has in store for future characters and plot lines for their future books!

Rich people. Fk 'em.

Every year the Remington family hosts a two week event to select one lucky young woman to extend every benefit and advantage the family name can offer to lift her through the echelons of ivy league schooling and life beyond. Harmless, really, until it's the year a Remington boy turns 18 and then blood is spilled.

The Ready or Not vibes of this book are just ... *chef's kiss* Truly could not put this down. I was practically white-knuckling my kindle the whole way through the last half because it was so intense and fast-paced. Wellington wrote this story so well. I needed Adina to be the Final Girl so so bad, especially as the Finish progressed and the stakes got higher and higher. All of the characters were incredible. They are so vicious towards each other behind their two-faced masks and honestly, so glad most of them got what they deserved.

It goes without saying but this was such a fk'd up story with a chilling undercurrent but also told in the most entertaining way possible. Bloody and feral and messy and downright terrifying to consider that high society could very easily be doing this kind of thing. In other words, exactly my kind of story to read.

This book also offers an excellent look at classism and racism and how the two interact. Adina is the only Black girl, the only "poor" girl, and the way other characters abused, manipulated and approached her was sickening. There were multiple conversations that took place between her and other characters where I had to sit back for a minute because they really said the quiet part out loud to her for the sake of winning something that shouldn't matter.

The ending was fabulous! I couldn't not have predicted how that would have gone and I'm thrilled with it. Definitely reading more from Wellington in future!

I haven't blinked in hours. I don't think I've breathed in hours either. I have work to do but oh my god. This book is pure adrenaline & glittery screams and I will never be the same.

This is what every dark academia novel wants to be. This is what every "death games" novel wants to be. It's SO vicious. It's SO heartpounding. It's also SO well-written, dripping with unflinching social commentary and characters you will love to hate.

There is nothing I can say to do this book justice. Joelle Wellington is a force. Just read it. Read it. Read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this read, Their Vicious Games. This book was quite good. It read mature for me as the cast of characters are on their way to college/university but in my eyes, the writing seem to be even a bit older than that which I enjoyed. The only issue I had with the book that some areas had way too much details and time spent in some areas. I think it was done to describe what is going on and the atmosphere but I just wanted to skim in those areas because it seemed way too detailed for me. I still found it good to read and I would read more from this author when Joelle comes out with more to read. Thanks!!

I just finished this book and I can't even relax. I AM SO HYPED UP. And the craziest part is that I almost gave up on this book at the beginning. I AM EXTREMELY IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK. I'm not a person who likes to like books, for this book to have won me over so completely and totally . . . I'm in awe.

The first 10% of this book were hard for me to understand because the story jumped back and forth in time, I felt confused about what was going on. But all that quickly righted itself and the plot grabbed me and didn't let me go! I didn't want to put the book down, not even to eat.

Adina's an extremely likable character and it wasn't hard for me to root for her. Her intelligence and genuine kindness stood out to me. I loved watching Adina grow more and more perceptive as the novel wore on. Her romantic relationships made me very concerned LOL but she kept her head screwed on and I absolutely love that.

I loved the friendship between Adina and Saint. And the strange relationship Adina had with Penthesilea was neat too(Pen was such an intriguing contrast of her appearance vs. her underlying motives). Also Pierce? He was an . . . "interesting" character to watch.

The writing in this book once the finish popped off was excellent. Descriptive, evocative, with some searing critiques of society that hit just right. I can't wait to have my own copy of this book that I can read, re-read, and mark up at leisure.

Joelle Wellington, I am waiting for more books from you. Cause this was masterful!

NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada, thank you so much for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.