Kate's best friend loves acting and when she goes with her to support her to an audtion for a new teen drama she never expected to be cast herself. She has suddenly been cast in the spotlight...or adjacent to it because she's plus size and the main actress is skinny and blonde and gets everything she wants. Turns out she wants the director and the show gets shut down for the legal drama that this gets them all into. Kate discovered that she really loves acting and tries to continue after the drama but her parents don't support her decision and want her to go to college. Kate decides to defy her parents and they make her get a job and pay bills for living and eating in her own house. At her new job she gets to file paperwork for an acting agency. It's quite boring so she often watches out the window and just so happens to see a crime take place.
I listened to this on audio and it wasn't bad. Kate seemed extremely selfish and look obsessed but it seemed right considering her age and career goals. It didn't make it any less annoying though.

Kate is an unexpected Netflix star in the new series Dirty Pretty Things. What makes this so unusual is she is a size 16, and the character in the book is not. But the director falls in love with her, and new stardom is made. However, when it comes out that her co-star Bella (who is legal 18, meaning NOT 18) is having an affair with the married director, the show is shut down and Kate has to get a “real job “even though she is only 17. Her parents would prefer she goes to college, but if she wants to work, then she is going to work and pay for herself. She gets a job at her best friend’s father’s law firm as a file clerk. She can do it after hours, so she can still go to auditions and everything else she needs to be a real actress. One night she sees a double murder in the window across the way. However, NO one believes her.

This book was slow. I loved Kate as a character, and this read is mostly a character study. It takes half the book to get to the first murder, and then the ending is so action packed, that it speeds to the finish line. Overall, I Iiked this story, and I loved Kate, but I didn’t love the book. If someone has seen the Get Dirty series on Netflix, which is based on another series by Gretchen McNeil, and loved it, then they will love this book. It fits right in. For this reader, they love Gretchen for the Murder Trending books, and this title pales in comparison. It’s not bad, but it’s not edge of your seat either.

If I have o suffer through Shakespeare, this is the best way: allusions to the bard sprinkled throughout a VERY twisted murder mystery.

Kate is an aspiring actress. She got her break on a surprisingly popular tv show, but when the show is unexpectedly cancelled due to a wildly inappropriate relationship between the show's star and the director, Kate finds herself without a job, facing a punishment inflected rent from her parents for wanting to drop out of high school and no acting gigs on the horizon. So Kate does what anyone would do, she uses her childhood best friend's family to get hired at their law firm as a clerk. At night. Doing all the paperwork and boring mindless tasks no one wants to know.

Kate is bored senseless with the mind numbing filing and starts to people watch from the dungeons windows to entertain herself. But things get a little twisted when she sees a double homicide through the window as she worked. Kate has to work really hard to get anyone to believe her and when her plans to confront the killer get muddled... well... things get complicated, Can Kate outsmart the woman in the window... or will she be the next victim?

What I loved: how typical teenage slasher this one started out, but it twisted enough to not be 100% a stereotype, I loved that I liked the novel even when it was SUPER predictable, I liked Kate overall and how she dealt with the cards she was given.

Gretchen McNeil creates a wonderful character with Kate, an aspiring actress. Kate happens to be plus-sized, and McNeil does an incredible job representing body positivity while using Kate's story to reveal the judgment and hypocrisy that Kate receives without diminishing her confidence or turning her into a caricature. For me, this was the strongest aspect of this novel.

I do not know if McNeil has worked on TV or movie sets, but her description of the television industry is harrowing. From lecherous male producers to deceitful talent agents, it is a miracle that any child actor makes it into adulthood unscathed. I am not sure if Kate's parents are supposed to be portrayed as "good" parents, but I did not find them decent people at all. They have no idea what their daughter does on a daily basis on set or help her to navigate auditions let alone talk with her after a horrible incident involving a pedophile. Furthermore, instead of working with Kate, they shut her out after she decides to pursue acting which leads to her evergrowing isolation.

Besides Kate's awful parents, my other issue is that this novel is advertised as a murder mystery and that murder does not occur until 60% of the way into the book. This makes the book seem like it is two books in one.

Natalie Duke does an excellent job narrating the story and makes it easy to follow the different characters' dialogues.

Representation and a sweet love story kept me hooked even though the murder mystery took too long and suspended belief.

Thank you NetGalley and Disney Audiobooks for the ARC. This is my honest review.

This was an interesting mystery but I think it had a very slow start and did not pick up till the end. It spent a lot of time building the characters and the scene but in a thriller I want to to feel a little faster in pacing. It is a good start for people who are reluctant to read a thriller since this was not as intense as soon I have read.

Honestly, who doesn't love a good mystery? This one is the perfect fit when you're craving that mystery fix and really think this will be great for any young readers who want something like that. I loved the messages spread throughout on body positivity and being your authentic self while still having enough mystery to keep you guessing.

I had the fortunate pleasure of getting to experience to read the physical book and listen to the audio. The audio really enhanced the story experience and made me much more engrossed in the story.

I really enjoyed the main character Kate. I liked how independent and driven she was, despite her terrible parents, and enjoyed her voice throughout the book. Kate is a plus-sized child actress, and there was a lot of good commentary about her not wanting roles in which she was just The Fat Girl in a show. Kate knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to do what was necessary to achieve it.

While I love YA romance, I haven't read that many YA thrillers. In the few that I have read, I always spend the whole book wondering where these children's parents are and why they don't just go to the police. Both of these questions were answered well and right up front in this book, which left me with more brainpower to enjoy the plot! I was really astounded by Kate's parents' actions and reactions to some of the events of the book.

There's a bit of a romance to the story, and I've been in such a romance groove lately that I found myself wanting more between Kate and Ty.

This was my first book by Gretchen NcNeil, but she clearly has an impressive backlog of books. I think her fans will be pleased by this story, and it's one to recommend to anyone who loves a YA thriller!

I'm confused because McNeil is a strong writer, but this plot had no real anchor, and it constantly meandered. I did like the main character, though that "reveal" towards the end made her look very very dumb. In fact, once the "thriller" part of the book happens, I feel almost every character suddenly forfeits their critical thinking by making unrealistic choices. The Shakespeare passage references I understand it's used for characterization, when other characters started doing it too, it became clear it was more so characterization of what the writer likes . I had no problem with it because I like Shakespeare but I think other people would probably not understand it or question why it was put in.

In Three Drops of Blood, author Gretchen McNeil combines the uncertainties of teen relationships with a murder mystery.

Kate, a somewhat larger than life high school student who ended up with a part in a Netflix show after going along on her best friend's audition, decides she loves acting and wants to leave school to act. Her plans are foiled when one of the other teens on the show brings on bad publicity and the show is canceled. Kate is positive she can get another part. It's even more important since she has told her parents she wants to leave school. Their decree is high school or pay your own way. At a loss for funds, Kate accepts a position as filing clerk with the law firm of her friend's father. She works at night, in the 'vault,' a secure file room that's noise-proofed and wireless proofed. Gazing at windows across the office park, one night Kate sees some unusual goings-on and begins keeping an eye on that office window. Then, one night, she is convinced she sees someone being murdered in that office.

Kate is terrified and recruits her friend's brother for help, but no one believes them...until the shots start flying.

This book was okay to me. I had hoped for me but it came lacking. Didn’t feel a real connection with the characters or story. Just didn’t make a lot of sense.

Thank you NetGalley for a chance to read and review.

Thank you for the ARC. I enjoyed this book very much. The narrator did a great job on the audio, The mystery was very Rear Window, and I still did not see the twist coming.

While Three Drops of Blood kept my attention, the story itself was a little choppy. After finishing this title, I read some reviews from other readers and many of them said this book felt like “two books smooshed into one”. There is honestly no better way to describe how I felt about this story. With that being said, there were some major twists and turns that I did not see coming. I appreciated these jaw-dropping moments McNeil added to the book and would probably read another title from her solely because of them.

I want to start this review by saying I absolutely love Kate. She's the kind of protagonist that today's young readers need. She's a young, plus-sized actress who doesn't let a scandal that rocked her debut Netflix series get in the way of her goals. Even when her parents (who are, quite honestly, hard to like), smother her with "tough love", Kate finds a way to keep striving toward her goal of finding another acting gig.

I also adore Kate's relationship with Ty. Though the relationship is strained at the beginning of the story, Ty is the real deal. He is, without a doubt, the second most enjoyable aspect of this YA thriller.

Unfortunately, these two amazing characters and a very strong start to the story didn't make up for the portions of it that keep me from giving it a higher rating. My primary issue with the book is that it is marketed as a "Good Girls Guide to Murder" type thriller, but the actual inciting incident doesn't take place until 60% of the way through the book. Kate's struggles with her image in a Hollywood setting, her parents and her best friend Rowan are interesting, but that portion of the story feels rather fragmented from the actual mystery at hand.

The reader must also apply quite a bit of suspension of disbelief to accept the twists and turns that develop in the last 20% of the novel. The descriptions of the actual crime scene and the police response to the crime at hand both seem a bit too contrived. Kate is a real and relatable character, but her story took away from rather than enhanced her charm.

*A special thanks to Disney-Hyperion and NetGalley for an advanced audio version of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Audiobook Review - Gretchen McNeil never fails to impress! This is a fantastic YA thriller. Every time I thought I had it all figured out the plot took another turn! Recommended for all YA collections! McNeil's fans will grab this off the shelf in a heartbeat!

This was a much better read than I was anticipating. I thought it was going to be just a YA version of Girl on a Train, but this was so much better! I loved Kate. I loved her spunk and her ability to let insults roll off her. She was awesome. I also enjoyed the twists in the mystery. I called one, but the other I didn't see coming, which made it fun.
I will say there was the usual contemporary teen drama, but the narrator was able to make it believable and engaging.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the Truly Devious series.

Loved. Loved. Loved. I listened to AND read this one & can’t wait to share it with my students. I don’t usually use my credits for books that I’ve already read, but I’m going to buy the audio and the hard copy of this one! The narrator was perfect & the pacing was perfect. I don’t listen to many mysteries, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. This narrator really nailed it.

I can’t wait to get my hands on this one. I know my students will enjoy the characters and the plot. I am looking forward to sharing it with them!

Three Drops of Blood has a very interesting premise, but did not deliver in the end. Kate is an overweight actress on a show that gets cancelled because of sexual misconduct by the director. There are enough examples of this behavior coming forward that this was a good start to the novel. Kate decides that her experience acting is what she wants to pursue as a career going against her parents' wishes. Her parents' tough love is shown by them supporting her but requiring her to be an adult by paying rent and buying her own food. I thought this went a little overboard, but some parents do go overboard. The thing that got me was the ridiculous discrimination against Kate for being overweight. Her acting agent's actions weren't out of the realm of possibilities, but when the security guard refused to check into a reported threat just because the reporter was overweight and then went far enough as to report her as prank 911 call. The characters all seemed very static through the book and many seemed more than caricatures rather than real people. I have enjoyed all of McNeil's other stories, but this one fell flat.

This was a good story. I Loved the characters. I will read another book by this author.. I enjoyed the narrator.