I’m not sure how I feel about this one still. I liked it while I was reading it but I found it very forgettable. I did really like the characters and the story line.

This was a fun YA Thriller that I found to be a fun ride. I love YA thrillers because they some how for me at least are less predictable than the adult ones.

I think that anything involving the Lizzie Borden mystery is fascinating to read about. I love seeing author’s twists on the story and their fictional recounts on what really happened. Hatchet Girls takes a different approach and takes place a century later but in the same town that the crime took place. In fact, there’s even a Lizzie Borden House, a haunted bed and breakfast, which is the only tourist attraction in town.

I really liked the premise of this book! I just found that I didn’t really connect with the characters and the middle of the book dragged a lot for me. I think the author has amazing potential though and I look forward to seeing what she writes in the future.

I was expecting more of a direct connection to lizzie border right at the beginning of the book. And I didn't really get that. Wasn't interesting enough at the start to keep me interested. DNF

Some books start off with a bang, while others with a whack!

If you’ve spent all your life hoping for a book that is (a) a reimagining of a Lizzie Borden-style story; (b) but with a modern setting; (c) and that offers a hint of the supernatural; lock the doors and pour the wine, because your day has come!

To begin at the beginning, the setting is Fall River, Massachusetts, the hometown of Lizzie Borden, and she and her alleged crimes exist within the world of our story. Over a century and a quarter later, we settle in to read about a young man accused of axe-murdering his girlfriend’s parents, Lizzie-style, and the sister who won’t stop believing in his innocence.

From its opening pages, mystery takes hold. Don’t get comfortable. Though you may think you’ve correctly anticipated what you’ve signed up for, you’ll quickly learn how wrong you are. Almost immediately, mystery morphs into horror. This is not your parents’ Lizzie Borden story.

This book is pure delight to have and hold. The story is fresh, and the pacing is perfection. The characters and their actions are believable. You’ll find someone to cheer for within these pages, but you’ll also find plenty of moments to shriek at. The imagery will stay with you long after you close the covers and say goodbye once again to the town of Fall River.

I cannot recommend this one enough. It’s time to get your chill on! Enjoy!

Lizzie Borden allegedly murdered her family over a century ago. In this YA thriller, the town pulls on that history for tourists, helping the town out. But now more murders are taking place. Is there a copy cat? Is the town cursed? The novel follows a couple of teenage friends: the suspect and his sister, the murdered's daughter, and her best friend. They have to figure out what's going on before anyone else dies.

I love the set up for this. The characters are well developed, the setting is perfect. But the author gives the reader a little too much too soon in my opinion, taking away from the mystery and the suspense. So in the end I wasn't very surprised by the twists. That being said, I am not the target audience and I think that young adults would really enjoy this one a lot more than I did!

The Lizzie Borden case has been subject of plenty of speculation, so it's ripe for a re-imagining. Rodriguez certainly takes an interesting tactic, exploring motivations and influences, asking us to consider guilt and responsibility. The book makes overtures towards questions of racism and classism but these concepts are not explored in any true depth. Vik, as we meet him, is too sympathetic. Mariella is too manipulative. There's no nuance to the plot that has us wondering.

Thank you to the publisher and author for sending me a copy of this book to review! I switched back and forth between the e-arc and the physical arc.

5 reasons to read HATCHET GIRLS. It's:
1. Lizzy Borden inspired
2. Bad girls do murder
3. Is it a Haunting or a possession?
4. seriously, Don't drink anything from a witch!
5. Revenge plot goes bad

When Mariella Morse accuses her boyfriend, Vik Gomez, of murdering her wealthy parents with an axe, the town is quick to believe her. It doesn’t help that Vik is caught standing over her parents’ bodies with blood on his hands, unable to remember anything about the night in question.

But Vik’s sister, Tessa, knows that Vik would never be capable of such a gruesome crime. Haunted by the mistakes she made that led her family to move to Fall River, MA in the first place, she sets out to prove her brother’s innocence.

Tessa’s search for answers will lead her into a sprawling, notoriously cursed forest, where she and Mariella must face a darkness that has lurked within their town since before the days of Lizzie Borden—the original axe murderess of Fall River.

I thought the premise for this was really cool. It blends spooky elements and reimagines the familiar story of Lizzie Borden in a new way. I think the end of the book wasn't very strong however and found myself skimming until the end. I never really quite understood why this particular region of the country was susceptible to this particular plot even though it seemed like that was the story the author was trying to tell. I also found one of the character's actions to be pretty unrealistic which drew me out of the story.

Overall, 2.5/5 stars

I was so bummed that this book was over!

I loved everything from the title to the cover to the Lizzie Borden connection. Tessa is awesome and I definitely enjoyed how creepy everything was.

Did I know who was doing what? Yep, but I didn’t know why and how and I really wanted to know.

Expect a fast paced, entertaining, and very eerie read!

As a history teacher obsessed with True Crime and feminism, I liked this story a lot and the ways in which it parallelled the Lizzie Borden story and its sensationalism.

A wild ride of a book.loved that this is a retelling of the Borden murders with a paranormal twist. Especially the fact that it was set in the same town, and with people living the Borden history - running the house as a museum. If you’re a fan of Lizzie Borden, this will definitely be a book for you. Though not directly following Lizzie’s story, this gives a bit of a theory of what could have happened, and what other emerges might be affecting that area.

A creepy read for the season. A bit depressing - domestic abuse, depression. But there’s also a cute love story and tight family bonds. So a bit of everything for everyone.

Also, loved how much research and diving into the real story the author did for this book.

Lizzie Borden took an axe,
And gave her mother forty whacks,
And when she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.

I truly enjoyed the aspect of a true crime incorporated with this YA horror/mystery book.

Plot: I enjoyed that the plot intertwined with Lizzie Borden's history, but was also a thing of its own. It revolves around a girl who would die for her family while the other plots to kill her own. Lastly, throw in supernatural forces that are meant to be left alone.

Premise: I thought the premise was brilliant, it was very creepy and unsettling. The true history behind the town and forest added a serious unnerving feeling that I couldn't shake even afterwards.

POVs: I loved how we went back and forth between Mar and Tessa. There was a present and past timeline as well. I never felt confused and it never felt out of sorts, I feel like it strengthened the plot.

The writing: Perfect for the age range. The vocabulary fit and enhanced the experience. The pacing was quick but that's what made me want to continue reading along.

Characters: Can't really complain about any of them. I definitely rooted for Vic.

Overall, this is a solid 4 out 5 star YA read!

I really enjoyed this! The author does a fantastic job of creating a unique story and atmosphere. I would recommend this! Thank you to Diana Rodriguez Wallach, Random House Children's and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalleyARC This was a great spooky season read. I've read a lot of YA horror and thriller books lately and this one did not disappoint. I love the connection to Fall River and Lizzie Borden, but maybe that's because I'm from MA and maybe a tad bit biased, lol. I thought the author did a great job of using the Borden murders to captivate the reader and was able to do so without being like all the other books that have used Lizzie as a reference. Again, a great spooky time of year read.

Set in the same town as the Borden murders, Tessa and her brother Vik are newcomers. When Vik is accused of murdering his girlfriend’s dad (a la Lizzie Borden), Tessa knows he is innocent and works to prove it.

I really wanted to like this one but I think Mariella’s chapters took away from the suspense for me! I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if we had just had Tessa’s viewpoint. Or maybe if we had parts and later on we saw Mariella’s view.

Omigod was this an amazing and wild ride of a book! Diana Rodriguez Wallach does it again with a historically inspired THRILLER!

One hundred years after the Lizzie Borden murders, Tessa's brother, Vik, has just been arrested for the totally gruesome murder of his girlfriend's parents--only he doesn't remember a thing about that night. Determined to exonerate her brother, Tessa begins her hunt for the truth. A hunt that just might lead her to into a dark and wicked haunted forest as well as the home of the original axe murders. In this Lizzie Borden inspired thriller, sh*t is about to get real.

I loved Wallach's Small Town Monsters and was so pumped that she would be writing another historically inspired thriller--she did NOT disappoint! Hatchet Girls is packed to the brim with historic references, terrifying forces, and a twist I honestly did not see coming. If you still need a spooky thriller to round out your fall season reads, please--for the love of everything that's good-- add this to your list!

Thank you the publisher for providing me an eARC via NetGalley to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.75 stars

CWs: car accident (historical, off-page), death of a parent, blood, gore, murder

I thought this was a compelling read. I didn’t want to put it down while I was reading because I needed to know what was happening. The supernatural twist was a bit strange, and I did figure out who was behind everything pretty easily, but otherwise it was a good YA thriller.
Tessa was an okay character. She didn’t really have any kind of growth through the story, but I liked her unwavering belief in her brother’s innocence. She annoyed me a bit with the New Tessa thing, and I didn’t feel like I really got to know her.
Mariella was annoying. She wasn’t a great character, and I felt like she was very back and forth. I liked her chapters of what happened in the lead up to the deaths of her parents, but I didn’t like her.
The book was told in dual third-person POVs of Mariella and Tessa. Mariella’s chapters were primarily in the before while Tessa’s were in the after. I liked the back and forth chapters as we unraveled pieces of the mystery.
I didn’t find the characters to be standouts in any way. They weren’t super well developed, and I didn’t really relate to them at all. I would have liked to see more of Vik.
The plot didn’t go how I thought it would at all. The supernatural elements were a bit strange, but it kept me hooked. I wish the ending had a bit more closure and explanation because it was very quick.

I thought the premise of this was very interesting. There just was not anything going on that held my attention and a lot of it did not make sense to me. It felt like the author just kept adding in more supernatural stuff at the end to try and tie it all together.

The Lizzie Borden story isn't something I know a lot about, but I've always heard the rhyme. I appreciated that the author did so much research into what happened, as well as including a lot of history and folklore of other places in Massachusetts. There are mysterious woods, a creepy swamp, and a triangle of area where a lot of strange and bloody incidents occur.

The plot is quick moving and I liked the back and forth timeline as everything pieced together. Tessa is a good sister and determined to help her brother and Mariella is caught in a bad situation with something paranormal and a very real threat at home. I felt bad for both girls, but luckily we see them both take charge of what's happening and stand up for themselves.

Because this is so short, we didn't really get to develop a lot of things and I hoped the investigation into what happened would be a bit more complicated and more involved. Things seemed to wrap up pretty easily and I would have liked more of a fight.

This was interesting and easy to fly through. I'll definitely have to look more into the Borden's.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the copy.