Sometimes you need a break from the thrillers and just need a good YA murder mystery. This book fulfilled what I needed. It was fast-paced and I enjoyed the New Orleans setting. I enjoyed the POVs from the different girls April, Piper, Lily and Vivan. Since they have different personalities it was pretty easy to be able to distinguish them as you are reading the book.

The book is centered around the wealthy in New Orleans. These “elite” are part of the Krewe that put on a float at Mardi Gras and also have a maid Debutante ball for the girls. Not all of the kids go to school together (stretched among a few private schools in NOLA) but the main characters belong to a small school called Beauford.

A year ago, Margot (a maid) is said to have killed herself. Her friends have been heartbroken (and extremely surprised by the loss). Unfortunately, as with many wealthy circles, things went back to normal very quickly. It’s now about a year later, where Lily Thompson is now the Queen of the debutante ball (Margot was the year before), and an unknown “Jester” at the ball throws red paint all over Lily, ruining the event. Soon after, Lily gets into a huge fight with her boyfriend (who was supposed to drive her home), and she disappears.

Her friends (Vivian, Piper, April) all receive some odd texts and emails “from Lily” and they soon find out that Lily didn’t make it home the night before. The police report that Lily has run away from home, but her friends aren’t totally convinced.

Can the girls figure out what is going on without ruining their future plans and keeping themselves alive?

Thank you Net Galley for an advanced copy of The Debutantes.

For the New Orleans elite, the Les Masques Ball is sure to be the social event of the season—if they can avoid another dead Queen. When debutante Margot Landry was found dead the morning after her reign at last year’s ball, it was a tragedy, but not a shocking one. Everything seems to go normal with this ball until someone dressed in a jester costume crashes it. Enter this year's Queen Lily Leblanc, the day after the ball she goes missing.

From here we follow Vivian, Piper, and April who put clues together to figure out what happened to Margot and now where Lily is. Along the way, we learn about some shady happenings. The Jester threatens to reveal the girls' secrets the closer they get to solving the puzzle, but they don't let that stop them. They just hunker down and move forward together. Overall this was a great read for me.

Loved this book! Excellent world-building and pacing, I felt like I was dropped right into a totally believable, contemporary Mardi Grad mystery. An excellent read!

This was a fast-paced thriller focused on the New Orleans elite. The queen of the ball, Margaret, was found dead last year from an overdose, so when someone vandalized this year's ball and the new queen goes missing everyone is on edge. Her friends April, Vivian, and Piper are determined to find Lily but someone threatens to expose their secrets they have to decide how far they're willing to go. This book is a young adult mystery that focuses on the dark side of debutante world. I liked the different point of views for each of the characters as they continue uncovering what happened to Margaret to find Lily. There were so many great twists, and I was surprised by the ending, which is always what I'm looking for in a thriller.

This is an ARC from NetGalley. This story is your typical YA murder mystery set in New Orleans, with a group of "friends" forced to work together to solve the question of who dun it. This story was very basic with a large side of ick, a society of old rich white guys who want teenage girls to serve as their handmaids. This book failed to bring anything interesting to the story despite it's setting and secret society story arch. Overall, everyone is a villain and all the main characters are forgettable.

An immaculate thriller set in New Orleans with debutantes, murder, and pure mayhem.

The Debutantes follow three girls as they enter the social event of the season: The Les Masques Ball. But after a debutante was found dead the morning after last year’s ball, things are a little tense. Except this year, Lily is the Queen and a perfect debutante. The night is perfect, until the ball is hijacked by someone in a Jester costume. After the ruined ball, April, Vivian, and Piper all receive a text from Lily to meet her the next morning. Except, Lily never shows, and the debutantes believe something bad must have happened to her. When the girls start investigating, they uncover a dark, sinister underworld of debutante society, one capable of murder. As the Jester threatens to expose their secrets if they don’t stop digging, the girls have to work harder to expose the monster in New Orleans before another debutante winds up dead.

This book has immaculate vibes! I’ve always loved a New Orleans setting, but after going last summer, I adore it even more. There’s something very unique and electric about New Orleans, and this book encapsulates it perfectly. I loved learning more about the debutante society and the crazy twists that happened. The author crafted a really unique, fascinating, and fast-paced thriller that you’ll have the time of reading. The twist was excellent and the last fifty pages had me frantic to read and see how it ended.

I loved our trio of main characters. Each girl felt very distinct and had their own motivations and goals. I liked how different they were, yet how they came together to investigate and protect one another. And the secrets each held was really interesting. They're all flawed, realistic characters, and I loved reading from their perspectives. They were all so clever and brave, watching them investigate was so fun and stressful. I really loved all of their arcs and how their friendship developed.

Overall, if you love books set in New Orleans, debutantes, and murder mysteries, you’ll love this book!

The Debutantes is an action-packed YA thriller by Olivia Worley that felt just like an early 2000’s teen drama with Gossip Girl meets Pretty Little Liars vibes. While it was a quick, easy read, it does dive into deeper topics. Throughout the many twists and turns, Worley explores complex subjects like class, privilege, the complexities of female friendship, and the deep-rooted misogyny of elitist groups.

It has an eerie southern gothic feel, and Worley’s descriptive writing makes the New Orleans setting come alive in a truly creepy way. This story is action packed and told through three main POVs, making for a fast-paced thriller with secrets lurking around every corner.

WOW! I see this being the next big YA bestseller complete (think Karen McManus) with a Netflix series to boot. Can't wait to tell my students about this one. The night of the masquerade ball and perfect queen, Lily Leblanc, disappears after an unsettling incident at the party. The previous year's queen, Margot, also suffered an untimely death from an overdose. Of course the two events are connected.

Positives:
The setting of New Orleans and the background of the Mardi Gras/debutante culture was fascinating
Secret societies
Told in alternate points of view from three teenage girls (Piper, Vivian, and April) the "maids"
A dark murder mystery
Family secrets
The cover is epic!

Negatives:
One character's involvement was pretty easy to figure out early on but it was still an well-written thriller

This will be much-talked about! I hope she writes more.

This is a pretty standard YA mystery/thriller. I enjoyed the concept, although I had a hard time getting really into it. There were multiple POV - April, Piper, Vivian, and a bit from Lily (the current Queen). While they had different personalities, it was difficult in the beginning to tell them apart and I think that impacted my ability to get into the story.

I really loved The Debutantes, a young adult mystery set in New Orleans. The story follows three girls involved in the high society of Mardi Gras. When the queen of the debutante ball disappears, it becomes a race to find her, especially since the previous year's queen was found dead.

I enjoyed the multiple points of view, although at times I had to check which chapter belonged to which character. I have a soft spot for stories where the rich and elite have secrets, and each girl having a hidden truth raised the stakes, especially since it could lead to accusations against them.

The book features secret societies, pressure to impress wealthy parents, and the importance of college acceptances. If you're a fan of "Pretty Little Liars" or anything by Jessica Goodman, I think you'll enjoy the suspenseful twists and turns in this book.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Olivia Worely for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

The alternating POVs made the story a tad confusing at times and dragged the plot out. The characters collided into each other, not one having a discerning tone or voice. There was a lot of dialogue, and because of that, the writing seemed rather plain. Overall, an average read.

The debutantes is definitely for you if you enjoyed the pretty little liars series. Unfortunately I did feel like it could’ve been condensed quite a bit and still have the same affect on readers. Solid 3.5 for me

Worley really hooked me with Debs. This book was good, fast paced, overall a very predictable YA thriller. I did read it in one sitting and like it overall. Unfortunately it was nothing special but I liked it enough to read Worley's next novel! A comfort thriller if you will, I knew what to expect, I still read it. 3.5 stars

US pub date: 10/29/24
Genre: YA thriller
Quick summary: Les Masques Ball is where the debutante queen of New Orleans is crowned. Last year's party ended with the queen found dead, and this year's isn't any better now that new queen Lily LeBlanc is missing.

The New Orleans setting makes this book worth reading - I loved the chance to experience the city through the eyes of its young and privileged. The main issue I had with this book is that I felt like I've read it before - an exclusive club led by old men, families with secrets, and one debutante of lower economic means. The ending isn't all that surprising, and I was disappointed Worley didn't have any new twists up her sleeve. That being said, if I had read this book as a teenager, I probably would have been obsessed with it. 3.5 stars rounded down.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Debutantes dives you straight into the New Orleans high society. With last years debutante queen dead and this years is now missing, you follow four different POVs of the girls -- all of whom have something to hide.

This book was such a fast and easy read that I could not put it down and devoured the entire thing in one day. Every time I put it down to take a break, I kept thinking back to the story and had to go back to finish it. I knew nothing about the world of a debutante, which was already fascinating but with the mystery intertwined along with some twists & turns it was a great read.

I will say that early on I did end up predicting a certain plot twist, which was the only disappointing thing for me. I love it when I might think one thing will happen, but then something completely different does. So being able to predict a major twist was a bit of a negative for my experience reading. Overall though, I absolutely loved this book and would highly recommend to anyone who loves a good YA mystery/thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's for the opportunity to review this ARC and provide my honest review!

This book is a completely gripping YA! Anyone who’s The Pretty Little Liars would love this book! It’s fun, and has just the right thriller for the age group! Told my 14 year old she would love this. It’s her genre and not graphic and younger alley. Totally loved this and would read another book by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this novel. I am a grown, almost 50 year old woman but still enjoy well written YA. Unfortunately, this was not it. There was a real lack of connection to the characters which made it super easy to mix them up and it felt very predictable.

The Debutantes, set in the vibrant backdrop of New Orleans, is a thrilling blend reminiscent of the intrigue of Pretty Little Liars and the suspense of Good Girls Guide to Murder.

The pacing and suspense were great, but a few twists were predictable. That did not take away from the story; it kind of added to it. You knew where it was headed but not how it would get there. The journey was worth it. I read this in one setting and wish I could read more.

The Debutantes is due to come out October 29th.


Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin Press, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book first caught my attention because of the cover and title. I was intrigued and was super happy when I got approved for the ARC. Knowing it was a YA book brought my expectations down a bit, but this book surprised me.

It takes place in New Orleans, where we start off a a debutante ball. The Queen the year before had died and was sort of wreckless. This year the Queen, Lily, came from a family who seemed to have prestige. When Lily goes missing shortly after the ball, it is up to the other debutantes to figure out what happened.

This story is told in multiple point of views. It alternates between three different "maids." I felt like the characters could have used a little bit more development. I would be reading a chapter and have to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to see which POV we were currently on. I felt like all the characters, not just the main ones, could have used a little bit more. That is really my biggest complaint about the book.

I loved the story and was able to quickly read through it. I started to figure out who what was going on about halfway through, which just made me want to read even more. It gave me a look into what the higher society of New Orleans looks like from a high school POV.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Olivia Worley for the ARC!