okay i actually really liked this and had such a fun time reading!

𓍢⊹ 🍀 𖧧 ࣪ thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the arc!

summary: 12 students are chosen to compete in a cut throat competition featuring trials for a cash prize, and only one will win. when someone starts threatening and blackmailing our fmc, she is forced to strike a deal with her brooding ex boyfriend; if he helps her find out who is sabotaging her, she’ll help him solve the mystery his brother left behind…

— this book kept me hooked from the very beginning! i loved following along our fmc as the competition went on and it was so unputdownable! i will say, some things were very predictable BUT that didn’t take away the fun form this!

“It was as if I had to relearn how to exist without him by my side, his presence not loud but constantly felt. People say that breakups feel like losing a limb. But I felt like the lost limb, discarded and useless.”

“My fingers itch to reach out, to brush his arm in some sort of acknowledgment of his flash of grief, but I think better of it. It’s not my job to comfort him anymore.”

— my absolute favorite thing about this book was the romance between chloe and hayes; exes who hate that they can’t hate eachother? ate it up! the flashbacks to them before that day were EVERYTHING! the start of the clover nickname was so cute AND THE RING? oh i loved!

quotes:

“At first, you’re just the girl he has to tutor. Then the girl we have to do a group project with. But suddenly, he starts becoming Hayes again. Laughing, joking, being sarcastic. Playing piano. Things I thought were dead and buried with Hunter. You brought them back. You brought him back.”

“When is it going to click that he’s trying to protect you?”
“No, he’s not.”
“Of course he is. It’s the same reason he didn’t sleep the night before this trial started. He was up all night making sure whatever shit head is messing with you didn’t come back through your window during the night.”

“We sat on the piano bench in the band pit, and you played for me. For hours.”
“And what did I play?”
“Taylor Swift. I begged you to play me her songs for months, but that day you finally caved.”
“What albums?”
“Evermore. Red. Midnights.”

“Everyone loved him. Everyone needed him. I needed him. Nobody needs me.”
“That’s not true, I need you. And I—I love you.”

“I need you for other reasons, too. You make me feel like I’m someone deserving of being protected and defended. I’ve never felt that before because—I’ve never felt like I’m enough. Like i have to keep proving myself and being perfect and getting amazing grades. But with you, I never felt that pressure.”

“You’re always enough for me.”

An engaging read! I loved the concept of the Wilde Trials. Twelve seniors competing in a series of tests to win money immediately had me hooked. The main character Chloe starts getting blackmailed and turns to her ex-boyfriend for help. They soon strike up a deal that will benefit both of them. I loved the mystery aspects throughout too.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

Even though this was a YA, I still enjoyed going through the trials with the characters. Reed has a way of just sucking you into a story making you feel like you're right there. There's mystery and thrill, along with friendship. This should be on everyone's TBR!

Another suspenseful YA thriller by rising star Mackenzie Reed! I had a lot of fun with this one. The setting is atmospheric, the stakes are high, and the plot is smart. Such a great book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!

3.75 stars, rounded up.

I enjoyed Reed's first novel and was excited to read this! I flew through this book and was definitely hooked by the story, despite feeling like it could have finished a tad stronger. The Wilde Trials is about a competition set at a boarding school--kids go out basically alone into the woods with hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line--what could go wrong? There was a compelling backstory to several of the characters which was interesting, but the challenges themselves were kind of boring. My only real squabble is with the ending and the motivations behind several of the characters' actions. Not everything made a ton sense to me in that regard and I would have enjoyed a little more explanation. Overall, a fun and easy read, perfect for fans of The Inheritance Games!

Mackenzie’s writing reminds me of why YA can be such a fun genre to read! I adored her first book, The Rosewood Hunt, and now I’ve fallen in loved with her writing again! I thought the pacing was perfect and plot was so intriguing! It had just the right amount of suspense and tension!
This book would have been my ultimate obsession in high school! I can’t express enough how talented of a writer Mackenzie is! If you’re thinking about getting into read YA, this is the perfect book for it!

4.25 Stars
Chloe is a senior at Wilde Academy, a very exclusive co-ed boarding school. The final two weeks of every school year, there is a wilderness competition, where the winner takes home prize money. As a scholarship student, and with her younger sister's recent cancer diagnosis, Chloe feels she must win. The first hurdle is being selected, and when the contestants are announced, Chloe is shocked by who her competition is, including her former boyfriend, whose brother died in the trials two years before. The group is taken by bus to the original Wilde estate, that is rumored to be haunted, where they will stay for the next two weeks. The challenges are difficult, but are not supposed to put anyone in danger, but that is not how things turn out.

I loved everything about this story! It is very fast paced, with enough compelling action to keep you engaged, but not so much you are confused. The characters are well developed and their actions keep you guessing for most of the book. If you liked the Truly Devious series, I highly recommend you pick this one up!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Mackenzie Reed, and HarperCollins Children's Books: Storytide for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

A fun read!! I love any YA challenge mysteries, especially ones set at boarding school. I thought this was an addictive read that kept me on my toes. I really enjoyed Chloe as a protagonist, and I thought the side characters were great as well. Everyone felt like actual teenagers, and the pacing of the story worked well for the events that were happening. I liked the romance/ex-romance between Chloe and Hayes and rooted for them the entire read. I do think everything progressed a little too neatly and wrapped up way too cleanly for this to be a believable mystery, but there were a couple of good twists throughout. I also wish a bit more time would have been spent developing the history of Wilde Academy beyond what was stated because it seemed like that was going to play a role in the overall story when instead it fell to the background. If readers are a fan of The Inheritance Games or Truly Devious, I think they will enjoy The Wilde Trials; I look forward to reading more of Reed's work!

Mackenzie Reed!!!! What a second novel!!!

From the MOMENT this book was announced I knew I had to read it. It didn’t disappoint.

Chloe was a character hard to describe. She was ambitious and ruthless. She was also caring and loyal. She was also alone.

Hayes. I started out thinking he’s the character I won’t care for. I WAS WRONG. Hayes. He’s been through it. And still going through it. He also has so many in his corner. We think.

Woolf! I loved this character beyond. Fierce, loyal, funny, and a jerk. But when it counts and in the right way. Most of the time. He means well and I loved him.

But the story. What?! It had me thinking one thing and then another and blaming everyone but BEGGING Chloe to let Hayes in. Like if she would just it would be okay but then would we have solved it?? Yes. But not in the most entertaining way.

On the edge of my seat the entire time. So good.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’d give this book about a 3.5. It was pretty fast paced and I actually hated putting it down. I stayed up late to read this and I haven’t done that in a while for a book. Overall, it’s a good story, there weren’t very many twists that surprised me but that’s because I’m usually good at picking up on things quick. I still think it’s a really good book especially with it being a second book. Usually second books come lackluster and aren’t as good as the first but I was pleasantly surprised with this one. This author becomes an automatic buy for me. The characters were actually interesting and I liked getting to know each of them. Can’t wait for the next story.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this more than I did the Rosewood Hunt, but I still wasn't the biggest fan and I really wish I was because the premises are always so promising. But alas. This felt a little disjointed and like Reed's last book, just disconnected and I really couldn't find the chemistry between the characters.

"From the acclaimed author of The Rosewood Hunt comes a thrilling new mystery about a high-stakes competition packed with shocking twists, second chances, and deadly deceit, where allies - and enemies - are the people you'd least expect.

Chloe Gatti will do whatever it takes to win her elite boarding school's annual competition, the Wilde Trials. In the two weeks leading up to graduation from Wilde Academy, a dozen seniors are chosen to compete in a series of seven ultimate physical and mental tests, and the winner will take home over half a million dollars - money that Chloe needs to help her sick sister.

But the competition is fierce and includes her brooding ex-boyfriend, Hayes Stratford, whose brother was the only student to die during the trials a few years ago. When someone starts blackmailing Chloe during the competition, she's forced to strike a deal with Hayes - if he helps her discover who is sabotaging her, she'll help him solve the mystery his brother left behind.

Following clues from Hayes's brother, the unlikely allies discover that something isn't right about the Wilde Trials. With a life-changing prize looming over her head and her buried feelings for Hayes rising to the surface, Chloe will have to decide what's really worth fighting for, and if the cost of competing outweighs the potential consequences, even if that includes ending up like Hayes's brother - dead.

Fans of Jessica Goodman and Maureen Johnson will love this dark academia thriller with a romantic twist!"

I adore the cover, it reminds me of the recent Agatha Christie reissues and a Jennifer Lynn Barnes book... Though I do have to question a school that has such a large surplus of cash to give away...

The Wilde Trials are about to commence and Chloe wants to participate. She doesn’t want to win for the bragging rights … she wants to win for the $600,000! Everyone knows that the competition is hard, but this year seems to be elevated to a new level. When Chloe is blackmailed during the competition, she is forced to partner with other contestants to uncover the answer to another mystery. Who will win this competition? What happened to Hayes’s brother?

The Wilde Trials is a stand-alone mystery that had the potential to be amazing, yet didn’t satisfy my urge to be thrilled. Reed created a plausible story and great characters, but individual scenes seemed forced. This could be because there have been a lot of books released in this specific niche genre recently and by comparison, it wasn’t up to par. The Wilde Trials is a fun read if you need a good escape.

I really enjoyed this book. At first, I had a hard time with the fact that it was a bunch of rich kids competing for money that none of them really needed. However, I was able to get over this when I realized what the competition and winning meant to many of them. As a teacher, I was able to see a lot of my students in some of the character’s motivations (various pressures from parents and/or “legacy” for example). Personally, I saw a lot of myself in Chloe. I recognize that she is a flawed character, but that is what made me like her. As an avid reader of this genre, I thought I had the “twist” nailed down, but I didn’t! It was all explained pretty well and I think it made sense for the most part. The romance felt real and I really loved Chloe and Hayes’ whole story. My only problem was that Dodge didn’t get quite enough of what he deserved. Overall, this is a book I would recommend to my students in a heartbeat.

If you grew up in a high school romance where close-knit friendship groups dominated the campus, you should read this book. The plot is captivating and captivating, and the cast of characters is strong. The reader gained more insight into the human condition from each person's justifications for their actions. Seeing the mysteries develop and the characters interact with their various secrets was fascinating.

Thank you HarperCollins Children's Books for the copy of The Wilde Trials by Mackenzie Reed. This is a good YA teen book and would make a fun movie/series. It would have made more sense if we had learned the reasons each competitor participated as well as the motivation of the former champions. I liked the trials and would have loved it if each one had been linked back to the values of the school. Even so, this was an immersive read that taught some subtle lessons. I can see it being in middle school libraries and teens loving it! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

was very entertained by all the characters and the plot. It was a fast paced book and I thought the trials were really well done.

I was interested to see how The Wilde Trials would fit into the growing mystery-at-a-school genre, and it definitely holds its own. This book is Survivor meets Pretty Little Liars, and I think students will really enjoy it.

Our protagonist Chloe attends an elite boarding school where an annual competition for the chosen graduating Seniors could supply the money her family desperately needs. If she can only win.
Chloe has a younger sister with cancer.Twice within the first few pages she is remembering 2 instances where she used that to one, write her essay about her sister being ill knowing that she would score some sympathy points. As well as using it to get out of trouble after starting a food fight. Yet in the very next chapter she becomes furious when someone incinuates that she has used that very issue to get ahead. Which she so obviously did.
I couldn't understand why anyone other than Chloe and Hayes would put themselves in this type of situation. Hayes needs information. Chloe needs the money. She is poor and about to lose her family home, but everyone else is just poor, little rich kids.
I found the puzzles to be quite clever and the unfolding of the twists at the end which led to the final reveals to be great.

3.5 stars - I had such a blast reading this book. Wealthy academia and a contest with different trials - I couldn’t get enough. Although this read as very YA, the characters were well-rounded and the story line was interesting. Not my favorite game/trial book, but I did enjoy this and appreciate that it was a fun read.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.