This is the case of whodunit, and I was here for it. But then it ended up being a slow burn which I do not like, because of course I was highly disappointed, the ending wasn’t what I expected. I know I was not the only one who was annoyed at these characters but then again these are teens. I found myself finding this book to be a little TOO much to be a YA, but then again the times are different now.

This was a fun suspenseful novel with many false clues thrown in.
The story moved along with funny circumstances, unique characters, and lots of wrong assumptions.
As a mystery, it hit it's mark. You will read it till the end and then be surprised. It's more convoluted than you thought!
Enjoy!

Content Warning: violence, cursing

+ Students in an LGBT+ club are witnesses to an attack on a cheerleader, but because they were seen at the scene of the crime, people are suspicious that they were the ones who attacked her. So to prove their innocence, they decide to investigate to find who the real attacker is.

+ Eleanora and her friends in the club are funny! There is cursing but I thought it was fine. They are quite a cast of characters and they found themselves in a lot of chaos and drama. Plus I love the diversity that is being represented in the story.

~ I didn’t feel invested in the story. I was thinking it was going to be a serious mystery but it wasn’t but that’s part of it’s appeal. I eventually did enjoy the dark comedy vibes but I also felt like maybe a younger audience will definitely enjoy this book more than I did.


Final Thoughts:

I love the representation in this one! It’s got queer kids trying to solve a crime with lots of chaos and drama. Eleanora and her friends are a fun group! I think this one will appeal to young adults and teen readers.

Eleanora Finkel wants to finish her senior year and get out of Texas. When the head cheerleader is attacked at the same time her club is meeting, they're blamed for it. To clear their names and keep their club for future queer teens, they’ll have to track down the real culprit. Eleanora isn't a detective and is anxious. She is also attracted to said cheerleader. Can they solve this mystery before one of them is next?

The LGBT club at school is small but a safe place for the four openly queer kids at school. The principal is against them from the start, the cheerleader made a comment a year ago that got most of the popular kids bullying them, and being accused of attempted murder will ruin future college admissions. It's easier for the principal and police to blame them than to really look for the culprit; as they investigate, they realize how much corruption really exists within the school. This takes on more comedic elements at times, but there are serious consequences as the team tries to gather clues and find the real attacker. The investigation intensifies when one of the friends is arrested and threats are painted on their lockers. We get the crimes all solved by homecoming, in the most spectacular and romcom-style admissions, which had me laughing. Overall, this was a very fun read, incorporating a very serious topic.

I appreciate how the subject matter of this book toes the line of right and wrong because life is not just black and white. When a group of teens are the prime suspects in a murder case, they must prove their innocence by solving the murder case on their own. It is very modern "Scooby-doo" like, filled with modern meddling kids.

When the head cheerleader at school is attacked, the blame is immediately placed on the LGBTQ+ club who was holding a meeting just down the hall at the same time. In addition to already fighting a town and school of bigots, they now see themselves having to fight crime to save the one queer haven at their school.

PRIDE OR DIE by CL Montblanc was such a fun dark comedy centered on friendship and acceptance and crime-solving mayhem!

Our main cast of characters was so fun and each had their own distinct personalities. The hijinks was top-tier and the sleuthing was both clever and creative!

Overall, this was a great YA mystery with amazing rep!

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: April 15

3.25 ⭐️

This was such a fun read!
I really enjoyed the writing style and all of the quirky characters in this book. The whole plot was so deeply unserious, but I think that’s part of its charm! I do, however, wish it was a bit more developed as it felt like a really short read to me! But it was such a silly, chaotic little treat!

Also thank you to NetGalley for access to this arc!

I loved this suspenseful, fun read that was full of heart! The shocking twists were masterfully executed. This is one book that can't be missed!

A teen LGBTQ cozy! Eleanora and her pals in the high school LGBTQ club must find the villain who attacked a cheerleader or suffer the consequences. This is very much a YA novel in tone and writing style but that doesn't mean it doesn't have all the feels of a cozy- the small town, the friends, the red herrings. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Good characters and storytelling make this a fun read.

Pride or Die by CL Montblanc was a super fun YA murder mystery.
I was so excited to jump right into this book.
Absolutely wonderful read! Couldn’t put it down.
The mystery is expertly woven, with characters who felt genuine and real.
This book centers on LGBTQ characters which I really liked.

I went into this book knowing it was YA, and thought it would be along the lines of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. Even with some of the themes in this book (e.g., drugs, sexuality), this felt younger which I think might have been the simplicity of the writing style. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and I’d think younger teens would enjoy this more. Some parts of the story just felt so far fetched, even with this being set in reality, like the speech from the detectives and the conversations with the club and principal, but no parent involvement. Overall, I liked the premise and the LGBT representation.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for my physical book for exchange for my honest review!!

I really loved this book. It was funny, had charming characters, and had a mystery that was actually not easy to guess. There were plenty of red herrings and I liked how there was a message about how people don’t know everything about someone. The LGBTQ club was great. Everyone was hilarious and I enjoyed seeing their antics. This was a fun book and I can’t wait to see more from this author!!

Rating: ★★★½ (rounding up to 4)

This felt very YA—in tone, pacing, and the way the characters relate to each other—which isn’t a bad thing, just something to know going in. The mystery kept me engaged the whole time. I wasn’t totally shocked by the ending, but I did suspect basically everyone at some point, which made the ride fun.

I liked the characters a lot, and I was rooting for their little queer club the whole way through. The only thing that didn’t quite land for me was how the book worked in its messaging around queer rights and history. I fully agree with everything being said, it just... wasn’t always the smoothest transition. It sometimes felt like: story, story, story… and now a brief detour into Human Rights 101. Then back to the drama. It pulled me out of the moment a bit, and I wish it had been woven in more naturally.

That said, I still had a good time with this one. It’s heartfelt, queer, and full of personality—with just enough chaos to keep things interesting. Definitely worth picking up if you’re in the mood for a YA mystery that knows what it’s about.

PRIDE OR DIE by CL Montblanc is an enjoyable read and main character Eleanora's desire to escape Texas is very relatable. The novel is described as a "dark comedy" but it leans more into earnestness than into anything dark. Even the mystery is a bit on the light side. It does not have the edginess or satire I expect from a dark comedy. One highlight of PRIDE OR DIE is that the LGBTQIA+ teens are out and proud, which is especially impressive given the small town Texas setting. I also appreciated that the book had queer adult characters. Some of the teen secondary characters felt underdeveloped, perhaps because there were too many of them. It's hard to balance an inclusive cast of characters (especially if the author's going for wide representation of the teen LGBTQIA+ rainbow) and space for compelling character arcs.

Really enjoyed the LGBTQ+ representation in this book. It was well done for the intended audience and mystery kept me guessing! Love that the chapters have titles as well!!!

Definitely great characters! The situations are also very unique. However, I wish the book was a little more engaging. Great if you love dark YA books or murder/thrillers.

This was a fun YA comedy/romance/mystery. I think the cover/description is a little misleading to try to get the thriller crowd sucked in, but there isn’t anything “scary” beyond the initial attack. The rest is more of a fun mystery, The characters are quirky and fun, and I always like a YA book where the characters actually sound like high schoolers and not middle schoolers. I thought the dialogue was authentic to that age level and found the characters to be very funny. I didn’t love the relationship plot with the other characters (the meeting in the gym felt incredibly awkward) or the “they are mean because they like you” trope (which feels especially frustrating here when it deals with a queer kid). Some of those plot points felt a little too Glee for me. However, I overall think this is a book that YA audiences will really like.

3.5/5 ⭐️
Sheesh. I don’t know where to begin lol. I finished this book quite quickly all in one sitting. It’s not a very long book and it kept me entertained. Though I did enjoy the mystery of it and I did like the characters (generally) I felt that some of the characters weren’t super developed or dug into deep enough. The miscommunication (not sure if this is the word im looking for) mixed with “i did that stuff because i cant confess to my own feelings” had me a little irked I suppose. It felt like the book was trying to be a mystery book and a romance (near the end) but didn’t quite hit either genre enough to leave me satisfied. That being said, overall the book is a cute, easy and fun YA read that you should check out if you have the time.

TLDR
enjoyed: mystery, lgbtq representation, quick and easy read
not as much: character development, plot
THANK YOU TO NET GALLEY AND PUBLISHER FOR THIS ARC IM EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW :)

Carrying the torch for teen detective fans everywhere, Pride or Die is reminiscent of classic Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys—but with a modern queer twist that neither dumbs down its content nor sugar coats it.
After a vicious attack that nearly kills their bully, a group of queer friends find themselves accused. And with a faculty out to get them and a police force all too willing to take the easy route, they soon learn that in order to clear their names, they’ll need to find the culprit themselves.
While not the most groundbreaking in terms of its storytelling, I do think that this book uses the tropes and stereotypes afforded a teen mystery to the best of its ability, and successfully subverts them in a way that helps to modernize the genre as a whole. Jocks, cheerleaders, nerds; they’re all there, but they’re also given complexity through contemporary issues like pharmaceutical abuse, anxiety and mental health representation, and police corruption.
Overall, while it dealt with some pretty heavy topics, I would say that this book was a fun read as a whole. The characters were entertaining, the friendship vibes were immaculate, and while the oppression did get a little too heavy handed at times, the story felt complete and snuggly tied off at the ends. In short, I would still recommend it if you’re on the hunt for a slightly campy young adult mystery with a lot of good representation.

I enjoyed this fairly goofy YA mystery. I do think that it's a bit misleading to say that it's a dark comedy, it implies a level of edginess or irony that isn't really here. Pride or Die is a very earnest story about a group of friends trying to save their high school LGBTQ club from being disbanded after getting accused of attempted murder, but it sounds more gruesome than it is. There's no actual murder in here, and there's really no follow up attacks. I'd also say that the investigation aspects felt a little unsatisfying since they only kind of ended up leading to the eventual perpetrator. The writing was fine, if a bit cringe and online sometimes, but that could also just be me not being the age of these characters anymore. I also think that while it mentions a lot of issues that affect queer kids like bullying, homophobia, and additional racism for queer kids of color, it didn't really feel like it was engaging meaningfully with them in a deep way. Just mentioning them for the set dressing of the story.

Overall, I do think I would recommend this to teens looking for a queer mystery romp but I don't think that it's anything more than average.

Thanks to NetGalley for arc for review.