I went into this with such high hopes, and I think that was the problem. Great concept, the carry out was a bit tough. I DNF'd at 22%. I respect the plot idea so much, I regret that this one wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for the gifted audiobook! I wanted to lvoe this so much - it sounded great, the premise was so fun. Unfortunately, this was too YA for me. I find myself being particularly picky with this genre, and this book wasn't for me. I love the representation though!

🏳️‍🌈"People can be a lot of contrasting things at once."🏳️‍🌈

✨️Whooooo! Today is release day for this fantastic book, so I wanted to give you guys my review and put this book on your radar in case it wasn't already.

📘Pride or Die
👩🏼CL Montblanc
📅April 15th 2025
🗣@macmillan.audio

🌈SYNOPSIS🌈

🧠My Thoughts🧠
I was hoping for a lot more murder/mystery, and while yes, the characters were investigating an attack like it was a murder, the story line was more about how horribly queer people are treated in Texas. So, while I was wanting to DNF this book at the beginning, I grew to really like the characters and the morals this story was teaching. This is a very powerful book, the ending had me grinning so hard so if you get this book please go into it with low expectations for murder/mystery and high expectations for BEING GAY AND SOLVING CRIME.

🙌Thank you to @netgalley, @macmillan.audio, and @wednesdaybooks for the e-arc and ALC. All thoughts are my own.

💬ⓆⓄⓉⒹ: Did you utilize your school libraries?

#prideordie #clmontblanc #macmillanaudio #netgalley #alc #arc #advancereadercopy #wednesdaybooks #queer #lgbtq #texas #bookreview #audiobook #audiobookreview #review #releaseday

I think this one had SO MUCH potential. I love YA stories and I often find them to be overlooked simply because they are for a younger audience. While this one wasn’t my favorite, I would definitely recommend it to others. The story was intriguing, giving me gay One of Us is Lying vibes with the murder, mystery and high school setting. I think the main problem for me was that I didn’t care about the characters at all and it wasn’t memorable for me. I do think Pride or Die will be appreciated by so many others though. I love seeing representation and that definitely drew me to book, along with the cover.

The narration was done well and I would be happy to listen to more by this narrator.

This book was at once both so funny (these teenagers, man) and necessary. It puts a microscope over how LGBTQIA+ youths are treated, especially in the American south, and even when they haven't done anything wrong.

This was a fun YA mystery - one of the students is attacked during a school assembly, and the members of the LBGTQ+ club are the prime suspects. It's definitely a character-driven story as the LGBTQ+ club works to clear their name. This is a light-hearted mystery, fans of Veronica Mars and the Scooby gang will enjoy!

Pride or Die is a fierce, unflinching dive into identity, survival, and the power of community. CL Montblanc’s raw, authentic voice brings an urgent energy that grips from start to finish. A must-read for anyone craving bold stories that challenge and inspire.

This book was SO GOOD. It had so many of my favourite things - dark humour, found family, and LGBTQ+ rep. I seriously couldn't put it down (I read it in one day). Think Scooby Doo meets Heartstopper with a dash of A Good Girl's Guide to murder (yes, it's as wild and crazy as that sounds). Eleanor is the main character and she was super relatable - nerdy and someone who loves to crochet.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Fun read overall, somewhat predictable but enjoyable nonetheless. Somewhat flat at times character wise but not terribly so.

Pride or Die is a Young Adult thriller that is also laugh out loud funny. It is not often that I find myself laughing out loud at books, but this one did it for me! Considering the topic of the book, I wasn't expecting it but I did love it. The book takes place in Texas, where most people are conservative, and involves a LGBTQ+ Club in a high school. This club was only approved because the principal thought it was a "BLT" food club. A student is attacked in the hallway at the end of a school assembly, and the only other students that are around at the time are members of the club because they skipped the assembly to decorate their room. They also went to the hall to see what the commotion was and tried to help the student, which also made them look a tad bit guilty, because they, of course, had blood on their hands. The principal is quick to blame them and try to use it as an excuse to put an end to the club. So, the members must figure out who the real culprit is while also fearing for their safety.

A small town Texas high school's Queer Pride club bands together to help solve the murder of one of their antagonists in this new debut YA murder mystery. I loved the queer pride focus in the story, the anxiety rep and the way the teens are fighting to keep a safe space for their fellow LGBTQIA classmates. Recommended for fans of Veronica Mars and with the way the book ends there just might be another mystery to solve for the "Be Queer, solve crime" club!! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I liked the narrator and her voice seemed appropriate for a teenager!

Pride or Die's premise—queer teens banding together to clear their names after being blamed for a high-profile incident—sets the stage for a timely, feel-good mystery. The friendships are sweet, the romance is light, and the representation throughout is both intentional and appreciated.

That said, the plot felt a bit Scooby-Doo at times—there’s a lot of sneaking around, wild accusations, and over-the-top authority figures that make it hard to take the stakes seriously. While the pacing kept things moving, the mystery itself was pretty predictable.

It’s a solid read for a younger YA audience, especially those looking for inclusive stories with humor and heart. For me, it was enjoyable enough, though it leans more toward the “Y” in YA. Still, it offers very relevant and meaningful LGBTQ+ themes that readers hopefully connect with and appreciate.

It’s senior year and Eleanor just wants more people to participate in the LGBTQ Club. But after some miscommunication about BLT club and sandwiches, their club is not as popular as it could have been. But one of the popular girls is found dead (by the lockers I think but can’t remember), and everyone blames the LGBTQ Club. Now they must clear their name or else.
I really wanted to like this book. However, at 49% complete on my audiobook, I remember almost none of it. It is very campy and feels a bit like the Breakfast Club meets Paul Blart. This book was so cheesy and over the top that I found myself letting my mind wonder which is how I got to 49%. I was listening to this in the car. The one place I can be fully engrossed in audiobooks, and this one did not engross me. I don’t know if I would like this book better if I read it, or if this book is just not for me. And while this was not my cup of tea, I do know some teens who will love this book.

A scooby type mystery with plucky gay teens and little too much tragedy for the setting, but fun and engaging. Great for upper grade kids looking for a reflection of themselves in a book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

Pride or Die follows Eleanora Finkel and her friends during their Senior year of high school in Texas. Eleanora has founded a LGBTQ+ Club at their school, which ends up playing a large role in this story. During one of their meetings, the school's head cheerleader, Kenley, is attacked right outside the classroom that the Club is meeting in, and she's fairly badly injured.

Hearing the assault, the Club members rush out into the hall and find Kenley there on the floor. Suddenly, they find themselves the main suspects. Why? I have no idea.

In order to clear their names, and ensure the survival of their Club, they must now investigate the crime and find out who really attacked Kenley.
I found the whole mystery a bit lackluster. Eleanora was running around like the sky was falling in, claiming she had to protect her friends because there was a homophobic murderer on the loose, yet no one was murdered and the person attacked was a popular straight girl who wasn't even a member of their club?

It just seemed like, out of all the mysteries you could have developed, a very odd choice to me. Even after the Scooby-Doo like reveal, I was left scratching my head about it all.

Sadly, as you can tell, Pride or Die was not a hit for me. I love YA Mystery-Thrillers and do read a lot of them. Going into this, I was excited to get a strong Mystery, set in high school, following the members of an LGBTQ+ group. Unfortunately, the MC, Eleanora, I found her personality to be so incredibly-grating, it was hard to focus on anything else. I'm happy she had a bit of self-reflection at the end, but it was too little, too late.

Honestly, I feel like the author did the story a disservice by only having that one perspective. I really enjoyed Noah and Tyler, Eleanor's friends, as well as Kenley. I wish I would have had the opportunity to get to know all of them more, but Eleanora was so self-absorbed, I really feel like I didn't know anything about anyone else.

I hated the way every SINGLE PERSON, besides Eleanora's three friends, were portrayed. Even the people showing her kindness, Eleanor judged and said critical things about. I just found her perspective and outlook completely exasperating. There was zero nuance allowed and every single character was a stereotype of what that 'type' of person should be.

There were also so many odd, cringe-worthy moments, that I can't really get into here without giving away important plot points, but yeah, chapter after chapter of that type of thing gets old quick. I will say, the audiobook narrator, Ina Marie Smith, was really great. She was believable, vocally, as a teen, and she exuded emotion and sincerity throughout.

At the end of the day, this just wasn't to my tastes. If you think the synopsis sounds intriguing though, I certainly encourage you to pick it up. Please don't take my word for it. I'm sure many Readers will have fun with this one.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Even though it didn't necessarily work for me, I'm glad I gave it

Pride or Die by C.L. Montblanc is a darkly funny, LGBTQ+ young adult mystery full of voice, found family, and chaotic sleuthing energy.

Eleanora Finkel just wants to finish high school and escape her small Texas town, but when the cheer captain is attacked during one of her club meetings, Eleanora and her queer friends suddenly become prime suspects.

With the club’s future — and their freedom — on the line, this group of unlikely detectives decides to solve the mystery themselves. What follows is a twisty ride with crushes, anxious thoughts, a whole lot of drama, and just enough absurdity to make it all work.

The main character is snarky, nervous, and relatable, and the found-family vibes are strong. While the narration wasn’t a standout for me in audio, the story still kept me hooked.

Tropes & Themes:
• LGBTQIA+ rep
• YA mystery
• Found family
• High school drama
• Queer club chaos
• Awkward teen crushes

A fun, chaotic, queer teen murder mystery with great rep and a relatable, voicey main character. Not perfect, but definitely worth the read if you want a whodunit with heart (and humor).

3.75
A good story, with moderately well fleshed out characters. The plot was good, and the twist was really unexpected, but I just couldn’t connect with it the way I wanted to.
I found that there were a few things that really stood out to me that I disliked. It felt like we were being pushed a little too hard into stereotypical neurodivergent LGBTQI+ zones, and I’d rather not be shoved so hard. It felt like there was always something being added to the list of “quirks” for our FMC and I don’t love it. Yes, I freely admit, as a member of both factions, none of these quirks were actually a negative representation, and I did see a lot of my own experiences and feelings represented, but for whatever reason, it felt like I was being force fed her “oddness” and that’s a no for me.
I loved the LGBT club, and I wish there had been something like this for me in highschool. This collection of friends was so fiercely protective, but also called each other out for crappy behaviour. That is such a hard thing to do with friends, and i absolutely loved it.
The narrator did a stellar job with this one! Ina Marie Smith, I don’t know that I’ve experienced many narrated by her, but would 100% pick up an audiobook specifically because of her narration from now on. The emotions came through wonderfully, without feeling over dramatic.
In the end, I enjoyed it, but I didn’t love it. I would read more from this author in the future.

3.5⭐️ this quick and fun thriller was a pretty enjoyable read! with a cast of funny, unique characters and a 'who done it' plot line, it makes for an entertaining read
though i wish the book was developed a bit more, i still enjoyed it for what it was!

I’m so enjoying my self-imposed task of reading all the YA books I bring into the library.

This one was a super-fun, murder-ish mystery with a touch of romance, a vast and varied cast of characters, and lots of LGBTQ+ rep.

It gave Save Ferris vibes, if Rooney was even more hateful and felonious.

Can’t wait to get this one out to our patrons.

These teens take Be Gay Do Crime and instead decide to Be Gay Solve Crime and I was so here for it! This book was so optimistic and exactly what queer teenage me needed. And honestly what adult queer me needs too. The world is rough but watching these teens push back against the system brought me a lot of hope. The queer found family made my heart melt and the mystery had me hooked. I'm very excited to see what this author writes next.

The audio was fantastic! I blew through it in a day because I didn't want to put it down. The narrator did a fantastic job of portraying all the side characters and keeping me engaged in the mystery the teens are trying to solve. I definitely recommend picking up the audio if you have the chance.