I LOVED this book. It was so funny and relatable (not the attempted murder part). I had the best time listening. The narrator was perfect & I would love to listen to more of their work. I took 1 star off the story because the actual mystery didn't have the highest stakes. I was more concerned about the future of the LGBTQ+ club than the actual safety of the characters. I still had the best time with this story, but there could have been more suspense.

#ad many thanks for the advance copy @wednesdaybooks #partner
& @netgalley + @macmillan.audio for the ALC

Pride or Die
Releases: April 15, 2025

Pride or Die by CL Montblanc is a humorous suspense that will keep you entertained throughout. A quick and fun read that blew through every expectation I had.

Elenora vowed to never let another student at Hillview High to feel like they were alone ever again. She started a LGBTQ+ Club despite the mocks and push back she got for it. But during one of their meetings head cheerleader and bully Kenley is attacked and the club members become prime suspects number 1.

They need to clear their names and cannot depend on anyone to do that besides themselves. The LGBTQ+ Club has been shut down and will only reopen when and if the club is cleared.

This was a fun read with many giggle moments. But behind the humor, real and timely issues are explored. The mystery of who was behind the attack of Henley kept me flipping the pages - having to know what really happened and who was responsible.

The characters are dynamic and relatable. This book will take you right back to your high school days. The principal, who called the club the BLT club, is unbearable - it’s mostly the other characters that are relatable (most not all lol).

Memorable: Sloppy Joe

Themes:
LGBTQIA+
Bullying
Attempted Murder
Fear and Anxiety
Friendship
Identity

A solid read. The perfect ending! The audio was perfect!

This was a fun murder mystery, with excellent queer characters. A recipe for a book that I would love. I liked this one, but didn’t truly love it. A few of the characters fell flat for me, but overall I had a fun time with this one.

This book is a lot of fun, but also has a lot of depth and tackles some heavier themes that we need more of in YA books. I love the main cast of queer characters, love the found family, and the twists and turns the book takes. A fantastic debut.

As far as a YA LGTBQIA+ tale this was for me wasn’t bad. It had all the elements of a (almost) murder mystery that I love. It was a great story about friendship and sticking it to the hatful bigots of the world.

Such a fun 🎧 I thoroughly enjoyed this, fictional as it may be, it touched real topics at the same time. Perfect for the Trans Rights Readathon 🏳️‍⚧️
It also had me on the edge of my seat, I love a good mystery. I literally couldn’t pin it, but of course… I should’ve known who it was from the start. It was entertaining from start to finish w/ fun lines like
“Lego hair shaped as*hole” lmfaoo. I was fr cackling w/ some of the quotes in this book 😭😭😭😭 I really couldn’t pick a fave, but Tyler ate everybody up w/ their speech *🎤 drop fr. Truly loved how everything played out, the ending was so wholesome, but left room for expectation for another book!! Which I highly look forward to 🤍

This one had me laughing from the very first page. I just loved how this crew of kiddos took it upon themselves to investigate what happened at school. The principal was really something else! There were definitely moments where I couldn’t believe how the adults were behaving, but I really enjoyed the sleuthing. The friendships forming felt like the kind that would last a lifetime.
Ina Marie Smith does a fantastic job bringing the characters to life and kept me engaged all the way to the end.

This was a fun read. It was very reminiscent of an 80s camp horror but modernized. There was some decent scares but there was also plenty of fun and light hearted spots. The mcs felt real and while the whole situation of the book felt exaggerated they didn't. As a whole I really enjoyed this as a fun horror romp.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The moment I saw this cover, I knew I wanted to read this book. After reading the synopsis, I insisted that NetGalley give me an ARC. So you can imagine my disappointment when I did not love it. Don’t get me wrong, it was fine. Ina Marie Smith’s narration was outstanding, and there are some important overarching messages, but I don’t know if this book is meant for me, and that’s ok.
I have never been a queer teen in the American south, and I would never claim that CL Montblanc Is fabricating any lived experience, but it sounds unbelievable. I am not saying that Canada is some Utopian land of tolerance, but schools here have policies and a lot of the stuff that these kids face are human rights violations that the media would be all over if the schools didn’t shut it down first. If that is what Texas is like, wipe it from the globe.
In fact, there were many things I had a hard time believing. All of the antagonists- adult and teen alike- are depicted as cartoonishly evil, so I can’t believe the state and position of power the LGBTQ club has at the end of the book. Not in this town. I cannot believe that a man who went to high school in the 80s and presumably worked at a high school from the 90s onward would not know who Mario and Luigi are-- I can suspend my disbelief no longer!
I appreciate the realism of the teenage characters making foolish decisions, but it didn’t make me any less frustrated with them. I did not find Noah’s antics funny. Salim and Tyler, however, need to be protected at all costs! There were many times I was worried for the characters; the stakes felt high and there were so many moments of hopelessness, but the gang were so supportive of one another, I knew they’d be ok.
My favourite scene was the confrontation at the Homecoming Dance. I was very happy that Talia was at fault since I didn’t like her from the jump.. This scene was the perfect balance of tension, comeuppance, and resolution, so I was a bit disappointed with how everything after it was summed up with exposition.
Overall, this book will find its audience and I will make sure it does by purchasing it for my library and recommending it to readers I think it will resonate with.

Pride or Die was a fun almost murder mystery with a cast of inclusive and intriguing characters. When the LGBTQ Club holds an emergency meeting during a pep rally, they find themselves as the primary suspects in the almost murder of the head cheerleader.

Eleanora and friends are on the case to clear their name and protect their club. With homophobia everywhere in their small Texas town the odds are not in the club's favor. The group of friends has to enlist support where they least expect it to try to solve the case.

This was an intriguing mystery and the audio narration kept me immersed from beginning to end. I enjoyed this! I would recommend it if you've liked books by Karen M. McManus, or Holly Jackson you will definitely enjoy this! Thank you to the publisher for providing an ALC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hmmm idk!

After looking at reviews, I fear I’m an unpopular opinion! 😩 literally every review I’ve seen people are loving this. They think it’s dark and funny and had a whole lot of humor, but I just didn’t see it! I mean right in the synopsis. It says it’s a dark comedy debut, but I don’t think I laughed one time 🤷🏻‍♀️ I will say the concept was fun. I liked the idea of an LGBTQ club trying to solve a mystery and figure out what happened to a fellow student. Also wait most of the characters I liked their relationships with each other and how they were so supportive and always there for each other and they really didn’t turn on each other. I thought it was pretty obvious why Kinley wanted to talk to the group, so that little romance wasn’t much of a surprise to me, but it was fun to kinda see it unfold. I wish there was more Besides what was happened at the end. However, my biggest complaint about this is that it felt so unnatural? Like characters were just jumping to conclusions and it didn’t really make sense how we got from point a to point b 🤷🏻‍♀️ and the conclusion at the end about who did it didn’t make any sense to me. I don’t understand how all the clues that were given, added up to that answer.

Overall, not a winner for me, but the audiobook narration was fantastic!

Unfortunately this one didn’t work for me. I loved the queer rep, and appreciate that this is probably geared towards younger audiences, but it was just not believable. Parents were cut out of every aspect of this with no communication that their kids were put on academic probation, interviewed by the cops - multiple times - and that there was an assault in the school.

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to “Pride or Die,” a captivating mystery novel perfect for young readers or those seeking a low-stakes murder mystery. The story follows Eleanora and her friends as they navigate high school drama and clear their names after being framed for an attempted murder. The blend of dark comedy and timely social commentary makes for an engaging listen. The narrator does an excellent job bringing the characters to life. Overall, it’s a fun and suspenseful tale with a vital message about identity and acceptance.

Pride or Die is a fun YA thriller that centers on LGBTQ characters who are being targeted by an unknown person. The plot twist at the end was great! This is a must for all YA collections where thrillers are popular.

Cute little YA book on LGBT issues, I liked it. The main character was fun, I wanted to know how they were going to get out of that mess.

Sometimes I feel envious of this generation and all of the inclusion they seem to have - when I came out a million years ago, I didn’t think twice about it, but I also got treated like sh*t by A LOT of people… strangers, friends, and family alike. This book definitely made me realize it’s still not “easy” for queer youth, just because there’s more visibility and social norms these days - especially in states like Texas.
As in a lot of YA, the angst level is high, and I didn’t always connect with Eleanora’s extreme need to help everyone. As a people-pleaser myself, I thought she was a bit much, but I did appreciate her and her band of misfits. Though I do think some of the stunts they pulled to solve the mystery were borderline jailable. And I could see two love stories coming from a mile away.
This is cute, deep, and a sad reality for way too many youths who just want to be themselves. I hate that things have progressed enough to make being out easier and this book definitely emphasizes some important changes that should be made for our queer youth in this country. It’s a great read for any YA readers especially.
The audio narration was well done- maybe it felt a bit aged up for a high school girl, but still engaging.

I keep writing and deleting, writing and deleting, trying to write a review for this book.

Was it diverse and inclusive? Yes. Did it have funny moments with sweet characters? Yes. Did it have a strong plot? I’m afraid to say it, but no.

I enjoyed the characters and their queerness; I love more representation in modern literature! But it just felt like the author used all their creative juices to really develop and flesh out the characters and then fell very short when it came time to put them into an interesting story.

The “(almost) murder mystery” aspect of this story is so very thin. I wanted a more interesting starting point, I wanted there to be high stakes for the characters involved, I wanted there to be a more dramatic climax.

It was so hard to rate this. But 3.5 stars rounded down felt appropriate. If it weren’t for the characters, it would be lower. But they are the main reason I did enjoy listening. I just thought the overall story was very forgettable.

The narrator did an amazing job though!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

I'm not sure why, but I was under the impression that this book was a horror and it very much is not. This one is definitely a murder (ish) mystery/thriller with a cast of lovely characters and an engaging story, though it did start to drag there a bit in the middle. The plot twist caught me by surprise- that doesn't happen often. All in all a fun mystery with enjoyable characters.

I found the narrators voice pleasant- but for some reason they didn't hold my attention, I found my mind wandering quite a bit.

It's be gay and solve crimes, actually.

I loved this so much *weeps* Every one of these kids, I just want to sweep them up in a hug and kick away everyone who so much as dares to breathe in their direction. The story itself was equal parts heart warming and heart wrenching and it's going to mean a lot to queer kids to see themselves represented like this, especially in the shitshow year that is 2025. It was also surprisingly funny? Like I read the audiobook while walking my dog and laughed out loud multiple times. The principal referring to them as the BLT club actually made me cackle.

I'm hard to please with YA Contemporary but this was a winner right out of the gate. Looking forward to more from this author in future!

Pride or Die is said to be a dark comedy but for me at least it lacked the comedy aspect. I did however enjoy the mystery. During a pep rally there was also a meeting for the LGBTQ+ club. Everyone is outside at the pep rally except for the LGBTQ+ club so when a student is attacked in the hall and left for dead the suspect list consists of only the LGBTQ+ club.

Eleanora is determined to figure out what happened to clear her and all her friend's names. With the help of the victim of the assault they uncover a lot of twists and turns full of hate but as a group they put love first and strengthened their friendships.

I loved Eleanora’s determination. She often got too caught up in the mystery and put that before her friends but everything she did led them to where they needed to be and love conquered hate.

If you’re looking for a book with a thrilling mystery then look no further.