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kimo1983's review against another edition
4.0
This was really good – I didn’t suspect the killer at all – read in one day – couldn’t put it down
scrollsofdragons's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 It was a fun guessing who the murderer was but the characters were not really that outstanding and the book could have been more thrilling and atmospheric to match the plot.
the_sassy_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
This book was highly entertaining. Part PRETTY LITTLE LIARS, part MEAN GIRLS, part SCREAM QUEENS, I couldn't put it down and ended up reading it from cover to cover. I had to go back to check if I had read anything from this author before but I have not. An oversight I will be correcting soon.
I found this one to be well written and well paced. The plot was engaging and kept me turning the pages. The murder mystery kept me guessing right until the end. Although because the gender of the killer is given away early in the book, I was sure I had it figured out, alas imagine my surprise when I had it wrong. I am usually fantastic at Sherlocking the baddie(s) out in these type of books so extra brownie points go to the author for catching me off guard. There is a romance that takes place through the entire book, but since all the main characters are high school age, it's pretty much kept PG. There is a lot of characters in this one and none of them are particularly likable. But that was the entire point. Some remained unlikable while others matured and grew. Last, and this is where the book lost a star for me, the ending was a bit rushed. I would have liked to have seen it drawn out more. All in all, this one was a very enjoyable read for yours truly and therefore it is getting two thumbs up.
michellesantiago's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 stars.
I read this book just at the right time, when I was itching for a thriller. Fun read. Full review to come.
Full Review (originally posted on Undeniably Book Nerdy):
The novel starts with a bloody bang as it opens in the killer's perspective and we see the killer take their first victim. Then, it switches to our main character, Penelope Malone: rich, popular and, most importantly, the president of the Larks, a very exclusive service club at school that was made up of five of the most popular senior girls and five junior girls. The senior members of Lark rule the school, and one of their tasks was to groom the junior Lark girls to take over when they're seniors.
The killer's first victim was one of the senior Larks. Reeling from the violent tragedy that changed their once peaceful and quiet town forever, Penelope pulls her fellow Larks together to plan events to honor the girl's memory. But, when the killer strikes again and again, seemingly to specifically target Penelope's friends and frenemies, Penelope starts if the killer is closer to her than she thinks. The only person who might have some answers, as well as a connection with the victims, was a boy from one of her classes. But he's keeping secrets too, and Penelope starts to wonder if she's next.
I breezed through Pretty Dead Girls in a couple of days, which was faster than my usual reading speed, because I was riveted. I wanted to know what's going to happen next, when the killer is going to strike, and who their next victim is. The fact that we see the murders through the killer's point of view kept the tension high and it's also when we're in the killer's perspective that we get most of the clues of who this person might be. I have to admit that although I enjoyed Pretty Dead Girls and it's a good YA thriller, it wasn't great. By this I mean, nothing about it really surprised me and there wasn't truly anything unique about it. I've seen the elements used in previous books before. Like, when the killer's motivation was finally revealed, it was more like a fizzling oh, okay not an Oh. My. God. I didn't not see that coming! gasp. I did like that the killer's identity wasn't obvious until the last possible minute because there were many possibilities and that kept the tension up all the way until the end.
As for the characters, some of the secondary ones felt all over the place in the beginning and I couldn't quite connect with our main girl Penelope. Then, there's our mysterious boy Cass who, unsurprisingly, was Penelope's love interest. He was okay, but I was indifferent about him. And since I had no connection with Penelope and Cass, I was meh over their romance and their overall relationship.
I enjoyed the author's writing style. I've actually read her new adult books before--actually her new adult books are some of the firsts I read when I was new to the genre. There were some parts that dragged just a little bit, but I thought Pretty Dead Girls was paced pretty well. The author writes in a way where you can consume the words on the page quickly and I liked that, especially since I wanted a fast read.
Overall, Pretty Dead Girls was a fun, thrilling read. Like I said, I picked it up at the right time when I wanted a fast read that can keep my attention and Pretty Dead Girls was successful in doing that. If you're in a reading slump, this would be a good book to pick up to get you out of your funk. I've seen a bunch of reviews say it's a mix of Pretty Little Liars and Scream Queens, but I can't attest to that because I haven't watched/read neither PLL nor Scream Queen. However, the author did note that she was inspired by the shows so if they're your kind of thing, Pretty Dead Girls might be for you. While Pretty Dead Girls didn't blow my mind, it was very enjoyable and exciting as a whole.
I read this book just at the right time, when I was itching for a thriller. Fun read. Full review to come.
Full Review (originally posted on Undeniably Book Nerdy):
The novel starts with a bloody bang as it opens in the killer's perspective and we see the killer take their first victim. Then, it switches to our main character, Penelope Malone: rich, popular and, most importantly, the president of the Larks, a very exclusive service club at school that was made up of five of the most popular senior girls and five junior girls. The senior members of Lark rule the school, and one of their tasks was to groom the junior Lark girls to take over when they're seniors.
The killer's first victim was one of the senior Larks. Reeling from the violent tragedy that changed their once peaceful and quiet town forever, Penelope pulls her fellow Larks together to plan events to honor the girl's memory. But, when the killer strikes again and again, seemingly to specifically target Penelope's friends and frenemies, Penelope starts if the killer is closer to her than she thinks. The only person who might have some answers, as well as a connection with the victims, was a boy from one of her classes. But he's keeping secrets too, and Penelope starts to wonder if she's next.
I breezed through Pretty Dead Girls in a couple of days, which was faster than my usual reading speed, because I was riveted. I wanted to know what's going to happen next, when the killer is going to strike, and who their next victim is. The fact that we see the murders through the killer's point of view kept the tension high and it's also when we're in the killer's perspective that we get most of the clues of who this person might be. I have to admit that although I enjoyed Pretty Dead Girls and it's a good YA thriller, it wasn't great. By this I mean, nothing about it really surprised me and there wasn't truly anything unique about it. I've seen the elements used in previous books before. Like, when the killer's motivation was finally revealed, it was more like a fizzling oh, okay not an Oh. My. God. I didn't not see that coming! gasp. I did like that the killer's identity wasn't obvious until the last possible minute because there were many possibilities and that kept the tension up all the way until the end.
As for the characters, some of the secondary ones felt all over the place in the beginning and I couldn't quite connect with our main girl Penelope. Then, there's our mysterious boy Cass who, unsurprisingly, was Penelope's love interest. He was okay, but I was indifferent about him. And since I had no connection with Penelope and Cass, I was meh over their romance and their overall relationship.
I enjoyed the author's writing style. I've actually read her new adult books before--actually her new adult books are some of the firsts I read when I was new to the genre. There were some parts that dragged just a little bit, but I thought Pretty Dead Girls was paced pretty well. The author writes in a way where you can consume the words on the page quickly and I liked that, especially since I wanted a fast read.
Overall, Pretty Dead Girls was a fun, thrilling read. Like I said, I picked it up at the right time when I wanted a fast read that can keep my attention and Pretty Dead Girls was successful in doing that. If you're in a reading slump, this would be a good book to pick up to get you out of your funk. I've seen a bunch of reviews say it's a mix of Pretty Little Liars and Scream Queens, but I can't attest to that because I haven't watched/read neither PLL nor Scream Queen. However, the author did note that she was inspired by the shows so if they're your kind of thing, Pretty Dead Girls might be for you. While Pretty Dead Girls didn't blow my mind, it was very enjoyable and exciting as a whole.
ankies's review against another edition
4.0
I liked the book. Didn't love it but liked it. Pretty Dead Girls kept me on my toes the whole time.
I didn't know who the killer was until the last 20% of the book, to say I was shocked would be an understatement. Those I suspected wasn't the killer, this means I would make a terrible detective.
The fact that there was a bit of romance in the book is what made the book just much better. I love how the saying never judges a book by its cover is true to the characters.
The few chapters we got to read the killer pov was really awesome. I imagine that's what really going through their minds.
If you love YA books and suspense with a hint of romance then give Pretty Dead Girls a try.
bookladysreviews's review against another edition
3.0
*I received this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own!*
First of all, I found it extremely hard to connect with the main character, which was probably the biggest issue I had with this book. Penelope came off as very privileged and cold-hearted, which made it even harder for me to relate to her in any way. At the beginning that is. As the story progressed, she did grow on me. I could definitely see where she came from and why she acted that way. Being raised in a particular way is very difficult to shake off as you grow older and having her life controlled by her family was probably not the easiest thing for a seventeen year old who wants to let got for a bit and relax. Her true self was slowly revealed and I got to know her a bit better through her relationships with everyone else and how she chose to deal with the tragedies that took place throughout the majority of the book. She grew as a person throughout the novel and started caring about more than just being an over-achiever and following the rules. She came to realize how important is is to care about people, which is always important!
Second of all, I fell in love with Cass. His story is extremely complicated and what he went through is revealed from the very beginning but, the details are slowly unraveled and not just given along with the facts. I loved his non apologetic way of dealing with this over achieving community and how he did not conform to its ridiculous ways. I feel like he was everything Pen needed to finally find her own path in life and start making her own decisions along the way. The secondary characters were also very interesting and played a big part in how the story progressed. Their actions were inexcusable at times but, they did not deserve to be brutally murdered.
The story itself was very engaging and suspenseful, which I really enjoyed. I couldn't stop reading and had to reach the ending in order to discover the truth and who the actual killer was. Its fast pace kept me at the edge of my seat and made the experience of reading it even more enjoyable. I also really liked the writing style and the fact that, we got a couple of chapters from the killer's perspective, without really knowing his or her identity, which was very clever and added so much more to the mystery of the story. I immensely enjoyed the romance part of the book because of how it started out and didn't feel like it overshadowed everything else. It was extremely swoon worthy and I'm a hopeless romantic so, the combination will never stop being addictive!
The ending was definitely unexpected but, I feel like not all questions were answered and some parts felt a bit rushed. Even though the main character was flawed and had her priorities in the completely wrong order, I really liked the fact that, Monica Murphy managed to make me like her in the end. The character development was truly impressive and starting off disliking a character and finishing a book having positive feelings about their development isn't something that happens much in YA novels or any Genre, for that matter. At least for me, personally.
Overall, Pretty Dead Girls is an unpredictable, entertaining and fast paced story that fans of Mystery combined with a bit of swoon worthy Romance will definitely enjoy! It does have its flaws but, I really think it's a story worth reading!
First of all, I found it extremely hard to connect with the main character, which was probably the biggest issue I had with this book. Penelope came off as very privileged and cold-hearted, which made it even harder for me to relate to her in any way. At the beginning that is. As the story progressed, she did grow on me. I could definitely see where she came from and why she acted that way. Being raised in a particular way is very difficult to shake off as you grow older and having her life controlled by her family was probably not the easiest thing for a seventeen year old who wants to let got for a bit and relax. Her true self was slowly revealed and I got to know her a bit better through her relationships with everyone else and how she chose to deal with the tragedies that took place throughout the majority of the book. She grew as a person throughout the novel and started caring about more than just being an over-achiever and following the rules. She came to realize how important is is to care about people, which is always important!
Second of all, I fell in love with Cass. His story is extremely complicated and what he went through is revealed from the very beginning but, the details are slowly unraveled and not just given along with the facts. I loved his non apologetic way of dealing with this over achieving community and how he did not conform to its ridiculous ways. I feel like he was everything Pen needed to finally find her own path in life and start making her own decisions along the way. The secondary characters were also very interesting and played a big part in how the story progressed. Their actions were inexcusable at times but, they did not deserve to be brutally murdered.
The story itself was very engaging and suspenseful, which I really enjoyed. I couldn't stop reading and had to reach the ending in order to discover the truth and who the actual killer was. Its fast pace kept me at the edge of my seat and made the experience of reading it even more enjoyable. I also really liked the writing style and the fact that, we got a couple of chapters from the killer's perspective, without really knowing his or her identity, which was very clever and added so much more to the mystery of the story. I immensely enjoyed the romance part of the book because of how it started out and didn't feel like it overshadowed everything else. It was extremely swoon worthy and I'm a hopeless romantic so, the combination will never stop being addictive!
The ending was definitely unexpected but, I feel like not all questions were answered and some parts felt a bit rushed. Even though the main character was flawed and had her priorities in the completely wrong order, I really liked the fact that, Monica Murphy managed to make me like her in the end. The character development was truly impressive and starting off disliking a character and finishing a book having positive feelings about their development isn't something that happens much in YA novels or any Genre, for that matter. At least for me, personally.
Overall, Pretty Dead Girls is an unpredictable, entertaining and fast paced story that fans of Mystery combined with a bit of swoon worthy Romance will definitely enjoy! It does have its flaws but, I really think it's a story worth reading!
readingwithrosie's review against another edition
2.75
Killer motive was cliche. Everyone really deserved to die because of how shallow they were. There wasn’t really a spark and he was just your average mysterious guys, which I mean still worked for him but whatever
cupcates's review against another edition
2.0
Ughhhh.
This was going so well up until the point I remembered this YouTube video I once watchedthat mentioned how you can just tell if someone started off by writing fanfiction by quirks in their writing. There's nothing wrong with writing fanfiction, but the language used didn't feel appropriate for an edited, published book—i.e. with all the clothing descriptions we all overused back in '13.
What also threw me off was the killer reveal because it made zero sense and there was zero foreshadowing (I even suspected) and plenty of dead herrings (by shoving all the fault to ).
This was going so well up until the point I remembered this YouTube video I once watchedthat mentioned how you can just tell if someone started off by writing fanfiction by quirks in their writing. There's nothing wrong with writing fanfiction, but the language used didn't feel appropriate for an edited, published book—i.e. with all the clothing descriptions we all overused back in '13.
What also threw me off was the killer reveal because it made zero sense and there was zero foreshadowing (I even suspected
Spoiler
DANISpoiler
Courtney and Cass, albeit the latter to a lesser degreechroniclesofabookreader's review against another edition
3.0
*3.5 Stars**
In a Mean Girls-like fashion, Pretty Dead Girls amplified teenage life and the pitfalls of high school with mystery and murder. Told from the perspective of a girl in the clique, Penelope, with her ever-decreasing squad, the reader cannot help but wonder exactly how reliable of a narrator she is. And while it falls on some overly used tropes of the genre, it was a fast-paced and interesting read until the end.
Most readers will find issue with Penelope and her lack of a concrete conscience, but take into consideration that she's supposed to be a flawed character both in age and label. I wasn't too fond of the romance included in the book, but there was value to furthering the story with it included. With that said, there was still a need to know how it ended, who the killer was, if they would be caught in time. A novel that still manages to grip you in that way regardless of a few literary flaws means it still has good backbones to lay the story on. If you love suspense sprinkled with some romance that's centered around flawed teenagers, Pretty Dead Girls is the novel for you.
**Received an early copy; this had no bearing on my opinions**
In a Mean Girls-like fashion, Pretty Dead Girls amplified teenage life and the pitfalls of high school with mystery and murder. Told from the perspective of a girl in the clique, Penelope, with her ever-decreasing squad, the reader cannot help but wonder exactly how reliable of a narrator she is. And while it falls on some overly used tropes of the genre, it was a fast-paced and interesting read until the end.
Most readers will find issue with Penelope and her lack of a concrete conscience, but take into consideration that she's supposed to be a flawed character both in age and label. I wasn't too fond of the romance included in the book, but there was value to furthering the story with it included. With that said, there was still a need to know how it ended, who the killer was, if they would be caught in time. A novel that still manages to grip you in that way regardless of a few literary flaws means it still has good backbones to lay the story on. If you love suspense sprinkled with some romance that's centered around flawed teenagers, Pretty Dead Girls is the novel for you.
**Received an early copy; this had no bearing on my opinions**
sisareads2476's review against another edition
3.0
*Minor spoiler ahead
Actual ratings 3.5 stars
The premise was all right, and while it does create a lot of tension and mystery, I felt it doesnt gave me enough of a satisfying conclusion. Tho it had cleared the WHY's of those merciless killings, it doesnt make sense on the HOW's . How did the perpetrator managed to do all those things? I mean, the victims may all be impenitent and despicable bitches but they werent THAT stupid. No matter how persuasive the killer might been, the girls wont be that easily lured not unless the assailant actually holds something against them which she might have used to blackmail the victims, which sadly, the story left uncleared and undeveloped, so for me it was unfortunately one of those loose threads that was left hanging.
Some parts doesnt even add up coz the characters werent fleshed up that much that I'm having trouble remembering their parts in the story, most especially the killer's identity so when it comes to big reveal, I was lost trying to recall the players and then I was just thinking that where did she actually came from? The attempted twist at the end came out a bit of a hardsell and hastily wrapped up leaving a murky padded resolution therefore raising more questions than answers.
But overall, the story got potentials, and I did enjoyed reading it, mostly the alternating voices between the perpetrator and the main character Penny, the mystery that kept me guessing till the end. It kind of reminds me of RL stines fear street series, which I loved, because of the characters (but more matured here) and the highschool drama setting.