Reviews with content warning for Classism - Their Vicious Games

A non stop thrill that I loved every second of, it was so unexpectedly excellent, and every twist and turn surprised me. (Which is rare!)
What would you do to get a second chance to regain everything you lost all because of a rich white girl? Adina will go far to regain her chance of college and getting out of the town she lives in. But she soon discovers the competition she has managed to get invited to has high stakes. Deadly stakes. Not everything is as it seems, and the glamour and polish of the rich cover up something far more sinister afoot. Unlikely allies seem to want to help her, but who can she really trust? And who will she have to become to survive? There are moments in this story which truly made me sick to the stomach, I strongly advise anyone to check their trigger warnings before reading.

The Simon Says game really got me. It shows just how twisted the whole thing is, and how little value the girls are actually viewed as.

At the beginning I had a few moments of hesitance, never one to enjoy moments of

cheating

no matter the reason or motivations. But it immediately picked up from there and I soon found myself unable to stop reading.
I can't say which character this is without spoiling, but she ended up being my favorite. This is an example of how strong and well written the prose is, one of my favorite quotes: ...In the gaps between her teeth, she holds bitterness and rage, the kind that has built with resentment for years...She is the moon, tethered forever to a planet that she does not want anything to do with but can't exist without."
The threads of classism, racism, and misogyny all tied around exquisitely written prose delighted my eyes and enraptured my mind. The story truly just got stronger as the book went on, and the tense and thrilling moments had my heart racing as fast as Adina's. One of my favorite characters was
What I liked most about this book was how biting and honest it was. Casual racism is an every day reality for many people (me included!) and to see how it was depicted so nearly subtly in a way that if you weren't familiar with some of the microaggressions you might think it was just an uncomfortable situation or think nothing of it. (Of course I would hope the more overt and direct racism instances in the book would open any reader's eyes who would dare to think otherwise, or even heaven forbid think this book as something else.)
I need to take a moment to talk about the ending, because it wasn't what I expected, nor have come to expect from books in this vein and I was more than pleasantly surprised.

I am so GODDAMN SICK of books that deal with these topics just forget about it and have the BIPOC lead get with the white man at the end. So I was beyond THRILLED, dare I say ecstatic, when that was not the case here. Adin showcased the brains she had all book and it was left open ended in if she would ever contact Graham again. (Though dear reader, if I must truly be honest, I wouldn't mind if they reconnected at some point many years later after much growth and healing and learning. Because that man is ignorant as hell and it isn't Adina's job to educate him)

One more side note I want to add, should Joelle Wellington ever endeavor to pen an adult novel with romance, I would be first in line. The romance moments in this book well, let's just say I would very much love for more.

This is my first book of Joelle Wellington's, and with this quality of writing and storytelling I know it won't be last. Highly recommend.

Content Warnings

muckl3t83's review

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Preposterous plot but a fun read anyway.

Content Warnings

heathere19's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It was interesting and a fast read but not particularly shocking.

Content Warnings

joelles_bookshelf's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

This book was amazing. My first read of 2024 and I was absolutely floored. I felt for Adina and was hooked from the first chapter. The story was gripping and made me want to pull my hair out at certain stages because I needed her to win.

The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I was depressed at the end and needed to process what I had just read. Part of me wants a sequel to see what the future would look like but the other part of me thinks that it ended as best as it could.

Content Warnings

sabrielsbell's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was such an interesting read. I went into it not knowing what to expect and really was taken in by the story. The competition, battle royale aspect, and "villains" were all really well done. I think I struggled to connect a bit with the main character and I wish the influence of the wealth family had been shown instead of just talked about to have a bit more impact. If you liked Hunger Games or The Belles this is a good follow up.

Content Warnings

kendal_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

genevieve_and_her_books's review

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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