Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Their Vicious Games

Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington

14 reviews

crystalsparkles's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Adina Walker had everything going for her: graduating from the prestigious Edgewater academy with acceptance to Yale. At least, until the incident with her ex-best friend Esme. Now, she has nothing to show for her work and no plans for after high school. Except for one thing: the Finish. A competition run by the Remington family, the richest family in New England, to welcome them in their fold.

When Adina is accepted into the Finish, at first she's ecstatic. It's her opportunity to gain back everything she's lost. But when she arrives to the competition, it's different than she expected. More vicious. A fight to the death. In order to win, she has to be the last woman standing.

Thanks to SimonTeen for an advanced copy of Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington to review! This book is being pitched as Ace of Spades meets Squid Game with a little bit of The Bachelor. At first, I was skeptical of that combination, but it's actually true to the story. Once you get into the game, this book is difficult to put down!

There is a lot of commentary in this book about class and race and the advantages (and disadvantages) that can come with that. Honestly, the overall tone reminded me of a much darker Selection. There are a lot of twists and turns that keep you guess at every moment in Adina's story. As the Finish gets more and more dangerous towards the end, it also makes you want to keep reading. Despite being 400 pages, you'll fly through this book because you will be desperate to know what happens next.

The ending did feel a little bit rushed to me, but that's the main complaint that I had. Everything else, from the characters to the world building to the pacing, works well to keep you engaged all the way through the story. Are the characters the most likeable? Not necessarily, but they are so interesting to read about. It's kind of like dark academia with a twist.

All in all, if you're looking for an engaging thriller to pick up at the end of the summer, definitely keep this one on your radar!

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natashaleighton_'s review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

The best way to describe Joelle Wellington’s dark, satirical and utterly addictive debut is to imagine The Hunger Games and Squid Game having a love child with The Selection—with uber rich Mean Girl style contestants who’ll do literally anything to win.

It’s brutal, bloody and diabolically back-stabby and I was utterly hooked! (though I do suggest checking the TWs before hand.)

The writing was incredible, and the pacing superb (it’s one of the best paced books I’ve read all year, in fact.) But the exploration into themes such as privilege, racism and class is what really intrigued me, as it show us (in a rather dark, satirical kind of way) just how easily extreme wealth (and the power that comes with it) can create an environment where only the less empathetic, narcissistic or most entitled can survive.

Adina, is thankfully far from any of those things which was why I loved her soo much. She’s driven, determined and not afraid to tell people what she thinks—especially when they hurt the people she lives most. But she’s also deeply compassionate, which becomes her biggest dilemma when she realises what the competition entails (and what she’ll have to do) in order to survive.

The constant racism and open contempt Adina is forced to endure from the other contestants (and adults) was soo rage inducing, but it did highlight just how common such experiences are for People of colour, but women of colour especially.

In fact rage, and female rage in particular plays quite a large role in the narrative. With every female character (from the morally grey to the outright sociopathic) bearing some form of anger towards the society (and male governed system) they so desperately want to fit into.

I also wanted to mention that though there’s a hint of romance, it does mainly centre around Adina’s personal journey and efforts in fighting back and dismantling such a barbaric and oppressive system—so do bear this in mind if you’re looking for something a little more romance based.

Overall, this was a plot twisty, and unputdownable read that had me second guessing literally everyone. Fans of YA Thrillers, OG Gossip Girl, Ace of Spades or the Final Girl trope definitely need to add this to your TBRs this summer!

Also, a huge thank you to Tandem Collective UK and Penguin UK for the proof (and for including me on the TikTok Readalong, it was soo much fun.)

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kimee_reads's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

This was my first time reading an ARC copy of a book, and I'm so glad it was this one. This book was absolutely amazing. Every second was captivating and well written. The plot was exciting and well executed. There were so many times where I had to take a moment to process what had happened. Every detail was well thought out. The book had great character and plot development. Everything about this book was fantastic!

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