Reviews with content warning for Death - Their Vicious Games

Reviews tagging 'Death'

Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington

79 reviews

bookcheshirecat's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

3.5

“Rule one: Wealth is power. If you don’t have it, keep your head down. I thought I’d gotten that one down to a science over the past twelve years. Rule two: Knowledge is too—now that power I had in spades. But with knowledge comes the responsibility to know when to keep your mouth shut and when not to (see rule one). I chose not to and I chose wrong.”

➽ Their Vicious Games is a Thriller following Adina Walker who's trying to earn back her Yale acceptance. Adina's one of the few girls at the prestigious Edgewater Academy and one slipup costs her everything. With no future prospects and blacklisted from all universities, Adina only has one more chance: participate in the Finish, a high-stakes competition sponsored by the Remington family. The winner receives a full ride to their college of choice. The premise was really promising, as I liked the idea of a competition between 12 bright women who each want to secure their future. They compete in three mysterious events called the Ride, Raid and Royale. However, Adina soon begins to suspect that the Finish is much more deadly than she thought.

➽ I liked the themes and ominous atmosphere. Despite the slower pace, there were many chilling moments that showed how far the girls were pushed and how far some would go for their success. Most participants are white, so Adina's the only black girl. She strikes up a friendship with the only other person of color, Saint, the daughter of a Chinese investor. I liked their friendship and wish Saint would have gotten more of the spotlight. Adina also deals with her ex-best friend and the person who ruined her future: Esme. There was a ton of tension between the girls! I also appreciated the discussions about class and race, as Adina has to deal with the casual racism of her benefactors. She's struggling to regain her agency in an environment of self-satisfied, righteous rich people who see her as a tool to show their goodwill!

➽ In the end, I thought the book dragged at times and went in a direction I didn't enjoy. I expected Thie Vicious Games to be much more fast-paced and engaging, so the buildup was too slow for me. I also didn't think I understood everyone's motivations for being here apart from Adina, Esme and Saint. The other contestants were one-dimensional so I didn't get a sense for their motives and didn't care about what happened to them. Apart from that, Adina often got handed a lot of things by others and I didn't feel like she grew as a character until the very end. In general, I wish the book had stuck closer to its original premise, as I found it more interesting than the direction it took.

This Finish isn't like the others because it's held as a competition to see who can win Pierce's hand in marriage and become part of the Remington family. It's top-secret and not only about college acceptances, as the winner gets all sorts of privileges. It reminded me of The Selection, just with more murder. I wish the focus had stayed on the girls competing for their future instead of trying to appeal to a rich white boy. In the end, Adina's own determination to earn back her Yale acceptance got pushed into the background. I also didn't understand why the other girls who came from good families risked their lives just to marry into the Remington family. Some parts didn't make sense to me.

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spencerhoneyy's review

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adventurous challenging dark 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

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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.

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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

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immdanii's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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judicals's review

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mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

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browneyesblue84's review

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I like the setting of Their Vicious Games. This marks the second YA thriller novel that I read in the past year. Despite being an elder millennial , I still like YA novels especially YA thrillers and horror stories. I was unfamiliar with the author but saw the cover in Target last year. This book took residence on my TBR from then on. I needed something fast paced and different to fill in the gap between preorder releases. This novel definitely satisfied me. Also, I realized that I preordered the authors next book without realizing who the author was.

Joelle Wellington’s writing is easy to read. I was hooked from the first chapter. Adina is a relatable character who strives to fit into a world of opulence and power. She loses her one opportunity after a moment of intense emotion brought on by a “friend” who was jealous. That reaction cost her everything except for a change to obtain her diploma. Adina decided to do what she could to take part in The Finish, a competition that offered something that she truly needed a second chance. However, she was not prepared for the truth about this competition and how truly high the stakes were.

I am rating this novel five stars out of five. Yes, it’s that good. Each chapter has an even balance of well thought out prose, dynamic characters and even pacing. I’m looking forward to reading the author’s next novel. If Their Vicious Games is this good , I get the feeling that it will be even better.

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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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booknerderika's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense

4.0

This was intense. Vicious doesn't even begin to describe the games or the people. I immediately got "Ace of Spades" vibes and then it got weird with the whole Bachelor-ish situation. I was on edge through so much of this and didn't trust anyone. I'm glad that there was an epilogue and we were able to see what happened after, but this story was just shocking overall and I needed a few days to process before I posted a review.

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boba_n_books's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

Squid Games meets The Bachelor? Sign me up! ... To read about. Not to compete in. This fast-paced young adult thriller takes "eat the rich" to a whole new level.

Adina is a Black teenager who was about to secure her future through her scholarship to Yale. Her plans are ruined once an incident at school causes her to lose that well-earned scholarship. The only way to get it back is to enter the Finish--a competition where young women prove themselves worthy of being a part of the wealthy Remington family through three different events. It is not long before Adina and the other girls in the Finish realize that the stakes are higher than money and power. It's life or death. The younger Remington boys say they're trying to change the system, but are they? Being one of the only girls who didn't grow up in the rich world the Remingtons live in, Adina realizes she has to either change herself or change the Finish to survive.

Though the characters may seem superficial at first, each one has their own motivations and moments of reckoning. Wellington's commentary on race and class and what people will do to achieve and maintain power is fascinating. She certainly doesn't attempt to make the reader comfortable, and there are many times I had to remind myself that I wanted Adina to get out and not to conform to the Remington way.

This novel challenges social structures and typical tropes, and it was just a damn good book with a satisfying ending.

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