Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Their Vicious Games

I get the concept that this book was going for, but I just didn't like it. I think part of it is that the Squid Game comp gave me an idea what the book was like and then the actual book was not like that.

All this over a man??

Most of the characters' motivations are obscured by the first person pov so I didn't really care either way what happened to them, characters made decisions when it was convenient for the narrative and not in a way that felt like it was following a character arc, and the writing for Saint, the only Asian character, felt really suspect to me (why was she wearing bondage gear??)

The ending felt very silly to me as well

, I would have liked the book better if she had made that decision earlier during Simon Says.

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bellebookcorner's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.25

The premise of this book sounds very interesting, fortunately this book did not disappoint me. In fact, I got hooked into the story pretty fast and really enjoy it!

If you wanted to read something where Hunger Games meet The Selection then I highly recommend picking up this contemporary thriller!
Don’t forget to read the trigger warnings below cause there are some parts that may be sensitive to some readers.

The first few chapters felt slightly confusing and it feels like I’m starting a book from the middle part but eventually there will be an explanation as it goes deeper.
Things started to get a lot more interesting once Adina (the FMC) enter the competition and the other girls were introduced as well.

I really like Adina’s character cause she feels relatable. She’s not a perfect character cause she didn’t make the best decisions at the beginning. But after going through a couple trials and see the true meaning of the competition, she powers through and started to grow into a badass intelligent girl!

I also love the growing friendship Adina and Saint has and I was rooting for them in every trial, at least Adina has one ally she can trust in this barbaric game where loyalty is rare.

As for the romance, I wasn’t rooting Adina with any of the love interests to be honest.
One guy was a psychotic and a narcissists, the other one was just too meek even though he has a good heart. I admire Adina for keeping her head on the game without getting swayed easily.

Overall, this is a fantastic read with great writing style and well developed characters which also comes with a satisfying ending.
The author raises several important topics that occur in the real world and I love the way he conveys these topics really well throughout the story.
I’m really looking forward to read more books from this author in the future!

⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: Death, murder, violence, racism, cursing, drug use, confinement

Thank you to TBR and Beyond Tour, Netgalley, author and publisher for giving me an e-ARC of the book and for having me on this book tour. I’m leaving this review voluntarily!

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tinybluepixel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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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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starrysteph's review

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.75

Oh hello, new autobuy author! Seriously, THIS WAS SO GOOD.

Their Vicious Games was pitched as Squid Games meets Ace of Spades, and that wasn’t too far off. It’ll definitely bring in the right audience. But this is something new: it’s fast-paced and murderous but also very fun satire.

Adina is a Black teenager about to graduate from the prestigious Edgewater Academy - a school for the richest kids in New England that she attends on scholarship. She knows she has to work twice as hard as the other students to prove herself, to be perfect. But one student targets Adina to the extreme, and an incident takes away her acceptance to Yale and her dreams for the future.

She knows there’s only one opportunity to get it all back: The Finish. It’s an elusive, elite competition held by the most powerful family in Edgewater: twelve promising seniors compete in three events in order to win access to the wealth and power of the Remingtons.

But as Adina enters the fold, she realizes The Finish is more than just a simple competition. It’s life or death, and the only way to survive is to win their vicious games … unless she can somehow shift the world she’s never truly been a part of.

This is a biting condemnation of the world of the wealthy and elite, where to succeed means to forgo empathy and compassion and humanity. Each character with power has had to sacrifice themselves just to hold onto it. They’re always teetering on loss and terror, desperate to shove others down just to keep the status quo.

And those who perceive themselves as allies to those beneath their social standing? They never actually risk themselves to protect others.

The pacing is swift and the dialogue is biting. Adina is a messy character, but I liked her all the same. The set up of the plot & stakes leads to moral messiness, and it’s hard to take a step back as a reader and remember that you want to break this cycle, not see Adina adapt and succeed within it.

Themes like classism, racism, and privilege are explored - especially the ways in which they all intersect. Adina is the only not-ridiculously-wealthy competitor and the only Black competitor, and the others never let her forget it. She’s manipulated and fetishized and reviled.

Mostly everyone else has varying levels of villainy, but they’re interesting characters all the same. Adina’s earnest roommate Saint is desperate to prove herself and show off her skill & independence, Penthesilea’s perfect facade is wavering, rejected Remington brother Graham has mysterious motivations, and even the nasty Esme and her sidekick Hawthorne have moments of depth.

Their Vicious Games feels like an act of catharsis and a challenge to the societal structures that force anyone outside of the 1%’s ideal to lessen, to adapt, and to serve. It’s got feral girls and systemic violence and an actually-satisfying resolution to a potential love triangle.

The character arcs!! The viciousness of the competition & the manipulative set up of the games!! The devilish, insidious webs of the ultra-wealthy and the attempted cycle-breaking!! It was all so good.

CW: death, murder, violence, racism, blood, gore, injury, classism, toxic friendships, gun violence, vomit, misogyny & sexism, gaslighting, animal death, bullying

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(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)

Content Warnings

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review

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dark emotional tense 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

4.25

This book is marketed as Ace of Spades meets Squid Game meets The Bachelor, and I can’t think of a better way to describe this novel. We follow Adina Walker, a black teen who loses her scholarship to her dream Ivy League school, and the deadly competition she joins as a last ditch effort to reclaim her planned future.

Based on the book's description, I knew I would like this book, and I was right. It’s fast-paced, bloody, with an exploration of class and race directly woven throughout. The book’s ending absolutely blew me away and had me gasping, speeding through and wishing for a good resolution. I also really enjoyed the exploration of friendship, both toxic and supportive. My only complaint was that at times the writing seemed a bit repetitive, going over the same issues without giving much further insight into Adina as a character.

Overall, I liked this one, and I think you will too if you enjoy:

Survival/competition shows like The Hunger Games and Alice in Borderland
Plot-based storylines that keep you turning the pages to figure out what happens next
Tackling systemic discrimination and entrenched privileges

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Canada and Netgalley for providing us with an advanced reader copy of this engaging YA thriller.

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theoceanrose's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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