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ashylibrarian's review against another edition
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
5.0
Readers will be left in a state of shock and horror (in all the best ways) after finishing Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington. This is a fast-paced novel that is packed with thrills and chills, and readers won’t even begin to imagine the terrors that will unfold within its pages.
There are so many amazing strengths to consider when talking about this book. Two (2) of the biggest things that stood out to me were the brilliant world-building and meticulous character development. All of the characters in this book are used with purpose. Some of the side characters we do not see much of, but when you do read about them, you know they have been placed with thought and intention. Readers will also be able to see the world of this book unfold as they read as if they were watching a movie. The Remington Estate, the clothes, the expressions on the characters' faces. Everything is painted so vividly and clearly through Wellington’s alluring prose.
Another aspect of this book that Wellington handles so well is the impact that classism and racism have on the characters and society that run rampant through the upper-class New England community where the prestigious Edgewater Academy resides. There are many barriers that Adina faces throughout the book - barriers built from the materials of systemic racism and classism. This book is set in a fictional New England world, however, readers will likely be able to see connections to socioeconomic and racial injustices that are happening in our world today. This is definitely a heavy read, but it is also a read that is packed with traditional horror characteristics and creates a modern twist on the “final girl” trope.
It was difficult to pinpoint a weakness in this well-crafted punch of a novel. One thing I would say is that readers might be a bit off-put by the quick-developing attraction from the female characters to the male characters, Pierce and Graham. It’s clear from the beginning of the competition that the money and power the Remington family carries has a lot to do with the motivation for many of the girls’ attraction to Pierce, but the attraction between Adina and Graham seems to develop within a page or two, making more of a quick-combustion attraction that does not have much backing.
Their Vicious Games is a book that I would highly recommend to readers who enjoy fast-paced thrillers that leave them feeling utterly shocked, especially if they like books that intricately weave together themes of race and class with classical horror tropes. I would likely recommend this book to older teen readers due to the fact that some of the content in this book is fairly intense and there is strong language used throughout.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Violence, Gaslighting, Blood, Death, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Murder, Gore, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual content, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Confinement
jazzywazzy's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Death, Classism, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Racism and Misogyny
bookcaptivated's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Gore, Death, Classism, Misogyny, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Animal death, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Infidelity, Vomit, and Grief
kaynova's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.0
There's a lot of books that should be adult instead of YA and Their Vicious Games is one of them.
Though I deeply enjoyed this book, it would've been five stars if it leaned more into the murder and violence, the symbolism of killing patriarchy, sexism, and classist bigots. It would've been even hotter to see Adina, our protagonist, use both of the brothers in the book, but again, I enjoyed the book for the original premise.
It does start off slow, but the build up is so well done. I love the usage of do not underestimate a woman because of how she presents herself, given the right tools at the right time, she can strike. With that, Joelle does a great job showing how even some of the women characters undermine other women characters and how it bites them in the ass while weaving in camaraderie and how important it is to have someone to support you. Saint and Adina's friendship was a beautiful one, but dare I say it, Esme and Hawthorne's friendship is top tier. It's the "I will sacrifice everything for you" and "I will kill anyone for you", which is toxic and Joelle explores that within every dynamic in the book, but for them its poetic in the way how people view their friendship. Same way with Saint and Adina because most people saw them as friends only because they were people of color, but didn't see that saw each other's strengths and personality and wanted to keep each other safe.
I knew not to trust a white man, so immediately I didn't like Pierce but to see the shift in him, the "I'm good/nice guy" to obviously a terrible boy who wants the world in his fingertips but not the way his family lines did before was magnificent. I also love that Graham (hope I'm spelling it correctly because listened to an audiobook) continued to see his brother in a good light, when in fact, he was as bad as the father (which we will not talk about him, the 3rd, ugh).
This is a great book and pulls you in, but remember to grow into it because of the slow build. Will definitely return for her other works.
Though I deeply enjoyed this book, it would've been five stars if it leaned more into the murder and violence, the symbolism of killing patriarchy, sexism, and classist bigots. It would've been even hotter to see Adina, our protagonist, use both of the brothers in the book, but again, I enjoyed the book for the original premise.
It does start off slow, but the build up is so well done. I love the usage of do not underestimate a woman because of how she presents herself, given the right tools at the right time, she can strike. With that, Joelle does a great job showing how even some of the women characters undermine other women characters and how it bites them in the ass while weaving in camaraderie and how important it is to have someone to support you. Saint and Adina's friendship was a beautiful one, but dare I say it, Esme and Hawthorne's friendship is top tier. It's the "I will sacrifice everything for you" and "I will kill anyone for you", which is toxic and Joelle explores that within every dynamic in the book, but for them its poetic in the way how people view their friendship. Same way with Saint and Adina because most people saw them as friends only because they were people of color, but didn't see that saw each other's strengths and personality and wanted to keep each other safe.
I knew not to trust a white man, so immediately I didn't like Pierce but to see the shift in him, the "I'm good/nice guy" to obviously a terrible boy who wants the world in his fingertips but not the way his family lines did before was magnificent. I also love that Graham (hope I'm spelling it correctly because listened to an audiobook) continued to see his brother in a good light, when in fact, he was as bad as the father (which we will not talk about him, the 3rd, ugh).
This is a great book and pulls you in, but remember to grow into it because of the slow build. Will definitely return for her other works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement
spidertorches's review
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Racism
tarfishy's review
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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Classism, Vomit, and Racism
kemikemi's review
adventurous
dark
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? No
4.5
holy shit…at no point did i know how this was going to end and i felt like i was holding my breath the entire book. it was tense and graphic and my mind is still reeling. i love saint so much and pentheselia and graham were such fascinating characters as well, actually all of the girls were interesting i loved how the author fleshed out their motivations and actions. adina was a fantastic mc and the ending reminded me so much of the movie ready or not, i wasnt prepared for that final turn and it was so sickly satisfying i will be thinking about it for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Classism, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Gun violence
niquechiquereads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Blood, Murder, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Self harm, Gun violence, and Grief
amberlfaris's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Classism, Racism, Violence, Murder, and Toxic relationship
sophiesometimesreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
4.75
WHAT DID I JUST READ?!?!
I binged this over two days and now I am NOT OKAY. Everyone read this book right now.
This book was an absolutely wild ride. It was the sort of book that, maybe if I had the desire to put it down and think about it, that I may have seen a few things coming, but I was just so invested and the pace was so quick that I flew through this and was shocked by some of the things that happened at the end!
I don't want to give much away, as it is best to go into this knowing very little about it, I think. I will say that some of the reasons for people being there and doing things were a little weak, but whilst I was reading I didn't even care about that because I was so entertained and engrossed so I've given it a 4.75 stars.
This book may not be for everyone, but it was for me, and Adina will be living rent-free in my mind for a while to come.
I binged this over two days and now I am NOT OKAY. Everyone read this book right now.
This book was an absolutely wild ride. It was the sort of book that, maybe if I had the desire to put it down and think about it, that I may have seen a few things coming, but I was just so invested and the pace was so quick that I flew through this and was shocked by some of the things that happened at the end!
I don't want to give much away, as it is best to go into this knowing very little about it, I think. I will say that some of the reasons for people being there and doing things were a little weak, but whilst I was reading I didn't even care about that because I was so entertained and engrossed so I've given it a 4.75 stars.
This book may not be for everyone, but it was for me, and Adina will be living rent-free in my mind for a while to come.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Classism, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, and Vomit