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amandalyn's review against another edition
4.0
BIGGEST CLIFFHANGER EVER AND I AM SO MAD ITS 1:30 IN THE MORNING AND I CANT IMMEDIATELY GO GET THE NEXT BOOK.
sadkitty's review against another edition
3.0
The reason I'm giving this book a three star instead of a five star is because the mystery doesn't end at the end of this book. So to find out who the killer was, I had to read Get Dirty which might have been a more pleasurable experience if I was aware of how this was going to end.
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars! Don't Get Mad! Get EVEN!
I have been looking forward to this series since it was announced on Twitter, and did it live up to the hype? Yes, yes it did. I really can't wait for the second book, to get some answers to my questions. Answers to who really wanted to Get Even!
In this book we have 4 main characters. Four girls who couldn't be more different but who have one goal, to help people in need and Get Even! At the time we hit the book they have been doing it for years already, and while it always went right, their clients got the satisfaction they wanted, and they got Even now however something is wrong when the dead body is found with a card with their group's initials on it.
I loved how after that the group just tried to stick together, but slowly disintegrated, slowly losing the trust they had in each other, slowly falling apart. You would say 4 people like this, who have been together for so long, that shouldn't go that fast? Well, if those 4 dear people have all kinds of secrets that they don't want anyone, not even their friends, to know, and things happen that those secrets are going to leak, then it is bye bye friendship and hello do everything by yourself and don't trust anything.
I still found that a bit stupid, I think it would have been much better had they trusted each other from the get-go. Haven't they been together for years? Even though not as real friends, but I am sure there must have been some level of friendship somewhere and that one was broken so easily. There was so much mistrust, and I think that if they stuck together they could have found out who was torturing them with messages, photographs and other things.
The characters were awesome though. They all seemed so perfect in the beginning and then when everything start going down, you really get to learn them. See their faults, see their lives, see their friends and also see how different they are from each other. From invisibility to popularity these 4 girls couldn't be more different, and yet they formed a group.
It was really interesting to see all the cracks form in the girls. Cracks we didn't see until the murder.
The POVs switch every chapter, though there have been a few times that it switched mid-chapter, which was kind of annoying because you would be in the middle of one person and suddenly that person changed.
We also got some great side-characters, all of them suspicious, all of them having secrets and lies. I liked that even they got a bit of spotlight through the interactions with the main characters. For example, I loved Ed. He was totally awesome character, I really would love a novella just with his POV.
One thing I would love to have? Maybe something like a prequel, with the beginning of DGM, with the beginning of all the revenge things. I would love to see the girls getting together, and I want to see more revenge plans. Because I loved the one we had in the beginning, that they found some tape from the coach and totally embarrassed him. It was brilliant.
Of course there is a cliffhanger. Come on people, what else did we expect? We are getting a book 2 in June next year, so it was to be expected that it would end on one. And what a cliffhanger it was. Dang, so many things happened, so much things went wrong and it was awesome. And sure while I am now like: "GAHHHH hurry up with the next book!!!", I am also applauding Gretchen McNeil for this awesome ending.
Would I recommend this book? Um, yes, hell yes, I would. This one is packed with drama, mystery, murder, a dash of romance and a whole lot of secrets. Maybe for the ones who don't like cliffhangers or waiting it is better that they wait for the next book and make sure there isn't a 3rd book coming before they start with this one. But for the others? Read this epic book of awesomeness.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
I have been looking forward to this series since it was announced on Twitter, and did it live up to the hype? Yes, yes it did. I really can't wait for the second book, to get some answers to my questions. Answers to who really wanted to Get Even!
In this book we have 4 main characters. Four girls who couldn't be more different but who have one goal, to help people in need and Get Even! At the time we hit the book they have been doing it for years already, and while it always went right, their clients got the satisfaction they wanted, and they got Even now however something is wrong when the dead body is found with a card with their group's initials on it.
I loved how after that the group just tried to stick together, but slowly disintegrated, slowly losing the trust they had in each other, slowly falling apart. You would say 4 people like this, who have been together for so long, that shouldn't go that fast? Well, if those 4 dear people have all kinds of secrets that they don't want anyone, not even their friends, to know, and things happen that those secrets are going to leak, then it is bye bye friendship and hello do everything by yourself and don't trust anything.
I still found that a bit stupid, I think it would have been much better had they trusted each other from the get-go. Haven't they been together for years? Even though not as real friends, but I am sure there must have been some level of friendship somewhere and that one was broken so easily. There was so much mistrust, and I think that if they stuck together they could have found out who was torturing them with messages, photographs and other things.
The characters were awesome though. They all seemed so perfect in the beginning and then when everything start going down, you really get to learn them. See their faults, see their lives, see their friends and also see how different they are from each other. From invisibility to popularity these 4 girls couldn't be more different, and yet they formed a group.
It was really interesting to see all the cracks form in the girls. Cracks we didn't see until the murder.
The POVs switch every chapter, though there have been a few times that it switched mid-chapter, which was kind of annoying because you would be in the middle of one person and suddenly that person changed.
We also got some great side-characters, all of them suspicious, all of them having secrets and lies. I liked that even they got a bit of spotlight through the interactions with the main characters. For example, I loved Ed. He was totally awesome character, I really would love a novella just with his POV.
One thing I would love to have? Maybe something like a prequel, with the beginning of DGM, with the beginning of all the revenge things. I would love to see the girls getting together, and I want to see more revenge plans. Because I loved the one we had in the beginning, that they found some tape from the coach and totally embarrassed him. It was brilliant.
Of course there is a cliffhanger. Come on people, what else did we expect? We are getting a book 2 in June next year, so it was to be expected that it would end on one. And what a cliffhanger it was. Dang, so many things happened, so much things went wrong and it was awesome. And sure while I am now like: "GAHHHH hurry up with the next book!!!", I am also applauding Gretchen McNeil for this awesome ending.
Would I recommend this book? Um, yes, hell yes, I would. This one is packed with drama, mystery, murder, a dash of romance and a whole lot of secrets. Maybe for the ones who don't like cliffhangers or waiting it is better that they wait for the next book and make sure there isn't a 3rd book coming before they start with this one. But for the others? Read this epic book of awesomeness.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
indigoivee's review
3.0
So…
I have mixed feelings about it. The story follows the four main girls: Bree, Olivia, Kitty, and Margot who are all part of a secret society called Don't Get Mad. They seek revenge on bullies and mean individuals at their elite private school. However, things take a dangerous turn when their latest target is found dead and they become the prime suspects.
The premise of the book is intriguing, and I enjoyed the concept of a secret society seeking justice. The author did a good job of building suspense and keeping me guessing about the identity of the murderer. The friendship dynamics between the four main characters were also interesting to explore.
However, I found some aspects of the story to be predictable and clichéd. The plot twists were not as shocking as I had hoped, and I felt that the resolution of the mystery was rushed. The romance elements felt forced and took away from the overall suspense of the story.
Despite these flaws, I appreciated McNeil's writing style, which was engaging and easy to read. The pacing was generally good, with enough action and suspense to keep me turning the pages. The book also touched on important themes such as bullying and the consequences of seeking revenge.
Also, I did enjoy the Shakespeare element!
In conclusion, "Get Even" is a decent young adult thriller with a unique premise. While it had its flaws, it still managed to entertain me with its suspenseful plot and intriguing characters. I would recommend it to fans of contemporary mysteries with a touch of romance.
Favourite quote: “And if I had to walk the world, I’d make you fall for me. I promise you, I promise you I will.”
I have mixed feelings about it. The story follows the four main girls: Bree, Olivia, Kitty, and Margot who are all part of a secret society called Don't Get Mad. They seek revenge on bullies and mean individuals at their elite private school. However, things take a dangerous turn when their latest target is found dead and they become the prime suspects.
The premise of the book is intriguing, and I enjoyed the concept of a secret society seeking justice. The author did a good job of building suspense and keeping me guessing about the identity of the murderer. The friendship dynamics between the four main characters were also interesting to explore.
However, I found some aspects of the story to be predictable and clichéd. The plot twists were not as shocking as I had hoped, and I felt that the resolution of the mystery was rushed. The romance elements felt forced and took away from the overall suspense of the story.
Despite these flaws, I appreciated McNeil's writing style, which was engaging and easy to read. The pacing was generally good, with enough action and suspense to keep me turning the pages. The book also touched on important themes such as bullying and the consequences of seeking revenge.
Also, I did enjoy the Shakespeare element!
In conclusion, "Get Even" is a decent young adult thriller with a unique premise. While it had its flaws, it still managed to entertain me with its suspenseful plot and intriguing characters. I would recommend it to fans of contemporary mysteries with a touch of romance.
Favourite quote: “And if I had to walk the world, I’d make you fall for me. I promise you, I promise you I will.”
supermomcrazytown's review against another edition
4.0
omg that ending... piss me off lol. Is there a second book?
shreyxa_jpg's review
2.5
i watched the show then skimmed though the book (i was very bored and procrastination)
nicolemhewitt's review against another edition
4.0
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
The Don’t Get Mad Duology is a fun YA mystery in the vein of Pretty Little Liars, with plenty of intrigue and twists and turns, a dash of romance and a nice helping of back-stabbing to go on the side. I decided to go ahead and review these two books together since I read both books in the duology one right after the other. The book follows a group of four girls who have very publicly (but also secretly) been getting back at their school’s bullies. They formed a group called DGM (Don’t Get Mad) that exposes the truth about their peers – and sometimes their teachers – but the school administration is hot on their tail. When one of DGM’s targets ends up dead, DGM is the prime suspect, and the girls have to discover who the real killer is before their own identities are exposed. Of course, that proves difficult to do when the killer starts coming after them. They find that their identities may not be so secret after all!
What I loved:
Short and sweet.
I was really glad that this was just a two book series, and the mystery didn’t drag on forever. One book to set things up – and to get the girls into a world of trouble – and one book to bring other characters into the fold and to wrap up the mystery. It was perfect!
The girls.
I really liked and connected to all four girls in DGM (though I had the least connection to Kitty), and I liked how all of them were very different and yet brought together by the DGM cause. We got to see the story from each of their POV’s (and in the second book, we got a new POV – but I won’t say who that is because it feels like a bit of a spoiler). Margot was possibly my favorite of the girls – a bit of a computer nerd who feels kind of invisible. Then there was Olivia – hanging out with the popular crowd and trying to feel like she belonged, even though someone in her crowd was often the DGM target. Bree was the rebel, who just wanted to break away from the strict confines of her political family, and Kitty was an upstanding member of student government and a jock. Each of their girls had a personal reason that they had joined DGM – something that they felt they had to atone for (or something that happened to them that they wanted revenge for). We learned their stories throughout the two books and got to see why they felt like they needed DGM.
The guys.
Throughout the books, we also got to know a few of the guys, who ended up being entangled in the DGM murder mysteries, no matter how hard the girls tried to keep them out of it. John, Bree’s best friend; Ed the Head, who likes to make a buck off of the student body in any way he can; Logan, Margot’s crush; and Donte, Olivia’s ex – they were all pulled into the mystery. My favorites were John and Ed the Head!
Lots of twists and turns.
Like any good mystery, this book kept you guessing about who was really behind the murders. The girls find lots of misleading clues and head down several wrong paths before they discover the truth. While I did have a good guess at who the killer was (which turned out to be right), it was really just a guess – I was never sure, and there were plenty of times when I thought it could be someone else. Getting to that final conclusion was a bumpy but enjoyable ride!
The negatives:
Unrealistic.
I found it a bit unbelievable that their were two teenage characters in this book that could basically hack into anything – police databases, school records, etc. Very handy. Also, everyone wanted to solve this murder – not just the DGM girls but also the (horrible and cartoonish Catholic) principle of the school, Father Umberti and the (also horrible and cartoonish) Coach Creed and his group of students. Apparently no one thought it was actually the police’s job to solve murders.
The romances.
Romance definitely wasn’t the focus of these books, but I wasn’t a fan of the elements that were there for the most part. There were three different romances in the book (maybe four?), but there was only one couple that I was really interested in (and the non-couple that counts at the fourth romance). The other two were just blah and insta-lovey. Luckily, romance was just a tiny part of the books, so I was okay.
Revenge.
I sometimes wondered a little bit about DGM in general. First off, the group got revenge on bullies by publicly humiliating them (though I will say that the humiliations generally seemed pretty tame) – I guess I was a bit torn on how I felt about that, but I will say that some of the things that the people they were getting revenge on were doing were pretty horrendous (why on earth did this school have so many utterly disgusting teenagers?!). And then there was the girls reasons for joining DGM. One of the girls felt horrible about exposing her friends’ cheating – the overall message seemed to be that she had done something really horrible to her friend (and the others who were cheating), but I couldn’t help but feel like that was a bad message. Really, if someone knows that there is a massive cheating ring going on and that people are trying to pull others into it, I don’t think they should have to feel all that terrible for telling someone.
So, overall, I really enjoyed these books. While this wasn’t the most realistic depiction of crime solving, it was a fun ride! I give both books 4/5 stars!
***Disclosure: These books were provided to me by the publisher and/or NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
The Don’t Get Mad Duology is a fun YA mystery in the vein of Pretty Little Liars, with plenty of intrigue and twists and turns, a dash of romance and a nice helping of back-stabbing to go on the side. I decided to go ahead and review these two books together since I read both books in the duology one right after the other. The book follows a group of four girls who have very publicly (but also secretly) been getting back at their school’s bullies. They formed a group called DGM (Don’t Get Mad) that exposes the truth about their peers – and sometimes their teachers – but the school administration is hot on their tail. When one of DGM’s targets ends up dead, DGM is the prime suspect, and the girls have to discover who the real killer is before their own identities are exposed. Of course, that proves difficult to do when the killer starts coming after them. They find that their identities may not be so secret after all!
What I loved:
Short and sweet.
I was really glad that this was just a two book series, and the mystery didn’t drag on forever. One book to set things up – and to get the girls into a world of trouble – and one book to bring other characters into the fold and to wrap up the mystery. It was perfect!
The girls.
I really liked and connected to all four girls in DGM (though I had the least connection to Kitty), and I liked how all of them were very different and yet brought together by the DGM cause. We got to see the story from each of their POV’s (and in the second book, we got a new POV – but I won’t say who that is because it feels like a bit of a spoiler). Margot was possibly my favorite of the girls – a bit of a computer nerd who feels kind of invisible. Then there was Olivia – hanging out with the popular crowd and trying to feel like she belonged, even though someone in her crowd was often the DGM target. Bree was the rebel, who just wanted to break away from the strict confines of her political family, and Kitty was an upstanding member of student government and a jock. Each of their girls had a personal reason that they had joined DGM – something that they felt they had to atone for (or something that happened to them that they wanted revenge for). We learned their stories throughout the two books and got to see why they felt like they needed DGM.
The guys.
Throughout the books, we also got to know a few of the guys, who ended up being entangled in the DGM murder mysteries, no matter how hard the girls tried to keep them out of it. John, Bree’s best friend; Ed the Head, who likes to make a buck off of the student body in any way he can; Logan, Margot’s crush; and Donte, Olivia’s ex – they were all pulled into the mystery. My favorites were John and Ed the Head!
Lots of twists and turns.
Like any good mystery, this book kept you guessing about who was really behind the murders. The girls find lots of misleading clues and head down several wrong paths before they discover the truth. While I did have a good guess at who the killer was (which turned out to be right), it was really just a guess – I was never sure, and there were plenty of times when I thought it could be someone else. Getting to that final conclusion was a bumpy but enjoyable ride!
The negatives:
Unrealistic.
I found it a bit unbelievable that their were two teenage characters in this book that could basically hack into anything – police databases, school records, etc. Very handy. Also, everyone wanted to solve this murder – not just the DGM girls but also the (horrible and cartoonish Catholic) principle of the school, Father Umberti and the (also horrible and cartoonish) Coach Creed and his group of students. Apparently no one thought it was actually the police’s job to solve murders.
The romances.
Romance definitely wasn’t the focus of these books, but I wasn’t a fan of the elements that were there for the most part. There were three different romances in the book (maybe four?), but there was only one couple that I was really interested in (and the non-couple that counts at the fourth romance). The other two were just blah and insta-lovey. Luckily, romance was just a tiny part of the books, so I was okay.
Revenge.
I sometimes wondered a little bit about DGM in general. First off, the group got revenge on bullies by publicly humiliating them (though I will say that the humiliations generally seemed pretty tame) – I guess I was a bit torn on how I felt about that, but I will say that some of the things that the people they were getting revenge on were doing were pretty horrendous (why on earth did this school have so many utterly disgusting teenagers?!). And then there was the girls reasons for joining DGM. One of the girls felt horrible about exposing her friends’ cheating – the overall message seemed to be that she had done something really horrible to her friend (and the others who were cheating), but I couldn’t help but feel like that was a bad message. Really, if someone knows that there is a massive cheating ring going on and that people are trying to pull others into it, I don’t think they should have to feel all that terrible for telling someone.
So, overall, I really enjoyed these books. While this wasn’t the most realistic depiction of crime solving, it was a fun ride! I give both books 4/5 stars!
***Disclosure: These books were provided to me by the publisher and/or NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
marvelouspyt's review against another edition
5.0
Title : Get Even (Don't Get Mad, #1)
Author : Gretchen McNeil
Format : Audiobook
Quick Take: Four very different girls attending an elite private school form "Don't Get Mad," a secret society that takes revenge on the school's bullies, and all is working according to plan until their latest target ends up dead and all clues point their way.
Thoughts : As a Pretty Little Liars fan, I was sure I was going to love Get Even and I was not wrong. I am totally addicted to this series now and there are only two books! Thank God there is a new Netflix series (that I've already binge-watched the first season) based on this series! Hopefully, the Netflix series will take it farther than the two books, but not drag it as long as PLL. I would recommend to fans of Pretty Little Liars, the show and book series and The Perfectionists, again the show and the book series.
Ratings : Five out of Five Stars
Author : Gretchen McNeil
Format : Audiobook
Quick Take: Four very different girls attending an elite private school form "Don't Get Mad," a secret society that takes revenge on the school's bullies, and all is working according to plan until their latest target ends up dead and all clues point their way.
Thoughts : As a Pretty Little Liars fan, I was sure I was going to love Get Even and I was not wrong. I am totally addicted to this series now and there are only two books! Thank God there is a new Netflix series (that I've already binge-watched the first season) based on this series! Hopefully, the Netflix series will take it farther than the two books, but not drag it as long as PLL. I would recommend to fans of Pretty Little Liars, the show and book series and The Perfectionists, again the show and the book series.
Ratings : Five out of Five Stars