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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for allowing me to read an eARC of this title.
Such a fun book! IT has it all - adventure, mystery, secrets, sabotage, blackmail, broken friendships, and a necessary pact with an ex. AND a competition between 12 students held in a forest surrounding an old, half demolished estate. I know my students will love this one as much as I did.
CW: blood, death, blackmail, long term illness, death of a sibling (recounted), violence, physical assault, a few cuss words
Such a fun book! IT has it all - adventure, mystery, secrets, sabotage, blackmail, broken friendships, and a necessary pact with an ex. AND a competition between 12 students held in a forest surrounding an old, half demolished estate. I know my students will love this one as much as I did.
CW: blood, death, blackmail, long term illness, death of a sibling (recounted), violence, physical assault, a few cuss words
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
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
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
8th & up
mysterious
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:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
tense
A school mystery set - mostly - in a tumbledown, overgrown mansion? Sign me up! Chloe's exclusive boarding school hosts a cross between a survival course and a reality show each year, giving twenty students a chance to earn the title of Champion and more than half a million dollars. While most of Chloe's schoolmates are just in it for the notoriety, she really needs the money. But her competition includes all the people who hate her the most - so when someone starts blackmailing her, she has a long list of suspects.
Mackenzie has a knack for building fully contained worlds. The school depicted here is amazing, and the estate the Trials happen on is even better. The descriptions of the overgrown, gloomy building were so evocative. There were a lot of people to keep track of, with a complicated web of alliances and enmities between them. I often have trouble keeping track of characters in this kind of situation, but other readers won't have that difficulty.
The story itself was interesting, the trials were well thought out and fun, and I really enjoyed the read. I'll be looking forward to Mackenzie's next one! Highly recommend for fans of plotty, twisty YA mysteries.
Movie recommendation: The Hunger Games. While the Wilde Trials aren’t filmed, the sense of being trapped in a competition controlled by unseen forces echoes the brutal reality of the Games.
Book recommendation: The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. Like The Wilde Trials, this series follows a protagonist navigating an intricate puzzle of secrets, alliances, and high-stakes competition for a massive fortune. If you love unraveling layered mysteries, this series is a must-read.
The Wilde Trials publishes on the 13th of March, 2025. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-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
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A really fast read—I kind of wish there had been more details, a lot of predicted twists in my opinion
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes