Review: Their Vicious Games, Joelle Wellington

Their Vicious Games was one of my most anticipated reads of 2023. Obviously,I had high expectations getting into this one… let’s see if they all were met, shall we?

Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington
Published by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers on July 25, 2023
Genres: thriller, young adult
Format: ARC
Source: NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
Buy on Amazon, Bookshop, Blackwell's
Goodreads

A Black teen desperate to regain her Ivy League acceptance enters an elite competition only to discover the stakes aren’t just high, they’re deadly, in this searing thriller that’s Ace of Spades meets Squid Game with a sprinkling of The Bachelor.
You must work twice as hard to get half as much.
Adina Walker has known this the entire time she’s been on scholarship at the prestigious Edgewater Academy—a school for the rich (and mostly white) upper class of New England. It’s why she works so hard to be perfect and above reproach, no matter what she must force beneath the surface. Even one slip can cost you everything.
And it does. One fight, one moment of lost control, leaves Adina blacklisted from her top choice Ivy League college and any other. Her only chance to regain the future she’s sacrificed everything for is The Finish, a high-stakes contest sponsored by Edgewater’s founding family in which twelve young, ambitious women with exceptional promise are selected to compete in three mysterious events: the Ride, the Raid, and the Royale. The winner will be granted entry into the fold of the Remington family, whose wealth and power can open any door.
But when she arrives at the Finish, Adina quickly gets the feeling that something isn’t quite right with both the Remingtons and her competition, and soon it becomes clear that this larger-than-life prize can only come at an even greater cost. Because the Finish’s stakes aren’t just make or break…they’re life and death.
Adina knows the deck is stacked against her—it always has been—so maybe the only way to survive their vicious games is for her to change the rules.

I received this book for free from NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

☂️ TRIGGER WARNINGS: (click to reveal)

violence, gore, death, emetophobia, gun violence, racism, classism.

There are no spoilers in this review.

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I ENJOYED…

☂️

• The concept of the book definitely got my heart. I found it to be such an incredible mix of The Hunger Games, The Bachelor and Ace of Spades, I just, woah. I really loved how I found some of these influences in this story. Yet, Their Vicious Games wasn’t a copycat of books / tv shows we all already binged. It stood on its own, with its own spin, its twists and fierce characters.
• This story is told from Adina’s point of view, a Black girl from a middle class family, ready to do anything to get the Yale spot that belonged to her back… even participate in the Finish, this competition where the winner gets everything they want. I loved how driven, determined and bold she was and I rooted for her, right from the very start. She’s a bit messy, sometimes makes questionable decisions and certainly won’t be everyone’s favorite, but… I don’t know. She was just flawed, real and I really loved that.

• The relationships between these characters are obviously messy, given the particular situation they’re in. Still, I absolutely adored Saint, another girl in the competition and Adina’s roommate. She was such an excellent addition to the story, I loved her drive and the friendship these two girls had. I would have loved getting to know her even more.
• Their Vicious Games was an incredibly entertaining book. It was both exciting and terrifying (sometimes downright BRUTAL, really) to read. It’s filled with twists and turns you never see coming. It’s a book that grabs you from page one and just does not let you go.
• Lastly, I loved the underlying critiques woven into the story, about classes, privilege, misogyny.

OVERALL

☂️

If you’re looking for a highly entertaining – and slightly brutal, but unputdownable YA thriller, I recommend Their Vicious Games. I’m looking forward to seeing whatever the author will come up with, next!

FINAL RATING : 4 stars!

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Did you read Their Vicious Games, or do you want to? Any similar recommendations for me? Let me know in comments!

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