Their Vicious Games by Joelle Wellington

[wearing_tearing]

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.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one since competition plots usually aren’t for me, but I loved how Joelle Wellington developed that element here! There was a twist right at the beginning that captured my attention and the writing kept me engaged the entire time.

Content warnings for: Violence. Murder. Racism.

The plot was pretty intriguing and tense and not at all what I expected. It kept me on my toes and the action scenes were very well written, even more so as the stakes got higher and higher and everything escalated. This was also one of the things that made me love Adina as a character!

Adina's journey here and what she went through was rough. Her determination and the way her perspective shifted throughout was incredible, though! She started the book as one character and ended it as a completely different one, in the best of ways. I also very much enjoyed the resolution regarding Graham.

One thing I did expect was to get a little bit more of an aftermath after the game was done. The epilogue didn't quite deliver the depth I expected from the conclusion, but it still wrapped up the story pretty well.