A stunning tale of revenge and friendship. This book had me hooked from the start!

The plot was fast-paced and kept my attention riveted onto the page, desperate to know what Elle and her friends would do next. This book is dark and twisted and does not apologize for it. I found myself rooting for Elle to succeed.

What I really loved about this book was that we follow Elle as she works through what happened to her and what she wants to do about it. Her friends are so supportive and would do anything for her. I also loved at the twists and turns the story took along the way.

I highly recommend this book, and implore everyone to read it!

There are some content warnings to look out for: sexual assault (off page), rape culture, gender based violence. For more specific or additional warnings, please check out Hannah Capin’s website.

I find it difficult to review this book without taking into account the audience that will eventually read it.

For those that are many years removed from high school and college, this is a sharp, dark story that feels incredibly satisfying based on years of the same old narrative, in media and real life. In particular, Jade's attitude in the aftermath is just a delight to read since it's so empowering.

However, for those that are still living in the insular world of high school and college, this may touch a little too close to home and be overly disturbing.

This book was fabulous and horrifying and just the perfect story to get me out of my reading slump. Was it a little over-the-top at times? Sure. But, based on knowing the source material, I was happy to suspend disbelief and go along for the crazy ass ride.

This book was not for me. I didn't connect with any of the characters enough to care about them. I didn't buy in to the plot. Just not my thing at all.

Foul is Fair is certainly an interesting read. It's dark, disturbing, yet also contains a thread of black humour. Capin's prose is excellent, and her retelling of Macbeth does, for the most part, work well. This book was entertaining and fun. The reason it gets four stars from me, rather than five, is that it was also somewhat unbelievable at times. The characters were extremes, and almost emotionless, save for the desire for revenge. Meanwhile, the action took place over such a short space of time it was hard to accept Jade could manipulate Mack so quickly and completely. So, do read this book for the entertainment value. Just be willing to step away from reality and suspend disbelief. If I were to say this would make a good Tarantino movie, that should give you an idea of what to expect.

(This review will go live on my blog (at the link below) and across social media in February as part of your scheduled blog tour.)

This was incredible. The anger of these girls was so palpable it made me want to scream my rage out with them. A wicked re-telling of Macbeth and an incredibly empowering story.

My only quibble would be that the main character is Southeast Asian and the author ... is not.

Isn't a book for everyone. Can be mi

I say this because for some the book may not be understood and even touted as "bad taste and problematic".

This is why it is essential to read it remembering that its basis of narrative construction comes from Shakespeare's "Macbeth".

The book begins with a disclaimer that is literally fulfilled. To me, he is the water separator. Currently a disclaimer is essential to prepare the public for sensitive topics; It's a respect for the work, its interpretation and the reader.

Such scenes are written with a touch of poetry and harshness that it takes you a while to process the scene that is going on in your mind.

It is an extremely visual book. I could see the scenes happening in high school and the flashbacks of Elle / Jade. It's such a sensory book that I could feel the soundtrack (a mix of violin rips and beat songs we heard in Kill Bill).

Hannah's writing is so powerful, heady, chilling, seductive, and frightening that I found myself sometimes wondering how we can get so much through writing.

By far, this was one of the most powerful, theatrical, didactic, and overwhelming experiences I've had the pleasure of having this year.

It's a book that leaves you groundless, wondering what you would do in Elle / Jade's place and a sweeping tribute to Macbeth.


I received this ARC from the publisher and thank you for this amazing opportunity!

Well ... damn.

This is the Shakespearean revenge story of my darkest dreams. It's melodramatic, vicious, lyrical, and laughs in the face of your moral code. Capin re-imagines Lady Macbeth as an assault survivor out for one thing: the blood of those who hurt her.

Literally.

Hence where the melodrama comes in. The plot isn't an example of something that feasibly could/should happen, but that's half the fun. Even though this is a contemporary novel, it's also a fantasy, of rage and ruin and fate catching up to those who assumed they had impunity. This is a world of extremes. And hell, is it ever addictive to read about.

This being said, I personally found certain extremes became too overused - specifically, the extended metaphor of St. Andrews Prep as a kingdom, and certain students as kings or queens. The whole "he's the king, you will be the new king, time to kill the king, go follow your king etc." rhetoric became cheesy, after a while. These students only have a couple of years left at school (at the most). Yet social hierarchy became something they killed over. I mean, realistically, Mack would've laughed in Jade's face when she suggested he kill Duncan, but even though I didn't need the story to be realistic, I still wanted more motive than to become 'king'/team captain. I think readers would've understood the Macbeth allusions without the constant royalty diction.

Nevertheless. No matter how overblown it became, I found I was almost always willing to suspend my disbelief. Jade's hunger & ruthlessness is a palpable presence on the page, and I rooted for her no matter how twisted her goals became. I loved her coven, and I even loved the stone-cold rivalry she had with Piper. The ending was perfect, the writing was perfect, and again, this book was SO addictive. I loved it. I hated it. I devoured it.

Definite recommend to fans of gritty YA. Make sure to be aware of the many triggers, including self-harm and rape. 4/5.

A beautifully written dark tale of revenge and retribution. I really enjoyed the prose and the story. However i would be cautious in recommending this book to young teenagers.

I received an ARC from netgalley to review and rate this book.

I was first attracted to the cover of this book. It had a flair for the past. A little film noir. But the blurb was what really drew me in. It was going to be a perfect October read! I tend to go for the more dark and mysterious due to the month and thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press, I was able to dive right in.

Four girls set out on revenge. It gave me a little Heather's vibes, although these are not the girls to be messed with. You mess with one of them and they will mess up your life in the most dark and insane ways. They will turn you against each other and against yourself. Beware. These four are out for blood and they will stop at nothing.

"Every teenage girl thinks she and her friends are the mean girls, the ice queens, the wicked witches, but Jenny and Summer and Mads and me-we're what they wish they were.....Savage."

With the fast paced story told in a very brutal yet poetic way, I was excited for what the story brought all in the first pages. It was simple, yet filled with revenge that did not hold back. I loved seeing the girls on a mission and the taking the lead. They could manipulate others without even blinking. They would break those boys that attempted to break others. It was ending with them.

A little fantasy, a little film noir, a little death and a whole lot of revenge will come your way. You in? Fast paced teenage blood lust with some strong female leads. I'll take it. Just heed the trigger warnings as it won't be a book for all.

~Review will be posted to my blog http://pastmidnight.home.blog on Feb. 13, 2020, closer to publication date **

**4.5 Stars**

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for giving me a chance to read this eARC.

Golden boys beware, for real! Here we have a crew of four mean girls, but on one special night when Jade (Elle before the party, Jade is what she is after…) is celebrating her sweet sixteen they crash a St. Andrew’s prep party and their lives are changed forever.

After the party we are in Jade’s head as she plots and plans the demise of the golden boys of St. Andrew’s prep that hurt her. Jade’s got a kill list and she’s crossing out names: Duncan, Banks, Duffy, Conner, Porter, Malcom, Mack and one girl, Piper. It is time for revenge, and these girls don’t play, their claws are out and they are ready to draw blood.

What I Liked:

*I learned this was a MacBeth retelling but I knew as I was reading the line “foul is fair, fair is foul” that it felt familiar. Jade’s best friends, Mads, Summer and Jenny are like the witches in MacBeth. Jade refers to them as her coven. They’ve had things done to them when they were younger and these girls learned to fight back and rule the school. They refuse to be victims and they take what they want. They make things happen, they ruin lives if anyone tries to come for them. Not only was MacBeth all over this story, I got Heathers vibes too (which I grew up with and love) and it also made me think of the new tv series Euphoria (I’m kind of obsessed). It’s like Euphoria, in the sense of how the story flows from Jade’s thoughts, memories of the party, and other events that take place.

*This girl squad is tight, they are honest, they are all in and got each other’s backs. But I also loved that the revenge wasn’t only for Jade, but for all the girls who came before her. I know it was kind of sick with the murders but damn was I cheering them on.

*I loved how the “house of cards” fell and how Jade plotted the downfall. I was scared for her and scared of her – but she and her friends took those St. Andrews boys and one girl down like bosses! How are these high school kids so vicious? It helps they are all the rich kids and have power, fast cars, big houses and parents that are hardly around it seems. And lawyers, they have lawyers on hand! So important!

*The story is a powerful message about rape culture. Here we have these golden boys who, in real life, would probably get away with this behavior for the rest of their lives. There was no remorse in these boys, they took what they wanted…but here comes Jade who comes to take what is hers, reclaim the power that they stole from her. Jade plays them like puppets on a string! I was like, damnnnnn girl…I think a lot of us females have had enough so we resonate with her rage. And Jade wouldn’t have have been able to do all of this without the support of her friends who believed her. They didn’t see the rape happen, but they believed her 100%.

*This story is in your face, and unapologetic. The writing is poetic, but sometimes just a few words left an impact. Jade is not a sweet girl – she is hell bent on her plans of revenge. She gives no F’s, she is ruthless, she’s scheming and ready to spill blood. The story is violent, and at times bloody. Jade manipulates Mack to get what she wants.
I think the author did a great job showcasing each character, especially Jade and the boys at St. Andrew’s prep that was involved and their strength and weaknesses.

Things That Made Me Go Hmmm:

*There are so many triggers in this books: sexual assault, rape, rape culture, attempted suicide, murder for the sake of revenge, violence.

*Because this book is so dark, it may not appeal to some readers, especially because Jade comes off as a psychopath, she’s getting high off these murders! Also I enjoyed the poetic writing but I can see how some readers would get confused with the metaphorical writing.

*The way Jade uses Mack to take down the golden boys was at times, for me, not believable. He fell for her so fast and was willing, just because she smiled a certain way, whispered the right words, kissed him a lot, now he’s about to murder his friends? She was doing a lot of emotional manipulation on him, but it didn’t seem like she needed to try very hard. I definitely had to suspend my belief there and go with it.

*What happens next to Jade?! I need to know.

Final Thoughts:
Some books capture the sign of the times so perfectly and this book does it well. It’s the rage we feel these days with the MeToo movement, unleashed through Jade and her coven. Women are fighting back the powerful golden boys that have ruled for what seems like eons and it’s about time.

If you can handle the triggers in this book, I think it’s an intense, bold story that dares you not to look away from the damage rape culture can cause. I believe this is the first book in a series or duology, I’m not quite sure, but I am VERY curious to see what happens next after the ending of this book. I think this book could have stood strongly as a standalone already, but maybe we get to see how society paints Jade when they find out what happened to her and what she’s done in retaliation. Things could get intense, I look forward to reading the sequel.

A book written by a reader! Hannah Capin has given us a resounding story of actions and consequences. The characters come to life, you'll feel the hope, the horror and the desire for retribution right along with this group of young women who decide they really do not have to "suck it up" when life deals them a short hand. The story flows as it unwinds the who, what, where, when and why that leaves you cheering when the group metes out punishment. A WOW of a book for me.

A beautifully written book about revenge. Jade sets off on a mission and stops at nothing to accomplish it. This book is dark, touches on sensitive topics and is beautifully written. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Um, so this book is dark. Not wow that's effed up dark. I mean, Heathers is a romcom compared to this story. Hannah Capin's ability to paint a mood with words was evident in her debut, but she's definitely stepped up her game with this Macbeth retelling.

With Capin at a keyboard, Shakespeare will never be the same.

This was such an amazing read that I couldn’t put it down. It went everywhere with me. To the doctors office, the dentist, the eye doctor. IT WENT ABSOLUTELY EVERYWHERE. I was so sad when it ended that I immediately went and bought more books from this author!

Honestly this was a pretty clever retelling of Macbeth, with Lady Macbeth taking over as the lead character (which is basically what everyone wants while reading Macbeth in the first place anyways). Elle/Jade Khanjara sets out to get revenge on a group of lacrosse boys from an elite private high school. Not just any revenge -- she wants them dead. Only time will tell whether that means physically deceased or ruining their reputation by exposing their secrets. With help from her coven of witches (aka her closest friends), Jade transfers to the high school to enact her plot.

It was difficult to put this story down: it's fast paced, and I was so invested in Jade and her mission. Macbeth was slowly coming back to me as I read the book, and I was impressed by how Capin was able to modernize the old Scottish names, making the characters hide in somewhat plain sight if you didn't remember the play haha. I eventually did refresh myself on the specifics of Macbeth, and when I was reminded of Lady Macbeth's end in the play, it became even more difficult to put the book down. Would it be the same? Was there a way to go against what was fated to happen?

There are some story elements that are a little ridiculous (the way the characters speak might be influenced by direct lines in the play, so when you really think about it the words would be super awkward coming from a modern teen; the whole book only takes place over two weeks, which is a fast timeline to enact your detailed revenge plot), and these things might bother some people. I think that Shakespeare is a little ridiculous to begin with, so adding to the ridiculousness isn't too bad! I also really enjoyed how Capin created Jade: Jade is extremely strong, but there are also moments in the book where she's extremely vulnerable and it's clear that she's still working through the trauma she experienced. Don't get me wrong -- most of the time Jade is just focused on revenge, but I enjoyed that there was still some suggestions to the fact that Jade is healing, even though this isn't the main point of the book.

Hannah Capin's voice is absolutely breathtaking, and Foul is Fair a real feat of stylistic storytelling. This book is relentless, and not always easy to read due to the subject matter, but it is handled sensitively and with a dark humour that gets the reader completely on board with the brutality of what Jade and her friends are doing. I can't wait to read more by this brilliant woman - I came across this novel when I tweeted asking for a witch focussed YA adaptation of Macbeth, not sure if one existed. Well, it does, and I can't imagine it being done more successfully.

"Fair is foul, foul is fair" - an infamous phrase and recurring theme, not just in this novel, but originally from Shakespeare's Macbeth. And make no mistake, despite the fact this novel isn't presented as such, it IS a modern retelling of the classic - from the coven's prophecy.. to the new King and his escalation in violence to keep his secrets.. it's all there. The author even maintains most of the original character names, if somewhat modified for modern use.

Unfortunately for Hannah Capin, it's a lofty ambition to begin with, recreating one of Shakespeare's great tragedies, and while she's competent at stringing together the puzzle pieces of a story, she's no storyteller. At least, she doesn't show any real ability here. If the synopsis had been more honest about what it was, that also may have earned it more leniency. I might have enjoyed the way she reapplied certain aspects of the original work, such as the Inverness location, but going into a story expecting something fresh.. made me draw those contrasts much more strongly.

My biggest issue with this novel, is really the narrative point-of-view approach the author uses to tell the story. It's often the weakest way to tell a story anyway. Authors intend to utilize it to immerse readers in their stories, but instead I feel.. it often alienates me. And our protagonist's 'voice' reads like rambling, with little direction and less control.. despite all her claims of the opposite. The words seem to pour out in a constant rush, more like a spill than a careful pouring of information.

As far as the characters are concerned, the bulk of them are as designed.. thoroughly unlikable. However, I felt that also extended to our main character, Jade, and her friends. In fact, the only character I did like, was our new King. Our Mack(beth), and watching him fall to ruin was just unpleasant. Turning away from the original text in this case, might have been the only thing that would have won me over.

Overall, the book was a disappointment. There was potential there, but the author just failed to bring it to fruition.

Think of all the darkest vengefests you’ve enjoyed in literature and film and you have the experience that is Foul is Fair, the latest novel by Hannah Capin.
MacBeth, Heathers, Mean Girls, Kill Bill, and AHS: Coven have all been used to describe elements and the tone of this new book, and they are all appropriately used.
Jade and her friends have fabled teen lives, they’re the “it” girls and the world is at their feet—until a group of boys from a wealthy prep school make the mistake of assaulting Jade. Now, Jade has sworn to get vengeance, and nobody will stand in her way.
Foul is Fair is a dark, unflinching journey into manipulation and vengeance. Capin’s writing is raw and intense, drawing you along and daring you to turn away while taunting you to turn another page. This is one of those books that is both horrifying and fantastic at the same time, and destined to create quite a buzz.

*I received a copy of Foul is Fair from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This book takes itself way too seriously. The concept is fantastic - just as advertised, a high-school Kill Bill meets Macbeth meets Heathers. A group of rich mean girls in LA to go a private prep school’s party and one of them, Jade, is sexually assaulted by a group of rich white across boys (names: Duncan, Duffy, Connor, Banks - yes they’re all exactly as awful and evil as they sound, and they’re confident they can get away with anything). Jade transfers to the same school as these boys and plots with her three best friends (“the coven”) on how they’re going to get back at these boys - and getting back at them = killing all four of them. Violence ensues. Revenge fantasy like you’ve never read it before.

The young women in this novel are femme fatales, sirens who won’t hesitate to ruin you, all of whom are very very angry and ready to kill. It’s essentially a retelling of Macbeth, with Jade as dangerous young (Indian!) Lady Macbeth, whispering poison in the ear of Mack, our innocent and good-turned-evil Macbeth figure (see what she did there?). It’s a highly unique take on the play, and I think it’s pretty effective and hell, I’ll say it: fun.

However, there are a couple of sticking points for me. I could just not get into this writing. Man, it is dramatic and disjointed as all hell. The author continuously uses this format as a substitute for an adjective: “noun-adjective.” Here are a few, pulled from just the first couple of chapters:
“revenge-black”
“dazzle-smiled”
“spirit smooth”  
“antifreeze-sweet”
“betrayal-quiet”
She uses this format to the point where the words lose their meaning and just sound pretentious, like writing how a young person imagines adults to write. It seems like every sentence you read is on a new line, with the intended effect of making every sentence punchy, but with the reality of it seeming choppy and forced.

Realism is not really a consideration here. It is a fun romp in the world of teen murder and revenge, with some Heathers-esque mean girls (for that’s what they are - rich mean girls through and through, I can see myself getting bullied by them in high school) in the starring roles. But the dialogue is silly, something out of a bad movie rather than something that I’d believe sixteen-year-old girls would say to each other. They’re so dramatic and serious and murderous. And as other reviewers have pointed out, it is so unbelievable that Mack (our Macbeth, lest ye forget) would turn from innocent, handsome midfielder on the lacrosse team to power-hungry killer of his teammates in the span of a week. Hmmmm. I don’t think so.

Overall, Foul is Fair is a wild ride on a rollercoaster young women so rarely get to hop on. Rage on, young mean ladies. But fair warning: be able to read choppy writing that feels entirely put on and believe some crazy plot holes.