While this seemed to be an interesting concept, I felt this missed the mark. The characters did not act, speak, or feel like any teenager I have come across. Also, the glaringly lack of security at this high school really bothered me. There really aren't any security cameras? High school kids have power of the admin?
Not for me and I don't feel this would be a fit for my collection.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: These Vengeful Hearts

Author: Katherine Laurin

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: revenge novel, mystery, thriller

Publication Date: September 8, 2020

Genre: YA Thriller

Recommended Age: 16+ (revenge, language, violence and gore)

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Pages: 336

Synopsis: Whenever something scandalous happens at Heller High, the Red Court is the name on everyone's lips. Its members--the most elite female students in the school--deal out social ruin and favors in equal measure, their true identities a secret known only to their ruthless leader: the Queen of Hearts.

Sixteen-year-old Ember Williams has seen firsthand the damage the Red Court can do. Two years ago, they caused the accident that left her older sister paralyzed. Now, Ember is determined to hold them accountable...by taking the Red Court down from the inside.

But crossing enemy lines will mean crossing moral boundaries, too--ones Ember may never be able to come back from. She always knew taking on the Red Court would come at a price, but will the cost of revenge be more than she's willing to sacrifice?

Review: For the most part the book was pretty good! I liked the world building and the characters. The pacing was on key and I loved how it was a vengeful tale on Alice in Wonderland.

However, like most revenge books for me, the story got stale after awhile. Revenge stories are really hard to write and I've not found that perfect one for me, but this was pretty good.

Verdict: It was good!

Was super intrigued and keen on this in the beginning but the romantic interest and then well everything sort of went downhill. I couldn’t care less for all. It was also predictable which is not such a bad thing but I think the need for having a romantic interest or the romantic aspect was off putting for me and it made the whole thing go down. Yeh idea is quite great though. But sadly wasn’t my cup of tea due to the unbelievable plot lines.

WOW! I really really loved this book. A story of revenge born from a sisterly bond with a sole focus: take down the Red Court. The Red Court is a mysterious group within Heller High that controls the school. Sometimes relationships are ended, sometimes people win elections, sometimes people secure themselves a spot on a team maybe even the captain position. And behind them all is the Red Court. I loved Ember and how flawed and imperfect she is. I love her determination and guilt and love for something she knows is wrong. I love that she is multifaceted and isn't just a Good Girl, she's a real girl. This story was exciting and suspenseful and had so many great twists and turns and while some were predictable, I have to admit that one really surprised me and I LOVE THAT! So happy I got the chance to read this and I can't wait to read another book by Katherine Laurin.

I enjoy books about secret societies - was a HUGE fan of Diana Peterfreund's Secret Society Girl series. So when I heard about Katheriene Laurin's debut YA, These Vengeful Hearts, I was intrigued.

There's a lot to like in this book. The premise of a secret society in high school willing to do dirty jobs in exchange for favors to be culled later seemed interesting. And Ember's desire to get tapped to become part of the Red Court was tied into her desire to get vengeance for an act the Red Court took against her sister, April, who ended up in a wheelchair, seemed almost noble. Ember really only has one friend, Gideon, and spends most of her time with him.

Ember does get tapped by the Queen of Hearts to become part of the Court, but that's when things get murky. Ember's conscience has difficulty doing the things her partner, Haley, assigns to her - because it seems like all her Court tasks involve people very close to Ember's life.

The plot keeps you guessing as to who's really pulling the Court strings, and the ending was only partly satisfying. I can't say more without spoilers, and I don't do spoilers! I just really wish there had been more depth to the characters and their relationships in the book.

This was a DNF @ 35% for me. I really tried to push through and give it more of a chance, but its just not for me. It reads as a weird Pretty Little Liars-esque type drama written by someone who has not met an actual teenager. Maybe it got better, but what I read wasn't enough to keep me engaged or interested in the story or its characters.

I love mysteries and I love books about secret societies this book contains both. I you enjoyed this book immensely.

I just finished this arc of These Vengeful Hearts and it was SO GOOD! The suspense was amazing, I loved the storyline. And Gideon - what is there not to love about Gideon??

Ember is a sophomore in high school. A high school that has a secret society that everyone is aware of, but does not know who the members are. Ember makes a plan to infiltrate the group and avenge her sisters accident. But things are most definitely not what they always seem to be.

Ever have a book that you can’t stop reading so you sneak little bits at every opportunity? That was this book for me. In line at Starbucks at work - read. Walking out of work - read. In line at the grocery - read more.

2.5 stars
I love secret society stories so I was immediately drawn to this, especially with the great cover. I quickly was disappointed. I found myself skimming through a big chunk in the middle just to speed up the read.

The good: This had a great premise and a really interest concept of the Red Court secret society and how they pass their messages and the setup of the court itself. Several of the characters were well fleshed out and felt real, I enjoyed the interactions between Haley and Ember especially. I also really liked the twist towards the end (no spoilers), it was set up well and yet I still didn't see it coming - the hallmarks of a great twist for me.

The bad: several characters felt very flat and one dimensional to me, including Gideon Ember's BFF. Some of the jobs they were assigned to do seemed far-fetched to me and not something even a secret society would be involved in.

TLDR: Really cool premise, plot moves quickly enough that it's a good binge read and is entertaining enough to keep me reading instead of ending in my DNF pile. Nothing really sets this apart as a great read, but not terrible either.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was great if not the teensiest bit abrupt at the end. I really enjoyed Embers character and her struggles between justice and revenge.

A quick read. Suspenseful, twisty teen book similar to Mean Girls, but on steroids. This feels like the beginning of a series; Book 1, introduce the evil group, Book 2 - replace group with another?

These Vengeful Hearts is a YA thriller that follows Ember as she tries to take down the Red Court, a super secret society that basically controls the entire school. Ember has been planning the dismantling of the group since the Red Court caused the accident that left her sister paralyzed.

I thoroughly enjoyed These Vengeful Hearts! I was deeply invested in the story and I never wanted to stop reading. This book was definitely a page turner.

The Red Court intrigued me from page one! The all girl secret society accepts favors from classmates. This could be anything from breaking up couples, rigging elections or even takedowns. The group is notorious for ruining lives. I loved being right alongside Ember as she learned the ins and outs of the group while also trying to figure out the best way to get revenge for her sister.

I loved the main character Ember. She was determined and so relatable. Being part of the Red Court really took a huge toll on her. She entered the group with a clear mission and decided she would do anything to achieve it. Along the way though, she really struggled with the line between good and bad & right and wrong. I appreciated that Ember took note of her mistakes and learned from them.

The only real issue I had with this story was the ending. I found it to be rushed. The entire book was building up to what I thought would be a very dramatic conclusion, but that wasn’t the case. The actual ending wasn’t really unsatisfying per se, but it did seem way too simple and almost unrealistic. With that said, I am interested to see if there will be a sequel? If so, I will for sure read it!

All in all, this was an enjoyable, fast paced thriller. If you enjoy books about secret societies and revenge, I would definitely recommend giving These Vengeful Hearts a read!

This was a bit different than what I expected. I thought there would be some sort of mystical or magical element, maybe something spooky, but it was just a bunch of folks being mean - not really my cup of tea, but that's not the author's fault!! The book is well written with a gorgeous cover and an intriguing premise. I love secret society type stories, and this one did keep me interested enough to keep turning the pages despite some of the issues I had regarding the subject matter not really being my thing.

I did not enjoy this book. The plot seemed intriguing, but I feel like it did not reach its full potential. It is just another story of mean girls in high school. I thought there would be something new or more magic.

The concept of this book was so fun! A secret society in a high school that does the dirty work for other people?! This sounded like it was right by my alley. And for the most part it was. I loved the characters but wish there was a little bit more to the plot. It felt like everything almost came together too easily at the end and some of the plot twists were a bit predictable. But, overall I enjoyed reading this!

*Note: I received a free copy of this book from Netgally in exchange for my honest opinion

I love a good, suspenseful secret society story! This was a well written and engaging tale of a sister out for revenge. It is appropriately YA and in that regard has the YA level of angst and characters finding their way in the world. It had mean girls meets secret society vibes and kept me entertained.

***ARC received from Inkyard Press and NetGalley in exchange for honest review, opinions are all my own. Thank you!***

I wasn’t really sure at first whether I was going to like this book. I was mostly drawn in by the pretty cover art. The story itself is not something that I normally would reach for but its hard to pass up secret societies and tales of revenge set in the ultra drama filled world of high school students. In the end, it didn’t disappoint even if some things were left lacking.

We follow Ember as she tries to get in with the Red Court, a secretive group that basically runs the school with favors, rigging and take downs. Ember blames the Red Court for what happened to her sister and is bound to take it apart from the inside. Much of the book focuses more on Ember as she struggles with the moral grey area that the Red Court functions in. We don’t get to learn much about how the Red Court functions or how they go about getting all the information that they need for take down. You have to serioucly suspend your belief a bit and just accept that the high school is run by the most worthless group of adults out there. Seriously, other than showing up in classes they seem to have no control or the basic understanding over anything that happens in the school. Plus, the fact that the Red Court members are supposed to be secret to everyone but seem to do things in the school in broad daylight and are never noticed. You just have to kind of go with it since that’s not the focus of the story.

I did like Ember and her struggles with the Red Court. She goes into it with a very specific viewpoint of the Red Court and slowly comes to realize that the group is much more than what she believes. The Red Court only functions at the whims of the students, which Ember slowly comes to understand. A lot of what the Red Court does, even what seems like a genuine act to help someone can come from a selfish place. In the end the girls on the Red Court aren’t doing what they do because they themselves are mean but that they just carry out what is asked of them.

It doesn’t mean the Red Court is angels, their moral compass is clearly not pointing north and some of their actions go well beyond someone getting to be homecoming queen. I wish it had been addressed further. We live in an age of bullying and rising teen suicide rates yet this book seems to be completely removed from that. No one faces any real consequences which makes a bit of sense with how the book ended as it did.

The books ending sees Ember finally confront the Queen of Hearts and Red Court. It didn’t play out as I would hoped it would but I think it played out in the most real way with how Ember had developed as a character and what she has come to realize about the world as a whole. That actions should have consequences but who faces the consequences, the named members of the Red Court or the anonymous society that created and uses them? Something Ember figured out through struggling with what is right and what is wrong, so while not the satisfying ending the most true we would have expected.

The secondary characters are not fully fleshed out but they are much more than just paper cutout characters. Gideon is the gay best friend that was thankfully not just that gay stereotype best friend that is both encouraging and discouraging of Ember. Haley was my fav though, getting to watch her cold exterior slowly melt away after the book slowly reveals who she is and her own personal struggles. Chase is just, there I guess. The romance felt forced, once of the few tropes this book falls into, I could have done without it.

In the end, I would recommend it.

3-4 stars! Unfortunately, this book was just not what I expected by the cover and synopsis. It was a bit slow, confusing, and just hard to really get into it and enjoy. But I was able to finish and did enjoy many aspects of it. I think something may he missing or it could’ve been written a bit differently, to maximize on the premise, but even with these missteps, I do think many will be able to read and enjoy. There’s some really fast paced, great parts, and then some not great parts. If it looks intriguing to you, pick it up, as I’m a moody reader and may be judging a bit too harshly!
Will make sure to mention to others on platforms and use low Amazon reviewer number on release date!

The premise of this book was promising. A high school revenge story - intrigue, double agents, drama - what could be better? At the end, though, I don't think the story lived up to the premise.
The pacing was pretty quick. I didn't feel that the story slowed down much through the book. However, it felt a little juvenile to me. As the premise had included someone being permanently injured due to the secret society, I thought that the stakes would be a bit more life and death.
Even though the protagonist seemed to think that the stakes were very dire, I did not feel any real sense of dread or even urgency. Everything seemed very high-school; of course, this is set in high-school, with a 16 yr old protagonist. At 16, everything seems dire and high-stakes and dramatic.
I just felt that not enough weight was being given to circumstances that were/are actually serious.
There are so many real issues that teens face - sexual assault, alcoholism, drugs, physical violence, guns, pregnancy, etc. - and this book just seemed to be about boys and notes and who likes who. One character even came from a pretty uncomfortable home life, where the possibility of abuse was, I think, very real. But that situation was never really followed - just mentioned as a driving force.
I did find this to be an enjoyable, if a bit light, read; but ultimately I found it to be pretty forgettable. I may or may not read a sequel if there is one.
I would read something else by this author, though, as the writing itself was good.
**Many thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange my honest review.**

Enthralling! A favor for a favor! You want something, you must give something in return whenever you are called on or pay the price!
The Red Court is a society of female students at Heller High who are joined for the purpose of doing favors that result in personal gain. Need votes for homecoming queen, it will cost you but you won’t know how much until you are called on. Refuse to return the favor and suffer the consequences and social humiliation!
Ember is filled with a need for revenge after her sister April was seriously injured and unable to walk again after one of the Court’s plots. She is determined to take down the Red Court from the inside by infiltrating and becoming a member. She will find herself needing t make choices and she is left to wonder How far will she go for revenge?
Thank you Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review!