My new genre of choice is YA mystery and suspense. The premise greatly intrigued me. Students are chosen as assassins in a mock up game that soon turn deadly and real. There are real consequences to be dealt with. Who is killing the students? The answer will surprise you!

The Game was a slow starter, but about halfway through picked up speed and became a page turner for the second half. A group of seniors, in that limbo period of life, also known as the last semester of senior year, begin a game of Assassins. In my town, a less lethal, but still highly competitive, version of this game is played every Spring. It is something even adults look forward to and having it canceled this year, I can relate to the main character’s intense need to keep the game afloat at all costs. I loved the idea of this book.

The character development could have been stronger, but I find that I feel this way about most books written in the third person. I also wished the author had used a singular form of the gender neutral pronoun. The flow and pace of the story got a bit stuck for me with the plural pronoun referring to one individual.

Overall, a great summer read!

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book a lot more than I actually did. I've read a lot about the assassin game growing up but never participated. That being said, this was a very predictable mystery which is not to say that it's bad it's just not that great.

The writing is good but the tertiary characters are definitely not fully realized and it seemed very rushed.

“The Game” is a assassin themed event for seniors before they graduate and for Lia it’s her chance to prove that’s she’s good at something other than just quietly existing in her brothers shadow but when some of the targets wind up dead Lia can’t escape the attention, and is more determined then ever to finish it.

The book was a good one but it was very predictable.
It was an easy read for a lazy day.

I really enjoyed this book. The premise - high school seniors participate in a mock-murder style game called Assassins and try to be the last ones standing, but must face real consequences when students are actually murdered - is an intriguing one. I like the idea of the game, and the mystery aspect of this book, which focuses on the suspense, and not gore. I also really liked the characters. Some have mentioned not liking Lia, the protagonist. I actually found her to be believable and consistent throughout the book, minus one irritation - if Lia was able to pay so much attention to her classmates for this game, she probably would have been a much better investigator. This goes along with my only other gripe; the murderer seemed obvious throughout, and there were no real shocking moments. That being said, I think this was a great, quick read, and I would definitely read another, if a sequel was written.

I really thought I would like this book. The murder game aspect seemed like it would really be a mystery but the plot seemed dull and the killer was incredibly easy to find out. I didn't like the main character at all and the secondary characters weren't developed enough for me to really have an opinion. The book overall seemed messy and only half planned. I really liked the concept of this book but the way it was written didn't interest me like I had hoped it would.

Overall, I enjoyed this. However, I did end up skimming the middle portion because the pacing (which started out strong) started lagging a bit, and I didn't have the patience to weed through chapters which seemed a little repetitive.

What I liked:
~ the interesting premise (interestingly enough, my daughter says they have a similar 'game' at her high school -- though not nearly as tightly organized nor deadly, thankfully)
~ the mystery (though I think part of the reason it started lagging in the middle is because I was pretty sure who did it, and it began to feel a little obvious)
~ the clues (even though I figured it out, I liked that the clues were there *for* me to figure out; I'm not a fan of mysteries that can't possibly be solved by the reader because the perpetrator comes out of left field)
~ the developing relationships (these aren't the strongest parts of the book, but they were still enjoyable)

What wasn't as strong for me:
~ the relationships (yes, I enjoyed them, but they were a bit simplistic)
~ the narrator (honestly, I think using Lia as the narrator weakened this tale by a fair amount; she was simply too detached and too unavailable for my taste, and because of that, I didn't really care by the end)

So a mixed bag ... obviously there are plans for a sequel, and I might pick that up, but it's not a guarantee (though if it has a different narrator, I'd be more likely to read the next one).

I found myself enjoying this book, but it was a bit frustrating how clueless the protagonist is romantically and her one track mind with this game, but that's overlookable and I still liked it.

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and author Linsey Miller for providing me with an ARC of this novel!

Okay, so I really enjoyed this! I’m a huge fan of Riverdale, and I saw a lot of connections between this novel and the show. Was it a little predictable? Meh, yeah, but most are anymore. That doesn’t mean this wasn’t still an exciting thriller that I struggled to put down! I enjoyed the diversity throughout; POC and queer characters were included which I think is super important. Also, the description of gore was fantastic!! I love when the author isn’t afraid to get their hands dirty. I really appreciate that. I’m sensing a second novel, maybe? Which I would thoroughly enjoy. All in all, a good read!

Thank you again to those named above for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This book sounded like my perfect catnip - AHS crossed with Agatha Christie. High school seniors playing a game called Assassins - what could go wrong?

Lia is an unremarkable student determined to make her mark by winning Assassins. Students opt in to play the game in which teams are giving targets, other students, to take out by using water guns. Winner is the last one standing.

Lia is dedicated to winning. She's been keeping a journal, tracking her fellow students' movements. A little creepy but perfect intel for her team when they receive their first assignment. Also perfect for committing murder. Lia's journal goes missing and her target turns up dead.

I enjoyed the premise of the story but definitely wish the book's description hadn't given away a major clue. I also had a tough time understanding the motivation of Lia's parents. Who makes a child stop Debate Club and piano lessons but insists on AP classes because of college?

Fun YA thriller with light romance.

A blurb that says this book is loosely inspired from Agatha Christie’s ABC murder and set in a highschool was all I needed to pick this up. But unfortunately I was disappointed yet again. I predicted the killer within the first two chapters and the motive by about 50%. I continued reading just to see how long it will take the characters to figure it all out. Even the figuring out bit was not that exciting. There was no little grey cells in action, no connecting the dots, no light bulbs suddenly switching on, no wow moments. So all in all, if you are a hardcore murder mystery fan this one will be easy to figure out within the first few chapters but if you are new to the genre, you will enjoy it.
Rating: 2.5 stars

This modern YA thriller will end up pretty popular. It reminded me a lot of other successful YA thrillers like Pretty Little Liars, One of Us is Lying, and #MurderTrending.

The premise of a school/community wide game of Assassins going wrong and murderous was very intriguing. Linsey Miller does this idea justice. This story follows Lia who is obsessed with the Senior year game of Assassins- as she is a big gamer, and doesn't feel like she is particularly good at anything else. She is good but not great at anything except gaming- escape rooms, board games, etc. She has been preparing for this game for a whole year - listening and observing all of her classmates. It is one benefit of being relatively invisible, no one notices when you follow them/listen and take notes.

This was a fun read and I would definitely read it again. The murderer was a bit expected as I had suspected the person for a large portion of the novel. I particularly love mystery and thriller novels, so this isn't completely unexpected. I still liked the novel and it left off on enough of a cliff hanger for Linsey Miller to write a sequel or series on the premise. I think I have plenty of students who would enjoy this book. In comparision to other YA novels in this genre it is measures up pretty well, but is not as complex of a mystery as some others that have come out.

I look forward to see how my students react to The Game when it comes out August 2020!
http://kaitlynrcarpenter.weebly.com/blog/the-game-by-linsey-miller-for-fans-of-pretty-little-liars-one-of-us-is-lying-and-riverdale

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
I have enjoyed previous books by Linsey Miller but this one was not on par with the rest of her books. It just lacked the substance that her previous books had.

Thanks you to netgalley and the publisher for this book! I love a good mystery and The Game didn’t disappoint. Lia Prince has never felt more than average but with her senior year approaching the game Assassins begins! With assassins Lia finally finds something and she quickly draws you into her game play. While her classmates start being picked off one by one the real game begins. I liked the characters in this book especially Gem, she was the best friend everyone wants to have. I felt the middle of this book was slow at times but overall it was a great thriller/mystery.

Big thanks to NetGalley for providing me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I don’t know why, but I almost never actually pick up mystery/thrillers even though when I do, I usually love them. I did enjoy this book. The story follows Lia as she’s in her senior year and the thing she’s been looking forward to since she was a freshman is finally happening. Every year, the senior class plays a game called Assassins. Long story short, it’s man hunt, but with water guns and over a really long period of time. I liked this book I think because it is everything I would have wanted for my senior year. I loved that Lia was so excited for the game. I also really loved that she had her plan so well organized. Lia was an interesting character. She has pretty shitty parents and doesn’t really know what she’s doing after high school, so Assassins is basically the only thing she’s looking forward to. So, when her classmates start dying for real, she’s shaken.
I really liked the cast of characters. Lia’s best friend Gem is not binary with they/them pronouns. I loved Gem. They were so supportive of Lia and as Lia’s best friend really knew what she needed and when. Gem was literally a Gem. They had a crush on their teammate’s sister, May. I loved the little bits and pieces we get of this romance. Then there’s the romance between Lia and her teammate, Devon. I mostly liked the romance, but honestly, I was more invested in Gem and May.
Now, the mystery. I totally figured out who the killer was a little over halfway through the book. But there were two people on my suspect list. One was the killer and the other would have been a great freaking twist had they been the killer. My only issue with the mystery was that the killer’s motivations felt off to me. They literally killed three people and tried to kill two more, over something really insignificant in the bigger picture.
Overall, this was a fun and quick read. I loved the concept and mostly enjoyed the execution. I think I have issues with YA thrillers because I always seem to be able to guess the killer or end result, but that never happens with adult thrillers. This was definitely a fun story though, so check it out!

Exiting thriller with nuanced discussions about parental pressure and value only being put on academic achievements, though it has an unfortunate spoiler-y blurb.

Content warnings include: murder, graphic descriptions of gore, violence, funerals.

I guess the spoilery blurb isn’t too bad, but it gives away the victims and the modus operandi of the killer, most of which isn’t revealed until very late in the book and is used to solve the whodunit, which I find unfortunate, because those are the things that kept up the suspension of the plot.

The book is quite diverse, though I’m not sure about the protagonist, Lia, herself. However, there are several PoC and queer side characters, my favourite of who was Gem, who’s brown and nonbinary and Lia’s wonderful best friend.

Almost as important as the whole murder plot was conversations about parental pressure and how today’s society only values academic or otherwise measurable achievements and productivity. It was handled in a nuanced manner, and I liked how it was tied to the murder plot by observing how the victims were reduced to their school or sports performance, and questioning if the reactions would have been the same had they not been so good at either.

While the murder mystery wasn’t unsolvable, it was exciting to read. I loved all the hints to the killer and such that are clearly recognizable in hindsight, and I delighted in those details.

Despite that I’m not entirely sure I believed the setting? It’s repeatedly said that’s its a small town and school, but where I’m from over 300 students in one grade is not small??? Especially not “everyone knows everyone’s business” small?!?!
Additionally, introductions for any and all characters were missing, particularly small side ones, which, fair, they werent that important, but it was confusing when new names were thrown in without elaboration who it was and it made me feel like I was missing things.

The ending had a surprising cliffhanger. I thought this was a standalone, but some mystery remains, which might just be for atmosphere, but it also feels like a setup for a sequel, which I would more than welcome!

Speaking of atmosphere: it was great!!! Chills crept down my back several times, and not only when the murders happened – several small side things were clearly recognizable to the reader but not to the characters which was great to create tension.

You’d think I was used to this author’s propensity for including very graphic descriptions of gore, having read all her books…. but nope, I was shocked (and slightly sick) yet again. It’s not much, but enough. So, be warned.

I liked the romantic subplot! It was cute, though I feel like a certain aspect of it (with the emails…) wasn’t adressed as much as it should have been.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy. This was a fun, quick read! I was able to guess the killer pretty early on, so it didn’t feel like there was really a twist and that’s a bit of a bummer. But I also recognize that I’m a full-fledged adult and not a YA for whom this was intended so I can overlook that.

I loved the concept and set up for this book, but felt it could've used a bit more plot and character development. I also thought the blurb didn't quite match up with the story and maybe gave too much away. I wished the blurb hadn't mentioned the names of the victims because it took the surprise out of who was going to be killed next. That said, it did keep me reading and wanting to see what happened even if I knew what was coming.

I loved how obsessed Lia was with the game and adored her character's love of planning and plotting and her single-minded focus to win. Though I didn't quite understand her relationship with her family and wish that aspect had been developed more. We only got Lia's perspective regarding the fact that her parents just didn't like her as much as her brother, and I kept waiting for some secret to be revealed as to why, or to even see Mark appear so we could get a fuller picture of why Lia felt that way.

I loved Lia's friendship with Gem. I also liked the love interest, but I felt the progression of the relationship was a bit bumpy and almost like a couple steps were skipped in developing the romance.

The extra little twist at the end of the book was fun. Overall an entertaining read and a very cool concept.

This book was amazing! Strong plot! Powerful characters! A plot that held my attention the entire time!!!! I couldn’t put it down. I needed to find out what happened next!

I really enjoyed this. It was exactly what I expected and a lot of fun. I will say it was quite a bit shorter than I expected though. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I do wish it had been longer.