I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

She's Too Pretty to Burn was filled with so many twists and turns. While not knowing if I've ever read Dorian Grey, it was pretty entertaining to dive into. Spoiler alert, I never read Dorian Grey.

In this, you will meet Veronica, Niko, and Mick. Veronica and Niko are the best of friends and are sort of married to one another. Even though all things are very platonic between them, it was kind of cute that they called each other wife and husband. The one thing they love more than anything is their art. They are very passionate about it and it seems to run within their families as well.

Along the way, you get to see Veronica and Mick getting closer and closer to one another. It was definitely a risk for them to open up to one another about their fears and stuff. Especially since they didn't know each other that well when they did. I guess, when you feel that comfortable with someone - you know.

Back to the twists and turns, oh lord were they good. I mean Niko was so good at being bad or evil throughout the book. Definitely loved it all - especially the ending. I can already feel the goosebumps again.

I was given an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It starts simply, Veronica and Mick meet at a party and a picture gets taken that goes viral. It is written in a very readable way and goes by quickly. But I felt that the first half of the book was a little slow since it was setting everything up for the second half which was just a wild ride. My only other bit of criticism is that I didn’t like the relationship between Veronica and Mick in the beginning. Veronica lying to Mick about the picture really rubbed me the wrong way. But by the end I changed my mind.

I don’t read a lot of thrillers but I enjoyed this one very much. I can’t wait until next March so other people can read this!

I really wanted to like this story. It was super cute, but I just could not get into it. I read half of it and unfortunately had to DNF it. I felt like there was too much fluff & on the nose explanations that didn’t work with the story. I didn’t see where the story was going, or what the actual plot was.

This book! This heart-racing thriller captured my attention the whole way through, spinning and swerving in unexpected directions the entire time. These characters and their journeys all fascinated me. Mick, hiding from the camera only to become a muse for everyone around her. Veronica, realizing her camera has far more power than she could ever imagine. Nico, taking questions of art and power to terrifying heights. With every page, the stakes were raised in this book, inching towards some terrifying unknown. I really enjoyed this book. It's a fantastic thriller but it's also ultimately a commentary on art, on obsession and the people we turn into our muses, and the consequences of such. It definitely played well off of Wilde's "The Picture of Dorian Gray" without ever seeming overly derivative. I also loved Mick and Veronica's relationship and the way that unfolded. It was an anchor through the entire book, amidst the craziness and chaos that these characters face down.

She’s Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard is a young adult thriller that is inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray. This isn’t a retelling of the classic but a new modern young adult psychological thriller that you can feel the same artistic dangerous essence of that original story infused in the pages of this one.

Veronica is a photographer who is very much stuck in a rut with her work and trying to find something new and fresh to inspire her. That is when Veronica meets Mick. Mick is exactly the muse that Veronica needed in her life but Mick is shy and afraid of the camera lens after being raised by a self centered mother who is all about a life of fame and being in the limelight.

With a bit of deception Veronica convinces Mick to pose for her and gets the shot of a lifetime she had been looking for. Soon Mick and Veronica are inseparable and falling in love when Veronica brings Mick into her best friend Nico’s world of dramatic exibitions he calls art but border between pranks gone wrong or even terrorism as things begin to spiral out of control.

She’s Too Pretty to Burn really starts off feeling very much like a contemporay young adult LGBT romance with the shy girl being swept away by the much braver outgoing teen. However, it doesn’t take long for things to heat up beyond the romance taking a darker turn into so much more to put a reader on the edge of their seat. It’s easy to see how the author was inspired by Dorian Gray as this has the same elements with the art, passion and eventually danger around every corner as it progressively becomes darker as the story goes on taking it far away from the contemporary beginning.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

I loved this book. I love the art scene, and the characters Nico and Veronica. Then Maybe ck enters and the story explodes. Two girls fall deeply in love. As their relationship develops, we have arson, murders and a stalker. This one holds attention until the end. If you want a story you are unable to put down, this may be it.

I'm very conflicted about this book. On one hand, it delivered all of the elements I want in a thriller but I think I went into it expecting something slightly different and was slightly let down. This story is full of unlikeable flawed characters which I really enjoyed and it's an incredibly fast read. I ended up giving it 3.5 stars overall and I think that for the most part folks who are fans of thrillers will really enjoy this.
Warning a few spoilers ahead: This book has been pitched as a sapphic murderous Dorian Grey retelling, and the whole time I expected that to mean that the girls were the ones who were doing the killing but instead it ended up being a different character entirely.
As an educator working with LGBTQ+ youth I think it's super important that I also mention a few aspects of Mick and Veronica's relationship. There were some big red flags for me from the get-go when it came to the main WLW relationship around consent, healthy relationship behavior, etc. They were extremely toxic together (which fit the story) but I felt like at the end of the day things wrapped up a little too neatly for them. Even without the bigger story arc, I think that there needed to be a bigger conversation around abusive behaviors. Veronica's mom raised some pretty reasonable concerns only to brush them off.

Also this might be my favorite 2021 cover! It's so pretty.

I don't think I've ever read a retelling of Dorian Gray and I was interested to see how this would play out. In place of Dorian, we have Mick, a swimmer trying to make it to graduation so she can escape her mother. Mick hates having her picture taken, a combination of low self esteem and the feeling that if her picture is shared, she loses a piece of herself. Veronica is the photographer who recognizes how beautiful Mick is. She eventually takes an amazing picture of Mick and it puts both girls in the spotlight.

Nico takes over Lord Henry's part, encouraging Mick to rebel by joining his art team. Unfortunately, the 'art' seems more about hurting people than just bringing attention to environmental causes. Mick feels pulled apart, in one direction by Veronica who loves her but wants her to be her model and the other by Nico, giving her an outlet for her emotions but in a dangerous way.

The pacing on this is great and as things built up, it got tense and I wasn't sure who would survive. The art installs were insane and the creativity behind them was well thought out. Veronica and Mick definitely aren't a perfect couple, but they care about each other and will risk their lives if it comes to it. I enjoyed reading this and thought the ending was pretty perfect. I'm so excited for this to come out to the world!

I received this advance copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This thriller tended towards a romance for more than 50% of the book. When it finally turned to thriller, I could not put it down.

Heard’s YA debut held me by the throat from page one and didn’t let go. It’s a thriller by every definition, but there’s a tender heart at its center that amplifies the thriller aspects. I cared deeply about Veronica and Mick. These are smart, resourceful girls who are easy to root for even as I wanted to slap them at times.

I flew through this book, especially the action-packed last third which had me gasping. The ominous ending makes me hope for a sequel. Whether or not that happens, Heard’s adult fiction fans will be equally impressed with this YA debut.

Thank you so much to #NetGalley and Henry Holt books for the ARC.

This is going to be the BOOK of 2021 and I can't wait. Since there is a while to the pub date, I don't want to give too much away but its a great read and I couldn't put it down! Such a great one!

This book was really good but I feel like I wasn't in the right head space when I read it. overall great book and I'll probably read it again when i'm back into thrillers and be 100% obsessed.

I had a hard time getting through this book. I was really bored and had to force myself to keep reading. This may not be worth it for me to review on any social media it was just not for me. Thanks for the opportunity

Set against the warm backdrop of San Diego, two girls’ romance takes on a chilling twist in the face of violence in the name of beauty and art. The question arises—what can make you immortal? Love? Or art?

I jumped on this book as soon as I read the summary—a retelling of Dorian Gray? A sapphic retelling of Dorian Gray? I couldn’t have asked for something better. The novel was a fun read in the end, and it took a few turns that I wasn’t quite expecting, wasn’t quite on board with, but I loved the symbolism and the parallels. I actually wish the story was longer, I would have loved to see the suspense dragged out a little more, felt a little more of the build up. I also would have just loved to get a little more time between Veronica and Mick, they were what drew me in, and I think they have a lot more to give. Overall, loved seeing the representation in such a fun way on a classic.

Because She’s Too Pretty to Burn.

So, like, there’s this chick named Mick (short for Micaela). She’s, like, really pretty. People yearn to take her picture, and have trouble thinking of her as an actual person, because she’s too pretty and therefore pretty much made for objectification. She doesn’t like having her picture taken. She just wants to be taken seriously for her swimming and get the hell away from her mom.

Mick meets a girl. Veronica is all curves and femininity, an aspiring photographer. Veronica tricks Mick into taking an amazing photo, pressures her into allowing the picture to be shared on social media, and introduces Mick to subversive artists while herself potentially on the verge of becoming a commercial one.

Veronica know this guy named Nico. Nico is so close to Veronica he calls her “wife.” Nico is also an artist.

Three young people, none of them necessarily the picture of mental health, becoming entangled results in… Arson. Murder. Alfred-Hitchcock-movie-craziness.

I really enjoyed this one. The characters, when left to themselves and their own thoughts, are often a bit annoying. But teenagers are annoying, so this is reasonable. The plot moves along fairly quickly, and the novel is told from the three main characters’ points of view, with this rotation of voice preventing you from getting too annoyed and hurling your e-reader across the room. There is also just some batshit crazy in the plot of this novel. If you’re a plot reader, I highly recommend. Also recommend if you’re looking for a frothy, amusing read – like a pumpkin spice latte, there’s not a ton of meat to this story, but it’s definitely a fun, wild ride.

This book was good, I have to give it that, but I'll admit that I almost DNF'd it. Beautiful cover, excellent summary, I was thoroughly excited to read. As I read, I found that I loved the characters. They were all very distinct and well-written. All complicated in their own way, which makes the feel that much more real.

Only reason why I have to give 4 stars instead of 5 is because I waited a while for anything to happen. It was like there were these exciting plot points being dropped in. Someone watching from a distance, someone drowning, and everything fizzled so fast, and I couldn't tell when the thrilling part was going to happen? The pacing on its own was fine, but I think the overall mystery aspect could have been a thread sewn in earlier on rather than about halfway through.

Overall,, at the end, it was a good book . 4.5!

The words use and overall review shouldn’t reflect personally on the author or any other of her series and books.

Thrilling Book that keeps you glue to your seat!

No spoiler review.

This is my first time reading anything written by this author and I hope is not the last.
Even though some part were predictable to me, it still kept me entertained. It fell dark, artsy and poetic in a way. A trio of complex characters. I don’t know why but I find this type of character beautiful, like they are a mess, complicated and dark but that’s what made them beautiful.

Thanks to the author and Netgalley for the ARC.

**Thank you to the publishers for an earc copy of this book. All opinions are my own**

I really enjoyed this book and I especially liked the whole queer picture of Dorian Grey type story. I don't think I realized when I started reading that it's a thriller. It doesn't really get into the mystery until about 56% of the way through which kind of makes me upset because usually with a thriller, the mystery starts earlier on. I did like the mystery aspect of it though and I would hope that with the way the book ended, we will eventually get a companion novel or sequel. It ends in a way where it could be set up for either.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for providing me with an early version of She’s Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard, in exchange for my honest review.

I missed the “inspired by Dorian Gray” before I read this and now that I know that it changes some feelings I had.
It took me a very long time to get into this book. You have Mick, who is a pretty, sporty, shy, 17-yr old girl. Veronica, who is a pretty, artsy, outgoing, 17-yr old girl. And Nico, a good looking, artsy, 19-yr old guy. Mick and Veronica meet at a party and there’s a spark. Veronica introduces Mick to Nico, and I’m left asking why Veronica and Nico are friends?!
The writing overall, but I just didn’t like the characters. I’m still trying to figure out why some flawed characters work for me and some don’t, I can’t explain it, but these did not work for me. Again, why were Nico and Veronica friends? I never felt like we saw why they were so close. Then you have Mick’s mom, oh my gosh I’m so sorry to anyone who’s ever had a mom like her mom. Veronica’s mom who I was happy to see a parent who was as sex-positive and supportive of her daughter, since I feel like we hear and see more of the opposite. BUT her absolute trust in her 17 year old daughter made me cringe. My mom trusted me that much and all I did was abuse that trust. She didn’t know it, just like Veronica’s mom didn’t, until it was too late. I wanted to like her, she’s artsy and laid back and loves her daughter, but it just made me anxious.
I liked the roughness of the insta love, although more like insta lust, Mick and Veronica have. They are young and young relationships are usually messy, even destructive. I liked that Heard allowed them to be these two young people who learned to be better people and better together. For me that is what made the story worth is. Beyond the toxic relationships and manipulation is a story about two girls finding young love and learning to be better people not only for themselves, but for the person they love.
I wanted to love this with my whole heart but the dangerous, harmful, illegal events that take place made it very hard to enjoy. I don’t have kids, but the entire time I was reading I wanted to call my family and tell them to lock their pre-teens up because if this is what they are heading for, I’m terrified.

What a ride! I devoured this in about 24 hours. Usually, I am into YA fantasy and horror, but now I’m ready to dive into the rest of the author’s catalog of thrillers. You really get the impression this is from a California native & I love the multi-POV storytelling from both Veronica & Mick. There were to many layers to these characters & it’s a book you’ll rush through, then be sad it’s over. In fact, I enjoyed this plot & storytelling far more than adult thrillers I’ve read.