While I did enjoy reading this, it felt very disconnected from reality. The characters were annoying in the way that I disagreed with every decision they made, but I still kept reading because I was intrigued. The plot is very fast-paced but felt especially rushed in the last few chapters.

a predictable suspense with unlikable characters but fast-paced writing.

this book ultimately disappointed me. it was set up with elements i like: a sapphic romance, an obsessed artist, mystique, thriller/suspense aspects, and a dreamlike quality, but the elements never fully came together. the characters consistently acted too old for their ages – the story would have significantly benefitted from aging them up to make the plot make more sense. furthermore, perhaps because it is supposed to be a retelling of "the picture of dorian gray," the plot felt like it was written to hit certain points, rather than feeling organically driven towards said points.

while unlikable characters can be intriguing, these ones were not distinct enough and their motivations did not make enough internal sense to warrant it. mick's phobia of being photographec, consistently poor decision-making, and pull towards veronica and nico were never explained. veronica's toxic pattern of taking pictures of mick without consent and lying about it was at least somewhat explained by her drive for recognition, but even that was spoiled by said recognition making absolutely no sense.

"she's too pretty to burn" alternates between mick and veronica's perspectives, but does so in a bizarre way: instead of creating distinct voices to distinguish between the two girls, heard makes the bizarre decision to change tense depending on the narrator, a decision i found distracting. in fact, none of the characters had distinct voices and felt completely two-dimensional, including the main characters.

i was able to fly through this book, so i cannot say that it was boring by any means, but the more i think about it, the more frustrated i become. it had the potential, but unfortunately not the execution.

thank you to netgalley and macmillan children's publishing group for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The very first thing I texted my best friend about this book: “it feels like a California sunset whose magnificence is amplified by the fact that it’s built by raging wildfires”

Unknowing, I sprung a foreshadowing tripwire.

She’s Too Pretty To Burn is insane. Caustic. Stunning. Thrilling. Mesmerizing. Addictive.

Summary: set against the backdrop of Los Angeles in the summer and a rebel art scene, three lives intersect and their fates intertwine into a terrifying tapestry woven together with the threads of desire, ambition, vulnerability, and ultimately fire.
What started out as chaotic protest art installations quickly and quietly morphs into something much darker and infinitely more deadly.

What I Loved:
- Deviously excellent plotting
- Immaculate character construction, devolution, and forging
- Settings that simmer alongside the characters and truly contribute to the narrative
- Before we forget: SAPPHIC DORIAN GRAY

This is a twisty, coming-of-age, suspense story. Veronica and Mick (Micaela) meet at a party one night and instantly bond. Their friendship, and ultimate relationship, is heated throughout the novel and they are fierce defenders of each other even though they aren't sure they can trust each other. Their friend, Nico, is an edgy artist who is in the process of creating and displaying a five-piece art installment around town.

So many bad choices, manipulation, toxic relationships, and murder - all pretty heavy combinations. The writing is so well done that I kept reading, even though I didn't really like the characters. Ultimately, I found this to be a bit of a toxic and conflicting read. I was relieved to finish it and yet, I'm glad I read it.

Thanks to Wendy Heard, NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group Henry Holt and Co. for an advanced eBook in exchange for my honest review.

The premise of this book was absolutely amazing. A Dorian Gray retelling, how awesome.

Sadly it really failed except for getting the personality of Dorian on point. The book is full on teenage angst and very "im not like other girls" trope. But still the morally grey characters did keep me interested and the fast pace of the book made it a pretty fast read.

The biggest downfall is that it was a little hard to keep up with what exactly was going on and the very very very predictable ending.

"Her eyes followed me, her hands reaching like I was stealing something from her.
And I did.
I lifted the camera, and I took her picture.
That was it. That was the beginning."

Mick is terrified of having her photo taking. So she's shocked when her mom's agent wants them to do a mother-daughter modeling shoot. Mick's mom gives her an ultimatum - either she does the gig, or her mom will pull the money they need for rent out of Mick's savings instead, earned from lifeguarding and other jobs, her savings that she uses for swim team fees and plans to use for college next year.

Veronica meets Mick at a party and immediately wants to take her picture, but after seeing Mick's anxiety when the camera is raised, agrees not to. The two wander away from the party, and as they spend time together, Mick agrees to Veronica's suggestion - she'll let her take her picture if there's no film in the camera. Maybe it will serve as exposure therapy. Veronica finds the perfect spot, a train that's empty at this time of night. They kiss, and Veronica takes the shot... but she knows that her film reel ISN'T actually empty.

The next day, Veronica invites Mick to come to an art installation which she will be photographing. Nico, Veronica's best friend, is one of the artists who put together the event, but only the three artists in the group and Veronica as their documenter know who they are. They're preparing a series of art installations, targeting a local politician whose policies regarding a wildlife sanctuary they disagree with.

Veronica shows Mick her photo after it's developed, and against her instincts, Mick agrees that it can be posted to Instagram. And then things blow up. Tens of thousands of likes and comments, especially after Veronica added hashtags to get more eyes on the photo. Mick takes off from Veronica's house, angry, feeling that this private moment right after their kiss is being shown to the world. Seeing this, Nico tells Veronica he won't need her to photograph the first part of the upcoming series of installs... and instead asks Mick to do so. Just taking pictures of some performance art - what could go wrong? Mick and Veronica had no idea how much would change in just ten days after they met at that party.

Summaries say this book is inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray - I have to admit I don't remember much about Dorian Gray. Looking back at my review when I read it 5 years ago, I'd found the characters unlikeable. I wouldn't say that's as much the case here. There are a number of dumb, trust-breaking decisions, though. I thought there were questionable motivations for actions by a couple characters. One action towards the end of the book struck me as really surprising, given previous events.

The first chapter takes place chronologically around the climax of the book, with Veronica mentioning her blood soaking into the dirt as someone watches her from the cliff above. Given this, readers have an idea of where the narrative is heading when the next page jumps back ten days. Chapters are told from the perspectives of both girls (I occasionally had trouble differentiating between their voices). The tension builds slowly, but really ramps up towards the end. This turns into a wild ride which is a lot of fun, even if I was frustrated with the motivations and with what seemed to be the same relationship mistakes again and again. I was meh on the ending, and might have been happier if it ended six chapters earlier.

Thank you to Macmillan and NetGalley for the eARC. She's Too Pretty to Burn will be published March 30th.

“That girl? That’s a girl on the edge. Give her a push, and she’s going over.”

This is not at all what I expected. The first half is 80% toxic teenage relationship, 20% ART IS MY PASSION. The second half is chaos. Pure. Unadulterated. CHAOS. I mostly enjoyed the first half, but the second half had me so blown.

I think if you want a YA book that’s dark and chaotic think Heathers but make it artsy, then She’s Too Pretty To Burn may tickle your fancy. The reason I gave this book 3* is because I couldn’t keep up with what the heck was happening here, and the relationship that was featured was uncomfortably toxic. That said, although I was baffled and bothered, I also couldn’t put it down.

TW: toxic relationship, neglectful parent, dubious consent, death, violence, murder

Thanks to Fierce reads for my eARC of the book

Too Pretty to burn is a psychological thriller that is said to be a gender swapped re-imagination of The Picture of Dorian Grey, while I am not too familiar with the classic, a quick google search thought me what an interesting read it was especially for that time period. While I personally do not think this as a retelling of the classic, I believe this to be heavily influenced by it
I haven't read a regular thriller in a hot minute so forget about psychological thrillers, to be honest I struggled to get into the book but the writing kept me going and I am actually glad I pushed through because I finished the book in a day. I really enjoyed how the author added layers to the plot with interconnected web of lies and deception, I sat there wondering how in the world will the MC's get out of this fine hot mess. I did experience an array of emotions because of the characters which always is a good sign. It is hard to review this book without giving out any spoilers because everything connects to everything like a string of actions that leads to a one fine epic disaster in the end

-What I liked- Sapphic representation, ambiance and aesthetics of the fine arts that are artfully integrated into the plot, the tension the plot carried until the very end

-What I disliked- Insta love but that's on me because this is purely subjective and lack of character depth for the antagonist because I was truly intrigued to peel the layers of their volatile personality!


Trigger Warnings- Murder, Arson,Physical abuse, Neglectful parenting and Psychotic behavior

Initial thoughts: A Dorian Gray-esque thriller but with sapphic, murderous, teenage girls?! Sign me up!

And now... I have mixed feelings. The opening had me hooked, but sadly the ending let me down. There was so much potential. The characters were eclectic and I enjoyed the dynamic. And then… the ending felt rushed and what gripped me in the beginning seemed to just disappear. Enjoyable read, just felt like something was missing.

Thank you Macmillan's Children and NetGalley for the eARC of this book!

She's Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard is a sapphic thriller full of bad decisions, toxic characters, and of course, murder.

Mick is just trying to get by in life with as little attention sent her way as possible. Misunderstood and mistreated by her model mother, she doesn't like parties, she doesn't like pictures, she doesn't like anything where the attention will be focused on her. But when she meets Veronica, a gorgeous and outgoing photographer, that all changes. Mick and Veronica find themselves in a whirlwind romance that ends up with them having a lot more blood on their hands than they ever could have imagined.

I loved the writing in this book. Heard does an amazing job painting a picture, with imagery descriptions that made me wish I could see Veronica's pictures as they're described. Heard is also incredibly adept at describing the relationship between Mick and Veronica, and it kicks off with a sort of desperate ferociousness that felt deeper than two teenagers flirting. Mick does not want to be seen, but something about being seen by Veronica feels exciting and dangerous and too good to turn away from.

It's a slow burn thriller, which is the best kind, in my opinion. We see the build-up of what's happening around the girls, we start to make our guesses as to the bad guy and the outcome, and then everything unravels in a really fantastic way. It's not so much a 'who done it' as it is an 'oh god why' type of thriller, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

We're left guessing on some things in the end, so I'm curious if there's going to be a follow-up. I would definitely read if there is!

I enjoyed Wendy Heard’s book, The Kill Club, and am a regular listener to her podcast, Unlikeable Female Characters, so I was *very* excited to read She’s Too Pretty to Burn.

Alas, this was not the book I was hoping for. The first 3/4 was boring and the last 1/4 veered straight off a cliff (ahem) into crazytown.

The three main characters were two highly annoying, pretentious Art Kids (photographer Veronica and installation artist Nico) and one Girl Who Is SO Beautiful But Doesn’t Realize She’s So Beautiful And Doesn’t Like Having Her Photo Taken Even Though She Is SO Beautiful So She Must Be Damaged Which Only Makes Her EVEN MORE Beautiful And She Also Likes Swimming (aka: Mick)

Mick’s photo phobia was also never properly explained, but I guess it’s because her shitty mom is a model? Or something? But Veronica keeps taking her picture anyway? And lying about it? Even though it makes Mick horribly uncomfortable? And they are in love? Ugh.

I will totally read her next book, but this one was decidedly not for me.

Unfortunately, this book didn't work for me at all. There are a whole list of content warnings (see below) that readers should be made aware of. I both read and listened to She's Too Pretty to Burn and struggled the entire time. I could not get past the truly unlikeable characters, the over the top situations, and all of the absolutely terrible decision making. I can suspend belief to a degree, but this was too much. I felt no romance between Veronica and Mick and I'm still not sure how this was inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray. Perhaps the story was just way over my head, but it didn't make the most sense. I probably should have DNF'ed this one, but I forced myself to push on. The writing was good, but the highlight of the book for me was the narration by Frankie Corzo, Bailey Carr, and Stephen Dexter. They did a great job capturing the terror and emotion of the story, but it ultimately wasn't enough for me to save this book.

Audiobook Review
Overall 2 stars
Performance 4.5 stars*
Story 1 star
*= Stephen Dexter only narrates a couple of chapters in the book.

CW: on page violence and death, parental abandonment, food/shelter insecurity, fire, drowning, animal abuse (not on page), kidnapping

*I voluntarily read and listened to an advance review copy of this book*

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

This book was fast-paced and suspenseful. I loved the short chapters, and I thought Veronica's world was really interesting. The art and photography, Nico's installations, her relatively free home life. Mick at times annoyed me, and I would've liked a clearer explanation for her outright terror towards being photographed. Considering she wore a revealing bathing suit around other people for the swim team, I didn't wholly understand her level of revulsion. Just because her mom was a model? I'm not sure. Her unreasonableness grated on me. I also enjoyed that the ending was very open-ended and ambiguous. There could definitely be a sequel, but I like how the story was left.

Started slow to build the narrative, 'She's Too Pretty to Burn' by Wendy Heard was reminiscent on 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' with a modernized twist.

The story follows the perspectives of Mick and Veronica through a chaotic summer in San Diego, California. Mick is a lonely, shy athlete that can only think about going away to the farthest college possible. Veronica is a charismatic photographer bored with her own work. They meet at a party and become fast friends, and lovers. In walks, Nico (Veronica's best friend) who is a chaotic performance artist obsessed with his craft. The deeper Mick falls in love with Veronica, the deeper she is pulled to Nico and his disruptive art. Soon, there are felony acts, dead bodies, and some serious stalking. It will definitely be one summer they won't forget.

I enjoyed this book and could definitely see where Heard pulled inspiration from 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' throughout the story. Even after reading the synopsis, the ending through me for a bit of a loop and I reveled in it. It was spooky and even had my heart racing a little, and gasping (to the annoyance of my coworkers, lol). When I was so close to the end, I could not help but power through to the finish because I just needed to know what happened. I most definitely believe that Mick and Veronica's relationship is toxic, mainly because of lack of boundaries, but I couldn't help but enjoy their love and strength through emotional and physical turmoil.

I would recommend this to any YA that enjoys serial killer documentaries, murder mysteries, or true crime stories.

***Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt & Co. for providing me with an eARC.

I'm a little conflicted about my thoughts on this one. The first half was a bit slow for me, though I was compelled by both Mick and Veronica. I'm a sucker for a good dual perspective story, and this story really benefited from that structure. The second half had me completely drawn in, but I did feel like it left me with some questions. Additionally, some aspects of the timeline were totally skimmed over and I felt like a chapter had been pulled.

Overall, I was compelled by these characters and the themes, though I felt the pacing and structure were sometimes a bit off for me.

She’s Too Pretty To Burn is one of those books that sucks you in and you keep on reading, even if you don’t actually like it. I loved the writing and the back of forth chapters of the main characters. I just had a lot of issues with it. I did enjoy it and it was honestly such a fast paced read, but it was kind of over the top unbelievable.

Mick and Veronica are the main characters and they start dating after they meet at a party. Mick doesn’t have the best life at all and her mother is horrible. Veronica has a wonderful mom and her life is pretty well put together. Veronica’s best friend is Nico and once the three of them start hanging out things start getting strange. I went into this not knowing a lot and it made it better to read.

My issues were the main characters never learned. They kept making the same mistakes and are really manipulative to each other. Not to mention they were somewhat always mad at each other and then would make up suddenly. The adults in this book all really suck and while they are present, they also let their kids do whatever? The biggest issue I had was the over the top unbelievable parts. I honestly kept getting annoyed and would lose focus because no way were the things that were happening realistic.

If I just read it like it was and don’t overthink it was a fun book with some crazy twists. If you want a fast paced book this is the one for you.

Veronica is always looking for the next great thing to photograph, but lately can't find anything that sparks her interest. One fateful day, she spies Mick, and Veronica knows that Mick is the perfect subject to photograph. Mick is reluctant, and shy, which only encourages Veronica's obsession, and before she realizes it, Mick is carried along into Veronica's world. Between Veronica photographing her, and Veronica's friend Nico increasing the stakes of their exhibitive art, Mick begins to fall in love with Veronica. It is at the height of this artistic, breezy summer that everything then goes up in flames, and what used to be expressions of art become questions of life, and death.

I thought this was an engaging, interesting story inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, complete with a sapphic twist. For those who have read the novel that inspired this story, you already know that it's not going anywhere pretty, but it is still different enough to be worth your while. These characters are all flawed in their own way, whether because they embrace a caustic, dangerous view of the world as if it is gospel (Nico), or their life has been exposed to brand new, exciting possibilities because of love (Mick), or they are unaware of the danger they're embracing in the pursuit of their muse (Veronica). I liked the contrast between Mick's mother, who was rather awful and self-absorbed, and Veronica's mother, who was open and accepting, as well as stern when needed. I was often able to feel the intensity of Veronica and Mick's passion for each other, which elevated the high stakes later on. I think a few things could have been trimmed, particularly in the latter half, but I liked more than I disliked. This is a sapphic tale of art, love, death, and the dangers of obsession and pushing boundaries in pursuit of those selfish obsessions. If you appreciate stories that mix art and lust, morality and perception, danger and love, then cozy up to the fire, but not too close, for She's Too Pretty to Burn.

She’s Too Pretty to Burn was, without a doubt, my most highly anticipated YA release of the year. Everything I heard about it was so exciting, so enticing, that when the publisher granted my wish for an ARC on NetGalley, I actually gasped out loud in my kitchen. To get my hands on it early was a miracle. And it was (almost, so close to being) everything I wanted and more.

This was a solid thriller. Rock solid. It hooked you quickly and easily, kept the twists and turns coming consistently but in such a controlled, conclusive manner that you just had to keep reading to see what happened next. The art installment series that pushes the book along was simply gripping, due in large part to how perfectly applied the “rebel arts” scene was here, though I could have used a bit more ~~atmosphere~~. The simultaneity of creation and destruction of both art piece and character was fascinating to watch play out. It elevated the thrills to a new, exciting height that was so obviously and deeply connected to the The Picture of Dorian Gray inspiration this book drew from.

Now, I haven’t read Dorian Gray. One of those books that I just somehow, some way have not gotten around to yet. But after some careful perusing of the Wikipedia page, and from what I knew about it previously, I saw the surface-level connection easily. The photo taken of Mick that sparks this whole adventure takes on a life of its own, warps as it is spread and consumed. But I lost the character connections pretty easily—maybe just as a result of my having not read it! I felt like I was grasping at straws. I wanted the boundaries to be just a bit more clear, but it was obviously not Heard’s intention for these books to map onto each other. She’s Too Pretty to Burn was wholly its own story.

I loved how tangible these characters were. I loved how deeply and increasingly unreliable Mick was, not in voice but in how unstable of a person her character was, as she gets further and further from the girl we first met through these experiences. I loved her ever-shifting relationship with Veronica, how the two came back to each other time and again, for better or worse, by want or necessity. However, I was expecting their relationship to have greater importance. It was the dynamic between Mick and Nico that ended up taking very obvious precedence here, and it created an imbalance, one that reduced Mick and Veronica to this weird side romance. While it was nice to see a serious relationship between two women approached with this kind of unlabeled casuality, it was very unexpected, and I thought there would be more between them that had greater importance to the progress of the plot.

And finally, the ending. I was so prepared to give this book 4.5 stars until the last 10 pages or so, at which point She’s Too Pretty to Burn went so completely off the rails so quickly that I was practically slack-jawed. So many new elements were introduced at once, ones that needed at least another solid 30 pages to be fleshed out, in my opinion. They were heaped on at the last minute, leading to a very rushed, if not still chilling, ending. It may work for others—it didn’t for me.

Though it didn’t hit every mark for me, I still deeply enjoyed She’s Too Pretty to Burn. It is compulsively readable. If you’re in the market for a solid, whirlwind of a thriller, you should be eager to eat this up as soon as it’s published.

She’s Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard is a thriller filled with teen angst, broken family, and a psychotic villain who’s violent rampage will leave you in awe and aghast at the sheer creativity of terror. Taking place over the course of one summer in San Diego, the story follows the quickly burning romance between Veronica, who is fiercely driven by her passion for photography, and Mick (Micaela) who is just as driven with her competitive swimming. Add to the mix, Veronica’s best friend Nico, mysterious, subversive, obsessive, and chaos is just ready to burst into flames. Nico and Veronica are driven by their single-minded passion for art, and a dark side that boils under the surface. One photograph ignites everything, and the three will never be the same. Two murders, one fire, and numerous lies later, who will survive the summer? The narrative moves quickly and the build up of tension is satisfying- the last third of the book will keep you turning the pages. But there were some plot points that left me...confused. They simply did not make sense and seemed squeezed in simply to make the bigger narrative work out by the end. I read this as an e-ARC, so bear that in mind- editing could clear those parts up by the publication date. And while the suspense builds, the ending is somewhat...unbelievable. Granted, it’s a psychological thriller, and so license with reality is taken, but the ending just didn’t feel achievable to me. However, the rest of the book was definitely worth the read. And I could see this becoming a series perhaps, which I would invest in. Random rating system 4/5. Publication date 3.29.21. Thank you to @Netgalley for the e-ARC.

honestly I had zero expectations going in this book, since i didn’t really know what to expect in the long run. but I definitely was very excited to come and do it because I thought it was really cool concept. and honestly it didn’t disappoint. I was kind of scared to go into it since it is a retelling and I never really read the original book and it’s based off of. but it was still so amazing. The whole characters and the romance honest to god blew me away and I was so shocked with how well they all work together and how they were so in love after just meeting. and I didn’t really expect who would like the villain of the story to actually be the villain because I actually like really like them and I didn’t put two into together. but I do feel like the start of the book was kind of slow, but I still appreciate that we got to see their romance start and grow to where I was the the end of the book, and also to develop these people as characters. I also thought their depth of character was really nice and I really like to see that out each person is very different from each other and everybody was excepting. thank you so much for the publisher and netgalley for an arc! I can’t wait to see what comes up for this author in the future.