Thanks to the publisher for providing an audio galley of The Initial Insult in exchange for an honest review.

This was weird. I mean obviously a YA, 2 book adaptation of The Cask of Amontillado is bound to be weird but oh my god was this weird in the best way possible.

Told in 3 points of view, 1 belonging to rich, popular Felicity, another belonging to her ex-best friend Tress, and the 3rd belonging to a panther. Still with me? Cool.

So basically Felicity and Tress used to be best friends but had a falling out and now Tress wants answers from Felicity that Felicity won't give her. If you've read The Cask of Amontillado you already know what comes next. Logically, Tress decides to chain Felicity up underneath a halloween party (putting Felicity in a 'sexy clown costume' was a really fun nod to the source material by the way) and slowly entomb her in an old mine chute by closing it up with bricks. And somehow it all makes sense?

Felicity and Tress are both believable characters with believable character motives. We switch between their present and their memories and it gradually becomes easier and easier to figure out what led to the night of the Halloween party. Past and present collide in a conclusion that has me dying to find out what happens next. Not to be dramatic but my jaw literally dropped.

Will Tress kill Felicity? Will Felicity tell Tress what she wants to know? What's going on with that third panther perspective I mentioned earlier?

This is the kind of story best experienced if you know as little as possible going in so I'm just going to leave you there.

It took me a bit to get used to the computerized voice used for the audiobook. But once I got past that I was very Enthralled. I like that the narrator was very real, and I like that even the perfect pretty rich girl had problems. Being someone who suffers from seizures myself, I really identified with her character. It’s not often you see a character with seizures in a YA book. Love the diversity of that. Also the fact that the main character is not a spoiled little rich girl. The market is getting saturated with the same thing over and over, Rich Poshe New York fashion models, not enough real girls that the every day person can identify with. Thank you for giving our teams someone like themselves that they can read about. It is so rare to find a book that the main character lives in a trailer park. But realistically there is so many teens who are in the situation, and who can feel embarrassed by it. I like the empowerment this book is giving to them.

I literally FLEW thru this audiobook. Once I got started, every spare second I had was spent listening to this.
Can I just say it’s SO REFRESHING to hear a story about a girl who isn’t rich and gorgeous and has everything she could ever want?! About time some of the Lower income characters get a main stream title!!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Katherine Tegan Books for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Interestingly, this was my first audio book with a synthetic voice instead of narrated by a human voice actor. While not as good as an actor, it didn’t take away from listening to the book.

Tress and Felicity are best friends until Tress’s parents go missing while driving Felicity home in the middle of the night during a sleep over. Felicity has no memory of what happened. Seven years later, Tress buries Felicity in a coal chute trying to get her to remember what happened. The story goes between Tress, Felicity and a panthers’s point of view (yup, a panther) and back and forth in time.

There were so many plot holes for me. Why would both parents drive home a guest in the middle of the night and leave their young daughter home alone? Why would no one in town, including Tress’ other relatives, intervene to help her from the awful and unsafe living conditions? Why is Tress so mad at Felicity?

I was insanely excited to get my hands on an early copy of a Mindy McGinnis novel. But sadly, I could not listen to it because the audiobook would not download on my phone. I will not be requesting any more audiobooks from now on.

The build up to the end was masterfully done and the town delightfully dysfunctional. But the end! Please tell me there will be another installment. I have so many questions.

Book 190 towards my goal of 280! 4.5/5 stars for this YA Mystery read. Like the Tiger King, plus more family drama, plus a mystery thrown in! Loved the characters and the story! Definitely recommend once it releases! Already wanting book 2!
*I received this book in exchange for honest review from Netgalley*

This book was so good but the end just fell flat. Maybe this this the first of a series. I loved the two perspectives, the cat not so much. Definitely would love to find out what happens to these characters.

This is a story about the love & hatred only a best friend can inspire.

I adored this book! It was creepy, beautiful, and tragic. The story was reminiscent of Poe without being derivative & was full of the unique, strange, violent touches I’ve come to expect & love from the author.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Note: I cannot provide a review of the finished audio book product as this was a synthetic voice, so the above review is in reference to the content.

***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary audio copy of THE INITIAL INSULT by Mindy McGinnis in exchange for my honest review.***

Small town hi-jinx, secrets and mystery permeate this atmospheric mystery centered around family, friendship and class. Teen girls acting badly, yet they’re portrayed in a sympathetic way that doesn’t excuse their behavior that only Mindy McGinnis can do. “Yes, I can understand why she knocked out her former friend with a brick” is a phrase I never imagined thinking.

I’m usually someone who can only do audio books an hour at a time, but I couldn’t stop listening to McGinnis’s newest masterpiece. I’m usually a creature of habit when it comes to reading. I like my favorite writers’ books to feel familiar and don’t usually enjoy when they stray too far from the genres I love. McGinnis has a way of writing truly different books, ones I wouldn’t normally pick up after reading the blurb. But she’s Mindy Friggin McGinnis and I’ll can’t not read.

THE INITIAL INSULT is the first of two in a series, which means readers will get to read (or listen to) more of these flawed, yet easy to root for characters.

I enjoyed THE INITIAL INSULT so much I’m going to purchase the book.

Tress is in middle of nowhere . I liked the descriptions . I didn't like the foul language. I liked tresss owork withth the animals.