"The Vengeful Hearts" by Katherine Laurin, experienced as an audiobook, presents a high school drama with a vengeance theme that, while intriguing, lacks the depth needed for a fully engaging experience. The audiobook narration is competent but fails to elevate the material, occasionally making it challenging to distinguish between the characters' voices. The protagonist's descent into the secretive world of vengeance lacks nuance, resulting in a somewhat predictable and formulaic storyline. While the concept of a mysterious society seeking retribution adds an element of suspense, the execution falls short in delivering the expected intensity. Overall, "These Vengeful Hearts" as an audiobook offers a mediocre experience, with a plot that may not fully satisfy those seeking a more nuanced exploration of high school intrigue and revenge.

2.5 stars

"These Vengeful Hearts" by Katherine Laurin is a gripping YA thriller that weaves a tale of intrigue, revenge, and high school politics. The protagonist, Ember Williams, navigates a dangerous game of secrets and alliances in her quest for justice. Laurin skillfully builds suspense, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. The exploration of themes like power, friendship, and morality adds depth to the narrative. However, I found the plot predictable at times. Overall, it's a compelling read for those who enjoy mysteries with a touch of social commentary.

These Vengeful Hearts is essentially an alternate universe Mean Girls with that same darkness... just take out the humor.

The story revolves around a teen girl named Ember, who is seeking out revenge on the elusive Red Court who, once upon a time, hurt her older sister.
The Red Court being a group of girls who do favors for people who request them, but at a steep cost. These favors range from exposing people's secrets to helping them secure something that they want.

Being recruited to the Red Court means you get safety, and a no cost favor if you do your jobs and keep the group a secret.

Ember’s been recruited and her goal is to take them down...
But will she be able to resist the feeling of power that she gains from being let into this club?
You’ll have to read Vengeful Hearts to find out.

I enjoyed this story. If you like YA level angst, fun cliche filled dialogue, and a character learning that doing the right thing is, well, the right thing, then you will enjoy this story too.

I can’t say that it is extremely unique and original or that I’m not a little terrified now when I see a random playing card, but I loved the suspense plot and the sort of spin on the Mean Girls “take them down from the inside” plot.

So good and I can’t wait to see what comes next from this author.

This was very unappealing. The main character was incredibly annoying and I couldn't get past the first few chapters. She Bella Swaned to an awful degree

These Vengeful Hearts is wonderful. Full of mystery, suspense and characters you want to invest in fully. It has you wanting to consume the story in one go so you find out how it ends.

3.5 Stars

I fell - hard - for the cover. But afterwards stayed for the story featuring a secret society by the name of the Red Court, keeping court at a local high school. If anything, knowledge is power here. One needs a certain amount of suspension of disbelief to accept the kind of power these students have over the school. Also, was the big reveal super-unexpected, maybe not. But it kept me more than entertained during my chores.

This was another of the few audiobooks I read a year. I really liked the narration.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for gifting me an advanced reader copy.

I absolutely love teenage mean girl drama in books, and this one did not disappoint. There is something about seeing karma take care of bullies, that is so satisfying. "What goes around..."

This story went over the top with the mean girl trope, and added in the secret society trope as well. 14 mean girls consisting of 1 queen of hearts, 6 pairs of pawns, and a "fire alarm," carry out various tasks ruining people's lives at the request of individual students. If one has a request, they simply put it into a specific locker, where the queen decides if the red court will grant their request. Granted requests aren't free, of course. Payment is required in the form of a request of the red court, when they so decide. The queen and the fire alarm are the only ones that know all the members of the red court. They don't take out their own people, and being a part of the court guarantees one major, free request their senior year. Burner phones, secret rendezvous points, and complete manipulation make all of this possible.

Ember Williams has been planning to get into the red court for years, where she plans to bring them down from the inside. A terrible accident, that happened at the hands of the red court, left her sister paralyzed. Revenge is the only thing she has had on her mind.
With the help of her sister, Ember gets accepted into the red court, and has no issues carrying out tasks with her partner, ruining lives around her. At first she doesn't feel bad about it, because the people she is sabotaging, deserve it in her eyes. When the tables turn, and she has to hurt those closest to her, Ember starts to think that maybe she could take over. All she has to do is figure out who the queen of hearts is.

After many truths, and even more lies, the ending was one that I should have saw coming, but for some reason, I didn't. I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook. I would have liked to have known more about how the red court came to be.. just more back story.

These Vengeful Hearts is a YA thriller following Ember who is trying to get revenge against the secret society of girl in her school known as the Red Court, who she believes are at fault for her older sister suffering an injury that leaves her disabled. I think teens would really enjoy this book, especially they could likely relate more to Ember. While I did finish this audiobook in one day, I felt like I figured out the mystery of the Queen of Hearts pretty early on and was just rushing through to get to that part of the book. So for adults, I think this might not be as enjoyable just because it's pretty easy to see through everyone's lies and then you're just dealing with an angsty teen. Ember is not the most likable character but I think her fight to bring down the Red Court while simultaneously getting sucked into their world and liking it was pretty interesting.

Overall this book was fine, entertaining enough to keep reading, but would likely be enjoyed more by middle grade or teens.

Thank you to Recorded Books for the audiobook ARC.

I had such high expectations from this audiobook - and to be honest, for almost 75% of the audiobook, I was on my toes, heartbeats rising just to know exactly how everything would work out.

And then, everything went flat - and when I say everything, I mean everything. The plot, the characters can the mystery, everything!
Case in point: I am actually reviewing this audiobook after almost 4 months of listening it!

Now that I think of it, this book might have been my introduction to dark academia genre; and maybe the reason why I didn’t actually end up actually being enthusiastic about this genre *shrugs*

A book about a school's secret society read by Laura Knight Keating. yes, please!

Ever since The Red Court messed with her older sister, Ember has dreamed of taking them down. Now that she's been invited to become a member, she has to deal with the realities of bringing the Queen of Hearts down.

This is a fast-paced thriller whose ending is not as satisfying as I was hoping for, but the experience was made forgivable because of Keating's masterful narration.

What is there to say? THESE VENGEFUL HEARTS is the epitome of the YA thriller genre, enough said.

While listening to this audiobook, you'll be submersed into Laurin's world of unique conflicts, an intriguing symbolism of society in a high school setting, and even new character personalities rejuvenating old, overused archetypes. The writing style was complemented by Laura Knight Keating's entrancing narration. Having read the book separate to listening, I can confidently say Laurin's dialogue comes to life with Keating's storytelling and immerses you into Ember's rage-driven journey to avenge her sister's incident preceding the book's beginning. Whereas I might never have an opportunity exactly like Ember's in my life, I strive to be like her and stand up against adversity to support my peers or community members. Overall, "These Vengeful Hearts" was a jaw-dropping, electrifying, and empowering read that I recommend to any teenager who wants their heart to be broken then mended back together.

Revenge, romance, and high school drama.

Ember has prepared for this day since the Red Court injured her sister. Now she can get her revenge and bring an end to the Court. The Red Court will grant favors to those who ask, but there is always a price. Now Ember has been invited to join the Red Court, which she plans to take down from the inside. However, her plan takes an unexpected turn when an assignment leads to new feelings and a strained friendship. Ember's plan to take down the Red Court now comes at a great cost and reveals shocking lies.

Audio review: The narrator spoke at a steady pace and captured the intensity of the plots well. There was no background audio or effects which made listening more enjoyable. The differentiation between voices was well done and easy for listeners to understand who was speaking. There was also good clarity between the character's inner thoughts and spoken words.

DNF @15%
Narrated by Laura Knight Keating
2020; Recorded Books

I could not get into story as I didn't care for the secret society and bullying storyline. I've never seen or read Pretty Little Liars, and thought I would try this book. The gorgeous cover calls out to you. But nope, this is not my genre. I did enjoy Keating's narration.

***I received a complimentary copy of this audiobook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

I really enjoyed this book. It starts off really fast with Ember witnessing a Red Court takedown to her being invited to join the Red Court itself. I'm glad that it didn't take time for these events to happen because the beginning would have dragged. Right away, it is clear the Ember's reasoning for wanting to join the Red Court is to take it down from the inside in regards of what happened to her sister. But it isn't as easy as she initially thinks because of the thrill of the assignments. The way that the plot intertwines Embers personal life and her Red Court life was so well done. It was a little hard to believe that as a Sophomore she was capable of all of this, but maybe that's because I could have never been that clever when I was Ember's age. Regardless, it was definitely interesting to follow Ember as the boundaries started to blur. Everything was developed in a fast paced way but at the same time, I never felt lost in what was going on. The big reveal at the very end was a little lackluster but I enjoyed the way that it came about. Now, the very ending had me like WHAT??? Is there a sequel coming? Or a spin off? I don't know but regardless this was a fun, dark book.

I liked Ember's character a lot. Even though it was a little harder to believe that a Sophomore was able to be clever like this, it was easy to look past. Her personality was easy to attach to and root for her cause. I enjoyed all of her relationships that she developed. Gideon's, her best friend, reactions seemed very realistic and I liked the way he helped hold her accountable. It was pretty obvious what was going to happen with Chase but at the same time, it was fun to read how their relationship formed. Hailey was probably my favorite. As more of her secrets were revealed, it was interesting how Ember coped with it.

FINAL THOUGHTS
Overall, These Vengeful Hearts by Katherine Laurin was a fast, fun, and dark read about a group of high schoolers who control others lives through favors. It was definitely a unique set up to the high school scene and I really enjoyed reading about how they went about their certain requests. The book was fast paced and it was hard for me to put down because I always wanted to know what was happening next. I really enjoyed Ember as the main characters and reading about the conflicts she faced after joining the Red Court. This was definitely a fantastic read and a great break from my usual fantasy genre. I highly recommend for anyone who enjoyed High School take downs and secrets.

AUDIO REVIEW
I have nothing but fantastic things to say about this audio. Laura Knight Keating did such an amazing job bringing this story to life. I absolutely love it when narrators bring so much personality into the stories they read and that is exactly what was done here. There are sometimes I like to physical read along with the audio but I had zero desire to do so and just take in the narration. If you enjoy audiobooks, this is definitely one I recommend.

Even though I’ve certainly seen this type of story before, I was still pretty hooked on These Vengeful Hearts . It’s crazy how twisted these students can be but most of what they asked for seemed like things you could see people doing anything they are willing to do to get it.

Laurin threw lots of twists in here; some I saw coming and others surprised me. I think a second book may be on the horizon so it will be interesting to see what comes next!

I entered this book as I enter all YA mystery novels: with a sense of cautious optimism.
The genre itself has a few brilliant novels such as Sadie or A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. However, these seem to be the outliers.

These Vengeful Hearts was definitely above the average YA mystery novel, but not quite suspenseful enough to be considered great.

The main appeasement this novel offered was that it was incredibly easy to get into. I listened to the audio over the course of 2 months, but was able to instantly pick up where I had left off.

The characters were interesting and distinct, although not always likable. The chapters were short and engrossing, although the writing style was slightly juvenile.

As stated, my main problem with the book lay in the lack of tension the genre usually offers. I never felt compelled to keep listening because there was little build up to suspense. Moreover, there were no surprising twists, which usually make a book more memorable.

A big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an audio-ARC of the book.

These Vengeful Hearts by Katherine Laurin is an enthralling thriller, filled with riveting revenge, tantalizing tension, and enough intrigue to keep readers turning pages long into the night.

though i recieved the audiobook by netgalley. which honestly was a bane, cause i loved every minute of it.

im not a thriller kind of reader, but this book got me hooked.

At Heller High School, if you have secrets, the enigmatic Queen of Hearts and the Red Court knows them and will leverage their knowledge to execute social status take downs or grant favors.

Ember Williams is determined to bring down the Red Court and extract revenge for what they did to her sister. But as Ember falls in deeper with the Red Court, she begins to lose sight of her revenge and starts to enjoy the job. When the pressures of the court start to take a toll, Ember will need to choose whether to stay true to her course or become the most vicious member the Red Court has ever had.

Sometimes a book comes along and smacks you in the face with how good of a read it is.

These Vengeful Hearts is that kind of book. There is something so addicting about fictional high school drama and this novel perfectly toes the line of realistic and over the top. Every step Ember takes down her path of revenge pulls the reader in deeper and Laurin expertly draws out the tension through the story

its like pretty little liars in a book with some episodes in it.

•Character development- 4☆
• Story Plot- 4.5☆
• Side characters- 4.5☆
• Flow of the story- 4☆
• Overall - 5☆

The actual storyline is enjoyable but the narrator misses the nail in certain places. I feel like it’s better in book form but definitely listenable if you’re unable to or prefer audio

I've seen this book being phrased as something a fan of Pretty Little Liars would enjoy and I did. I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook as the narrator was very lively and engaging. I will say that overall I enjoyed it but there were times for me when the pacing felt off. I really liked some of the side characters like Gideon and Chase and would have liked a little more of them and the way that they interacted with Ember the main character. The ending also I enjoyed and defiantly was intrigued by the cliffhanger.

I just could not get into this story. It felt so predictable and I felt myself rolling my eyes throughout reading this.