Thank you NetGalley & Tor Publishing for sending me an ARC of Payback by Kristen Simmons. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wow. Wow wow WOW.

I first picked up The Deceivers (the first Vale Hall book) in April. The pandemic was heavily setting in and my mind was running out of the energy to count lint for the 300th time. Vale Hall truly is one of my favourite contemporary series I have ever read.

The Vale Hall series follows Brynn, a poor girl from the rough neighbourhood of Devon Park in her city. She runs cons and odd jobs to stay afloat and alive, finally thinking she has a chance at getting out when she is recruited to attend a secret private school specializing in hustles, schemes and overall mayhem. The school is led by Dr. Odin, a mysterious and powerful man who will stop at nothing for what he cares about. In the third book we start by seeing Brynn at her most defiant, completely determined to restore the justice and happiness that was ruthlessly taken from so many around her.

For the first two books in series I actually think it was quite funny how I thought "well after the first two books, there's nothing Simmons can do to shock and shake it up even more, I'm onto her!! I know what she's up too!" oh boy how wrong I was...

Every time I thought I knew what was going on, I actually had NO IDEA what was going on and what was to come. Each new cliffhanger, development and deceit made me wants to keep reading even more. I cannot even imagine the amount of planning, outlining and webbing went into the twists and turns, that alone deserves a medal, the storyline never failed to shock and intrigue me.

I really loved how completely 3D each of the characters were, all with their own personal motivations and views. especially in the third book where it is so easy to throw away side characters and world building in favour of a romance or a one dimensional plot. It's really simple to focus too much on the main character so that the other characters and side plots fall short, especially in such a plot rich book like this one. Also would love to take a moment for the inspiration from Norse mythology, I thought that was such an amazing incorporation and the symbolism made things so much more fascinating. Overall it's so beautifully easy to see bits of yourself in every plot, character and hatred for final exams, the stakes only felt more elevated and motivating as I could resonate.

Parts of me were looking for a bit more diversity in the series but I did appreciate Simmons exploring Brynn's columbian heritage in this last book, making it a part of who she was and appreciating the culture.

This final book and it's conclusion to me wasn't just about a girl who got into some school and found herself in all kinds of mayhem. It was a reflection about us as people. Our greed, grief, personal angends and mostly, our hatred and letting go of it. "By giving something hate, we give it power". Brynn might have gotten out of Devon Park in the first book, but she never really even gave herself the chance to leave her anger behind until now and her character arc truly is phenomenal. I was genuinely tearing up after finishing the epilogue, the last line being truly one of my favourites just by how much I deeply felt the words. So while I go print out all my favourite quotes from this book and rave about them for eternity, I'm sad to be leaving Vale Hall but it truly was a wonderful wonderful time.

What an ending!!?! After the ending of book 2 -Scammed- I didn’t know how Brynn and the gang were going to get revenge on Dr. O but you are in for a fun ride to find out in Payback.

As Payback starts, Brynn and the whole gang are now on the hunt for past students of Vale Hall to expose the diabolical Dr. O. They need to figure out who to trust and how to take down the man they thought was going to give them an amazing future. The twists and turns of this story are fantastic. Old characters show up and the cons keep coming to keep you on your toes. It’s a great ending to a fun series by KRisten Simmons!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy of the book. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I originally wanted to read this book because of the cover. It’s very eye catching.

I enjoyed the story. I do feel like some parts could have been better, but overall, I enjoyed reading it. I would recommend.