I really enjoyed this book. The author does an excellent job of making the reader feel all the emotions displayed by the main character. The main character is getting ready to compete in a video game tournament with her close friends when her younger sister is kidnapped. In order to save her sister, she must complete different "games" which become more and more sinister. I think this book will appeal to a wife range of ages. My 12 year old will be able to read this fast paced thriller since the author did not include any steamy sex scenes or any drug use.

It took me awhile to get into this book, I am not a gamer so that part wasn't interesting to me. When she started dealing with her sister's kidnapping it got more interesting. I guess a main part of the twist, the other part was interesting. Overall it was a tense but unrealistic thrilller

Let’s play a game.

You have 24 hours to win. If you break my rules, she dies. If you call the police, she dies. If you tell your parents or anyone else, she dies.

Are you ready?

And this sets the stage for a YA thriller/gamer story.

Crystal is not just a gamer. She is obsessed with the game Mortal Dusk and is gearing up for the biggest game of her life. With millions in prize money, she and her friends will compete against each other for spots. Getting in game time is the only thing that matters to these kids.

When a message comes across her phone telling her that her sister is tied up and will die if she doesn’t agree to play a game. Some of it was just daring. Steal a test, bake some brownies, things that seem random and a bit bizarre. But the video of her sister is so real, she can’t stop.

When she realizes her actions are killing her friends, she has to question why this is happening. Is it another gamer trying to eliminate her team? Or is something much worse at play?

This was a YA book and I do not normally read that genre. There were twists and turns and even I wasn’t ready for that ending!

Well Done!

NetGalley/ February 1st, 2022 by Wednesday Books

Unfortunately, when a story copies a well know premise, it's impossible for me not to compare them. Don't get me wrong, it's impossible for formats not to get reused, I'm just saying they need to be prepared to stand up to the comparison.
These Deadly Games follows the format of Black Mirror's Shut Up and Dance. Everything Black Mirror did well, These Deadly Games did not.
Every turn in this story I read as a plot hole, every single one, I was making a list then stopped because it was just the entire plot in point form.

We are introduced to Crystal who we are led to believe is part of a video game team that has a real shot at winning a $3 million competition, but this seems to be an in an alternate world where just any group of highschool buddies can enter million dollar competitions since sponsorships, twitch (which was mentioned but not income related to it), Patreon, and monetized YouTube do not exist for players of this level....so Crystal needs the money. This financial burden plot point ends up being irrelevant anyway.
Crystals sister gets kidnapped, Crystal doesn't go to the police for a reason I don't understand and follows the obviously ill intentioned instructions. The plot then falls apart into a series of actions that would not equal the result in the book (here's where I got very picky on my list but this is spoiler free) before coming back around to a good mystery who done it.

Where Shut Up and Dance worked was that the main characters motivation for completing the tasks made sense to the audience at the end. It is logical he would not have gone to the police, that he would be willing the break the law. Crystal not going to the police was a quick one liner for the story to play out - going to the police won't change what happens to your sister. The kidnapper clearly need something from you and the police being involved won't change that. This was a plot hole I couldn't get past.

I continued to the 65% marker, couldn't take it, and skimmed ahead until the last two chapters and read those. If you're familiar with the Scooby Doo format, you know who did it.

This book follows Crystal, who enjoys playing videogames with her friends but gets caught in a much more dangerous game.

Such a fantastic mystery book. So many twists and intrigue. I enjoyed all the characters. If you like puzzles, videogames, and/or murder mysteries, I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Diana Urban and netgalley for letting me read the e-ARC. Already preordered the hardcover copy so I can read it again and make sure to share with my friends

I really loved the fast pace and the plot. I thought I knew what twist we were going to get but oh boy, I was so wrong, I'm still amazed.
Great final twist, I finished the book in one afternoon because I couldn't stop reading!

Let’s play a game.

You have 24 hours to win. If you break my rules, she dies. If you call the police, she dies. If you tell your parents or anyone else, she dies.

Are you ready? This is a young adult mystery where you have to follow the rules or your sister dies. Keeps you guessing

This book has left me absolutely speechless. I genuinely think it might have some of the biggest plot twists I have ever read! I loved all of the characters that were included in this story and how each of them were connected to such a large part of the plot. The plot itself is so unique and carefully crafted, I couldn’t have been more pleased with it. I am such a sucker for thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat, and this one did it for me! Also, it was the first thriller I’ve read for this month and it really set the ~spooky~ tone for fall.

As a member of Diana Urban's Street Team, I was lucky enough to get to read an early copy of this book.

I finished it at 3:13 a.m.

Am I tired? Yes.

Will I be tired and useless all day? Yes.

Was it worth it? YES!!

There were so many twists and turns and edge-of-your-seat moments. I thought I had it figured out and then something happened that had me second guessing everything. These are my favorite types of stories.

I loved it!

Now I need to get some sleep.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a honest review!

THESE DEADLY GAMES is about sixteen year old Crystal, an upcoming pro-gamer, competing to join a tournament in NYC. Crystal and her sister Caelyn get into an argument as Crystal is dropping off Caelyn at school for a field trip she doesn't want to go to due to bullies. When Crystal is in class she receives an anonymous message from an unknown, hacked into her phone, app with deadly images of Caelyn held hostage against her will. The anonymous torturer demands Crystal play a "game" in order to save her sister. Crystal reluctantly agrees and has to follow along different tasks that put her life and her friends' life in danger.

After reading ALL YOUR TWISTED SECRETS, I knew I wanted another book from Diana Urban, real quick. Her writing and mystery/thrillers are very reminiscent to Karen M. McManus, who is most known for her ONE OF US IS LYING books etc. I love these kinds of stories, the fast paced, heart racing, thrillers that keep you guessing until the very end. Diana Urban does a fabulous job of doing just that. She definitely kept me wondering "what the eff is going on?" and I couldn't put the book down (or in this case my kindle). All the characters, including side characters, are well flushed out and the story is super well -written.

I really enjoyed this book and the author definitely kept me hooked until the very last page!

5 stars

Do you know what makes a thriller novel wonderful and unique? It is when I can half guess the culprit and still be shocked by the twists that come with it and several more after it. That is exactly what happened with These Deadly Games. This book is constantly filled with shocks and surprises in every chapter. I loved the characters and the mystery behind some of their backstories and their unique characterization in general. These Deadly Games was honestly the perfect example of a fun, terrifying, & twist-filled suspense/thriller novel and I hope I see it on everyone’s radar when it is released in February.

"Let’s play a game.
You have 24 hours to win. If you break my rules, she dies. If you call the police, she dies. If you tell your parents or anyone else, she dies.
Are you ready?" --- excerpt from These Deadly Games


WHAT THE HECK DID I JUST READ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WOW.
WOW.
WOW.

Ok, I caught my breath. Was that a doozy!!!! These Deadly Games, puts you on a WILD RIDE. I cant even describe to you the feeling I achieved after finishing this novel. These Deadly Games, was absolutely incredible and exceeded all expectations I had. This is an instant "made for the movies, type of thriller. I was blown away with the intensity and narration . Diana Urban's talent needs to be recognized!

This is a five star read and everyone needs to add this to their pre-order stack!!!

Thank you to Macmillan and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

These Deadly Games by Diana Urban is a terrifying YA thriller that is perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars or the new Fear Street movies on Netflix. After reading the synopsis and seeing the cover, I had a feeling that I was in for an exciting ride. I read a lot of thrillers and I thought a YA thriller would be tamer in comparison. I had no idea though how scary this book would be!

The plot of this book revolves around Crystal Donovan, a high school who is part of a 6-person online gaming team. One day, she gets a horrifying text from an unknown number: a picture of her younger sister tied up. The person texting her insists that she must follow all of their directions or her sister will be killed. The things that the kidnapper asks her to do get increasingly more serious, until she's being asked to kill her friends.

Here's a thrilling excerpt from the beginning of Chapter 1:

"I was going to kill Zoey.
Heat simmered in my belly as I crept up behind her. She was oblivious to my presence, gazing over the stone balcony toward the forest. Rotting tree stumps littered the field below, but nobody lurked in the shadows.
Now was my chance to take her out.
My fingertips tingled as I slinked closer, the desire for vengeance flooding my veins. How should I do it? I could shove her over the balcony’s edge, but that wouldn’t guarantee a kill. We weren’t high enough from the ground, so it would depend on how she landed. I could shoot her, but my trembling fingers couldn’t guarantee my aim. And I needed her to die.
I sounded like some homicidal maniac, didn’t I?
Well, trust me—she didn’t deserve my mercy. Not after what she did."

After reading this excerpt, I knew that this would be a fast-paced, terrifying read, and I was right. I flew through this book in a day because I had to find out what happens next. Will Crystal be able to find the person who kidnapped her sister? Will Crystal be forced to kill all of her friends? What ambiguous moral choices will Cystal have to make in order to rescue her sister? Will the book have a happy ending or something more sinister?

One highlight of this book was the constant twists and turns. Just when I thought i knew what was going on, the author pulled the rug out from under me. The ending is especially climactic and really well-done. I couldn't believe what I was reading, and couldn't focus on anything else until I finished reading it. Overall, These Deadly Games is a perfect YA thriller. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of thrillers in general, I highly recommend you check out this book when it comes out in February!

I really enjoyed this book, but definitely think it’s more ya than for adults! I found it to be well written, with great character development, even though the characters weren’t very like-able, I still connected to them! I found it to be fast paced, fun, and fun to read! One of those that I wanted to get to the end, but also didn’t want it to end! Look forward to more by this author, as I enjoy the ya thrills to break up more demented read! Like the authors style, and have a feeling, that many will enjoy this one too! Highly, highly recommend!

Will buzz around platforms and use top Amazon reviewer number on release!

I loved the authors first book, so I was super excited to dive into this one. Unfortunately, I found this one moving a bit too slowly for my liking. I enjoyed the characters but they just did t hold my interest as much as I had hoped.

A deadly game has begun, with 24 hours to complete all the tasks given to her by an all seeing anonymous user and if she fails her kidnapped little sister will be killed.... but by completing the tasks she’s risking the lives of her friends. Crystal Donavan has a deep dark secret she shares with her friends, a secret they’ve all been keeping together for years. But one day Crystal suddenly gets a message with a picture of her little sister gagged and bounded threatening to kill her little sister if Crystal doesn’t play the game. At first she’s given fairly easy tasks: steal a test and drop it off in a locker, bake brownies, make a prank call.... but all of these have consequences that impact the lives of her friends. Soon Crystal is spiraling to try and find out who is behind it and how to save her friends and her sister. She can’t tell anyone or else her sister will be killed, and with the clock ticking and more tasks coming in, she will have to outsmart the gamemaster if she wants to be the last one standing. This book sounded like it would be right up my ally, unfortunately I had already figured out the entire mystery and who was behind it early on. No one is really likable in this story and honestly I don’t fault the gamemaster for doing what he did, because if you are looking from their perspective Crystal and her friends really messed up. I found certain decisions questionable and the whole revenge plan that the gamemaster had had me questioning how this was a sound plan at all??? Like???? seriously?? I did take into consideration that Crystal is a 16 year old girl who is dealing with a lot so she’s not going to make the best decisions and she does try her best. Overall an okay read, but it didn’t live up to my expectations unfortunately.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This is the type of book I have to put down and pick back up over and over throughout the book. And that’s not because it’s a bad book. It’s just the opposite. It’s a great book! I’m just one of those type of people that any time something makes me anxious I have to stop! lol.

This book is great because it really has a modern day feel to the kidnapping mystery. Gaming friends, on the hunt for the title and prize money, meet at Crystal’s house daily. But when Crystal’s little sister is kidnapped, she has to keep the secret and complete different tasks the kidnapper has set up or watch her sister die. However, some tasks seem have consequences – deadly consequences for her friends. Crystal is torn between the love for her sister and the trap that was set for her and her friends.

This is going to be a very popular book I think. It has all the right elements – suspense, thrill, misdirection, today’s technology, little bit of romance but not enough to make the book one of those blooks. 🙂 This book will definitely keep you guessing until the end… and even then will keep you on your toes. Great book, highly recommended.

These Deadly Games I found difficult to connect with. I had a hard time liking any of the characters and I need someone to like and root for in the books I read. The game concept was nice, but I felt like this was just not meant for me and rightly so, it is a YA novel. I read quite a bit of YA and some translate for a wider audience than others. With These Deadly Games I think a younger audience would like it much better.

I was very happy to be approved for this book, but I found the storyline just dragged.

Normally, I love thee types of books, but this one was not exciting in the least and the writing just did nothing for me.

Great story filled with twist and turns that make it so you can’t put it down. Crystal receives an anonymous text telling her she must play the game in order to save her sister. Crystal starts playing the game and all of her moves cause harm to her friends. Crystal wants to save her sister but what is she willing to do to keep her alive.