This was a hell of a ride! It was a gripping one. I loved it every second. Stevens is a master storyteller and the way this story is told, just had me completely. I loved the characters and the way the story resolves around them. It's a sharp muder mystery with some hialrious, brillant and humor aspects. I just loved it!

Nyla has always lived alone with her mother, they never stay in one place for too long. Beth, her mother, is convinced that Francis did not kill her sister. She is a little obsessed with the subject and neglects Nyla. One day, Nyla learns that Beth is Cora's sister and that she is part of the King family. Nyla goes to the island where her family lives and meets the charming Sam. Sam will help her to unravel the mystery of Cora's death and especially help her to prove that Francis is innocent.
I loved this book, Court Stevens has a real gift for writing engaging stories with suspense, unexpected revelations and romance.
Nyla is a very smart girl, she is going to find out a lot of things about her life that are going to upset her and the way she deals with it can be complicated at times but you have to remember that Nyla is just a teenager.
I really liked Sam, he's funny, smart and Nyla really likes him.

4 stars. This book was a ride, both in plot and enjoyment. I was hooked for about the first quarter of the book, started to lose interest around the middle and then was completely blown out of the water by the ending. I haven't read anything else by Court Stevens but now I've got he backlist on my TBR and I can't wait to see what other books she comes out with

This book has the mystery of the past wrapped in the comfort of the south along with a touch of suspense.

I enjoyed diving into this new book from Court Stevens and seeing where it took me. I don't usually read the descriptions (which I didn't for this one) so I was mostly just intrigued by the cover and ready to see where the book took me.

I definitely enjoyed the ride and the discovery of well-placed secrets being revealed until the end. As any good mystery always has, there were multiple options of people who could have "done it" and getting to the end and discovering just who did what was intriguing enough to keep me goin.

I won't spoil anything here but I wasn't fully sold on the (somewhat violent) pre-ending and the ending-ending was much too fast my my liking. Some things just seemed way too coincidental to have just "happened" in order for us to get the ending we wanted. However, saying that, it was the ending I wanted so that counts for something :)

I recommend this to fans of Steven's other novels as well as those who like YA mystery.

My rating: 3.8*

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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this gifted advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I really expected more from this book from the description. So your mom lies to you for 18 years. You show up at your family home and someone immediately looks at you and knows who you are. You go to meet family and they stick you in the pool house and ignore you. Diamonds appear out of nowhere. No autopsy, No DNA checks. You come up with a bizarre website. The end dinner party was absurd. Plus, it took almost until the last minute to tie up the prison stuff.
I got this from NetGalley. This is my honest opinion. This book needs a serious rewrite.

Every page of this book had me intrigued. As a teacher to young adults, the highest praise I can give to a book is, “This book should be a Netflix show.” and We Were Kings is exactly that.

We Were Kings by Court Stevens takes a page right out of Agatha Christie’s playbook. Nyla Wagner’s mother has spent her life trying to get Frankie Quick out of jail for murder. But when Nyla learns the truth about her family connections to Frankie, she starts her own investigation.

I love murder mysteries with a big cast of crazy characters and the reader gets to track down out the murderer along with the main character. The book is filled with lots of bizarre plot twists and moments that leave the reader gasping, “What just happened!?!” Everyone’s a suspect, everyone has motive and the ending was completely unpredictable. I’d definitely recommend this for suspense fans, even if it’s labeled YA because I think adults would appreciate the story as much as young adults.

I received an ebook review copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book from start to finish. We Were Kings is a YA mystery that you won't be able to put down. There are a lot of twists and I had fun trying to figure out the mystery. This book was definitely a fun ride.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Actual Rating: 4.5*

We Were Kings shook me to my core. As a non-thriller reader I can’t say if this is the best thriller out there but gosh darn it, this was a ride! The ending had me absolutely mind-blown. This a book that becomes hard to put down after finding the interconnections. I legitimately felt like Charlie Day trying to explain all the connections to my partner.

This was my first Court Stevens and I am super impressed with their plotting and storytelling. The writing was captivating and hit the atmospheric small town vibes so hard I was there with Nyla.

I did have my eyes rolling out of their sockets with the love interest as it was insta-lust/love and unnerving due to the fact he knows who she is, and fosters the spark between them with her not having revealed that straight away, just gave me the ick.

The pop-culture references are going to date this book quickly, especially given JKR and her transphobic views.

Overall, I had a great time with this fast-paced YA thriller that explores what it means to be family.
Thank you once again to the NetGalley and the publishers for providing a digital ARC.

This book was the epitome of YA mystery.

We follow Anna as she tries to uncover the murder of Cora King. It takes place in a teeny tiny town where the Kings are truly the kings of the town.
We are given plot twist after plot twist and they were all pretty shocking. Especially the ending, i was so shocked it was the last thing I was expecting.
It has an easy to follow writing style that keeps you hooked. I enjoyed all the characters, especially Sam and Richard. Anna was a badass who took nothing from no one.
I could have done without the mention of modern day things but, it did make sense considering she ran a youtube channel. it didn’t ruin the book for me but it wasn’t my fav.
it is an emotional book at times and deals with some hard hitting topics that i think the author did well.
overall, it was a good mystery! i enjoyed it.

i received a complimentary copy of this book. opinions expressed in this review are completely my own

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

We Were Kings by Court Stevens is a YA mystery that will appeal to fans of One of Us is Lying or The Good Girl's Guide to Murder. Although the description makes the book sound futuristic/dystopian, this book is actually just like contemporary YA. The story revolves around Nyla, who is investigating the death of Cora King, a young girl in the Kennedy-like King family. Her accused murderer, Frankie, Cora's best friend, is about to be executed for the murder. Can Nyla's new podcast prove whether Frankie did and didn't do it?

Here is a chilling excerpt from Chapter 1:

"I know the story.
In June of 2000, Cora King, the eighteen-year-old daughter of Kentucky senator Rebecca King, went missing from her family's estate on Nockabout Island. Five months later, a local fisherman found what was left of Cora's body. The fish and the lake had stolen nearly everything from her. The medical examiner used her dental records for identification. The investigation centered on three individuals: Frankie Quick, the best friend; Ben Stack, the boyfriend; and Martin Jarvis, a previous boss/love interest who was later discovered to have died on the same day Cora disappeared. The case was automatically high profile.
...
Almost as fast as anyone could type the words arrested, arraigned, and convicted, Francis had a death sentence slapped on her. Everyone knew why: Cora was a senator's daughter."

Overall, We Were Kings is a YA mystery that you won't be able to put down! From the beginning of the book, the plot had my attention, and I could not stop reading. One highlight of this book is the main character, Nyla. I empathized a lot with Nyla, and I was really rooting for her to figure out who the killer was. If I had to complain about 1 thing, I would say that the plot started to get too convoluted by the end, and I had trouble distinguishing different characters from each other. I still enjoyed reading this book though. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, or if you're a fan of YA mysteries, I highly recommend that you check out this book, which is available now!

If you have not read a Court Stevens book yet, you have no idea what you are missing out on.

Having read the June Boys, I knew when I saw We Were Kings, begin to circulate, I had to have it. This book was absolutely insane from the minute I picked it up.

I finished this book in one sitting and was completely consumed from chapter one. You think you have family drama? You can not even hold a candle to the drama that unfolds amongst the King family.

I have never read anything like this but I was completely obsessed with this book. I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE.

"Best advice: Don’t go to family dinner at the Kings’ estate. More people will leave in body bags than on their own two feet."

trigger warning
<spoiler> trauma, emotional neglect, mention of slavery, mention of human trafficking, mention of drug addiction, mention of memory loss, gun violence, suicide, death penalty, lackmail</spoiler>

A new law means that people on death row will be executed within 60 days after the law is active. Elisabeth's best friend is one of those who might die, despite there not being really enough evidence to support this.

Our protagonist is Elisabeth's daughter, who is shocked to hear that not only does she have living relatives, her grandma is a senator. Oh, and Elisabeth changed her name. Betrayed, Nyla sets out to get some answers, and before she knows it, she's in too deep to quit.

I liked this exploration of politicians having shady motives for their actions. A crime that's 20 years past and has to be solved is always something that appeals to me, and though I am sad to say this, the time frame doesn't feel forced. This scenario doesn't feel unnatural or contrived, but possible.
The isolated setting on an island where everyone knows everyone else is another trope I really like in fiction.

All in all, I liked this far more than the June Boys, which was my first book by the author. I was unsure about requesting this one, but am glad I did. Full recommendations, and I'd like to read more by C. Stevens in the future.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A teen mystery thriller in the same vein as Karen M McMannus and Diana Urban's "All our twisted secrets".
Very intriguing premise with unseen twists.
I did find some secondary characters difficult to solidify in my mind while reading, it was slightly confusing to remember significance of names during plot twists.

I absolutely loved Court Stevens' latest YA thriller--I could not put it down! There were so many good twists, and the ending was truly pulse-pounding. The short chapters and well-paced action make for very quick reading, but the writing and characterization is so good! I also really enjoyed the Kentucky setting, and the sweet relationship between Nyla and Sam. The King family has lots of secrets, and Nyla's quest to free her mom's friend from Death Row makes for some thrilling reading. My book club students are so excited to read and discuss this one over the next few weeks. Thanks to Netgalley, Thomas Nelson, and Court Stevens for the librarian preview copy!

While We Were Kings might be listed as a young adult novel, but personally I found that as a 30-something I found myself enjoying it very much. To be honest, I didn't think it read much like a young adult novel at all. The main character was 18, but at times it was certainly easy to forget that as she did seem just a bit older than that. As such, I think this is one story that could definitely appeal to a variety of ages with an intriguing story that draws the reader in right from the beginning. This is a story that is full of secrets and mystery that are coming to light after 20 years, and is full of twists and turns that kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. I will admit that I saw some of the twists coming, but it didn't change my enjoyment of the story and my interest to see how it would all play out. I found it to be a very quick read, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. If you enjoy a good mystery with lots of family secrets, this is one not to be missed!

**I received a complimentary copy for consideration. All thoughts are my own.

I'm still in shock with this book. It almost reminded me of that movie "The Life of David Gale" (If you haven't seen it, it really is a good movie) but a little more lighter if that makes sense.

I did enjoy this book, I thought my family dynamics was weird but then I met this family and I almost feel relieved (in a good way). This was one of those books I was able to sit back and just immerse myself in.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher. This is the first book I have read by Court Stevens and I have to say I adore her writing style and her story telling talent.

This is my first book by this author. I enjoyed it. It was very intriguing right from the start. It kind of reminded me of the movie “Clue.” There are so many possible villains and at one point they end up all together in one room and the fireworks start. There were a lot of surprises and twists. I liked that.

I thought the writing style flowed well. I enjoyed statements like this: “Empathy and anger might be unlikely friends, but they occasionally hang out and go for drinks, you know?” (location 590).

I liked the main characters, Nyla and Sam. I was waiting for Beth’s physicalness to play a part in the story since they made such a point about it at the beginning. I would read more books by this author.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson for providing me with a free e-copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

After a living a lifetime knowing her mother's best friend is on death row, a new law has accelerated that execution date and Nyla has decided it's time to now more about the case. She never expected to find the tangled web of lies and deceptions that span generations. Sometimes looking for the skeletons in your family closet can lead to discoveries of the worst kind.

A great story with plenty of twists and turns and revelations. This was a well-built mystery. Most of the characters are easy to understand their motivations, though I would have liked a little more relationship building/connection written into the story earlier on between Nyla and Beth. Overall an appealing read for fans of the genre.

"She is a girl. She is scared. She is regretful. She is stuck. She is brave. She is a deliverer of freedom. She is fire. She comes alive, only to die again, and this time her dying hurts."

If you like A Good Girl's Guide to Murder or Truly Devious, let me introduce you to the latest YA mystery that will leave you in shock.

18-year-old Nyla King's mum's best friend is being executed in 30 days for killing her aunt. But as Nyla slowly learns more about the case alongside her new friend, Sam, she quickly realises that Frankie might be innocent after all.

We Were Kings was so fast-paced and captivating, thanks to a couple of shocking surprises. I flew through it as I just needed to know what was going to happen next. It's the kind of book that will literally keep you guessing until the last page.

Nyla was a strong protagonist that reminded me of Pip in AGGGTM, especially when she sets up a video channel to chronicle her progress in trying to prove Frankie's innocence.

So, if you like your YA with a side of mystery, I highly recommend reading We Were Kings.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.