*Thanks to Alexa Donne and netgalley for the arc*

oh my. This book was spectacular!
it had everything I like. Plot twists, amazing characters, plot twists, copycat killer vibes, did I mention plot twists? this book has A LOT of them.
This book felt like a cozy read-infront-of-a-fire-in-a-cabin mystery. Because of that, the start felt slow paced, but I didn't mind as the last quarter of the book is literally perfection.
I did predict one of the biggest twists, but it was a wild guess, so I was really excited when it actually happened. It was literally genius.
I loved the whole living in a victorianesque mansion with your grandma that writes murder mystery books. It was such a cool vibe!
overall I really loved this book so much! The plot, The idea, The characters, urgh it was all so good!!

I'd recommend Pretty Dead Queens to anyone and everyone. 8/10.

I like the idea of this book, but found the execution...loose. Examples: At one point a character tells another that the toilets only flush once because there is no electricity. The MC goes to read a text that she describes as sans serif, followed by an image of a text that very much has serifs. Etc.

Pretty Dead Queens, at first glance, seems like a darker narrative, but, although this is subjective, reads a bit more on the cozy mystery side. Donne creates an engaging mystery that does resolve in a satisfactory manner.

Pretty Dead Queens is everything you can which for in a small town murder mystery! It has an intricate plot, twists for days and an amazing setting. I loved the town and how it was described, being able to actually immerse myself in Seaview. I loved the characters and how the plot is constructed so you are always guessing what's coming next. The murder is captivating and the writing style makes it easy yet thrilling to follow the plot. Even though I did figure out most things that went down, I couldn't keep myself from annotating the book through out my reading experience so I could keep track of every theory I had. It is more than a 5 star read, definitely already a top contender for my top reads of 2022!

This was a perfectly fine YA mystery! I didn't love anything about it, but I didn't have any major complaints either. I though the culprits were pretty obviously, but still thought they were a fun solution to the murders. I think teens who are just getting into mysteries and would be more surprised by who the killers are would really enjoy this. I would be interested in reading a book about her tracking down Maura's crimes!

I really enjoyed The Ivies, so I was extremely excited to get an eARC of Pretty Dead Queens. Although it begins slowly, the last third of the book is a whirlwind of action. After her mother’s death, Cecelia moves in with her grandmother Maura, a novelist who writes thrillers. Cecelia falls in with a great group of kids, including her grandmother’s intern Ben. The group joins forces to determine who really murdered Caroline, homecoming Queen from the 70’s. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my review.

I’m on the street team and I got an early copy of this book!! Pretty Dead Queens is an edge of your seat thriller novel!! It’s perfect for Halloween and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ll do a reread closer to the date to give my complete thoughts on it.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of Pretty Dead Queens. Right away I was intrigued by the idea of a teen moving in with her Jessica Fletcher-esque grandmother. As someone who devoured the whodunits of Mary Higgins Clark and the cozies of Diane Mott Davidson as a teen, I knew this would be right up my alley. Perhaps because I've been so immersed for so many years in this type of story, I had a rough idea of who the killer was very early in the rising action, but I was still invested enough to want to know the true motive and whether that character had help. By the end, I suspected some of the details, but the way it played out was surprising. I don't hold the fact that I was able to predict certain elements against the book; I chalk it up to my age and reading habits. While I think some of my more mystery-savvy students will pick up on who the killer is fairly early, I think they'll be more impressed by the novel's final act. Overall, a quick read that filled that Murder She Wrote vibe that's always good for a stormy day. I will purchase this for my library.

This was a slightly predictable, nostalgic thriller that made me feel like a teenager collecting my RLStine books from the book fair. Even though it was easily predictable, that did not detract from this read in the slightest. I loved the author aspect to it. Celia has gone through quite a bit already, soo why she decides to take on this murder like she is the number one detective .. I do not know. The far-fetched and unlikely circumstances that this book entails are what makes it soo loveable to me. While that may sound strange… it is so reminiscent of 80’s slasher films and all of the ya books I read in high school. It still makes me terrified for my kids to become teenagers though.

I would say I’d you don’t like those kinds of predictable stories you will not enjoy this. However, if slasher films and slasher books are something to enjoy you will love this book.

What an amazing and fast-paced mystery by YA thriller queen, Alexa Donne, author of another favorite, The Ivies. After the death of her mother, high school senior Cecelia is sent to live with her famous authoress grandmother, Maura Weston, in the tiny town of Seaview. Cecelia hardly has time to settle in before a homecoming queen nominee is murdered, echoing an identical event 52 years ago. Maura’s first book just happens to be about that very same 1970s murder, so of course her granddaughter would feel drawn to find the killer. The only question is… which of her new friends is guilty?!