This wasn’t bad, but also wasn’t necessarily good either. I made it through the entire book and nothing really stood out to me. I didn’t like a single character and it felt pretty predictable to me.

This book had one of the best opening pages I’ve read. Talk about a HOOK!

This was such a quick start that slowed a bit in the middle, but then ramped it back up at the end coming to an explosive conclusion.

If you love YA thrillers, secret societies, and murder mystery, you need to add this to your tbr!

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Children’s publishing, and Cynthia Murphy for my free e-arc. All opinions are my own.

Win Lose Kill Die is a quick YA thriller by Cynthia Murphy. The story takes place in a boarding school for gifted students who strive to be the best. Those who are the best of the best belong to the school's secret society and are slowing being killed one by one.
The book is a typical YA thriller. You have the mean girls, the preps, the jocks, and the outcasts. You have teenage friendship and romance. You have hidden secrets. The book is a quick read as you try to figure out who is killing off the students and why.
The plot is easy to follow and the murderer is easy to surmise. The twist is slightly predictable and I figured it out in the first chapter. The secrets revealed at the end could have been woven into the story earlier, which may have heightened the suspense or made the ending less predictable. However, it was a very enjoyable book that I couldn't put down. It reminded me of One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes YA thrillers.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

All the girls at the historical Morton Academy want to be Head Girl. With the title comes not only prestige, but also a scholarship. However, bodies soon begin piling up, and the students start to worry that someone is determined to take the crown.

Liz and her friends set out to discover what is happening. Can they figure out the truth before it’s too late?

This was an easy and entertaining YA thriller read. It was also a quick read as the pacing was pretty fast. I found the writing engaging and it sucked me in from the start. I did find this one to be predictable, as I almost immediately figured it out. But it’s a YA read, and I don’t think its meant to be immensely deep or thought provoking. Even though I’ve been reading a lot of horror lately, I enjoyed how this one wasn’t a scary thriller. Because this book wasn’t particularly deep, the character depth wasn’t there so everyone is fairly surface level. I enjoyed the academia setting a lot. It’s always fun for me to read about colleges with secret societies, they seem interesting and that was the case here. The plot at the end of this book was a lot of fun and I didn’t see it coming.

If you are looking for a fun YA thriller with A Good Girls Guide to Murder vibe, then I recommend you check this one out.

3.5 / 5 ⭐️

Morton Academy, a competitive boarding school for the elite and home of the secret society, Jewel & Bone, where the title of Head Girl/Boy is the most coveted of them all. Once the top candidates for the position begin dropping like flies, Liz and her friends take it upon themselves to figure out what's going on.

This was a very engaging read that was meant to have a twist ending; however, within the first three or so chapters, I figured it out. Nonetheless, the story was still interesting to me since, having already figured out who the murderer was, I could spot the red flags and unreliability in the narration. I was also able to determine when there were purposeful red herrings thrown into the story in order to steer the reader away from the truth.

I found the majority of the characters likable, although I was not majorly invested in any of them. The majority of the book was well-paced and written but, the last few chapters did feel a little rushed and, the whole "reveal" regarding Dr. Patel felt as though there was little build-up. In terms of the reveal of the murderer, having seen the signs early on, the book did a good job of hiding clues in plain sight.

Overall it was a very fun, if predictable, read and I would definitely read more by the author. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC of this book.

Someone is killing off the best and brightest at Morton Academy. Liz and her friends are trying to find out who before their next.

This is a fun YA thriller. It’s definitely a great thriller if you don’t want it to be scary. If you like Karen McManus’ writing you’ll like this book with an English twist.

I thought I guess the twist. I was so annoyed because I thought I’d guessed it and I hate guessing twist. I didn’t guess right…

It’s under 300 pages so it’s fast paced the whole way through the book.

Genre: YA Thriller
APK: Ebook
Pages: 272
Rating: 3.5⭐️
Series or Standalone: Stand-alone

One of my favorite literary settings is a boarding school. Add in teen drama and a murder mystery and I am ALL IN. Overall, I did enjoy this one. It was fast paced, lots of great red herrings and a very interesting twist at the end that I definitely didn’t see coming. The book kept me engaged at all times and I absolutely was excited to see where the story would take us. I really enjoyed Liz as the narrator, but I do wish we would have gotten to know her and her friends a bit better. I very much liked their friendship dynamic, but since we didn’t get to know them very well, I didn’t feel much of a connection with them. Once the big reveal happened, there were a few things that I wish would have been explained a bit more or better, just little things that Liz had noticed and been concerned earlier in the story. I just think the ending was a little rushed with its explanation of the reveal. Still, I think this is a fun one though with a great surprise ending that’ll keep you on your toes.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this E-arc for my honest review.
I don’t often read YA thrillers so I was looking forward to this book and it didn’t disappoint!! Very fast paced, read that kept me on the edge of my seat with an ending that was absolutely brilliant!! Highly recommend to thriller lovers of all ages.

Who is targeting the head girls at the elite Morton Academy, which exclusively accepts exceptionally distinguished, overachieving, and gifted students?

A series of murders has sent shockwaves through the academy, with the victims being the head girls and deputies who are part of the secretive society known as 'Jewel and Bone.' Suspicions are running high, and everyone is wondering who the killer could be. Could it be someone willing to go to any lengths to claim the coveted title of Head Girl? But the big question remains - who?

Could it be a member of the secret society, one that some students have sworn allegiance to? Or perhaps it's someone involved in a sinister cult? Even a teacher with a shadowy past is not ruled out.

Liz, who barely survived a traumatic head injury and spent the entire summer in the hospital, is now attempting to recover while grappling with the after-effects. She finds herself at the center of these unsettling events. First, Morgan drowns, and then a series of incidents unfolds, threatening the members of the secret society one by one. Liz is living in fear for her life, and she relies on her close-knit circle of friends: Taylor, Kat, Taylor's boyfriend Marcus, and her newfound crush, Cole, who recently joined the academy and is now entangled in the chaos. Time is ticking, and a relentless and highly dangerous individual lurks in the shadows, their identity carefully concealed as they do whatever it takes to achieve their goals. But who is this mystery person?

The circle of suspects tightens, and only a few remain untouched. Even their trusted teacher may harbor dark secrets from her past and family history, making her a potential perpetrator. Liz must uncover the mastermind behind this sinister scheme to protect everyone, but can she do it on her own? In this atmosphere of suspicion and uncertainty, no one is above suspicion, and nothing is as it seems.

Overall, this is a fast-paced, action-packed YA mystery and psychological thriller that is perfect for those seeking a gripping page-turner with a twisty ending. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a thrilling read.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s/Delacorte Press for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

It was okay. I didn’t expect that ending. Had me guessing who the killer was a few times. It was a quick read.

“I didn’t mean to kill the first one. Honest.” Here are reasons to read the YA Thriller book:

Elite Scholarship School - Morton Academy is an elite school, who picks students based on aptitude and gives them scholarships to attend
Secret Society - and even within this school there is an even more elite secret society
Head Girls - where the head boys and girls get full ride scholarships to the college of their choosing. But then the Head Girls start to die.
New Guy - Enter new guy Cole, who conveniently shows up just when the chaos starts.

This book has been on my radar for about a year but it wasn’t available to read in my area until now. Since I really don’t want to give anything away here, let’s just say this read was extremely fast. We go between 2 points of view, one of which is the person responsible for these crimes. I had theories about who it might be but the author did a good job of throwing the right amount of doubt to every theory I had. When I got to the end, I was a little taken aback but also everything made sense when explained.

Thank you to NetGalley and RandomHouse Children’s Books for providing an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
Liz has recently recovered from a traumatic brain injury and is back at the elite boarding school Morton Academy. Haunted by the events that lead to her injury, Liz must face her friends and prepare for her role in the campus’ secret society. But when a string of murders occurs, it becomes clear that someone is targeting the head girls. But who?

Review:
Though this has an intriguing premise for fans of books like Truly Devious or A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, this book really pales in comparison to those stories. I felt that the book’s pacing was very stilted and hurt the overall story because it was hard to identify or care about any of the characters. When getting to the end, I realized that the awkward plotting is a result of the “twist,” and honestly, the twist just didn’t pay off for me. For people looking for “Colleen Hoover but make it high school”—this will work for you!

For me, this was a fun, quick YA read. The deaths come quick in this book which I actually liked even though it seemed no one at the school cared. The secret society in this high school campus reminded me a bit of The Skulls. I think it started off strong and parts of the middle fell flat. The end was fun, if a but predictable. I figured out the killer, but the why was a neat take. I'd actually like to a see a sequel to it.

Win, Lose, Kill, Die by Cynthia Murphy is a captivating and suspenseful read that will keep you engaged until the very end. This intriguing novel is brimming with fascinating characters and an enthralling plot.

Ok so in the plot it said perfect for fans of gossip girl and man I still watch that show. This book was amazing it’s very high society with murder and that’s amazing. It’s funny because I felt like I was the fly in the corner observing everything it felt so real and I loved the writing style. 5/5 and I love the cover

I really wanted to like this book since the summary seemed so promising. I'm not sure if it was because the book is YA but I had a hard time following the writing and a lot of it felt kind of random. Throughout the book it felt like what the character was acting like (unscared) did not jive with what she was thinking in her own. The plot twist, which usually is one of my favorite parts didn't make much sense to me given what happened throughout the book. Just was not for me.

I had high hopes for this book, but I was disappointed. It was hard to get into and the fact that characters just kept dying - one after another - that the story seemed a little far fetched. The ending was a somewhat of a surprise, but I think I'd secretly figured out who the killer was early on. I would recommend it to my more reluctant readers that enjoy horror/suspense.

I am not sure that I personally liked this book. I loved the twist at the end. I didn’t see that coming, but getting there at times was a bit painful. The killers introspective sprinkled throughout the book was fun, since discovering the killer was not super obvious. Overall, this book is okay. It is not great it is not bad. I don’t know how often I will recommend it, but it is not one that I would pass over if someone was looking for a murder mystery book.
Thank you to Random House Children’s and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book.

This book was engaging and twisty. Fairly dark, especially with high school-aged characters, but it kept me guessing.

So, there is murder, and lots of suspects and a little bit of crazy with the murder. A YA thriller that meets Clue. I'm still a little unclear about the whole secret society thing that allows a new to the school person right off the bat it seemed without any vetting. Mostly, this was a good read for a fall day. I don't think it was especially 'scary' but more of let me turn the page to see if I'm right. kind of book. Probably be a good YA book club book (how to kill your friends and enemies)