📚: Win Lose Kill Die by Cynthia Murphy
⭐️: 3/5

Head Girl - a position at Morton Academy that is coveted by all and a tradition for decades. It sets someone up for lifelong success, far after boarding school. And this year, it also appears to set someone up for their death. Who is targeting the chosen ones this year? And who's next, and who's left as the bodies continue to pile?

A YA read that's maybe geared toward a YA-aged reader. I found a few plot holes so big that I could live in them. While predictable, the ending was done so incredibly well, that it bumped up what I thought would be a rating in the 2s up to a solid 3. 

Big thanks to Random House and Delacorte Press via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Win Lose Kill Die is out by this publisher on 11/28.

WIN LOSE KILL DIE by Cynthia Murphy

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc. This book is out January 6.

If you like low budget horror movies, you'll probably like this book. What sounds like a great idea - dark academia, super smart hand selected students, secret societies, creepy cults- just fell flat for me. It is labeled as young adult- but it just felt immature. Everything felt written like it "should" seem- as in someone who has no idea what life as a teenager is really like. What teenagers use the word "honey" towards each other or kiss friends cheeks when they meet them?! Plus there were so many cringey moments... like "I've never heard a naughty word from your mouth before. You've changed." with no evidence of such change. Also, everyone dies. It was like a slasher movie without the gore. Threats written on steamy bathroom mirrors... One body after another- always dying immediately and never checked by EMTs... only people shaking their heads slowly... nobody asked questions and the police just accepted the reasons. It was way unbelievable.

I've read some YA books... but this is the first one I read that felt like the writing itself was YA.

This was such a fun, fast-paced young adult mystery/thriller. I few through this book pretty quick and I really enjoyed the storyline as well as the boarding school setting. I did find this book to be fairly predictable and I knew early on who the killer was and never doubted my guess. That being said, I still found this to be an incredibly fun read that lovers of ya thrillers are sure to enjoy.

Unfortunately, I did DNF this book. I liked the premise and I had seen a lot of hype surrounding it. The book just ended up not being for me.

I read about a quarter way through the book and I just wasn’t feeling connected to any of the characters or to the story. I also found myself not loving the style of writing.

I’m sure this would be a great book for someone just beginning to read YA thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I'm a little torn over this book. On one hand I thought it was good for a YA thriller, I think I had just seen it hyped up on booktok too much so I was expecting more. It was a super quick and easy read and kind of read like a horror movie. I think the twist was just too anticlimatic for me and happened to far towards the end of the book where I feel like I didn't get enough closure on what had happened. If you're into YA books through I would check this one out, I'm just not the biggest YA reader.

High school can be murder… but this school takes it even more seriously than most. This was a quick read that had an interesting storyline.

ARC from NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley for the copy of this book.

The plot was very interesting and laid out in a way that i knew who this nameless killer was the whole time but kept second guessing myself because it was too obvious to be true.

The story kept my attention the whole time which is more then i can say about most book i can predict so early on.

Would probably recommend this to readers who dont read mystery thrillers and their normal genre.

I received an advanced review copy of this murder mystery/horror set in a posh boarding school from #NetGalley. Lots of dark academia vibes. Nothing groundbreaking but an easy read if you are into this as an alternate form of watching Law and Order reruns.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

If you're looking for a quick book that is a thriller but more thriller light, if that makes sense, this fits the bill. It's easy to read quickly and it isn't all that deep. I did find it lacks some substance, but sometimes that is what you're looking for in a book. I actually enjoyed reading it.

The first half of the book really worked for me. Loved the character, Liz, and the friendships of the students at Morton school. Unique characters and a compelling mystery. Toward the end, the story started falling apart for me. Some things needed for the resolution felt forced. Didn't find the last third of the story that believable or engaging. But that may just be how the story was for me. Other readers might follow it through to the end and find it a satisfying read.

I was so intrigued by the premise that I requested an ARC of this. I was granted in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. For me, it was predictable and I found myself wanting more. I just don't think it was meant for me!

Win Lose Kill Die by Cynthia Murphy was a very intriguing story.
It will appeal to fans of young adult horror and thrillers.
I was not disappointed in the storyline. I thought the mystery was good with lots of twists that I didn't see coming and kept me glued to my Kindle.
The author has written a suspenseful, mysterious and compelling novel.
This book kept me absolutely hooked until the very end with a wild ending.
A page turner of a suspense novel that will suck you in quickly so sit down read, and enjoy the ride.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc of Win Lose Kill Die. First, YA thrillers are really a hit or miss for me, unfortunately this was a miss. While I didn't pinpoint one twist in the story, I pretty much figured out who the "slasher:" was, who was involved and who was going to get killed. I was really annoyed by some of the dialogue and it wasn't that thrilling. The story at times was hard to keep up with and boring at times. I pretty much skimmed the book and the ending lacked luster. I would recommend it for people just getting into YA thriller and it gives a little Cruel Intentions vibe.

Thank you Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for my honest review!

This was a quick and engaging read. I love books based on elite schools with a murder mystery aspect. The overall storyline was intriguing and honestly the ending had my mouth dropping.

However, I just did not really care about the relationships between the main characters and her friends/boyfriend. For some reason, the relationship building felt lackluster for me. But, the story was engaging enough for me to want to finish it. Honestly, if the relationship building was better this would've been a 4 star for me because the story line was really good.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance review copy in return for an honest review. This was a very fast paced thriller that I truly didn’t see the twist coming for.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. While the pacing of this story was good, overall the mystery didn't amount to much for me, as I fairly quickly figured out the reveal. It was enjoyable, but not as complex and I feel I need from a thriller/mystery. Some people will love this, I just think it wasn't really meant to be for me :)

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this e-arc. I loved how fast paced this book was. It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed my time reading this book.

The writing was decent enough for me to finish the book. I easily guessed the culprit, but it also didn't make much sense in the long run. Various scenes were written so it wasn't so much a twist as a confounding ending.

I am baffled that that many deaths didn't result in more intense investigations. I can't see how she (Patel) managed to pay off enough police to not investigate, and baffled that Liz was the culprit. I had guessed it but the asides from the killer don't really add up to her being the guilty person. And, a silly point but didn't see the point of her switching her name to Beth

3.5/5 ⭐️

First off, thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!

I think this book was a fantastic YA thriller, mystery novel! I did not see the twist coming, and I was left guessing until the end!

I think I’m reaching the point where I’m not in love with YA anymore, and phasing out. But for those who enjoy YA, this is a fantastic book for the genre!!

"Win Lose Kill Die" was a fast-paced enjoyable read! I thought the author did a great job crafting a plot with twists, mystery and suspense.

The Dark Academia genre is one of my favorites to read. When you take a Thriller and set it in an Elite School with a dubious past and secret society the story instantly becomes more atmospheric and intriguing to me.

While most of my "whodunnit" theories were correct I did not predict that ending. It you're a fan of the YA Mystery Thrillers genre you're going to want to add this one to your TBR.

Thank you Cynthia Murphy, Net Galley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for providing me with an ARC of this book.