This was the perfect enemies-to-lovers thriller! Very interesting characters and interpersonal relationships, excellent plot twists, and great atmosphere! I loved it!

This book was everything! Enemies to lovers romance, mystery, murder. I loved it from page 1! The writing was so good.

Girls Who Burn hooked me pretty early in and didn't let go till the very end. A double who-dun-nit that had my guesses flip flopping like a fish out of water and a swoon-worthy enemies to lovers back drop that had me feeling all the feels though I wish the enemies portion had been stretched a little longer. A story pulled back layer by layer where every character on the page not only has a means for murder, but a motive and spoiler alert: I failed to figure it out in spectacular fashion. By the end my nerves were shot and my nails were to the quick so of course I recommend it!

Sorry I'm late on review. This book was a very good read. The twists were shocking at the end. I'm looking forward forward adding the hardcover to my collection and read over and over again. Thank so much for review copy

I love how this book has it all... first love, loss of friendship, grief while incorporating suspense. I have never read this author before but I will be picking up whatever they write next!

I’ve been reading more mysteries/thrillers this year, and I liked the dark, threatening house contrasted with the graceful ballerina on the cover.

Fiona was found dead at the bottom of a ravine near her house last summer. Although her death was ruled an accident, Addie believes her sister was murdered by Thatcher, a member of the wealthy Montgomery family and someone they grew up with. Addie and her family are still grieving (she’s a mess) but guilt and blame weigh heavily on her shoulders. She said hurtful things when she and Fiona fought that night. Even worse, while Fiona was dying at the bottom of the ravine, Addie was drinking and cheating on her boyfriend by spending the night with Seth, her childhood nemesis/crush and Thatcher’s cousin. Now, a year later, Thatcher’s body is found in the same ravine.

This may be the first mystery/thriller I’ve read where by the 50% mark I still didn’t have a solid suspect. Every time I but a bullseye on someone, some new tidbit would prove me wrong. And I loved it. The author skillfully leaves a trail of crumbs throughout the novel as she draws you into this world of greed, corruption, and strong family bonds. There are some seriously loathsome characters in the novel. Even Addie isn’t the most loveable character. I admired her determination to find out what really happened to Fiona, but I also disliked her selfishness and the way she treats Seth most of the time. By the end of the book she learns some hard lessons and self realizations. But she and Seth make a pretty good investigative team as they learn that people aren’t exactly what they seem and uncover layers upon layers of secrets.

Girls Who Burn is a fast-paced novel filled with clever twists. This is the author’s debut, and she’s easily made my list of authors to watch. Recommended for fans of super twisty mysteries, complex family dynamics, and shades of the enemies to lovers trope.

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

Thank you so much to the publisher and netgalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this one! It was a lot of fun and such a nice break from the fantasy I'd been reading. I love a story you can get lost in and this is exactly what this did!

I am late finishing my review for this lovely novel due to my life falling apart, but at least it isn't as bad as poor Addie's summer in this novel! I loved this. These are all relatable flawed characters in a small town. People are dying and people are grieving. I wanted the best for these kids. More like this please.

MK Pagano packs a lot in here - first love, loss of friendship, grief and suspense. With an array of characters, this novel kept me guessing right up until the very end. I look forward to seeing what she writes next!

"Girls Who Burn" by MK Pagano is a fierce and evocative novel that delves into themes of resilience and transformation with a compelling narrative. Its powerful storytelling and strong, multidimensional characters make it an unforgettable read.

Amazing plot line . Love the character development will definitely recommend to friends and family. Such an amazing book

2.5 stars rounded up

I have really had a string of mid books this month and I would love for it to end! Girls Who Burn is a very okay YA mystery in my opinion. It's relatively entertaining, sometimes has pacing issues, and ends with an excessively long explanatory villain monologue and motives that had me groaning. The writing is fine and the teen relationship drama was pretty effective for a YA novel. But given how persistent our heroine is about solving the mystery of her sister's death, she has oddly lacked curiosity in many other parts of her life. But I think there are much better YA mysteries out there and I wasn't particularly impressed. That said, I had a reasonably good time reading it until we got to the ending, which brought my rating down by a full star. I received a copy for review via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, this book did not work for me and it was a DNF.

I am not a huge romance reader, especially YA romance, and this book was just that. The romance felt a bit ridiculous to me and wasn't very realistic. I also felt like the thriller part never really took off for me. I didn't connect with the characters and just didn't care for the story.

I am not the audience for this one so I hope others love it.

Girls Who Burn was a fun, flirty and fast-paced “whodunit” summer murder mystery.

The story follows 18-year-old Addie one year after her older sister, Fiona, was found at the bottom of a ravine- dead. The cops have ruled it an accident but this doesn’t sit right with Addie as Fiona was a dance prodigy promised a spot at the American Dance Academy. A nimble ballerina wouldn’t just fall to her death. No. Addie thinks someone pushed her and she is determined to find out who. This mission Addie has set herself on has only brought her closer to her childhood rival, Seth Montgomery. Could he be the killer? Who can Addie really trust?

I really liked this book, the review is three weeks late due to summer traveling, but I finished reading it in about six days! I love summer thrillers with a romantic side plot and “Girls who Burn” was giving just that. This excerpt from the uncorrected advanced reader’s copy perfectly encapsulates the vibe:
“And summers became synonymous with the Montgomerys: manhunt in the woods between our houses, cannonballing into their giant pool. Daring one another to hop the old stone wall to the abandoned Bier mansion next door and screaming when the ivy brushed our ankles.
Searching for treasure. Legend has it the last Bier took what was left of the family fortune and buried it somewhere on their acres of land.”

This book is dripping in teenage melodrama which makes it perfect for the 14-18 year old age range but be careful because there are some scenes which can be categorized as body-checking which I viewed as potentially dangerous for impressionable younger audiences. I found the self-discovery and resolution to fall a little flat for me but I will say I was kept on my toes all the way up to the very end trying to guess who the killer was!
I gave this 3 stars because I wish M K had gone just a little deeper with the the message about wealth and class disparity, as it seemed to be a major insecurity for Addie but the dialogue (internal or otherwise) only seemed to barely scratch the tip of the iceberg. I also felt some aspects of the story to be redundant and other parts to be cliche but that may be because i am a few years older than the targeted young-adult audience.

Fun thriller, enjoyed the discussion of class within the story. I did feel bored through quite a bit of the story. The twists didn’t feel like they progressed the story as much as I would like.

For some reason, I was not expecting what I got with GIRLS WHO BURN y MK Pagano. Maybe it was based on the title, I don’t know, but I felt like I was part of the Citizen Sleuth Forum. And I liked it!

Addy Blackwood and her siblings, Davey and Fiona have always been close. When their mother left them years ago, Addy’s father threw himself into work, often leaving the children to fend for themselves. All hopes are pinned on Fiona, a ballet prodigy who unfortunately died last year when she fell from, a cliff. Was it suicide? An accident? Or was she pushed?

Addie is convinced that Fiona would not have taken her own life. She had finally earned a scholarship to a prestigious dance school and was on her way to stardom. When childhood friends, the Montgomery’s return to their summer house right next door to the Blackwoods Addy is convinced that one of them pushed her sister, causing her death she has posted online her theories about who was responsible. She also has a past relationship, with one of the Montgomery children. When one of them is found at the bottom of the same cliff, Addy herself is suspected of taking revenge. While she begins to put the pieces together of what actually happened that night, she also reignites a relationship that she thought would never mend. As suspects abound, Addy learns more about the Montgomery’s and Fiona‘s tangled web where they are concerned. Will she get to the truth? And what of her old best friend and boyfriend who have basically shut her out since her sister’s death?

I really enjoyed this book. As I said, it was not what I expected, but I was pleasantly surprised. The authors writing style led to a smooth and easy read. Just my kind of book. I will certainly be looking into other titles by MK Pagano.

Thank you to NetGalley and Nancy Paulsen Books for this arc opportunity. All opinions are my own and given voluntarily.

I want to start off by saying ya mystery thrillers scare me… As in I rarely have a good time reading them. But, this was great! Kept me guessing. I loved the characters and the plot. Would definitely recommend this to friends.

I really enjoyed this book!

Having multiple families and multiple characters experiencing so much through years is really interesting. Following the relationships between these characters while trying to figure out what happened to Fiona and Thacher was sooooo interesting. I think the book was paced well and gave me just enough information to want more. Relationship romantic or otherwise were hinted at and as I kept reading my questions or assumptions were confirmed or denied. I love that for a mystery.

I want to be able to piece together what I’m reading and guess, hopefully being right. But if not that’s also great because then I am surprised.

My only criticism is that it is similar to others in the genre, that isn’t a bad thing it just felt like something I had read before. But I really enjoyed this book and would read more by the author! This was a fun read!

The cover is also amazing!!
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I think this book definitely grabs you! As two enemies have to team up to clear their names after a classmate is found dead, they find they might have more in common than they think.
I was worried that the romance would take away from the mystery but it did not. This book gave me similar vibes to AGGGTM with an edgier story. While trying to find the murderer, there are the additional enemies of the corrupt police department and the rich family who wants to keep their name clean, no matter who it hurts.

This book grabbed me right from the start-It was. great, easy and fun read for me. Would definitely recommend to friends.