Member Reviews

I'm gonna be honest, I only wanted to read this because the title. It was a good read, not really what I would normally choose. Annie has been killed, she wakes up and cannot remember who killed her. While it wasn't really my thing, it might be something that interests you. Ok, I read this some time ago and forgot to do the review, but thank you NetGalley for the advanced preview.

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This book was so well plotted and I adored the FMC's strong voice.

incredibly easy to follow and get addicted to. It kept me guessing although towards the middle I did suspect the correct person!

I really loved the interesting way the 'ghosts' were written in that the living could see an feel them.

My only dislike was that it felt really sad at the end and I really wanted there to be some sort of relief as it was very dark..

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When Annie Lane wakes up in the river and pulls herself onto the bank, her new life (as a dead girl) begins. With the help of a few others in her position, Annie discovers who killed her and enacts her revenge.
I am giving this book three stars only because I didn't quit reading it, but it was really hard to like Annie, and the couple of characters who seem to have the most redeeming qualities actually turn out to be not so great. Also, I never really understood how some ghosts can be seen and even interact with people.

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It’s a good book if you like paranormal mystery books. However I was left with so many questions that I feel confused and let down.

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Annie wakes up with no clue as to what happened to her but soon realizes someone killed her and she's now out to find out who did it and why. Overall, a solid paranormal mystery with lots of twists and turns. There were some plot holes and questions about how the whole ghost thing worked, but it didn't detract from the mystery.

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3.5 stars rounded up because I enjoyed this enough to finish it in two sittings!

If you're in the mood for a supernatural tale of revenge with redemption for our protagonist, look no further! Annie Lane wakes up on Resurrection Hill to find that something has happened to her but she has no memory of what happened or if she's even alive (spoiler--she's not). But this is not really a spoiler both because there are a ton of clues that point to that, and of course, it's talked about in the blurb for this book. This does not ruin the fun. We know that she somehow ended up dead, and while I wish we knew more details about how she is currently dead but still unalive, once you accept this as what's happening, it's a fun ride as she tries to solve her murder and find her missing friend. Except for her missing best friend, she's had a lifetime full of disappointments beginning first and foremost with her sorry excuse for a mom who is much more interested in finding her next high with her various boyfriends than taking responsibility for her own children. She's not popular in school (far from it), she's not a great student, she's got a terrible ex-boyfriend, and her younger brothers, while okay, are not exactly on the best speaking terms with her. So who killed her? It may be a small town, but the suspects are plenty. Based on what I know about murder mysteries, I was able to make a correct prediction, but it was still a surprise when I discovered I was right. I also loved Annie's found family, and while the rules of what they can and cannot do as the undead (and why don't people not know they're undead), I basically let go of the "how" and just enjoyed the story.

If you like contemporary YA mystery thrillers with a dose of the supernatural, you'll like this one. It would be a great beach read.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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A great YA style read. I had a little difficulty with Sam’s lingo. But it did add to the story. Revenge at its finest! A mystery and thriller. Fun to read. Teens with a vengeful twist to keep you reading.

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Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch is a fun, fast-paced read that delivers on its promise of a sassy, revenge-seeking protagonist. The plot twists keep you guessing, and the paranormal elements add an interesting twist to the typical mystery. While the characters could have been developed further, the overall story is entertaining and enjoyable.

It's a perfect choice for readers who enjoy a mix of humor, suspense, and the supernatural.

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Codie Crowley’s propulsive debut Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch presents a furious and cathartic thriller skewering society’s condemnation of “unlikeable” girls. 17-year-old Annabel (Annie) Lane wakes up and learns quickly that her life has changed forever. It seems that someone dumped her body in the water, and she's dead. Or is she? She immediately meets Hunt, and Howl, and Fern, and Sam who apparently died in the 1950's. The only thing that Annie remembers is being chased through the woods.

When she wakes from the cold water of the Paulinskill River, she does so with a hunger for revenge on the entire small town of Hagley, and everyone in it who are acting like this is all somehow her fault. When she arrives at school, everyone looks at her like she's the walking dead. After getting into a argument with the principal and Sheriff who treated her like a second daughter, she returns home to a mother who is irate that she pulled some sort of prank.

What is even more strange is that Annie's best friend Maura seems to disappear off the face of the earth. This book was wild. As Annie tries to find out why she was murdered, it becomes a guessing game. Could it be the ex-boyfriend? Could it be a co-worker? Could it be someone close to her that she trusted? Then there's the mystery of Sam. Sam who becomes a fixture in Annie's life. Sam who may be the King of Lies, or just a person who was killed like Annie.

One of the best things about this book are the short chapters, and the mixture of humor and horror that the author uses to tell the story. Honestly, you could have blown me over with some serious winds once the villain is discovered, especially after Annie gets a helping hand from her best friend. I usually don't post trigger warnings since the author does a good job of what is expected from the story.

In this case, the trigger warnings are justified since a lot of really awful stuff happens to Annie before the book even begins. This is probably going to confuse readers, but Sam reminded me of bad boy James Dean with the way he talks, and of course his motorcycle. I think readers will be confused by the story itself. Is Annie really dead? Yes, even though she can be seen by others, she can eat like people who are alive, and she still has feelings, and no, she is not a vampire, or the walking dead. The curiosity lies with where Annie died, and the fact that she was resurrected and there are still things that will scare the crap out of you.

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When I first heard of this book I remember grabbing it just because I liked the title lol I didn’t look at it anymore until it was almost time for it come out and I had to decide if I was going to read it or not. It finally came out, and trust me when i say it was worth the read for more than a cool title.

So the first thing that I actually thought was cool was the premise. The idea is that she had a wrongful death that occured on top of a magical place, and because of this wrongful death, her soul is forced to haunt this place at the top of the hill. The coolest part about this tho was the way they came back almost completely normal. She didn’t remember anything from when it happened, but she just kept throwing up something that was actually a clue, but she didn’t realize it. It was totes cool.

There were a few things I didn’t like about this tho. At the beginning, Annie can’t remember what happened to her. She has no idea that she’s died. She just goes about her time, all the while, she’s actually dead. It took her so long to get there. I was like dude, just tell her because you’re wasting so much time! It got old really quickly. I also didn’t care for the ending. The book spent so much time building itself up, but when it got to the ending, it was like this happened, here’s this thing they did, they’re not there, find them, done. It was like very uneventful, but it also felt very formulaic. Idk how to explain it without spoilers.

I don’t think there was one character that I actually liked besides the ghost with the motorcycle. Everyone else in this novel was talking in circles. I kept wanting to be like, “of course she’d never believe you. She probably doesn’t even know what you’re saying.” And let me just tell you again, I DIDN’T LIKE ANY ADULT IN THIS BOOK. Literally all of them were gross somehow and i wanted all of them to feel her wrath.

The writing style in this one was hella good tho. I was hooked from this story from the very beginning. And Idk if it was Crowley, the narrator, or a mix of the two, but this audio was amazing! I was so into it I was listening to it when I had left my Airpods at home. I was at work, in the library, sorting through some books just out loud. That’s how good this was.

This book surprised me in so many ways. But it also disappointed me. In far less and less important ways tho. So all in all, if you’re questioning reading this, stop questioning and pick it up. This was a fun little book and I can’t wait to see what else we will get from Codie. I do hope there’s more in this universe.

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Overall this is an enjoyable paranormal mystery, probably best suited for a YA audience.

I enjoyed Annie as a character. I also really liked the side characters, and wished we got a bit more of them/their back stories.

The plot was intriguing for me: dead girl comes back as some kind of ghost to solve her own murder? Sign me up!

Overall though there were a lot of plot holes that left me scratching my head a bit, as well as elements of the plot that felt a little loose-endy. Some examples:
- I didn't fully understand the point of introducing the whole "Is Sam a murderer?" quesiton to the plot and then leaving it nearly totally unexplored.
-Who were the smokey spectres that kept talking to Annie?
-What was the motivation for Grady ? I didn't find him to be a believable villain.
-What was the deal with the twins? The other undead friends? We don't learn really anything about them, so why introduce them to the story at all?
-I didn't feel like I understood WHY everyone could see and interact with Annie as though she were still alive when she's....not?
=I dont understand what happens NOW, if no one realizes Annie is actually dead? Is she just going to disappear again? Is she going to pretend she's still alive and go home? Hello?

In the end I had more questions than answers, but I enjoyed the book still, so gave it a 3 star rating overall.

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Annie Lane is bad to the bone, until she’s murdered and left to become just that, bones. Her spirit has to learn what happened, both to her when she was alive and when she died, and seemingly more important to her, where her missing good girl best friend is. Hell hath no fury like a girl and her bestie fighting the injustice of the world and determined to get justice.

I really hope there’s more to come with this one, as each spirit had a backstory im just dying to know and of course, the special Halloween nights

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This book is perfect for fall reading. This had a lot of twists and turns. If you liked the Movie Jennifer's Body and Boo, Bitch then you will like this book. I haven't read anything like this before. This would be a perfect horror movie

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Title:   Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch
Author: Codie Crowley    
Genre: YA       
Rating:  3.5 out of 5

Between her careless mom, her cheating ex-boyfriend, and her rotten reputation around town, Annie Lane is used to being left behind. But she’s never been left for dead before—until she wakes up to find her body’s been dumped on a mountain rumored to raise the dead.

Annie can’t remember who killed her, but she’ll stop at nothing to figure it out and make them pay. Because girls like her don’t get justice unless they take it for themselves.

This was an entertaining read, although it was a little too campy for me. Annie’s life must have sucked—I’ve never seen such a bunch of hateful, nasty people—but she wasn’t exactly a nice person herself, so hopefully her afterlife will improve. I didn’t see any character growth, just a deep-seated need for vengeance and revenge, even when it was unwarranted.

Codie Crowley lives in Salem, Massachusetts. Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch is her debut novel.

(Galley courtesy of Disney Hyperion in exchange for an honest review.)

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The very first page of Here Lies A Vengeful Bitch immediately had me hooked. It's dark, it's funny, it deals with revenge and taking power back. as Annie tries to figure out who murdered and deal with being dead. The mystery pulls you in but Annie tenacity and wit keeps you invested. There are some unanswered questions and unfinished storylines but overall, a well-written, engaging read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

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When Annie wakes up in a stream, she knows something is wrong, but she quickly comes to realize it's the kind of wrong that you don't come back from. Her resurrection will only last as long as she follows the rules, but nothing's going to stop her from getting revenge on whoever killed her - as soon as she can figure out who it was.

This is a fast-paced adventure story with a great, snarky heroine who had a truly terrible life but didn't let it crush her and isn't going to let death crush her either. A fun read that kept me up way past my bedtime!

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If you are looking for ghosts, murder, and a little vengeance, this is the book for you. Annie isn’t exactly the most likable character. Something happened to her but she can’t remember what. I definitely did not figure this book out before the ending.

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I knew from the title alone that this would be a new favorite, but I wasn't prepared for what a snarky, spooky, voicey debut this was! I absolutely loved it.

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Here Lies a Vengeful Bitch by Codie Crowley is a darkly captivating novel that skillfully blends suspense with biting humor. Crowley’s sharp prose and intricate plot twists create an engaging and unpredictable reading experience. The novel’s unique voice and memorable characters make it a standout in the genre.

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The title alone drew to me to this book, but the writing, plot, and characters made me stay! Annie’s life is nothing to brag about, so when she is left for dead on a mountain, she has no reason NOT to seek vengeance. Annie is so freaking awesome! This book is spiteful, funny, a little campy, and so unique!

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