The Debutantes by Olivia Worley

Thank you @netgalley and @wednesdaybooks for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t expect to like this one so much! It’s a Young Adult mystery thriller set in NOLA. The author did an awesome job of describing New Orleans. I could picture it clearly. There are multiple POVs and takes place in the present.

I did guess a couple twists but there were others that surprised me. This was a quick read for me. Page turner. I was hooked the entire time I was reading it.

It has strong female leads. It reminded me a bit of Pretty Little Liars which I loved. The Debutantes would be a great movie or even one of those limited series that’s so popular now.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes murder mysteries, thrillers, parental drama, twists, complicated friends and a splash of romance.

4 stars!!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Releases 10/29/24

#thedebutantes #wednesdaybooks #oliviaworley

Thank you to Wednesday Books for sending over this YA Thriller. It honestly made me want to jump on a plane, fly to New Orleans and eat beignets and drink coffee at Cafe Du Monde followed by a walk down St Charles Ave to gawk at the mansions.

We meet three girls who are involved in the tradition of Debutante balls in the south, all with different thoughts and feelings about the so called “honour” of being in the Queen’s court. Especially considering their previous Queen was found dead of an apparent overdose. But is that the true story? These girls have to pull off their lace gloves and get their hands dirty investigating when their new Queen goes missing. Who is really behind the Jester mask? Are these traditions wholesome mardi gras fun or are they hiding a deep bloody secret that people will kill to keep?

I loved this one – It’s a bit hard to keep the girls straight in the beginning but as their voices take shape you start to see them blossom as real and raw humans who carry so much growing up in a place that is literally sinking into the water over time.

Add this one for you spooky list this October and make sure to keep your phone battery charged!

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advanced copy!
This was a fun pretty little liars feeling mystery thriller!
I flew through this and didn’t want to put it down. I was so intrigued in the mystery and what was going to happen. This was such a great fall october read that I really enjoyed!! Highly recommend!
Thanks again to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advanced copy!

Debutantes gave me pretty little liars vibe

This small town holds a lot of secrets that will make your jaw drop. Debutantes is definitely a page turner

Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the eARC of The Debutantes! All opinions in this review are my own.

I enjoyed People We Follow by Olivia Worley, but she has really hit her stride in The Debutantes! I could not put it down and fair warning - you will want to read the last 100 pages in one sitting. There are so many twists in The Debutantes and they were incorporated so well! Honestly, I could go on and on about this book, but you should probably just read it yourself.

I really enjoyed The Debutantes! This was a nice follow up to Worley's People To Follow, which I enjoyed last year. Thank you to St Martin's Press for the review copy via NetGalley. I want to say... love the cover art!

The dark, moody vibe and New Orleans setting instantly drew me in—it’s the perfect book for fans of Ashley Winstead's thrillers, The Agathas, The Cheerleaders, Good Girls Guide to Murder, or Pretty Little Liars. The atmosphere and pacing were spot on, with enough mystery and secrets to keep me hooked from start to finish. The cover art is mesmerizing, and the writing delivers on both the suspense and the sinister undertones of high-society drama. It’s more than just a typical YA thriller—it’s layered, twisty, and a perfect companion for a Fall day.

One year ago, Margot Landry, the reigning Queen of the Les Masques Ball was found dead the morning after the ball. This year, Lily LeBlanc, is the new Queen and she and everyone else is looking forward to a non eventful ball. That is until a Jester hijacks the ball with a "silly" prank, or was it? The night of the ball, three Maids on Lily's court, receive a text message from Lily to meet her the following morning. Vivian, Piper, and April all show up on time, but Lily is no where to be found. Now, they are receiving cryptic messages from the Jester threatening to expose all of their secrets. Was Margot's death an accident and where is Lily?
Review:
4.5 stars
I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did. It gave me Pretty Little Liars vibes and I completely ate that up! Loved every single second. It kept my attention the entire time while I tried to figure out the girl's secrets (was not even close). I loved the different POVs from Vivian, Piper, and April. Especially loved the epilogue and that final twist that I did not see coming at all! I actually didn't predict many of the twists or secrets. I did suspect someone that was involved, but didn't have all the details figured out. I love when a book shocks me! I also really loved the Mardi Gras, old rich family history/traditions/secrets, and cult elements. They were really well done!
The Debutantes publishes on 10/29 and I highly suggest picking it up ESPECIALLY if you loved Pretty Little Liars as much as I did!
Thank you to NetGalley, Olivia Worley, and Wednesday Books for this ARC of The Debutantes in exchange for an honest review.

The Debutantes was a fun YA mystery that is set in New Orleans with so many twist and turns that kept me guessing until the end. The author is new to me and I can not wait to read more books by the author. It was written well with lots of interesting characters and I loved where this book took place at. I kept turning pages until the end and I loved reading about the girls trying to solve the mystery. Overall I highly enjoyed this read and would recommend it to any reader who loves mystery books or if you are a young adult. Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this YA mystery in exchange of my honest review of The Debutantes by Olivia Worley.

I always love a good mystery and this one didn’t disappoint. We follow three debutantes who are trying to solve the disappearance of a mutual friend which seems linked to a prior death of a Queen. There are lots of secrets to be revealed, but they won’t stop regardless of the danger. It was the right amount of creepy, twisty fun that kept me reading. Great YA thriller!

Such a good book!

I love a POV a mystery/thriller. Especially with a 3 girl, unlikely to ever interacted with other before, crime fighting group. This book didn’t disappoint. I had a small thought about who I thought was but wasn’t sure. It was. So this wasn’t like insane I didn’t see that coming type of ending but so good. I wanted to scream at them many times. *warning* *red flag* * don’t!* but these kids did what they wanted 🤦🏻‍♀️

Anyway. So good!! Love it 💕

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

In The world of a debutante ball there is always secrets. 3 girls try to uncover the secrets of the underground world of the rich families in New Orleans.

An absolutely thrilling and powerfully written YA novel with twists and turns and dynamic characters tht will keep you on the edge of your seat. 100% recommend to those who love YA thrillers!

This book was “The Last Housewife” meets “Pretty Little Liars”. I was having so much fun reading it!

It was very teen drama, but with a touch of elite sophistication. Mysterious deaths, missing girls, masked men, oh my! All the mystery and drama takes place in New Orleans, which was very fitting.

“…a debutante ball specifically for high-school girls, which is how I came to be standing here, craving the sweet release of the apocalypse.”

I was having a bit of trouble keeping the characters separate in my mind. I think it’s because they had so much in common and only a couple things different, but other than that I love it! The story moved along very well and there were enough twists to keep everything interesting!
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ʏᴏᴜʟʟ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
•Teen Drama/Thriller
•YA
•Secret Society
•New Orleans

This book was fun for a lot of a reasons. Though I didn't grow up in a society with debutantes and balls and Mardi Gras being a holiday, I did go to school with a lot of women who participated in the historical krewes so this story was intriguing and illuminating. I recognized the fictional nature of a lot of the happenings, but there was much that I could identify as accurate and you could tell that New Orleans was either near and dear to the author's heart or that they had done meticulous research. This was fun, exciting, frustrating, and endearing; I didn't love all of the characters and found the way the book wrapped up to be a little annoying, but this was YA at its best.

The Debutantes does an incredible job capturing how scary the idea that some people shouldn't face consequences for their actions can be. This story is scary with a bit of social commentary and a lot of interesting New Orleans lore. As someone who lived in New Orleans for 7 years I can say this is one of the most accurate representations of New Orleans I have ever read though I can't speak to the depiction of New Orleans high society as I was very much not a part of that.

I am not typically a thriller reader so I can't speak very much to how this was as a thriller. I found it scary and was reminded why I'm a devoted romance reader. I will say that this story was very well done because it took something that is scary about our society and made it the very clear villain of this story. While you walk away with a sense that the particular experiences the characters had was suspenseful, you also think wow I could see that happening and that is kind of scarier.

If you are looking for a spooky read this is a great pick! While it is a young adult book, I felt it was written more for an adult audience and I think some content would go over a teenager's head.

New all time favorite YA thriller! New Orleans, debutante culture, Pretty Little Liars vibes, and twists and turns at every corner that I did not see coming. I absolutely loved the New Orleans setting and add in the Les Masques Ball where you get to see little back stories into each character and their relationship with the debutante lifestyle, it sucked me right in! This unlikely group of girls, the maids, join up to uncover a dark and seedy mystery surrounding the debutante world they find themselves in as well as what happened to Lily, their queen. This mystery was well nuanced and plotted perfectly with so many great twists, I did not want to put this book down. And that ending, unbelievable! Please pick this one up immediately!

Publishing 10/29/24

Thank you so much to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley, author Olivia Worley, and St. Martin's Press: Wednesday Books for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

This was a great read for the fall season. Set over the course of several nights around New Years, this was a fast-paced, atmospheric mystery that I had a great time reading! I grew up very close to Louisiana, so I am quite familiar with the food, traditions, etc. As I've gotten older, I've been privileged to visit New Orleans twice in the past couple of years, and I have loved my experience there both times. As Worley touches on in The Debutantes, the city has an extensive history that you can truly feel even just walking around. I didn't know much, if anything, about the culture of debutantes in NOLA before reading this, but I was still extremely hooked by the premise. Luckily, I was sucked in from page one, and I was truly invested in finding out what happened to Lily and Margot alike. I personally did think that ultimately, especially as the book progressed, there was a bit too much going on at all times to be 100% invested in the story. I was able to guess some of the twists, but then others would come so fast that it didn't even give me as a reader time to process the previous reveal. I also thought the girls blended together a bit too much for it to written as individual perspectives in each chapter. These issues aside, I still had a fun time reading, and this was truly a book that hooked me in!

3.5

the debutantes kicks off at the Les Masques Ball, a highlight of New Orleans' high society. The shadow of last year’s event looms over everyone, especially since the previous Queen died shortly after the ball. This year takes a dark turn when a masked figure disrupts the festivities, splattering red paint on the new Queen, Lily, and displaying images of the former monarch.After the ball, Lily goes missing, leaving her friends and some not-so-friendly debutantes puzzled about what happened. The adults, who should be aking charge, seem to think Lily simply ran away. However, the girls suspect there’s more to the story, especially when they start receiving threatening messages that only strengthen their concerns. Three very different debutantes must join forces to uncover the hidden truths behind the masks of Mardi Gras.

I really enjoyed it overall. At first, it felt a bit slow to get into because we were introduced to several different perspectives, which meant a lot of characters to keep track of. The setup reminded me of Pretty Little Liars, with a group of girls trying to uncover the identity of someone sending threatening messages. The adults in the story often seemed oblivious, which added to that comparison.

I appreciated the conversations around the debutante scene and the dynamics between men and women, as well as the theme of privilege within such an exclusive environment. The setting of New Orleans during Mardi Gras added a vibrant backdrop to the plot, which I really liked. I was a bit uncertain about how the story wrapped up and the final twists, but overall, I had a great time reading it!

Murder, debutantes, secret societies, mysterious and threatening notes. This was a very twisty and captivating YA thriller. Kept my attention and was well paced. I loved the culture of NOLA that was woven into the story as someone who has never been, I was transported there. Thank you NetGalley for the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun read! It reminded me of a faster, shorter version of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder. Of course the characters weren’t as developed with the whole story being just one book but they definitely all had their own personalities and motivations throughout. There were some twists that were a little predictable but more were very unpredictable! Definitely a quick exciting read!