I could not get into it! I love a teen thriller murder mystery but this seemed too similar to other titles in the genre!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5 stars

[ thank you @wednesdaybooks for the eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own! ]

PUB DATE: October 29, 2024 (out now!)

THOUGHTS:

This was the perfect book to read for the spooky/halloween season! It’s a YA thriller set in New Orleans during Mardi Gras.

This had my attention immediately!! The secrets, the lies, the twists. Dare I say, it reminded a bit of Pretty Little Liars? I was drawn to the mystery of the dead queen and how the four characters were weaved together with their different POVs.

I love a good YA thriller and this checked all the boxes for me. If you are looking for something that’s a little bit eerie (but not scary!) check this book out!

The Debutantes is a typical YA mystery. It's full of bad behaving teens, and secrets but not really original. The story was okay, the characters were all unlikable and not in an entertaining way. I liked the setting of New Orleans and the vivid descriptions. There were some decent twists but the ending was unsatisfying.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher the ARC.

Okay yeah, I ate this up and I was at the edge of my seat for much of the book. This is the first novel I have read from Olivia Worley and it will not be the last. The setting was perfect for this tension and drama. The characters had me guessing and shook!

I enjoy a thriller as much as the next gal and really enjoyed Worley's last book.

Unfortunately, this one felt a bit predictable and fell flat for me. The multiple perspectives were hard to follow, and it felt like the big twist was obvious and the payoff wasn't as substantive as it could have been.

The debutantes is a ya southern gothic. A group of debutantes are still reeling from the death of Margot a year ago at the ball. When this years queen, lily, sends a text to her maids, but doesn’t show to the meeting she requested, the maids are horrified it’s happening again to another queen. Vivian, April, and piper are determined to find lily before it’s too late. They end up uncovering a deadly conspiracy that will rock their New Orleans town forever-and hit closer to home than any ever expect.

Told is alternating views between the debutantes, Worley draws readers into the mysterious world and the underbelly of new Orleans culture. The atmosphere Worley evokes sets this apart from other ya reads.

A fun fast-paced atmospheric read that reads above a typical
Ya novel. Thanks to the publisher for the arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review..

If you are looking for a horror/thriller YA book, then this book is for you. It is appropriately set in New Orleans, where we all know is a spooky city with ghosts. And add in a good ole fashioned Debutante ball (Which I thought were a thing of the past, but I guess the Deep South is still holding on). Add in murder and a kidnapping/possible second murder and you have a great spooky read for teens.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Net Galley for an e-read copy!

This was a very quick and fun YA mystery/thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I almost wish that there had been one less character in the main cast, since sometimes I felt like it was hard to differentiate them all from each other, but overall, I thought each character was likable and I found myself rooting for all of them.

I thought that the setting was really well done as well as the almost stereotypical debutante society, although the characters all went below the surface level, which I appreciated.

Wow! I can’t believe it took me so long to finish this book. 13 days). Normally, if I’m into a book I will carve out time to read it because I’m engrossed and don’t want to stop reading. This one was more like a chapter or two before bed and not even every night

It wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t amazing either. A YA suspense that gave me Pretty Little Liars vibes.

4/5⭐️ This book was actually medium to fast paced with some of the chapters! I breezed through this in one sitting! But it was predictable! The question is did the author execute this story…yes she did! The reason for the 4 stars is because the ending was not rushed at all! Thank god for that! The author gave us time to marinate the reveal and why it was this person and all that! So I appreciate that! The audiobook experience wasn’t too bad as the narrator was trying to use different accents and talks for the characters because the chapters are titled by the characters! I do wish there were multiple narrators for this! It would have brought the story to life for sure! Overall, a great read!

Thanks so much to Wednesday Books for the ARC!

First of all, I just have to say that the cover is perfection. It definitely made me pick it up!

The book also started off so well with a bang! I was hooked from the first couple minutes!

While things started off strong, I did get bored as things went on and wasn't a fan of how things ended. Overall, it was fine but not memorable.

This is out now!

A very interesting mystery that takes place in New Orlean. There is a lot of depth and detail in the characters, and a lot happening in this novel, but there are also some twists and turns that you will not see coming. I really enjoyed this book, looking for more from Olivia Worley.

There is nothing I love more than a YA thriller about rich kids! I had some issues getting into this book though. The Debutantes follows high society in New Orleans and teenage girls at a special coming of age ball. The year before the main princess of the ball, Margo, was found dead. This year the main princess Lily goes missing. Lily's close friends start to dig into her disappearance and it takes them to a secret society where they believe people know more than they are letting on about Margo's death and maybe Lily's disappearance. I had a really hard time getting invested in the characters and the plot because it felt pretty drawn out. I was not getting enough breadcrumbs or information middle of book to keep me wanting to know more. I wish that we were getting Lily's point of view as well early /middle of book. Overall I'd give it 3 stars. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this eARC!

Mardi Gras, deb balls and secrets, like bodies, that never stay buried.
👑
In New Orleans the elite participate every year in the Les Masques Ball where debutantes make their debut. Last year the Queen of the ball was found dead of an overdose after the event. This year the event is hijacked by a person in a Jester costume and this year’s Queen, Lily, disappears soon after. Three girls, all connected to Lily in some way, make it their mission to find her and why she disappeared. In their investigation they uncover just how dark New Orleans’ society really is…
👑
I’ve had this one on my radar ever since I saw the cover. I love a good YA thriller and one about debutantes is such a relatable thing living in the south. I loved the New Orleans setting but at times it felt confusing between the three POVs, even listening to the audiobook with various accents made it slightly better, but since the characters seemed a bit two dimensional to me, it didn’t pack the punch I wanted it to.

CW: adult/minor relationship, kidnapping, murder, misogyny, blood, death, classism, drug abuse, sexual assault, confinement, drug use, infidelity, suicide, fire, gaslighting

Think gossip girl but a messy whodunnit murder/missing person mystery.
Rich people and their messy lives, how they intertwine and their plan to save their friend.

This one kept me on my toes! From the first page during the debutante ball, I was hooked. We are following three girls who aren't really friends but know each other and are all connected by Lily and something that happened in the past.

There were plenty of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat, and I really enjoyed the growing friendship between the girls. And that ending was a complete surprise!

The Debutantes, a YA thriller set among the elite of New Orleans, is a wild ride. Overly complicated at times, and often too contrived, too convoluted, but a fun read nonetheless. I devoured it in a day and had a great time with these characters and all their, admittedly over the top, dramas.

Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy.

This was a fun one. The story is about 3 teens, April, Vivian, and Piper. Each has a secret. When their friend Lily disappears from the debutante ball after she was crowned queen, (a year after the previous queen was found dead) it’s a race to find out what happened to Lily and how it may or may not be connected to the former queen’s death.

The story was a great pace and I really enjoyed the writing. I will say, the end became kind of convoluted and a huge info dump, which made it a little hard to follow, but the twists and turns were great. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, there was another twist at the very very end.

Thank you to Olivia Worley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read and review!

Thank you to NetGalley, Olivia Worley and St Martin’s Press for the free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This wasn’t exactly what I was expecting from Worley since her last novel was a bit murdery and gory - which I loved. This wasn’t like that but it was a twisty and interesting novel that kept me guessing the entire way through.

3.5 rounded up
Ya read
The Debutantes of New Orleans are expected to behave and be kind. They are not supposed to go snooping around trying to find out answers about anything that is happening. But when one of their own has died and another ends up missing, that is exactly what they do. They search for clues because it seems that the cops aren't going to do it
They must be getting close because they start receiving text to back off
They are not going to let another debutante disappear to their watch
Who can they turn to for help when it seems the entire town has secrets and is too afraid to poke their noses in the secret gentleman's club