his premise is captivating! It combines elements of mystery, suspense, and high society drama, which could make for a compelling story. The setting of New Orleans during Mardi Gras adds an extra layer of intrigue and atmosphere.

The characters seem well-defined, each with their own unique personalities and motivations. The dynamics between them, particularly as they come together to uncover the truth behind Lily's disappearance and the threats from the mysterious Jester, offer plenty of room for tension and development.

The central mystery of Margot's death and the subsequent disappearance of Lily, coupled with the threat to the other debutantes, provides a strong backbone for the plot. The exploration of the darker side of the debutante world, as well as the uncovering of secrets and hidden agendas, promises to keep readers engaged and guessing until the very end.

Overall, this story concept has great potential to be a gripping and entertaining read, with its blend of mystery, suspense, and social commentary. With careful execution and attention to detail, it could certainly stand out in the realm of young adult fiction.

An exhilarating YA thriller! This book had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The mystery kept me guessing, and the twists were jaw-dropping. A definite five-star read that I couldn't put down!

This was an excellent read. The story was compelling and kept me guessing as I tried to figure out what had happened to Lily LeBlanc and discovered the truth about Margot Landry. I enjoyed the alternating perspectives and thought that hearing from the different characters as each begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together added to the story. I also really enjoyed the setting of New Orleans and the debutante ball. I have never read a book with a setting like this and it was fascinating reading about something so different from my own life. An excellent read and I know my mystery-loving teen readers at the library will be thrilled with this one!

"𝑴𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝑰'𝒎 𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆, 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆. 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑰'𝒗𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔: 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒊𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕."

Special thanks to @wednesdaybooks @oliviaworley and @netgalley for this #gifted eARC.

➡️ swipe for synopsis 👉🏼

MY REVIEW:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️[4.25]

Do you love a book where you love to hate , but also can't wait to save the MC. Then do I have the story for you.....

This was such an awesome, atmospheric, fast paced YA thriller - I couldn't put it down! It has lots of twists and even gave a little bit of a dark academia feel to it.
It revolves around a spooky NOLA urban legend vibe that, of course, is mainly for the upper 1% and old school money.

This secret society even trickles down into the young boys of high school age being recruited to join the legacy, if they're chosen.

Yet after one of the yearly debutant shows goes horribly wrong, some can't help but think it's ties to the death of the previous years debutant winner.

Now some of the girls are on a mission to not only find out who killed her, but who's take their friend and newly crowned winner.

This all wraps up into a great almost murder mystery including young love, and some action packed scenes and deep dark secrets.

I highly recommend this read! It will keep you guessing til the very end!

PUB DAY:
Oct 29, 2024

QOTD ❓️⁉️❓️ Have you ever been in any type of "pagent".
Or
Do you know any spooky legends?

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#mysteryandthrills #thrillerlover #thrilleraddict #thedebutantes #oliviaworley #bookbuzz #halloweenbook #spookybook #tbrpile
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I just knew I was going to enjoy the book! With a New Orleans setting, we take a deep dive into a world full of class and privilege and what some will do to cover up a secret.. or two.

I really loved the setting and debutante twist to this YA thriller. The multiple POV’s really helped to shape this story and I truly didn’t know what was going to happen next. The twists and turns just kept on coming right until the very end! Truly I’m in shock lol. I really only guessed one little tidbit of the story but still didn’t know the why but truly so much more happened than what I had guessed! I also loved the found friendships in this book 🥹.

This story also touches on the pressures of doing well in school, family pressures, self harm and feelings of loneliness. I feel like everyone can relate to someone in this story.

Overall, this was an excellent ya mystery/thriller with a fantastic setting and a jaw dropping conclusion!

I really loved this book. It’s so fast-paced with a new mystery to unveil at every turn of the page. I truly had no idea where the story was going and it had me guessing the whole time. Not only that but the way that Worley laces a social commentary into the storyline is done in a way that doesn’t feel forced. I enjoyed the multiple POVs because it helped keep the picture a little jumbled by not revealing everything about a certain character. It also helped create an unreliable impression of Lily because we weren’t only seeing her personality through people who loved her but also people who weren’t very fond of her. I definitely will be picking up my own copy of the book for my shelves.

The review is posted on my Instagram on June 8th, 2024.

this is the story of the debutante ball set in new Orleans, but the one crowned queen disappears, just like the one from the previous year. it was hard to put down, read in one sitting.

The pacing was slower than I would like for a thriller but I wasn't able to guess every twist, which is always a plus. What I appreciated the most about this book was the dialogue. I typically shy away from YA because the teens are not always realistically written, their interactions and thought process is often cringe. But I actually thought the characters in this book were well written and realistic.

Olivia Worley does it again with another great contemporary mystery! I was on the edge of my seat for this read, eagerly wanting to both know more about this elite world but also solve the mystery. I liked that Worley kept adding twists all the way through, so this book never felt predictable or boring.

I’m going to start with what I liked about this book-New Orleans and the culture surrounding debutantes and what it’s like to live that life. It was fascinating to learn about, as was the disturbing toxic masculinity that plays a large role in this story. I also really liked some of the characters. I appreciated Margot and April for their unwillingness to give up and conform to lives that they don’t want and I liked Piper for her intelligence. I was invested in them as characters.

Now for the parts I didn’t like so much. Not all of the characters were fleshed out enough for me to root for. I wish more had been done with Vivian and what made her tick. She’s a main character who is keeping a huge secret from her best friend and I didn’t feel like she felt very guilty about it at all.

I was also a bit confused about why Lily acted the way she did while missing-it seemed a bit of a stretch. I also thought that there were other characters who could have been developed more. Aiden, Lily, Savannah and Piper’s mom were people I would have liked to know more about as supporting characters.

Overall, I think this is a novel that people who like YA thrillers and mysteries will devour. It’s easy to get lost in the plot and the setting and just enjoy the ride.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with the advanced copy to read.

"Jessica Goodman meets The Agathas in this taut, twisty YA thriller set in the glittering world of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, where secrets--and bodies--never stay buried."

"When the gloves come off, the truth comes out."

Thank you to Netgalley and the author Olivia Worley for letting me along with review her new book ARC that releases October 29th 2024. This was a five star read for me that had me drawed in specifically from the amazing cover of the novel. It is a young adult mystery thriller that is set in the city of New Orleans. The Debutantes reminds me of the pretty little liars books written by Sara Shepard that I loved growing up in my teenage/ early young adult years. The only difference between the novels is this one deals with debutantes and the socialites in the city.

This novel follows the New Orleans elite and the social event of the year called the Les Masques Ball. Tragedy struck at last years ball when the newly crowned queen also known for being a wild card named Margot Landry was found dead the very next morning. This years queen Lily LeBlanc is known for being "perfectly poised." A unknown figure in a costume hijacks the ball leaving a mystery like no other. Lily sends a text to three maids on the royal court for the ball to meet her but she never shows. The three girls embark on a journey of a life time with finding out who killed Margot and why Lily mysteriously vanished.

This is must have read that will keep you on the edge of your toes. I hope people love it as much as I did.

I liked a lot about this book - the setting, the secret society and the wavering friendships between the girls. I did not like the constant switching of POVs, it make the book a little too confusing and some of the girls really didn't come through in any depth.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

What a wild ride, this book had sooo many twists and turns, a true thriller. I was constantly on the edge of my seat trying to figure out the plot twists. The book is set in New Orleans and the author does a fantastic job depicting the culture and describing all of the history and eccentric settings of that part of New Orleans. I learn in the acknowledgements that she is from New Orleans herself and has first hand experience as a debutant which I found was pretty neat . I loved all the main characters and their ever developing relationships with each other. I felt she didn’t leave anything out and I was able to get all of my questions answered in the last few chapters. I am glad that we were able to find out where the girls paths were headed the coming years as well. Overall this was my first time reading a novel by Olivia Worley and I can’t wait to read more. I enjoyed every minute of reading this book, well done. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this Arc.

A great thriller. I could feel Worley's love for New Orleans warring with the very real social critique of the story and that dissonance made for one of the best thrillers I've read in months. I especially appreciated that her teenage female leads were far from perfect, even if they were trying their best.

"The Debutantes" by Olivia Worley is a YA thriller that brings you into the world of high society New Orleans. This book is set in a world of privilege full of secrets related to their debutante ball and a secret society to which the young debs find their families are entangled. I absolutely loved the setting of this book; secret societies are always fun, and these were unique and ones I have not seen before in a YA novel. It was excellent.

The book follows the perspectives of the debutante maids Piper, Vivian, April and Lily, as they try to solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the newly crowned queen, Lily, and the tragic death of the previous queen, Margot. The girls find themselves confronting the dark underbelly of their privileged world and their families' involvement.

Worley did an excellent job in bringing together multiple perspectives, and each character felt unique with their inner voices, The character writing was definitely one of the big highlights of the book for me and I can see it relating well to my students. I think this is a book they would devour and love. The book explores themes of privilege, misogyny, unsettling traditions, and toxic masculinity without being overly preachy but just the facts which perfectly show how problematic it is all is. I love when author's present the facts and allow kids to draw their own conclusions without being pushy or preachy. This book did it well.

While the plot unfolds at a brisk pace, keeping you engaged with its twists and turns. I think there was a lot going on with so many different layers to the mystery that it was hard to keep track of everything, especially with three different perspectives to keep track of, but it didn't detract or make the reading too hard. It just kept you wanting to continue reading. I did like the final twist, and I did not predict whatsoever.

Overall, "The Debutantes" is a gripping YA thriller that delivers on its promises of suspense and atmospheric storytelling. I will definitely be recommending this one to my lover's of this genre when school starts up again.
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc copy to read and review.

4.5 Stars

Fast paced and full of twists and turns, The Debutantes was a satisfying thriller set among the fascinating world of the New Orleans wealthy and elite. Following a cruel prank at Les Masques ball, debutante Queen Lily LeBlanc sends a cryptic text to Vivian, Piper, and April, three of the Maids in her court to meet the next day. But when Lily never shows, the Maids receive a cryptic email setting them off on a hunt for clues that may link Lily's disappearance with the supposedly accidental death of Margot, a former Queen who's body was found the morning after her own ball. As the girls investigate, they uncover secrets and learn that all is not what it seems in their glittering debutante world. As the danger mounts, they race to find Lily and uncover the truth of what happened to Margot before there's another dead Queen.

The Debutantes is told mostly through the POVs of Piper, April, and Vivian, the unlikely trio of debutante Maids linked only by the debutante world, their elite private school, and the mysterious messages they received from Lily. Their extremely different personalities and views on the debutante world cause some clashes between them, but ultimately they learn to work together to investigate the mysteries of what happened to Lily and Margot. The alternating POVs help to maintain the quick pace of the plot, though I did find in some spots it became a bit choppy when the POV characters were in different places as it skipped back and forth between different scenes. I enjoyed the mystery very much, as all the twists and turns kept me guessing and made me not want to put the book down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5/5

Debutante season in New Orleans. The current “Queen” is missing, while the last Queen died of a drug overdose. Everyone seems to have secrets.

This is a pretty standard YA mystery/thriller. I enjoyed the concept, although I had a hard time getting really into it. There were multiple POV - April, Piper, Vivian, and a bit from Lily (the current Queen). While they had different personalities, it was difficult in the beginning to tell them apart and I think that impacted my ability to get into the story.

This is a mystery so there are obviously secrets being discovered throughout, and although a few were predictable, a few I didn’t guess which I always appreciate.

Overall a decent book. If you like YA thrillers and Mardis Gras/debutantes interest you, definitely give this one a try.

The Debutantes, by Olivia Worley
4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

TRIGGER WARNINGS-
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Murder, death, fire, kidnapping, some racism/sexism

It’s debutant seasons in New Orleans and time for the Les Masques Ball. This year everyone is hoping to avoid the tragedy that plagued last year’s events, when debutante Margot Landry was found dead the morning after last year’s ball; but this year’s Queen, Lily LeBlanc is the perfect debutante. Everything is going well until the night gets ruined by a mysterious Jester. Then Lily is discovered to have gone missing after she sends a mysterious text to her best friend, Vivian; her boyfriend Wyatt’s sister, Piper; and a classmate and Margot’s friend, April, to meet up with her but Lily never shows up.
The three debs are determined to find Lily before it’s too late and along the way they discover some deep secrets within the debutante community and risk theirs being exposed.

I really enjoyed this read. There were lots of twists and turns that grabbed your attention and keep you guessing. Though there were a couple parts of the plot and characters that were kind of predictable and you could figure it out rather easily. I loved that the author included an array of characters-(slightly)different classes, genders, race, sexuality…
The story is told from four different POV from the four main characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books, for giving me an E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun YA thriller about 3 debutantes investigating the disappearance of Lily, after she sent them all a cryptic text to meet but never showed up. The 3 girls delve into the New Orleans secret society and the rich families in the city to figure out what happened to Lily.

The New Orleans setting, debutante ball, and secret societies really added to the atmosphere, making it feel very fun but unnerving at the same time. I usually enjoy a debutante book but I really loved the secret society aspect of it too--it made it feel so much scarier as the society has so much potential for harm in a completely plausible way.

The main girls were Vivian (Lily's best friend), Piper (Lily's boyfriend's sister), and April (enemies with Lily?) and their perspectives were pretty easy to differentiate. Each had a different voice and thought process so I wasn't confused about which POV I was in. I really liked some of the side characters (Aiden, Coach), and they added a lot to the story.

The main mystery was easy to figure out (the options for who it could be was a bit limited) but I didn't expect some of the plot twists, so that made it exciting. The book was very fast-paced and overall a very fun and thrilling read. Perfect for YA thriller readers!

Thank you to NetGalley + St. Martin's Press for this ARC!

Thanks so much for the ARC! This was such a fun book to read. I loved the switching POVs, the mystery and the chase of it all. This book kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat. Can't wait to recommend to others!