I straight up binged this, no breaks except for sleep 😭 I read it till 2am yesterday night, and then spent half my morning reading this, postponing my breakfast because I HAD to get to the end

The book was so thrilling, I was racing through the pages to solve the mysteries! The character dynamics were amazing and the second chance romance + the healed friendships have my whole heart 😭 I'm just saying, if you like YA contemporary and/or you like (a) PLL or (b) The Inheritance Games, this book should be on your tbr!

TWs - death of sibling, sibling with cancer who is receiving treatment for it

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy !

I loved The Rosewood Hunt by Reed so was excited to get to read The Wilde Trials. This a brilliant pacy thriller that lives up to The Rosewood Hunt. I loved the characters, particular Hayes who was written really well. That said I also loved Chloe.

I won’t spoil all the twists and turns in this but I will say that once I started I couldn’t put it down! It’s really addictive and falls into the ‘I’ll just read one more chapter…oh now it’s the middle of the night on a work night’ genre. I don’t regret it at all though. If you love a good twisty thriller with brilliant, pacy writing and well developed characters this is for you.

As always thank you to Harper360YA for the advanced copy to review, my reviews are always honest and freely given.

Wait, I loved this! I've never read a Mackenzie Reed before, but I will definitely be reading more. The competition was so interesting and I was INVESTED

when I first opened this book I was in a massive slump and couldn't get through it to save my life. so I decided give it some time and come back when I was ready. and let me tell you, this book was everything that ive ever looked for in a book. maybe since i haven't read for so long that im handing out easy 5 stars, but I deeply, deeply adored this book and everyone in it. the complexity of the characters was interesting, knowing what motivates everyone was intriguing, and it demonstrated the sense of that we dont always know what is happening behind closed doors.

This was such a wonderful follow-up on Reed's debut—another excellent ensemble cast, high-stakes and fast-paced plot, and a tension-filled romantic subplot!

I found this slow to start but it really picked up .
Sort of like a hunger games vibe .

Chloe was a really strong character.
It was interesting Hayes brother was part of the trails before and he joints find out what or who killed him.

It did really pick up near the end.
The ending was really memorable but I did quite enjoy this book.

This book was made for me. I had SO much fun reading it, from the very first chapter it hooked me and I read it in literally two sittings. I’m not usually a fan of exes-to-lovers romances but this one my friends!!!! This one was done *perfectly* 🤌🏻. I could spend an entire day talking about everything I loved and it still wouldn’t be enough. Absolutely perfection.

4/5⭐️

I loved it!! I was hooked from the beginning!

12 students are chosen for an academic competition in the woods on their old school grounds. The chosen are very elite and impressive. Our FMC Chloe finds out she’s going be joined by some of her fiercest rivals, including her ex best friend and her ex boyfriend. Chloe is determined to win because along with becoming valedictorian she’ll get a million dollar cash prize which can help her sick sister. Everything is going well until she starts becoming sabotaged and she’s receiving threatening notes. She reluctantly strikes a deal with her ex Hayes- if he helps her find her saboteur she’ll help him solve the mysterious death of his brother at this very competition a few years ago.

Will they solve the clues his brother left? Will her unresolved feeling bubble to the surface? Can she win this competition for her sister?

You’ll have to read to find out!!

Seriously one of the best mysteries I’ve ready in a while! It’s pretty fast- paced and the characters are so real! I love reading characters I can relate to or see how they make mistakes and try to make it right! I loved the twist and the romance it was all perfectly executed with the many different elements added in. Highly recommend reading, you won’t regret it!

*Mystery
*Secrets
*Romance
*Friendship
*Twists
*Rivalry

Chloe's desperate. Her sister needs expensive cancer treatment, and the only way to get the money is to win the Wilde Trials, a grueling competition for graduating seniors with a grand prize of $600,000. Chloe's smart, adaptable, and brave, but the trials are even more challenging than she imagined. Not only must she face the intense competition itself, but someone is actively working against her, sabotaging her chances at every turn. Adding to the pressure, her ex-boyfriend, Hayes, is also a competitor. Their breakup was messy, fueled by Chloe's determination to enter the trials—a competition Hayes despises after losing his brother in it three years prior. As Chloe struggles to survive the trials and uncover the identity of her saboteur, she must confront not only the dangers of the competition itself, but also the complex emotions swirling between her and Hayes. Who is trying to stop her, and why?

🕷️ 🔪🌲

I really enjoyed this one!! This was a compelling thriller--I did peg the identity of the challenger early on, but I was still invested in the motivation of the characters. I think this is a great one for kids that are looking for both thriller and romance (riller? thromance? we'll make it work), because the heart of this book is the relationship between Chloe & Hayes (and their connections to their siblings. I know I have kids that will love this--for fans of Inheritance Games or Truly Devious--this was fun!

The sudden trend of mysterious and thrilling school competitions is definitely trying to capitalize on the dark academia interest, but overall Reed did a good job of incorporating puzzles, mystery, and intrigue into a survival competition designed to thrill. While frequent readers of the genre might find it trite or predictable, overall it's a solid entry.

Thank you to the publisher for the earc!

This book was such a surprise to me. I admit I expected the murder to take place in the present, not in the past. But still I really enjoyed it!

I was a bit taken aback by the whole trial. I mean not by the trial itself, as it’s something I can see a private academy to host. It was the setting. And Chloe mentioned it a few times that the pictures from the estate should be in the main building or in a museum. And this is exactly what I didn’t understand. They have a lot of money, why not take proper care of the place that started the whole academy? They just let it rot and it’s extremely heartbreaking. (Yes, it’s a fictional place but still!)

Everything else I really loved, the trial itself was interesting, and I’m sure I would have failed. I loved the romance subplot, I was hoping Chloe and Hayes would get back together. Because teaming up with your ex to solve a murder and survive this trial, was definitely a choice.

My heart was breaking for Hayes. He had to be in the same place where his brother died 3 years ago. Just because he got some clues that his death might not have been an accident. So he’s here, trying to solve the mystery.

I admit, I had a feeling early in the book who might be right behind everything, and I was right. Partially. There were some twists that even I did not see coming.

Anyway, if you love YA murder mysteries definitely add this one to your list, trust me you won’t regret it!

A really fun and engaging story that follows teens as they compete in trials for a cash prize of $600,000. There’s exes with forced proximity, ex-best friends, and a mysterious figure blackmailing the main character. The description of the setting really transports you to the trials and makes you anxious about the outcome. Great for teens just getting into YA mysteries!

THE WILDE TRIALS by Mackenzie Reed (The Rosewood Hunt) is an entertaining read, but it felt a bit like a knock off of The Hunger Games. Reed created a boarding school with a hallowed tradition of terrorizing selected Seniors with a "wilderness experience" and multiple trials held in the two weeks prior to graduation. The rather unbelievable prize is $600,000 – cash. Chloe Gatti applies to compete so that she can use the money for her sister’s medical bills. Her boyfriend, Hayes Stratford, objects because his brother died at the trials a few years previously. Suddenly, though, the two of them break up, Hayes decides to apply to compete, and they along with other friends, Keana, Wolfe, Mina and not so much friends Dodge and Soho are all chosen as Challengers. That leaves four previous Champions in charge of dangerous trials filled with blackmail, near death experiences, and betrayal. THE WILDE TRIALS is any entertaining, fast-paced read suitable for younger high school students.

thank you to netgalley and the publishers for the arc in exchange for an honest review! Chloe wants to win her elite boarding academy's annual competition for seniors. It was so much fun watching these characters go through these trials and kept me engaged! I loved the setting and it felt like a classic YA thriller!!

Thrills and chills abound in Reed's sophomore novel that somehow manages to be even better than her first.

The Wilde Trials by Mackenzie Reed was the last book I read in 2024. It was nice to end the year with a 5 ⭐ read.

In The Wilde Trials, Chloe enters a deadly competition hoping to win the prize money to help her sick sister. She will stop at nothing to win the competition. But her plans backfire when it seems that a fellow competitor is out to get her. She has several suspects, including her ex-boyfriend Hayes. Hayes' older brother tragically died in a past competition. When things take a turn for the worse and Chloe fears losing, she teams up with Hayes, forcing them to put aside their differences.

If you're on the hunt for a YA thriller with great characters, an enemies-to-lovers romance, a deadly competition, suspense, and plot twists, this is the book for you!

*Thank you to the publisher, Mackenzie Reed, and NetGalley for the eBook ARC!

STRESSFUL (but in a good way!)
Mackenzie Reed is back with another fun, yet stressful, YA adventure novel that I just could not get enough of! I loved the characters, the various challenges (especially the riddles and testing my own knowledge) and it kept my on the edge of my seat as we watched the trials unfold! Plus I am a sucker for novels set in the same universe so I was delighted as the mentions of her debut THE ROSEWOOD HUNT.

“Eventually, Wilde Estate will be nothing more than yellowed photographs and whispered lore. Just moonflowers and wild flora and vines. The forest will swallow the grounds and the estate will collapse and crumble. But we sure won’t.”

Chloe has always felt like an outsider at her elite private boarding school, but a dramatic breakup with her boyfriend, Hayes, and a fight with one of her closest friends exacerbate this isolation. To add to her conflicted feelings about attending Wilde Academy, Chloe feels immense guilt that her tuition money could be spent getting her sick sister Cece the care she needs. Chloe’s chance to prove that she belongs at Wilde Academy and earn money to help her sister emerges when Chloe is selected to compete in the prestigious “Wilde Trials.” These trials are a series of mental and physical competitions between a select few of the Academy’s graduating seniors, one of whom is Hayes, whose older brother died while participating in the trials. As the competition begins, Chloe and her fellow classmates realize that something isn’t right about the trials, and hasn’t been since Hayes’ brother mysteriously died. Amidst dark secrets, surprising alliances, and dangerous challenges, Chloe and her peers uncover the truth of the trials and the people they once called classmates and friends.

I’m never one to pass on a boarding school mystery, and I was intrigued by the setup for this one. The Wilde Trials was kind of like the Hunger Games meets The Inheritance Games, with a dramatic and suspenseful narrative that kept me engaged throughout! However, there were many points at which I felt a kind of dissonance within the narrative. In what was meant to be a somewhat normal, relatable teen world, the cutthroat (and school-sponsored) competition forcing underage students against each other seemed entirely out of place. While it was built up to be this prestigious and incredibly difficult contest, the trials themselves were a letdown. The stakes and challenges (rowing across a lake, solving a puzzle, etc.) didn’t feel like they matched or justified the behavior of the characters, and in that same sense I questioned the motives of many of the students the story followed. As with many YA novels, there was an overwhelming air of melodrama to a lot of the plot points that lent itself to the lack of authenticity and genuine connection I felt with the narrative. However, there were no points in The Wilde Trials where I found myself bored or not wanting to find out the answers to the book’s mysteries, a credit to Reed’s plot construction.

In the thrilling and suspenseful novel, "The Wilde Trials," Mackenzie Reed crafts a gripping tale of competition, mystery, and self-discovery. The story follows Chloe Gatti, a determined and fiercely competitive senior at Wilde Academy, as she navigates the treacherous landscape of the Wilde Trials.

Reed masterfully weaves together a complex web of characters, each with their own motivations and secrets. Chloe's drive to win the competition is rooted in her desire to help her sick sister, making her a relatable and sympathetic protagonist. The introduction of Hayes Stratford, Chloe's brooding ex-boyfriend, adds a delicious layer of tension and romance to the story.

As the competition heats up, Reed expertly ratchets up the suspense, introducing a blackmailer who threatens to derail Chloe's chances of winning. The unlikely alliance between Chloe and Hayes is fraught with tension and emotional depth, making their partnership a compelling aspect of the story.

Throughout the book, Reed explores themes of ambition, loyalty, and the true cost of success. As Chloe navigates the Wilde Trials, she must confront the darker aspects of the competition and the secrets that lie beneath its glamorous surface.

The author's writing style is engaging and polished, with a keen eye for detail and pacing. The twists and turns are expertly handled, keeping the reader guessing until the very end.

Overall, "The Wilde Trials" is a captivating and addictive read that will appeal to fans of mystery, romance, and suspense. With its intricate plot, complex characters, and thought-provoking themes, this book is sure to stay with you long after you finish reading.

I enjoyed this book--I thought that there was some fun drama, a compelling plot, and character development. I don't typically read overly angsty or drama-filled YA stories because I have moved on from that time in my life, but I have to say I did have a lot of fun with this one. This was a solid read, and I think that Mackenzie Reed is definitely going to be on my authors-to-watch list. This book was a fun distraction from my uncertain doom-filled thoughts (I'm sure the rest of you in January 2025 are feeling similarly) and for that I have to thank the book and the author.