Book:
THE WILDE TRIALS by Mackenzie Reed
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the Arc (Jan 21)

Review:
4⭐
THE WILDE TRIALS is the first book I've read by this author, and after reading, I now know that I need to read Mackenzie's debut.
THE WILDE TRIALS follows Chloe and a group of eleven other students who were chose to compete for the chance to win $600000. Everything starts great, but then someone starts sabotaging everything. Chloe must work with [Redacted] in order to stop the sabotages and keep from getting hurt.
I literally binged read this book. It reminded me of THEIR VICIOUS GAMES by Joelle Wellington---which was my favorite book last year---and that made it all more enjoyable.THE WILDE TRIALS was so suspenseful and thrilling. I had to know the whodunnit, and honestly I had my fair share of wrong guesses. I gasped at the revelation of who was the sabotage-e. Seriously, I never would have saw it coming. Such a delightful, easily devourable novel.

If you liked The Rosewood Hunt, you’ll like this one too. The story is interesting and engaging and it has a good group of characters. I will admit that Chloe annoyed me at times but it wasn’t a deterrent

The premise here is all-too familiar, and the characters (their motivations and their world) were too vague to immerse me.. I never had a clear sense of the school, the woods, the overall setting, which is important for a book centered on a location-based competition.

Another issue for me was pacing. When the trials begin, we go from an explanation of a hunt involving riddles on one page, to the first riddle discovered on the next page, then the entire hunt over in a matter of pages. We don’t even get to see the MC being clever as most of the riddles are brushed over. But these puzzles are what’s meant to be so cool about the trials, no?

Overall, this will be a fun, twisty time for a young teen new to the genre and its conventions. But for fans of school mysteries with Squid Game or Hunger Game echoes, It might not live up to the competition.

It's fine. I mean not life changing or shocking or anything, but for sure fine. But my thing is: Adults exist? Yes, I'm certain of it, though you'll find no evidence supporting that claim here.

4.5 rounded up.

Mackenzie Reed really knows how to make a well-paced and exhilarating story! I really thoroughly enjoyed this book, from start to finish. There was such a strong pull of plot mixed with character development that just hit in the right spots. And I love her writing style SO MUCH. I swear, just reading that first page made me smile.

So this time, my favorite character was Woolf. What? How? Right? It's so weird but I'm over here like "Yes, give me that silly brutish guy who is such a fiercely loyal best friend." I laughed at almost everything he said and then some. He was so interesting as a character and I'm glad he ended up getting more screen time than I originally thought he would!

The two main characters in this one were also delightful: we get an ambitious and unlikeable FMC (my favorite kind!) in Chloe who just... gosh, Reed knew what she was doing when she made her the protagonist. The perfect protagonist for this book. If you've read One of Us is Lying, she reminds me SO much of Bronwyn (who I also love dearly). Then we get such a refreshing and unusual MMC in Hayes. He's not easy to pinpoint - and I can't think of a comparable character either. He's like... one of those internal silent brooding types but also intense when it comes to those he loves. I thought the two of them worked splendidly together.

I think why I give this a 4.5 instead of a perfect 5... is just because I don't think it was quite on par with The Rosewood Hunt. There was something about the found family in that book that didn't get an equal in this one... It was there but not as prevalent.

I did guess the ending but Reed was very good at foreshadowing just enough that it wasn't super obvious! I really enjoyed sleuthing it out.

Oh, one other thing is I can only think of one other book that sort of feels similar - and that's Lauren Oliver's Panic. I will say though that this book was WAY better.

All in all, a must read for any mystery fans and for anyone looking for a fun and intriguing YA.

Hear ye, hear ye! Tis time for the annual Tri Wizard Tournament, oops, I mean, The Wilde Trials! (RIP Cedric, we will never forget).

So, that’s kind of what you’ve got here; in the two weeks leading to graduation was Wilde Academy twelve outstanding seniors are chosen to compete in seven trials, comprised of both physical and mental tasks. The winner gets more than a half million dollars.

Our erstwhile heroine Chloe Gatti is a scholarship student and her younger sister is sick. She really needs that money to help pay for her treatments. But it won’t be easy. Her competition includes her ex-boyfriend Hayes Stratford (a name that sounds like every private school douche you can imagine. Many apologies if your name is, in fact, “Hayes Stratford,” but I’m guessing you already knew about your dickish name, right?) whose older brother was the only student ever to die during the trials (but the school continues to have them? In the real world we have this little thing called “insurance” which, apparently, does not exist in the world of YA.

And if that wasn’t bad enough someone starts blackmailing Chloe during the trials, so she’s forced to work with Hayes to try to win and see what really happened to his brother.

This wasn’t a bad book, just definitely YA for YA in that none of this could ever actually happen. Because, you know, adults.

5 stars

This is the YA thriller that should be on everyone's TBR. This was absolutely incredible.

A group of high school seniors from Wilde Academy are in a wilderness competition called the Wilde Trials for $600K. There's an ex-boyfriend whose brother mysteriously died three years ago in the challenge, Chloe who needs to win for her sick sister, and someone sabotaging the competition. It is suspenseful and intense. I could not put this down.

The mysteries were well done. It was fun uncovering the old estate and it's many secrets. The characters had incredible depth as well. Everyone's reasonings for doing what they did clued the reader into more of the human experience. It was intriguing watching the characters interact with all their different secrets and seeing the mysteries unfold.

Good YA thrillers always give me good highs afterwards. I am soaring after this.

This was a fantastic second novel and I'm thankful for netgalley for allowing me an early read in exchange for my honest opinion. Chloe has found herself in the short list of competitors for "The Wilde Trials", a final wilderness competition for students are her private boarding school. The issues is that her ex-boyfriend's brother died while competing and her decision to apply for a chance has changed her social circle significantly. Chloe is a fighter and is motivated to win because of her desire to help her younger sister, who is fighting for her life, with the prize money. Once the trials begin, things start to happen that make Chloe wonder if history will repeat its self! I devoured this arc the past two days and it was another fantastic YA story filled with all things I love in a novel: adventure, puzzles, mystery, romance, a boarding school setting, drama, blackmail and steadfast love between siblings. Mackenzie Reed is now a must buy author for this high school English teacher!

Mackenzie Reed's The Wilde Trials is an enthralling blend of suspense, competition, and deep emotional complexity that grips readers from start to finish. Set against the backdrop of the prestigious Wilde Academy, this novel delivers a riveting story filled with intense challenges and intricate personal dynamics.

Chloe Gatti, our determined protagonist, is driven by her need to win the Wilde Trials to secure a future for her sick sister. Mackenzie deftly portrays Chloe's strength and vulnerability, making her a character readers will genuinely connect with and cheer for. With a life-changing prize of half a million dollars at stake, Chloe's journey is thrilling and emotionally charged.

The addition of Hayes Stratford, Chloe’s brooding ex-boyfriend, adds a rich layer of tension and intrigue. Their complicated past and the shadow of Hayes’s brother’s tragic death during the trials years ago create a compelling dynamic. Forced to team up to uncover the saboteur threatening Chloe's chances, their evolving relationship and shared quest for answers keep the plot brimming with suspense and unexpected twists.

Mackenzie excels in crafting vivid descriptions of the trials, each one a test of the character's physical and mental limits. The atmosphere of Wilde Academy is brought to life with precise detail, immersing readers in a setting that is both captivating and ominous. The tightly woven plot ensures that every clue and revelation adds depth to the overarching mystery of the trials and the academy's hidden secrets.

One of the novel's standout elements is its exploration of the ethical and moral dilemmas faced by the characters. Chloe’s internal struggle about what is truly worth fighting for, and the potential consequences of her decisions, adds a profound layer to the narrative. Mackenzie does not stop depicting the harsh realities and sacrifices inherent in such a high-stakes competition, making Chloe’s journey all the more compelling.

The Wilde Trials is a thrilling, emotionally rich adventure that captivates with its blend of action, mystery, and romance. Mackenzie Reed has crafted a story that is not only a page-turner but also a poignant exploration of loyalty, love, and the lengths one will go to for family. This book is a must-read for anyone seeking a story that is both intellectually stimulating and emotionally resonant. Highly recommended!

Binge-worthy! I loved this book a lot, it was quickly placed and held your attention till the very end! Loved this book!

The Wilde Trials by Mackenzie Reed is a quick paced YA mystery thriller that will keep you turning pages until the end.

We start the story immediately with our MC Chloe finding out she's secured her spot in her school's Wilde Trials: a 2 week challenge for seniors about to graduate from an elite academy. The winner of seven physical and mental challenges gets to take home the title of valedictorian and, of course, a huge pot of prize money. Chloe, one of the only students on scholarship, is brilliant but also desperately needs the money to help her sick sister. But of course, she's thwarted every step of the way. Not only is her ex-boyfriend a competitor, but so are a few other former friends who didn't take her side in the breakup. And she's quickly targeted by a secret blackmailer trying to get her out of the competition. Ultimately, she teams up with her ex to figure out who's threatening her and in turn, help him solve the mystery of how and why his brother died in his Wilde Trials a few years before.

I enjoyed the higher stakes, creepy setting of being an a run down old mansion way out in the woods. I also always love a good competition, so it was great to be able to see what they had to accomplish for each challenge, but I wouldn't have minded spending more time on these. Chloe isn't my favorite MC of all time - she truly makes some terrible choices - but I think it's a relatively accurate portrayal of an 18 year old in this situation. And we do see some growth out of her over the pages. Overall, it's much more of a plot driven story than character driven, but that's my preference anyway. I can usually pick up the ending of a whodunit plot pretty early, but this kept me guessing a good way through! I wanted to keep reading, so I flew through this. 4.25 stars.

Mackenzie Reed is back with another binge worthy, high-stakes plot about family, friendship, and romance! I am always game for a competition thriller and The Wilde Trials did not disappoint.

I devoured this book in one sitting! I was immediately pulled in by Chloe’s plight and the premise of trials set among an abandoned estate. I loved the small inclusion of the history of the estate and the woman behind the Wilde Trials. Despite having quite few characters to keep track of, each were distinctly written and all played a unique role in the plot. I loved how there were dueling mysteries and how the action only picked up the more I read. This book will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.