About The Book
Kay Donovan may have skeletons in her closet, but the past is past, and she’s reinvented herself entirely. Now she’s a star soccer player whose group of gorgeous friends run their private school with effortless popularity and acerbic wit. But when a girl’s body is found in the lake, Kay’s carefully constructed life begins to topple. Debut author Dana Mele has written a taut, sophisticated suspense novel that will keep readers guessing until the very end.
Buy The Book: https://amzn.to/3N4GpgW

My Rating

I thought this book was going to be your typical prep school, mystery/thriller type of YA novel. I will say right up front that I haven’t loved many of the books I’ve read that follow this format. However, I am happy to say that I did actually enjoy this one!

The main character Kay is likable and interesting. She has a secret that she has kept hidden for years, but after discovering a body in the lake on Halloween, someone is threatening to expose her past. The skeleton in the closet aspect of the book reminded me a little of ‘There’s Someone Inside Your House’ by Stephanie Perkins, but it was done way better in this book.

This book was so intense! There was murder, blackmail, and it even touched on how the police are usually more concerned about closing a case than actually solving it. Racial profiling was mentioned, student teacher relationships, cheating, suicide, revenge porn, and the list goes on.

I for one couldn’t put the book down! I had to know what was going to happen next. The writing was so good, and the plot just kept getting better. I didn’t really feel like it was another prep school rehashed. Although Kay was the stereotypical non-rich girl on a scholarship, which is a running theme when it comes to the main characters in most private school mysteries.

“Does someone who does one bad thing, even one really bad thing,
deserve bad things to happen to them?”

I had my suspicions on who the killer was and I will admit that I was wrong at first. It was a slow build up to the reveal, but the reveal was done very well. The ending was amazing! By the end, you realize that there were many tiny hints throughout the book that lead you to the murders identity.

I will say that the ending was kind of sad, and had a lot to do with bullying and mental health. That being said, I liked how the story was wrapped up even though some people might guess the killer from early on. So, if you aren’t someone that minds a little predictability than you’ll enjoy this book.

Overall, this book gave me ‘Pretty Little Liars’ meets ‘Gossip Girl’ vibes. However, I did read a review calling it a ‘fucked up sapphic mean girls book’ and I think that describes it way better. But, it is a great read for spooky season, and I did get a kick out of the ‘A Christmas Story’ Ovaltine reference.

I highly recommend checking out trigger warnings —(find here)— before picking thing book up. Don’t forget to like and share this post with others. If you are a book lover (like me) hit the follow button to get notified whenever there’s a new post.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

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