e-book, 352 pages
Release Date: October 29, 2024
Published by: Wednesday Books
Read from: October 4-21, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Netgalley (I received an e-ARC from the publisher and Netgalley. This did nothing to influence my review)
Content Warning: Kidnapping, Murder, Blood, Adult/Minor Relationship, Child Death, Violence, Mental Illness, Alcohol
For Readers Interested In: YA, Thrillers, Multiple POV, Sparkly Covers, Stand-aloneJessica 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.
For the New Orleans elite, the Les Masques Ball is sure to be the social event of the season—if they can avoid another dead Queen. When debutante Margot Landry was found dead the morning after her reign at last year’s ball, it was a tragedy, but not a shocking one. Margot was a wild child with a self-destructive streak, nothing like this year’s Queen, Lily LeBlanc. With a perfectly poised debutante on the throne, everything is going according to plan…until the ball is hijacked by a mysterious figure in a Jester costume. That night, Lily sends a text to three of the Maids on her royal court—her best friend, Vivian; her boyfriend’s sister, Piper; and April, her former frenemy—asking them all to meet the next morning. But Lily never shows up.
On the surface, these three debutantes don’t have anything in common except their exclusive private school and their ties to Les Masques. But soon, they realize why Lily brought them together: something dark is lurking beneath the glamorous surface of the debutante world, and it might be the reason she disappeared. And the further the girls dig, the more they begin to suspect that Margot’s death may not have been an accident—and that Lily may be next. When the Jester starts threatening to expose their own secrets, this unlikely trio must team up to uncover the monsters behind the Mardi Gras masks—before they’re left with another dead debutante.
*MY THOUGHTS*
As soon as I saw this cover I knew I needed to get this in my hands. Idk what it is about this cover but as soon as I saw it I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I just knew there was going to be a hot mess in this story and sure enough, there was. This book was bananas and I don’t think I was expecting any of it.
Ok so this was a little weird. It’s debutante season and these girls have been prepping all year long. They finally get to the debutante ball and there’s a whole Carrie scene that unfolds. And from there, all these secrets start to unfold. And let me tell you, the secrets that unfold are ridiculous. Like I’m talking pick your mouth up from the floor crazy lol I don’t want to say more without spoiling it, but just know that you need to read this to figure out why my mouth was hanging open.
As for the characters, I know I say this alot, but man, I hated every adult in this book. They ALL were terrible and exactly none of them were looking out for the kids in this one. And I know that’s like the norm in YA thrillers, but these adults were not only not looking out for the kids, but they were also putting themselves and everyone else in danger. Literally no one in this book were good people. Out of the three point of views that we have too, don’t trust any of them. And I mean none of them. So basically, everyone had something going on in this book. If you think you know, you don’t. It for me too I’ll just say that. (Well partly)
I do wish this was less of a slow burn tho. I had thoughts to put this down multiple times, but I stuck with it. When something finally happened, it was like a roller coaster that plunged down again. I think I’m only disappointed because I loved her debut so much. It was just as suspenseful, just not as thrilling. I also think I expected to see more scary bits because this IS New Orleans after all. It just wasn’t there. And it was dumb because it had the potential to. It kept saying they were in the place where the cemeteries were above ground and all that, but she did nothing with it.
This was one I knew I would like just based on the cover and the synopsis. It’s not my favorite of hers, but it’s still super well crafted and the ending will have you guessing completely wrong.
Overall, I give this
