E-Arc Review: These Vengeful Hearts by Katherine Laurin

Title: These Vengeful Hearts
Author: Katherine Laurin
Genre: YA Thriller
Publication Date: September 8th, 2020

eARC provided by publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

“Anyone can ask the Red Court for a favor…but every request comes at a cost. And once the deed is done, you’re forever in their debt.

Whenever something scandalous happens at Heller High, the Red Court is the name on everyone’s lips. Its members–the most elite female students in the school–deal out social ruin and favors in equal measure, their true identities a secret known only to their ruthless leader: the Queen of Hearts.

Sixteen-year-old Ember Williams has seen firsthand the damage the Red Court can do. Two years ago, they caused the accident that left her older sister paralyzed. Now, Ember is determined to hold them accountable…by taking the Red Court down from the inside.

But crossing enemy lines will mean crossing moral boundaries, too–ones Ember may never be able to come back from. She always knew taking on the Red Court would come at a price, but will the cost of revenge be more than she’s willing to sacrifice?” (Goodreads)

I was hoping that this book would be good. The cover is amazing and the idea of a secret society doing people’s bidding sounded like a really intriguing plot. I’m glad that it was because I was needing something to help take my mind off the mediocre books I had been reading.

Ember Williams has one goal: take down the Red Court. There isn’t a lot of information given in the beginning about why she is doing what she did besides the fact that her sister’s accident was caused by the infamous group. There is a lot of sacrifice for revenge and sometimes it becomes too much for her to take on. I’m glad that even with what was going on she still had a conscious about it. There are definitely times that she gets swept into it and we get to see how unhealthy revenge can be.

I would say that this book is definitely more plot driven but there is a great cast of characters. Ember’s best friend Gideon is basically her angel on her shoulder. There is also all the people in the secret society and we do get introduced to most of them. Honestly, I thought I knew who the Queen of Hearts was but I was wrong and super surprised at the end!

The whole plot was quite entertaining and I liked seeing all of the tasks unfolding, whether good or bad. The ending felt a bit rushed but it seems that there could be a second book? The ending was kind of left open.

Overall, it was a great read that helped me kick the reading slump blues.