These Vengeful Hearts by Katherine Laurin is an enthralling thriller, filled with riveting revenge, tantalising tension, and enough intrigue to keep readers turning pages long into the night.
At Heller High School, if you have secrets, the enigmatic Queen of Hearts and the Red Court knows them and will leverage their knowledge to execute social status take downs or grant favours. Ember Williams is determined to bring down the Red Court and extract revenge for what they did to her sister. But as Ember falls in deeper with the Red Court, she begins to lose sight of her revenge and starts to enjoy the job. When the pressures of the court start to take a toll, Ember will need to choose whether to stay true to her course or become the most vicious member the Red Court has ever had.
Sometimes a book comes along and smacks you in the face with how good of a read it is. These Vengeful Hearts is that kind of book. There is something so addicting about fictional high school drama and this novel perfectly toes the line of realistic and over the top. Every step Ember takes down her path of revenge pulls the reader in deeper and Laurin expertly draws out the tension through the story.
The only reason I ever put this book down was because I’m pretty sure my day job would have been a little irked by me reading on company time. I can’t even remember the last book that drew me in like this, let alone one I read in just a single day. Laurin teases each reveal out of the story as it progresses, hooking the reader in deeper with each plot twist, big or small.
Our morally grey main character, Ember, is an intriguing exploration as to how far a teenager would go to extract revenge. Though not everyone will be able to perfectly relate Ember and her model student ways, you can’t help but root for her. She is complex and intriguing in her morals and watching her progression was just as enthralling as the mystery of the Queen of Hearts.
The rest of the cast of characters are well developed within the confines of the story. While we don’t get too in depth with anyone, it never felt like we were lacking anything to make the story engaging. The high school atmosphere that Laurin created was palpable. There was something in the way the story played out in chaos between classes or free periods that just struck a chord.
It should be said that this book doesn’t shy away from the brutal nature of high school students. These Vengeful Hearts definitely relies on cut-throat tactics in the story, but it’s never used in a way that felt like it was just shock value. Through Ember, we see the cost, emotionally and physically, over the choices we make and the internal battle every human goes through when they have a secret to hide or expose. However, any reader that may be sensitive to stories of social ruin should evaluate for themselves if this would be the right read for them.
Equal part high school drama and taut mystery, These Vengeful Hearts is the perfect morally grey thriller to curl up with and get lost in.
These Vengeful Hearts is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of September 8th 2020.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
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?
