Anna Snoekstra

Everyone does bad things when no one is watching Mercilessly bullied in high school, Ava knows she needs to put the past behind her and move on, but she can't--not until she's exacted precise, catastrophic revenge on the people who hurt her the most. First, she watches Saanvi. Flawlessly chic and working hard at a top architectural firm, Saanvi has it all together on the surface. But everyone does bad things when they think no one is watching and Ava only wants what's fair--to destroy Saanvi's life the way her own was destroyed. Next, she watches Cass. She's there as Cass tries on wedding dresses, she's there when Cass picks out a cake, she's there when Cass betrays her fiancé. She's the reason Cass's entire future comes crashing down. Finally, Ava watches Mel. Mel was always the ringleader and if anyone has to pay, it's her. But one tiny slipup and Ava realizes the truth: Mel knows she's being watched, and she's ready to play Ava's games to the bitter end.

The Spite Game

Lacy W

A special thank you goes out to Netgalley and MIRA Books for allowing me to read this eARC early. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

tw: extreme bullying, pedophilia, unwanted sexual contact, drug use

Okay, so I didn't love this book. The synopsis made it sound so much creepier and terrifying then what it really was. It was just about a women that need a lot of therapy. Like a lot. 

I have been where Ava has been. I had two incredibly toxic and horrible friends in high school. It took me leaving high school to realize how crappy they were. I spent years angry at the way they treated me. To this day, I still struggle with the side effects of their toxicity. But as for the anger? I realized that I needed to move past it. Holding anger like that is not healthy. Ava, the MC of this book, should have taken what I did and applied it to her life. 

As the synopsis says, Ava's life is ruined by three girls. She ruins one of the girls, nearly ruins another and is working on the third. I get it, okay? Bullying and toxic friends are god awful but the way Ava went about her life after the events was just not something I could get behind. If that makes me a bad person, then so be it. I felt she truly enjoyed wallowing in misery instead of growing and learning. 

There was a positive to this and that was some epilepsy rep. Ava's sister, Bea, has epilepsy. Seizures do happen on the page and it's discussed how it affects Bea and Ava's life. I did like seeing that.

But honestly, this book wasn't that great. The pacing was weird. It hopped from past to present with no page breaks. Now, I have no idea if this is because I read an eARC or what. I hope at least that gets fixed in the final version. It was incredibly confusing. The timeline was just so dang wonky. Had it been more linear, I might and that's a strong might, have enjoyed it. 

Overall, if you are into revenge books then perhaps you might like this book. But honestly, this wasn't the book for me. It's onto the next one.

Megan Leprich

This is the first book I've read by Anna Snoekstra and it was kind of...meh. The synopsis intrigued me and I thought it would be a darker Mean Girls type book, which was definitely not the case. 

This book is about Ana, who after becoming friends with the "popular" girls in school realizes they aren't really her friends and becomes the subject of bullying. Fast forward to her adult years Ana is determined to exact revenge on the girls who made her life hell in high school, in ways that go beyond what normal people would call revenge.

One of the main reasons I didn't really care for this book was because to me it seemed like Ana was stuck in high school days. Most people that get bullied in high school would look for revenge right away, not wait for years afterward and hold a grudge for that long. Overall just not a great book and I didn't really enjoy it.

The Spite Game

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