Damien Angelica Walters

"A supernatural thriller in the vein of A Head Full of Ghosts about two young girls, a scary story that becomes far too real, and the tragic--and terrifying--consequences that follow one of them into adulthood."--

The Dead Girls Club

Sara Uribe

This is my first read by Damien Angelica Walters and I always love reading things from new authors I’ve never read anything by. I am just going to get right into this review and skip wrapping up or summarizing anything. When I first read the blurb for this book, I honestly couldn’t click the request button fast enough. I thought this book was going to give me more than it did, and I am sad about it. I thought that the beginning was going strong but somewhere about 30% of the way through I felt like I was just trudging through the “NOW” chapters. I just felt like the story was moving by super slowly. However, the “THEN” chapters were much faster paced and exciting, I really enjoyed reading those! I also wasn’t a fan of any of the characters, they all really annoyed me in some way. Heather, our main character, wasn’t very likable and I just couldn’t connect with her. Overall, I enjoyed this book just not as much as I was hoping for. Like I said before, I did love the “THEN” chapters and the friendship dynamics, and the mystery of the Red Lady!

 ⭐⭐⭐

I received an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A supernatural thriller in the vein of A Head Full of Ghosts about two young girls, a scary story that becomes far too real, and the tragic--and terrifying--consequences that follow one of them into adulthood. Red Lady, Red Lady, show us your face... In 1991, Heather Cole and her friends were members of the Dead Girls Club. Obsessed with the macabre, the girls exchanged stories about serial killers and imaginary monsters, like the Red Lady, the spirit of a vengeful witch killed centuries before. Heather knew the stories were just that, until her best friend Becca began insisting the Red Lady was real--and she could prove it. That belief got Becca killed. It's been nearly thirty years, but Heather has never told anyone what really happened that night--that Becca was right and the Red Lady was real. She's done her best to put that fateful summer, Becca, and the Red Lady, behind her. Until a familiar necklace arrives in the mail, a necklace Heather hasn't seen since the night Becca died. The night Heather killed her. Now, someone else knows what she did...and they're determined to make Heather pay.

A Novel

Shareca

I had high hopes for this book, I did. The cover, the synopsis, the idea of the fiction story... it was all a huge plus for me. However, there are a few setbacks to the overall narrative that I didn't enjoy that hindered how great this story could have been. From the start, the suspense is there. I got the concept of what they were going for and I loved it. I liked reading it at night and getting into that "zone" of "Are You Afraid Of The Dark?" I know others may have mentioned it, but the main protagonist/narrator, Heather, is aggravating. 

Throughout the book, she was acting over-the-top irate. Which I get. You have to be in the situation, sure; however, I was not impressed with the over compassing personality she had. That didn't hinder the book *as much* as it should have, though. I did enjoy, overall, the other characters, the plot, the concept, and the ending to the book. Again, ghost stories are my favorite -- I love the thrill of them and this has it for me. An all-girl group channeling a spirit, it just is wonderful. 

The aspects I did enjoy were the switch between now and the past. I love when stories do that and don't just give you one whole section with past and one whole section with the present. I enjoyed it a lot. It keeps me interested in what is going on when it is sprinkled. I did like the concept of Heather's sanity dwindling -- that concept of someone is messing with her so bad that she thinks they are everywhere... like a scary movie. Again, the aspect I didn't particularly enjoy -- someone might. I just didn't enjoy the main character because that is not the kind of character I like in fiction. However, it is up to choice and if you enjoy it that is more than okay. The book was a great read regardless, I would say one of the best books I have read this past summer. 

But it was a nice filler book while I was searching for another one.

Mahogany Skillings

Heather is a protagonist you will love to hate. We see everything through her eyes and her eyes are flawed. I promise this is not an unreliable narrator - if that's important to you.

While everything is falling apart you'll wonder if there is something supernatural going on or not. As the story vacillates between NOW and THEN Heather's grip on reality seems to be slipping.

This title keeps you engaged and wanting to know what happens all the way through.

Jo Buchanan

REVIEW
The Dead Girls Club by Damien Angelica Walters
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Thank you for the early release of the ebook @netgalley 
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Release date 12/10/2019
Review also on Instagram and Netgalley
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This book was not at all what I expected. The build up took me a little bit to get into but once I did, I didn’t put it down. I finished this book in less than a day. Forgo laundry and dishes. This was much more important. 
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A story of preteen friends and imaginations. Stories you tell to make things seem better or deflect from what’s really going on. We’ve all done it. Our monsters are not as scary as the ones we make up. Our saviors are not as close as the ones we believe in. Friends are there until the end. And sometimes even after. 
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A disturbing but enticing witchy supernatural-twist your mind-mystery. Find out what really happens as you are enveloped into the past through flashbacks. What you think is not what happens. Kept me on the edge of my seat until I was finished.

Heather Harrington

**I received a copy of this via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review**

When Heather Cole was a young girl, her and her friends were part of a secret club called The Dead Girls Club. Obsessed with serial killers and urban legends, the girls would tell stories about murders and imaginary monsters. One of these monsters was the Red Lady, a vengeful spirit of a witch who was killed centuries before. Heather knew that this was just a story, but her best friend Becca is convinced the Red Lady is real and is willing to do anything to make her appear. Even if that means dying.

It's been thirty years since that dreadful night, and Heather has tried everything in her power to forget what happened to Becca. Until she starts receiving strange phone calls and Becca's half of their Best Friends Forever necklace. The necklace Becca was wearing when she died. Desperate to leave that part of her past buried, Heather spirals into paranoia and whoever is targeting her won't stop until she pays for what she did.

Based off the synopsis of this, I was expecting a chilling unsettling read, but I was left feeling disappointed. I didn't feel fully invested at all through this. I didn't love Heather as a character, there was just nothing I connected with. Her reactions to things were so over the top and unrealistic, I had a hard time believing what was going on. The glimpses into that summer when the girls were younger were alright, but it mostly turned into the little catty fights they had. I also didn't love how there were unnecessary details occasionally, such as shopping purchases or the color of her toenails. It didn't add anything to the story, so I just didn't feel like it needed to be there. I also didn't feel much resolve at the end, it actually left me with more questions. Overall, this just wasn't for me.

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

Written by Damien Angela Walters, The Dead Girls Club follows Heather as a necklace from her past shows up.

One that should be on a dead girl.

If you don’t like books that hop back and forth in time, you will not like this book. I’m just going to lay that out here now, as I know a lot of folks who won’t read anything that does that.

This is a really good mystery. This is the kind of mystery that I couldn’t figure out what was going to happen.

This is a dark tale, about a woman who thinks, at the very least, that she killed her best friend. Okay. And it was… not for the faint of heart.

The writing is wonderful in this novel, and the characters had depth that kept me reading. This is a novel that is plot driven, but the characters kept me reading.

Highly, highly recommend this novel to adults who love mystery or Megan Miranda style mysteries.

I did receive a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jolie

When I read the blurb for The Dead Girls Club, I was intrigued. I loved the idea that the blurb presented. While I did like the book, I found it confusing to read at times.

The Dead Girls Club is split into two storylines. Now and Then. The author did identify when it was Now or Then’s chapters. I am not a massive fan of dual storylines, but in this case, it was needed. I do wish that the book started with a Then chapter because I was a little confused about the necklace and why it scared Heather so bad.

Even though the book had dual storylines, the author was able to keep the flow of the story going. There were parts of the book, though, where the plotline lagged. That happened mainly towards the end of the book.

I do wish that the Red Witch was more of a presence in the book. That story wasn’t even introduced until the middle of the book. It wasn’t mentioned regularly until the last half of the book. It was the whole reason why I read the book.

I didn’t like Heather in either storyline. In the Now storyline, she was becoming unhinged. At first, I got why she was so freaked out about the necklace. Then she became obsessed. She started cyberstalking/stalking people. She wasn’t focusing on her job. I will say that I wasn’t surprised when everything imploded. The same goes for her behavior in the Then chapters. I will say that Becca knew how to manipulate Heather into doing what she wanted, and Heather didn’t fail to deliver.

I did feel bad for Becca. How horrible was her life that she needed to make up stories? And to alienate the only person who truly understood what was going on? As weird as this sounds, I do wish a couple of chapters had been written from Becca’s perspective. That way, I could have gotten a better handle on what was going through her head. I also couldn’t believe that any observant adult would notice the bruises and everything else that was going on with her.

I am going to age myself here, but I was the same age as Heather and Becca were in The Dead Girls Club. Just reading some of the things that they did, the music they listened too, and the clothing they wore sent me back to that time. Like Heather and Becca, I was interested in some of the same things they were. One memorable time of reciting “Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary,” and using the Ouija board is seared into my brain. But it ended when our parents found out, and we all got into trouble. No one dies (well, one girl was convinced Bloody Mary showed up and scratched her legs up), and we all grew up to be who we are today.

There were two big plot twists in The Dead Girls Club. I didn’t see either of them coming. Honestly, there was a point in the book where I did think the same thing as Heather. Then, when it was revealed, I was stunned. But, I was even more shocked by what was revealed towards the end of the book. It came out of nowhere. I had to put the book down and say, “Are you flipping kidding me???”

The Dead Girls Club

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