Hey all, Sam here.
Sadly, it is the final day of having my mom around. She’ll be heading back to Ohio first thing tomorrow morning. I’ll miss her, but I’m sure either she’ll be back for another visit or we’ll head out to visit her soon enough. Besides, we had a great time, and I’m definitely going to be talking about it for the WIP Wednesday post.
Anyway, I thought I was doing pretty well with improving my NetGalley review percentage, and yet after submitting a handful of reviews, I find that I’ve been approved for a few more new books…so it’s almost like a never-ending cycle. I am very excited for these books that I’m requesting and especially once I’ve been approved for them.
Would anyone want me to do a Most Anticipated Upcoming Releases post? Because I can throw that together fairly easily, especially since I definitely need to update my anticipated releases spreadsheet.
All right, let’s go ahead and jump into today’s NetGalley review. As a reminder, being approved for a digital copy of a book does not alter or affect my rating or review in any way.
Elle and her friends Mads, Jenny, and Summer rule their glittering LA circle. Untouchable, they have the kind of power other girls only dream of. Every party is theirs and the world is at their feet. Until the night of Elle’s sweet sixteen, when they crash a St. Andrew’s Prep party. The night the golden boys choose Elle as their next target.
They picked the wrong girl.
Sworn to vengeance, Elle transfers to St. Andrew’s. She plots to destroy each boy, one by one. She’ll take their power, their lives, and their control of the prep school’s hierarchy. And she and her coven have the perfect way in: a boy named Mack, whose ambition could turn deadly.
Foul is Fair is a bloody, thrilling revenge fantasy for the girls who have had enough. Golden boys beware: something wicked this way comes.
My Thoughts
Rating: 4 stars
I read this book–according to Goodreads–in November 2021, so my memory of specific details is a bit hazy. I’m going to go ahead and include the text of my review from Goodreads, and then see if I can do any elaboration on the review.
Whew, this book was intense. I didn’t necessarily like the ruthless, manipulative, and violent revenge-filled main character, but then again, I was never exactly a fan of Lady Macbeth either. But there was just something so completely compelling about this book. Even when I didn’t like so many of the characters, I just couldn’t put the story down. It was so easy to read 100 pages in a sitting.
Okay, so the main focus of this story is revenge for a sexual assault, which means that this book deals with some heavy content. I will say that the sexual assault occurs off the page, and any flashbacks or reveals are from right before the event. But obviously this book includes topics like assault and violence and trauma and abusive relationships, and manipulation. So, be advised before picking it up if any of these will trigger anything for you.
Elle was determined and ruthless and manipulative…and while I wasn’t fully a fan of that sort of main character from a personal standpoint, I also found her to be so incredibly compelling. I mean, having a fascinating character can propel an otherwise unremarkable story. Not that I am calling this story unremarkable…because even if I don’t remember a lot of the specific details, I do still know that I read this story in only a few sittings, because I would easily read 100+ pages each time I picked up the book.
This book won’t be for everyone, but I think it is important to have books like this, books that don’t necessarily make the focus of a survivor’s story all about healing and recovering oneself and accepting what happened. Being angry and finding strength not just alone but also with a solid friend support group is also real.
Well, that is all from me for today. Thank you so much for stopping by, and I’ll be back soon with more geeky content.
Free State of Geek 