*We received this book in exchange for an honest review.*
Crystal Donovan and her five best friends are all preparing for a tournament for MortalDusk, a videogame that could win them all a lot of money. But the Friday before the weekend tournament, Crystal gets a message from an anonymous person from a messenger app stating that they have her sister Caelyn and if Crystal doesn’t do exactly what they say, Caelyn will get killed.
Anonymous has created a timed game, giving Crystal strange instructions to complete in the allotted time…or else Caelyn will suffer the consequences. At first, the tasks are strange and seemingly harmless: make a prank phone call, bake brownies and take a math test from her teacher’s desk.
They seemed harmless, until one by one, Crystal’s five best friends: Zoey Bloom, Randall, Matty, Akira and Dylan start to face the consequences of these actions. Anonymous has a plan to pick off this friend group one by one, but for what reason? Crystal is desperate to try to find anonymous before it’s too late for her, her friends and her sister. Told over the course of a few days, Crystal’s dream tournament weekend quickly turns into a nightmare.
Wow, what did we just read? We requested These Deadly Games from NetGalley because we enjoyed Urban’s debut, All Your Twisted Secrets. Even though we enjoyed that book, the ending left us disappointed. We’re ecstatic to say that These Deadly Games did not disappoint us at all. It actually exceeded our expectations.
The beginning threw us for a loop because of the video game plot. We admit we’re not video game people at all, so we were nervous about that. However, it only took about 15 pages for Urban to completely hook us into the story. This YA thriller was literally nonstop and impossible to put down.
One thing we really enjoyed was that all the characters were morally gray. While we didn’t hate anyone, especially Crystal, they all did some questionable things that made the story so complex. It took us forever to realize if Crystal was an unreliable narrator or not.
The friends all had some baggage so any of them could have been behind what was happening…at first. We will say that we were so wrong about who anonymous was. Usually, we have a good idea, but Urban completely ripped out the rug from under us. These Deadly Games had the best kind of plot twist: one that we should have seen coming, but we completely missed.
The tension from start to finish kept us glued to the page. Crystal did not get a break for days and every chapter had more riddles, games and clues for us to figure out this sneaky puzzle. The only thing we will say is to pay attention because the small details matter.
One aspect we never expected was the last page. While Urban cleaned up all the loose ends, she left it open for a sequel. According to Goodreads, there are no plans for a sequel at the moment. But if Diana Urban is reading this, we would read a sequel in a second.
Overall, if you love dark YA thrillers and challenging puzzles, pick up These Deadly Games when it releases February 1, 2022. You won’t regret it!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm All Booked Up - a young adult book blog 
Giving me Squid Game vibes .Can’t wait for the release!!
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We haven’t seen Squid Game yet.
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This sounds twisted and thrilling. Intriguing.
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It was very thrilling!
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This is such an amazing review! Great choice!`
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Thank you!
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I just finished this one! I totally agree with y’all, it was SO thrilling and insane. great review!💜
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Thank you!! We’re glad you enjoyed it as much as we did!
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I’m getting Squid Game feels here! Sounds like a great read x
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Thanks! We haven’t seen Squid Game yet.
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Wow this sounds like something I’d enjoy! I’m glad the ending did not leave you disappointed like the last book from Urban. Thanks for sharing, I’m adding this to my TBR list. I’m really interested in what happens next!
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We hope you read it when it releases in early 2022! We loved the constant surprises and thrills.
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Intriguing plot, with a lot of twists, it seems. I hope Crystal discovers who anonymous is before it’s too late!
I do like when characters are morally grey, as it makes the story more realistic and interesting. The puzzles and riddles sound like a great addition to the book, as I do like to work things out as I go.
Thank you for sharing your incredible review. 😊
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Thank you! 🙂 We completely agree, especially when it comes to thrillers. The puzzles and riddles showed us how much research and effort Urban put into this book.
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I loved All Your Twisted Secrets, so I’m really excited to read this one. Great review, glad to hear you enjoyed it!
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Thank you! It’s even better than All Your Twisted Secrets in our opinion.
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I’m really looking forward to this one! Her debut ending also left me disappointed so I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this
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The ending did not go the same way, that’s all we will say 😉
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Can’t wait!!!
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The troupe of jumping through hoops and playing games or we’ll kill [insert person here] is fairly common, so do they do it better than other writers who’ve done it before?
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Urban did it very well because she clearly stated the stakes and kept up the suspense. Often times nothing bad actually happens and in this case, Crystal has some real consequences.
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I haven’t heard of this book before. You have written a detailed and interesting review. Thank you for sharing your experience.
Lauren
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Thanks for reading!
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Love that this book has a video game angle and delivers a solid story through an interesting and gray character who still manages to narrate an emotional tale! ❤
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That’s a great description. We love when we have to see if we can trust a character.
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5 Stars!? I definitely have to read this one. It kind of reminded me of a mix of squid games and alice in borderland, which I loved. So I definitely have to give this one a read, great review xx
Melina | http://www.melinaelisa.com
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