The Ivies | Blog Tour

Synopsis

Everyone knows the Ivies: the most coveted universities in the United States. Far more important are the Ivies. The Ivies at Claflin Academy, that is. Five girls with the same mission: to get into the Ivy League by any means necessary. I would know. I’m one of them. We disrupt class ranks, club leaderships, and academic competitions…among other things. We improve our own odds by decreasing the fortunes of others. Because hyper-elite competitive college admissions is serious business. And in some cases, it’s deadly. Alexa Donne delivers a nail-biting and timely thriller about teens who will stop at nothing to get into the college of their dreams. Too bad no one told them murder isn’t an extracurricular.

Review

If you are a fan of THESE VENGEFUL HEARTS or THEY WISH THEY WERE US, then this is the book for me. This is the story of what happens when someone doesn’t make it into the Ivy school of their dreams.

Donne sets up this book in such a way that she lets us get to know the group of friends that our main character is in, The Ivies, and then she lets the shenanigans begin. Despite the fact that the murder didn’t happen until like 20-30% into the book, I wasn’t mad about it. I was so interested and invested in the lives of these ferocious girls, that I wasn’t even thinking about one of them getting murdered. Of course, I welcomed the intrigue the murder brought and was so excited that things were immediately obvious to me.

Like any good murder mystery, suspicion was thrown on every single character. But something that I especially loved about this book was the lack of likable characters. Any of them could have been murders because they were all up to shady things. Even our lovely and innocent main character is not so innocent. It made for an intriguing and well-paced plot.

As per usual, I thought I had the murderer pegged nearly from the beginning and was wrong. Most of the other mysteries or plot twists of the book I figured out pretty easy (mostly because I think Donne wasn’t trying to hide them very hard). It felt nice to get the small things and then be shocked by the “big reveal.”

Lastly, I wanted to talk about how this book has lots of hard truths. Things don’t go well for the “well-deserving” kids just because they deserve it. Things don’t go bad for the “bad kids” just because their bad. This book shows how money and wealth and legacy can play a big role in one’s future. This book isn’t wrapped up in a nice and neat bow and I appreciated that. It made things more real and showed that truth hurts, even though it’s often true.

Overall, I was happy with this book and I’m excited to read more murder mysteries.

Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed a gifted and advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating

About the Author

Giveaway

Up for grabs is ONE (1) finished copy of The Ivies by Alexa Donne. This giveaway is open to US residents only and will run from May 23rd to May 30th at 12 AM CST. To enter, click the link below!

GIVEAWAY LINK: https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/1e4a114d30/