A dark story full of twists and turns! I enjoyed this read and loved how it kept me on my toes. I found myself staying up late into the night to read more. Well written and well thought out. A different premise than other books I've read before and I very much enjoyed this!

The premise for this book was amazing. I was so excited once I read the blurb to read it.  I enjoyed it. But I also think it could have been developed a bit more. I would give it 3.5 stars.

Imagine Mean Girls combined with Lord of the Flies. That's pretty much what you have with Girl Gone Mad. As a teenager, Emily Bennett was part of a gang called the Harpies, who's bullying of Grace Farmer took a shocking turn. Emily has been trying to live with what they did ever since, but now it looks like her past is coming back to haunt her... 

This is one of those books that's impossible to describe - it's just so completely unique, and unlike anything I've ever read before. There's definitely tones of YA to it, but also very adult themes too, so it really will appeal to a wide audience. The writing is very assured for a debut, and the characterisation is impressive too. My only real complaint is the ending, where the 'twist'  is explained through a character suddenly deciding to monologue every step of their dastardly plan, which is something I'm personally not a fan of - it just feels a bit cheap and lazy to me. But on the other hand, I did enjoy the book up until that point, so it is definitely worth a read. 

All in all, a strong debut. The quality of the writing tailed off a bit towards the end, but we all know endings can be tricky, and it may also be personal preference that I found the ending a bit weaker, as sudden monologues are a plot tool I've never been a fan of. Overall, I did enjoy this book, and this is an author I would definitely read again.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

Disclaimer - I was fortunate enough to receive an advance reading copy of this book from the publisher in conjunction with NetGalley. This has not affected my review in any way, and all opinions are my own.

Girl Gone Mad is a sinister play on ‘Mean Girls.’

A group of wealthy girls do something unimaginably horrific to Grace, a new girl in town, and vow never to speak of it. Fast forward 14 years and one by one these girls, or women now, are dying in manors that look like suicide.

The writing is done well, and kept me on my toes. I will say there were several unrealistic scenarios at play throughout. The ending also didn’t do much for me. While it did tie up loose ends, it just left me wanting something more.

Emily makes a living today as a therapist helping young children but when Emily was 14 years old she was a member of The Harpies - a group of mean girls that took delight in tormenting others. Especially Grace Farmer. Quiet, shy, and weak Grace took punishment upon punishment at the hands of the Harpies which led to her suicide attempt.

Now, years later, and it seems the members of The Harpies are now taking their own lives and Emily fears that she'll be next unless she puts a stop to it first.

This book started out strong and I was enjoying it but at about 3/4 through I started to lose interest. Not enough to DNF or anything but reading about how awful these girls/women behaved was becoming tiresome. Emily is someone that I should have been rooting for but it was too difficult. Sure she talked about all the guilt she has held over the years which is why she became a therapist in the first place but she came across as cold and rude to every one she deals with whether it's her fiancé or her co-workers. I just didn't like her very much. In fact, it was only Courtney and her daughter Terry that I ever felt anything for. The rest of them are miserable psychos that I'm glad to not know in my real life.

I had a hard time wrapping my head around the ending. Let's just say that I did not like the final denouement at all. 3 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book. There were a lot of plot twists that I didn't see coming. In the end, it was a little predictable, but I still really liked the story and the character development. This was a great dark psychological thriller! I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

As I was reading this title, it immediately reminded me of HIS & HERS. Another thriller centered around mean girls in high school who bully someone and pay the price when they grow into adults. The wounded and vengeful woman is getting a bit old for me. 
This book was a fun one to listen to. Definitely a fast paced story that keeps you guessing for all you thriller lovers. I use books like this as a buffer book. Something easy that can clear my head in between my more serious reads.
I especially have to be picky on what I listen to on audible because if its too serious or slow I start tuning out the book. 
I think I didn't love this story as much because it was so similar to a book I just listened to (as I mentioned above.) Also, as I've seen many other Bookstagramers say--I'm a bit over the "crazy" woman as the central character to create a twisty thriller.  But shame on me because the title on this one pretty much gives it away.
This was a twisty story and you really don't know the truth right until the very very end, but it does all come together with no unanswered questions. 
It wasn't bad, but didn't stand out to me. I'd love to hear your thoughts if you'd read it!

I had a super hard time getting Into this and did put it down several times before finally getting into a groove and finishing it. I did end up enjoying it and I liked the ending, it was just a little struggle getting the beginning to hook me in.

2.5 ⭐ because I have difficulty enjoying a book that relies on shock value instead of realism or convincing writing.

Girl Gone Mad has a compelling and dark storyline. It also deals with some very heavy subjects.

Unfortunately there are too many plot holes and corny, stereotypical characters for me to rate this book any higher.

However, this book has received quite a few high ratings so I'd say that if you're considering reading it.... go for it! Especially if you enjoy YA books like One Of Us Is Lying as there are a lot of similarities.

Thank you to NetGalley for approving me to read an advance copy of this book.

”What’s the worst that can happen?” Maybe Emily shouldn’t have asked that question. Maybe she shouldn’t have befriended the new girl Grace.
It was scary to read about peer pressure, bullying and real evil. It shows that, when it comes to bullies, there is no difference between boys and girls. Girls do things more subtle and it can be hard to spot what’s really going on. But in the end it’s the same. People get hurt. Lives get destroyed.
The twist in the story was really good. I had to read the last few pages twice to understand the last words of Grace. ”I guess now we know the answer.”

3.5 stars

“Sticks and Stones may  break my bones, but words will never hurt me”

I remember reciting that Nursery  Rhyme as a child, and “Once Upon a Time”...that was true...

But, in today’s World of Social Media and Cyber Bullying, I think we have all learned that names can hurt worse, than sticks and stones, because the body heals faster than the mind.

Fourteen years ago, Emily Bennett was part of middle school clique called the Harpies.
Six popular girls, until there were SEVEN.

Grace Farmer was a new girl who they bullied to her breaking point-by convincing her that if she would just do what she was told, she would be accepted as one of them. 

Yeah, right. 

Now, Emily Bennett is a therapist working with children who are struggling, and engaged to a wonderful man. 
Until the past comes back to haunt her. 

Why are the Harpies committing Suicide, one by one? 
The deaths seem suspicious and Emily must figure out what is happening before she is next. 

I don’t usually choose books about kids “coming of age”, or those with the “mean girls” theme, and rarely like books where adults are brought back together because of a secret they shared in the past, as the childhood chapters feel to YA to me, and this was no exception. 

But, this time, I wasn’t bored, and found the author’s writing style very engaging! 

I just wished the book had more complexity as their was so much potential in the sub plots which were never developed! Emily had only one therapy session with new patient, Chloe and her relationship with her Fiancée was failing...two things which could have set this book apart from the “other” mean girl stories-but neither was fleshed out! 

Instead the entire focus remained on what the Harpies did back then, and the remaining Harpies, trying to figure out if Grace is back for revenge, leaving the book a bit one dimensional. When it could have been so much more! 

Thank you for my gifted copy! 
It was my pleasure to provide an honest review! 
Available now!

4 Stars!

Meet the Harpies...they're the mean girls of Benjamin Franklin Middle School and you want to avoid their wrath at all costs! This one brought me back to the terrible days of middle school and gave me a glimpse of what it was like to be a mean girl. Emily Bennett was barely a Harpy and was holding on to being in the clique 14 years ago, now she's a therapist and has found out that two of the Harpies have committed suicide. 

This ends up being quite the adventure! Emily teams up with Courtney to try to find out what happened to their two friends and it appears that someone is out to get the former clique. It will keep you guessing until the last page. I was a little disappointed at the big reveal, but the journey there was quite epic.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Avery Bishop for providing me with an ARC.

Actual rating 2.5/5 stars.

On the outside, Emily Bennett has the perfect life. She dedicates her days to working as a therapist and aiding her clients to heal from their trauma and goes home to spend her evenings with her perfectly nice fiancé. Emily has many skeletons cluttering her closet though and when she finds out that two of her former school friends have recently died they become increasingly more persistent in their attempts to resurface in her life, bringing the remnants of her former friendship group, the self-titles Harpies, back with them.

This was entirely engrossing and unguessable thriller... right up until the final grand reveal. I spent almost every single page formulating a new theory and list of suspects only to have them obliterated a chapter on. I suspected everyone and, with so many despicable individuals littering these pages, it was easy to formulate a reasoning for why these many crimes would be undertaken.

The true conclusion left me feeling a little mind-blown. It fell into the realm of unbelievability and eradicated much of the former tension that had dogged the entire book preceding it. There was both too much explosive drama and long-winded explanations on the final pages for me to find realistic or satisfactory closure.

This Novel is about Emily Bennett who works as a Therapist, helping children deal with there troubled pasts. Emily has her own struggles with her past that she tries to forget.

In middle school, Emily was part of the Harpies a clique of six popular girls who liked causing trouble and bullying others. But there bullying got out of control with the new girl Grace. The girls took a blood oath to never tell anyone what they did to Grace Farmer.

Now, fourteen years have passed, karma has caught up to the girls when one of the Harpie's has committed suicide. But when a second Harpie is discovered, also from suicide, everything is starting to look very suspicious. Then Emily starts seeing a woman who looks a lot like Grace Farmer in the shadows, she’s forced to wonder: Is Grace back and wanting revenge Or is Emily going mad. Will more Harpy's died? Is Grace really back? Will revenge be served. You just gotta read to find it.

Wow, this book was soo good. It gave me the vibe of Pretty little liars meets Mean girls meets Gossip girl but like 100% Upgraded and much much darker. The story plot was soo good very dark and a heavy subject. I couldn't stop reading, I was addicted. I loved that things were not predictable in this book. I loved how this book was dark and kept me wondering if Grace was really back. I will give you a warning they are lots of talk of bullying so be warned it can be a trigger for some people it is pretty heavy.

I would like to say thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for giving me the chance to read and review this book.
#GirlGoneMad #NetGalley

I almost DNF’ed this, it started out generic and predictable but THEN it started throwing some really great twists and turns in there and I was hooked.

Emily is going through a rough spot in her life.  She is in a relationship with her fiance Daniel that is unfulfilling and is not how she wants it to be.  She is seeing a therapist and trying to work through her issues.  Out of nowhere, she starts being faced with her past and has to deal with it.  She reconnects with her old friends and things quickly get out of hand.  I really liked that this book went back and forth in time and identifies what had happened as it connects to the present.  I like that it kept me guessing until the end.  I would really like to read more from this author and enjoyed this book.  Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.

About 20% of the way into this book I was rolling my eyes thinking it's going to be another dull and predictable mean girls type thriller, oh was I wrong. 
This book is nasty, gritty and full of twists and turns. I spent most of the book hating the characters but loved doing so.  It was great seeing how each of the girls lives went after such a dramatic event in their teens. Even better was seeing karma come slap a few of them right in the face. 
I really had thought I had this one figured out but was pleasantly horrified by the ending. ALL of these girls are deviously wicked.
TW for self harm, bullying, suicide.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

3/5 Stars! 

First - some content warnings: suicide, harm, bullying, abuse. Overall Girl Gone Mad is a fast-paced psychological thriller about what happens when the past isn't really over and might just be back to haunt you. Emily seems to have it all, a great life, a great partner, and a great job - until her past comes back in a brutal way. Emily is a therapist, helping teens deal with bullies and emotional abuse, all while hiding the person she once was, A Harpie. When one of the Harpies commits suicide, soon followed by a second Harpie, it's clear that someone is trying to send a message and take revenge. There is so much to follow in this book that it sometimes feels overwhelming: who is good, who is bad, is this the past or the present? Overall a good story that will keep you entertained the whole way through.

Gripping, terrifying, and impossible to put down. was a fanstatic read.. Was an awesome read.  twist and turns all the way through from beginning to end.  Loved It.

Girl Gone Mad kept me on my toes as the girls uncovered more about what happened to their former friends and if the past was coming back to haunt them. I got Mean Girls meets Pretty Little Liars vibes from the female relationships and the deadly consequences of their actions. The story shows the long lasting effects of bullying and how the scars of adolescence can carry over into adulthood. It's scary to think that an incident that happened in middle school, as awful as it was, caused the series of events that took place and the lengths people will go for revenge. While I was entertained, the conclusion felt rushed with a lot of information revealed quickly at the end.