Wicked Games (Wicked Games, #1) by Sean Olin

Jun 23, 2014 Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies rated it really liked it

Shelves: awesome-guy, mental-illness, romance, high-school, revenge, cheating

Usually, I'm the one person who hates a book that everyone else has loved. For once, that's not the case. I seem to be the only person who loved this book, and I can't understand why. This book is awesome. And for some reason, the reviews have been like 1-1-1-1-2-1-1 across the board. Huh.

One of my friends who have read this book described it as watching a train wreck. Yep, that's exactly it. It's watching a psychological train wreck as it unfolds, and I love every moment of it.

The main characte Usually, I'm the one person who hates a book that everyone else has loved. For once, that's not the case. I seem to be the only person who loved this book, and I can't understand why. This book is awesome. And for some reason, the reviews have been like 1-1-1-1-2-1-1 across the board. Huh.

One of my friends who have read this book described it as watching a train wreck. Yep, that's exactly it. It's watching a psychological train wreck as it unfolds, and I love every moment of it.

The main character in this book is a psycho bitch. She really, truly is. There's no kind way to put it. She's insane, she should be on medication, but surprise, surprise, like so many mentally ill people, she refuses to take her meds. The result is a psychological wreck from which you cannot look away.

I've worked in a mental hospital before. I've worked in an emergency room in downtown LA before, and so trust me when I tell you that the craziest people I know are neither hospitalized nor institutionalized. They live and walk among us. They're the sociopaths. Manipulative lovers, friends, those who will simply take things too far. Those who will take advantage of us. Those who will wring every ounce of sympathy out of a situation. Those who I like to call "emotional vampires" because they will suck the life out of you.

This is a book about one such person.

It has:

1. An amazing, realistic portrayal of mental illness. The emotional manipulation. The lies. The self-hate. The sense of knowing that one is sick, but not being able to control yourself or your thoughts. The sense of wrongness.

2. An excellent depiction of cheating. It deals with cheating in a manner that I felt was sensitive, that made me, who hates the matter, supportive of the people involved.

3. A nice guy. Seriously. I felt like the love interest within this book was awesome. He struggles a lot, dealing with a girlfriend who is mentally ill, and I supported him despite everything.

4. No slut shaming. The teens in this book sleep with each other. They cheat. I never got the sense of shame, of self-hate, of recrimination by others that there is something shameful in sexuality.

If you like psycho characters, if you revel in other people's suffering, this is the book for you.

The Summary:

“You haven’t gone off your meds or whatever, have you?” he asked quietly.
Lilah’s face fell in disbelief. “Are you really asking me that?”
“Like I said, I’m worried about you,” Carter said.
Lilah didn’t answer.

Once upon a time, Carter and Lilah were a fairytale. They have been dating since 9th grade, one of those rare couples who have stayed together throughout high school, supporting each other through thick and thin. Once upon a time, Lilah was a bright, sparkling young woman, filled with joy and life.

“You’ve got a spark in you. Like a drive, you know what I mean? I’m always so worried about doing the right thing that I wouldn’t have dared do that without you.”

Once upon a time, Lilah was normal.

It is now their senior year of high school, and the fairy tale looks more like a fever dream.

you haven’t gone off your meds or whatever, have you?” he asked quietly.
Lilah’s face fell in disbelief. “Are you really asking me that?”
It occurred to Carter that she hadn’t answered his question.

Lilah is sick. She is mentally ill. She needs to take her medications. She is self-destructive, she is paranoid. She has few friends, because slowly, she has driven them away through harassment and paranoia. A once-promising swimmer, Lilah has since been kicked off the team.

In her manic exhaustion, she searched down the phone numbers not only of Melissa, but also of the Coral Gables coach and the principal of the school. She’d called them so many times that they’d reported her to Coach Randolph and Lilah had been kicked off the team.

Carter still loves her, he still cares about her, but it seems like he's staying together more out of duty than love.

She quickly covered her cuts with her hand. “I thought you were going to leave me. After what I did,” she said.
The thought of what she might do if he broke up with her sent a cold spike plunging through his heart.

Lilah has slowly withdrawn into herself, but Carter manages to gently talk her into attending a party thrown by one of his best friends.

The party was a disaster. Lilah has a tendency to blow up minor events, and this party was no different.

She knew he wasn’t criticizing her—he was just trying to be funny, or cute or something. But she couldn’t help but feel like he should have just said thank you.

Small things add up, and before she knows it, Lilah has gone down on one of her downward spirals.

So she took another swig of rum and Coke. She couldn’t get drunk fast enough. It was the only way she knew how to escape the feeling that everyone here was laughing at her behind her back.

Before long, Lilah ends up on a roof, drunk, almost fallen to her death before she is rescued by Carter. Lilah's friends volunteer to take her home, leaving Carter there, wondering what the hell just happened. Exhausted and frightened as fuck, but finally able to relax.

Whether or not he wanted to admit it to himself, it was the first time he breathed all night.

But he's not alone in his contemplation. A girl is there, Jules. They start talking, and before they know it, Carter realizes that this girl is funny, she's smart, she's beautiful. She is normal. And despite himself, Carter can't help feeling the attraction.

He relaxed a tick. He couldn’t help it. She was so comfortable with herself—you could see it in her posture, in her easy conversation, in the way she was able to look at the things outside herself without worrying about how they related to her—that she put him at ease.

Then he gets a text from Lilah.

“WHYD U MAKE ME GO TO THAT PARTY?” it said.

Really, was it any contest?

This story is about Lilah, and Carter, and Jules. It is about a young man struggling to do the right thing, a young woman who just wants to be with him, knowing the challenges.

“It’s okay. I don’t expect you to all of a sudden be my boyfriend. I understand. You’ve been with her forever. I don’t want to be the girl who broke up the class couple.”

And the trouble girl standing in between them.

What she felt was fear. And rage. And a despair so huge and heavy she felt like it might smother her, weigh her down, pull her into the ground, where she’d be buried forever.

Lilah:

She struggled with all her might to stop the tears from falling down her cheeks. She understood that he felt he had been wronged. But didn’t he understand that she’d been wronged, too? She ached all over from how badly she’d been wronged.

Lilah is the mentally ill, emotionally manipulative main character, and I thought her character was brilliantly portrayed. She is not without sympathy. Lilah is seriously sick, she needs her medication, but she cannot be relied upon to take them. Lilah knows that there's something wrong with her. She is completely understanding of the fact that she is not right. She has reason, she sees reason, it's just that often, her brain overrides common sense.

She regretted every single thing she’d done, and her regret made her hate herself and her self-hatred filled her with an uncontrollable need to hear Carter tell her that everything was okay.

She has been with Carter for so long that he has become her life. He has become her identity, and she will stop at nothing to get him back. I thought her hurt and anger and lack of self-control was well-written.

“No. You don’t get to decide when I calm down.” Another surge of rage and she went at him with all the strength she contained. When he held her off with a stiff arm, she clamped her fingers into his arm and dug into his skin with her nails. He’d hurt her; why shouldn’t she hurt him back?

Carter:

She’s so anxious, though. She needs me so much.” He furrowed his eyebrows. “And she holds on so tightly that she doesn’t realize she’s...killing us.”
Jules felt for him. She understood his fear. Walking away from love was hard—even if the love was bad.
“I don’t want to hurt her,” he said.

I bloody loved Carter. Yes, he cheats on Lilah, but there is so much guilt within him.

I know it's a stupid thing to say about a guy who cheats on his girlfriend, but I felt like Carter has so much integrity. I don't think it's a stretch to say that a lot of guys would just dump a troublesome girlfriend, particularly one during the volatile years of high school. Carter doesn't do that. He remains with Lilah. He feels a responsibility for her. He watches over her. He is more of a babysitter than a boyfriend at times, and he bears his tasks with such earnestness. I truly felt bad for him.

The thing with cheating is that you have to make the cheaters to be likeable, deeply sympathetic people and I felt like this book did that exceptionally well.

“So, look. Things with Lilah are—I don’t even know what they are. We’re going to talk later this afternoon. So, we’ll see. I need to figure things out in my head . . . and . . .” He blushed. “I mean, I should get my shit together before I start messing with yours. It’s not fair. It’s not fair to you and it’s not fair to Lilah. You know what I mean? I shouldn’t be starting new things with new people when I’m in the middle of a great big confusing thing already.”

There are a lot of insecurities, a lot of moral struggles, a lot of guilt. and I was wholly in support of Carter the entire time.

Jules: Oh, sure, she's a drama hipster, but I liked her a lot despite the fact. Maybe it's because she, in her own way, is damaged. She, too, is insecure. She is so refreshingly normal in contrast. Jules knows that Carter and Delilah are complicated. She didn't want to get caught up in the middle, but her attraction for Carter overreaches that common sense. Still, Jules is not clingy. She is reasonable. She gives Carter space to deal. She is not desperate to be loved.

“I get it. Hey, I don’t want to get involved in some crazy cheating thing, either.”
“So,” he said. “Friends?”
She wanted to take his hand in hers and tell him to let her know if he changed his mind. But she knew better than to do that.
Instead, she smirked. “Friends,” she said.

And have I mentioned that she has an awesome, awesome mother?

“Did you hear me?” she said. “It’s not your fault. You don’t have to own problems he’s created for himself. Okay?”
Jules nodded.
“But,” her mom said, arching her eyebrows, “be careful. Guys with girlfriends...they have no idea what they want. And they’ll charm you into thinking that it doesn’t matter. You should know that by now, given the example I’ve set for you.”
“I know,” Jules said. “You’re right. It’s just...”
Jules’s mom patted her hand, and then gave it a playful squeeze. “It’s just that they’re so hard to resist,” she said.
They smiled at each other, almost but not quite ashamed of this truth.

...more

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Dec 30, 2013 Emily May rated it really liked it

Recommended to Emily May by: Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies

Shelves: arc, contemporary, 2014, young-adult

By the time they crossed the Georgia state line, they’d forgotten all about the green Mazda, but if they’d looked, they would have seen that it was still behind them...

Thank you, Khanh!

Well... holy shit. I nearly passed this one up because of all the negative reviews - just look down the page at all those one stars - but it was Khanh's review that piqued my curiosity. I often find myself being in the minority on books, though it's usually a case where I wasn't feeling the magic from ...more

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Apr 30, 2014 Faye, la Patata rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller, stand-alone, 2014, questionable-hero, what-the-flying-fuck, psychological, suspense, stay-the-hell-away, questionable-heroine, young-adult

Also seen on the Not-So-Literary Heiresses blog.
Find me on Twitter! I don't bite

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There are two types of trainwrecks.

The first is the kind in which you want to look away because it disturbs you and makes you uncomfortable. The second is the kind in which you know it's going to get flat-out ugly, and yet you can't look away because you want to see how it will end up.

Wicked Games by Sean Olin is of the latter.

Looking at the cover, you'd think this book comprises of steamy romance and erotica ga ...more

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Dec 05, 2013 Annika marked it as no-thanks · review of another edition

"When smart, sexy Jules enters the picture at a senior-year bash, Carter succumbs to temptation. And when Lilah catches wind of his betrayal, she decides that Jules needs to pay."

Really now? REALLY? How about you take revenge on the guy who frigging cheated on you? Ugh.

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Dec 04, 2013 Giselle rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2014, genre-contemporary, tough-issues, arc-electronic, age-young-adult, 1-star, requested-for-review, from-edelweiss, genre-romance, genre-thriller

An Electronic Advanced Reader Copy was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss for review.

Cheating, slut shaming, bullying, stalking, threats of distributing photos online.. You want every single conniving way to hurt someone? This book had it. I couldn't really believe anyone would be this cruel or sadistic. I just could not like ANY of these characters. Not one gave me anything to like about. These characters don't care about any one and I pretty much deemed all of them to be terrible people. ...more

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Sep 03, 2015 Mauoijenn rated it did not like it

Shelves: hell-no-never-again-nope, 2015-rc, teenage-drama-ya

Jesus. All this needed was a rabbit in a boiling pot and you have a hit movie. Nope. Too predictable.

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Dec 06, 2013 Megan rated it did not like it · review of another edition

I read Sean Olin's WICKED GAMES roughly 6 months ago, drawn in immediately by its cover and promise when I received an ARC for review. At that time, I didn't know it would be a series (how and why, I do not know) but I did see that it sounded interesting enough. Diving into the book, it even started interesting enough, until the point where it became one of the worst offending books I have ever read when it comes to demonizing those that suffer from mental illness.

The story follows a teen couple I read Sean Olin's WICKED GAMES roughly 6 months ago, drawn in immediately by its cover and promise when I received an ARC for review. At that time, I didn't know it would be a series (how and why, I do not know) but I did see that it sounded interesting enough. Diving into the book, it even started interesting enough, until the point where it became one of the worst offending books I have ever read when it comes to demonizing those that suffer from mental illness.

The story follows a teen couple that has been together forever, except the girlfriend is very, very attached to her boyfriend. When the boyfriend, Carter, strays at a party, abandoning his girlfriend and being a complete ass to her in order to meet and fall for the hippy dippy Jules, his scorned girlfriend Lilah (already showing signs of mental illness, and a needy wreck) plots revenge against Jules for stealing her boyfriend away from her, even though it was totally all Carter that really made the moves to begin with.

So what does a respectable teenage girlfriend do when her boyfriend of years breaks up with her for another girl that he claims to have fallen instalove with? Plot revenge and murder against his new girlfriend, who is totally a complete hussy (in Lilah's mind) to convince Carter she is the one and only.

WAIT.

This review is going to be less a review and more a rant, because I cannot sit idly by and watch a book written for teens so inaccurately portray a teenage girl's mental illness as little more than jealousy and hatred. Lilah is suffering from something that those around her admit has been treated by a doctor. She has been prescribed medication that nobody seems to enforce her taking. Her parents just shrug and pretend nothing is really wrong when she begins to inflict a stream of horrible, grievous crimes against Jules, including stealing Jules' sexy nude videos for Carter made while she was underage and playing them at graduation.

Carter, who claims that he loved Lilah, doesn't even try and get Lilah help. In fact, he does nothing to realize that she is having a crisis that needs help, even when her parents do nothing to stop her other than shipping her off to another college while he and Jules go off together into the sunset. In fact, everyone in this book seems to be naive beyond belief, from the teenagers to the parents to the school officials who also seem ignorant of the fact a child in their care has gone off the rails.

Mental health portrayed as a villainous trait, untreated and mostly ignored by loved ones, is just one of the tropes I wish would die, especially in YA. It's harmful, misleading, and just completely ignorant of reality, and it is not sexy.

In short, no, I cannot and will not recommend this book. And I feel bad for this review because I am sure Mr. Olin had good intentions in writing this "sexy thriller" that is a "juicy summer read", but the end result is something so offensive to those suffering from mental health issues that it's just a big fat no. ...more

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Dec 03, 2013 Mlpmom (Book Reviewer) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-books, arc-book-read

2.5 Stars

Let me start by saying that the synopsis for this one really doesn't prepare you for this book. It is very mild compared to what you actually get, which is one girl who is severely disturbed and needs help. One girl who plans on taking revenge to all the people (or one very specific person) she feels has wronged her and doing it by any means imaginable.

I normally love third person layouts in books but once in a great while I will come across one that just doesn't work and sadly, this on ...more

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Aug 05, 2016 Diana Ouma rated it liked it

Wicked games is on another level of messed up. It was really disconcerting to live through the thoughts of a mentally unstable person. Sometimes I had to stop reading just the breathe. The reason Wicked Games isn't five stars is because it's so depressing. I felt a pressure build up in me. I did in a weird way enjoy this novel. But I will definitely not be reading the second. This isn't my cuppa.

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Dec 22, 2013 Elle rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, dnf, didn-t-get-it, lost-me-at-hello, wtf, don-t-know-why-i-m-torturing-myself, dysfunctional-romance, arcs-netgalley-edeilweiss, new-adult, contemporary

This one is a DNF for me. Once I realized where the novel was going, I saw that it was not for me. I don't like to read stories where mental health issues are used as plot devices. They tend to fail at whatever the author intends and irritates me as a reader. The first chapter was absolutely beautiful and I thought it would prove to set the stage for the remainder of the book. I was wrong and quickly discovered Wicked Games was not the book for me. I'd give it 2 out of 5 stars for effort and the ...more

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Jan 03, 2014 Christiana rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: teen-fic, high-school, has-sexy-times, edelweiss-netgalley

Maybe you've been wondering about this book! In a word: don't.

I get why this book exists: it's messed up (people like messed up books eg. Gone Girl!) and it's a love story gone very wrong (people like that eg. Othello and "Swimfan"!). However, the execution of this is nothing to write home about. The plot is horrifying (the moral of this book is that everyone needs to stay on their medication), but in a way that goes just a bit too far, especially for all the characters in the book to turn a bli ...more

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Jun 23, 2014 Heather *Undercover Goth Queen* rated it it was ok

Shelves: ills, 2015, dumb, boring, popsugar-challenge, ya, meh, realistic

This was written in a bland, boring way, and I just coasted through most of it without really enjoying it. I did like the ending, though.

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Apr 09, 2014 Dark Faerie Tales rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed-by-kaitlin

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: In Wicked Games, an engaging, memorable story will have you sitting of the edge of your seat.

Opening Sentence: “Are you sure you’re okay?” asked Carter.

The Review:

Lilah and Carter met as freshman. That first year, their love was strong, and it seemed as if nothing could tear them apart. But cracks are forming that are starting to show. All it takes is one night with Jules and one depressed, jealous girlfriend to make actions spiral out of contro Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: In Wicked Games, an engaging, memorable story will have you sitting of the edge of your seat.

Opening Sentence: “Are you sure you’re okay?” asked Carter.

The Review:

Lilah and Carter met as freshman. That first year, their love was strong, and it seemed as if nothing could tear them apart. But cracks are forming that are starting to show. All it takes is one night with Jules and one depressed, jealous girlfriend to make actions spiral out of control, and tears, sweat, and even blood will be shed.

This is an intensely hooking novel. From the start, I was a little nervous I was starting a another typical love story with typical characters and a typical plot. The first chapter is on a beach, with two young lovers, so that strengthened my fear. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some romance, but I’ve been reading a lot of those lately, so when I realized it was much more than a cheesy love story, I was estatic. Let me tell you, this captured me and reeled me in on a hook, with it’s unique characters, enrapturing plot, and beautiful writing style. The characters were right next to me, acting out the words on the page. Just, wow!

Carter is a swoon-worthy male character, caring, affectionate, with a tinge of rebellion. When his girlfriend is being rude and over-dramatic, then threatens to hurt herself if he leaves her. You could say it’s a pretty rough patch to be in. But Carter handles it with an admirably calm exterior, though we, the readers, get to see the tumultuous storm of emotions on the inside. Jules was also an amazing one, and I fell in love with her point of view. Lilah’s the crazy one, the moody one, the one that made me think a murderer was lurking in every corner. Her POV was also exceptionally well done. Just enough humanity to make me feel sorry for her, and empathy for her case.

Uch. The ending. The ending of this book was surprising, heartbreaking, horrible, in so many ways. It was sadly ironic. I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll stop there. Don’t try to infer what happens, because I didn’t say what character the horrible thing happens to, so technically, you will probably be way off if you guess. I know I was, even though I was waiting for a different tragedy.

For anyone fitting in the new adult or young adult categories, I think you’ll love this one. It’s mysterious, beautiful, amazing, I can’t say enough good things about it! I hope you check it out because I know you won’t be disappointed. This book has it all — a killer romance, awesome characters, a unique plotline, and lots of action. You’ll be pulled in like I was and I know you’ll be left begging for more of this author’s work!

Notable Scene:

“Lilah,” he said. “What happened? To your legs?”

She quickly covered her cuts with her hand. “I thought you were going to leave me.”

FTC Advisory: Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins provided me with a copy of Wicked Games. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ...more

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Dec 29, 2013 Nova Zaiden rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, arc, literal-trainwreck, can-the-mc-walk-into-heavy-traffic, i-expected-better-from-you, read-in-2013

View more content on my blog: Out of Time

I was initially excited for this book and ended up being heavily disappointed. It sounded like a thrilling read that would keep me captivated throughout the novel. What actually happened was I was rolling my eyes instead. I wasn't bored with the story, but it was definitely something I would never take seriously if read.

Here's another book where the MC has a mental illness used as a plot device. There is no real mention of her having a medical mental illn View more content on my blog: Out of Time

I was initially excited for this book and ended up being heavily disappointed. It sounded like a thrilling read that would keep me captivated throughout the novel. What actually happened was I was rolling my eyes instead. I wasn't bored with the story, but it was definitely something I would never take seriously if read.

Here's another book where the MC has a mental illness used as a plot device. There is no real mention of her having a medical mental illness, yet everyone knows. Even her own mother says "she's been refusing her meds" like we're discussing the weather. With the way the MC, Lilah was acting, the people around her should've been worried for her health. That is what would've happened in the real world but you know, it's a story. Let's get all our facts wrong and make things up as we go.

I think I hated every single character. Lilah and Carter were the "It" Couple and then comes Jules who "steals Carter away" by Lilah's definition. This was the biggest problem I had with this novel. Jules genuinely liked Carter and we can't help who we fall for. Carter liked Jules. Perfect right? And then there's Lilah, who Carter never let go of. Lilah pretty much said "Carter, if you leave me, I will cut myself or kill myself" or something of that sort. Isn't that Sign #1 that Lilah needs help? No. Carter thinks that he can help her.

Idiot...

Jules was flat and I found her very boring. She had her personality, but because this novel was a Lilah show, Jules had very little character and even less layers. Carter was an idiot. He was such a complete jerk to Lilah. Sure, Lilah's unstable, but that's the point. She's sick. She needs help. The least Carter could've done would be to do something to get Lilah help, instead of just break up with her for Jules.

And then the plot was problematic. It reminded me of a horror movie with the way Lilah was getting her "revenge" on Jules (even though it was Carter who cheated on her). It was entertaining yet so stupid and unbelievable. Lilah "getting" Jules made up the important part, not that Jules made it hard for Lilah to get dirt on her. And then the ending was so choppy and "eye-roll worthy" that I was glad to turn the final page.

This is not a book that I would want to read again. It was like a crappy celebrity magazine; you read it for entertainment, but you don't actually care about the info inside of it. ...more

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Aug 08, 2014 Sydney rated it did not like it

Shelves: so-easy-to-guess, triangle-love, owned-books, alternating-pov, male-pov, female-pov, absolutely-sucked, best-covers, annoying-men

This was painful.

This book was terrible.
The sad thing is that I'll probably read the next book just because the covers are gorgeous!

I mean: gorgeous!

It really sucks that this book wasn't good because I was really hoping that it would be amazing! It sounds good, the characters sound likeable, the storyline sounds awesome (I was looking for a revenge book after Burn for Burn).
I think the ultimate downfall for this book was the amount of POV's and the author never letting you know who's POV you ar ...more

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Aug 22, 2014 Cheryl rated it really liked it

Ok, so this is one book that took me by surprise in how much I really liked it. In fact, I was more than about a third of the way down with this book before I put it down. Stopping reading was not really the choice I wanted to do but I needed to turn out the light and get some sleep. This is the down side of starting a book in bed at night before going to sleep. Sometimes you choose a really good one like Wicked Games and then are having a dilemma...two sleep or not to sleep, that is the questio ...more

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Jun 24, 2014 Rose marked it as curiosity-dries-the-rose

Trying this one, though I have some reservations about it going in. Call it the curiosity bug (and that's gotten me into trouble more often times than not).

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Sep 18, 2014 Hayley rated it did not like it

Shelves: illness, realistic, contemporary, romance, highschool

Ugh. Nasty misogynistic Fatal Attraction/Carrie inspired thriller. The worst twist is that this seems to be the first book in a series.

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Oct 07, 2017 Rebecca rated it liked it

Shelves: 2017, kindle-books-i-own, thoughts-on-a-book

This book was eerily creepy and not as much a romance book as I expected and was more psychological thriller.

There are three main characters, Carter Lilah and Jules. Carter and Lilah have been best friends since Carter moved to town, they quickly became boyfriend and girlfriend. But Lilah has always had a few mental health problems and when Carter starts seeing Jules on dates etc Lilah looses it. Starts bullying Jules and causing issues for Carter.

There are few secondary characters because ther ...more

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Jun 11, 2020 Michelle (MichelleReadsYA) rated it it was ok

https://youtu.be/RVfC56V7Jnk

Reading the Lowest Rates Books I Own

This was interesting. It was supposed to be a thriller but it was mostly cheesy. I hated the girl on girl hate and carter was the worst. ...more

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Dec 02, 2013 Crystal rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2014

I am all for psychological thrillers. I for some reason just love all the craziness and tend to gravitate to these types of books. Unfortunately Wicked Games was a step in the wrong direction for me.

This book was just a mess from the get go. You see in the prologue Lilah and Carters relationship start off sweet and fun, but by the time they are seniors things have changed and Lilah is not the same girl she once was. I wasn't quite sure what to think honestly. Lilah was such a pain and I felt for I am all for psychological thrillers. I for some reason just love all the craziness and tend to gravitate to these types of books. Unfortunately Wicked Games was a step in the wrong direction for me.

This book was just a mess from the get go. You see in the prologue Lilah and Carters relationship start off sweet and fun, but by the time they are seniors things have changed and Lilah is not the same girl she once was. I wasn't quite sure what to think honestly. Lilah was such a pain and I felt for Carter. He was there for her even when she was being mean and downright nasty to him. Then I saw why she was this way...well I read that she was on medication for a problem but that was about as far as the explanation went. So I said well she needs help and this is where this story is going to take me, but I was wrong. There is cheating, stalking, violence, and a little fatal attraction thrown in. Usually this is my type of crazy but not this time.

I think if the author would have shown us when and how Lilah came to be this way I might have felt more for her. Don't get me wrong she definitely had a few screws loose, but there was a mental reason behind her actions that was never really explained. Yes we get a few short paragraphs detailing the event that led up to her medication, but for me that's not enough. Show me conversations between her parents, her therapist, her doctor something. I can't just buy into the fact that this girl is this troubled for no reason.

Well when she finds out what Carter did she really flies off the handle and things get worse for the other party involved. Again I find myself mad at the parents of both sides. If my daughter went through what Jules went through I would not just get a restraining order. I would press as many charges as I could to make sure this person went somewhere away from my child. Both parents just kinda go okay you feel sorta bad you say you won't do anything else so we well just let it all go with a restraining order. HELLO does that ever work??

The cheating...where do I even begin. This is the only part of the story where I felt sad for Lilah. She didn't deserve to be cheated on by Carter. Yes she was a mess, yes she needed major help and yes she didn't need to be with Carter. Carter needed to man up and tell her in nicer way that they needed to break up. He knew she was unstable and after four years together she deserved more than what he gave her. I get that he couldn't do it anymore, but he should have talked to her parents and been honest with his feelings. Someone in Lilah's condition would have needed support and Carter should have been a little more understanding of that. He should never have cheated and left that for Lilah to deal with on her own. After he cheated and justified it to himself I just wanted to puke. This is the kind of character that I loath the most.

The part that bothered me the most though was the ending. After all the craziness I didn't care whether Carter ended up with a HEA because well he cheated and I just can't let that go no matter the reason, but I didn't expect what happened. It kinda felt like what goes around comes around and the sequel is going to mimic this book and I don't buy it. I know mental illness stems from something but really would lighting strike twice in the same general area?? It all just felt too off and left me going seriously that's how you are going to end this??

So no I was not a fan of this book. I thought it was a mess that really needed cleaning up. I don't even know if I think editing would help. There were just too many plot holes and the characters were not likable at all. ...more

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Dec 02, 2013 Richa rated it did not like it

Shelves: arc, edelweiss, for-review

Originally posted at City of Books

Firstly, I want to say that the synopsis of this book definitely does not prepare you for the craziness in it. I went into Wicked Games thinking it would be a fun and intriguing read about a girl trying to get her boyfriend back by sabotaging the girl he slept with. I thought I would be on Lilah's side. But boy, was I wrong. I couldn't bring myself to like any of the three main characters in this book, and that's mostly the reason I couldn't like the book either Originally posted at City of Books

Firstly, I want to say that the synopsis of this book definitely does not prepare you for the craziness in it. I went into Wicked Games thinking it would be a fun and intriguing read about a girl trying to get her boyfriend back by sabotaging the girl he slept with. I thought I would be on Lilah's side. But boy, was I wrong. I couldn't bring myself to like any of the three main characters in this book, and that's mostly the reason I couldn't like the book either.

Lilah and Carter have been together for almost the entirety of high school. Lilah always thought they'd be together forever. But as she spirals down into depression as a result of not taking her meds, she becomes unbearable to be with. Carter wants out. And when he meets Jules, he knows he's found someone he could be happy with. But no way is Lilah going to let that happen. She strives to do everything she can to keep Jules away from Carter, no matter the consequence. And her deteriorating mental stability makes her actions take a very dark turn.

The first thing that put me off was the narration. It's third person omniscient, which means we get pretty much everyone's perspectives at some point. But it's all jumbled up, and it just made me feel really distanced from the characters. It did contribute towards the ominous feel of the plot later on, but throughout most of the book, it annoyed me.

Excuse the language, but Lilah is a fucking psycho. Right from the beginning. She starts off being really annoying and clingy to Carter, no wonder he wants to get away from her. And at one point she basically pimps herself out to Jules' ex-boyfriend just to get Carter back. Really? Man, she pissed me off. And really creeped me out. I hated her with a burning passion at some parts, and I just wanted to yell at Carter and Jules to finish her off already. I mean seriously, the things she does to Jules... I'm surprised the girl didn't strangle her.

Carter was no better. Okay, of course he was because no one's as bad as Lilah. But he pissed me off too. He's way too afraid to break things off with Lilah, and that could have meant avoiding all the ugliness later. But no, he sticks it out, the idiot. And then he in turn gets all clingy with Jules. I did like that he's really protective of her, but honestly there's no point feeling that way if you're just going to make a half-assed effort to do something about it.

Jules is sweet, and the only possibly redeeming feature of this book. Maybe. I've got nothing against her really, she's the victim in all this. She genuinely cares for Carter, and what she gets in return is a psycho bent on destroying her life. But Jules is also kind of a pushover, and a bit too naive for my liking. If I had someone like psycho Lilah stalking me, I'd do something about it, get her locked up early on before she does something serious. But Jules just lets everything go until the huge climax-showdown-thingy.

The irony at the end was a nice twist, though, and probably the only thing I kind of liked about this book. But it was mostly way too creepy and annoying for me. I'm sorry, but I really can't recommend this. To anyone. I guess some people would like it, but it just wasn't for me. Right now I'm just trying to get these characters out of my head, especially Lilah.

*Thank you to HarperCollins for providing me with an eARC for review* ...more

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Dec 03, 2013 Sarah Elizabeth rated it really liked it

Shelves: horror, young-adult, mystery, mental-health-problem, netgalley-edelweiss, r2r-read, as, read-2014

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
17-year-old Lilah and her boyfriend Carter have been together for 4 years, but since Lilah started suffering from depression and anxiety, things haven’t been right between them.
At a party at a friend’s house, Lilah gets spectacularly drunk, and dives from the top of a 3-story building into the swimming pool. While she goes home, what she doesn’t realise it that Carter meets (Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
17-year-old Lilah and her boyfriend Carter have been together for 4 years, but since Lilah started suffering from depression and anxiety, things haven’t been right between them.
At a party at a friend’s house, Lilah gets spectacularly drunk, and dives from the top of a 3-story building into the swimming pool. While she goes home, what she doesn’t realise it that Carter meets Jules, and begins to fall in love with her.
When Lilah realises what’s happening with Carter, she starts trying to get him back, but it seems she’s really pushing him further away.
Can Lilah get Carter back? What are her plans for Jules? And can Carter break away without driving Lilah to harm herself?

This was a good read, and I really liked the tension and anticipation of what would happen next.

I liked Carter, although he let other people rule his life to much. I understood that he had been with Lilah for a long time, but at points it seemed like he wasn’t so much helping her as enabling her.
Lilah was crazy – like seriously deranged. I got that she has some psychological issues, and she was obviously depressed, but her behaviour did get out of hand, and it wasn’t surprising that people started to be afraid of her.
I liked Jules, and I felt really sorry for her. Admittedly she knew what she was doing when she tried to start something with Carter, so she wasn’t exactly innocent, but she should have told someone about what Lilah was doing to her before it got quite so out of hand.

The storyline was pretty good. I liked not knowing what would happen next, and Lilah got crazier as the story went on. It really did get to the point where I couldn’t look I was so worried about what was coming, and it was obvious that this whole situation was not going to end well.
I suppose it was a fairly predictable ‘deranged ex-girlfriend’ story, but I liked it. The little flirtation between Jules and Carter was good, although this book wasn’t really about the romance.
I liked the ending, but wish I hadn’t read the epilogue, it was ironic, but it also kind of spoiled the happily ever after image.
Overall; good mystery/horror
7 out of 10.
...more

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Apr 05, 2014 Crina (Reading Addict) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Original post on http://readingadd.blogspot.ro/

When I saw this cover I thought that it was one of that sweet, cute/hot romances, but it wasn't. After I read the synopsis I knew that I wanted to read it, because it sounded intriguing, fast paced, with action and a little bit of crazyness. If you like contemporary, light reads, but also kind of revenge stories, then this is for you.

I read it in a couple of hours and the suspense kept me glued to the pages, because this characters... Lilah, as evil Original post on http://readingadd.blogspot.ro/

When I saw this cover I thought that it was one of that sweet, cute/hot romances, but it wasn't. After I read the synopsis I knew that I wanted to read it, because it sounded intriguing, fast paced, with action and a little bit of crazyness. If you like contemporary, light reads, but also kind of revenge stories, then this is for you.

I read it in a couple of hours and the suspense kept me glued to the pages, because this characters... Lilah, as evil and crazy as she is, is such a smart and powerful character. And some of you may ask me how I could liked her? Why I liked her? Yes, she's kind of crazy, and so full of rage, and maybe she shouldn't go that far, but... I don't know, the story was so good, and she was a well created character and I liked her, for what she was. And Carter, really, I didn't liked him. I mean, kind of, was his fault, he wanted too much...

Guys, you may not know, but I like evil guys, or girls, and how they think and use their imagination to get revenge. And this book was such a good one. I think Lilah is now one of my favorite crazy-evil characters. Because she did anything to get what she wanted, she didn't back off, even when everybody thought that she left, and they could live happyly ever after.

Jules, I don't know, at first I liked her, but after some time for me she looked kind of weak. I expected her to fight back, but she kind of didn't, she needed help form others and in front of the tsunami Lilah... was kind of hard.

Especially in the second part of the book, when the story got even crazier and I was smiling like crazy here, because I was on the edge of the chair and I wanted so bad to know what was going to happen. And the end, guys. The end of the book! It took me by surprise, because I thought that the all bad ended. And then bam! I can't wait for the next one.

So, if you like this kind of books, read it; it's like a rollercoaster that which, with every chapter is going faster, and faster...until you forget to breath.
...more

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Jul 13, 2014 Gisbelle rated it did not like it

Shelves: romance, young-adult, high-school, young-adult-contemporary, stand-alone, annoying, infidelity, contemporary

This is pretty much one of the most infuriating books I have ever read.

**Some mild spoilers ahead**

Let's get it straight that I didn't like any characters in this book. Lilah, the girlfriend, was super pathetic. She tried to hold on to a jerk who didn't even want her anymore. Who cares they had been together for so long. A cheater is not worth it!

Carter, the boyfriend, was a total douchebag. Whatever he did didn't change the fact that he was cheating bastard. It irritated me that he didn't have ...more

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Jun 05, 2014 Naoms rated it did not like it

Shelves: netgalley-edelweis, arc, nook, ya-fiction, disappointing, do-not-recommend, dnf, read-in-2014

I just can't. Stories about guys who cheat on their obviously mentally unstable girlfriends, because she is mentally unstable are a major pet peeve of mine. Girls, who mess around with guys because the mess between him and his girlfriend is not her problem, is a major pet peeve of mine. Mental illness is a serious thing. It's just not ok for this author to use it as a plot point to excuse a cheating boyfriend or to make the girlfriend do insane things.

I prefer infidelity stories where no one is ...more

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Oct 22, 2015 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Shelves: general-fiction

The Good: I loved that Wicked Games pulled no punches. Lilah is mentally ill and goes off the deep end in a skincrawling fashion. She takes every scorned woman impulse and just goes with it, consequences be damned. Carter is obviously torn between caring for Lilah and wanting to escape her choke him with her love impulses. Carter makes stupid mistakes while dealing with a mentally unstable person and things escalate in a terrifying fashion. Lilah was scary, like really genuinely scary.

The Bad: S ...more

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Jan 25, 2016 Nora rated it it was ok

This book seriously creeped me out. It was not bad- however, I assumed it was going to be a naughty romance novel (because, yes, I judged the hook by its cover). Boy was I surprised. Lilah was a crazy psycho... that is the only way to put it. Also, what was that quote at the end about carter wanting to kill Jules?

"However, when she smiled at him, he was sure that he wanted to kill her."

What? I thought he was going to propose.. I'm confused! Overall the book was just okay. I won't be reading it ...more

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May 27, 2016 Adeline rated it it was ok

Shelves: books-i-didn-t-like

I'm actually torn between 2.5 and 3 stars.
This book wasn't bad per say, it was just boring. Truth is it wasn't what I expected at all.
Nothing really happened, the characters were annoying and plain. The writing wasn't really good. It just wasn't what I wanted. I can't even bother writing a better review, because I just don't have anything to say. I wasn't impressed at all.
It could have been so much more, it had the potential to be good but it just felt flat.

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Jan 16, 2014 Jessica *The Lovely Books* rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: review, first-reads, blogger, edelweiss

I hate how mental illness was used in this!! Save your money and precious time and skip this!!! It sounds intriguing but it's not.

This was not a book for me and I don't understand how and why you would even want to take revenge on anyone! They aren't worth it if they cheat.

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