Book Review: She’s Too Pretty to Burn by Wendy Heard

She’s Too Pretty to Burn

Author: Wendy Heard

Narrators: Frankie Corzo, Bailey Carr, & Stephen Dexter

Publication Date: 30 March 2021

Genre: YA – Thriller

Length: 8 hours 25 minutes

Publisher: Dreamscape Media

An electric romance set against a rebel art scene sparks lethal danger for two girls in this expertly plotted YA thriller. For fans of E. Lockhart, Lauren Oliver and Kara Thomas.

The summer is winding down in San Diego. Veronica is bored, caustically charismatic, and uninspired in her photography. Nico is insatiable, subversive, and obsessed with chaotic performance art. They’re artists first, best friends second. But that was before Mick. Delicate, lonely, magnetic Mick: the perfect subject, and Veronica’s dream girl. The days are long and hot―full of adventure―and soon they are falling in love. Falling so hard, they never imagine what comes next. One fire. Two murders. Three drowning bodies. One suspect . . . one stalker. This is a summer they won’t survive.

Inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, this sexy psychological thriller explores the intersections of love, art, danger, and power.

I need to start this review by saying, WTF did I just read?! This book is an absolute rollercoaster ride with messy gays to boot! 

Before I get into the review, let me clarify that I have never read Dorian Gray nor did I know what it was about, so I didn’t go into this story with the comparison factor. I have some a lot of criticism regarding this being a retelling, but since I didn’t know it was one, I had zero issues. That being said, I’m glad that I was able to go into this story without any inclination of what was going to happen because this book is wild as hell.

Our two main POVs follow Mick and Veronica, who are utter trainwrecks if I’m being honest. Mick is a lonely and insecure teenage girl with a nightmare of a mother who will literally exploit her daughter for fame and a few bucks. Veronica is a charismatic, aspiring photographer but lately her art has been boring her. Things completely change when their worlds crash together.

If you’re looking for a cast of likable characters, you will be sorely disappointed. These characters are messy and at times, downright toxic. But I couldn’t help but get completely wrapped up in both Mick and Veronica. And wait til y’all meet Nico.

This is more of a slow-burn psychological thriller in that it’s not nonstop action, but this did not keep me from devouring this book. There were so many twists and turns, and I loved that at no point did I find the story formulaic or predictable.

I know this review is a bit on the vague side, but it’s because y’all really need to experience this wild ride for yourselves. It definitely is worth it.

Also, I do highly recommend the audiobook because Frankie Corzo and Bailey Carr do a brilliant job of immersing the reader in this story.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

Order your copy of She’s Too Pretty to Burn here!

BIO

Wendy Heard is the author of two adult thrillers: The Kill Club and Hunting Annabelle, which Kirkus Reviews praised as “a diabolically plotted creep show from a writer to watch.” She’s Too Pretty To Burn, which Kirkus called “a wild and satisfying romp” in a starred review, marks her YA debut. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, and Mystery Writers of America, and is a contributor at Crimereads.com and Writer’s Digest. Wendy lives in Los Angeles, California.

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