“An anxiety-ridden ride as two girls’ lives crash together through secrets, love and danger. . . Captivating and stunningly visual.” —Aiden Thomas, New York Times-bestselling author of Cemetery Boys An electric romance set against a rebel art scene sparks lethal danger for two girls in She’s Too Pretty to Burn, an expertly plotted YA thriller by Wendy Heard.The summer is winding down in San … Heard.
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.
Christy Ottaviano Books
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Heard paints a mesmerizing portrait of love and betrayal amidst a slow-burn thriller… and once the murders begin, it’s impossible to look away.
Wendy Heard does this to me every single time. I’m someone who is always aware of the page number I’m on, or how much of the book I have left, or how many pages remain in the chapter. But whenever I read a book by Wendy Heard, I lose all sense of that and just get completely swept up in the story. Which is to say: I devoured SHE’S TOO PRETTY TO BURN. Inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, this YA novel sets the romance between picture-phobic Mick and photographer Veronica against a backdrop of a pulse-pounding thriller with an eerie and unforgettable villain. I am so impressed with how Wendy borrowed from—and twisted—the source material to deliver something familiar but also completely original. I was continually surprised by the twists in this book, as well as the actions of its characters, and I particularly loved the story’s exploration of the fine line between creation and destruction. If you’re looking for a fierce, beautiful book that will steal your attention and make your heart race—this is the one for you.
This is quite an intense YA novel. It’s is the story of two young women, Mick-a high school swimmer/lifeguard, and Veronica-a photographer. Veronica is best friends with Nico, an edgy artist who wants to create chaotic art, and Veronica and Mick become his helpers documenting the art.
Much of what he is doing is illegal and dangerous. Sadly, the art becomes out of control, and people die. But what is really frightening is who is behind the deaths. The final lines of the book are especially chilling.
I haven’t read The Picture of Dorian Grey, but this book is supposedly inspired by it. I will have to add that to my TBR list.
I was so bummed when I saw ARCs for She’s Too Pretty to Burn because I knew I had to many books on my To-Read list to add one more. But when I saw audiobook ARCs were available, I jumped to request one—and I’m SO glad I did.
Wendy Heard has done an amazing job of crafting a novel that will pull you along through every heart-pounding plot twist until that final fantastically creepy line.
She’s Too Pretty to Burn centers on Mick, Veronica and Nico. Mick is the daughter of an aging model who’s still desperate for a prime job. Mick wants nothing to do with her mother’s goals.
Veronica is a photographer in need of some inspiration of her own. Her best friend Nico is a protest performance artist.
Mick and Veronica fall hard and fast in love, but soon their relationship is strained. An arson, multiple murders, and somewhere…a stalker threatens those closest to them.
The novel itself is fantastic and edgy, and the audiobook performance does a fantastic job of capturing every nuance in this sexy, psychological thriller.
Fans of Courtney Summers will love Wendy Heard’s style. I highly recommend this novel, it’s one of my current favorites.
She’s Too Pretty to Burn is available now.
*I received an advanced audiobook copy of She’s Too Pretty to Burn from Dreamscape Media and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*
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.
Sexy, scary, and unputdownable!
This is another brilliant read by Heard. She’s quickly becoming one of my go-to authors. This story is dark and twisty with queer rep & unlikable, flawed characters that make me feel right at home. Heard is definitely one to watch!
She’s Too Pretty To Burn is a reimaging of The Picture of Dorian Gray, it was a thrilling beauty to read. It left me breathless at times with its art and passion. I love when an author takes on a retelling and does it well, in this case Wendy Heard went above and beyond with this retelling making a masterpiece that swirled around me till the very end.
I am going to stay out of spoiler territory and try not to give anything away since this book has not come out yet. The writing is superb and flowed well , it never missed a beat. It carried from the adventure to the romance. It will leave you speechless and aching for more. The was a fast pace dysfunctional love affair to the very end that will leave any reader overwhelmed in the best way possible.
Well that was a wild ride! Wendy Heard is a master at creating dark stories that will spin you on your head, make you gasp out loud, and curse the characters to hell and back. Fast-paced, malicious and deeply disturbing, SHE’S TO PRETTY TO BURN is an intoxicating read you won’t be able to inhale fast enough.