Improbable. Insane. Ridiculous. Absolutely enticing. If you are searching for a read like One of Us Is Lying or The Ivies, this 2022 release is the one to read. These Deadly Games is honestly ridiculous and contains many plot holes but, it will captivate. The plot holds its own as a YA thriller, there will be slight chills and thrills when reading but also selfishness only teenagers can possess and ridiculous drama. It is a combination I personally love to read when I crave something easy and I think These Deadly Games does the combination justice and if you want something so ridiculous but oh so fun to read, this is the book for you.

These Deadly Games by Diana Urban contains an improbable plot. It's like Swiss cheese, holey but still delightful to devour. The story is told over 24 hours and from the moment Crystal finds out her sister was kidnapped, the roller coaster begins. The beginning sets up the scene on who the characters are, the world they live in, and provides you background into why certain things matter and what the repercussions could be for not playing the deadly game. What consequences do actions have when the stakes are life or death? You'll have to read to find out.

I appreciate a flawed character and multiple flawed characters? Yes please, especially when they are selfish. Crystal puts herself first because she is selfish; her need to save her sister trumps her friends needs. This is like the trolly problem, to save one do you sacrifice five or to save five do you sacrifice one, except the one is your sister and the five are your friends? How she projects her emotions is valid within the scope of a YA and is why she makes a good protagonist.

My favourite part of Crystal and could be yours too is that every time I wondered why she hadn't considered something, within a page or two, she was analysing the scenario the way I considered. It was kind of creepy but showed that although selfish and stubborn, she wasn't making moves just to push the story along, they made sense with who she was even if the decision was the absolutely wrong one.

The supporting characters like Crystal, are flawed. They act like sixteen-year-old's and that's a good thing, because they are. Their personal relationship to Crystal intensifies her choices and you can feel the pain from these choices both from her and her friends. These characters are flawed, exemplify sixteen-year-old nature, and heighten the story; they are worth reading.

The ending is one that will antagonise you, and it's wonderful. Again, the whole entire story is ridiculous but you still feel emotion throughout. It is an ending that will leave you with questions, whether that is good or bad, is up to you. These Deadly Games is a 2022 release worth an hour of your time.

Despite the preposterousness of the situation, These Deadly Games was fun to read. The novel had its pro's and con's but overall veered towards being a positive experience. The story was so improbable that the insanity of it all made it even more enjoyable. I mean, why would Crystal's first response not be to call the school to confirm her sister was or was not on the field trip? That is the biggest issue I have with the novel, why wouldn't you call the school? Also, if her sister wasn't on the trip but had signed up for it, wouldn't the mother have been called to confirm the non-attendance? Even if the mother had been in surgery, voicemails exist. The whole novel could have been over with a five minute phone call but then there would be no story, would there.

Again, the plot is preposterous and I cannot help roll my eyes at it, but it was so fun. I didn't enjoy the interspersing of the past versus present the night Brady died - those kids bullied him and you can see that part of them in their personalities current day. They were quite cliquey and hiding such a secret further cemented their friendship. The second question is, why the heck did they not tell their parents? At a certain point, fear of punishment should be overridden by fear of death. Someone died! It is interesting to note that Brady died from suffocation, not hypothermia meaning his death would have occurred regardless and they would've saved themselves years of suffering if they had done the right thing and told a parent. My god, these kids were nasty. They were selfish and entitled and that is seen throughout the novel.

The thing is, I admired their selfishness -  as a trope not in real-life, because selfish people exist and Zoe and Crystal to me are the epitome of selfishness with underlying good intentions. We all know I adore flawed characters, good or bad, and these characters were flawed. I thought it helped create an antagonist and a realer read - well, mostly.

I enjoyed how polarising Crystal was. It was clear she either would be your best friend or your worst enemy. She hated Lucia because she assumed she wanted to steal Akira's boyfriend and became nasty to protect a friend. She was curt when things didn't go her way. She was a mean person but she also had a deep fierceness for protecting her friends; if you were her friend, you were ride or die. She was coerced into killing a person to save her sister. She had so many layers, she was a good onion.

Can we talk about how Madi's death was so quickly glossed over? I feel the emotional impact of it was not fleshed out enough. One of their closest friends died in front of them and the emotional response was not shown. Where were the tears and breakdowns? I only understand Crystal keeping it together having hyperfocused on her sister's safety but the others? Randall was his best friend and there was no impact watching his best friend die? It was such a subdued moment when in reality, it was the biggest device in the novel. It was his death where I knew the improbability of the story would create a good read. I thought this was going to be more like One of Us Is Lying where there is a threat of danger but no follow through, there definitely was follow through in this novel. Madi was murdered and Akira was an accident away from following suit.

A creepy person I didn't like was Dylan. I knew it had to be someone in the group and I honestly suspected Zoe until halfway through when I switched to Dylan or Andrew, the older brother, for my main suspects. I didn't expect them to morph into the same person. I also didn't expect an eighteen-year-old to be casually kissing minors he was not dating prior to turning eighteen but as he was insane, it worked. I could go on about These Deadly Games because there were more things I adored and more things I hated but I don't want to write a novella so I will end it here with - that was a good read, hope there is a sequel.