The Debutantes is a YA thriller that mixes the world of southern debutantes with the complexities of secret societies and the expectations that come with such a lifestyle. The collection of characters within the book keeps the story moving forward in a way that was fast paced and difficult to put down. Though there was a large cast of characters, the breakup of the story into different POV’s made it easier to follow. Nonetheless, there were still several moments where I had to wrack my brain to figure out who was being discussed. And despite this,the story didn’t progress too far where I lost connection to what was going on. It also helped that not only were there only a couple characters that were fully followed, but they all had such different personalities that it was easy enough to differentiate between them.
The story was set in New Orleans and a huge emphasis was placed around how living in this particular city was critical to each of the girls and their upbringing. Despite this emphasis, there was not much of the city or its atmosphere shown in the book to really back up what they were saying. It relied too much on prior knowledge of the city, of which I have very little.
The lead up to the climax of the book was exactly as promised, a thrilling novel that kept me on my toes from the very start. There were twists and turns that were just the perfect mix of expected and unexpected. This lead up had me so excited to make it to the end of the book, but unfortunately, the ending fell flat. Rather than feeling the tension and stress of the moment, I was left disappointed and wanting there to be more to it than there was. It is a common failing of the genre, and it was unfortunate that The Debutantes fell into this particular pitfall.
3.5 stars for a book that was ultimately fun to read and kept me guessing until the very end.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinions
The Novel Llama 