Mortal Danger by Ann Aguirre

Series: Immortal Game #1
384p.
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Published: 8/5/14
Source: NetGalley and publisher for review

Revenge is a dish best served cold. 

Edie Kramer has a score to settle with the beautiful people at Blackbriar Academy. Their cruelty drove her to the brink of despair, and four months ago, she couldn't imagine being strong enough to face her senior year. But thanks to a Faustian compact with the enigmatic Kian, she has the power to make the bullies pay. She's not supposed to think about Kian once the deal is done, but devastating pain burns behind his unearthly beauty, and he's impossible to forget. 

In one short summer, her entire life changes, and she sweeps through Blackbriar, prepped to take the beautiful people down from the inside. A whisper here, a look there, and suddenly... bad things are happening. It's a heady rush, seeing her tormentors get what they deserve, but things that seem too good to be true usually are, and soon, the pranks and payback turns from delicious to deadly. Edie is alone in a world teeming with secrets and fiends lurking in the shadows. In this murky morass of devil's bargains, she isn't sure who—or what--she can trust. Not even her own mind...

My thoughts:
The story starts off with a girl thinking about suicide. In fact she is just about to do it when Kian comes into her life and gives her the opportunity to change things. While I like the opening concept, I did have some problems with the beginning of the story. Although I did like Edie her main goal is to make the mean kids at school pay. Now this is perhaps just me, but I detest mean girl (or guy) stories. I hate it when the victim becomes the perpetrator. What saved this part for me is that Edie couldn't truly commit to the mean girl part and found herself having sympathy for her tormentors. Still, it isn't a story I would have wanted to read.

So then the second half of the book happened...

Wow. This part was creepy and read like a horror story. I became more invested into the story and wanted desperately for Edie to find the perfect solution out of her mess. Not sure who we are dealing with so not sure how it could have played out differently. I really enjoyed Edie in this part of the story even though I thought she was still too liberal with her wishes. I think she should have searched for more information on who is playing this "game" and what that "game" entails. She may not have gotten her answers, but I would have liked a bit more of a quest for those specific answers. She does seem like a smart girl, so I have no doubt she will gain those answers eventually.

I give this book 3 1/2 stars. While I was not a fan of the first half of the book, I still found myself engaged. I was a fan of the second half of the book. The twisty world these people inhabit make for one wild ride. I do need that next book to see how or if Edie can beat the game.