Elle and her friends Mads, Jenny, and Summer rule their glittering LA circle. Untouchable, they have the kind of power other girls only dream of. Every party is theirs and the world is at their feet. Until the night of Elle’s sweet sixteen, when they crash a St. Andrew’s Prep party. The night the golden boys choose Elle as their next target.

They picked the wrong girl.

Sworn to vengeance, Elle transfers to St. Andrew’s. She plots to destroy each boy, one by one. She’ll take their power, their lives, and their control of the prep school’s hierarchy. And she and her coven have the perfect way in: a boy named Mack, whose ambition could turn deadly.

Foul is Fair is a bloody, thrilling revenge fantasy for the girls who have had enough. Golden boys beware: something wicked this way comes.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for the ARC of this emotionally devastating and beautifully written novel! When I read the premise, I thought I knew exactly what I was in for. I was looking forward to a cast of badass women who were done sitting back and letting men take what they wanted from them. I definitely received that story, but what I had no idea was to come was the fangs and the claws that would grow from these women, and the absolute carnage that they were going to inflict with them. This book is exciting from start to finish, bringing life to each character and every scene with the most intricate and haunting language I have had the pleasure to read.

We are dropped into Elle’s life as she is destroyed by a group of private school boys. They take what they can from her, but what they don’t get is her spirit. She is reborn as Jade, who has one mission and one mission only; to bring down the wolves that thought they had lured a sheep into their midst. Little did they know that she was one of them as well. She enlists the help of her three best friends, whom she calls her coven. It’s mindblowingly fitting as these girls are magic together. It brought to mind my group of friends, and how I know they would do anything for me, and I for them. It’s an indescribable bond, and when they hear what has happened to their beloved, they go feral. They are sworn to their sister until the deed is done and forever.

Jade comes clean about her rape, at least bits of it, to her parents, who are devastated for her. She says it was someone from the school she currently attends, and so requests to transfer to St. Andrews, where the real group of boys go. They are willing to agree to her demands; her father being well connected enough to make the switch flawlessly. Jade joins the school and immediately seeks out her prey. She spends her days making an in with these people, and plotting how to tear them apart from the inside. She sets her sights on their golden boy, Mack, as he is the softest of all of them and will be the easiest one to corrupt.

What she doesn’t expect, however, is to fall for the boy. She fights to stay true to her mission while dealing with these feelings that she doesn’t want to have. She is rage, she is fire, she is an avenging angel. She has no time for this weakness. So she uses it to fuel the flames, both in her and in Mack, and it only takes a matter of weeks for the house of cards to fall. It is a brilliant descent into madness, and Jade is our smiling guide. The plot that she carefully crafts, even when there are hiccups, is masterful and is aided by her loved ones. It truly is a story of the power of women, and a cautionary tale to remind the world that actions have consequences, no matter if it takes days, or weeks, or months, or years. Your sins are never as buried as you think. They lurk under the surface, waiting to rise anew.

I can’t speak enough of the characters in this book. There is so much great representation, and all of the women have their own battles that they’re fighting, but they rally around Jade in her time of need, just as she has for them over the years. I also appreciate that this book started out with a trigger warning, as the content is very dark and heavy, so for someone who has dealt with rape, suicide, or transphobia, it could take an even darker turn. Even for the subject matter to be what it was, underneath it all was a strong message to all women everywhere; not just those born physically into it, but mentally and emotionally as well. We will not be silenced. We will not be torn asunder. We will unfurl our wings and fly. We will be seen for the magnificent and malicious creatures that we are.

5/5 stars