After Sophie's dad was imprisoned last year, she is determined to spend the summer laying low whilst working in the family's diner in Chicago with her best friend, Millie. However, when a new family move into the supposedly haunted mansion at the end of Lockwood Avenue, things take a very different turn for her. Sophie finds herself drawn to Nic, one of the five brothers who have moved into the house, despite being warned away from them by a family friend. When secrets about both families come to light, Sophie's world changes forever and she needs to pick a side: her family or the boy she is falling for.
I love Catherine's middle grade books, as well as the Twin Crown series she writes with Katherine Webber, so discovering her new YA, Vendetta, on Netgalley was exciting.

Ok; short version of my review: This book is brilliant and I loved everything about it!

Now, for the more detailed bit...

From the beginning, this book is one that drew my attention and lured me in: the promise of romance combined with danger is an intoxicating one; add in the unknowns and you have all the qualities you need for a truly gripping read.

You know that life isn't easy for Sophie: her father is in prison but you don't know why; all you know is that she and her mum are doing all they can to make ends meet, with occasional help from her Uncle Jack who is managing the diner whilst her father is away. Millie is her best and only friend and the pair both work in the diner. It's whilst Sophie is walking home from an evening shift that she realises that the big, deserted house on what is known as Priestly corner is finally occupied again. Curiosity gets the better of her and she is compelled to take a closer look ... and it's this chance encounter that changes everything.

Vendetta is everything I'd hoped it would be and more. It's a grippingly immersive read and, even though I devoured it in 2 days, I found myself thinking of Sophie and the plot whilst I wasn't reading it (so keen was I to finish it on Saturday, that I fell asleep with it in my hands in bed!) Good versus evil is most definitely brought into question here - what happens when good isn't completely good and when evil is doing it for what they believe are the right reasons? The book is full of twists that will keep readers on their toes and will entice them to read just one more chapter.

Vendetta is the perfect blend of darkness and hope; forbidden love and the lure of attraction; it's discovering that everything you thought was true is actually very far from that. Secrets are revealed, family loyalties are tested and lives will be changed forever in this truly wonderful read - I know the book is yet to be published (2nd January) but I'm already desperate to read the second book in the trilogy. Vendetta is definitely a YA to pre-order if you want to guarantee to avoid the January blues.

✨2.5 stars ✨

I really wanted to enjoy this book, especially after reading quite a few of Catherine Doyle’s other books and giving them all at least four stars! However, this one just didn’t hit the spot as much of her other ones.

This book just felt incredibly cheesy and is filled with tropes that I don’t particularly like reading (e.g. love triangle and insta-love 🤮). This book was originally published in 2015 and I could definitely tell with the common cliches in this, so if you enjoy similar YA books written at that time, or you are are a fan of Catherine Doyle’s writing then you may enjoy this.

This book just wasn’t for me (it might have been when I was younger). Therefore, I won’t be continuing with this series.

I received an ARC from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Read this in a handful of hours, it's incredibly addictive writing with so many questions you just need to know the answer for. Twisty, dark with a undercurrent of hope this was everything this story needed to be. Definitely recommend to fans of the Naturals and the Inheritance Games, it had the darker tone of the first and similar addictive plot of the second. One to pick up!

This was such an enjoyable and thrilling read from start to finish! I loved the idea of two young souls connecting despite the history and complexities of their families, all set within a modern mafia backdrop.
I devoured this book over two days, and even when I wasn’t reading, my thoughts kept drifting back to it. I couldn’t stop wondering what would happen next and was eager to jump back in to recapture the immersive feeling it gave me.
The bonus chapters were such a treat, and I was thrilled to learn there will be at least one more book in this series, so I don’t have to say goodbye to these characters just yet.
Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster UK Children's for the ARC via NetGalley and for giving me the opportunity to share my honest thoughts on this book.