I received this book for free from NetGalley. I am not obligated to review the book positively, but I am obliged to state how I received the book.

I will admit the cover for The Assassin Game by Kirsty McKay got me. Without knowing anything about the book, the cover was such a striking image that I instantly requested it.

As I read through the book, the story grabbed me. On a private island in a private school, 13 students are selected to play a game- Killer aka Assassin (yes, that game). Students are "killed" one by one through the use of a prank of some sort- the bigger the prank the better. There are rules to how one is killed, but the main point is not to hurt anyone, don't get caught, and don't get the teachers angry.

Cate is one of the students picked in the middle of the night. After the initiation, her old friend, Vaughn, from when she was 8 shows up out of nowhere with new ideas for the game- a social network (the school only has an intranet). He is strange, keeps appearing out of no where, and falls for Cate.

As the game progresses, things start getting serious and people really start getting hurt. Is this still or game or has it become something else?

I did not know this was a YA book AND it was already published under a different name- Killer Game with a different cover. Those two things should have warned me about this book. As stated in other reviews about YA books is character development and the high amount of drama from insignificant things. This book is no different- Cate is developed well as is Vaughn her childhood, but everyone else is so lightly developed that when something happens, I had to keep asking myself- "who is that?" It becomes difficult to care about someone in a book if they are not developed.

The other difficulty is nothing major happens until page 200! It isn't a spoiler, since it is the premise of the book, but our first student majorly harmed is 200 pages in of a 300 page book. I would think that if there was a sense of peril, peril should have happened pretty early in the book. There was a lot more explaining the game rather than playing the game.

It isn't a terrible book at all. There were lots of fun parts to the book and the story moves pretty quickly. I read it in a single day due to the quick pacing of the book. I will say that I guessed the antagonist very, very quickly. I used two verys because I kind of knew at about page 50 or so.

I will say that I also recognized that I wasn't the target audience for the book, as I am an adult and not a pre-teen. That is audience for this book, unlike a Hunger Games or a Maze Runner, two series which can be enjoyed as much as an adult as a teen. This one is Hunger Games for pre-teens and I do mean pre-teens. I think an older teen would enjoy Hunger Games much more than this one.

I rated this one 3 stars for pre-teens or on a YA scale. It would be much lower if it was on an adult rating, as I don't think adults will not get much out of this one. ( )

Boarding school on a island with little contact with the rest of the world? Sign me up!

This was such a atmospheric story, which I didn't expect for a YA thriller. I felt like I was in a cold boarding school on a small island in Wales!

I was so sure who the killer was, but then it flipped it on its head! All these teens have seemingly gone crazy and it's so interesting to dissect, but good luck figuring it out before the end! ( )

The Assassin Game begins with a fairly preposterous premise. A private school called Umfraville located on a small deserted island off the coast of Ireland is owned by Cate's family allowing her to reside at the school and take all of her high school classes there. Most of the students come from money or have some special talent. "The Game" is legendary at the school. Certain students are chosen to be initiated and become part of "The Game." The object is to survive "The Killer," who sets out to "kill" each of the other particpants before anybody guesses who he or she is. When Cate is finally initiated, a boy from her past reappears, and everything about "The Game" changes as real murder attempts start happening on the island.

The book was very well written and kept my attention enough for me to read it in one sitting. The problem I had with the book was that I didn't really like any of the characters very well. Even Cate, who is the main character could have opted out of "The Game" at any point in the story, and possibly stopped what can only be called organized bullying that school officials turned their backs on even though they knew all about it. An interesting read, but not very much fun. ( )

On an island off the coast of Wales, pupils at a boarding school are invited to the Assassins' Guild, where a 'killer' pretends to kill the rest of the guild. But what if there is a real killer on the island.
Didn't really find it interesting enough apart hoping that there would be a real killer and kill everyone off. Though it might appeal to teenagers.
A NetGalley book ( )

Set on a remote Welsh island, The Assassin Game by Kirsty McKay is a solid young adult mystery that takes place in an elite boarding school for (mostly) gifted students.

One of the few "ordinary" students attending Umfraville Hall, Cate is thrilled when she is selected for the highly coveted Assassins' Guild, an exclusive secret society whose yearly game of "Killer" is a long standing tradition. The rules of the game are fairly simple: one member of the Guild is the "killer" who then creatively stages the fake "murders" of the other members of the group. The would be "victims" try to stay out of the "killer's" crosshairs while at the same trying to guess the "murderer's" identity.

Cate is surprised to discover her old childhood friend, Vaughan, is now at student at the school and even more shocking, he has designed a social network (the Crypt) just for the Guild.The Assassin Guild elders vote to let Vaughan into the group and while not all of the members are happy with their decision, the Crypt is an instant hit. The game is progressing nicely with the first two clever "deaths", but things quickly take a sinister turn when Cate begins receiving creepy threats and someone creates an extra profile on the Crypt. Once the "hits" become a little too real, Cate and Vaughan are convinced there are two "killers" but will they uncover the identity of the real would be "killer" before it is too late?

Cate is a likable character with a limited circle of friends. At the end of the previous term, a couple of romantic missteps have made things awkward with one of her close friends so she spends a lot of time on her own since her other close friend is super involved with the school newspaper. While initially a bit uncomfortable with Vaughan's arrival (their friendship came to a somewhat abrupt end years earlier), Cate is soon enjoying his company. He keeps her a little off balance with some of things he says and does, but overall, their friendship is mostly trouble free. Cate initially believes the threats she is receiving are part of the killer game, but she soon realizes these incidents do not exactly fit the "killer's" MO.

After two of the Guild members are seriously injured, the police are called in to investigate. Suspicion falls on Vaughan, but Cate remains convinced of his innocence. Tensions mount as severe weather conditions trap everyone on the island and Cate begins to make some very unwise decisions. Is Cate putting her trust in the wrong person? Will her impetuous and ill-advised choices end in tragedy?

The Assassin Game is a well-written, atmospheric young adult mystery. While not exactly an edge of the seat thriller, Kirsty McKay does an excellent job keeping the identity of the real "killer" and the motive for the attacks under wraps until the novel's dramatic and pulse-pounding conclusion. All in all, an entertaining twist on a familiar plot that readers of young adult fiction will enjoy. ( )