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ghostlyprince's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Drug use, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, and Car accident
vixenreader's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It’s a slog to get through for the middle section and there have been better movies that have done this lot. Still, there’s a lot of small perks, such as the leading lady, the horror movie trivia, and some commentary on wealth and shame.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Racism, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Cultural appropriation
Be aware that there is violence with knives and other household items, bribery, financial stress, and homemade bombs.howlinglibraries's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I wanted to like this more than I did, but... UGHHHH I hated the characters and the writing and the twist in this book so much.
I try to be lenient with characters in YA books because I'm clearly not the target age for them anymore, but I don't think any amount of leniency could make me stop rolling my eyes at these spoiled rich kids.
Our narrator is supposed to be really legit and we're clearly intended to empathize with and enjoy her as a character, but she's deep in the 1% and is so stuck in her own bubble that she's literally running around dwelling on how she can ensure the best possible alibi and how guilty she'll feel for shoving the new love of her life into the killer's arms if it comes down to it. 💀 She thinks of herself as better than 90% of the side characters, but most of them were a lot more enjoyable than she was.
And then there's the killer, who I could rant about for a while, but if I did, I'd have to spoiler-mark the whole review and I don't like doing that. Instead, I'll just say that I saw his motive coming a million miles away and kept hoping I was wrong, but... 💀
Oh! I have to mention the romance, too, and the fact that it shouldn't have even been included in this book. One thing I liked about the story was how quickly it jumped into the gore and action, but that meant there wasn't any room at all to build up these characters or make me care about any of them, which made the romance subplot feel unnecessary and forced. If you're going to include this much romance in a horror novel, there needs to be an initial investment made into the buildup of the relationship, and that wasn't happening here.
Finally, I have to rant a little about the endless pop culture references. I don't mind references in books when they're done well (one of my favorite books of all time is My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones, who absolutely nailed those), but many of the ones made in this book were crammed in without fitting the context. At some point, it becomes less of a way to connect with the reader and more of a way to say "hey, look at how many popular horror movies and YA books I can name-drop in one book, wink!"
Of course, I have to throw in the disclaimer that the book isn't all bad and it offers room to have some interesting conversations, like the intersectionality of privileges and disadvantages (i.e. how a cut-off white kid may still be looking at a brighter, easier future than a wealthy Black kid)... but sadly, those tidbits were overshadowed by what boiled down to an extremely unenjoyable slasher with mediocre writing, poor pacing, and a twist that feels sinister in all the wrong ways.
I read a final copy borrowed from the library, but for the sake of disclosure, I was also sent an early review copy by the author/publisher. All thoughts are honest and my own.
✨ Representation: Noelle is Black, multiple side characters are BIPOC, one side character is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns
I try to be lenient with characters in YA books because I'm clearly not the target age for them anymore, but I don't think any amount of leniency could make me stop rolling my eyes at these spoiled rich kids.
Our narrator is supposed to be really legit and we're clearly intended to empathize with and enjoy her as a character, but she's deep in the 1% and is so stuck in her own bubble that she's literally running around dwelling on how she can ensure the best possible alibi and how guilty she'll feel for shoving the new love of her life into the killer's arms if it comes down to it. 💀 She thinks of herself as better than 90% of the side characters, but most of them were a lot more enjoyable than she was.
And then there's the killer, who I could rant about for a while, but if I did, I'd have to spoiler-mark the whole review and I don't like doing that. Instead, I'll just say that I saw his motive coming a million miles away and kept hoping I was wrong, but... 💀
Oh! I have to mention the romance, too, and the fact that it shouldn't have even been included in this book. One thing I liked about the story was how quickly it jumped into the gore and action, but that meant there wasn't any room at all to build up these characters or make me care about any of them, which made the romance subplot feel unnecessary and forced. If you're going to include this much romance in a horror novel, there needs to be an initial investment made into the buildup of the relationship, and that wasn't happening here.
Finally, I have to rant a little about the endless pop culture references. I don't mind references in books when they're done well (one of my favorite books of all time is My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones, who absolutely nailed those), but many of the ones made in this book were crammed in without fitting the context. At some point, it becomes less of a way to connect with the reader and more of a way to say "hey, look at how many popular horror movies and YA books I can name-drop in one book, wink!"
Of course, I have to throw in the disclaimer that the book isn't all bad and it offers room to have some interesting conversations, like the intersectionality of privileges and disadvantages (i.e. how a cut-off white kid may still be looking at a brighter, easier future than a wealthy Black kid)... but sadly, those tidbits were overshadowed by what boiled down to an extremely unenjoyable slasher with mediocre writing, poor pacing, and a twist that feels sinister in all the wrong ways.
I read a final copy borrowed from the library, but for the sake of disclosure, I was also sent an early review copy by the author/publisher. All thoughts are honest and my own.
✨ Representation: Noelle is Black, multiple side characters are BIPOC, one side character is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, and Racism
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A Halloween house party goes terribly wrong when the clown hired to play a simple game of tag turns to murder. But why?
I think the MC didn't see her own privilege, yes, she's Black and racism is a major problem, BUT she was still better off than a Black girl who'd grown up in say the projects. She had a better education and better opportunities than a lot of people, both black and white. And this made her very unlikable. As well as her entitlement to the internship and a podcast.
If say I'd tried to start a podcast if I was in high school, who would care? I'm not rich, I'm poor, I may be white, but I'm not male, I don't have the money for fancy equipment. I don't have friends to network with to promote it. I don't know any "important" people. The MC seems to think because she's rich she's entitled to these things.
She's obviously not as bad as the villains, who I wanted to kick in the balls. Cause screw them and their entitlement. Basically, everyone in the book was supremely entitled, and thus hard to tolerate.
Overall, it was a bit gross, the poor mice that go squished. But that was usual for horror, not too gory. And I get the attempt at a message but by the end, it sort of felt a bit preachy, and I do believe we need to get rid of racism and give reparations, though to the rich, not as much.
Also, the romance part just felt forced and took me out of the horror/action part of the story. And I also saw who the accomplice was probably pretty early on.
Extra ratings: Fluff- NA Heartfelt- 2/5 Helpful-NA Horror- 3/5 Inspiration-NA Love-1.5/5 Mystery- 3/5 Predictability- 4/5 Spice-0/5 Suspense-2.5/5 Tear 3/5 Thrill-3/5 Humor-NA
I think the MC didn't see her own privilege, yes, she's Black and racism is a major problem, BUT she was still better off than a Black girl who'd grown up in say the projects. She had a better education and better opportunities than a lot of people, both black and white. And this made her very unlikable. As well as her entitlement to the internship and a podcast.
If say I'd tried to start a podcast if I was in high school, who would care? I'm not rich, I'm poor, I may be white, but I'm not male, I don't have the money for fancy equipment. I don't have friends to network with to promote it. I don't know any "important" people. The MC seems to think because she's rich she's entitled to these things.
She's obviously not as bad as the villains, who I wanted to kick in the balls. Cause screw them and their entitlement. Basically, everyone in the book was supremely entitled, and thus hard to tolerate.
Overall, it was a bit gross, the poor mice that go squished. But that was usual for horror, not too gory. And I get the attempt at a message but by the end, it sort of felt a bit preachy, and I do believe we need to get rid of racism and give reparations, though to the rich, not as much.
Also, the romance part just felt forced and took me out of the horror/action part of the story. And I also saw who the accomplice was probably pretty early on.
Extra ratings: Fluff- NA Heartfelt- 2/5 Helpful-NA Horror- 3/5 Inspiration-NA Love-1.5/5 Mystery- 3/5 Predictability- 4/5 Spice-0/5 Suspense-2.5/5 Tear 3/5 Thrill-3/5 Humor-NA
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death and Gore
Minor: Infidelity and Stalking
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