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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
This is the second reboot of Fear Street within the last few years, and it seems as if the publishers don't know what series they're rebooting! By and large, the original Fear Street books were murder mysteries. They were generally in third-person, and non-supernatural. The supernatural stories were usually found in the mini-series spin-offs and the Fear Street sagas, a separate series in itself.
Shock, horror - I was never really into the Fear Street sagas, or the history of the Fear family. It was all a bit too inconsistent. I preferred the thrillers in the main line.
The last six book reboot didn't seem to understand the formula, and the majority of them played out like Goosebumps books for older readers, with first-person narrators and supernatural story-lines. Worse, they would include ghoulish supernatural twists in the final pages, just like a Goosebumps book. So I was a bit worried when I found that this latest retread was another supernatural story, with first-person narration.
You May Now Kill The Bride wasn't a total loss. It was a quick, easy read, and mostly fun. Despite being double the length of a usual Fear Street book, the plot was just as simple as those from yesteryear and went down fairly smoothly. The plot doesn't bear close scrutiny, though. We begin with a section in the early 1920s as Ruth-Ann Fear gets furious at her sister Rebecca for stealing her boyfriend and marrying him, with the wedding ending in tragedy. Fast-forward to today, and Harmony Fear is at her sister Marissa's wedding, when weird things start to happen.
By the end, there are too many questions left hanging. There's no reason why a book twice the length of a usual Fear Street book couldn't adequately clear these plot aspects up.
Also, I don't think R.L. Stine even wrote this. After nearly 30 years of reading his books, I recoginise his style! This is not it. The chapters are much longer, and there is a distinct lack of cheesy. constructed false cliffhanger chapter endings, which is his specialty. This is actually refreshing, but it certainly didn't feel like a R.L. Stine book. It's a fact that original Fear Street books were ghostwritten ("The Thrill Club" was actually by Tom Perrotta), but I'm not a fan of ghostwriting. Just let us know who the original author is!
And who is this reboot aimed at? I don't read current YA, but I doubt this would hold up against it. Despite the increased length, it's still as uncomplicated as it ever was. I suspect most people reading this are like me: we read Fear Street in our youth and are a bit heavy for nostalgia! Which means most of us are in our 30s and 40s! And what we miss is being able to buy a new 170 page book each month for $6 to $8, in the old small format. I'm also a little concerned about the blurb's reference to Stranger Things. Retro covers are great, but Stranger Things is all about 80s nostalgia, and Fear Street, despite staring in 1989, is largely a 90s beast! Once again, I wonder if the publishers realise what franchise they're actually rebooting!
Sorry for the rambling! I had a lot to get off my chest! I did enjoy the book, but the publishers really need to get a handle on what series they are rebooting if they want this latest incarnation to last longer than the previous reboot's six books. For a bit of light horror fun, this is okay, but it's still not the Fear Street I remember.
Shock, horror - I was never really into the Fear Street sagas, or the history of the Fear family. It was all a bit too inconsistent. I preferred the thrillers in the main line.
The last six book reboot didn't seem to understand the formula, and the majority of them played out like Goosebumps books for older readers, with first-person narrators and supernatural story-lines. Worse, they would include ghoulish supernatural twists in the final pages, just like a Goosebumps book. So I was a bit worried when I found that this latest retread was another supernatural story, with first-person narration.
You May Now Kill The Bride wasn't a total loss. It was a quick, easy read, and mostly fun. Despite being double the length of a usual Fear Street book, the plot was just as simple as those from yesteryear and went down fairly smoothly. The plot doesn't bear close scrutiny, though. We begin with a section in the early 1920s as Ruth-Ann Fear gets furious at her sister Rebecca for stealing her boyfriend and marrying him, with the wedding ending in tragedy. Fast-forward to today, and Harmony Fear is at her sister Marissa's wedding, when weird things start to happen.
By the end, there are too many questions left hanging.
Spoiler
What happened to Aiden? What happened to Nikki? She was in on it, apparently. And just because Harmony broke the "curse", what's to stop Aiden from still wanting to kill Marissa? Why would lodge workers and Aiden be caught up in the curse, but not Taylor?Also, I don't think R.L. Stine even wrote this. After nearly 30 years of reading his books, I recoginise his style! This is not it. The chapters are much longer, and there is a distinct lack of cheesy. constructed false cliffhanger chapter endings, which is his specialty. This is actually refreshing, but it certainly didn't feel like a R.L. Stine book. It's a fact that original Fear Street books were ghostwritten ("The Thrill Club" was actually by Tom Perrotta), but I'm not a fan of ghostwriting. Just let us know who the original author is!
And who is this reboot aimed at? I don't read current YA, but I doubt this would hold up against it. Despite the increased length, it's still as uncomplicated as it ever was. I suspect most people reading this are like me: we read Fear Street in our youth and are a bit heavy for nostalgia! Which means most of us are in our 30s and 40s! And what we miss is being able to buy a new 170 page book each month for $6 to $8, in the old small format. I'm also a little concerned about the blurb's reference to Stranger Things. Retro covers are great, but Stranger Things is all about 80s nostalgia, and Fear Street, despite staring in 1989, is largely a 90s beast! Once again, I wonder if the publishers realise what franchise they're actually rebooting!
Sorry for the rambling! I had a lot to get off my chest! I did enjoy the book, but the publishers really need to get a handle on what series they are rebooting if they want this latest incarnation to last longer than the previous reboot's six books. For a bit of light horror fun, this is okay, but it's still not the Fear Street I remember.
slow-paced
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"Two sisters, divided by time. Each with a terrible resentment she can barely contain.
Two Fear family weddings, decades apart... Each bride will find that the ancient curse that haunts the Fears LIVES ON. It feeds off the evil that courses through their blood. It takes its toll in unexpected ways, and allows dark history to repeat itself."
R.L. Stine has been on of my favorite authors since I was a kid, so he can't do any wrong in my eyes! But even if he weren't one of my faves, I still would have given this book 4 stars. The only reasons I couldn't give it 5 stars is because I wasn't fond of any of the male characters (except for Max, he sounds adorable) and the lack of a resolution regarding some of the family members. In the last few chapters, nothing is said about the rest of the family as if they just ceased to exist, so I found that to be a little weird; however, it didn't completely take away from the ending/wrap-up.
The book is divided into four parts. Part one is set in the 1920s and focuses on two Fear sisters: Rebecca and Ruth-Ann. Rebecca is the pretty, sociable sister, while Ruth-Ann is the younger, shy sister. Ruth-Ann is hung up on her boyfriend, Peter Goodman, but she later finds out that he was cheating with Rebecca and had proposed to her. Of course, the inevitable cat fight ensues, only resolving on the day of Rebecca's wedding. The sisters make up and the wedding begins only to end in a double tragedy.
Fast forward to part two and present day, and we have another set of Fear sisters: Marissa & Harmony. The girls have a rocky relationship due to an incident that is revealed later in the book. But the girls are putting their differences aside because Marissa is getting married the next day. The day of the wedding comes and goes without a actually wedding. Marissa is missing. We assume she got cold feet but that assumptions is quickly squashed.
Part three details the search for Marissa and the revealing of another tragedy. We discover some more of the family history. Part four, of course, concludes the story: we find out what happened to Marissa, happened to cause the original 1920s incident, and how Harmony goes back and fixes everything.
I would recommend for those who like a little paranormal with their mysteries and/or those who would like to relive a bit of their childhood with the greatness that is R.L. Stine.
Two Fear family weddings, decades apart... Each bride will find that the ancient curse that haunts the Fears LIVES ON. It feeds off the evil that courses through their blood. It takes its toll in unexpected ways, and allows dark history to repeat itself."
R.L. Stine has been on of my favorite authors since I was a kid, so he can't do any wrong in my eyes! But even if he weren't one of my faves, I still would have given this book 4 stars. The only reasons I couldn't give it 5 stars is because I wasn't fond of any of the male characters (except for Max, he sounds adorable) and the lack of a resolution regarding some of the family members. In the last few chapters, nothing is said about the rest of the family as if they just ceased to exist, so I found that to be a little weird; however, it didn't completely take away from the ending/wrap-up.
The book is divided into four parts. Part one is set in the 1920s and focuses on two Fear sisters: Rebecca and Ruth-Ann. Rebecca is the pretty, sociable sister, while Ruth-Ann is the younger, shy sister. Ruth-Ann is hung up on her boyfriend, Peter Goodman, but she later finds out that he was cheating with Rebecca and had proposed to her. Of course, the inevitable cat fight ensues, only resolving on the day of Rebecca's wedding. The sisters make up and the wedding begins only to end in a double tragedy.
Fast forward to part two and present day, and we have another set of Fear sisters: Marissa & Harmony. The girls have a rocky relationship due to an incident that is revealed later in the book. But the girls are putting their differences aside because Marissa is getting married the next day. The day of the wedding comes and goes without a actually wedding. Marissa is missing. We assume she got cold feet but that assumptions is quickly squashed.
Part three details the search for Marissa and the revealing of another tragedy. We discover some more of the family history. Part four, of course, concludes the story: we find out what happened to Marissa, happened to cause the original 1920s incident, and how Harmony goes back and fixes everything.
I would recommend for those who like a little paranormal with their mysteries and/or those who would like to relive a bit of their childhood with the greatness that is R.L. Stine.
When you see me writing book reviews for the books of R.L Stine, never expect me to write a bad one because R.L Stine’s works never EVER disappoints me.
‘You May Now Kill the Bride’ was such a thrilling book. In fact, all of R.L Stine’s books are, even if the book was published just last year. I found this one peculiarly interesting because I listened to the audiobook version of it. The sudden turns of the story utterly shocked me. I was listening to it while working because I thought it’ll make me finish my work faster but instead it did the exact opposite because I just kept pausing myself in the middle of work and kept listening to the book just too intently to get in every details. LOL.
I must compliment the audiobook reader Cassandra Campbell for narrating the book so amusingly. She was able to change her voice so drastically that she made me absolutely forget that it was the same person talking.
This book is a fun and thrilling read that’ll definitely make you gasp in shock multiple times.
A 4.5 out of 5 stars.
‘You May Now Kill the Bride’ was such a thrilling book. In fact, all of R.L Stine’s books are, even if the book was published just last year. I found this one peculiarly interesting because I listened to the audiobook version of it. The sudden turns of the story utterly shocked me. I was listening to it while working because I thought it’ll make me finish my work faster but instead it did the exact opposite because I just kept pausing myself in the middle of work and kept listening to the book just too intently to get in every details. LOL.
I must compliment the audiobook reader Cassandra Campbell for narrating the book so amusingly. She was able to change her voice so drastically that she made me absolutely forget that it was the same person talking.
This book is a fun and thrilling read that’ll definitely make you gasp in shock multiple times.
A 4.5 out of 5 stars.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
One of my sillier life's goals is to read all of R.L. Stine's books. Goosebumps is the main one because I've been obsessed with them since I was a kid (they created my love of horror and Halloween), but I also want to read the Fear Street books too. Why not? It's a more fun life goal to have.
I picked this book up a while ago and I've been staring it down. The cover is beautiful and spooky, and while we aren't supposed to judge a book by it's cover.... I do. I work in marketing! Of course we judge based off beauty. We're all vain.
This new series (circa 2018) brings back the Fear Street stories with some historical twists. This book brings us the Fear and Goode families. Years ago, a wedding goes horribly wrong with a tragic end coming for a pair of sisters. Flash forward, and the curse of the Fear weddings continues...
I liked this book but I felt it was a little goofy for how it all finishes up at the end. There could be some massive world building, and the supernatural aspect goes very far in this book, despite it being made to feel a bit more realistic. I really wish there was a bit more going into the supernatural side instead of just closing up quickly. It was odd to me that it came together so quickly at the end when I just wanted more. I felt like the book just wasn't finished right.
Regardless, it was a fun, horror-filled read for me that I enjoyed. I'll be checking out more soon!
Three out of five stars.
I picked this book up a while ago and I've been staring it down. The cover is beautiful and spooky, and while we aren't supposed to judge a book by it's cover.... I do. I work in marketing! Of course we judge based off beauty. We're all vain.
This new series (circa 2018) brings back the Fear Street stories with some historical twists. This book brings us the Fear and Goode families. Years ago, a wedding goes horribly wrong with a tragic end coming for a pair of sisters. Flash forward, and the curse of the Fear weddings continues...
I liked this book but I felt it was a little goofy for how it all finishes up at the end. There could be some massive world building, and the supernatural aspect goes very far in this book, despite it being made to feel a bit more realistic. I really wish there was a bit more going into the supernatural side instead of just closing up quickly. It was odd to me that it came together so quickly at the end when I just wanted more. I felt like the book just wasn't finished right.
Regardless, it was a fun, horror-filled read for me that I enjoyed. I'll be checking out more soon!
Three out of five stars.