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jessw17'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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Gore, Blood, Child death, Death, Body horror, and Car accident
Minor: Abandonment, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Grief, and Infidelity
darquedreamer's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I really wanted to love this one. I was promised Happy Death Day and Scream vibes, and what I got was a mash up of name dropping, movie references, and overused clichés, tropes, etc. I feel like the author tried too hard to make the story "a self aware horror/comedy", "woke", and socially acceptable, while keeping up with modern social norms, issues, etc., and lost sight of the story itself. The purposeful misdirections felt copied, forced, and overused, and the ending was too open ended and most definitely not satisfying. Now, don't get me wrong, there were some real "one line" bangers in there, like, "But real people are never just one thing. Life's a lot more complicated than that," but, there weren't enough of them to cover up the flat characters and the problems within the story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Death, and Blood
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
bri__'s review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.0
Wrong. There were so many characters being made as suspects that it was hard to keep up and yet none of them were the true killer. In the end, she didnt even end up going back to the present timeline. Instead, she had just made everything worse. So what was the point? Who knows. The Angel addition felt out of place but I didn't mind that much. I don't actually understand the motive behind Claire being the murderer for all of those girls and the other ones that were basically collateral damage. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The book is a fast paced thriller, atleast it has that going for it. I'd recommend it for that but not for anything else you want in a good book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Car accident, Gore, Grief, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Vomit
behindherpages's review against another edition
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
besides this being overall horrible, plotholes automatically ruin a book for me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Infidelity, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Self harm
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Alcohol and Body shaming
phoricho's review
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Now, to be honest, I was in a sad mood when I bought this book. I saw the cover and title and just bought it. Because that’s what you do when you’re sad, you buy more books. So I didn’t read the blurb or anything before buying.
After reading the blurb, I was slightly deterred by the time travelling aspect. To me, it felt gimmicky, and I wasn’t used to such a thing in a thriller/mystery. But I gave it a go anyways.
This book was a rollercoaster ride of liking and not liking it.
Thriller fans will love the references towards classic thriller films such as Scream, Halloween and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Alice is a fan of horror films, so the mentions and references are laid on quite thick in the beginning but level out as the book goes on.
I immensely enjoyed the thriller aspect. It really felt like I was reading a slasher film, which was overwhelmingly my favourite part of this book. Most other books I read tend to focus more on the mystery, with some close calls with the killer, usually towards the end. The continuous high stakes made the pacing feel quite fast — which was good.
The only times the pacing seemed off was in the beginning, as it took a while from the introduction of the time frame (solving the mystery by midnight) to the reader getting a time check. So for a while, I was unsure how much time had passed. I found this annoying but easy to get over.
The other issue I found with the pacing was the time travel aspect and Sidney Prescott look-alike character. These scenes often felt like they were interrupting the story instead of moving it forward.
I was also disappointed with the lack of involvement and storylines for the side characters. It felt as though they were mentioned in the beginning and then barely seen or heard from again until the end.
The ending left me a little unsatisfied, as there’s no official update for a few characters that I liked. The end felt like a movie or TV series leaving things open for a sequel or second season. If Danielle Valentine (AKA Danielle Vega) were to write a sequel focusing on the aftermath of the first book, this would work well and solve those issues (my issues) with the ending.
“If you don’t come with me, I might die. Those were the last words my sister ever said to me.” — Alice Lawrence.
It may not sound like it from all my above nit-picking, but I did enjoy this book. Like I said earlier, many of my nit-pickings are things I can get over.
The thriller aspect was hands-down the absolute best. I’m so impressed with how much it felt like I was reading a slasher film. I hope Danielle Valentine (AKA Danielle Vega) writes a sequel.
I give How to Survive Your Murder 3 out of 5 stars.
If you enjoyed Happy Death Day and the Scream movies, this book is right up your alley.
After reading the blurb, I was slightly deterred by the time travelling aspect. To me, it felt gimmicky, and I wasn’t used to such a thing in a thriller/mystery. But I gave it a go anyways.
This book was a rollercoaster ride of liking and not liking it.
Thriller fans will love the references towards classic thriller films such as Scream, Halloween and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Alice is a fan of horror films, so the mentions and references are laid on quite thick in the beginning but level out as the book goes on.
I immensely enjoyed the thriller aspect. It really felt like I was reading a slasher film, which was overwhelmingly my favourite part of this book. Most other books I read tend to focus more on the mystery, with some close calls with the killer, usually towards the end. The continuous high stakes made the pacing feel quite fast — which was good.
The only times the pacing seemed off was in the beginning, as it took a while from the introduction of the time frame (solving the mystery by midnight) to the reader getting a time check. So for a while, I was unsure how much time had passed. I found this annoying but easy to get over.
The other issue I found with the pacing was the time travel aspect and Sidney Prescott look-alike character. These scenes often felt like they were interrupting the story instead of moving it forward.
I was also disappointed with the lack of involvement and storylines for the side characters. It felt as though they were mentioned in the beginning and then barely seen or heard from again until the end.
The ending left me a little unsatisfied, as there’s no official update for a few characters that I liked. The end felt like a movie or TV series leaving things open for a sequel or second season. If Danielle Valentine (AKA Danielle Vega) were to write a sequel focusing on the aftermath of the first book, this would work well and solve those issues (my issues) with the ending.
“If you don’t come with me, I might die. Those were the last words my sister ever said to me.” — Alice Lawrence.
It may not sound like it from all my above nit-picking, but I did enjoy this book. Like I said earlier, many of my nit-pickings are things I can get over.
The thriller aspect was hands-down the absolute best. I’m so impressed with how much it felt like I was reading a slasher film. I hope Danielle Valentine (AKA Danielle Vega) writes a sequel.
I give How to Survive Your Murder 3 out of 5 stars.
If you enjoyed Happy Death Day and the Scream movies, this book is right up your alley.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Blood, Murder, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Car accident, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity
snoopyfanclub's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I really wanted to like this book & the premise was interesting but omg it’s so convoluted lol like I think adding too much back and forth, both location wise and suspect wise starts to feel boring. I think she focused on Wes for too long and then like his death just felt like you didn’t even really care because you already thought he died and Alice barely reacts./ There were definitely too many characters and I had to keep rereading to figure out who was who. Also weird to throw in how all the girls her dad cheated with were technically above the age of consent. Like your dad is having multiple affairs with your teenage classmates that he coaches, it truly doesn’t matter what the age of consent is, it’s disgusting and abusive. Also reminded me of pretty little liars where they set up a huge dude as the killer then reveal it’s a skinny girl, like okay sure. I guess she’s tall and in a wolf costume but where tf was she keeping it in between killings because we know she had on her normal clothes and she ditched her car so? Make it make sense. I guess we just have to suspend disbelief and believe a teenage girl can commit like 50 murders and get away with it. Also, lastly, why didn’t they mention Wes as ppl Owen was accused of killing at the very end???/ I just feel unsatisfied, there was no true resolution.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Vomit
elliott_the_clementine's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I waffled over how to review this book. The main character, Alice, irked in a way reminiscent of other “final girls,” and the points at which the novel does not take itself too seriously are the places where it shines brightest. Moreover, despite mediocre execution and poor pacing overshadowing the dark, gripping plot, How to Survive Your Murder circumvents presenting fear and gore with no purpose (suggested by the book’s excessive, gory murders that threaten to cross the line set by the genre) by integrating bad-horror-movie style scenes that do not cease to entertain and leaning into the dark humor of the genre to construct a story that, while predictable, genuinely horrifies at times. A solid read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Violence, Body horror, and Death
reedcodes's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism
Minor: Car accident and Infidelity
aylin05's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
if your name is Elizabeth and you haven’t read this book yet, stop reading here.
if you’re not Elizabeth or you have read it, continue. i think overall the book was great. i was literally and figuratively on the edge of my seat for over half of it. the mystery of what would’ve happened if Claire hadn’t been killed was incredible. everyone was a suspect and it was entirely believable. so plot of the mystery itself like 5/5. perfect. the very very end i will say was definitely cliché so 4/5. but otherwise i loved it. the dialogue also was a bit odd to me. it was a little frustrating because some of the things said are such clichés and also not something a normal human would say. but then again the book is kind of supposed to be a horror movie cliché so it makes sense. also quick warning this book makes literally THOUSANDS of references. to shows, movies, books, authors, actors, actresses, etc, etc, etc. every mainstream actors name could probably be found in this book. it was really really annoying. BUT other than the overwhelming amount of unnecessary references i really really enjoyed the book. and i’d definitely recommend to fans of horrors or mysteries. like Claire only killing everyone to be famous because she was a failed actress was literally the entire plot of Scream IV to a T. 🤷♀️🤷♀️
if you’re not Elizabeth or you have read it, continue. i think overall the book was great. i was literally and figuratively on the edge of my seat for over half of it. the mystery of what would’ve happened if Claire hadn’t been killed was incredible. everyone was a suspect and it was entirely believable. so plot of the mystery itself like 5/5. perfect. the very very end i will say was definitely cliché so 4/5. but otherwise i loved it. the dialogue also was a bit odd to me. it was a little frustrating because some of the things said are such clichés and also not something a normal human would say. but then again the book is kind of supposed to be a horror movie cliché so it makes sense. also quick warning this book makes literally THOUSANDS of references. to shows, movies, books, authors, actors, actresses, etc, etc, etc. every mainstream actors name could probably be found in this book. it was really really annoying. BUT other than the overwhelming amount of unnecessary references i really really enjoyed the book. and i’d definitely recommend to fans of horrors or mysteries.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Pedophilia, Murder, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Alcoholism, Car accident, and Cursing
wallywoahjack's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Lots of emotional/tonal whiplash? If I wasn’t stuck in a car driving 14 hours it would have never been finished.
an angel? REALLY?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Suicide attempt, Child death, Grief, Car accident, Death, Gore, and Suicide
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism