Reviews tagging 'Torture'

You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

44 reviews

jkreads's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This was a fun time! Not for most of the characters, but for me. I’m not a huge horror reader so this book was a great, relatively light (if such a thing is possible with horror) foray into the genre for me. Parts of the plot were predictable, some felt a little random and some took me by surprise!
The writing was descriptive but not overly so, it was easy for me to picture the setting and the characters. I really liked the cast of characters, including the FMC Charity.
This would be a good intro to horror/slasher for anyone wanting to try it out as it’s not super full on or gory.
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triggs4780's review against another edition

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dark sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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bookishflower's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I enjoyed this until the 50% mark, but then it went off the rails a bit. I’d also be curious to know what Jewish readers thought.
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vixenreader's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

More of a cult folk horror than a slasher, and with a messy narrative structure, a cast of likeable teens with strong friendships, twists that I genuinely did not see coming, and visceral horror and gore made up for the book’s shortcomings.
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dejarenee's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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anon_ymous's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

I get spooked pretty easily, and this book had me on edge. I was so nervous and scared with every page I turned. I felt like I was at the camp & alongside the main characters.
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anxious_librarian's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

 
"Be careful," she says. "You know what happens to Black folks in slasher movies."
"I'm the final girl," I say. "Guaranteed to survive the night."


Charity is working as the Final Girl at a full contact horror summer camp. Her job is to scare the pants off paying customers eager to experience the cult classic slasher flick The Curse of Camp Mirror Lake for themselves. Things get a little too real though when unplanned horrors start playing out at camp, and before she knows it she finds herself fighting to the death to keep her title of "final girl."

This is the first horror-thriller I’ve read in ages and I am so pleased with it! That killer cover pulled me in and the promise of a Final Girl summer camp scenario dragged me the rest of the way down into the dark.

Charity was great. I felt for her so many times over the course of the book. Her summer job, bloody as it is, is her one escape from a world that doesn’t seem to care much about what happens to her. Her friends and girlfriend bring a lot of light to her life, making it clear early on just how hard she’s going to fight to make sure they all get out of there safely.

She’s very self aware and a horror movie stan making her a great final girl with a good chance of surviving the night.

The setup was great, all the little hints something is not going right at camp slowly building into something more sinister. The atmosphere was amazing. I felt the pressure of the pitch black woods, the sense of someone peeking over my shoulder as I read. Bayron did a fantastic job with this book!

It’s worth noting how YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DIE TONIGHT highlights the characters often victimized in horror films. The first people to die are always those of color or the queer kids. Not this time! This time the story is theirs.

As much as I enjoyed this, I do wish two things would have happened, however. One being that the thriller aspect started a bit earlier. I think I was at about 70% before anything started to actually happen. The book is already so short (I finished it in a day). Some pages dedicated to increasing the scares would have been fun.

And two, that the author had gone a bit harder on the scares and deaths.

Now I’ve been wondering if this specifically relates to the book being published as YA - like maybe there are restrictions I’m unaware of regarding killing off a bunch of teenagers - but still. By the end of the book
nearly every single person is dead. But we get almost no on page kills, which has always felt like a big part of the slasher genre. Most of the deceased are never even seen, making the gruesome discovery aspect kind of moot as well.


That being said, this actually makes YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DIE TONIGHT a great book for anyone who thinks they’re too squeamish for a slasher. There’s violence, but the gore is so minimal and so quick I think most people can handle it.

That last chapter and epilogue hit me like bam, bam, BAM! I did not see those twists coming! Like four big ones right at the end! Gosh, I just want to talk about it more but nothing is worse for a book like this than spoilers.

This is a thriller you don’t even have to wait for the spooky season to enjoy! What’s more summery than a summer camp? Definitely check out Kalynn Bayron’s YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DIE TONIGHT. It’s to die for. 
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erikagibson126's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense

3.25

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meganmindj's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

I don't watch a lot of horror. In fact, I have only seen the Scream franchise. Horror is not my cup of tea. However, this book was fantastic! The story was fascinating and exciting, the characters were likable and interesting, and the horror and suspense kept me at the edge of my seat. Plus, the plot twists! I had some suspicions about story, but I got everything wrong! I was BLINDSIDED by the twists, but they were GREAT twists that were well-written and awesome. I legit got chills during the last couple of chapters. Wow, it was just sooo good. 
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wrensreadingroom's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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