Published by Gallery/Saga Press Genres: Fiction, Horror
Format: ARC, eBook
3.5 stars
This book, in a way, is a love letter to slasher movies and slasher movies fans! There are so many references to slasher movies, characters, scenes, etc. I LOVED the Horror facts! Plus, the entire book played out in my mind as an 80’s horror movie (those being my favorites).
The opening scene grabbed me right away! I wanted to yell, what you are doing is a recipe for disaster….
Jade, the main character was an interesting character in that sometimes I liked her, other times not so much. But she had some great lines and was a horror film expert who lives in her own world. Her father is abusive (to put it mildly), she has an absent mother and the town, well, I do not think they know how to take her let alone know what to do with her. She is an expert on horror, final girls (don’t’ confuse her with one) and what makes a killer tick (injustice).
But when bad things begin to happen on Indian Lake (not to be confused with Camp Crystal Lake), her extensive knowledge of horror films helps her predict how things are going to unfold. Through this we learn more about Jade, her past and her vulnerabilities.
Horror. Revenge. Triumph
So, this one is a hard one to rate and I wanted to sit with this book to think things over. So, after the beginning, which was fantastic, things got slow…as in really slow. I am not one for slow burns so this could be the case of it was me and not the book. But it took some hanging in there. I also had to get acclimated to the author’s style of writing. I desperately wanted something to hurry up and happen. But I had to bide my time. Not everything in horror films happens off the bat, sometimes you must wait for it. So, I waited, and waited, and waited…and then you-know-what hit the fan!
That later part of the book is where the magic (blood) begins to flow. Who will be safe? Who is the killer? Final Girl?
So, how to rate this book???? Parts were too slow for my liking, then there were these mesmerizing passages, the horror trivia that put a smile on this horror film lover’s face, and the killer last part of the book…. what a dilemma. Originally, I gave this book a 3-star rating, but I have decided to go with 3.5 stars rounded up. The ending really did make up for the slowness.
Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.