Well, then. This just might be my biggest disappointment of the year so far.

Let’s start with the things that I kind of liked. I thought the flashback chapters to what happened at the cottage were more entertaining than anything else. It reads very much like any number of horror movies and while it was basically just one big cliché, it was entertaining. There was also several chapters towards the end of the book where the writing was a little more suspenseful and even though I could guess pretty much everything that was happening, I didn’t want to put it down during that short time.

This book could’ve been a little better for me if the characters weren’t so dang annoying. I HATED them. Quincy was ok in the very beginning, but then Sam showed up and it just all went down hill from there. Sam was the clichéd bad girl psycho who was there to lead Quincy off the straight and narrow. But you can’t really feel that bad for Quincy because she was so easily manipulated and made so many bad decisions and she’s kind of a psycho herself. I spent the vast majority of this book being so unbearably annoyed by both Sam and Quincy that it just ruined the whole experience for me.

I know there are a lot of people that have really loved this book, so I’m sure I’m in the minority opinion here. But, as someone who has seen a good deal of horror movies and reads a lot of this genre, this was not very mysterious or thrilling. I also recently read another book that had a similar storyline with a girl who escapes a murderer and has no memory about what happened and the conclusion was pretty similar. Overall, this was a big disappointment for me.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 2 Stars

Quincy and Jeff live in a quaint apartment in Manhattan, where Jeff practices law and Quincy has a successful baking blog where she shows off her culinary creations. On the surface their lives are idealistic and enviable, but Quincy has a dark past that just won't let go and an unexpected visitor is coming to make certain of it. When Sam shows up she's destitute with no money and nowhere else to go, so Quincy agrees to let her stay for a few days and that's when the secrets begin to unravel. Secrets that threaten to destroy Quincy and everything she loves, but who can she trust and why can't she remember that night?

Sager has written a stunning debut that will keep readers up at night turning the pages. Highly recommended!

I am so excited to bring you my review of Final Girls today! I’ve been dying to read this one and it absolutely did not disappoint!

The main character, Quincy Carpenter, is what the media calls “a final girl.” She earned that title being the only survivor of a brutal massacre ten years earlier while staying at a cabin in the woods, Pine Cottage. The other final girls are Lisa, who survived a sorority house massacre and Samantha, who survived a hotel attack by someone named “The Sack Man.” The media attempted to bring the three final girls together at various times over the years, but they have never met. Quincy did speak to Lisa on the phone but never met Samantha.

Quincy’s character displayed strength in the fact that she was living a somewhat normal life (as normal as possible taking several Xanax each day) living in a gorgeous NYC apartment with a wonderful man and maintaining a baking blog that had earned her several high-profile jobs. But then she receives an urgent message from Coop, the police officer that she found the night of the murders at Pine Cottage, and the one that shot and killed the attacker that was chasing her. When she meets Coop at their normal coffee shop, she learns that Lisa has been found dead, apparently from suicide.

I really liked Quincy’s character from the start, especially the way she had still managed to create a somewhat happy and successful life for herself despite the physical and emotional wounds incurred at Pine Cottage. Then again, it probably helped that she remembered almost nothing from that night. I also liked her live-in boyfriend, Jeff, although at times I felt like he tried too hard reminding and assuring her that she was normal and happy. Besides Jeff and the occasional chat with her mother, the only other person in her life was the cop that saved her, Coop. He checked in with her off and on and visited her a few times a year just to see how she was doing and to make sure that she didn’t need him for anything. Coop seemed to be Quincy’s rock that she could count on, and although he was very handsome, their relationship remained platonic as if he were a concerned big brother.

Things take a very strange and creepy turn when Sam (Samantha Boyd, a final girl) suddenly appears at Quincy’s apartment. Having “been off the grid” for years, no one knows much about Sam other than from her initial interview after “The Sack Man” murders. Sam’s character seemed very suspicious to me from the moment she entered Quincy’s life and there were little to no moments that I felt any trust or admiration for her character. Quincy begins to transform into a completely different character once Sam is around, and even more so after new information comes out about Lisa’s death.

Without giving anything away, I can say that every theory I developed while reading this novel was completely off-base. I would think I had figured things out, but then something else happened blowing my suspicions out of the water. Riley Sager created compelling and complex characters and weaved them into a story of endless layers of suspense. I love it when a suspense/thriller proves me wrong, but Final Girls did this several times as she peeled back more and more layers of the characters. I was floored by the outcome but in a fabulous way!

If I had to mention anything at all that I was not crazy about, it would have to be the sudden and extreme changes in Quincy after Sam came along. Some of it seemed almost absurd to me, however, it all created a great deal of tension just making me want to continue on to learn the outcome of everything.

Final Girls is full of deliciously complex characters that created endless twists and turns throughout this novel. Raw emotions, no matter how ugly, were consistently put on display just strengthening the creepy, uneasy feeling about all of the murders and the idea of being a final girl. This was an amazing novel that I will not soon forget. I look forward to more from author Riley Sager in the future.

*Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kept me on the edge of my seat. Blindsided at the end. Never saw it coming.

Thanks to Netgalley, Dutton, and Riley Sager. This was a great book! I loved Quincy. Her character was interesting and complex at times. There was a lot of mystery and suspense in that I had a hard time putting it down, always wanting to read one more chapter..I loved the ending, so perfect ! I can see this story continuing if the author wanted it to. It was a great read. I would definitely recommend this book and author.
My reviews are on Goodreads, Twitter. FB, Amazon.

Um….you guys….this book is fantastic.

Riley Sager knocks the ‘thriller’ out of the park with “ Final Girls”

Ten years ago, Quincy Carpenter is the only survivor after a weekend getaway with her college friends. All the other were brutally murdered. Instantly, Quincy is a member of a club that no one is rushing to be a member of …. the Final Girls. Quincy moves on with her life, finishing college, moving to New York and is now a successful baking blogger. (not as lame as it sounds)

Then…Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead.

And that’s where this story begins. Twists, turns and insane amounts of grape soda follow. There are shifts in time, from present day to the time of the Pine Cottage incident. This goes beyond the normal “it was X who did it”. I was guessing the entire time.

There’s a reason Stephen King liked this book.

Thanks to NetGalley, Riley Sager and Penguin Group Dutton for the advance copy of this book in exchange for this review.

This is another highly touted book of summer that just didn't work for me. I grew up in the 80s with the classic horror films of Friday the 13th, Halloween, Scream, etc and several blurbs have likened this book to a combination of those films....I didn't see it at all. I had an issue from the get go with Quincy, the main character, and her convenient total memory loss of the night at Pine Cottage. For me, that's a pretty 'take the easy way out' type of plot technique that requires the reader to suspend a whole lot of disbelief. When we first meet Quincy she's presented to us as a fairly stable girl who does have some issues and is on medication for anxiety but overall she's in a pretty good place with her boyfriend, apartment, and her baking blog. When Sam, one of the 3 Final Girls shows up on her doorstep out of the blue saying she wants to get to know her after they've both just found out that the other final girl has been killed, she not only lets her in but invites her to stay...knowing nothing about her and not bothering to even check to see if she is who she says. Almost immediately Quincy's personality changes and she starts behaving completely erratically and the 2 of them start behaving in completely unbelievable and implausible ways. None of it gelled for me plot wise and I found the whole story far fetched and not in any way scary. I also felt the author pounded me over the head with the use of the word Xanax which was repeated over and over again...I get it, she's addicted to Xanax but I didn't need it repeated to me tons of times. The Pine cottage storyline of flashbacks was underwhelming for me as well and by the end I had already figured out most of it but found I didn't really care what had happened anyway.

The three of them are the Final Girls, sole survivors of terrible events that seem like they came straight out of a horror movie. Lisa wrote a book about the massacre at her sorority house. Sam disappeared from public view years ago. Quinn runs a baking blog and tries to get on with her life. She can't remember the details of that night at Pine Cottage and doesn't want to. Then suddenly Lisa is dead by her own hand and Sam bursts into her life, determined to make Quinn revisit her past. I can't tell you much more without venturing into spoiler territory and I never want to do that.

I read this one on the flight home from our trip and it kept me engrossed for five hours, even through clear air turbulence and worries about blood clots. At times, I thought I knew what was going on, but I was wrong. The plot shifts from Quinn's present life to that fatal night at Pine Cottage, but it never felt like the author was deliberate stringing me along. And, even though Quinn is kind of a mess, she never seemed whiny or childish. There's some blood and gore (because that comes with the territory when you're reading about horror-movie style massacres) but it's not the bulk of the plot and not horribly detailed.

I couldn't put it down. What a wild ride! I hope Riley writes many more books because this was just plain old fun. I do wish there was a bit more character development with the main character, fewer awkward sex scenes and that some details I thought would mean more would actually have been integral to the plot but I still loved it!

As the sole survivors of a massacre, Quincy, Lisa and Samantha have been dubbed "Final Girls" by the media. When Lisa seemingly commits suicide, Samantha seeks out Quincy, determined to connect with her. However, not everything is as it seems. Samantha seems to pull the rage out of Quincy, leading her from one bad situation to the other. In the middle is Coop, the police officer who rescued Quincy all those years ago.

I'm not going to give away the twist, but the author did a poor job of building up to it. It was expected rather than dramatic. Overall, not a book I would reread.

So I started Final Girls and finished it late in the night around 1:30 am. All I can say is YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED THIS BOOK. Request it on Netgalley, preorder it, go stand in line --- whatever you have to do to get your hands on a copy. I was reading along, pretty proud of myself that I had the killer figured out and the mystery solved and tra la la aren't I smart, and then Riley Sager slapped me in the face with the killer reveal and I still haven't picked my jaw up off the floor yet. If you read only one thriller this summer, let it be Final Girls. IT. IS. FANTASTIC!!!!!! Thank you so much to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for an advanced copy of this heart stopping thriller in exchange for my honest review.

Extremely well written. This book kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time. There was not one boring moment. The format of the story was very unique, how it was flip between past and present, and how the parts that took place in the past were told in third person so the source was reliable. This book had me fooled lots of times. At points I was very sure that I had it all figured out, but I was very wrong. This book will shock you. definitely a favorite and I will most definitely recommend it to friends.

I'm between 4 and 4.5 stars here.

This book kicked some serious a--!

"We were, for whatever reason, the lucky ones who survived when no one else had. Pretty girls covered in blood. As such, e were each in turn treated like something rare and exotic. A beautiful bird that spreads its bright wings only once a decade."

Ten years ago, Quincy Carpenter went to the woods with five of her friends to celebrate her best friend's birthday. But instead of the carefree celebration they planned, that night turned out to be something out of her worst nightmares. She was the only one to survive a brutal massacre. She can't seem to remember what happened, nor does she want to—all she remembers is being covered in blood and being rescued by a policeman after outsmarting a killer she can only refer to as "Him."

With that incident she became part of a group the press called the "Final Girls," with two other sole survivors of massacre-style attacks—Lisa, who witnessed an attack on her sorority house which left nine of her sorority sisters dead, and Samantha, who survived a late-night attack at the motel where she worked. The three girls want nothing more than to put their lives back together and somehow shake the memories that haunt them, as well as the guilt that they survived when their friends or others did not.

"Even before Pine Cottage, I never liked to watch scary movies because of the fake blood, the rubber knives, the characters who made decisions so stupid I guiltily thought they deserved to die. Only, what happened to us wasn't a movie. It was real life. Our lives. The blood wasn't fake. The knives were steel and nightmare-sharp. And those who died definitely didn't deserve it. But somehow we screamed louder, ran faster, fought harder. We survived.

Quincy has done fairly well pulling her life together, thanks in large part to her Xanax prescription, which helps keep any lingering anxiety at bay. She has a successful baking blog and a handsome, steadfast fiancée, Jeff. She also knows that Coop, the policeman who saved her life all those years ago is always looking out for her, ready to come if she needs him.

But then Quincy finds out that Lisa, one of her fellow "Final Girls," has apparently committed suicide, despite how hard she fought to survive all those years ago. If that isn't enough to cause Quincy to lose her composure, it turns out Lisa emailed her right before she died, trying to make contact with Quincy. And then Samantha shows up, ostensibly to check up on Quincy once she heard about Lisa's death (despite the fact that they've never met).

It appears Samantha has other motives in mind, too, as she is intent on getting Quincy to relive that night at Pine Cottage 10 years before, and challenges Quincy's carefully composed life. The more she forces Quincy out of her comfort zone, the more Quincy wonders why Samantha really appeared, and whether everyone else in her life is right to be suspicious. When new information about Lisa's death is revealed, Quincy doesn't know where to turn, or whom to trust, and whether she can handle reopening her memories to the trauma she survived 10 years ago.

Final Girls is full of suspense and twists and turns. Riley Sager is definitely a talented storyteller, and she knows how to throw a few misdirections the reader's way, so you don't know how things will be resolved in the end. She does a great job illustrating the dichotomy of Quincy's life, and how quickly the calm she has come to know can be shattered. I also like the way she developed Quincy and Sam's characters—I don't feel as if the other characters were given the same complexity and depth.

This is definitely one of those books which will make a terrific movie. I really enjoyed this a great deal, although some of the shifting back and forth between past and present was a little more jarring than it should have been. If you're a fan of suspense novels, this is one you'll want to pick up. It certainly will make you think the next time you hear about a sole survivor of a horrific incident.

NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Dutton provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

For being pegged a thriller, this book was a bit slow to start for me. To clarify, I enjoyed the beginning of this book, but I wasn't nervous or freaked out while the suspense slowly built. I didn't start feeling nervous or anxious about the plot until well into the second half of the book. Again, I enjoyed reading the entire novel, I just didn't peg it as a thriller.
Quincy is the prototype of the unreliable narrator. She simply doesn't remember anything after she found her friend bleeding to death on the night of the massacre up to the point where she found Coop, her rescuer. As readers, we know that the murderer was shot on the night of the massacre, but since this is a thriller, you know not to trust that the murder is actually dead!
In addition, you are given the suspense of the new investigation of Lisa (one of the other final girls') death. So, we get to be involved in figuring out what happened at two totally unrelated (or are they?) scenes that take place years apart.

I really enjoyed this novel. Its not a crazy and amazing literary masterpiece, but it is well written, it is fun, and it will keep you guessing until the end.

4.5/5 stars

I received a free e-copy of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review. I highly recommend this book for horror lovers.

Quincy Carpenter is a survivor. Ten years ago, she was the only survivor of a horror movie-style massacre and joined the ranks of the "Final Girls." A term given to two other women who survived similar massacres. Quincy has determinedly put the past behind her. She can't remember much of what happened that night, and she has moved on, courtesy of Xanax and an obsession with baking. All she wants is to be "normal," and not to be identified solely as a victim. 

But her carefully constructed house of cards falls down when Lisa, one of the Final Girls, is found dead, her wrists slit. Soon the only other Final Girl, Sam, arrives on her doorstep. Sam's method of dealing with her past is an exercise in self-destruction, and her presence sends Quincy spiraling down into instability. When the police investigation of Lisa's death reveals that she was murdered, Quincy finds herself in a position where she can trust no one around her; not even her own memories.

This book surprised me. I went in expecting something leaning more towards the horror genre, and ended up with a tense little psychological thriller. I really enjoyed this book, and read it straight through in one sitting. The novel is told from Quincy's point of view, and we get a first hand look at the rituals she holds herself to in order to maintain her grasp on normalcy. It is all too easy for the rampaging presence of Sam to knock these habits into disarray, and Quincy's mental state with them. Interspersed between the chapters dealing with the here-and-now are chapters flashing back to the night of the massacre that Quincy survived as a college freshman. As both stories unfold, we must call into question everything we had learned before.

Sager does a brilliant job keeping the suspense going in this book. Her use of false leads and red herrings is masterfully done. Sager uses twists subtly telegraphed to hide other plot twists you will not see coming. We think we have guessed at a character's hidden secret, only to have that secret be revealed as surface clutter to a more cunningly hidden depth.

Fans of Lisa Unger, Ruth Ware, or Karin Slaughter will likely enjoy this book. Anyone looking for a unique and riveting take on the horror genre should also pick up this book. 
An advanced copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I smugly thought I had the murderer figured out early on (I was wrong), switched horses at the halfway point (wrong again), and my jaw literally dropped when what "really" happened at Pine Cottage was revealed. The full-circle ending was my favorite part of the book. It showed that Quincy had finally accepted, and even embraced, the role as a Final Girl assigned by the world. That ending was simply perfect.

Take nothing for granted, enjoy the ride, and recommend this one to your friends.

Quincy, Lisa, and Sam are "Final Girls." Meaning, they are the sole survivors of separate, horrific massacres. The story is generally told from Quincy's perspective as she tries to move on from That Night. Circumstances bring Quincy and Sam into each other's lives for the first time and twisty things ensue.

Stephen King rec'd "Final Girls" on Twitter and I was SO excited when I got approved on NetGalley to read this. "Final Girls" has everything I want in a book: psychological thriller, unreliable narrator, dark and sinister subject, and a WTF-type ending.

Thank you Penguin Random House and NetGalley for letting me read!

I loved this entertaining and gripping psychological thriller. The plot, and subsequent narrative, felt fresh and engaging, while avoiding the overused tropes that plague the thriller genre. The story is told over two timelines with intense, heart-pounding flashback scenes contrasted against the light contemporary setting of the present day. This is a fantastic summer read.

This novel addresses the familiar horror movie trope of a "final girl", where one female who survives to the end of the story after watching everyone else die. This books answers the question of what happens to these women when they try to move on and have normal lives in spite of their overwhelming survivors' guilt.

The story is purposely quite ambiguous, building up slowly without giving away too much.. The reader blindly follows the story narrative without knowing exactly where the plot is going or which characters to trust. The massacres were grisly by their nature, yet they are described in ways that will make them palatable for the average reader.

The story manages to strike a delicate balance in tone. The bloody backstories are contrasted against the contemporary images of a entrepreneurial baker, without making the story feel cheesy. In the story, the main character uses baking as a coping strategy and a form of therapy. The baking scenes, themselves, are absolutely mouthwatering with descriptions of cupcakes and other delicious sweets. These paragraphs lighten the tone of the novel,offering the reader some much need tension relief. These descriptions of frosting and bread are guaranteed to to induce sugar cravings.

The writing is strong with a clean style that reads seamlessly. Sager's word choice was particularly striking, creating imagery that will stick in the mind of the reader. All the characters are complex and well developed. I was very impressed by Sager as an author and look forward to reading whatever she chooses to write next.

I requested this from the publisher via netgalley.

I loved this story! As a big horror fan it was so fun to see someone play with the popular Final Girl trope and put a unique spin on it. This was such a gripping thriller, I couldn't finish it fast enough!

REVIEW: Final Girls by Riley Sager
June 13, 2017rachandbooksEdit
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There is a term given to three women who share separate but similar stories: they have each been the last ones standing in brutal horror-story level massacres. Lisa lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife. Sam went up against the Sack Man during a late shift at the Nightlight Inn. And then there’s Quincy, who escaped the woods from Pine Cottage from the man she can only refer to as Him. Five friends went into the cottage and only Quincy made it out alive.

They were the lone survivors. They’re dubbed the Final Girls.

10 years after that terrible night at the cottage, Quincy Carpenter, despite everything, is trying to live a normal life. And she’s succeeding. Then, suddenly, Quincy finds out that Lisa is dead and it’s ruled an apparent suicide. This prompts Sam to suddenly appear at Quincy’s door, hellbent on figuring out Quincy’s past and current life, because Quincy’s memories of that fateful night have been blacked out since it happened. It’s something she used to be content with. All of this causes Quincy to question if she’s truly moved on. Each of the girls has secrets and Quincy is now trying to separate the truths from the lies from those around her. The story unravels from here. Secrets are exposed, intentions are revealed, and the reader is given glimpses into what really happened on that nightmare of a night so many years ago.

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Ever since I was a little girl, I loved horror movies–and mysteries and thrillers, as well. I was practically raised on them. I knew very well what I was getting myself into with Final Girls and couldn’t wait to be taken on this journey. I love rooting on “final girls” in films. Ellen Ripley, Sarah Carter, Laurie Strode… to name a few. They’re proof that women can prevail. There’s something empowering about there being a final girl. And you know what else I adore? When stories decide to slip tropes on their head. That’s what happened here because the story begins AFTER the horrible events that lead these women to be the final girls. And, more than that, our protagonist, Quincy, is rejecting the title, whereas Sam and Lisa embrace it. I was so excited by the premise and I wasn’t disappointed by it in the slightest.

This story has been compared to a rollercoaster ride and I think that’s truly accurate. It takes you on this WILD ride that grips you until the *very* end. Riley Sager is a fantastic writer. The pacing is fast and the intensity builds and builds, which is exactly what you want with this kind of story. You HAVE to know what happens next. I think the most exciting bits of the story happens when you read segments from the past and begin slowly piecing everything together. Or attempt to, at least. The twists and turns will leave you feeling woozy in the best way. I was blown away by this book. By the intriguing plot, the well-thought out characters, the REVEALS, the ominous tone, the layers of storytelling–everything!

This is one of those books that once you pick up, you find yourself not being able to put down until you know everything. The last 30% was utterly exhilarating. And the end of the novel has me sitting here reeling. I’m so impressed by this debut work. You should all go ahead and add this to your TBRs, pre-order it, all of that, because this book is going to be huge. Especially if you love thrillers, slasher films, and mysteries. I really enjoyed reading it. This book is certainly worth 5 stars. I look forward to reading more from Riley Rager in the future!

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks so much to the the publisher, Dutton, Penguin Random House, and to the author, Riley Sager, for giving me this opportunity.

FINAL GIRLS will be available in stores on July 11, 2017!!