We follow a group of friends on their prom day, who had rented a house for their after party. Ten of them gather around, wishing for the best night of their high school lives but disaster strikes when one of their friends end up bloody dead and a storm keeps them all stuck inside with a killer.

The premise of Prom House is surely intriguing enough to hook the readers in. Told in first point POV, there isn’t a lot that we get to explore in this book. Our main character is wishing to finally have sex with her boyfriend and leave the town for her future. Then one of them ends up dead and she is navigating the night, trying to figure out the killer.

I did not particularly like the MC’s voice. It was too YA-esque and cliché at a lot of points. Her thoughts didn’t fit in with the situations at hand at times, whereby she’s more concerned about her dress and boyfriend than the dead body. As we don’t get POVs from the other characters, there isn’t a lot to say about them. They did seem very one dimensional and shallow and underdeveloped, in a sense that I as a reader didn’t get enough to actually connect with them, enough to feel sad for them. It was only on the surface and didn’t flow deep enough.

Moving on to the plot, the pacing did suffer. While there were a lot of high points, it quickly dwindled and went flat. The pacing kept fluctuating, whereby at some points I simply lost my patience and interest. There were moments of sexual indulgence that didn’t fit into the mood of the story and only felt highly inappropriate in the given situation. And I felt like they didn’t add anything to the story – at least the first time. I would have maybe loved to see more about the characters instead of this. Maybe about the friends and what the MC noticed about them, knew or view them.

I personally did enjoy the first half of the book. I was intrigued to know what was going on and how it would be resolved. The author’s writing was smooth and easy to grasp, flowing seamlessly into scenes. It was fast paced too, which is an added bonus.

Now, when reading thrillers, I’m usually looking forward to the climax and the reveals. I feel they are the best part that has the power to break or make the whole story. In Prom House, I don’t know if I can say that I liked this ending. Between three of my guesses for the climax, one of them was right! And this was also the one guess which I was least hoping for. Because I didn’t like it. I felt that the climax was rather poor and stupid, and utterly silly. The reasons didn’t hold enough stakes in the story, and I couldn’t relate, couldn’t feel for it.

Ultimately, though, Prom House was a quick read that didn’t entirely leave me satisfied. I loved the beginning and the middle, as well as the anticipation for the end, but it was the climax, the main reveal that left me a tad bit disappointed. I mean, him killing and getting angry because he didn't want change and his friends to go ahead in their lives??? I have heard of stupider reasons in thrillers and this clearly takes the spot in top 5. Goodness. So disappointing. Either way, it was not a bad book, a good thriller for beginners I'm sure.

What happens when the best night of your life turns into the worst? Full of menace and suspense, this is an amazing thriller that will get you hooked.
When a group of friends go for a Prom night getaway, things get bad.
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My Rating : [2.75/5] 🌟🌟.75
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The book starts out really good. I really liked the character introductions and the setting of the story. The author has a fun writing style that complimented the story and the plot twists that were introduced later. I think Aubrey was one of my favorite characters and she had a very enthusiastic outlook on their situation. The prom date guys all had characters that were inside the box that it was funny to read about them.
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Coming to the story and character development, The pacing was good (even though it felt a bit slow at times). The story had very high potential, but I don't think it was done to it's potential. It's a fun, trope filled thriller with a lot of teenager angst, tension, drama and mayhem. This book wasn't my cup of tea and I didn't really like the ending but it definitely made me laugh and roll my eyes.
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If you are looking for a fun thriller to make you laugh, groan with the drama and the stupidity of making absurd decisions, then I think this would be a refreshing mystery thriller.

“We weren’t safe, not even in our perfect prom house.”

My favorite movie genre is the slasher, slightly predictable, riddles-with-tropes, teen drama, and I can’t believe I don’t read more books like it! I’ve really only read one book with similar vibes (There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins-which I really enjoyed.)

The story itself is what one would expect from a YA mystery thriller. It is a fast-paced whodunit, with an ending that seems hastily pulled together. There are elements in the characterizations that could be more robust and developed. The characters themselves we’re okay to read, but I mainly stayed for the drama and the plot. I still had fun reading this and it definitely kept me entertained. I went into this expecting some cheap thrills, and I’m satisfied with what I got!

 There were multiple characters I suspected were the killer, but until the scene where they found out who the killer was started, I had my mind set on two possibilities. I was very surprised at who the killer was. Prom House begins a normal weekend, and ends with a bang, and an experience I really enjoyed reading.

Prom House is proof that I never ever want to go to a party in a beach house when there is a tropical storm in the horizon. I mean, just thinking about it makes my skin crawl because the ocean and storms are always unpredictable! (I live near the ocean so I know how insane it gets even from a safe distance to the water.)

Anywhoo, but Prom House gave me nightmares for other reasons and this is why I shouldn’t have read at night (but it was totally addictive so I couln’t stop!). It takes place in a rented beach house where Kylie and her friends will party after prom. It seems like the perfect setting and they have the whole house for themselves. This also means spending the night with her boyfriend. But the perfect night takes a turn for the worse when her best friends’ boyfriend goes missing. And after they go looking for him… they find him dead. Now with a hurricane threatening to unleash its full force on them and the police not finding proof of Cam’s death (his body suddenly goes missing), these teens are forced to take shelter inside the house… with possibly the killer among them.

Prom House is part mystery, part thriller, taking the reader inside the house trying to figure out: who is the killer? We follow Kylie, our main character, as she tries to sort out the pieces while desperately trying to keep everyone else safe. They cannot leave the beach house. They are literally trapped thanks to the storm and the electrical posts that made the outside into a deadly playground. It puts friendship and relationships to the test, particularly after another friend goes missing and it is clear one of their friends… is clearly killing them one by one.

Will not give away how this story ends but Prom House does a good job at making you second-guess and suspect EVERYONE. If you like quick, fast-paced stories with dark vibes, then this book might be for you!!

This was a fun and tropey thriller where a group of teens are trapped in a house together during a storm....with a potential killer. It's a whodunnit, with lots of sexual tension and plot twists, suspicion and betrayal. It was pretty fast-paced too! Predictable, but in a fun way, and you kind of just whip through it and enjoy all the teen-angst as they question their friendships.

I did find the killer pretty predictable, but a lot of the characters actions do keep you guessing!

Really loved the concept of Prom House. A group of high school students rent a house on the Jersey shore after prom. What starts out as a fun night quickly takes a turn as one of them is found dead. While I liked the concept of this book, the execution was a bit off for me for some reason. If you like young adult thrillers I would recommend checking it out, because while it wasn't for me it might be for you!

When Kiley and her friends rent a Jersey shore mansion for prom weekend, they are planning on partying and relaxing. But someone in their group has other, deadlier plans, Prom House is a quick read, page-turner of a thriller perfect for fans of Christopher Pike.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of Prom House by Chelsea Mueller. All opinions are my own.

Being entirely honest, I didn't walk into this with high hopes. I was looking for something fast-paced and easy to read. While I certainly got that... I also got a lot of other things that were borderline infuriating at some points. This book is packed full of cheesiness and seems to be attempting to go for an Agatha Christie-vibe. The main characters lack any sort of depth and are extremely boring- I couldn't keep the names & storylines straight the entire time; I'm still not quite sure who is who. White privilege was on full display & was quite annoying. The entire plot is so absurd that it was almost comical.

Fans of Christopher Pike will love this book. While parts of this story weren’t very believable such as a group of teens renting a house for $10,000.00, I did find myself enjoying it. It’s pretty fast paced and filled with action and I found myself reading it all in one sitting. The characters were interesting even if they were a little under-developed. And I was honestly surprised when we found out who the killer was.

This was a pretty quick and easy read. The premise sounds amazing but I found myself reading it just to see “whodunnit”...and that part was super predictable. Agree with other reviewers that the attempts to add depth to the main character kind of fell flat, and the ending could have done without its epilogue-type wrap up. I guess I just didn’t care enough about the characters to want to know what they ended up doing with their lives, as this wasn’t really that kind of book. It should have ended when the weekend ended. All in all, I’d probably buy for my high schoolers, but it didn’t transcend the YA realm like other thrillers can and do.

Solid teen slasher book. Gave me I know What You Did Last Summer/ Scream vibes. Set on the Jersey Shore, a beautiful beach rental, prom night with your best friends and boyfriend, what could go wrong? Kylie is about to find out! While I found the pacing of this novel decent, the wrap up was lackluster. It was all tied up in a neat package in a manner of 2 pages. I would’ve been happier without the recap/wrap up.

I really really really REALLY wanted to like this one. The plot is 100% my cup of tea. But alas, the characters and the random plotting of the tale kept me from getting into it, so it ended up in my DNF pile. Case in point: after one character is murdered, the main character and her boyfriend make out in the bathroom and she claims "she got all caught up in kiss that she practically forgot a friend of hers was murdered". Um...!?! The characters also came off as stock, with no real development...and I had to keep asking myself "which one is this one again?", which is never a good sign.

With tighter plotting and some character development, this might have been a contender for "teen horror read of the year", but alas, as is, it's just not that great.

If you look on Goodreads, this book gets slammed a lot. However, I think the criticisms are unfair. I found Prom House to be wildly entertaining! The book was pretty much exactly what I was expecting: a crazy story where people celebrating at a post-prom party start dying! And yes, sure enough, that's exactly what happens. You will be entertained by the different ways bodies are discovered and the twists and turns that inevitably come when everyone around you is a suspect. It's not just people dying that's a problem because a crazy tropical storm is incoming as well so everyone is stuck in the house! Not only that, but when the police are called, the police think it's just another post-prom prank!

Come on, you know that sounds like a really fun read! I really enjoyed this book and you will too!

Two stars

_Prom House_ is billed as a mystery/thriller based on the focal point: murders at "prom house" (i.e. the apparently $10,000 per night beach house that the group of high schoolers rent for post-Prom activities. Relatable). After reading, the most mysterious part to me is how this is getting published.

What I DO appreciate about this work is its vintage Christopher Pike this-isn't-supposed-to-be-funny-but-will-still-make-you-laugh plot points, character development, and language. It pains me to not be able to quote from arcs because there are some real zingers throughout.

Although the language is highly entertaining for the wrong reasons, the characters are not. Most are flat. There is an attempt to make the main character more layered by randomly highlighting her previous trauma, but it's too little and too late and feels quite forced and in some ways exploitative. One other character-related situation of concern cropped up a few times. Two characters have parents who enter into a romantic relationship and ultimately move in together. The children of these adults are also maybe or maybe not (discussed further in the novel and not spoiled here) in a sexual relationship. I found it so odd that this was considered just a normal occurrence that could be happening. These characters are entering into a potential sibling-style relationship. Is one possibly abusing the other? Does ANYONE think this is worth mentioning or discussing? These characters are complete fools, so I it's not shocking that they don't go far into this issue, but the author and/or editors might have put some more consideration into the possible implications here. I worry for readers who will see this representation without further conversation.

My central concern is that I had no interest in these characters living. They are wildly privileged (forget the $10,000 per night - wait until you see their whiteness in play with the police), and they are flat and unlikeable. There were times I rooted for the killer, and I don't think that was the goal.

Please, Teen Creeps podcast. I need you to make an episode on this book.

If you enjoy full circle so-bad-it's-good YA, you *may* enjoy this. Otherwise, RSVP your regrets to this post-prom event.

Great mystery and loved how they solved the crime. Loved the romance between the main one and the slightly mixed up family. Loved that it took place over the weekend in a nice house . Loved that friendships were tested.

Ten friends rent a secluded beach house for their after-prom weekend...for $10,000. This is what stayed with me after finishing this book, the idea that they paid this much for the house. I found this to be the hardest to believe.

The story itself is what one would expect from a YA mystery thriller. It is a fast-paced whodunit, with an ending that seems hastily pulled together. There are elements in the characterizations that could be more robust and developed. The characters themselves are static and flat. The description of abuse one of the characters suffers from is added as a half-hearted attempt to add depth to the character, but the author falls short of it.

With all this though, the book is entertaining and I can see teenagers enjoying the quick read of it. It is a book I would have in my high school library.

This is a story about a prom weekend... with a few murderers between friends.

I enjoyed this, but it felt like it was written for a lower YA audience (maybe 13-17?) which isn’t a bad thing at all, but is worth noting. This is a fun murder mystery in a mansion at an after prom party, and it was a quick fun read.

Thank you Netgalley & Random House Children's for this eARC

#PromHouse
Young adults will eat up this Christopher Pike read alike. It reminds me of the murder/mystery books from the 90s that were for teens. It has a good plot and will keep you guessing until the end.