Quinn, Rust, and Cole are still reeling from their traumas when it seems to be starting anew. The stakes are higher than ever, and no where is safe. Frendo is back, this time with a new armed posse of fanatical supporters. A violent and timely tale with thinly veiled yet effective subtext that should resonate. It's a breakneck slasher sequel that doesn't waste any time getting to the action and suspense. Cesare understands slashers- and more importantly, slasher sequels- really well and crafts a strong narrative around the hardened survivors from the first novel. The introduction of Jerri provides a fresh new perspective while seamlessly tying back to previous events. In true slasher sequel style, the body count is higher along with the brutal deaths that hurt.

Whereas Clown in a Cornfield was a fun YA slasher, this sequel is a more mature, robust, and thrilling continuation that somehow improves upon its predecessor.

Hey now, this is how horror sequels should go! A step up from the sleeper hit original novel in every way, this one is bloodier, scarier, and according to my daily Twitter feed, realer as well. Whereas the last one was blunt in its examination of MAGA culture in small town America, this one is even more unabashed in its depictions of QAnon-esque truthers and January 6-level chaos. The first half is surprisingly patient while it catches us up with Quinn, Rust, Cole, and Glenn, and introduces a crew of new characters; and the buildup more than pays off with a second half that is absolutely relentless - seriously, once I hit the 50% marker, I couldn't put it down. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the first novel, and maybe it's the ill repute of sequels, particularly in the horror genre, but I was even more surprised by this one. A (violent) delight.

I was so excited when I saw there was a sequel to Clown In A Cornfield!I loved the first book! I mean who wouldn't?! Killer clowns?! Ummmm yes please!!! There is something about clowns that are outright creepy. Maybe it's the sinister smiles they have or the fact that you don't know the creepo behind the clown makeup really is.

The premise of part II Frendo Lives was a great one. Like most sequels its a revenge story. Also like most sequels, the first is usually better. I didn't "love" this book, but I still enjoyed my time while reading it. I loved the Halloween/ Autumn setting. I also really enjoyed the parts of the story that took place in the "haunted cornfield" attraction. I think what let me down in this story was the lack of chills & thrills that the first book delivered. Now don't get me wrong I will still read parts 3, 4 & 5 if they ever come to fruition. I hope they do because I do like the characters in the these books.

Before I close this review let me also praise the cover of the book. Creepy?! YES!

May Frendo indeed live on, so that we may have more books in this series!

Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives is fantastic!! If you enjoyed the first in the series, you are sure to be thrilled from beginning to end with the sequel. Perfect for slasher and horror fans! If you want a romping good time with scares throughout, this is the book series for you! Please keep making more in this series! This is a series that would make an excellent tv show or movie series. Be sure to check out Clown in a Cornfield in time for Halloween! You won't regret it!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins as well as the author for this ARC.
#NetGalley #HarperCollins #AdamCesare
Am I the only one who notices the Scream parallel? Whatever! I LOVE it! I loved the first one and I loved this one. I loved all the horror tropes that the author unabashedly uses, such as, I don’t know, THE KILLER CLOWN SEQUEL!!! It’s gory. It’s delicious. It’s everything.
This author is gifted with the characters. I can tell by the way I loved the characters that were vile as opposed to the returning protagonists. Love me some Quinn!!!! Each character fulfills a horror trope, much like Scream. Honestly, I thought the clowns in this volume were scarier than in the first book. The violence has stepped up here too. This series is slasher gold!
Overall, read this. If you liked the first book, read this one.

I am absolutely obsessed with the Clown series. I was so, so excited for book 2, but also a little apprehensive because the first one was SO good. I was worried the second wouldn't live up to the first. I didn't need to worry--Book 2 scared the pants of me as much as Clown 1. I am a teen librarian and we purchased several copies because it was in such high demand at our library. It is my go-to recommendation for horror fans and it holds immense crossover appeal for adults. It perfectly meshes 80s slasher and horror, with a basis in social commentary and mixes it with today's climate. (Which is chilling and while I would love a third, I also don't really want life to inspire a third, if you get what I'm saying.) I can't wait to see what Adam does next and I hope he sticks with YA Horror for awhile.

I will start by saying I loved the first book! I was so excited when I saw this was coming out but honestly it took a lot for me to finish it. The premise has the baybrook three trying to get on with their lives will still living in the shadow of Frendo. I loved the what the heck moments in the book and I will say the final few pages of the book almost made this four stars!

I posted a full review of this book on my Goodreads (linked below!!) but wanted to leave an official review here as well!! I was so excited to get approved for an ARC of CIAC 2 (my first ARC ever yeehaw!!!!) since I absolutely adored and flew through Clown in a Cornfield this past October. I would say that this sequel lived up to the slasher/gore/horror hype that CIAC brought me, but when it came to character development or anything really outside of the fast-paced horror plot, I wasn't able to connect with it as well as the first book. Rust was as badass and steadfast as he was in CIAC, and getting to know Jerri was the best, but Quinn and Cole were very static this time around (and Cole was EXTREMELY annoying but he is a teenager boy so what was I expecting) and I don't feel closer to them despite spending another entire book with them. I wanted character growth and relationship development between the main trio more than just about anything else and was pretty disappointed in that department. But Adam Cesare knows how the hell to write some amazing suspense slasher moments and build up the dread of a story over time, and I will absolutely read any other books he puts out, especially if that book is CIAC 3! Thanks again for this ARC, Netgalley—what a fantastic first ARC experience!

I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The first book in this series was wild. Creepy clowns are my favorite. So, naturally I had to read it. I was beyond excited when I learned there world be a sequel and I've been hoping to get my hands on a copy ASAP. And, here we are...

So, let's talk book 2! We're picking up shortly after the events if the first book. So, read that before starting this one or you may be a little lost.

My initial reaction is HOLY COW. This one moves fast and is quite violent, but in a different way than the first was. The methodology of the Friendo army has changed, but it's just as unsettling.

I was sad having to put this down because I wanted to just devour it. An excellent follow up to the first.

My full review of this will be in Rue Morgue magazine shortly after publication. For now - I LOVED this book and I absolutely hope beyond all hope that Cesare gets the chance to keep playing in this world. We need a Frendo franchise.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader copy!

4.5 stars! I was approved for this ARC and I dropped EVERYTHING to read it. Clown in a Cornfield was one of my favorite reads last year and I was stoked to hear that there would be a sequel. I was super impressed with this slasher sequel and would just ✨die✨ if the series would continue. (In a good way.)

I was a bit stressed for the first chunk of this book, there were so many different people and perspectives to keep track of and they would jump around a bit, but after awhile (and after a few people were killed off) it was smooth sailing and slaying from there.

Adam Cesare really knows how to do an epic kill scene. If you like slashers, clowns, and campy horror, you should absolutely pick up this series.

Oh my goodness this book was amazing! I was such a huge fan of the first book you always get nervous the sequel won’t live up to your expectations but I was genuinely so happy with how this one turned out! Having the story set a year from the previous and showcasing how the characters were unable to outrun what happened but also the conspiracy theories was such an interesting twist! I really hope these books set turned into a movie or a tv series some day because they would be perfect!

Adam Cesare is a genius. He can make the most cinematic books come to life on the page and creates deep, intriguing characters to root for from the very beginning. Make more! Create more! Write more! FRENDO LIVES!!!!!!! Can this series just be a GD franchise now? Please? MANIFEST THIS, YOU CLOWNS.

A fun sequel that follows in the slasher vein of the original. Reminds you of the over-the-top violence and action pacing of the Friday the 13th movie franchise.

The good: this book delivers on having a solid premise (particularly for a slasher sequel) that feels very prescient for the time, as well as some well-written scares and violence.
The bad: I just didn't engage with the characters as well as I did in the original.
Overall, a fun read for fans of the first book.

This series really is the Scream-esque slasher delight in the modern day. A little heavy on explanation in the first 25%, but once the action starts it’s full speed ahead. So much fun!

➸ 5/5 stars
➸ Thank you to the publisher for giving this to me as an ARC via NetGalley.

★ I loved this book even more than the first one! Everything about this book felt like the best slasher films- Scream, Halloween, etc. I was so excited to see the return of Quinn, Rust, and Cole and this did not disappoint. The story beautifully combines the essence of a classic teen slasher while still making a lot of important social commentary on recent events in the national news that truly are more terrifying than any horror film/book could be. I enjoyed the new characters we were given in this book and appreciated the improvement in representation from the first book. I really loved the addition of Jerri, perhaps even rooting for her more than the original trio. The plot twist at the end involving a certain character was really shocking to me but was a great way to tie the new characters into the first book's storyline. This book felt like reading an "elevated horror" version of the Scream movies which is one of the greatest compliments I could give it. The way in which the series tackled modern-day real-life horrors such as the dangers of online conspiracy theories and mob mentality was truly terrifying. Props to Adam Cesare!

Clown in a Cornfield 2: Frendo Lives by Adam Cesare lacks the shock and grisliness of the first book. In this one, Quinn Maybrook is away at college, trying to put the massacre from the previous year behind her, but there are now online conspiracies that the Kettle Springs Massacre was a hoax. She meets up with her best friends and fellow survivors, Cole and Rust. The three attend a frat party and get attacked by a murderous clown, while Quinn’s dad (now the mayor of Kettle Springs) gets attacked at the same time. Quinn, Cole and Rust have no choice but to return to Kettle Springs and face these new (and possibly old) threats, and make sure everyone knows the truth about last year’s massacre.

Overall, Clown in a Cornfield 2 took too long to get to the action and any murders. It was just slow until about halfway through. I appreciate Cesare following up with these main characters from the first one and continuing the story, but I feel like this book was really unnecessary. This book was missing the shock factor from the first one, all the multiple, gory deaths and also the menacing atmosphere. I will say I liked the ending to this second one and how fierce Quinn has become. I also liked how her father became the mayor of Kettle Springs. I enjoyed how Cole and Rust’s romantic relationship was further explored in this book, too. Other than that, this book was disappointing as a horror/slasher novel and was just not at the same level as the first one.

This series is like a love letter to slasher movies. It's clear Adam Cesare has a deep appreciation for the subgenre and it shines in this sequel. Seeing how "the Three" as they're called in the book (Quinn, Rust, and Cole) deal with the trauma from the first book differently was interesting and fit with each of their personalities. I also like Cesare's commentary on the internet being a breeding ground for conspiracy theorists/skeptics and how them forming an alliance is deadly. If there's any negative feedback I can give about this book and series, is that it would work better as a movie franchise. That may be blasphemous for me to say, but it's just one of those books I can't help but read and think "I wish this was a movie". Cesare is an undoubtedly talented horror book writer, but if he ever wanted to take a stab (no pun intended) at movie scripts, he should be all means go for it!

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

This I have to say was wild ride that had me in all directions. This second slasher book was definitely longer and I really enjoyed it. I loved going back into Kettle Springs and this time around there was a haunted attraction? Sign me up! I was really loving the vibe of this second book and just how much goes on. I’m sitting there reading thinking wow, so much has happened and I’m only a third of the way through the book, what else could possibly happen? In short, a lot haha. I loved all the horror elements in this one. We had the Eureka, a vintage movie theater. Once again, the haunted attraction as mentioned earlier, and the clown theme of course. I also got some vibes similar to The Purge. We dive deeper into relationships on this one, and take a look back through Jerri’s eyes at what happened on that fateful day over a year ago on the B-field. I like that the author gives you a look at things from the perspective of someone that was in the attack from the first and starts to look at those that were not in it, and paints a picture of what maybe they think of it. Of course not everyone believes that things happen a certain way. You will always have your conspiracy theorists and I like that it was a factor in this too. Overall I had fun with this one and hope there is a third!