In Nightfall gives me all the twilight feels without the glitter. The town is spooky and old fashioned, and the residents have a secret. When Theo, her brother, and her dad visit their grandma for the summer, chaos quickly ensues. The teens find themselves in the middle of then popular crowd-which usually means trouble. Unfortunately for Theo and her brother, the trouble might be more than just mean girls. I really enjoyed this YA book, perfect for an spooky October read! The protagonist is likable, and the storyline is great. Fleshed our characters and a creepy town history makes this book what it is. If you like Grady Hendrix’s Southern Book Club’s Guide, the movies Fright Night & The Lost Boys, this book is a great choice!

I when I saw this book described as Buffy meets The Lost Boys, I was immediately into it. And I think that comparison, particularly to Lost Boys is accurate. The ominous vibes are rich, here. And the scenes of teens doing whatever, hanging out, drinking on beaches, eating ice cream has those same vibes as the 80s film. I love that cell phone signal is terrible and that phones never work when you need them. I love the secrets of the town history, the way tension exists between townies and tourists. I liked this book a lot.

Marcus and Theo are in Nightfall, Oregon from the Summer. They’ve not met their grandmother before nor do they understand why their father has dragged them back to his hometown after an underage party gone awry. They notice quickly that the kids in Nightfall are different. Their grandmother is superstitious to say the least and standoffish, with lots of rules, including be home before dark.

But the siblings can’t resist hanging out with some of the locals who appear beautiful and charismatic and they soon realize it isn’t the dark they have to be afraid of. It’s the girls.

My biggest complaint about the story is the pacing. Things unfold slowly with tension and vibes and then in the last 25% the reveals and action is nonstop.

I wish we’d gotten more of the history discovered rather than in dialogue. There are many opportunities to have Theo figure things out and I can’t believe she takes so long to understand what’s happening.

Overall, I would recommend this book. It is YA but without a lot of the annoying aspects of YA novels.

Wow! I did not expect to like this as much as I did. I am NOT a YA reader, and so had never encountered Suzanne Young before - I'm a snob, so I'm sorry to say I thought I wouldn't like this since it is for teens. I thoroughly enjoyed this as a horror read for those of us that don't live in the horror-genre year round but like a spook in October.

As someone who lived in the Pacific Northwest for years, the setting of IN NIGHTFALL by Suzanne Young was especially appealing. The book delivered on it! From the drive as siblings Theo and Marco and their dad approached Oregon to the first sighting of downtown, the world building was the strongest draw. Once that was established, the author kept unveiling details and incorporating more of the town, which really worked. I want to use part of the early chapters as an example on how important world building is even in contemporary books. The sibling relationship between Theo and Marco was also a strong part of the story; their history felts deep and connected, even when they were arguing.

The weak point was some of the other characters and how over-the-top the "weirdness" of the people in town--including two hitchhikers--came across immediately. There was no slow burn about it, which was disappointing.

Like the book blurb claims, this book is indeed The Lost Boys meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was a huge fan of The Lost Boys growing up, so I really got into the whole thing with the vampires waiting to be invited inside.. The characters are well developed, even the secondary ones like Felix and Elijah. My particular favorite was Theo’s Nonna who turns out to be pretty bad ass. (I can’t help but think that her name is a reference to Strenga Nona which would make sense, given the role she plays in the book.) The storyline is interesting, and the pacing is just right. In fact, I don’t think the word vampire appears until well into the second half of the book. While the story does have a happy ending for Theo, there’s no happily-ever-after for the vampire love interest.

Typically when I see a book promoted as being like a previously published book or a movie, I find the comparison false. In Nightfall is gloriously like a gender-bent Lost Boys and I loved everything about it. Was I still yelling at the characters to do things differently, yes. But that's part of the fun with horror. In Nightfall was fun, dark, and quirky.

This is a very solid, fun, YA-summer-horror romp, though it didn't particularly stand out for me. It was plenty diverting, with well-developed characters and a great small-town setting, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars.

Spoilers ahead. I will not reveal anything big - most of the review vaguely alludes to plot, structure, and characters.

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I loved the worldbuilding and scene-setting that Young manages - it not only helped me get a feel for Nightfall, but also gave extra depth to the characters, which I appreciated. The characters were pretty well fleshed out, and I really liked how down-to-earth and realistic Theo was - when it comes to horror, I'm used to feeling somewhat exasperated with the main characters. Not Theo. Theo was excellently perceptive. I felt like the protagonists and antagonist were appropriately dimensional, and the story did a good job of avoiding the pitfalls that most horror trip into. I'm giving it 4 stars rather than 5, as I found the mystery aspect to be a tiny bit predictable.

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Again, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a good book for anyone, but an absolute riot for any fans of the late 80s cult classic “The Lost Boys.” It’s all there: the creepy grandparent, the sibling dynamic that overpowers vampirism, and even a much cooler updated version of the Frogger brothers.

I have positive feedback and I have negative feedback. On one hand, it was slow to get started. It’s YA and supernatural, so I was hoping to get sucked in a little quicker. Additionally, the *******************SPOILER*********************
Girlfriend is Sylvia, the queen vampire? I get that this really is just a gender swapped Lost Boys and Sylvia is the Edward Hermann, but it was just too familiar. She was a nobody and that storyline wasn’t flushed out as well as it could’ve been.

Positive: I have three big ones: the books is insanely fun and, as I mentioned, wildly nostalgic if you loved The Lost Boys, the characters are very likable and really make you feel invested in the story, and once it comes to a boil, it all unfolds quickly and becomes hard to put down.

My only other complaint is really more of a question…. Super unpopular opinion, probably, but wouldn’t it be nice to see the girl just embrace her villain boyfriend and dive headfirst into that vampire lifestyle just once? Just me? I’ll see myself out.

This was my first read from Suzanne Young. I was drawn in by the book's synopsis which sounded promising. The opening chapter had me questioning if I'd made the right choice to read this book. Because of that, it took me a while to get into the book.

Marco and Theodora "Theo" were being forced to visit their father's birth town, Nightfall, Oregon, because of a crazy party they threw when he was away. This wasn't the problem for me. It was the way they spoke to adults that rubbed me wrong. Worse, the behavior was not addressed. Teenage drinking was not really addressed either, though it was known that it was happening.

Once I got past my distaste of their misbehavior, I was able to gain traction in the book. The story was well-written from Theo's point of view. The story deals with issues of abandonment and a family trying to heal after a divorce. Theo's grandmother has fire but is quite strange. She seems to get stranger as the story progresses. I found her lack of communication (and their dad's) weird, but upon reflection, I wonder if the author was trying to capture the younger generation's point of view when looking to connect with adults. Had they been honest with Theo and Marco, it could have kept everyone safe, maybe.

I enjoyed the world-building and the mystery that Theo needed to unravel before it was too late. I liked a few of the characters, while others were annoying. There is LBGTQ inclusion; though they are not the main characters. The pacing was steady enough to keep the story moving, but it sped up as it got closer to the end (or maybe it was just me needing to know what happened next). There is somewhat of a happily ever after, depending on what you were hoping to happen.

Overall, I'd recommend this read to mature high schoolers and older.

This was such a fun read! It was the perfect blend of old school nostalgia (The Lost Boys & Buffy) and modern takes that kept me up well past my bedtime because I HAD to know how it ended. I loved the creep factor, the twists, the sibling banter, and Nonna was the BEST! I do wish things had worked out differently for one character in particular, but overall, the ending was both satisfying and bittersweet.

In Nightfall makes a great addition to Spooky Season reading lists.

4.5/5 stars. To be released March 2023.

Well this was a great read. I had been in a reading slump for months. Multiple books picked up but never finished. Not with this one. Immediately I was pulled in to the weirdness of the small town of Nightfall. The writing was suspenseful and made this a page turner I couldn't put down. In Nightfall is a must read for an supernatural fan!

In Nightfall by Suzanne Young was such a fun read!! Be afraid..be very afraid! Incredibly atmospheric (I mean..it takes place in Oregon!) and delightfully spooky! This is a book you are definitely going to want on your Halloween reading list!

I really want to give this book 5 stars. I love the idea of it and the main character. But, as an adult, more and more frequently I get so frustrated with the adult influence in books. I just wanted to shake the dad and yell “be a parent!” I wanted to grab the grandma and say, “tell them the truth of what’s going on!” If you are honest with teens about what’s happening, maybe they won’t sneak off as much and get themselves in trouble!

In Nightfall was absolutely fantastical! Young wrote a story that was so well written I found myself flying through the pages, unable to put the book down, pondering what would happen next. My favorite piece of this entire story was how believable the characters were.

The writing is clear and clean, and very immersive. The book hums along at a good clip, but the pacing makes sure we're given time to breathe between plot-intensifying moments. The story was absolutely engaging and the work that went into the settings was noticeable and superb. I felt absolutely transported and I'm so incredibly glad I was able to read an arc of this story.

Theo and Marco are not thrilled at being pulled away from Arizona to give spend their summer with their Nonna in rainy, chilly Nightfall away from all their friends. However, when they get there they can’t deny that it is gorgeous and something about the town pulls them in. Despite their Nonna’s advice they begin to spend time with some very good looking locals. When things start to not be the way they seem Theo knows she has to act quickly to save her family and get home. This was a fun book and the last 30pages are quite the run that will leave you out of breath!

I am a huge fan of The Program series so I was super ready to read this when I found out about it. Theo and Marcos parents are going thru a divorce and while living with their father they throw a huge party to kick off the summer. They get busted and their punishment is going with their dad to their grandmothers house who they have never met in nightfall Oregon. Grandma seems a little weird but the town seems quaint and there are kids there their age. There just one rule always be home before dark. As they meet more of the towns teens and start to learn about the town history they’ find many strange happenings and that there’s more to this backstory of the town AND present happenings than they thought. This was a read that sucked me in and I really enjoyed it. Make sure you grab this one.

In Nightfall is a perfect read for rain lovers, Lost Boys fans and vampire fanatics! I absolutely loved this book. The town of Nightfall, Oregon was the perfect setting for this book. I loved how it was a little seaside town where it was always raining and with a sinister mermaid mural overlooking the town as if to warn outsiders away. I loved the main character Theo and her quirky Nonna who ended up being a pretty awesome team. This book wasn't super action packed but when there was action there was a lot going on and it didn't disappoint. I also loved how everything slowly unraveled and the mystery of the girls didn't reveal itself right away. I really enjoyed the old Victorian house and the old town stories and history that helped shape Nightfall into a little nightmare town. There were so many times I felt the nods to The Lost Boys and I absolutely loved it! The author did such a good job making it an original story but making it also feel like it was in The Lost Boys universe. This book is definitely going to be a new and adored cult classic.

I really enjoyed this book. The beach/ocean-side setting is always appealing, especially in the summer. And the mysteries of the town of Nightfall, it’s history, traditions, and the people living in it, drew me in immediately. It’s very much a beach-side Lost Boys kind-of read, and one of my favorite books of the summer.

4.75/5 stars
I got an ARC of this from Edelweiss as a bookseller.
Suzanne Young is truly my favorite author of all time. When I saw this on Edelweiss, I freaked out! This was so good, such a good mystery to it. I sort of guessed what the twist was but there was a lot in there that made me second guess myself. I kept going back and forth as I read, trying to piece everything together. In the end, I got some things right and some things wrong. Truly was guessing till the very end! It was honestly so refreshing to have a MC, Theo, not be ignorant and blind to the issues around her. She saw that things were off, that her brother wasn’t himself, and she didn’t try to explain it away. She took action because she knew something was wrong and she wasn’t going to let anyone convince her otherwise and make her feel crazy. The pacing of this was great, and I simply devoured every page. It didn’t make it to 5 stars for me simply because I felt there was one thing that just didn’t need to happen. I will go more in depth in my spoilers below. Do not keep reading until after you’ve finished this book!!! GO READ THIS BOOK NOW!!!
SPOILERS START HERE!!!!
Listen, Nonna is the best character in this book but she’s also the worst. I get wanting to protect your friend, but literally… this was all her fault. Nonna, you’re a badass, but you should’ve been a badass years ago and killed your BFF. But still, I loved that she was the old woman keeping secrets, especially since it helped build this divide between her and the grandchildren she’s never known, so once all her secrets are out, her and her grandchildren are able to connect. I loved seeing that progression!
Why did I take off .25 of a star? Because I genuinely feel like Parrish shouldn’t have died. He was so miserable and he did all he could for Theo, but a lot was out of his control. It just felt so wrong and cruel to have Theo kill him and then only think of him fondly afterwards. They had this really lovely and beautiful soul connection, his death should’ve hurt her so much more than it seemed to have. I just feel like the ending would have been the most satisfying if he had lived. He deserved to triumph over everything, but instead Minnow gets to live and he dies? It just feels wrong. Maybe I’m a hopeless romantic, but it felt like Parrish shouldn’t lived and gotten to see Arizona, the actual state. That would’ve been the perfect ending.