⭐️3.5 stars⭐️

This book started out kind of slow for me but picked up and I really got into it around halfway through the book. I loved the isolated cabin setting, the creepy atmosphere, and the fact that it jumped back and forth between real-time and the movie script. The ending was a bit underwhelming, but overall I did enjoy the book and would recommend it!

I received an ARC of this audiobook from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book had so much potential, but it fell short! The cast is set to film a horror film in a secluded part of Scotland. Remote area, deep dark forest, it had all of the elements! There was too much dialogue and not enough action. I kept waiting for the thrill but it just never happened.

DNF. Unfortunately, this was a book I started multiple times but could just not get into. I appreciate having the opportunity to read this book, it was just not a good fit for me as a reader. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my gifted review copy.

This one was super atmospheric. Creepy, isolated and sinister. I’m sad to say this is all I really enjoyed about this one. I was super disappointed and wouldn’t recommend it to a friend. The storyline/ plot is super slow and couldn’t keep my interest with its super long length at 520 pages. I really enjoyed 56 days and was underwhelmed with this one. Hoping this authors next release will be better.

Wow, this one was very enjoyable. For someone who has been in quite the reading slump, this book kept me engaged and invested the entire time. It didn’t confuse me when we switched between filming the story and real life, which I get confused easily especially in audiobook form. I loved the concept of being stranded in the woods with just a film crew while the movie came to life around them. I was truly shocked out how this one ended up (lots of twists but lots of BELIEVABLE twists). I hadn’t heard of this author before this audiobook but I will definitely be keeping my eye out for her in the future!

This review has been posted on Barnes & Noble, Amazon & goodreads. I will have the review up on my instagram (@BUSYWITHMYBOOKS_) within the week! Thank you for allowing me to listen to this one!

This was a book about a movie about a script about a script. If that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know then idk what will. I wanted to give this my generic 3 star okay cool it’s a thriller, pretty decent. BUT I just ended up so confused by the end I just wish there were less layers. It’s also tough to read about the same thing happening twice even though you’re reading the actions in two different formats so I found myself struggling to stay attentive at times.

Overall, definitely liked 56 days more, this one was just a bit too complex for me and struggled to maintain my interest.

When semi- has been actress Adele gets offered a feature role in an indie film last minute, she thinks it may be her last chance to get back into the game of movie making. The film is set in a remote location, with minimal staff and the atmosphere definitely instills a sense of isolation.

I enjoyed that the movie itself (called Final Draft) was primarily about a woman reading a book called First Draft. Weird coincidences between the movie character, the book character and our actress start occurring and then it becomes a race to figure out if Adele is in real danger or if her mind is just playing tricks on her. At times this one was a bit heavy on the gaslighting/unreliable narrator trope.

Run Time was my second Catherine Ryan Howard book and I'll likely pick up whatever she writes next despite not rating this one higher. I did enjoy the full cast narration and was happy to hear Alana Kerr Collins again after liking her work on Catherine's last novel: 56 Days!


Special thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy for review purposes. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Catherine does it again. A great spooky season read! I am on a roll with thrillers and I cannot express how happy I am that I enjoyed this one! Can’t wait for
Others opinions on this book.

I love Catherine Ryan Howard. She is the queen of mind bending thrillers where you end up questioning everything. She did not disappoint with Run Time. While the secret reveal and the end were a little unsatisfying for all of the build-up, it still felt worth the time spent reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me listen early!

Thank you so much Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. I was really excited for this book after enjoying 56 Days last year. This one started right up my alley. I love books that follow the acting business. Unfortunately this one didn't work out for me as well. With 56 Days I couldn't stop turning the pages and this one had an extremely slow start. When I was 10% in, I still wasn't sold to the story and had a hard time understanding what the story was trying to get to. The audiobook made it a little difficult to follow. The fact that it was a book within a film made it a bit confusing. I appreciated that the narrators would switch, but they just seemed out of place. I think it might be a book that's better to read physically than listening to. I wished the book was a bit shorter to keep the pacing be a little quicker than the slow reveals.

THIS BOOK IS AMAZING!

I'm not much of a horror fan, but I do enjoy psychological horror. RUN TIME is like a cross between Stephen King's Misery and the Scream franchise. The author cleverly weaves in Adele Rafferty's past with her present predicament as she's called to star in a horror film, intermixed with scenes from the screenplay of said film, which involves a book with the same premise. Layers upon layers comprise this twisted tale, yet it's quite easy to follow along. Not since Misery have I read a book where, as I'm thinking of what Adele should do next, the author predicts it and actually has Adele do it in the next scene. Moreover, well aware of how ridiculous the plot becomes at some points, Adele comments on this and relates it to trashy horror films a la Scream. While not a completely unexpected twist at the end, it is a satisfying reveal, and we see Adele transformed from start to finish.

The narration was brilliant, and halfway through I found myself thinking with an Irish accent.

Highly recommend.

I previously read The Nothing Man, I was excited to run into this one. I'm not sure which I liked more or less.
I am a little iffy about isolation settings but I was surprise to not be turned off by it in Run Time.
There were multiple parts I found a little to easy or convenient, but I tried not to over analyze. Other parts were confusing but I pushed through.
I'm not sure I would read this again. It was kind of just there for me.
The audio helped me get through at many points.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing, Catherine Ryan Howard and Netgalley for the chance to listen to this audiobook.

Unfortunately I DNF’d this book at about 28% listening. I really tried to do it, but honestly in that entire time listening, nothing had happened!!!! I really enjoyed Howard’s previous novel, 56 Days, so I had high hopes for this one, but it was a let down.

After deciding to DNF this one, I checked out some reviews on Goodreads and they seemed to be similar to my thoughts. Hopefully Howard’s next book will be better - I will definitely continue to give her work a chance!

I, like several other reviews noted, could not get into this book. I felt it was slow to start and found myself bored listening to it.

Let me just say the audiobook of this is a+! Great Irish accents and a male reads the movie scenes while a female reads the pov so it’s easy to tell movie script plot from book plot.

Catherine Ryan Howard is quickly becoming one of my favorite thriller authors. Run Time may start off a touch slow but once we make it to the set of the horror movie things pick up and it’s a perfect blend of real horror and psychological horror. Full of twists and turns this is a book that once it gets going you don't want to put down (or quit listening to, I definitely brought headphones with me to the store so I could keep listening lol)

3.5/5 ⭐️

I appreciate what this book was trying to do. I liked the meta quality. It kept my interest, but not in the way that incites that “need” to keep reading. I ended up putting it down and reading a couple other books before I picked it back up and finished it. I didn’t feel much of a connection with the protagonist, but the way it was written was smart and I had a good time generally. I would recommend it, but it’s not a new all time favorite.

Adele was once a famous soap star whose career has taken a hiatus, so when the opportunity to step into a leading role in a psychological horror flick presents itself, she jumps at the chance hoping it can help propel her back into the industry. It’s a last minute switch as the previous actress has left the project, so she probably doesn’t ask enough questions, and is quickly whisked away to a remote cottage in the woods of West Cork, Ireland. What can possibly go wrong? 

📖 I loved the story within a story, but it was a little hard to follow at times because you’re not sure what’s real and what isn’t.  The remote location lent to creepy vibes throughout, and it kept me on the edge of my seat seeing how it would unravel. I thought it was fun and entertaining but it wasn’t my favorite thriller, however I will be excited to look for more from this author.

I listened to this on audio, to be honest it did take it a bit to grab my attention. However, once it picked up it didn't slow back down and kept me entertained the rest of the way through. The ending was a bit out there for me, but not enough for it to make this a bad story. The whole premise of the book of life imitating art is what really drew me in initially. I really enjoyed the narrator of this audiobook.

3.5 stars

This unsettling novel will have you questioning everything, right alongside Adele.

Adele left Ireland after a messy ending to her film career. In LA, she worked at a hotel, hoping that no one would recognize her, and waiting for her next big break. Unexpectedly, she received a call from a director begging her to star in a horror film that was under wraps. Without knowing much about the role, Adele returned to Ireland for the most unusual gig she had ever had.

Run Time could be described in one word: meta. The film that Adele starred in was called “Final Draft.” The movie closely paralleled a book called “First Draft,” a story in which a young woman was being terrorized in rural Ireland. The author heightened the mystery behind the unusual crew by deploying multiple red herrings. It was effective because both the reader and Adele couldn’t prove that the strange happenings weren’t in Adele’s head. When Howard ultimately revealed the truth, I was puzzled. On one hand, it wasn’t something I had considered, but it also didn’t land for me. Despite that, I enjoyed the parallels between “First Draft” and “Final Draft.”

Run Time boasts a full cast..and I did not know that until just now. Alana Kerr Collins, Alan Smyth, Gary Furlong, Gerard Doyle, Siobhan Waring, and Alison McKenna starred in this audiobook and I would have never guessed that there were 6 narrators. Maybe it’s a testament to how engaging the story was.

Run Time is the perfect spooky season read. Jump on this one if you’re looking for an unsettling story that will keep you guessing.

Amber Elise

Adelle is so excited when she is offered the lead in a new film called “Final Draft,” because she sees it as a way to get her acting career back. After falling from grace when she had a breakdown on set, Adelle doesn’t even look into the part much before signing a NDA and heading off to location. This proves to be a mistake when Adele realizes that making this film may be scarier than the horror movie itself!

At over 500 pages, this is a long read, but I was never bored. I had the audio book of this story and at times found the jump from script pages to the regular chapters a bit jarring. I think I would personally choose to read the physical copy of this book if I could start over. (I did really love the narrator though!)

I found Adelle’s character quite root-able, but will acknowledge I wished for a bigger twist at the end. I do understand the author’s whole point is that the mundane is usually what we really happens, but I wanted more!

Overall, it was fun to be in Adelle’s head for a few hours, but I do like Catherine’s other books better. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC is exchange for an honest review!