This was a very good read. It was easily relatable. I think we all made questionable decisions in high school. You will not be able to put this one down!

The Slumber Party written by Shannon Hollinger was a bit different than her previous debut novel, but nonetheless, this book was still intriguing. The first few chapters kind of lost me because there were too many characters POV's, but after that it started to calm down with all of the characters POV's, and the story started to make sense. This book has a dual timeline, then and now. With the first few chapters not making any sense whatsoever to me, I thought this book was going to be a miss for me, but damn was I wrong. Buckle your seat belts and experience this twisty ride. Shannon Hollinger just has a way of writing twisty mysteries and grabbing her readers hearts. With all the twists and turns, I did NOT see some of this stuff happening. This book by any means wasn't the best psychological thriller I have read, but it still kept me on the edge of my seat. Some of the secret reveals were pretty easy to guess, but with the last couple of pages, I didn't see those coming at all. I won't lie, The Slumber Party definitely pulled on my heart strings a little bit. If you haven't read this book yet, I highly recommend you go grab your copy now, but maybe lower your standards a bit. I didn't really feel a connection to certain characters, some needed to be slapped on the side of their head for nasty remarks. Despite not loving this book entirely, it still kept me guessing.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND BOOKOUTURE FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!!

Ten years ago, on a warm summer's evening, four childhood best friends gather at a slumber party right after their senior prom. Before dawn breaks, the NIGHTMARE begins. One of them is dead. One of them is a killer? Who and why? As a class of 2020 graduate who didn't get to have their senior prom because of covid, I don't understand why anyone would want to take prom for granted and ruin the night of fun. I just remember being a freshman in high school looking forward to being a senior and having the best night of my life with friends. Prom is supposed to be fun, not ruined by gunfire. Okay, enough of my ted talk and focus on the book. Liz, Sami, Mo, and Amy were childhood best friends, they basically did everything together, all the time. They didn't always agree with one another, but that's okay, no best friend group if EVER perfect, there's going to be disagreements, and if you have the best friend group, then I aspire to be like y'all one day. This group of friends didn't expect their night to end the way it did, could it have been prevented? Absolutely. Was it stopped? Absolutely not, they all just stood around and watched it happen. Let's introduce our characters.

Liz was the bubbly girl next door. She was absolutely gorgeous. Liz had good grades, everyone wanted to be like her. But, Liz didn't expect their prom night to end the way it did. She could have NEVER imagined how everything would fall apart. Liz thought their friend group would always stick together and always keep in touch when everyone went their separate ways after high school. Liz also had a secret relationship with Amy and Mo's dad, whom got her pregnant. Liz was so young she didn't know she was being taken advantage of.

Sami was the clever one. Sami definitely had the most common sense out of everyone else. Sami was quieter than everyone else, but she still made friends. Sami had a loving family growing up and they supported her aspirations. Everyone wanted to have the type of loving family that Sami had. Sami was meant to keep all their secrets safe. I don't think that's fair how everyone wanted to put that burden on Sami's shoulders, like that's so much to deal with. A group of four friends who expected one of them to keep all of their secrets safe?

Amy was super talented. She had the voice of a literal angel, destined for Hollywood, but Amy would never make it their. I have nothing else to say about Amy. Once you learn of all her secrets, you can come back and agree with me. Amy was definitely the character who needed to be slapped upside the head.

Lastly we have Mo. Mo was the leader of this friend group, she was charismatic and protective, but she was NOT who she appeared to be. Mo definitely had her fair struggles with life. Mo and Amy were "cousins", but once Amy realized the true story and her dad was out of his mind drunk one night, he spewed that Amy and Mo were twin sisters. They looked exactly alike. Read this book to find out what happened to Mo and Amy of why they thought they were cousins, instead of sisters. It absolutely broke my heart, I don't understand how a parent can do that to their child.

Fast forward to the now in the book, the year of 2014, Liz tries not to think of that night that destroyed their lives. Liz has a husband and a daughter she needs to focus on. But then Liz receives a note, there's no running back now, Liz received a note saying "I'm back. Did you miss me?" Liz is completely distraught, her best friend can't be back, she's dead. All of these thoughts are going through Liz's head, who sent the note? what do they know? and the most terrifying one of all, is this person planning to make Liz pay for what happened that night in 1999, the night of their prom?

The front cover hooked me in to start with.. A story told by multipke characters point of view over multiple timelines.
4 close friends a slumber night that changed all their lives forever. Qnly they are forced to revisit this years later.
I really like the drip feeding of the backstory of each character and the events up to and after the slumber night. I could at times feel for the characters. Towards the ends as the twists kept coming I did have to re check which character i was reading as sometimes it felt like it was about more than 1 character.
I teally enjoyed this page turner the increasing number of twists at the end some of which were slightly unbelievable made it a good solid 4.
Would highly recommend this but might be better reading it in one go.
Thank you net gallery and book culture for my arc

This was such a fantastic book! I loved being taken back to the 90s and how the story was told from each of the character's point of view. So many levels to the twists and turns throughout the story, and was left speechless by the end. Definitely recommend this one!

Four girls ready for their prom, graduation and 18th birthdays. But one night changes everything. Fifteen years later and the truth is finally about to be revealed...
The Slumber Party is a dual timeline psychological thriller set in America.
Liz, Sami, Amy and Mo used to be inseparable but fifteen years later life and death has got in the way of their friendship. Now the past secrets are ready to be uncovered when a body is found. Liz starts to receive sinister notes but one of her former best friends really be a threat to her family?
I enjoyed the use of the two timelines to show the past and present. Each chapter clearly states the year and narrator. The book uses multiple first and third person narratives to reveal the plot. This allows us to see the emotions of the individuals which helps us to understand the motives behind their actions. I felt that the past timeline and teen characters had more authenticity and were more believable.
The minutiae of the girls' relationships in the past is gradually revealed, building up to prom night when everything changed. The big twist was fairly easy to figure out in advance but there were more surprises and details that I was not expecting.
The Slumber Party was an enjoyable psychological thriller.

This book has a 3.98 rating on Goodreads, but unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. I didn't like any of the characters, and I thought the twists were predictable. I didn't find the overall plot to be very thrilling or shocking.

The multiple POVs and timelines were done pretty well, and it had short chapters, which made it a pretty quick read.

Thank you, @netgalley and @bookouture, for the gifted e-arc of this book!

2.5 stars rounded up

Prom night goes very bad and one of 4 BFF's dies. Ten years later, past events resurface to cause havoc. Loved this twisty, super-suspenseful ride!

A murder mystery with a lot of twists and turns. The constantly changing viewpoints from past to present was at times distracting and hard to follow. The premise was interesting, and the author did a good job building suspense but the characters were not fully developed so when there was a big reveal or twist it fell a little flat. It was also very dark and a bit unsettling. Overall I thought this was just OK. Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

*4.5 Stars*

Copy kindly received via NetGalley for an honest review.

A very interesting read with great characters. Lots of secrets involved. Enjoyed this, would recommend.

If you liked the show 'Pretty Little Liars' you will most likely love this book.

On the surface, it seems like the girls are best friends, but all four of the girls are harboring major secrets from one another. Dangerous secrets. Told in dual POV, readers are able to get into the minds of the girls and begin to question what happened.

The book also goes from past to present bringing the events that took place on Prom night full-circle.

Overall, this was a fast-paced thriller, with unnerving plot points and vicious secrets.

Thank you Bookouture and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this ebook.

My first Shannon Hollinger book so I didn’t do into it with expectations. I definitely want to try another one of her books after reading this one.

This is a well used plot (but one I am a sucker for) - estranged friends are reunited and the past comes back to haunt them.

For the positives the chapters were short, there is dual POV and dual timeline (then vs now). I know it’s not for everyone but I love the dual timeline, it allows for the story to be told more organically and it’s like two stories in one! While not the most original concept, this story is still very entertaining and I enjoyed it.

As with all books, some things could have been done better…I didn’t feel that all of the characters had strong development and none were all that likeable which made it difficult to care about the twists and what was happening to them. Many of the twists were predictable (but honestly this book was still so entertaining).

I would say this book was not quite a 4 star book but I don’t think 3 is fair either so I’ve rounded to 4. I’ll definitely pick up another one of Hollingers books in the future

Shannon Hollinger's The Slumber Party is a gripping psychological thriller that takes readers on a wild ride. Although the novel starts off slowly, the pace quickly picks up and makes for an engaging read. Despite the fact that the storyline of high school friends making poor choices and subsequently dealing with the consequences has been done before, Hollinger manages to add her own unique twists and turns to the tale. Hollinger's writing style is refreshingly simple, allowing the story to speak for itself and creating an enjoyable page-turner. Overall, The Slumber Party is an excellent psychological thriller with many unexpected plot twists that will keep readers guessing until the very end.

Set in the past and present, readers follow four friends throughout their school years and then as adults. One of them died on prom night but what really happened? All of their secrets are about to be revealed when one of the friends moves back to town.

A slumber party to die for!
over a decade ago four friends had a slumber party.

There was Liz, Clever Sami, Amy had dreams of becoming a star. And No was the leader.

The story deftly switches timelines from now to high school days.
So much drama and twists. And oh my Prom night!


We know one girl dies but who killed her?



We get the girls perspectives which sometimes it was a little confusing as to which one was sharing.

Lots of wow moments in this good story.

I would recommend this to readers who like drama, unlike able characters and psychological thrillers with a mystery.


Thank you Net Galley the author and publisher

RTC❤️

Thank you Netgalley for approving me for this book for an honest review ☺️

The nightmare you never thought you’d have has come to bite you in the ass 10 years later. As a teenage you have some of the stupidest secrets to keep; maybe like having a crush on your best friends crush or maybe even spreading a rumor about someone. Well this secret will land you somewhere you don’t wanna spend your life if it gets in the wrong hands. As the reader, you question the different possibilities of the “secret. Just wait till you find out.

It’s been a bit since I’ve read so many twist and turns with jaw dropping plot twists. Friend groups are the way to go if you need some crazy plot twists.
Liz, Sami, Amy, and Mo…
All 4 different teenagers living their lives. Dealing with the harsh realities of high school. Some realities darker than we like to talk about. Something happened 10 years ago. It’s been devouring their brain. What makes it worse? The evidence they thought no one would find, was found. How are they gonna get away with it now?

I was hooked from the beginning and could not stop reading! The split Timeline POV was PERFECT and completed every question that you had. Some questions you maybe didn’t even think about. I want a second book after that ending because GUYYYSSSS I have so many thoughts that could happen!

PLEASE read this ASAP!!! You won’t be disappointed

Loved the storyline of this book, kept me on the edge of my seat! 4 stars and will recommend to friends!

This book was a fast read for me because I couldn‘t put it down. I was invested from page one. I loved the different points of view and the many plot twists which I didn‘t see coming.
I very much look forward to reading more books from Shannon Hollinger.

Four best friends, slumber parties outside, what could go wrong? Unsurprisingly, a lot can go wrong.

I had a lot of trouble getting into this. I don't know if it was the different timelines or different POVs, but something wasn't clicking with me. However, the twists and turns of this keep you on the edge of your seat until the end. This is a definite recommend for those who enjoy Pretty Little Liars like thrillers,

Oh my this started out like such a laid back easy read and then turned into a wild ride with twists and turns. They were the best of childhood friends and now are estranged and a body is found. I always love a good book about friends with a secret. This was fast paced, and I did not want to put it down and was totally annoyed when life got in the way and made me.

I love when a thriller is written in a style that is easy to read. While maybe it was me, but I did find myself confusing the characters a little if I had to put the book down in the middle of the chapter, so I would pay a little extra attention to this as you read. I did not have best friends quite like this but did have a group of great girlfriends and this reminded me of those days. Which was a nice bonus since those days are very far behind me.

I did predict a few of the twists, but I am a little good at that and by no means all of them. Told in the present and while the girls were in high school and told at times from all of their points of view, you get a good look into what occurred to lead them to today’s body.

If you are a fan of best of bud friendship that has gone awry, you should pick this one up.

I loved the premise of this book, because it's the type of book I love: 4 best friends and a story that jumps from the past to the present as well as between different POVs. What's not to like?

The good: I really did enjoy the back and forth and the wondering of what happened in the past, what secrets were kept, and who exactly is doing the stalking in the present day. I started to kind of figure out a small aspect of the novel about halfway through, but this didn't at all ruin the ending to me, which still came as a surprise.

The bad: I felt like the characters were underdeveloped. Although I enjoyed all the different personalities, I couldn't help but feel that I wanted more from them. The chapters were relatively short and I felt that possibly there could have been more to add to each of the characters' growth and development as the story moved on.

Overall: I still thoroughly enjoyed the story and, like I said, still found the ending surprising.