Throwing a horror Halloween bash for the most exclusive influencers was suppose to help Noelle get her horror club a bigger audience, it was not suppose to lead everyone at the party to be hunted and killed by a killer clown. Can this horror fan prove that she’s the ultimate Final Girl? Noelle Layne is a seventeen-year old girl who absolutely loves horror, she runs a successful horror movie club and wants to work in horror cinema. When she decides to throw the ultimate Halloween party with an ultra exclusive guest list of the top of the top influencers of her school including her singer-songwriter crush Archer Mitchell, Noelle expects it to be the best party ever.... but when the clown she hired for the party starts actually harming them and killing them... Noelle will have to use all her horror movie knowledge and survival skills to try and stop this murderous clown and save herself and her friends before it’s too late. this was such a fun book, and as a huge horror movie fan I had a blast with it. I loved all the horror movie references and commentary and it was just a really fun read that kept me invested until the end. It was giving me Scream vibes and I loved it! I think if you enjoy a good slasher/horror read with a bit of mystery then definitely give this one a go!

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

More like 3.5 rounded down.

There was a lot I liked about this! I love that the main character was this kick ass Black girl who was a horror movie buff and doing cool things with her life and her passion (and look at that cover!! Definitely one of my favorite covers possibly ever). I liked that it was a diverse group of kids who all had interesting things going on in their lives in a rich kid/influencer kind of way. So much of it I liked IN THEORY! And I did really like the ending! Although I was expecting more of a major shock/betrayal once we found out who the murderer and any possible accomplices were, and I just didn’t get that. It was more like, oh, okay. I guess that checks out.

But so much of it felt like the the same thing over and over, page after page. Basically the kids running around the house trying to escape the murderer. They go into one room, talk about stuff, maybe discover something/something happens, and the murderer comes back. They run to another part of the house and it starts again. Once I hit about the halfway mark I was kind of just wanting to get to the end.

There were definitely some interesting and creative, uhh… things. The murderer did. Whether it was something to actually kill them or just to freak them out. Not sure how he could have pulled it all off but creative nonetheless.

I’m generally a fan of a romantic element but the romance between Noelle and Archer felt a bit typical and heavy-handed. I found it hard to believe that they would have so many heated, flirty moments when they were running around trying to escape a serial killer. And the way he talked to her etc just wasn’t my speed. For example: he lifted her chin to get her to look at him probably about 4 or 5 times. I don’t care how much I like someone, if they keep doing that to me, they’re getting punched in the face. Or at least a good swat at their hand.

I’m a fan of slasher movies but don’t often read books of this sort, so I don’t know if something was missing or if it’s easier for me to get swept up in a movie with the dramatic music and sound effects and cinematography etc.