ANOTHER BANGER!!!! The characters pull you in and the horror is just chefs kiss! You truly never know the next move or the next victim! The characters are witty and easy to understand and the feeling of being torn between two places is just so good!! Will keep you guessing to the very last page! This is one of my favorite authors by far!!!!!!!!

The Blonde Dies First by Joelle Wellington was a pulse-pounding, meta-horror thrill that zipped through slasher tropes with style. I loved Devon’s determination to make “The Best Summer Ever” with her twin—until a Ouija board unleashes a demon calling horror movie rules. Watching a horror-savvy friend group use their slasher-film knowledge to fight back? So satisfying. The sister bond between Devon and Drew grounded the chaos, even as bodies started dropping. It occasionally dragged early on, but once it hit its stride, I couldn’t look away. Slashers with heart and self-awareness—yes, please.

If you eat, sleep, and breathe YA that’s equal parts horror thrill and emotional depth? This is your JAM. It’s sharp, savage, and surprisingly sweet. The Blonde Dies First is that book you’ll recommend at book club… and then hide because yes, it’s that good.
The Blonde Dies First brings that flawless horror movie energy, with a demonic twist that’s as trope savvy as it is pulse pounding. We’ve got Devon, who’s tired of playing second to her genius twin Drew, and a colorful crew of friends who dive headfirst into an Ouija board and regret it immediately.

It’s gorey, but also about friendship, gentrification, identity and feeling left behind. It’s layers on layers.

The Blonde Dies First is a YA thriller that follows twins Devon and Drew. Devon is planning "the best summer ever" before her sister heads off the college. Well, her plans go out the door when a Ouija board and demon get involved. The demon is coming after them in a slasher movie fashion. Can Devon save her sister and their friends?
This book just wasn't really for me. There was nothing wrong with the story, characters or writing. It was very much with me.

Couldn’t get into this book. I struggled staying interested and connecting with the characters. I loved the cover art for this book.

This was my first read from Joelle Wellington, and while I didn’t completely love it, I definitely see the potential and look forward to reading more from her in the future.

The premise? So good. A sharp, horror-leaning YA story with a lot of fun genre nods and strong energy going in. But for me, it leaned a little too hard into the YA side—I found it tough to fully connect with the characters and pacing. It just wasn’t my favorite.

That said, I did enjoy the setup and the twisty moments, and I think younger readers or fans of teen slasher-style horror might really enjoy it more. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for what Joelle writes next!

The characters weren’t the best. I just didn’t feel invested in them or care about them. The story was slow going to start but eventually picked up and got interesting.

I wanted to like this so bad. It had so much potential, but it just didn’t hit for me. Nothing about it felt original, or even interesting. I wanted to root for the characters but they all felt kind of flat and 2-dimensional and I just couldn’t fully buy in to the relationships. I feel like the author tried to build them, like with the siblings relationship, but it just didn’t match the story in my opinion. It wasn’t BAD, but it wasn’t anything amazing either.

If you need a young adult horror with slasher movie vibes, this is YOUR book. I personally needed a change of pace, and I love that it did that for me. It definitely started out slow, but once it started to pick up, I didn't want to put it down. It didn't have quite that five star feeling for me, at points the characters felt a bit two-dimensional (may be a product of the shear amount of characters and also due to being in Devon's point of view, she could be as observant as a brick wall at times), but the found family in this book is so good. You'll come to find yourself loving the core six of the friend group (my fav was Malachi), and rooting for them the entire way. There were points where it was predictable (but aren't all horror/slasher esq things?), but I found myself still loving how it turned out, but I'm also that type of person who loves to guess things and love it even more when I'm right. It wasn't a boring predictable, it was a theory, scratch your head, on the edge of your seat predictable. Anyway, y'all should read this book, because I definitely enjoyed the thrill.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

Twins Devon and Drew have grown up with a circle of friends whose bonds are unshakable. However, Drew went to a private school and is graduating high school a year early, has new friends, and has seemingly left her sister behind. At a classmate’s, Drew and her crew play with an Ouiji board and unknowingly unleash a demon.

Told from Devon’s perspective, the story follows the group of friends who have to slay this demon before it continues to wreak havoc upon them. Devon and her sister couldn’t be more different from one another, which makes for some great teenage contention, and Devon’s crush on another girl in the group makes her an emotional wreck.

This book was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed it a lot. It’s horror but without being ridiculously gruesome, so it’s pretty reader-friendly. The friend group is awesome, with each member establishing themselves with a distinct personality, which is great writing by Wellington. Definitely worth reading this one!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC!

This book is a fun and fresh addition to the YA horror genre, blending paranormal and slasher elements with clever twists on classic horror tropes. What really stood out to me was the strong LGBTQIA+ representation and the found family dynamic at the heart of the story. The friendships were the strongest part of the book—tested by supernatural stakes but always compelling. I couldn’t help but root for these characters!

The book had the feel of a 2000s horror film—in the best way possible. However, while I enjoyed the eerie atmosphere, the horror elements didn’t always land for me and often felt secondary to the plot. In some ways, I’d categorize it more as a dark comedy than a true horror novel.

The slow pacing at the beginning made it a bit difficult to get into, but once the action picked up, the momentum carried through well to the end. Despite that initial hurdle, I ultimately found this to be an engaging and entertaining read.

First, I would like to take a moment to appreciate the cover of this book. It is so gorgeous! This is the second book that I've read by Joelle Wellington and I enjoy her writing style. I would recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good YA. Even if you're not into horror, the book will hold your attention with its comical element without being too spooky. I enjoyed the dynamic of the friend group. The main character was so likeable. I wish we saw more of her and her sister's dynamic but that's okay. The plot was a little predictable but there was a twist that I didn't see coming. Overall, I enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it.

This book was my first from author Joelle Wellington and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will absolutely be adding her other books to my TBR list!

A slow start for me, but once the action started I lived how it felt like watching a teen slasher and poked fun at itself. I loved how they figured out the formula of the genre and played into it. The characters were diverse and played their parts well as the plot played out.

I absolutely fell in love with Joelle Wellington's debut and couldn't wait to get my hands on this next novel from her. While I didn't love this one quite as much as that last book, this was still a damn good time.

It's a campy, twisted, nostalgic take on classic horror. If you love classic horror and a tongue in cheek play on those tropes, this is definitely one worth checking out. Plus as always, Joelle Wellington tops it off with a sapphic romance.

Just like in her last book, I love how far she pushed the horror elements. She definitely doesn't hold back on the darkness or themes - which I love. But with the campy backdrop of classic horror, it's perfectly accessible for teens or scaredy cats like myself.

I personally love Joelle Wellington's take on YA horror. I think it's fun, timely, and just twisted enough to keep me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I can't wait pick up her 2025 release!

read this bc I loved their vicious games so much that I needed to read all of joelle wellington’s stuff and it exceeded my expectations!!!! literally can’t even process anything right now this was SOOOOO good. The twists! The turns! The scream references!!!!!! I was sold from the synopsis and am SO glad to have read this. What a phenomenal addition to the final girl club

What a fun read! I would suggest this for YA readers looking for a fun and light horror read. It’s a pretty quick one as well.

I was intrigued by the idea of this book and unfortunately the execution was just meh for me. The characterization was solid and I love a good slasher, but struggled with the demon, both in picturing it and believing it.

Wow, I liked this so much!!! I'm a big horror movie fan and Joelle Wellington is definitely one too. Come for the Scream references and stay for all the other horror film trivia, tropes, and nods.

This is a fast-paced slasher that takes place in Brooklyn and follows a group of friends who end up being hunted by an entity. Told with wit, this found family is trying to have a great summer together while dealing with growing up, change, crushes -- y'know, all the normal things teens go through, but oh! also!!! something seems to be going after each of them in the order of normal horror tropes starting with the blond and ending with the final girl.

There's some repetitiveness with the main character's fixation with "The Best Summer Ever" but this isn't new for a young adult novel. These are kids dealing with big feelings which does come with circular, intrusive thoughts... that don't really go away with adulthood. If you can stick with the naivete of the cast of characters, you'll be rewarded with a fun YA horror story!

Devon and her brilliant twin sister, Drew, have drifted apart ever since Drew started attending a prestigious private school, as opposed to the public school Devon goes to. Devon has made her peace with the fact that Drew is going to leave her behind. That's why when Drew announces she's graduating high school a year early, Devon's not too surprised, but she still doesn't feel great about it.

In an effort to spend some more time with Drew prior to her departure, Devon comes up with a plan: The Best Summer Ever. This includes a list of activities to do with their entire neighborhood friend group before summer ends. One of the first items on the list is to attend a party thrown by one of the kids from Drew's private school, Avery. Devon doesn't really know anything about Drew's school life, so she's never met Avery before and she's curious.

Thus, Devon, Drew and their other close friends, including Devon's long-time crush, Yaya, head to Avery's house for a night of fun. Truth be told, it's a little uncomfortable at first, but they try to make the best of it. Once the Ouija board comes out though, they realize it isn't going to be quite the type of party they anticipated. Avery seems to be showing off. Drew calls it his typical party trick, but it makes Devon and the rest of the crew uncomfortable.

It's after that night that The Best Summer Ever quickly devolves into the most Demonic Summer Ever. With a demon stalking them, seemingly following the rules of Horror, Devon and her friends must figure out how to defeat the beast before it kills them all.

The Blonde Dies First was an wildly-entertaining ride that kept me guessing throughout. It wasn't perfect, but there is so much I appreciate about Wellington's work. While I feel that the Contemporary elements were the shining stars, it is still a very solid YA Horror story that I would recommend to YA Horror Readers.

As with Wellington's previous novel, Their Vicious Games], I did really like the mix of the heavier contemporary topics with the dark horror action and intrigue. There were so many jaw-dropping events in this book that I didn't see coming and it absolutely had me guessing the whole way. I loved the friend group and how they banded together to try to figure out what was happening to them. I also loved the way Wellington incorporated the classic rules of Horror that all Horror fans have embedded in their memories. I thought that was just such a fun little nod to the overall genre. It made me ridiculously happy to see it here.

The Contemporary elements were highly successful. The relationship between Drew and Devon was fantastic. Their friend group was lovable and believable. I also appreciated the discussion on the gentrification that was happening within their NYC neighborhood. With this being said, I did think a lot of the scenes involving the demon, like one set at a hospital, were written very well and had great descriptions too. Also, I loved the various Horror elements incorporated like the Ouija board session, the demon itself, and the talk of horror cinema.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with this. Wellington's style definitely fits my tastes and I'm looking forward to whatever she releases next. I'll be the first one in line. Thank you to the publisher, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This is a good one!