After reading @jowellington other book 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴, I couldn’t wait to read 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦 𝘋𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵.
At first, I didn’t know where this book was going because it had monsters but it also felt like someone was playing with this particular group of kids.
Devon, her twin sister Drew & their friends live in the ever changing neighborhood of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Drew is graduating (early!) & Devon is determined to make it the BEST SUMMER EVER!
But, after attending a party of one of Drew’s friends house, weird things happen to the group of friends; as they see they are being targeted one by one like a horror movie (the blonde, the jock, the nerd, the asshole, & the final girl who happens to be Devon’s crush). But when Devon narrowly escapes, the group uses their knowledge of horror movies to try & survive the summer.
So like I said, it was giving supernatural vibes but also in my head, I was thinking could it be special effects?
If you read between the lines, you can kind of guess who was behind everything but it took me until like thee very end to really get a theory.
I really liked that this book took place in Brooklyn, so it was super easy for me to picture the setting. Overall, I really enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘝𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘎𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 & I can’t wait to read more of Joelle Wellington books!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing for providing me with an eARC of The Blonde Dies First in exchange for my honest review!

As a fan of slasher horror, I'm glad that this was quite the fun and thrilling tale. It's intriguing to see how this takes its Scream-esque foundation and blends in a paranormal layer to create something fresh, even while it's relying on fairly familiar tropes. The likability of Devon and her friend group further amplifies the entertainment and gets me more invested in the suspense that they're doing their best to survive through. Sure, the first act can move along a little slowly, but it doesn't deter me much. And when we reach the third act, it ends up satisfying me as to how we wrap up the mystery and where we leave off the characters.

Overall, I'm officially rating The Blonde Dies First four out of five stars. I'll be keeping more of Joelle Washington's work in mind down the line.

I loved The Blonde Dies First! It felt like I was reading a horror movie script at times and had a great number of twists and turns. Some of it was a bit predictable but I didn't mind that because there was still enough that I didn't see as predictable. Joelle Wellington has been solidified as an auto-buy author for me going forward. Some authors have their "sophomore slump" but Joelle definitely skipped that!

The Blonde Dies First was incredibly innovative and enthralling. I would highly recommend this title for teens who want a horror-savy, queer, and Black female led book full of creeps and chills. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens next, especially between Devon and her crush Yaya.

The Blonde Dies First has been anticipated reads, getting an ARC copy from NetGalley made it even more exciting!
I would recommend it to young horror fans, It is worth picking up for a spooky season. This story has slasher film stereotypes we all know of and brings it into book form. Once the action starts you will not want to put this book down.

Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC!!

I thoroughly relished this literary work, as it captivated my attention and required only a brief period to peruse. I am convinced that this would make an excellent selection for various book clubs. I intend to endorse it to my acquaintances who share a love for literature, and eagerly anticipate delving into the author's other works.

A wonderful YA Slasher!

A fun low stakes slasher style paranormal horror with a dynamic friend group, messy sibling bonds, coping with change/growing up, pining, and more! It’s not very scary which isn’t shocking since almost no YA horror books are, I enjoyed it as a horror movie lover. The stakes aren’t very high and you’re never worried for the characters as it’s a lot of them trying to survive but hardly getting hurt.

This plot is still a good time and their friend group is the main selling point. It feels real and authentic, like I’m with my own family or friends. I thoroughly enjoyed their banter and overall dynamic. The slang is accurate and their parents are around to foil plans making it even more accurate for real life as a teen, unlike other YA books where parents conveniently don’t exist/care/get involved. I never found that realistic when I was that age and I by no means had strict parents, so that’s saying something.

Overall I liked this book and had a good time. I yet again enjoyed Joelle Wellington’s work so I’ll definitely keep reading more from her. I want to note that this shouldn’t be compared to Their Vicious Games because they’re two separate stories. I see many comparing them when they’re simply not comparable and if you do this you’re setting yourself up to fail with this one. I adored Their Vicious Games, five stars across the board for that one but you gotta remember this isn’t that.

Overall a fun YA horror book, but I was never convinced that the stakes were high enough. The tone of the book never lets you believe that any of the main characters could actually die, despite this being a supernatural slasher of sorts. I would recommend it to young horror fans, but not to young horror nerds, who I don’t think would be satisfied with the execution. Still, it is worth picking up for spooky season.

I loved that this was such a fun read with diverse characters! The plot get a little campy and even telegraphed at times, but I don’t expect many truly shocking plot twists from a YA novel.

This book is far from perfect. There are pacing issues and I saw the ending coming on page 10. But it’s really fun. If you love horror movies and goofy friend dynamics, this book hits all the right notes. I even liked the development of the relationship between Devon and Drew. As long as you don’t overthink it, this book is entertaining.

This book was so dissaapointing. At first I thought the issue was just me so I waited for the audiobook. Once I recieved the audiobook that still did not work for me either. none of the characters are likable and it madae me not interested in the story at all. I know you cannot compare books as they are not the same but I expected great things from loving this authors previous book but this genuinley was not good.

What a fun read! I wasn’t really paying attention to the synopsis- all I know it’s subverting some thriller tropes- so I was in for a surprise! I really like the friend group and how each of them have their own characteristic that fits (and doesn’t fit) the typical kill order in a thriller movie. The archetypes and who represents what can be predictable at times, but it’s also interesting to see them realizing what they are and own it. Each of them are charming and lively in their own right, but together they fit and move as one and it’s just beautiful to watch them work together. I admit that I found them to be annoying and hard to root for at first and also had minor issue with the romance, but they quickly grew on me.

While it’s fun to see them guess and try to subvert the thriller tropes, this book is a commentary on class, elitism, and gentrification and I love how the author use paranormal occurrence as its medium. I like how it manifests in Drew and her relationship with everyone, but also the monster and how it came to be. I’d say there’s some unexplained logic in the villain’s motivation and the ending was terribly weak, almost comical, but overall it was a fun summer read.

3.5 stars!!!

I really enjoyed how meta this book was! Pretty much all of my complaints about the book were simply because it was meta, but in a way that was like "ugh they are so annoying" and "ugh none of these characters seem like they've known each other their whole life" but then I was always thinking "well... that's kinda the point isn't it?" and I was able to move on and enjoy it. This would've been perfect for me as a teenager who loved 80s horror and slasher films because it reminded me so much of the tropes I loved in those movies. "Do you know what the world would be like if we lost Killer Klowns from Outer Space?" is going to forever live rent free in my head. I love that movie BECAUSE of how corny and rediculous it is, which is exactly how I felt about this book. But despite all of of this, the things that made the book meta really dragged down my enjoyment of the story as a whole. While I can appreciate the "horror movies have these tropes!" then the book having those tropes, it always pulled me out of the story. Overall, this was super fun and the final fight scene was really well done but this book just wasn't perfect for me.

This was so good and so fun! It really captured paranormal creepitude so well! It was so fun and so well paced and I loved the characters.

After reading Their Vicious Games, The Blonde Dies First has been at the top of my most anticipated reads for almost a year. Getting an ARC copy from NetGalley made it even more exciting!

All that to say, I was a bit underwhelmed by this book. Their Vicious Games had a unique, compelling plot and never failed to keep the action moving, which I expected after reading the premise for its follow-up. A group of teenagers in Brooklyn taking on an actual demon that seems to be following horror movie stereotypes? You'd think that would be hard to put down, but I often found myself losing focus and wondering when the action would start. The first half was slow, but it picked up enough to make it a pretty good read towards the end. Even then, I never got the bone-chilling, adrenaline-pumping moments I was hoping for.

I'll still keep Joelle Worthington at the top of my authors list for upcoming books. Her plot lines are super unique in a world of repetitive, overdone tropes, and I hope her next one comes through!

DNF (at like 50% done). I couldn’t and it was only like 244 pages. It was so slow paced. I was bored out of my mind. I liked zero of the characters. It felt like it was written by a high schooler and I’m just not that and haven’t been for over 20 years. The premise sounded like one that would be right up my alley. But no. Maybe this book would be great for a teen? Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced read for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me engaged and it only took a few days to read. I think this is going to be a good book club option for several clubs. I plan recommending to my book friends and I look forward to reading more by this author.

It reads as if you’re reading directly from a very unserious horror storyboard.

Imagine if you took the characters from Grown-ish, put them in Scooby Doo, add the quirkiness of the friend group in the movie, Red, and then have the demon creature as Hades from Hercules.


Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing a copy for an honest review.

Better late than never……

Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, and Joelle Wellington for the eARC.

The Blond Dies First is a YA thriller about a group of friends set out to have the Best Summer Ever but instead ends up running around Brooklyn being chased by a demonic figure. Initially a slow start for me but then it became a page turner. Some humor with a few twists but based on the “rules” of a horror film. A big twist was that they thought they summoned the demon but little did they know the demon was around before the party and Ouija board. Loved the dynamics of the friend group and evolvements of the some of the characters.

The Blonde Dies First is a gripping tale about twin sisters, Devon and Drew. Devon has always felt like she's been left behind by Drew, and when Drew decides to graduate early without telling her, that feeling only deepens. Determined to make their final summer together unforgettable, Devon creates a to-do list to ensure it’s THE BEST SUMMER EVER. However, things take a wild turn when the first item on the list leads to them being tracked by a demon, threatening to take them and their friends out one by one.

Joelle Wellington excels at imagery—I could vividly picture the scenes unfolding in my mind. The plot was solid, with a good balance of humor and tension. The characters had depth and wit, making the story enjoyable. I found myself constantly guessing how it would end, though after a certain point, it became clear where things were headed. I especially appreciated the dynamics between the teens—Wellington perfectly captures the chaos of adolescence, the desire for independence, and the need for love.

Overall, The Blonde Dies First delivers an entertaining and suspenseful read. Using the CAWPILE system, I rated it as follows:

Characters: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Writing: 8
Plot: 7
Intrigue: 9
Logic: 7
Enjoyment: 8

A fun, thrilling read with plenty of twists!