Thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

This is my first read by Rory Power and it won't be my last! I was absolutely captivated beginning to end.

Rory Power's books are always atmospheric and engaging. Though I saw the "why" almost from the beginning, it still informed a wild sequence of events. And the final twist shocked The teenage girls act just like teenage girls. I completely understood each of their motivations.

This is a must read author for me, and always will be!

Rory Power really knows how to write an angry, queer, teenage girl and thank god for it. Spencer Hastings would have loved this book. she's just a girl who killed her friends okay

First of all, I love that cover. It did a great job of hinting at the mysterious, dark nature of this water-based story.

This was a quick, tough to put down read. It really captured the turmoil and layers of teenage female friendships — turned up to the murderous extreme. Nan made for an interesting and unreliable narrator for a story full of misdirections and twists. As we slowly unravel the mystery of the missing girls — and the one returned — there was a growing sense of eeriness and confusion with an ending that definitely worked for me.

Have you ever started a book - and it was so good - that you had to finish it immediately? That's the feeling I felt when I read "Kill Creatures" by Rory Power.

The book centers around four girls: Nan, Edie, Luce and Jane. The girls go for a night swim at Saltcedar Canyon -- particularly Devil's Eye. Only Nan came back, and she can't remember what happened. Fast forward a year later - and Saltcedar is planning a vigil for the missing girls. During the vigil, Luce is plucked out of the lake to Nan and the town's surprise. Nan is especially stunned - because Nan killed Luce, Jane and Edie.

I loved how the plot slowly unraveled the events that led to the incident through Then and Now chapters segments. Nan is an unreliable, ruthless, and unhinged narrator. She refers to the trio as "my girls" and she's just conniving -- but the twists and turns keep coming.

With themes of secrets, crushes, fitting in, lies, and revenge, "Kill Creatures" grabs hold of the reader and doesn't let up until the epilogue. Get your copy and read it, you won't be disappointed!

I loved the premise, the character development, the story . . . but I'm still stuck on the ending. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It leaves me unsettled and unhappy, which probably was the point, but I'm not sure if I liked it . . . I'm still ruminating. It's really 3.5 stars, but rounding up for the beginning 3/4.

3.5 stars
I was very intrigued by the story synopsis and really love the cover art. Our main character, Nan, went out one summer night with her three friends and was the only one to come back alive. Nan tells us, herself, that she killed her three friends. But, surprise!, on the one year anniversary of their disappearance, one of the girls shows up, very much alive. An investigation follows as we all try to figure out what happened. I enjoyed the story but was very surprised by the ending. Some reviewers said they saw it coming, but I certainly did not.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. All of these opinions are my own.

The premise of this book is very different from anything I’ve ever read. From the very first page, we know exactly the type of person Nan is. I enjoyed getting inside her head and seeing how her motive transpired, but I thought the ending was far-fetched. The clues were all there, and I predicted the ending before it happened. Perhaps the foreshadowing was too concise, but it definitely was a lackluster ending. It was rushed. And honestly, Nan’s father committing murder to keep his secret quiet just didn’t fit with the mood of the book. I was expecting Nan to somehow finish what she started (not that I was rooting for her, but it was more sensible to me).

Overall, it was an enjoyable read with descriptive details, but the ending was a bit of a letdown. I would have liked there to be more closure for Nan and also for the reader.

Last summer Nans life changed forever when three of her best friends disappeared. A year later on the anniversary of theirs disappearance, Nan and the grieving families gather for a memorial at the scene where the girls were last seen. Commotion erupts when one of the missing girls returns, everyone is in shock, especially Nan. That’s impossible,how can one of her friends be back? Nan was sure they were dead, I mean she is the one who killed them after all.

First off can we talk about the cover?!?!
It’s stunning, as soon as I saw it on NetGalley I wanted to read it.

This was a fun and quick read, with some unpredictable twists. Some of the reveals were a little expected but one in particular, oh man I yelled out loud “I KNEW IT”. I think this book could’ve been great it just needed a little something, I was just left wanting more.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publishers for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I couldn't put this book down! Although a little predictable I loved how Nan was an unreliable narrator but I did not see the twist coming (with her dad). Loved the setting and how it was described, felt like I was there and I could picture it really well. I think the length of the book was perfect, wasn't too long wasn't too short. i would totally recommend this for a quick read!

I was so excited about this premise, but the reveals didn't rise to the level of the premise. The relationships felt entirely supported by telling rather than showing, which made sense after a few reveals, but still affected the experience of reading the book.

"Last year, Nan's three best friends ventured into the canyons near their small town and never returned. Now one of them is back, and Nan can't believe it...because she's the one who killed them. From the New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls comes another dark thriller about friendship, jealousy, desire, and revenge, with a twist ending that needs to be talked about.

Last summer, Luce, Edie, Jane, and Nan took a boat out for one final swim in the river. It was a perfect summer night.

But the only one who returned that night was Nan. Edie, Jane, and Luce disappeared, and Nan's story has always been the same: She has no idea what happened. The girls went ahead, and it was as though they vanished into thin air.

Now, one year later, all of Saltcedar has gathered at the river for a memorial. Nan even recreated the outfit she wore that fateful day last summer. And when Luce climbs out of the water, no one is more surprised than Nan.

Because Nan killed her. Right before she killed Edie and Jane."

You know you need to know if it's ghost, revenant, zombie, or manifested guilt!

Rory Power really knows how to write some complicated and mysterious female leads. Because the book starts by indicating that nothing supernatural will take place, I was at first worried that I wouldn't be as engaged or might find the story too obvious. While pieces of the plot were predictable, there was also enough intrigue to keep me engaged. I feel like it was a pretty short read too, so it was easy to be swept along and finish it quickly. Despite there being no supernatural elements, I find that Power's writing still maintains the dark undercurrent of eeriness I enjoyed in her other books without relying on otherworldly aspects.

Even though thriller isn't my go-to genre, our readers love a good mystery thriller. So I just had to pick this one up, and it did not disappoint. Kept me on the edge of my seat, and I finished it in 2 days. Pretty good, for a non-thriller reader. An easy add to our collection!

ARC Review

Kill Creatures
By Rory Power
Expected published date:

Haunting, lyrical, and that twist? I did not see it coming.

Kill Creatures is the first book I’ve read by Rory Power, and wow—what an introduction. Her writing is dark, poetic, and razor-sharp, pulling you deep into a story that’s as unsettling as it is beautiful.

This book dives into themes of grief, girlhood, violence, and survival with a haunting atmosphere that lingers long after the final page. The pacing is slow but deliberate, building tension that simmers beneath the surface. The characters are raw and unfiltered, and the emotion behind it all feels real.

I gave it 4 stars—not because it wasn’t powerful (it absolutely was)—but because it took a bit to fully pull me in. But once it did? I couldn’t look away. And that twist at the end? Completely unexpected and perfectly done.

If you’re into moody, emotionally intense YA with a touch of horror and a lot of heart, Kill Creatures is one to add to your list.

thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review ⋆.˚

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

this was such a fun and stressful read. truly nothing terrifies me like teenage girl friendships & Rory Power's prose is so beautiful and entrancing. will deffo check out her other work!

Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.

Perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars, “Kill Creatures” quietly holds a vigil marking a year since 3 girls went missing only for one to shockingly return. Uncovering the secrets of her survival and the events that went into that night keep Nan on edge as she works with police to make sure that some things stay buried even if the bodies do not.

An interesting read that had a lot of promise even if I wished for a bit more of a bite. The set up is perfect as unfinished business and the lengths people will go to keep others from finding skeletons in their closets. I really liked the unreliable narrator and without spoilers, Nan did a good job of carrying the burden of knowledge while also doing her best to keep her hands out of things. Luce too is someone who cannot be trusted both in the past and present as her only motivation is revenge against those she feels wronged her whether they are truly deserving or not.

The plot is good and I liked how there were sprinkles of what happened before but we mostly remained in current day. There was a lot going on behind closed doors but that’s expected of a story like this though I do wish there wasn’t a heavy handed explanation fee to us earlier than a later reveal it sort of took away from the gotcha like energy making it seem like a regurgitation rather than revelation.

Not a bad book but one that could have trusted the readers to get there on their own.


**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

This is a pretty major departure from Power’s earlier YA books. Instead of lyrical prose blooming into horror, it’s more of a character study wrapped up in a mystery/thriller. Power sets us up for this in the beginning with the Author’s Note: in previous books, the setting came first (and in Wilder Girls and Burn Our Bodies Down, the settings are what lead) but here it was our MC Nan.

We learn right after meeting her that Nan is a liar, that she has turned her life into a story where she is both main character and editor. And we get to watch as her carefully crafted (and fragile) narrative is poked and prodded.

I liked the way the dual timelines came together, mostly sticking with the present and occasionally adding a dash of the past to fill in the background and build the relationship between the girls and lay out the events that led to disaster. There were a couple of time jumps in the “now” that I found a little confusing, but it was pretty easy to roll with it

I also liked that the setting did still play a role. The dying tourist town (revived by a dash of True Crime), the stark beauty of the desert, the sharp contrast of the rising and falling water levels, the imagery of the canyon and trails.

I wish some of the hints were a bit less subtle, particularly when it came to Nan’s relationships with the girls, but with Nan as our POV, I suppose it makes sense.

This book will keep you guessing. I didn’t really like the ending, I think it could’ve been a lot better if it had a different ending.
The ending plot came out of nowhere and didn’t give enough background for it.

if there is one thing about me, it is the fact that i support women’s wrongs 😌 Nan is such an incredible narrator! i loved every second of being inside of her head. one of the only truly unreliable narrators ever to do it!!! the way Nan takes us through the twists and turns of this book were executed were chef’s kiss perfection! i genuinely did not see the ending coming. give Rory Power all of the money in the world for this masterpiece STAT!