ARC provided by Toppling Stacks Tours and Get Underlined. All thoughts are my own.

This book was absolutely WILD! I expected that going in, based on the premise alone, but even still...I was not prepared. The story grabs you from the first line and doesn’t let go until the very end. I flew through the pages, desperate to piece together the truth, even when the path twisted in on itself and left me more confused than before.

Nan is a classic unreliable narrator, and that becomes clear early on, but there’s a particular unraveling to her that still managed to surprise me. The narrative bounces between the present and glimpses of the past, showing the intensity and toxicity of Nan’s relationship with Luce, Edie, and Jane, the three girls whose absence haunts every word of the present timeline. When Luce returns alive early on, everything that Nan thought she buried comes rushing back, and it’s as disturbing as it is utterly fascinating.

The atmosphere is oppressive in the best way. It’s unsettling as hell, and even when the pacing of the story lags in a few places, the sheer creep factor keeps you locked in. That said, the final twist, the ultimate why behind it all, felt like a huge letdown after such an intense build-up. There was a lot of brilliant groundwork laid for something truly explosive, but the ending didn’t quite deliver on that promise. It wasn’t bad, just underwhelming compared to what came before.

Still, there’s a lot to appreciate. The queer representation was well handled and felt organic to the story. And while this won’t unseat Wilder Girls as my favorite Rory Power book, Kill Creatures is a gripping, eerie ride that knows how to keep a reader uncomfortable in all the right ways.

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The chokehold this book had me in was insane! I was eating up every single twist and turn. I couldn’t believe how far Nan would go to keep her secret safe!
This book also really makes you sit back and think about how far a parent would go to protect their child as well!
If you want a spooky ya thriller to read this summerween you’ll love this book!

An ARC review of “Kill Creatures” by Rory Power

4⭐️

“If I went back, would I hear it still? Would I find them all there waiting for me? Is that what you want? a voice like Luce’s whispers in my head. I lift my chin, let the wind slice across my neck. Of course, I tell her. I miss you. I love you all so much. She laughs, low and long, and as I start down toward the lake, I hear her answer. Yeah, right, she says. Yeah fucking right.”

“Kill Creatures” is my first Rory Power book. This book was beautifully and hauntingly written. I loved the writing style and the overall vibe of this chilling, thrilling, and engaging book. I could not put it down. I am a huge sucker for untrustworthy characters in thriller novels. So I was engaged and down with the overall idea and plot from the very beginning of the story. However, this is also the reason why I knocked a star down from my rating. The twist ending did not satisfy me completely because we knew half of the story from the beginning. I would have rated this story higher if I found out major plot points a little later on (not necessarily at the end). Otherwise, this book was so incredibly well written that I still recommend it to people who enjoy this kind of thriller, especially if you want more of a shock and chill than a surprise and thrill.

struggling on what to rate this.
i can't say i enjoyed a single second of this book
but also, idk what i was expecting?
at times this book was actually a bit sickening
this whole plot was just very disturbing to me, as i think it was meant to be?
i really don't know.
this was a short, difficult read.
beyond that i am trying not to think about it
seriously, im actually struggling
everything about the premise of this book, along with it's execution makes my skin crawl
maybe it is because i am around the exact same age as the characters that this just felt so creepy to me?
It also might have just been nan's internal dialougue, which was not so much unreliable as it was plain delusional, but it really made this book feel just so strange and unnerving.
in some ways it felt very similar to Adolescence on netflix, which was also a difficult watch
im really not sure what to think about this one.

(side note: i love the art style of this cover, the only reason i read it-- i need to start reading blurbs😨😨)

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Gave an extra half star just for the cover. I can’t really pinpoint what it is that I didn’t love about this one - perhaps it was the characters not feeling super fleshed out, the reveals being predictable, or maybe I just struggled with the YA-ness of it all. The pacing was spot on and the premise (and cover) were what drew me in. We follow our main character, Nan, as she attends a memorial for her three friends (whom she murdered) when one of them is found alive. If you enjoy YA mystery thrillers, you’ll probably enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an eARC!

Rory Power is so good at crafting dark mysteries for the Young Adult genre! I immensely enjoyed this twisty thriller.

I requested an earc of Kill Creatures because I was really enjoyed this author's previous YA novel, Wilder Girls. Set at a girls boarding school on an island where everything- and everyone- is mutating, it left a lasting impression on me. I was also delighted that the dedication for this book was to Spencer Hastings, my favourite Pretty Little Liar, and her field hockey sticks. It was a fun personal touch to the reading experience.

Onto the story of this dark and twisted thriller. Nan is at a vigil for her 3 friends who disappeared the summer before during what is assumed to be a swimming accident. When a person is spotted alive in the water, the police pull her out and assume her to be one of the missing girls, Luce. But Nan knows this can't be true, because she's the one who killed Luce.

From hereon, it is game of cat and mouse between Luce and Nan. Does Luce remember and will she tell? How long can Nan keep up the charade that she wasn't the killer? I love reads that explore the complexity and volatility of female friendships- especially that of teenage girls, who live to impress and be accepted by their peers. I also live for an unreliable narrator and readers quickly discover that Nan is unpredictable and that her version of events cannot be taken as an absolute truth.

This an addictive fast-paced short read, and it will keep you on the edge of your seat with flashbacks from past (what lead up to Nan killing her friends) and present with Luce and Nan. The other supporting characters who are central to this study seem to sit on the periphery, and I would have liked for them to be more fleshed out given how this one ended. Overall, a great poolside thriller read for the summer. Excuse me while I also go for a re-watch of PLL.

This book had an intriguing premise, but I almost feel like it would have worked better as one of Power's supernatural-infused stories, because in the end I feel like it fell a little flat. Our main character, Nan, was an interesting one, but considering how early on we are told she killed her best friends I think it takes a little too long for us to learn WHY. I understand it was drawn out to build suspense, but I'm not sure it worked. That suspense could easily have been built just as well (if not better?) by reliving that last day and building to showing that Nan was the one that killed the girls as well as giving the why, as apposed to JUST giving the why. I think its for that reason that I also didn't understand the purpose of the flashback scenes. They were wildly unnecessary for almost all of the book, only really becoming of any interest at the very end. I also didn't care much for just how the story ended. It felt rushed, and just kind of cobbled together. After having said all of that, I will admit that I flew through this book quite quickly, and the writing was good, so it's not like it was all bad. Personally I don't think I will be hand selling this title, but compared to my memory of reading Wilder Girls this one certainly made more sense and overall was more enjoyable for me as a whole.

Wow, this was just short of a 5 star read for me that I read in one sitting. I loved having an unreliable narrator in Nan. She zoned out so often it was hard to figure out what was going on. And frankly, her parents were pretty terrible for always seeing this and not getting her any help. I really enjoyed the race to the finish with this one. Such a fun read.

We go into the story knowing that Nan killed her three best friends, or so she thinks until one turns up alive on the anniversary of their death. Nan doesn't understand how Luce survived, where she has been for the past year, and how true her amnesia really is. As the story progressed, I wondered what more could happen besides Nan being caught as the killer and so my attention waned. Through flashbacks, we understand that the relationship between Nan and her best friends was very toxic, and it wasn't as perfect as Nan thought. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC, this was a dark read filled with teenage jealously.

𝑭𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑲𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝑪𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 ✨😝💃:
💜you need this stunning cover on your shelves
💜perfect read for the summer
💜you can binge this book in one sitting, it’s a page turner and perfectly paced 💃and it’s under 300 pages!
💜it’s creepy and twisty YA thriller
💜two timelines past and present help to unfold mystery in more intriguing way.

The line in the description about Nan being the person who murdered her three best friends immediately grabbed my attention. I devoured this novel in two sittings.

When murder victim Luce reappears at the memorial service for the three girls a year after their deaths, Nan is shocked. Is Luce an imposter? If not, where has she been for the past year? Does she remember what Nan did to her? The chapters alternate between the present and past events leading up to the murders. As I got farther into the story, I questioned if Nan was an unreliable narrator. She genuinely believes she killed Luce, but things weren't adding up for me. The story is written in first person, and being in Nan's head is unsettling and disturbing at times - not surprising since she feels her actions were justified. For me, that added to the intrigue. She loved "her girls", so I was anxious to learn what led to their murders. I had most of the ending figured out, but the author tossed in an extra twist I hadn't predicted.

This is a quick, captivating read, and pacing is brisk for the most part. Recommended for fans of unreliable narrators, dark, psychological thrillers, and small town murders.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

4 stars

Not me still being haunted by Wilder Girls yet still requesting Rory Power books because I just feel like maybe one of her books will click for me…and this one might have been it?

It was quick, and kept you engaged. I do feel like the ending (it’s always the endings for me, Rory) wasn’t fully fleshed out and could have been stronger, but the meat of this story and its premise and twist really were good. Plus I’m a SUCKER for anything set in the great outdoors/National Parks.

Also, that dedication? *chef’s kiss* 🤫

first off the cover is what FIRST grabbed my attention, then the synopsis... killing your three best friends. I mean what has to happen for you to do that??

I mean she kills her three best friends, only for one to be located... even though she should be dead... & this is where it starts to become interesting. These three girls aren't the only ones who have gone missing.. which adds more to the story. so many secrets and lies. but honestly I found you could tell where the story was going very early on which made it not quite as enjoyable. It says "twisty" in the synopsis but fell short of that, which is why I rated at 3 stars.

3.75 ⭐
Kill Creatures kept me on the edge of my seat, flipping pages, all the way to the end. Rory Power was able to make me sympathize with the villain, to the point where I almost wish the ending would have been different. Great fun, fast read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, Delacorte Press, and Rory Power for the opportunity to read Kill Creatures in exchange for an honest review.

Not a spoiler, as it's on the back of the book and in Chapter 2, but this quote is the real draw into the plot of Kill Creatures: "Luce is dead. The girls are all dead. And I should know, because I'm the one who killed them." The story follows Nan, who killed three of her friends, but of course, she planned it so no bodies would be found. On the one-year anniversary of their disappearance, with many still having hope in their hearts for the search, at a ceremony for the three missing girls, a body appears in the water. Not just a body, but Luce, one of the missing girls that Nan murdered. But she is alive, and mostly well! How can that be?

Nan must protect herself from the law, and the townspeople of Saltcedar, as no one can find out the truth. Luckily, Luce has amnesia, but she seems to be playing at her own little game when it comes to Nan. When asked to join Luce and the head officer on the path they took in the canyon, at the Devil's Eye where a vortex in the water pulls people under, never to return, alarming truths make themselves known.

In a tale told from Nan's perspective, the reader gets the happenings in the "now," as well as snippets from "then," showing the friendships and motives between Nan, Luce, Jane, and Edie. In an analysis of the title, Nan shared when she "looked at Luce's body and I called us what we were--kill creatures, born for exactly this," exploring the kind of animalistic anger that can take over our minds and change who and what we are based on how people treat us. Is the novel highlighting that all people have a "kill creature" within them, or can become something as such? I'll let you decide.

Rory Power's writing style is always fun and immersive, offering an enthralling and engaging read. I have thoroughly enjoyed her other young adult novels, including Wilder Girls and Burn Our Bodies Down. She has an excellent craft and a unique way of making her stories mysterious and thrilling at the same time, all while maintaining a more solitary setting and limited characters.

If you like a good murder mystery (yes, we start of knowing who did it, but not why), engaging writing, and the thrill of reading from the fearful guilty murderer's perspective, then this novel is for you!

Rory Power has been one of my all time favorite authors since i picked up Wilder Girls the week it was released and this one definitely did not disappoint. This was an interesting and unique premise that was excellently executed. The whole time I was reading Kill Creatures I was on the edge of my seat unable to put it down and can’t wait for my friends to read it so we can’t talk about everything.

Lush, suspenseful, creepy—I think Rory Power does exactly what she sets out to do in this one. Some Rory Power books hit harder than others, but she really seems to be a master of tightly-written teen suspense. This one I devoured.

Really well done audiobook performance. I enjoyed this story but found myself let down by the ending. This will be a one-sitting read for lots of readers; but while it's definitely propulsive, I think it's actually quite predictable. I was surprised given Power's previous work.

Still, this keeps Power with their finger on the pulse. They know what readers want, and I have no doubt I'll keep coming back for more.