4.25/5 stars! This was a fun little romp of a who-done-it with Clue-esque features. The pacing is spot on and keep the story going at a rate that feels authentic to being trapped at the estate with a killer. The reveal was fun and the cast of characters were well developed.

This story was really creepy to say the least. The concept of a monster house is not something new but the execution of it all was interesting. However, there was no right or wrong in the whole story, it was all grey. It did feel a bit repetitive but the ending was unpredictable.

I really enjoyed this book. Great eerie vibes. Loved the concept of the book and loved the riddles and the idea of the race against clock before the demented house will eat you (the character). Loved it! Could read more like this.

How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold was a thrilling, eerie ride! The idea of writers invited to a creepy manor to play a deadly game is such a unique concept, and the atmosphere of Queen Manor is chilling. The riddles and twists kept me hooked, and I loved the gothic vibes mixed with modern horror. Some characters could’ve been more developed, but the suspense and creepy tension made up for it. If you love locked-room mysteries with a spooky edge, this one’s for you! 👻

I loved the "Phantasma" allure this book gave me with the every room a riddle has to be solved. I had to read this in one sitting because I had to find out who the house was going to get. I love creepy, spine tingling, murderous vibes.

Part gothic horror and one part mystery. This book is a darkly clever, puzzle-filled thrill ride set in a house that devours its residents.

The story begins with the death of horror legend Mortimer Queen and a strange, enticing invitation: a select group of writers are summoned to his estate to hear his will. What they expect is inheritance. What they get is something much more sinister. Each room is a deadly puzzle, and solving the riddles within is the only way forward. But not everyone will make it out alive.

It is full of locked-room tension and high-stakes twists that unfold like an escape room. As each chapter progresses, secrets are revealed, alliances shift, and the true darkness behind each character. What made this book shine was how horror and mystery blended seamlessly. The puzzles are genuinely satisfying, the time-is-running-out tension keeps the pace racing, and the characters are far more twisted than they appear on the surface. It is a dark love letter to horror fiction with just enough humor to keep the dread from swallowing you whole.

Thank you, NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press, for the opportunity to review and provide my honest feedback.

This book was fun! At times you definitely had to suspend reality because it got so ridiculous, but overall I enjoyed reading it! I liked the different POVs and learning why each person was invited to the manor. I feel like there were some plot points that didn’t get answered/weren’t clear enough to get a higher rating from me. Even so, I read this book and 2 sittings! The very end fell a bit flat for me personally, but I’m still glad I was able to read it

I have a feeling that this could be the most positive review I’ve ever written and isn’t that the best feeling ever? Reading a book and loving it from beginning to end. “How to survive a horror story” is officially my favourite book of 2025 and it’ll be hard to find a better book but we’ll see what happens. It’s only April.

Finding out this book is the author’s debut novel was mindblowing. How? Obviously, I can see that she’s the editor of a magazine so writing is something she has to be good at. But being a journalist and a writer isn’t the same. You can write well as a journalist but not as a writer of fiction novels. I was almost done with the book when I got that information and I couldn’t stop thinking about it while I finished reading the book. I already thought the novel was fantastic but writing this book this way when it’s the first one? Incredible. I understand this might be the first book this author gets published and not the first she wrote but I’m still in awe.

So I got this ARC after requesting it when the cover got my attention. I read the premise quickly, since I like going into books as blind as possible, and thought it sounded interesting enough. I’m so happy the cover is so gorgeous because it’ll catch people’s attention when it’s available in bookstores and I need people to read this book. I won’t shut up about it. By the time I picked it up I had forgotten the premise and just wanted the book to surprise me. And it did that for sure. In the best way possible.
Horror is a tricky genre. For both books and movies. The tone chosen can dramatically change how someone feels about that horror story. So reading the premise and the title I wondered about the tone of this book. Would it have some comedy like many horror movies do? Would it be more serious? Would it be very gory or chose not to show those gory details instead? And the answer is all of the above. I wouldn’t call this a comedy horror book but some parts made me laugh and I think adding those comedic moments was intentionally done. It also covered very serious topics and did it in a way that fit. None of the comments felt like the author was trying to complete a checklist of things that should be included in a book. That was all used to give the characters their own nuances.

And that’s what I love the most about this book: the characters. On chapter 1, we find these characters all together at the same place. We read all these names and wonder how long it’d take to memorize them and understand who’s who. It took two seconds because every single character had its own very clear personality which made them stand up. There’s still some mystery about them and about potential lies that they told or that the narrator told us. But I feel like I knew who everyone was from the very beginning and that’s so helpful. It’s not a huge cast but still, I appreciate not feeling confused at all. It helps me enjoy the reading process so much more.
As for the pace, it was fantastic. I’m the most annoying person always mentioning the pace of books but…it’s so important! Especially nowadays when it seems editors aren’t allowed to do their job and so many books have the worst pace, which makes it so hard to get through them. Not a problem here. Right from the very beginning, the pace is flawless. There can be some ups and downs in the book, which wouldn’t mean a book is bad necessarily, but I didn’t notice that here. It started off strong and finished the same way. That’s not easy to achieve and it’s another thing that made me adore this book.

Maybe my only complaint would be that right at the end I got a bit scared about where the story was going. I feared the author could struggle to stick the landing because the plot is quite ambitious and horror endings are the hardest to write. But I’m very pleased with how the story ended. Again, the last 10% is the only part of the book where I can be a bit nitpicky but if that’s the biggest issue I have with a book, we’re doing very well.
Also, the plot made sense. As much as plots with supernatural elements can make sense, of course. But the author didn’t use that as an excuse to just do whatever and throw logic out of the window. By the time I finished the book, I understood everything that happened and I understood why and how. I’m a journalist too and we love our W questions.
Important to mention again how impressive that is for a debut novel. I didn’t exaggerate when I said I’m not going to shut up about it.

The bad side of this being a debut novel is I have no more books written by this author to read. But I’ll be waiting for the next one. And whenever this book comes out, I’ll have to buy it because I’m 100% going to reread it. Plus it’s SO pretty I need the physical copy!

the characters (specifically the alive ones, the dead guy made little narrative sense internally) were great! and i think the idea was classic but worked in general. however, there were a few glaring flaws, in my opinion. there was no sense of internal logic or cohesion, the deaths felt less dramatic and more hilarious (i could 100% imagine thembeing in a cheesy haunted house), and the twists were very blatant. then again, many people liked it, so it could just be a me thing. 2.5 stars. tysm for the arc.

3.5/5 stars

Following the death of the legendary and elusive horror author, Mortimer Queen, seven near strangers are invited to his estate for the reading of his last will and testament. While they determine that their love for writing horror stories is what likely binds them to Mortimer, what exactly he has left for them all is not very clear. Surrounded by the creepy and crumbling walls of the late writer's mansion, they soon find themselves desperate to leave with more than just financial gains - they are hoping to leave with their lives.

I loved how the book flowed from each one of the different POVs, blending from one conversation to another to really get to know the seven strangers on an individual level. They all have secrets. They all have curiosities of why they were invited. They all relatively suck on their own accord.

It's been a long time since I've read a true horror story, so the backdrop I had built in my mind was that of The Haunting of Hill House. There is no doubt that Mike Flannagan could easily adapt a screenplay from this foundational story. I will say around the 70% mark, I was getting a bit bored. I would have rather read four or five flushed out character backstories with fun twists than the seven smaller backstories we received. I had mild predictions for the novel's end, and by that point, I was read to be finished.

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press, NetGalley, and Mallory Arnold for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest thoughts!

How to survive a horror story was an extremely fun and trope filled story, while coming into it I was a little sceptical I had a good time reading it. Although the plot wasn’t the most original of concepts I think the author did a great job at approaching it in a creative way. I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled for the next book by Mallory Arnold that’s for sure!

I was so dang excited to get approved for this arc!! The instant I read the description I was hooked and it did not disappoint!!

Seven people are invited to the will reading of a famous horror author at his derelict home out in the middle of nowhere, little do they know all of them are in danger of not making it out alive.

This book was told from multiple POVs. We have Melanie, the quiet girl that blends into the wallpaper. Buck, the big burly redneck. Scott, the violent golden boy. Crystal, the icy queen bee. Winnie, the nosy gossiper. Chester, the reckless thrill-seeker. Peter, the nervous kleptomaniac. Each character brings something different to the story. It was fun reading the story from each POV in a continuous flow of the story being told without any overlap.

I recently read "You Are Fatally Invited" and I thought that one was great, but after reading this one, I enjoyed this one a little more. There was more detail to each of the tasks that needed to be completed and an otherworldly element to this one that was fun to read.

This is a great book that I finished in a day. I will definitely be recommending it to everyone I know. I can't wait to see what other books the author writes in the future!!

Big thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and Mallory Arnold for an eArc to read and review!!

I'm very torn about this one. Was this supposed to be silly or scary? Possibly both. In my opinion this is more of a popcorn horror. First of all, I enjoyed the monster house. It's messed up and I could easily see Hollywood adapting it into a movie. The characters are unlikeable and its easy to understand why they get what they deserve. But sometimes the storyline felt over the top and we are not given much of a chance to connect to the characters. It's also very obvious in the beginning who will be left standing at the end. However the one who survives gave me whiplash. From the beginning until they leave the house, their personality is pretty much established. But in the end, it seems they have a different personality and their actions don't make a lot of sense. I wish there had been a different ending to help make sense of this and tie up loose ends but overall I enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGally for providing this ARC!! Seven guests are invited to the legendary home of late Mortimer Queen. These guests all have been invited to his last will and testament reading. As they all arrive to his grand home, they find themselves instead in a game of survival. Each guest is harboring a secret, secrets that can get them killed. Who will survive?

This book had me hooked from the very beginning! It is very well written. One of the best books that I have read this year! Unpredictable and a must have this July on release day!

How to Survive a Horror Story by Mallory Arnold was an entertaining read and the familiar setup was executed in a way that kept me interested.

A group of people summoned to Queen Manor after the death of master horror author Mortimer Queen, are each hoping for a piece of his fortune. Not all of their connections to him are clear. Before they can claim anything, they must play a deadly game. They must solve a riddle and move forward, or fail and let the manor eliminate someone. And yes, in true horror fashion, “eliminate” really means eliminate.

This book thrives on secrets. Every guest has something to hide, and it quickly becomes clear that no one can be trusted. The tension builds as the manor itself plays an active role, delivering gruesome paranormal horrors that are unsettling yet entertaining.

The pacing is solid, and despite the sinister atmosphere, the story remains an easy and enjoyable horror read. The cast is full of morally questionable characters, which only adds to the suspense and works in the book’s favor.

Overall, How to Survive a Horror Story delivers an entertaining blend of mystery, horror, and betrayal.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

First, I would like to thank Poisoned Pen Press, Mallory Arnold, and Netgally for the E-arc.

Deftly blends traditional mystery with horror and the supernatural in a page-turner that will have you hooked from beginning to end. My expectations were high from the description, and it did not disappoint! The story weaves together intricate plot twists and eerie elements, keeping readers on edge as they unravel the mystery. With vivid descriptions and compelling characters, it creates an immersive experience that is both thrilling and unsettling. This was an amazing debut and I highly recommend it.

Once again, thank you Poisoned Pen Press, Mallory Arnold, and Netgally for the E-arc.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

This book is a wild, trope-filled ride that’s creepy, clever, and seriously fun. Seven horror authors are invited to a spooky manor, where they’re forced to solve riddles—or be taken by the house itself. The deaths are gruesome, the secrets are juicy, and the house? Basically alive and hungry.

The characters are morally messy, with plenty of betrayal, revenge, and dark humor to go around. Mortimer, the mysterious host, dishes out justice that’s sometimes fair... sometimes not. Melanie and Buck stand out, and I’m still not over the whole thing with Mortimer’s wife.

It starts slow but builds to something you can’t stop reading. If you love puzzle-based horror with a haunted house twist and characters you’ll love to hate, this one’s for you.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a fun, fast paced read. I would strongly recommend it for horror fans and will be looking out for more from this author

Somewhat odd to say, but Mallory Arnold's story is a fun read for fans of the horror genre with its twisty takes on tropes and characters. The story itself isn't all that scary itself but contains all the aspects of a horror novel. More tongue-in-cheek and satirical than anything else, the horror does work.

Set in a haunted house with rooms that our guests have to break out of one by one while they struggle not to be the one killed that round, the real horrors of Arnold's novel are internal as the past horrors that the characters have committed are slowly revealed to the reader. While one character seems more out of place than the others, in the end, the dark desires behind fame, fortune, and storytelling are the real horrors studied.

I really enjoyed this book.

The fantasy/scifi side is not normally my thing but I couldn’t put this book down. I think the mystery and the horror part of this book outweighed the fantasy and it really got me hooked.

I didn’t know what to think when I started, it was an escape room time story line which ended in an extreme way. The ending felt really rushed and there if very little character development. I enjoyed the ‘short stories’ littered throughout the book which helped to offer some respective.

This is one of those books that you’ll be thinking about for a while. Definitely recommend