Let’s Split Up had a fun premise and definitely gave off classic slasher movie vibes, which I enjoyed. The haunted manor setting, the creepy atmosphere, and the group of teens being picked off one by one felt nostalgic in the best way. It didn’t take itself too seriously, and that worked in its favor at times.

That said, the characters felt a little flat. I didn’t find myself super invested in any of them, which made it harder to care when things went wrong. The plot had some twists, but a few of them felt a bit predictable or rushed. I wanted a little more depth and suspense to really pull me in.

Still, it was a quick and entertaining read with some solid creepy moments. If you’re in the mood for a fast-paced horror story that doesn’t demand too much from you, this fits the bill. It wasn’t a standout for me, but it was enjoyable enough. A decent 3 stars!

Kind of bummed this wasn’t as good as I was hoping.
Super easy read, but I didn’t love any of the characters, I predicted the ending, and it was over all just not my favorite.

I did enjoy the Scooby Doo feel to it, but I think that’s why I had higher hopes for loving it. I love scooby doo. Grew up watching it, so when I got the chance to read this, I jumped right into it. Unfortunately it did not excite me like I was hoping it would.

I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The story kept me engaged from start to finish and had some moments that really stood out. Overall, it offered an entertaining reading experience.

This is marketed as a YA Scooby Doo meets Scream mystery. I gave it 30% before DNFing and it definitely leans way more towards Scooby. I really enjoy YA mysteries and thrillers but this seemed to have lower stakes and cheesiness that makes me feel like this would be great for upper middle grade and lower YA readers. At 30% there’s no tension, suspense, or sense of urgency to keep me reading. I think if it had leaned more into the cheesiness and added humor I could’ve enjoyed it but it has a serious tone. I also found the characters to be a little bland and I couldn’t distinguish individual voices in the 3 different POVs, which lead me to zero connection. This isn’t a bad book, it just needs to find its audience.

This book was okay! I was hoping for something more along the lines of "Meddling Kids" which I think nails the Scooby Doo vibe more, but is geared toward adults. I think this could have leaned more into the Scooby Doo vibes it was going for and it would have been more effective. Still a solid read!

This is everything I’ve ever wanted from a Scream X Scooby Doo book. This book was a fast-paced, suspenseful, emotional, and thrilling read. The characters were believable, likeable, and could genuinely make me laugh. My favorite would have to be Cam and the scene where he got attacked in the house was my favorite of the book! This book overall, really pleased me. The chapter lengths were also great and story details, flow, and structure were set up nicely.

Now for my negatives, I don’t feel like Amber’s character grew as much as the others. But that’s not a big complaint. My biggest complaint, is not really a big critique but a note for the sequel. I don’t know if it’s finished yet, but, the killer reveal fell a little bland to me. I feel like mystery books are better when they have some suspects you can kind of add to your list of guesses because.. I for sure though sheriff Roger’s would be the best killer (Trying to cause all of this attention because he never gets to do much with his job), Rick Fields, etc., the history teacher was kind of boring to me, but still a great book.

I hope we get more page-time with the dog, but overall such a solid and fun read and Bill Wood did an absolute amazing job!

Just added this review to NetGalley (I have *** over spoilers!) and will be posting about this to my TikTok!

I wish I could have loved this book, but honestly, it wasn't good. Every decision and reaction did not make sense. I understand that this is a YA, but it still needs to be logical in how adults and teens react to a serial killer on the loose. I can't get behind the entire town just immediately assuming it is the local ghost killing people, closing all the businesses down, and disregarding the teens skipping school. I also cannot for the life of me believe that the sheriff and newscaster would talk in the manner they were portrayed as adults. The thought process of the characters felt like the writer was trying to get us to their next plot point and skipped a few things. Thank you to Scholastic Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

A fun and nostalgic YA thriller that does a good job of balancing references and homages to 90s horror and mystery while making it relevant and engaging for a modern reader. Adult fans of the horror genre will enjoy the nods to Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer.

"Let's Split Up" is a wonderful and fun love letter to classic horror staples of the 90s. With nods to Scooby Doo, Scream and a bit of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, this story follows four students trying to solve the murder of the most popular kids at their school. While the book is advertised as YA, it read a bit more middle grade to me, but I absolutely did not mind it. This is a fun, fast and easy read.

If Summer thrillers, slasher movies and whodunits are your vibe, this is a release that you definitely should not miss.

I have followed Bill on social media for a long time, and really loved seeing this story come to life. I can't wait to watch him grow as an author and read his future work.

OK, so this book was definitely a 3.5 for me. I really liked the idea and concept, but I figured out who the ghost was unlike page 2. And there was never a really kind of another viable option to even offer like a red herring so that’s my reason for the lower rating. The story about a haunted mansion and many people dying as the town reels from the idea that they may have a murderous ghost in their mist was definitely engaging and had me turning pages. But it was more like I was waiting to get to the confirmation of what I already knew versus Trying to figure it out. I did really like the friendship between the kids and their bond to support each other. But these books are always slightly ridiculous as a teacher of high school kids who can barely get it together to do anything. The idea that they have mastermind this huge murder investigationall while their parents are out to work sometimes strikes a disingenuous cord. The suspension of disbelief is real, though and again, I was certainly engaged the whole read.

This felt VERY young, even for YA. I think kids would enjoy it, but I was definitely not the target audience for this one so I had to DNF.

📚 In 2001, the town of Sanera, California,is on high alert after a couple is found brutally murdered in an abandon mansion. All signs point to the ghost of a murdered landowner has finally taken his revenge. A Group of teens decide to discover what really happened on the night of murder. The question remains : will they decided to stick together or split up to find the truth?

💭 I think I wasn’t the audience for this book. I don’t know if this was the final version or not, or maybe I didn’t like writing style, but it does have its moments. The romance feels flat.My favorite character is Buffy. I would like to talk more about it, but I don’t want to spoiler it. I would definitely reread and read the second book.

Thanks for NetGalley and Bill’s team for ARC of let’s split up.

3.50 ⭐️

Was this a believable storyline? No. Was it an enjoyable fun ride? Absolutely. I loved the call backs to Scooby Doo, the 90s, and all things kitchy horror movie.

My all time favorite horror trope is abandoned haunted mansions and this novel delivered! Spooky tunnels and creepy murder rooms added to the ambiance and storyline. I liked how the characters were portrayed and how their relationships developed even though they differed from their Scooby Doo inspired counterparts.

Now that the sequel is announced I can't wait to continue in this world!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me an e-arc for review.

First off, many thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book as an ARC! I greatly appreciate it!

The Scooby Doo comparisons on this book are definitely earned, and not in the way you think. Like an episode of the show, it's incredibly predictable. It's also written like it's meant to be read by a Goosebumps-aged audience despite being labeled young adult. The characters, including the adults, are Goosebumps-kid-levels of stupid. And first person present tense POV? One of the stars being taken off was entirely because of that.

The pacing is good, at least, so it was a pretty quick read!

Two stars out of five for Let's Split Up!

Hello cute popcorn thriller mystery. I loved the plot and while yes it was kind of predictable it didn't make it any less fun. In fact I couldn't put the book down it was a fun romp and not too scary which Ive noticed folks are starting to not want as graphic details anymore so this is perfect for those folks.

After two popular high schoolers are burned alive in the haunted Carrington Manor, friends Cam, Amber, and Jonesy decide to investigate, along with new girl Buffy. They will find danger and a little romance along the way as a very real killer starts to hunt them down.

This was a fun slasher-type horror novel that really lives up to the comparisons to Scooby-Doo! All the tropes are here, with research in the library and unmasking villains and plenty of twists to keep you guessing. There's also a little gay romance, great banter, and the nostalgia factor. I struggled a bit with the formatting of the ARC (the print was SO tiny!) and I also had to put this down for few days because I was reading another book that was too similar and I kept getting them confused, but overall this was a fun read for horror and Scooby-Doo buffs.

Let me preface this by saying I am a huge scooby doo and scream fan. I can see the similarities however I just don’t feel it lived up to the hype. Overall a good read, my first by this author.

Loved it, I was in a big reading slump and this pull me out! Love the trill and the excitement, would definitely buy a hard copy. I just love how it All played out

Scooby Doo meets Scream in this YA mystery by Bill Wood. Amber, Cam, and Jonesy are having a normal school day when new girl, Buffy, gets invited to hang out with their group for the day. At lunch the school makes an announcement that two Sanera High School students were found dead. Their deaths are ruled an accident from a fire but- what if it isn't?

Thank you to NetGalley and Scholastic for the ARC!

I was so excited for this read, especially seeing it advertised as similar to Scooby-Doo and Scream. It is, but the similarities to these popular franchises aren’t enough to lean on. The idea was great, but the execution was poorly done, especially when it came to pacing, dialogue, and believability. The characters were also so surface level that I could never remember who the POV of the chapter was because it didn’t really seem to matter. I will say that I didn’t guess who the culprit was, but I’m not sure whether that’s a plus or negative to the writing. I did finish the story so that I could give a fully honest review, but this book just wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Scholastic and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. ✍🏻