Reading the author's note in the beginning, I though I would enjoy this one. But after seeing her character names, I knew it - Linnea Langenkamp, Wes Carpenter; this was going to be fun. And it definitely was. Quick-paced, nostalgic and a little gory, it was everything I wanted it to be. The book version of an 80s B-movie. AWESOME!!!

REALLY looking forward to next one!

A fantastic creepy new series by Brooklyn Ann! I'm a huge fan of the old 80's scary movies! They seem so cheesy now, but back in the day, when I was in high school they were what young girls (and possibly young boys!) nightmares were made of!
She knocked it out of the park with this book! Young adults will enjoy this series and I can't wait for the next book. Older adults will enjoy this series also because it will definitely take you back to the good old days, when life was fun and the living was easy. As I read this (in one night) it took me back to the best days of my life. Of course I didn't know that then!
Ahhhhh, the fabulous 80's!
I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. Thank you so much, Netgalley! Highly enjoyed it! All opinions are my own.

This was exactly what I was looking for- summer camp+horror+squee-worthy love. While the writing wasn't as advanced as I had been hoping, and I was taken aback by the love scenes, this was still a good summer read.

This was an easy, quick read but not as exciting as it sounded when I discovered it on NetGalley. I felt as if this was written by two people. Some parts were really interesting, well researched and well written, but other parts slipped into a sort teen, cheap sort of literature that you'd fine in reading quickly churned out young adult novels.

Linney and Wes could have been great characters, but both were meant to be very shy and not really interested in this camp before starting their senior year. Within a day at the camp they were transformed into sex-driven heroes and that was just not believable. Their lust wasn't placed well amongst all the horror going on around them and it just felt a bit forced.

I think concept was there just delivery slightly disappointing. It's OK for a quick summer read.

I really enjoyed reading His Final Girl, as it was a homeage to slashers from the 7'0's and 80's, Easter eggs included. The book has the right mood and ambiance, in addition to an interesting backstory. Some of the sex scenes was perhaps a bit cheesy, but I did enjoy the interactions between the students and staff. So if you're into old slasher movies, this book might be for you.

Friday the 13th meets The Breakfast Club. I loved it! It was the perfect, unusual blend of horror and romance. I grew up in the 80's with a brother ten years older and so many of the characters reminded me of him and his friends. The Easter eggs were a great touch and played homage to the times. Props to the author for coming up with some unique ways to kill. This book is perfect for fans of 80's movies, both horror and teen dramas. This is a fast paced read full of action, humor, tension, and romance. Highly recommend it!

Thanks to NetGalley for this amazing read!

Minor Spoilers

Its the summer of 1978 and Wes Carpenter is what most would consider an asthmatic ‘nerd’, spending free time programming his TRS80 or turning pages of the recent ‘Micro Magazine’ issue, while tomboy Linnea Langenkamp has ambitions to follow in her mother’s footsteps by running the family farm. Both Idahoan teenagers are forced to spend the remainder of their vacation at a senior class camping retreat and a kindling summer romance ignites , despite the dissimilar characteristics of the two and constant bickering from fellow classmates. Eventually, a killer is unleashed and students and faculty start to vanish, turning up bludgeoned and slaughtered. Will the two horny teens survive Camp Natliskeliguten’s ongoing murderous rampage while putting their lust and desire on hold?

Brooklyn Ann has written the perfect homage to 1970/80s slashers. The passages dealing with sex were cheesy, and the interactions between the students and staff were hilarious. Overall,, there were some intense lead ups to some of the killing sprees in the book, and the backstory involving the killer paid off.

I really like the concept of a "final couple" and a series of books based on cheesy old school horror movies. Right up my alley. If you don't know what a final girl is, it's a term used for the last chick standing in a horror movie. In this case it's the last couple standing. Plus Ann drops in Easter eggs like names of her characters (Wes Carpenter, Langenkamp, etc.) and throws in well-written cheese for good measure. I really liked all of that.

What I didn't like was the explicit sex scenes of teenagers. Super squicked out by that. As far as I'm aware this can't be considered NA because we're dealing with students entering their senior year of high school. Not the age bracket. Plus, you know. Minors. Although Wes stayed back due to illness so he's actually 19 and I can't remember if Linnea is supposed to be 18 or not. I'd imagine not, although a character does make a point in the middle of the book to mention that nearly everyone at this camp is 18. As seniors going into high school. That would not be the case. Most would be 17, turning 18 during their senior year. You'll end up with a couple that are younger and a couple that are older, but most will turn 18 during their senior year. So, yeah. Super explicit sex scenes and kids that aren't even high school seniors yet. Really skeeved out by that.

Removing that I liked the actual story of it all. I think Ann nails setting and mood and really ropes in the ambiance of old school horror movies. The plot itself is very fast paced and I was never bored. I liked the throw-back to the killer in a creepy mask but she kept it fresh. And double kudos to some creative deaths. Love it when authors stretch their brains for things like that. Makes horror fun.

I had trouble balancing the modern slant on it, though. The over-emphasis on consent, feminism at the forefront. For a book set in a small town in Idaho in 1979, I'm not really buying all that. Part of me was like yeah! When Linnea stood up and did things on her own and while she liked having Wes by her side and him being adamant to protect her, she wasn't about to sit down and not do anything. On the other than the constant asking if something is okay for every teeny tiny little sex act got really old and disrupted the flow of the scene. I think it was done to show how great of a guy Wes was but it was just overkill. On top of squicky minor sex that I was really uncomfortable reading anyway.

So I'm torn on this. I like everything about it except the sex. And it wouldn't be an issue if it weren't so explicit. I think this book needs to figure out where it fits. Is it YA, is it NA, or is it adult? It can be YA and still have sex in it, just pull back on the details. I was just so grossed out by the amount of detail in what Wes was doing to Linnea, the details of both of their bodies, blech. And I don't have a problem with Ann's sex scenes usually. I'm a HUGE fan of her Scandals with Bite series. Huge. But I can't keep reading sex scenes this detailed with minors. It just skeeves me out.

I don't know if I'm going to keep reading the series. I want to, because I love the idea so much. But if this kind of detailed underage sex is going to keep occurring  in the series, I'm going to have to skip those parts entirely or just not read the books.

3

I have very mixed feelings about this book.

It takes place in the 80s, which was kind of fun. Boom boxes, the music, no cell phones.... On the other hand, it read in an old fashioned way, like it was written in the 80s.

On the one hand, it's a romance and a horror novel. On the other hand, it can't decide if it's a horror or a romance.

On the one hand, it was completely unrealistic . Not because of the horror part, but the way people reacted. People die, but the coach thinks they should just act normal? The teens see their friends murdered, but distract themselves by giggling about boys and makeup???? Really??
On the other hand, I wanted to know what happened next so I kept reading.

And this is a minor point but the kids were getting ready to go into high school. So they would not have all been 18.

I want to say i didn't like it, but oddly I did.