You all have no idea how much I lost it when Netgalley gave me an ARC of this book. I'm slightly obsessed with Riley Sager and getting my hands on his book before most everyone else definitely made me a little bit happy.

And this book? It's unputdownable. I know that isn't a word but I don't care. When I read the synopsis of this, it sounded interesting, but I had no idea  how much I would enjoy it.

So there's Charlie. Charlie loves movies. She loves them more than most people. And after the hard life she's had, Charlie uses  movies to escape the real world. But she also has these moments in her mind that sometimes make it hard to tell if what happened in front of her really happened.

Enter Josh, who Charlie hitches a ride with to get home. But is Josh really who he says he is?

I absolutely devoured this book. It reads like a scary movie, a thriller that starts off slow and then all of a sudden you're in a runaway care that you can't seem to stop. I had to know who Josh was, I had to know if Charlie would be okay. And who the heck is the campus killer? It all gets answered in good time, and your jaw will be on the floor.

I've always said that The Last Time I Lied would always been my favorite of Sager's books. Until now. This one? Is a MUST READ.

What an intense read. I loved how this took place over one night because it added to the intensity to it. I was constantly wondering what was going to happen. I did see the twists but that didn't make it any less enjoyable and I also loved how nice the ending was. Sometimes with thrillers it's open ended but with this one you see how Charlie is and how her life is.
Not my ultimate favorite Riley Sager book but still really enjoyable.

Charlie decides to drop out of college after her best friend is murdered by the Campus Killer, a serial murder who has murdered at least three women. She needs a ride home and finds one with Josh through a campus bulletin board. Through their six hour trip, Charlie starts to find holes in Josh's stories and even sees a driver's license with a different name in his wallet. Traveling at a high speed in the middle of the highway, she has no way to escape. Also the hallucinations she experiences has her questioning what she really is seeing. The story takes place in the early 90's and Charlie has to depend on pay phones for help. This was a page turner and kept me guessing about Josh's motives and what Charlie really saw the whole time.

What to say about this book. It definitely held my interest, that's for sure. However, I never quite found the character of Charlie likable, and I figured it out halfway through the book. Also, the ending was so implausible yet totally expected. It was a disappointment.

Riley Sager does it again with another "I have to finish this ASAP" read. I read this one in less than 24 hours and it did not disappoint. I absolutely LOVED the ending and how well everything came together while I sat on the edge of my seat.

Feel free to use this in your marketing efforts -

The perfect summer binge!
—J.D. Barker, NY Times bestselling author of A Caller's Game

“What a ride (pun intended)! My sisters and I devoured Riley Sager books last summer, long the creepy, scary, and downright thrilling stories. This one was no exception. “Survive the Night” started out liked a predictable teen scary movie, with you screaming, “what? Don’t do that!” But as the book progresses, in typical Sager form, nothing is as it seems. Our main character, flawed and yet heroic, isn’t the dumb girl in a scary movie, but rather, someone struggling with a deeply damaged past causing mental illness and flashes of self doubt that end up putting her in unimaginable danger. The storyline is action-packed, so much so that I flew through this one in one day. I simply couldn’t stop reading. Nothing is as it seems on this car ride-but the journey sure does fly by! If you’re a fan of the thriller, you won’t go wrong with this one-it releases on 7/6/21. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group/
Dutton for the ARC in exchange for an honest review 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5-@lucywrazor4

It’s November 1991. George H. W. Bush is in the White House, Nirvana's in the tape deck, and movie-obsessed college student Charlie Jordan is in a car with a man who might be a serial killer. 
Josh Baxter, the man behind the wheel, is a virtual stranger to Charlie. They met at the campus ride board, each looking to share the long drive home to Ohio. Both have good reasons for wanting to get away. For Charlie, it’s guilt and grief over the murder of her best friend, who became the third victim of the man known as the Campus Killer. For Josh, it’s to help care for his sick father. Or so he says. As they travel an empty highway in the dead of night, an increasingly worried Charlie begins to think she’s sharing a car with the Campus Killer. Is Josh truly dangerous? Or is Charlie’s suspicion merely a figment of her movie-fueled imagination? 
What follows is a game of cat and mouse played out on night-shrouded roads and in neon-lit parking lots, during an age when the only call for help can be made on a pay phone and in a place where there's nowhere to run. In order to win, Charlie must do one thing—survive the night.”
#bookstagram #instabook #bookreview #thriller #rileysager #survivethenight

3 “don’t believe anything you read” stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️

It’s 1991. Charlie needs a ride home from college after the murder of her roommate has left her shaken and depressed. The killer hasn’t been caught… but Charlie still accepts a ride from a stranger on campus. It’s not long before she suspects that her driver might not be who he says he is. Did Charlie just hop in a car driven by the Campus Killer?

I loved the plot. Two strangers stuck in a car, one of them might be a killer... I’m just not sure how I feel about how it played out. I mostly liked the story, it certainly kept me interested, but the ending was a miss for me. Without giving anything away, all I can really say is, don’t believe anything you read! Between the ”movies” that Charlie experiences in her head and the few chapters from other characters’ POV, it’s all designed to throw you off.

If you really enjoy Riley Sager’s books (like I do!) then I think it’s worth reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

I really enjoyed reading this book! While it wasn't as straight up scary as I thought it would be going in, it did do the psychological thriller thing really well.. We get some jump scares as the tension in the car begins to rise, and the fact that our main character Charlie (love the name) can't seem to trust her own mind really make you wonder who you should trust.. Is Josh really acting that suspicious? or is Charlie just projecting her paranoia at being in a car with someone she basically just met after the tragedy of her best friend being murdered?
The final twist to the story really surprised me.. I had no idea that was coming.. I also loved how it read like a movie script the chapters are laid out with things like : Interior Day 9pm which I really liked.. There were alot of surprising moments as new details are revealed, and I was really invested figuring out what was going on, and didn't want to put the book down until I figured out how it was going to end..
I can't wait until this book is released and I can get a physical copy!

I was so incredibly excited to get this book early for review. I absolutely love Riley Sager and typically devour everything he writes. This book didn't hold the same feeling for me as his previous books. I had a really hard time connecting with Charlie. Based on the synopsis I really thought the book would be more tense than it was for me. The story was great, but it's definitely not my favorite of his books. I did guess the plot twist really early into the book, but that happens to me on a lot of thrillers. Overall, it was a good story but just didn't feel like a Riley Sager book. I would recommend the story, but preface any recommendation by saying it's not like his other books. I would be more likely to recommend those before I recommended Survive the Night.

This was a four star book for me, but I removed a star for the predictability of the plot. I always deduct a star if I guess the plot less than halfway through.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group/Dutton for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This latest book from Riley Sager is definitely a return to his first two books (Final Girls and The Last Time I Lied), which I was really happy about. I'm not a fan of supernatural elements, so his last two books fell very flat for me. But in this book, we are back to the OMG-WTF-is-happening kind of thriller that Sager excels at.

I really enjoyed most of this book. The plot moves very quickly and I finished the book in 2 days because I was so invested in finding out what happens next. For most of the book, you're unsure which of the characters to trust, which I always like in a thriller. I was completely blindsided by the final twist in this book, but I did not buy the other "shock" moment that comes about 75% of the way through. As other reviewers have mentioned, the last quarter of the book is pretty chaotic and while I appreciated the twists, I didn't find all of them believeable/consistent with the first 3/4 of the book. I can't say more because I don't want to give anything away!

Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed Sager's first two books, or for anyone who is looking for a page-turner to read on vacation. This would be the perfect book to take to the beach or the lake and devour in a day.

It's infuriatingly stupid, but at least it was short. Netgalley expects me to write at least 100 characters for this review, but why should I expand more energy for a review than the author spent plotting the book?

I absolutely loved this book, as I have enjoyed all of Riley Sager's novels.
When I realized that most of the book was going to take place in a car, I worried it would be boring or get old quick. It didn't! Sager has a way with description that completely immerses me in the experience. Throughout Survive the Night there is a string of pop culture, movies and songs mostly, that felt like a warm blanket wrapping me up and submerging me further into the story.

I really enjoy the twists and turns nestled in each of his stories.

I've never read a Riley Sager book I've disliked. He manages to write perfectly paced books that keep me constantly on the edge of my seat and unable to put the book down. This was no different.

Riley Sager is one of my favorite authors. I have read and loved all of his books (with 3 out of his 4 published titles receiving 5/5 stars from me on Goodreads), but this one missed the mark. Unlike his other titles, Survive The Night never completely pulled me into the story. In addition, the ending just felt off - I can't really say more about that without spoiling anything though. Of course, since he is such a popular thriller/mystery author, I have no doubts that this book will be a bestseller once it is released in June. I am curious to see if other Sager superfans feel the same way after reading this one.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group for the ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

I hate to start like this but wow Survive The Night was an utter letdown, I have never read any of Riley Sager's other books and when I heard about I was instantly intrigued and dying to pick it up. Set early 90's two virtual strangers meet at a university rideshare bulletin board and decide to hit the road together, our driver is Josh Baxter and our passenger Charlie Jordan. Charlie is desperate to get back home to Ohio after her roommate and friend became the third victim of the Campus Killer. Once on the road, Charlie starts noticing a lot of unusual things about Josh including that he lied about where he was going and even his name leaving her to begin to think Josh might actually be the killer. I felt like everything until this part of the book was interesting and pretty good. Charlie can see movies in her head which can distort reality and having Josh gaslight and manipulate Charlie was brilliant. Once we hit the diner probably 40 or 50% off the way through it went from really great cat and mouse in the car to one stupid twist after another culminating in what might be one of the worst endings I have EVER read.

I previously read Home Before Dark by Riley Sager and very much enjoyed it.Survive the night had some pro's and cons for me.
Pros:
Twisty
Suspenseful
Atmospheric

Cons:
The protagonist was in her head a Lot.Way more than I enjoyed.I understand the need for introspection in a novel but when a character takes half a page to answer a question because they are thinking, it gets to be a bit much

The mind movies. If/when you read the book you will understand this reference. The movies were annoying.I was tired of them way before halfway through the book.

Overall,this was a decent read and I finished it quickly.The twists were well done and the suspense was on point.Without the cons I mentioned it would've been a 4 star instead of a 3.Thank you NetGalley and Dutton for the eArc that allowed me to read and review this book.

If there is one lesson to take away from reading this book is that you don't take rides from strangers, and definitely do not stop at a diner in the middle of nowhere with said stranger with whom you suspect just might be a serial killer who killed your best friend. That's a recipe for a very bad car ride and in general very bad time,

Survive the Night is my first foray into a Riley Sager book after hearing many good things about his work, and this book was certainly an interesting read. This story centers around a young college student Charlie Jordan in the midst of dealing with the sudden murder of her best friend Maddy deciding she needs to leave campus immediately and get away. One problem - she doesn't drive and needs a ride to get her there. In comes Josh, a mysterious young man who is conveniently looking for someone to drive with him to Ohio - the same location Charlie wants to escape to. Naturally, she accepts his offer to give her a ride in exchange for her company on a long drive. One would assume things could be fine, but then again there is a serial killer at large who stalks the campus and has the moniker of the Campus Killer - Hm. Maybe not the best idea to accept a ride from a total stranger one would think.

This book puts you through all the hoops and keeps you guessing about what exactly is going on until the very end. There were points where I thought I had it all figured out and then suddenly I was thrown a curve ball and felt off kilter and even more confused, just as Charlie did during the whole ordeal.

I think the author did a pretty good job at building the suspense and keeping it interesting considering the setting of most of the novel taking place in a car with only two characters as the focus. The novel had a constant claustrophobic feeling with the uneasy back and forth with Charlie and Josh, and I felt like I was indeed stuck in that car just as Charlie was with all the anxiety of the situation at hand. I enjoyed the pace right up until the last 30% of the book and then I felt like things were moving very quickly and it threw the story out of wack for me personally. In saying that, I did not enjoy the ending as it all felt a little unrealistic and convoluted. The story took a 180 and not in a way that benefited the progression of the plot that had been unfolding and being told. I don't mind a twist ending, but this one just felt very much like the author was trying to shock readers with some cheap twists and turns that lacked proper build up and depth and just as quickly as it began it was just...over. Very clean and disappointing conclusion. It fell flat for me and ultimately lowered my overall enjoyment of the book as a whole.

All in all, this was an interesting read that kept me mostly engaged. I wouldn't say it was something wholly creative and new that I had never read in a novel before, but if you're a fan of a slow build up story with a heavy dose of twists and turns at any given moment then this book is for you! I personally was not a fan, but I could see others really digging this one!

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Group Dutton for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinion.

While reading the first half of this book, I couldn’t help but think this plot has been done before. It takes place over the course of 1 night, the main character is a college student girl trying to make her way home during a snow storm and some of the setting takes place at a rest stop. I kept getting major No Exit vibes!

I would never downplay things like mental illness, but I felt like he used the main character’s depression as an excuse for her mistakes to cloud her judgement just to create a plot. That concept tends to pop up in a lot of books and can be overdone! It didn’t bother me here, but I wanted more from the aspect of creating “movies in her mind.”

I caught on to who the culprit was pretty quick, but the details leading up to the reveal and even after was shocking. It kept me intrigued the whole time! Overall, it was a well done thriller that tied up all loose ends which I can appreciate about this one.

Wow. I really, really enjoyed this book. Sager has an amazing ability to draw a reader in and make them think exactly what he wants them to think. I thought I had some things figured out, and then BAM! there's a blind curve, then I think well that's all, there can't be anything else surprising, and then BOOM! another twisty turn!

This book gives you characters that are larger than life, and yet oh so real. You get super creepy locations and unreliable situations. It's everything I need in a thriller. This was amazing, and I loved it!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.