I grew up loving Goosebumps and Fear Street so this felt so nostalgic. It was pretty much exactly what I expected: a fun creepy/spooky-lite story that requires a fair amount of suspension of belief and characters that frustrate .

I didn't enjoy it as much as I think I would have when I was younger but it was still a fun quick read.
Young me - probably 4ish stars
Me now - 3ish

The audio was good. I liked the narrator and thought she did a good performance.

This is a sufficiently spooky tale about murder, witchcraft, insanity, and the undead. The things I enjoyed about the book are all the things you love about a spooky story. Just enough suspense for the YA audience without too much gore. A bit of violence but not overly graphic. Definitely a creeping terror effect as the main character spins out of her mind.

Things I didn’t love: the characters. Honestly none of them were very likable and I found myself not caring much about what happened to them. The main character was self absorbed and superficial. She describes one of her best friends as “she would be pretty if she lost a little weight” as though one can’t be pretty and have extra weight on their body. Not the kind of thinking I love for young people. Also, the parents are clueless and the friends just kind of there. The twist at the end was somewhat expected but I was still grateful for it.

I didn’t love the narrator of this audiobook much either. Their voice was shrill and grating.

I grew up loving RL Stine’s books!! I just finished binge watching the new series on Netflix and I was so excited to see the relaunch of this series.

This was a little over the top unbelievable as an adult but I could definitely see how my younger self would have been creeped out and hooked! If my kids were a little older they would be reading this! I enjoyed the narrator and that it was a quick listen.

Thanks NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this ARC.

Back in the day my son loved the Goosebumps books. He's 30 years old now, but we still reminisce about evenings spent reading about frightening neighbors, aliens, killer toys, ghosts..... R.L. Stine gave us many hours of entertainment. As an adult when I'm looking for a fun, slightly scary story to read, I still check his books out of the library for a nostalgia read. Why not? :) The Fear Street series was the teen version of Stine's horror vision....the horrors of high school, prom queen evil, bad parties, frights at work, cheerleader mayhem...stuff I worried about at 16 worked up into cheesy horror tales. So fun! I have to admit I have also read many of these teen screams too! Again, why not?

Now the series has been revamped a bit and is a movie trilogy on Netflix! I will watch all 3 this weekend! I had no idea the Netflix series existed until I saw this series of Fear Street Relaunch books. I downloaded three of the audio books immediately! If it has R.L. Stine's name on it, I'm going to read it. Pretty much without a moment's hesitation....

This story was fun, Stein-ian horror. The trials of a teen girl revved up into something truly horrific. Caitlin is 17. She's had a few dates, but never really a steady serious boyfriend. Then she meets Blade. Her friends warn her she's going too fast, getting too deep into the relationship before she really knows him. But she doesn't listen -- can't listen. All she can think about is Blade. Then she meets Deena Fear and Caitlin's life swings wickedly out of control. Being 17 is bad enough....but being stalked by a dead boyfriend? The boyfriend you killed? That's bad with a capital B.

I listened to the audio book version of this story. The audio is a bit over 5 1/2 hours long and narrated by Brittany Pressley. I had great fun listening to Caitlin's life descend into a bloody mess (literally). The story kept my attention from beginning to twisty ending. Very nostalgic! A simple, slightly scary story that was a perfect break from heavier adult fiction.

There are six books in the Fear Street Relaunch series. I like Stein's style...I plan to read them all! And this weekend -- I will be enjoying the Netflix series! :)

**I voluntarily listened to a review copy of this audio book from Macmillan Audio. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

I grew up on RL Stine’s books. From Goosebumps to Fear Street, I can remember where I was when I read them it just brings such a nostalgic feeling. I was really excited about the relaunch of this series as I was obsessed with them when I was younger.

This one was a little strange and unbelievable. I could see how it would be creepy for younger readers. I liked how they modernized the story with cell phones, etc. The main character was totally believable as a self centered high school student. It was a fun and quick listen. I love this narrator.

Thanks NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this ARC.

🥕 Book Review 🥕

Caitlin meets Blade and they hit it off right away. After never having a real boyfriend before she’s very excited about where her relationship is going. Then Caitlin sees Blade with another girl and everything changes.

I was excited to listen to another audiobook in the Fear Street series. Unfortunately, this one wasn’t as good as the last. It had some good parts but overall I didn’t love it. Although this one wasn’t a hit for me I’m still excited to listen/read more of the fear street books as they are fun and nostalgic for me.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Available Now!
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the fifth book in the Fear Street Relaunch series and a creepy story that follows Caitlin, a young girl that has never had a boyfriend, that is until she meets Blade. They start up a very quick relationship and Caitlin falls hard a bit too fast until she sees Blade kissing another girl. She follows him home and confronts him with a large knife in her purse. No spoilers and I definitely recommend this book! R.L. Stine at his finest. Thanks #netgalley for the advanced reader copy. I loved it.

Like I said with the other Fear Street book I listened to, I never read Goosebumps/R.L. Stine when I was younger, but this book really gave me that nostalgic feeling. This one was super creepy.
The main character Caitlin meets this boy Blade and falls head over heels in love with him. Everything is going well until he cancels their date one night and she follows him and finds him with another girl. So what does she do? She kills him. He ends up haunting her and with the help of a creepy classmate, she tries to make him go away.
I got kind of less intruiged by the end of this book, but then there was a suprise twist at the very end that really pulled it back into enjoyable for me. While I never read R.L. Stine, in recent years I have watched the Goosebumps show. This book had the typical "we beat the monster...but did we really?" ending that so many of those episodes have and it just made everything else that happened in the book so much creepier and had me questioning everything.
Definitely a solid addition to the Fear Street series!

I really liked this book. I am becoming a fan of R. L. Stine's work quite fast. The Dead Boyfriend kept my attention throughout; however, the reason I gave it three stars was the end. Everything was going great until the last two chapters, where I was left slightly disappointed. The narrator was fabulous and the book goes by fast.

In this book, R.L. Stine attempts to assimilate with teenagers unsuccessfully.
Also —
Fat shaming in 2021 is not okay: Pretty quickly, R.L. Stine fat shames a character in this book by saying “She’d be more attractive if she lost weight.” The teenagers of today aren’t those of the 90’s.

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Very captivating with amazing character development.
What a throwback to my childhood reading RL Stine. What would you do to bring back a true love? Anything? I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I wasn't that crazy about this storyline, but Stine still managed to make this a good one! I absolutely love his writing style and the dark twists his stories take as they develop. He is truly a master of writing things thriller/horror themed! As I mentioned I wasn't a fan of this storyline, but I definitely wasn't bored or uninterest through any of it!

OK, let's start this off with the fact that this is a YA book, for Young Readers (Middle-High School). That being said, I'm in my 30's and still very much enjoyed this book. Clearly it's not going to be the most detailed and plotted out, it's for young readers,. But thinking back to when I was in that age range and how much I absolutely loved these stories, it was super nostalgic and really brought me back to those years. I remembered why I loved them so very much.

Would I give this book a super high rating now if I had never been a part of the fandom back then, probably not. Thinking about it in terms of my younger self, I give it a 4 star. The characters, setting and story line were fun and dark. At one point in the book (you'll probably know which part if you read it), I gasped and had a "wtf" moment. Again, that's taking it all in from my younger self's perspective. None the less, it happened.

I highly suggest books such as these and old Christopher Pike stories if you are a young reader, someone who is just getting into thriller/horror or just wants to feel that nostalgia as a fan that refuses to let go of the stories that made us the readers we are today.

P.S. the audiobook was FANTASTIC! The narrator really got into character and made it a blast to be back at Fear Street.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I did not read these when I was younger so thought I would give this one a try. This was a creepy story that I’m sure my younger patrons would enjoy I will be picking this up for my library.

I would say this one is for older tween-teen because this one is very creepy and graphic at times.
Look out for a woman scorned but this woman may get the brunt of the problems after she does something she can’t take back, but what happens when that problem literally comes back to haunt you? Caitlin is about to find out. Can her new ‘friend’ help her? Who is this friend truly? Can Caitlin survive what she has done?

Great narration by the wonderful Brittany Pressley, who as always does a great job.

Oh that ending!!

3 stars

I received this one from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for a fair and honest review

I never read a Goosebumps book and only unintentionally ever read one Fear Street book (Cheerleaders the Second Evil) so I have little experience with RL Stine’s many works other than watching the Goosebumps show back when I was a kid... I am old now and rarely read YA books of any kind. However my sudden fascination can be blamed on Netflix... so I’ve taken a dive into Fear Street...

Honestly I don’t know what to say about this book it seemed like it was going to be more interesting than it actually was. Caitlyn meets a boy named Blade and they have a whirlwind relationship. Her friends are concerned knowing her tendency to go overboard and become way too invested in things way too fast. Naturally she doesn’t listen to them and things quickly go awry... When she comes upon Blade with another girl by chance everything in her life spins out of control. Especially with the untimely death of Blade.... and the interference of Dena Fear...

Really the description makes the whole thing seem way better than it is. There’s no much of a mystery to anything it’s all rather obvious and a bunch of nonsense. But in Shadyside there is of course a touch of supernatural attached to all the nonsense.

The narration was good story not so much and likely most of that has to do with how unlikable and annoying Caitlyn is.