I've seen a few not-so-great reviews of this one mentioning it reads like a b-rated horror flick.. I agree & I totally fail to see how that's a bad thing. I loved the crap out of this. 

Adele is an actor on sabbatical after a mental breakdown. When she is unexpectedly offered the lead roll in a low-budget horror film called Final Draft, she jumps at the opportunity - despite all of the red flags she sees along the way.

While this wasn't the petrifying psychological horror I was hoping for, Run Time is an intense ride and I was so invested in puzzling out what the hell was going on. The story-within-a-story plot line was really well done and I genuinely had no idea who was really pulling the strings until it was all revealed.

I loved Adele as a main character. Her personality was really relateable & I enjoyed how resilient she was. I know the feeling of being gaslit all to well and I was beyond frustrated on Adele's behalf. All in all I really enjoyed this thriller and gave it four stars!

Many thanks to Blackstone pub for my gifted copy!

This was a fast paced thriller!!! When Adele takes the role in a horror movie, she doesn't ask what happened to the original actress. She is just happy to work again. Things are not as they seem though and Adele realizes it quickly. I enjoyed the twists and turns but I felt it was just a tad too long. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

Did I just binge read Catherine Ryan Howard’s newest book?! YEP…once I started I could not put it down!
After reading (and absolutely loving) The Nothing Man, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one. Run Time had me hooked from the beginning and there was so much I loved about it

The writing style was awesome, and I felt like I was reading a scary movie- it was a mix of a screenplay and a book, and I loved that the writing flipped back-and-forth between the two- this unique and interesting type of mix is something I’ve enjoyed in the two books I’ve read by this author. Loaded with mystery & suspense this made for a super entertaining read that kept me guessing.

….and the descriptions were so spot on! I could picture the scenes perfectly- the pitch black darkness, the rainy wind storm, the dense, spooky woods…I felt completely immersed in the pages

I also enjoyed the main character a lot, which is good because she was pretty much on every page.
There were quite a few characters, and at the end I definitely had to focus to follow the path of exactly how things were wrapping up. I didn’t guess how it was going to end so that is always a nice surprise! The ending was a bit long, but left me with no unanswered questions (always appreciated!)

I often say ‘this would be a great summer thriller’ or ‘this would be a great winter thriller’, but I think this is the perfect book to dive into on a chilly, dreary fall day (or ya know, right now becuase you’re probably not going to wait that long to read it )

I definitely recommend this one to all you thriller fans & can’t wait to read the rest of her books

Run Time simply did not work for me which is so disappointing because I really enjoy Catherine Ryan Howard's high concept books, but I found this book of a script inside a book to be quite confusing. I finished because I have a deep respect for Howard's work but this was not horror for me and twist was not enough to qualify the book as satisfying thriller either.

Adele is an Irish actor who crashed and burned on her way up the ladder. She jumps at the chance when she’s offered a last minute lead role— even though the off-the-grid location is beyond creepy.
The movie is called Final Draft, and it’s about a woman in a remote locale reading a book called First Draft. The same creepy things that happen in the book happen to the movie character. Then these creepy things happen to Adele. So that’s a lot of creepy vibes being set-up.
There was a lot of build-up to get through to get to the pay-off at the end, which was pretty good.
There’s a interesting bit at the very end which some may love, but produced a bit of an eye roll from me. Sometimes less is more.

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Adele Rafferty is an Irish, out of work actress living in California working at a motel. When she gets a call to step in as a replacement for the lead actress in a horror movie, she thinks her luck is finally changing. She has to fly immediately to a remote location in Ireland. It has a creepy, no cell service vibe. Very quickly, weird things start to happen that mirror the script.

This is my first Ryan Howard novel. (I know, I know. I still have The Nothing Man on my bookshelves to read.) I just didn't like the script parts written in the story. I get that it was supposed to show how the things happening to her were just like the script, but I found myself skimming a lot of it.

I did like Adele as a main character. I thought she seemed pretty smart as the female lead in a horror book/movie. (LOL) The ending was a bit predictable and unbelievable. Even though this wasn't the best book for me, I still want to read her earlier books.

i thought this book was fast paced and adventuress i thought i saw where some twists were going and i was surprised by the direction some things went. I thought the writing was fresh and engaging and i really enjoyed the story as a whole.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5/5)
Pub Date: 8/16
Genre: Thriller

Run Time was my first book of Catherine Ryan Howard. The concept of a horror movie in the making captured my attention initially and with this story we are presented with a book about a movie about a book using a mixed media approach of real time action, a novel and a screenplay.

Adele is a blacklisted actress trying to make it in LA after a career ending incident happened on the set of her last movie. When she receives a call to be the lead in a horror movie back home in Ireland after a year of not working, Adele immediately seizes the opportunity. As she begins filming, the parallels of what is happening in the movie script and in real life become frightening and too overwhelming to be a coincidence.

From start to finish it's hard to know what's actually happening, what's real, what is contrived. I did enjoy the format of the book, each alternating chapter as a scene from the screenplay, but it felt like not much actually happened. I would go from being on the edge of my seat to feeling bored and waiting for something substantial to happen with the plot. The author managed to create a ton of build up at the beginning, but then it was predictable in a sense that what happened in the screenplay would somehow play out in real life. The middle of the book felt slow which resulted in losing the tension and unfortunately for me the ending didn't make up for it.

This wasn't my favorite thriller, but I did enjoy some elements and could see why other did too!

Read this if you like:
-Books about movies
-Found footage narratives (think "The Blaire Witch Project)
-Meta storylines
-Cabin in the woods vibes

**Thanks to Blackstone Publishing, Catherine Ryan Howard and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Run…to get your copy of Run Time!

Adele Rafferty is a struggling actress looking for her next big role. After the incident on her last movie set in Ireland, she moves to Los Angeles, California to make a name for herself in a country that hasn’t heard about what happened. However, Adele is finding it more difficult than she imagined to land the leading role of her dreams. She is ready to quit acting when she receives a call that is too good to be true. First, she must agree to the terms of the contract.

Sign an NDA.

Fly to Ireland tonight.

Don’t tell anyone.

Adele will be the leading actress in a horror film, and this might be her big break.

Upon arrival on set, she receives a cryptic text from an unknown number. “If you’re not, don’t go. Not safe. Trust me.”

And…the set is in a very remote location, there is barely any cell service, the crew is all men, filming is done at night, and her stylist is very creepy.

When the crew disappears before a night of filming, Adele slowly begins to unravel. Is she really in danger? Mentally unstable? Or is she being gaslit?

Adele must figure out what is going on before it is too late.

This fast-paced, compulsively readable, twisty thriller engages the reader in a compelling metafictitious multi-layered plot.

Metafiction: a form of fiction which examines the elements of fiction itself.

The story within a story within a story subplot is clever, seamlessly written, and intriguing.

At over 500 pages (more than I would usually like to read in one book), it never felt long or dragged in any way. I read it in two sittings and enjoyed First Draft, Final Draft and Run Time equally.

This is by far my favorite book by Catherine Ryan Howard and I highly recommend it to those who also enjoyed After She Wrote Him by Sulari Gentill.

5/5 stars

Expected publication date: 8/16/22

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Adele, a down-on-her-luck actress trying to make it in Hollywood, is suddenly offered the leading role in a horror movie shooting in her native Ireland. She jumps at the chance to redeem herself after a previous on-set meltdown set her career up in flames. Once Adele arrives at the shooting location in a remote and isolated area of West Cork, she discovers the horror on set may not be all make believe.

As usually, author Catherine Ryan Howard cooks up a an entertaining thriller with lots of twists and turns. This is a mixed media book like Howard’s bestseller The Nothing Man. That was a book within a book. In Run Time, it’s a movie script and a book within a book. It gets a little meta at times. I liked Adele’s character and the peek behind the scenes of making a movie- even though this movie production was totally off the rails. This is perfect for fans of scary movies (like The Blair Witch Project) and readers looking for a twisty suspense story.

Unfortunately, this was not the read for me. I felt unattached to the characters and was bored throughout most of the book. Considered DNFing a few times, but stuck it out, hopeful things would get better. I did enjoy the setting and format of the book, but overall it was a rather disappointing read.

Well its safe to say Howards books just aren’t it for me. I don’t know if its her writing or way of telling a story but this never grabbed my attention and i never felt invested in the story.

This book left me feeling underwhelmed. I found myself swinging from being really interested in what would happen next to feeling quite bored with the plot.

The author managed to create a ton of build up at the beginning of the novel. I was really curious about the mysterious circumstances that the main character found herself in and trying to pick up on all the hints. However, the middle of the book is dragged out and repetitive completely losing the tension.

Unfortunately, the ending also didn’t make up for it. I was left feeling like there wasn’t any real moral to the story or true outcome to anything. I did like the screenplay bits interspersed throughout and the overall creepy setting of a horror film. But I’m not sure if that was enough to save it for me.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This one was a wild ride! From start to finish it's hard to know what's actually happening and what's real. I loved the format, how each chapter also had a scene from the screenplay. The ending is just twist after twist after twist. Who do you trust? Who do you believe? It's almost impossible to tell. I was reading part of this late at night and got scared enough that I had to stop for the night 😂

Read/Listen If You Like:
🔪 Thrillers
🔪 Horror Movies
🔪 Fast Pace Books
🔪 Multi-Layered Stories

Book Review:
This one was such a trip! I am definitely the person that screams at the movie theater when watching horrors and when things go bump in the night so this one definitely had me breathing a bit faster along with the main character Adele.

Adele is a blacklisted actress trying to make it in LA after an issue on set at her last job, so after not working for a year when she gets a call for an big paying job back in Ireland to be the lead in a horror she jumps at the chance to act again.

The movie she is to film is about a woman named Kate who is on a trip in the woods with her boyfriend and she starts reading a book and the things happening in the book start happening to her too. So when Adele starts experiencing things on set that mirror the plot of the movie she starts to worry for her safety.

As the book continues Adele continues to live out this layered horror as it happened in the script and in the book mentioned in the script. The twists and turns as this happened absolutely had me sucked in and not wanting to stop reading.

The only things I didn’t like was that it took me a little bit to get into the book as it had a slow start and I didn’t like how the reveal was done at the end, it felt lacking mystery and like all the cards had been flipped over for the reader. I always like a mystery that still leaves you wondering a bit and this one just didn’t have that for me with the way it was wrapped up.

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the ARC of this book! I am so grateful to obtain a copy to read in advance of its release in exchange for my honest feedback!

Set up:
Adele Rafferty is an actress who is down on her luck. She can’t seem to catch any breaks. After an embarrassing audition, she swears off acting. That DAY she gets a call offering her a lead role in a horror indie film, Final Draft. They need her to fly out tonight. Obviously, she takes it.

Quickly, Adele realizes that things are amiss onset, and she starts to see similarities between her life and the script of the movie she’s acting in.

Is she paranoid? Is the script haunted?

Review:

I thought the premise was catching. Howard is my favorite actor, so I was VERY excited for this book. Sadly, this book was not for me.

Keep in mind , the same things happen over and over and over. Book, movie, book. So it just got too trippy.

It was TOO much for me. I constantly felt like maybe I’m just too simple to keep up with what reality I was in. Was this the book? The movie? The other book? Cue: Michael Scott gif *I don’t know*.

Big sigh. I’m really sad because I think this did have good bones, but it really felt not ready to me.

I will still pick up Howard’s next book, but I hope I enjoy that one better than this.

Thank you netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Run Time was my first experience with Catherine Ryan Howard’s work and the blurb about a horror movie in the making really drew me in. Adele is an out of work actress who gets a mysterious phone call offering her the lead role in a horror film. She jumps at the chance without knowing much about the director or the film and heads to the secluded location in West Cork.

The first 25% of this novel was mysterious and I was invested. I loved the meta concept about a book within a movie setting and how everything was connected. Sadly, around the 50% mark, hardly anything had happened and I quickly lost interest. Most of the novel is Adele wandering around the forest looking for the crew members, hearing knocks on the door, fumbling around in her cabin, etc. I was hoping for more of a plot but for a book that’s over 500 pages, I need substance and Run Time didn’t provide that.

While this one missed the mark for me, I still plan to read CRH’s backlist books. Many thanks to Blackstone Publishing and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love books by this author! Her writing is always fresh and fun. This story didn’t quite live up to her previous books for me, though. It felt a bit too slow. I did like the mystery aspect and thought her characters were interesting. Overall, it was good and would work for thriller fans who don’t mind a slow burn and who like stories within a story and filmmaking.

3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4 for this review.

I am a huge fan of Catherine Ryan Howard, and she has become one of my top auto-buy authors. I’ll read anything she writes and would love to get in her head for just five minutes. Each of her books is entirely unique, and I have loved them all. Run Time is no exception.

I love books that are about horror movies. I just can’t get enough of them. Here we have a book about a movie about a book using elements of live action, a novel, and a screenplay. In the words of Gale Weathers: “How meta can you get?”

Run Time is atmospheric with its isolated cabin in the woods setting and very intense with its panic moments you’ll experience right along with the characters. And the gaslighting. So much gaslighting!

This one might appear long with its 500+ pages, but don’t let that scare you off. Many of the pages are screenplay and not full pages. I flew right through this one in two days.

It’s an easy recommendation for me. I loved it.

Read if you like…
✨Books about movies
✨Found footage narratives
✨Meta storylines
✨Intense, ominous, atmospheric books

My thanks to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book before its publication date. And more thanks to Blackstone for the finished copy I received.

I was absolutely riveted to this novel (everyone go away so I can read vibes). Excellent thriller, creative ideas, satisfying ending, and a lot of fun.
I definitely recommend for thriller fans and anyone looking for an entertaining book.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.