Member Reviews

I requested an arc of In Nightfall solely due to the INCREDIBLY GORGEOUS cover art. Absolutely stunning. I had never heard of and therefore never read anything by Suzanne Young prior to this, but between the cover and the synopsis, I was hopeful. Spoiler: I WAS NOT LET DOWN!!!

I don't want to give any of the plot away, but I will say that In Nightfall not only has incredible world-building, but also LGBT inclusion, mystery, and it also grapples with issues such as abandonment and a family trying to heal after going through a divorce. That's A LOT and it was handled perfectly.

Regarding the pacing of the story (which is usually where books fail for me), this one was steady enough to keep me engaged the entire time and the story sped up as it got closer and closer to the end. How does it end? You'll have to read it to fine out but I was satisfied with the conclusion.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone without hesitation and I will be purchasing a hard copy version of this for myself. 4.5/5 stars.

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First the cover is beautiful and eye catching! This story is awesome and worth the read. I love the action and the friendship they all had.

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This book’s cover sucked me in immediately, I think I requested it before even fully reading the synopsis.But WOW! It was such a good YA paranormal mystery!

Marco and Theodora "Theo" (love this name btw) are being forced to visit their father's quaint beachy hometown, Nightfall, Oregon, due to a crazy party they threw. The small town is super cute, when it’s not raining, but their grandmother is superstitious and antisocial. Upon their arrival she lays out a strange house rule: always be home before dark. But Theo and Marco are determined to make the most of their summer, and on their first day they meet the Minnow and her group of beautiful and charismatic friends. However, Minnow and her friends are far from what they appear. Almost immediately Theo quickly realizes she should have listened to her grandmother’s rule. Because after dark, something emerges in Nightfall. And it doesn’t plan to let her leave.

This story was well-written, and narrated from Theo's point of view. The story deals with issues of abandonment as Theo struggles after her parent’s divorce. The whole story I was constantly questioning Theo's grandmother’s character and motivations. She is quite strange, and seems to get stranger as the story progresses. My main issue was that I found the grandma’ (and fathers tbh) lack of communication to be quite odd and out of place. Had they been honest, it could have kept everyone safe, and would have made more sense for what it seemed like those characters valued.

I really enjoyed the world-building, and the setting was quite detailed and spooky. The mystery was enticing, and it had a sense of urgency that propelled the book along. There is somewhat of a happily ever after, but there is one character death towards the end that I thought was perhaps a little unnecessary, but I wasn’t overly emotionally invested in them to feel too upset over it.

All in all, this was such a fast and enjoyable read! I think I read it in right around 3-4 hours, without stopping. It was so easy to get lost in, and the chapters flew by. I would definitely recommend it to fans of the YA mystery or paranormal genres!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

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Thank you to Delacorte Press for letting me read this early in exchange for a honest review!

This book was fantastic. a perfect summer horror novel that made me wish i was eating an ice cream cone as i read this on the beach. I went into this knowing nothing and let me tell you Suzanne Young does not disappoint.
Following along with Theo as she discovered the truth about Nightfall made me want to go back and reread it all over again.

If you are wanting a story that takes place during Summer Vacation with a little bit of Mystery. I highly recommend In Nightfall!

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This was okay, but I felt that the plot was overall rushed and I also didn't really connect with the story or the characters.

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Interesting story with a great mix of action and mystery. Theo and Marco are well developed, likable characters who figure out that there are times that they have to stick together no matter what. There was some predictability to the vampire plot line but it tied into the mystery of what was happening to Marco and how Theo was going to help her brother.

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This book was really fun!! It was a great spooky read! The only downside of this for me was that there was not enough slaying until the very end, but a very minor detail. Loved it!

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In Nightfall gives me all the twilight feels without the glitter. The town is spooky and old fashioned, and the residents have a secret. When Theo, her brother, and her dad visit their grandma for the summer, chaos quickly ensues. The teens find themselves in the middle of then popular crowd-which usually means trouble. Unfortunately for Theo and her brother, the trouble might be more than just mean girls. I really enjoyed this YA book, perfect for an spooky October read! The protagonist is likable, and the storyline is great. Fleshed our characters and a creepy town history makes this book what it is. If you like Grady Hendrix’s Southern Book Club’s Guide, the movies Fright Night & The Lost Boys, this book is a great choice!

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I when I saw this book described as Buffy meets The Lost Boys, I was immediately into it. And I think that comparison, particularly to Lost Boys is accurate. The ominous vibes are rich, here. And the scenes of teens doing whatever, hanging out, drinking on beaches, eating ice cream has those same vibes as the 80s film. I love that cell phone signal is terrible and that phones never work when you need them. I love the secrets of the town history, the way tension exists between townies and tourists. I liked this book a lot.

Marcus and Theo are in Nightfall, Oregon from the Summer. They’ve not met their grandmother before nor do they understand why their father has dragged them back to his hometown after an underage party gone awry. They notice quickly that the kids in Nightfall are different. Their grandmother is superstitious to say the least and standoffish, with lots of rules, including be home before dark.

But the siblings can’t resist hanging out with some of the locals who appear beautiful and charismatic and they soon realize it isn’t the dark they have to be afraid of. It’s the girls.

My biggest complaint about the story is the pacing. Things unfold slowly with tension and vibes and then in the last 25% the reveals and action is nonstop.

I wish we’d gotten more of the history discovered rather than in dialogue. There are many opportunities to have Theo figure things out and I can’t believe she takes so long to understand what’s happening.

Overall, I would recommend this book. It is YA but without a lot of the annoying aspects of YA novels.

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Wow! I did not expect to like this as much as I did. I am NOT a YA reader, and so had never encountered Suzanne Young before - I'm a snob, so I'm sorry to say I thought I wouldn't like this since it is for teens. I thoroughly enjoyed this as a horror read for those of us that don't live in the horror-genre year round but like a spook in October.

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As someone who lived in the Pacific Northwest for years, the setting of IN NIGHTFALL by Suzanne Young was especially appealing. The book delivered on it! From the drive as siblings Theo and Marco and their dad approached Oregon to the first sighting of downtown, the world building was the strongest draw. Once that was established, the author kept unveiling details and incorporating more of the town, which really worked. I want to use part of the early chapters as an example on how important world building is even in contemporary books. The sibling relationship between Theo and Marco was also a strong part of the story; their history felts deep and connected, even when they were arguing.

The weak point was some of the other characters and how over-the-top the "weirdness" of the people in town--including two hitchhikers--came across immediately. There was no slow burn about it, which was disappointing.

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Like the book blurb claims, this book is indeed The Lost Boys meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was a huge fan of The Lost Boys growing up, so I really got into the whole thing with the vampires waiting to be invited inside.. The characters are well developed, even the secondary ones like Felix and Elijah. My particular favorite was Theo’s Nonna who turns out to be pretty bad ass. (I can’t help but think that her name is a reference to Strenga Nona which would make sense, given the role she plays in the book.) The storyline is interesting, and the pacing is just right. In fact, I don’t think the word vampire appears until well into the second half of the book. While the story does have a happy ending for Theo, there’s no happily-ever-after for the vampire love interest.

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Typically when I see a book promoted as being like a previously published book or a movie, I find the comparison false. In Nightfall is gloriously like a gender-bent Lost Boys and I loved everything about it. Was I still yelling at the characters to do things differently, yes. But that's part of the fun with horror. In Nightfall was fun, dark, and quirky.

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This is a very solid, fun, YA-summer-horror romp, though it didn't particularly stand out for me. It was plenty diverting, with well-developed characters and a great small-town setting, though.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars.

Spoilers ahead. I will not reveal anything big - most of the review vaguely alludes to plot, structure, and characters.

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I loved the worldbuilding and scene-setting that Young manages - it not only helped me get a feel for Nightfall, but also gave extra depth to the characters, which I appreciated. The characters were pretty well fleshed out, and I really liked how down-to-earth and realistic Theo was - when it comes to horror, I'm used to feeling somewhat exasperated with the main characters. Not Theo. Theo was excellently perceptive. I felt like the protagonists and antagonist were appropriately dimensional, and the story did a good job of avoiding the pitfalls that most horror trip into. I'm giving it 4 stars rather than 5, as I found the mystery aspect to be a tiny bit predictable.

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Again, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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This book is a good book for anyone, but an absolute riot for any fans of the late 80s cult classic “The Lost Boys.” It’s all there: the creepy grandparent, the sibling dynamic that overpowers vampirism, and even a much cooler updated version of the Frogger brothers.

I have positive feedback and I have negative feedback. On one hand, it was slow to get started. It’s YA and supernatural, so I was hoping to get sucked in a little quicker. Additionally, the *******************SPOILER*********************
Girlfriend is Sylvia, the queen vampire? I get that this really is just a gender swapped Lost Boys and Sylvia is the Edward Hermann, but it was just too familiar. She was a nobody and that storyline wasn’t flushed out as well as it could’ve been.

Positive: I have three big ones: the books is insanely fun and, as I mentioned, wildly nostalgic if you loved The Lost Boys, the characters are very likable and really make you feel invested in the story, and once it comes to a boil, it all unfolds quickly and becomes hard to put down.

My only other complaint is really more of a question…. Super unpopular opinion, probably, but wouldn’t it be nice to see the girl just embrace her villain boyfriend and dive headfirst into that vampire lifestyle just once? Just me? I’ll see myself out.

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This was my first read from Suzanne Young. I was drawn in by the book's synopsis which sounded promising. The opening chapter had me questioning if I'd made the right choice to read this book. Because of that, it took me a while to get into the book.

Marco and Theodora "Theo" were being forced to visit their father's birth town, Nightfall, Oregon, because of a crazy party they threw when he was away. This wasn't the problem for me. It was the way they spoke to adults that rubbed me wrong. Worse, the behavior was not addressed. Teenage drinking was not really addressed either, though it was known that it was happening.

Once I got past my distaste of their misbehavior, I was able to gain traction in the book. The story was well-written from Theo's point of view. The story deals with issues of abandonment and a family trying to heal after a divorce. Theo's grandmother has fire but is quite strange. She seems to get stranger as the story progresses. I found her lack of communication (and their dad's) weird, but upon reflection, I wonder if the author was trying to capture the younger generation's point of view when looking to connect with adults. Had they been honest with Theo and Marco, it could have kept everyone safe, maybe.

I enjoyed the world-building and the mystery that Theo needed to unravel before it was too late. I liked a few of the characters, while others were annoying. There is LBGTQ inclusion; though they are not the main characters. The pacing was steady enough to keep the story moving, but it sped up as it got closer to the end (or maybe it was just me needing to know what happened next). There is somewhat of a happily ever after, depending on what you were hoping to happen.

Overall, I'd recommend this read to mature high schoolers and older.

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This was such a fun read! It was the perfect blend of old school nostalgia (The Lost Boys & Buffy) and modern takes that kept me up well past my bedtime because I HAD to know how it ended. I loved the creep factor, the twists, the sibling banter, and Nonna was the BEST! I do wish things had worked out differently for one character in particular, but overall, the ending was both satisfying and bittersweet.

In Nightfall makes a great addition to Spooky Season reading lists.

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4.5/5 stars. To be released March 2023.

Well this was a great read. I had been in a reading slump for months. Multiple books picked up but never finished. Not with this one. Immediately I was pulled in to the weirdness of the small town of Nightfall. The writing was suspenseful and made this a page turner I couldn't put down. In Nightfall is a must read for an supernatural fan!

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In Nightfall by Suzanne Young was such a fun read!! Be afraid..be very afraid! Incredibly atmospheric (I mean..it takes place in Oregon!) and delightfully spooky! This is a book you are definitely going to want on your Halloween reading list!

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