Another great book from Mira Grant. Similar to "Black Mirror" and "Total Recal" with an imersive VR system used in therapy setting to create new memories but add a horror twist.

Such a short read I started the story over again as soon as i was done. The second time all the scientific information in the beginning made much more sense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for an advanced audiobook for review.

I was excited to see the novella audiobook available on NetGalley for review for Final Girls by Mira Grant. I've enjoyed reading multiple books by Mira Grant (also known as Seanan McGuire).

This book is about Dr. Jennifer Webb's virtual reality technology with a special medical cocktail to "fix the worst parts of yourself by confronting your worst fears".

Esther Hoffman is a journalist has been trying to debunk this kind of pseudoscience for her whole career. Dr. Webb is willing to let Esther test the her technology in hopes to convince Esther that it works.

This story gives the vibes of near future technology with the horrors of black mirror.  There were time in the story where there was some telling not showing but it seemed more because it was from the character's perspective in the virtual reality. 

This story did have a twist with real-world threats which I feel that part of the book description summary could have been left out to add more mystery for when you are reading the story.

I enjoyed the audio narrated by Jennifer Pickens of this novella and I can see myself rereading this in the future. 4/5 stars.
Thank you, NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the opportunity to read this book.
#FinalGirls #NetGalley

(I keep trying to load reviews but getting responses "Unable to find book with ISBN "9798765055625" on Goodreads")

Final Girls is a fascinating and thought provoking novella. The books tells of a new technology that is used as therapy, allowing participants to essentially reprogramme their brains to overcome trauma or to strengthen relationships. Esther is a journalist who is invited to try it out for herself, but things don't go to plan.

This is not the kind of book I usually read, but I found it incredibly interesting and it threw up some questions around ethics and morals.

The short story was fast paced and action packed, I would have loved it to have been longer! It reads like an episode of Black Mirror and I could certainly see it doing well if ever made into a TV show or film.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for sending me this ARC in return for an honest review.

This is my first experience with the name Mira Grant, though I'm very fond of Seanan McGuire's October Daye world. I saw how short Final Girls was, and to be very honest, my hopes weren't high. I thought how could something so short give me the highs and lows that rival Toby? Boy was I wrong. I listened to this while I had a slow day at work, even going so far as to delay my very much needed bathroom break because I just couldn't accept pausing the story even for mere minutes. The characters sucked me in, and were so well developed that I can only hope for more. I love the development of the characters, the change in them, and seeing how they were morphed by the process of this "therapy".

I can now say that I definitely need more. More of these characters, more from this world, more experiences of this "therapy".

5 Stars, hands down.

I really liked this book. From beginning to the end, I had a good time listening to the plot as it unfolded. I had a decent idea how it would end and though the path to get there was vastly different than what I expected, I was happy to feel like the conclusion was kind of perfect for the tale. This was not a horror book. It was maybe a techno-mean girls-suspense-ishy thing. Re-reading that statement makes it sound bad. There was a lot of technical talk and a clear direction for the story to go within that discussion. The "inside" was kind of odd and maybe the only real reason this was not a 5* for me. It went back to high school bullying and then morphed into more. The lead up to the ending was abrupt and could have been so much more involved than it ended up being. Overall it was short but fun.

Dr. Jennifer Webb has created a virtual reality technology to help patients heal by making them go through horror film scenarios. Esther Hoffman, a reporter, is very skeptical about the treatment, and is trying to find the truth about Dr. Webb.
This is a horror novella, a very quick, disturbing and entertaining read. I listened to the audio book, and the narration was on point. The plot was interesting, and I would've loved to see this turned into a novel and go deeper into this world. The writing was great, very poetic, and the two female main characters were amazing, strong women.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Final Girls by Mira Grant

Fun fact - Mira Grant's novella, Final Girls, originally published in 2017 is now being released in audio format.

What if you could fix the worst parts of yourself by confronting your worst fears?

I found the "virtual reality as a therapeutic device" concept interesting. This will be a show stopper for some and others will find it just okay.

Thank you to the publisher, Mira Grant and Net Galley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

You know how you feel the moment Jurassic Park announces they are trying again, but this time it’s fine and totally safe and nothing can happen now?
That was the haunting feeling this book started out with, and it just kept getting better.

I love horror movies so this audiobook was a treat to listen to. I really enjoyed the audiobook narrator!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #FinalGirls for this chance to listen to this arc in exchange for my personal opinion.

I needed something different and wanted to try a thriller and wow did this one deliver. It went way off the tracks of where I thought it was going, but also kept me guessing. There was a little bit at the end that I felt could have been cleaner and more explained but I really enjoyed this read. Mind control is something that frightens the heck out of me, and this story didn't let me down. I could see this happening in the future and it is brutally scary to me.

I thought the narrator did an excellent job.

Final Girls is a horror novel where technology and capitalism are (superbly, and terrifyingly) cast as the villains. It’s social satire/criticism at its finest; which shouldn’t be a surprise with Mira Grant’s (aka Seanan McGuire) well known wit, insight, and creativity.

Final Girls tells the story of a new, revolutionary virtual reality therapy where patients are put into incredibly realistic horror movie simulations as a therapeutic process. Ofcourse, everything isn’t quite what seems when an investigative reporter gets exclusive access to the clinic and a specifically tailored simulation.

Highly recommend for lovers of technology, horror fiction/horror movies, witty plot lines, and strong female leads. The narrator was also perfectly cast and built anticipation exactly as I hoped.

This was a great spin on the Final Girls phenomenon! I love science & monsters! Part Nightmare on Elm Street, part Corporate espionage thriller … with some great classic monsters.

A novella that you could read in one sitting! You can’t go wrong with something this short other than wishing it were longer! I look forward to more from Mira Grant! Zombies!

Mira Grant never lets me down with her sciFi horror novels. I am not a fan of zombies, even a hater of them, But every time I read a zombie type story from Grant it is such a new take on them and I enjoy them so much. I love the how she always questioning the ethics of science. How you are left weighing if the ends are worth the means.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The concept of virtual reality to overcome fears is a somewhat scary idea and makes this a chilling short story. This could become a reality one day and this story showcases how chilling it could be if utilized by the wrong people. This was a quick and creepy story.

A quick novella that feels like Black Mirror. Ultimately, this was just okay for me. I’m the pacing was great and I loved the concept. Basically, a “scientist” puts her clients in a simulator that alters their memories in a way. In this simulation, the main character is placed in a horror scenario with a loved one. I liked the idea and think the book could’ve been a full length novel.

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Mira Grant's novella, Final Girls, originally published in 2017 is now being released in audio format. This story features Dr. Webb, who has created a ground-breaking VR technology that she purports helps clients overcome long-term psychological damage and trauma. With this process, the clients get taken back to significant times in their lives and run through situations that basically equate to scenes straight out of a horror movie.

I understand the idea to be that the scientists take the clients back to these pivotal moments, break them, shock them so severely, that they are able to rebuild new memories and thus rewire their brains; resetting their psychology.

Another main player in this one is Esther Hoffman, a journalist, who has her own very strong opinions on this type of science. Esther ends up in Dr. Webb's lab for a story. She observes a couple of clients running through the process themselves, as well as observing the resulting aftereffects. Then Esther agrees to undergo the treatment herself.

When a real world threat enters the lab during Esther's scenario, Esther and Dr. Webb, once on different sides, are suddenly forced together in a fight for survival.

Final Girls explores a unique concept that I was definitely intrigued by. I would definitely pick up a full-length novel tackling these futuristic ideas. My experience with this story overall, however, can be broken down as follows:

Concept: 4-stars
Plot: 3-stars
Characters: 3-stars
Writing: 5-stars

Mira Grant's writing is something to experience in and of itself. I love it. Every word carefully placed, themes thoughtfully examined, well-paced and nuanced. I always eat it up. While I don't think this story will stick in my memory from now until forever more, I am really glad that I listened to it. The narration was fantastic and it definitely is interesting to think about this type of futuristic therapy.

Thank you to the publisher, Tantor Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I had fun with this one and will continue to pick up any Mira Grant work I can get my hands on!

4.5 stars - TRIPPYYYYYY! Did I just listen to an episode of Black Mirror?! This was amazing, a genius concept, and a truly creepy novella. I wanted it to be longer! I was hooked from the start. Jennifer Pickens narration was great, Mira Grant’s writing was terrifying in the best way. I listened to this during middle of the night wake-ups with my newborn, and this truly freaked me out. Only docking a half star as I didn’t love the ending, but I highly recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

ARC audiobook provided in exchange for an honest review.

This book was released about 5 years ago and is now getting released in audiobook format. I’ll start by saying I really enjoyed the narrator with her calming voice! The story itself was very short and while enjoyable, I felt it was lacking something at the end. I wanted more closure to the story than I got. I did find the concept interesting in regards to helping people make amends and move forward in their lives via the virtual reality world.

Author: Seanan Mcguire aka Mira Grant aka A. Deborah Baker
Narrator: Jennifer Pickens

I received an ARC (advanced reader copy) of this book as an audiobook through Netgalley

This book explores questions so many of us philosophy lovers have pondered.

What would life be like if we could rewrite our history?
What would life be like if we could add a memory that somehow fixed the broken parts of ourselves?
What would our dreams look like on a movie screen?
If we are in a less than fully conscious state even with a trusted surgeon/dentist/therapist/hypnotist - can we ever be truly safe?
What if hypnosis made us change forever?

This book is based around a highly advanced technology that uses horror scenarios, computer code, drugs, and a particular therapeutic aims to change client’s lives for the better.

This therapy works when all other forms of typical therapy have failed.

The two main characters are Dr. Jennifer Webb (the proprietor of the therapy) and an ambitious journalist eagerly hoping to debunk the therapy.

While the therapy is taking place and both of our main characters are unable to defend their physical bodies… a very real life threat threatens the entire operation.

This book just proves the brilliance of Seanan Mcguire’s mind. I highly recommend this book.

The only book I can think to use as a comparison is False Memory by Dean Koontz… but they are vastly different books.

Jennifer Pickens did an excellent job narrating. Every voice was easy to imagine as it’s own individual character. Brava!

This is a story about post traumatic growth….and mad science!

Mira Grant (aka @seananmcguire) doesn’t miss. This was a quick, delightful piece of sci fi horror. Despite the short length, it packed a massive emotional punch, and left me thinking about clinical ethics & how we treat PTSD.

Thank you so much @netgalley & @tantoraudio for the listen!

The concept of the Final Girl has always fascinated me. I see that this has been available in print for a hot minute but I had not heard of it before I found the audio on NetGalley. Of course I had to request it and I was pumped to get approved!

This is short. So short. I definitely expected it to be longer just based on the whole final girls thing. But honestly, it wasn’t rushed and it was definitely a full story. Could it have been expanded on? Absolutely. Any expansions would have really filled this out into a full novel and depending on how it was done, I don’t think it would have ruined the story. Did it need the expansions though? No, I don’t think it did. It’s a solid final girls story the way it is.

I’m not sold on the way that mental health and trauma was dealt with in this story, but it FIT. It was basically the premise and background of the story so having it in there was important but I don’t have to like it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️