The Slumber Party is an exciting thriller that follows Liz, Sami, Mo, and Amy - four close-knit high school friends who share everything -- until they don't. Was it that teenage distrust that caused their friendship to fall apart or was it more? A little over 15 years later, Liz hasn't talked to any of the other three; however, she soon finds threatening notes around her house, and a detective shows up on her doorstep. What happened all those years ago? Liz now has to face the others (at least those who remain of the others) again, not only for her sake but also for her daughters.

The story is told through multiple POVs and timelines. Having chapters told through each of the main characters' perspectives definitely added to the overall narrative. I thought the characters were well- thought-out and -developed. Each had their own personality, quirks, strengths, and weaknesses. In a character-driven book, it's definitely important for the characters to stand out, even if the characters are mostly unlikable. The only character that I didn't understand/thought was unnecessary was Francine.

Overall, I did think a lot of the book was predictable, including the ending. With that said, I still actually really enjoyed it.

Liz, Amy, Sami and Mo were childhood friends whose prom night ended in tragedy. Now years later Liz begins receiving messages from her friend that died that night. But how could she if she’s dead?
This book had many twists and turns that I guessed right off but it was still a good book and I enjoyed reading it. I hope to read more by this author.
Thanks NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC that will be released March 22, 2023!

I struggled to get into this one for a few reasons; it was quite confusing at first with the different characters, they were all very unlikeable, there were lots of twists but all but one I guessed long before they were revealed and I found the ending quite anti climactic. I would probably read another one of her books but this one wasn’t one of my favourites.

I couldn't get into this one. The characters and slow beginning ... meh. The cover has promise and the premise but maybe just not the trope I was thinking.

Four friends close as can be from the time they met as kindergarteners all the way through senior year of high school. Until prom night, when the unthinkable happens, a tragedy in which all of the girls are complicit. The girls go their separate ways until the secret that binds them draws them back together 15 years later, threatening to expose their lies.

This dual timeline, multiple POV novel gives you the perspective of the friends in both the past and the present. All of the girls are flawed or damaged in some way and are fairly unlikeable as adult women, making it hard to care what happens to them. I would recommend this book to someone new to the thriller genre: although it has plenty of twists, they are telegraphed too obviously and too early to surprise a seasoned suspense reader.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me an advance copy of this book.

Wow! This was my first read by Shannon Hollinger and it DID NOT disappoint!

Four friends. Lots of secrets between them and one horrific slumber party. Now they are grown up and someone is threatening to tell what happened that night. There’s so much to lose for everyone involved.

This book had a lot of twists and turns; surprises galore. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for this ARC,

The Slumber Party by Shannon Hollinger is the type of psych thriller that you expect to be one thing but instead goes in a totally unexpected direction.

I loved 95% of it! (I’ll get to that 5% in a bit).

I really liked how the author set everything up. We know that there are/were four close friends. And we know that something happened their senior year that split them apart.

We also know that the main character, Liz, has been expecting another shoe to drop for a long time – all going back to whatever happened during their senior year.

What follows from the setup is a twisty tale of love, friendship, teenage hormones and angst, and a look at how the evilest people can be the best at hiding it.

(For what it’s worth if you need a trigger warning, there are predatory and grooming themes in this story).

The writing is extremely atmospheric, as the author paints vivid pictures with detail of surroundings and interactions. By the way, mood plays a big part in the story.

This review is a little difficult to write because there are a LOT of twists, and it would be easy to accidentally let something slip if I talk too much about the plot. Suffice it to say that it is a page-turner that kept me intrigued.

Yeah, my jaw dropped more than once, and I have more than a few "Wait, what?!?" notes in the margins.

I did guess at one big twist fairly early on, but there were still several that the author had hidden, which I appreciate. As I said, I really enjoyed most of it.

The 5% that I didn’t get – Francine. I understand part of her role in everything, but there are a few things that did not seem complete. Maybe it just went by me, but I definitely feel like I missed something.

No matter, though, because The Slumber Party is still an excellent psych thriller that I can highly recommend. And I will look forward to the next book from Shannon Hollinger.

This book was written based on a digital copy of the book from Bookouture. For more reviews like this, please visit Fireflies and Free Kicks.

** spoiler alert ** Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of The Slumber Party by Shannon Hollinger for an honest review.

3/5 Stars

I liked the concept of this book, but it was pretty obvious what was going to happen and who was involved. I figured out that Mo was actually Amy about halfway through the book. Liz was super annoying and I was kind of done with her character after a few chapters in.

I liked the dual POVs throughout the book, but they switched back and forth so much that I would get confused as to whose POV it was. Plus, they were super short. I think some of the POVs could have been combined to make longer chapters and it would have been less confusing.

Like I mentioned earlier, I liked the concept of the book and that's what drew me in originally. For how short of a book it was, I felt like the character development was pretty spot-on. Each personality for Liz, Sami, Mo, and Amy was developed and experienced. I don't know if it was done on purpose, but making Sami have the least amount of POV and book time was interesting considering her character felt like she was always left out unless needed.

Overall, it's a good little mystery, a short read, and I would recommend it to others.

In advance, I wanted to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy.
I was quite gripped by the book’s description at first. As I dove into it, I really enjoyed the present vs. past time settings, as well as the different character’s point of view.
I found myself confused throughout mostly of the book, as there were unclear endings regarding various situations.
There was too much going on, and at the end, everything was revealed quite quickly. As a suggestion, I would’ve revealed certain things throughout the whole book to keep the reader entertained and looking forward to finish the book.
Going back on my words, the end was quite fast-paced, while the rest of the book was quite slow and lacking interesting events.
The characters weren’t likeable at all; they lacked substance and depth.
This book should definitely have a trigger warning regarding child abuse, rape and suicide.
Not the book for me, but enjoyed the end.

Alternating between the now, 2014-2015, and the past, 1995-1999, Hollinger weaves a suspenseful story centered on childhood best friends who would do anything for each other. Nothing could break their bond until something did. On prom night back in 1995, they were completely unaware that they would be forever changed come morning. By morning, one of them would be dead. Fast-forward to 2014 when mysterious notes start showing up, pushing the friends to their breaking point.

We have seen this type of plot play out in so many other books however, reading this story feels fresh. This is a fast-paced suspenseful read that was hard to put down. Told through different perspectives we get a clear understanding of each character. The dynamics of friendship and trust are explored in a way that keeps us drawn to the pages.

I received an ARC of this book and leave this review of my own accord.

Shannon Hollinger, you are now on my TBR list, always. This is the first novel I have read by Shannon, and I was thrilled with it. The novel is exciting, suspenseful, fast, and it kept me on edge, and second guessing my choice of the perpetrator.

The story concept is not new, friendship, secrets, betrayal, love, and what happened to whom. This is a thread in a lot of novels, and many I have read. What I like about this particular novel is the quick pace of dual timelines, then and now. Sometimes with the then and now, the novel becomes sluggish. Happily, that was not the case here.

Without going into much detail, the story is about a group of childhood friends attending Prom, naturally, an incident, terrible incident happens at Prom, and the friendships fracture, as one of the friends is dead? Or, is she?

Characterization is very well done by Shannon, and the multiple POV’s weave seamlessly. I can’t say I like all of the characters. Liz, leaves something to be desired, then and now. I really wasn’t into sleepovers as a teenager, and this book cements my reluctance!

Not a boring story, well developed characters, and it keeps you wondering…who, and why. The ending was a bit of a let down, but that did not take away from the story. I’m happy to have discovered this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the advanced eARC, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

4.75/5 stars! This book felt like an adult version of 'Pretty Little Liars.' The shifting timelines of this book gripped me and made to dive into this book and finish it in one sitting. This book is so fast-paced that it was easy to read it cover to cover and I found myself shocked by the ending. I didn't like every character but enjoyed the shifting perspectives. A great thriller and will definitely be picking up another book by this author.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Sami, Amy, Mo, and Liz were best friends in high school. It was such and intense and selfless friendship, they felt insulted from the outside world.

Now, 15 years later, the women don’t know each other at all. They all went their separate ways. But the secrets they have from the past won’t stay buried and the past and present collide in devastating ways.

Told in alternating chapters, bouncing from the present to the past, the complicated lives of these four women are exposed.

The Slumber Party’s pace and short chapters kept me engaged. This was my first book by Shannon Hollinger and I was impressed, I would definitely read more by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and Shannon Hollinger for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

Liz, Sami, Mo and Amy are best friends, they grow up together and as such share secrets. Something major happens to them on prom night and their friendship disintegrates. What has torn them apart?

This book flips between the different characters and also between 1999, their last year at high school, and also the present day. I really enjoyed this approach because it really built suspense. I genuinely had no idea what had happened and who was involved. It definitely kept me turning the pages on my kindle!

The last page intrigued me and I feel there’s more to come with this story!

“The Slumber Party” is a thriller by Shannon Hollinger. This book follows a set of friends in both the present and past. I cannot say that I liked any of the main characters, but they had distinctive voices so it was rather easy to keep their chapters apart. While the “big reveal” I found a bit obvious (and a number of the other reveals were also, must admit), it was an enjoyable read. I was a bit bewildered by the last few pages of the book - not sure why they were necessary. But, that’s a minor point - if you like a quick thriller read about a set of friends who say they’ll always be together - this book may be your thing.

I read The Slumber Party over a couple of days and enjoyed it. It’s a tense thriller that builds to a dramatic conclusion. Some great characters who to be honest I loved to hare them all. It goes between past and present and that adds to the plot line with chapters told from different points of view. The only problem I had was I had to sometimes to remind myself who’s point of view that specific chapter was from. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

An amazing thriller that keeps you guessing throughout the book.

Mo, Amy, Sami and Liz have been friends for as long as they can remember and stayed friends right away though high school until a murder happens that causing them to split.

The book is split into multiple p.o.vs but it was really easy to keep up with who was who (which for multiple p.o.vs can be difficult to do). I loved reading about the friend group when they were younger and learning about how they grew up together. The friend group to me was realistic, having live for one another but also jealously in moments.

There were many times I felt like I had known how this book was going to finish but I never saw how it would actually come to an end. There was a moment I was questioning what I thought was a plot hole but the author had cleared it up as soon as it had come into my head.

It really was such an entertaining read and I look forward to reading more from this author!

This book has a palpable tension that keeps the pages turning…..simply brilliant… I had to finish this marvelous thriller in one sitting! Taut and incredibly suspenseful, every moment is perfectly crafted to keep me wanting more. An engrossing, spine-tingling read!

Four young girls have been friends since they were very young. They feel that nothing can destroy their friendship. Until a predator gets involved in their lives and changes that friendship forever.
A tragic event on Prom night separates them, and they barely keep in touch with one another. Until the world traveller arrives home and a hidden body is unearthed.

This is actually a very good domestic thriller, I enjoyed it immensely. It is a quick read, and makes one realise that what we project outwardly is not what is being felt inwardly.

I do recommend this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a decent enough read with a few twists that kept me guessing. There was lots going on throughout the book that often left me a little confused as I felt it didn’t flow as well as it should.
Not my favourite read this year, but enjoyable nonetheless.