Meh. I called the ending extremely early and then just proceeded to roll my eyes throughout the entirety of the book. Very predictable, very boring, this makes [book:Final Girls|32796253] look like a good book.

Failed to pull me in. Too much time was spent on minute details and not enough time building the story in a way I personally enjoy.
Unfortunately, it's a DNF for me.

I am a sucker for summer camps and thriller/slasher books and was so excited to read this since it also had queer representation. However, I would not consider this good or healthy queer representation and I was so disappointed. The relationship was so toxic and I felt horrible reading this book. It made me sad and I wanted to DNF if so much and not that I’m finished, I wish I did. Overall, very disappointing read.

I would like to thank the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC of this book. I read an advanced copy of this book, so the final edition of the book might be slightly different. All thoughts and opinions are my own, as always.

When I read the synopsis and saw sapphic thriller, I knew I had to read this one. While we have seen a wave of new sapphic books releasing, I always get super excited whenever we get new releases in the thriller, fantasy, and sci-fi genres. And while I do think this book will find its readers and its fans, I don’t think I’ll be one of them in the end, unfortunately.

I think this book played up the expectations of a thriller a bit too much, where it’s more of a psychological look at characters falling apart after surviving a shared, traumatic event. Most of the action of the book actually happens before the book has even begun, with both the main characters and readers unsure of what actually happened. I do think this book could have worked for me if structured a bit differently because the build-up of the book does seem to play up the thriller/mystery aspect of the main character’s past and the truth of this event, when in reality this book ends up focusing on different aspects of this story. It’s more about what the unknowing does to the MC, rather than what the truth actually is. While this is a unique premise, and one I can definitely get behind, it just wasn’t what I was expecting, and it made the ending and the book as a whole feel unsatisfying.

There is also a lot of filler content in this book, especially for a thriller. It feels like there are a lot of breaks and pauses between finding out new things and plot events unraveling, and while that might be to show how the MC is also unraveling, it actually just becomes repetitive quickly. The MC has a few thought patterns that all events seem to lead into, and while this can show how her mind is twisting and warping, it was also just a bit too repetitive. As a reader, I got the point after the first few times, it didn’t need to keep repeating it for me. I saw another review mention that this book could’ve been a novella, and I agree! I think it actually would have been extremely strong in novella format, and would’ve changed the expectations I had going into the book, and would’ve led to a lot of repetition being removed.

Overall, I do think there were strong aspects to the ideas and character building of this story, and I do want to try other and future books by this author, but I think this book was hindered by the expectations of both the longer novel format and being sold as a thriller. It feels more psychological in nature (and not necessarily in a ‘thrillery’ way, except for certain bits), and hopefully, new readers will come into this book knowing that, and enjoy it more than I did!

Thank you to Penguin Group for the e-arc of this book!

The Last Girls Standing is a book about Sloan and Cherry - Cherry and Sloan. They are the only survivors of a camp massacre and are forever intertwined after their shared traumatic experience leaves them bonded for life. This book was right up my alley - except I DNF'd it at 40%.

Sloan's trauma was not handled properly. Or, at all. Cherry and Sloan's relationship was toxic, and while the author did good parts to explore it, the longer you spent with the Sloan, the worse her character got. Cherry, while being a big part of this. book, felt one dimensional to me. It was almost baffling that we were told about this camp massacre and it was marketed towards that, but it was an event in the past that Sloan spends the entire book trying to recover. In the end, we don't even know the whole truth, which I think really ruins the book and solidified me not picking it back. The fact that Sloan was so in love with Cherry, and desperate for her to be who she said she was, just for her to kill her, was wild.

The ambiguous ending was not a good fit. Overall, the concept was amazing, but the execution left a lot to be desired.

A book my teenage self would have loved just as much my adult self. I thought it was a slasher but it was the aftermath and I loved that. I always want to know what happens after these type of situations. I love a messy codepended relationship and this was done in away I think is so fitting for older teens. It was suffocation and sweet. I still don't know what is true and false in this book. Both sides of what could have happened was believable to me.

Dugan is an auto buy author for me. She writes YA queer romances beautifully and I have had many students find themselves represented in her stories. I am also sure many of my students will love this take on a thriller. That’s why I’m giving it 4 stars. From the perspective of the intended audience I can see this being a hit. For me? Not so much. I found our main character Sloane to be a bit too whiny. Cherry was eerily possessive. And I’m not going to lie, I did NOT see the plot twist coming, but the ending? I have way too many unanswered questions. I don’t want a second book. I feel like a lot could’ve been resolved in the final pages and it was just left there. If it were solely for me this would be a 3 star book.

This was a crazy ride. I wasn’t sure who to believe about what happened. I felt that Sloane couldn’t trust anyone and the person she was relying on the most wasn’t reliable.

I felt that her relationship with Cherry was toxic and I didn’t like or trust Cherry all the way to the end.

I felt the storyline was a bit all over the place. You think it’s a random murder spree one second and then a cult conspiracy the next. But why did they spare Cherry and Sloan? I even asked my friend who buddy read it with me if the murders themselves actually happened.

The ending was wild and then abruptly came to a close. I thought this had some great potential but in the end I was left confused and conflicted about how it made me feel overall.

I liked that this started after the murders and we follow two survivors as they try to move on with their lives and process what happened to them. It was a different way of telling a slasher story and we see how Sloane is struggling with PTSD and unsure what actually happened that night.

I thought there would be more flashbacks than there were and was a bit disappointed. I wanted to see how everything went down, but Sloane is so unsure of her memories that I didn't know if what we got was real or not.

Sloane and Cherry have a co-dependent relationship that I found toxic and I wanted them apart. The characters in general weren't that likeable and I was just rooting for Sloane to find out what really happened and if there was a conspiracy.

The story did a good job making me question if anyone was telling the truth and who could be trusted. The ending didn't go in the direction I had hoped, but it wasn't a bad read.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the copy.

Sigh….. I wanted to like this book based on the synopsis. I thought it was about the survivors of a slasher (Friday the 13th), but then the author brought in cults, soul mates, end of the world rituals, etc. The author just tried to do too much with this story. I did not like Sloan and Cherry. Their relationship was way too toxic.

I was not a big fan of this book for some reason :( It seemed a bit cheesy and unoriginal to me. I give this book a 2.8/10

This book started of slow. So slow I almost put it down and did not pick it back up again. The pacing was wonky throughout, but I did enjoy the little tributes to horror tropes and famous slashers throughout.

Sloan and Cherry meet each other as summer camp counselors and immediately become fast friends that quickly evolves into deeper feelings. The girls enjoy getting the camp ready for the kids to arrive the following week and they also like and get along with the other counselors and are having fun while also getting paid for their time. One night their camp is attacked by a man wearing a carved wooden rabbit's mask and swinging a hatchet while killing every person that night except two survivors, Sloan and Cherry (The Last Girls Standing).

A few months later the two girls are inseparable where Sloan has alienated herself from all her former friends since she is just an empty shell living each day in unfathomable fear of the unknown. Their need and love for one another is built on the foundation of two girls surviving a horrific massacre which tore their lives apart while trying to find a so called normal way of thinking and living again. Cherry is the strong one in the relationship while Sloan suffers severe PTSD including daily nightmares where she wakes up screaming night after night. If Cherry is suffering the same way she certainly hides it well. The main reason Sloan depends on Cherry so much is she has no conscious memory of the events that took place that night except for a few, tiny bits and pieces so that everything she knows about the massacre comes from what Cherry has told her since she literally saved Sloan's life when Sloan appeared to have entered a catatonic state of frozen fear and couldn't move a muscle to save herself.

Sloan is trying hypnotherapy hoping to gain her memories back from that night which upsets Cherry since she feels the horrific visions could destroy Sloan even further. Sloan is struggling and wants her memories back so much that she's starting to think some of Cherry's stories aren't adding up and maybe Cherry has lied to her about some things especially when she innocently comes across a couple of odd and inappropriate items at Cherry's house that seem so wrong that Sloan thinks there is so much more that happened that night with her blind spots and maybe Cherry has been lying and possibly involved with the killers in some way. Now, Sloan makes it her mission to discover the truth at all costs especially if her life is on the line once again!

Well,.this was an unexpected type of horror book! I had prepared myself for a gruesome, gory sort of entertainment but this was more of a psychological thriller in my opinion. This certainly wasn't a silly, bloody slasher story but a heavy post traumatic look at one girl's experience with trying to recover from an insurmountable type of tragedy and trauma and making puzzle pieces fit where they don't belong and pushing away all the people who truly care about her because she doesn't want to burden them and also thinks they couldn't possibly understand what she's going through so it's best to stay only with the only person in the world who understands her and is also the only other person in the world except the killer who knows what really happened that night.

The book took a different turn where I was surprised at the depth of emotion which played out. I expected to be horrified with bloody terror but instead I felt such sadness for these girls especially Sloan. I wish more had been explained about what Cherry was going through since it seemed hard to believe that both girls experienced the same brutal tragic night. I wanted to know more of Cherry's story and heartache if any! I felt disconnected to Cherry's trauma since it really wasn't addressed and that was somewhat disappointing for me.

This was an intelligent and unique YA horror but geared for anyone seventeen and up (not younger). All.in all I really enjoyed this book and I recommend it to any reader who likes mystery/thriller stories revolving around teenagers and their angst. There were also many funny and cute moments within all the drama so this book was definitely entertaining and a worthwhile read.

I want to thank the publisher "Penguin Group Penguin Young Readers Group" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!


I have given a rating of 3 1/2 UNEXPECTED SLASHING 🌟🌟🌟🌠 STARS!!

I love horror/thriller novels that take place in or around creepy summer camps! It is one of my favorite tropes in horror novels and this one was no exception. The protagonist, Sloan, was relatable and her fear/anxiety felt very real. One caveat: the constant reference to Cherry and Sloan's romantic endeavors seemed unnecessary. I fully love and appreciate the relationship issues but that drew me out of the story. Overall, a solid read.

How do you move on after you are one of two lone survivors of a summer camp massacre? All Sloan's family and former friends want her to do is heal and move on with the rest of her life, but it isn't that easy. The only person who Sloan thinks understands her is her girlfriend Cherry, the other loan survivor of that fateful night. But has more information comes out about the men that attacked the camp in a ritual killing, everything Sloan thinks she knows about that night changes. Was Cherry involved in that night? Did she know it was going to happen? Will Sloan survive what happens next?

Author Jennifer Dugan is showing that she is not afraid to explore genre. As a fan of her YA and adult romances, I was thrilled to see that she was diving into the YA thriller realm.

Overall I found this book to be a generally okay first thriller. I will gladly read anything Dugan puts out and I think with this first thriller under her belt, future novels will only continue to get stronger.

What I thought worked well: I LOVE an unreliable narrator/protagonist and the story continuously left me with an anxious, unnerving feeling that I crave with a thriller. Dugan successfully put us in Sloan's head while still writing in third person. The twists and turns through the second half of the book truly left me guessing and I did NOT see that ending coming.

What I wish worked better: I wish the mental health aspect had been handled with more care in the therapy/hypnosis sessions, it tended to read like the author did not know anything about seeking treatment for PTSD/C-PTSD and overall felt out of touch. The pacing of this book also felt off to me, the first half seemed to have little to no plot development and then a million twists and turns were crammed into the last 20% of the book.

Overall, an okay first thriller and I forever remain a Jennifer Dugan stan.

great book!! I enjoyed the thrille of the story.

The way it was written it was so easy to follow along! the story was so good and it really gave me the scream and horror movie feeling ! it was fantastic!

Listen. I know the ending of this book will probably be pretty controversial for a lot of readers, but I honestly didn't mind it. It kind of came out of left field and I liked that once I gave myself time to mull it over. I didn't really enjoy much else about this book though, which I am so sad about. I read Jennifer's debut right after it came out and have been excited about every subsequent release since. Her contemporary writing is so easily consumable, and I always leave her books feeling like the time spent reading them was worth it. Unfortunately, this book's writing wasn't my favorite. Though the characters are supposed to be unlikable and the relationship is supposed to be toxic in the context of the story, the pacing of a thriller is definitely not supposed to be this slow. I kept finding myself getting bored while reading and I only pushed myself to finish the book because I wanted to see how everything would tie up. Another gripe I had with the books is the synopsis. The description pushes you to think that the book is going to take one route, so when it didn't totally get there, I was extremely disappointed. I pushed myself through to the end of the book only for what I thought was being promised when I picked it up not to happen? On the bright side, the cover is absolutely gorgeous, but I wish that the story on the inside was just as great.

I’m a fan of Jennifer Dugan’s YA and adult romance novels, and I loved the premise. Unfortunately, the book didn’t measure up to my expectations. I was hoping for a sapphic spin on the Christopher Pike teen horror books I grew up loving. At the very least, I thought we’d eventually get more glimpses of the campground slaughter scattered throughout as Sloan unraveled the mystery.

Instead, it hyperfocused on Sloan and Cherry’s toxic, codependent relationship and Sloan’s rapidly declining mental health. Both were frustrating to read about.

This not a thrills and chills book. This is a mess with your mind book.

Perhaps my disappointment was my own fault. While the title and cover both scream “horror” the book is correctly advertised as a YA psychological thriller.

Part of the problem was that the most interesting part of the story happened before the book started. And since the Sloan had no memory of the events, I was robbed of what drew me to the book in the first place.

I considered giving up several times, but like Sloan, I wanted answers. Heck, I needed answers. After slogging through Sloan’s trauma and screwed up romance, I deserved answers.

There were no answers. The ending was WTF, and not in a good way. And as if that wasn’t irksome enough, this book also checks all three boxes of my least favorite lesbian cliché that has been overdone to death.

Jennifer Dugan is a talented writer, but this wasn’t the right story for me. I’ll stick to her romances from now on. If you’re looking for a gay Gone Girl, however, this book might be for you.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher and am voluntarily leaving this review.

Not what I was expecting, but damn, if this wasn’t compulsively readable. Fast-paced, confusing, stressful? and action-packed, this was a great slasher novel, but it did feel like there were too many threads being pulled, so there was a lot of confusion to muddle through, and it didn’t end in an expected way. This was unputdownable, and complicated, and dark. Maybe a bit too much going on, but I did enjoy it!

This was my first thriller in years, and it did not disappoint. I loved Jennifer's writing from Coven, and I had a large feeling that I would enjoy this one despite thrillers not being my thing.

Sloan and Cherry bonded in their traumatic experience when masked killers had a murder party at their camp. Sloan and Cherry are inseparable, but Sloan begins to suspect Cherry's role in everything.

This was fantastic. It gave 80s slasher with queer representation and it served. I was hooked very early on although the start was a tad slow. The twists and turns that this story took me on was amazing. I can't wait tor ead more of Jennifer's work!