DNF
One of the fastest times Ive DNFed a book, I could not stand the writing style and voice. I can’t stand when authors try way too hard to sound like teens . I managed two chapters but I could not read the writing and dialogue any more

My lonely nights have just begun because my time with Cole and Dearie are over! Wow — what a blast it was to read. I’m always a little hesitant when books are advertised as “POPULAR MOVIE/TV SHOW/BOOK” - in the case of Lonely nights, Scream meets Clueless - so color me surprise when Adam Sass totally nails it. Or not too surprised - Surrender Your Sons was great so I knew he’d do a fantastic job with his third novel.

I really enjoyed getting to know the two MCs, their story told through interweaving chapters, and the cast of characters they called friends/flops. I do wish we got to spend more time with some of them before they’re whisked away but it’s a small qualm I have. The other is the third act is too long which is a critique I’d give to even the best Scream film.

Does Adam Sass have a new series on his hand? I definitely would love to see what adventures Dearie and Cole have in store in LA. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC.

This book was the perfect blend of Scream, Mean Girls and everything gay and is by far my favourite book I have ever read!

I loved how this book celebrated and championed queer friendship and how unbreakable the bond was between Dearie and Cole.

I found myself continually scared for all the characters (as one should be in a horror book) and on the edge of my seat this entire book.

Also the humour and banter that Dearie and Cole had with each other and other characters was hilarious and had me laughing out loud continuously.

This book was literally perfect and I would not change a single thing about it. If I could give this book more then 5 stars I would!

I liked the way this book portrayed queer friendships--as someone who is queer and a person of color I feel like I can be hyper-critical of these elements in stories, but I am happy to report that I enjoyed this! I loved the way the characters were written, too, though sometimes the language they used didn't do much to really immerse me in the story. (Loved the sass, though, that was fun). I loved the mystery set-up and execution, and I can totally see why some have said this is like queer Scream. Overall, fun and not too serious but with some really well done and important elements that are very relevant in today's society.

Dearie & Cole are literally the sassiest main characters I have ever read. With the wit that leaves me whiplashed and snapping my fingers with yaaaassss b**** destroy them.

Scream meets Clueless in this YA horror from Adam Sass in which two gay teen BFFs find their friendship tested when a serial killer starts targeting their school's Queer Club.

This book had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. It had me laughing, smiling and biting my nails in anticipation, for the killers to be revealed. I guessed one of the killers, and got it right but the other guy was surprised. This story for sure reminded me of the movie Scream in a lot of places. But for sure in a good. The story for sure tells of a story of a strong friendship that is put to the test in one of the harshest of lights. Sprinkle in a little racial injustice which got my blood boiling. I would for sure recommend this to anyone looking for a book that makes you laugh and keeps you guessing.



Thanks to NetGalley & Penguin Publishing for ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley, Adam Sass, and Viking for giving me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book's portrayal of queer friendship, as well as the serial killer mystery it set up. However, I found a lot of the language and way the characters related to each other very unrelatable and distracting from the story. It would probably have been more enjoyable if I was younger and more in the target demographic.

This was a fun fast paced YA slasher that explores queer friendships and relationships and would be perfect to read in the fall.

Summary — The infamous Sandman slasher from the 1970s has reappeared in the present and is targeting members of a high school queer club. He sends texts to his victims 24 hours before he kills them that read “Your lonely nights will soon be over.” Our MCs are Dearie and Cole - best friends who are both members of the queer club. They are juggling figuring out the identity of the killer, not getting blamed for being the killer, keeping their friendship in tact, and surviving his attacks.

What worked — Really fun! Great balance of queer friendships, queer relationships, and a who’s the murderer in the friend group mystery at the center that kept me guessing. Fun fall atmosphere and fast paced, bouncing back and forth between POVs. Really impressed with the pacing of this one and how it balanced elements of toxic relationships, queer acceptance, and the mystery as a whole.

Main feedback — Would have enjoyed more in-depth and frequent conversations between the two MCs so I felt more emotionally connected to them.

This was my first book by this author and I would read more from him. Publishes September 12, 2023.
This ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When a Queer club is being specifically targeted by a serial killer two gay best friends will have to find a way to not only survive but take down the killer before they're next! Dearie and Cole are the best of friends, they're inseparable, flirty, and unlikable. Dearie and Cole's friendship isn't for everyone, yes they flirt and hook up with each other, yes they can be rude and a bit mean, but they have each other's backs no matter what. In their town there use to be a serial killer known as Mr. Sandman who targeted individuals who were lonely and sad... but that was years ago and he wasn't caught... but suddenly his calling card is showing up and members of the Queer club are being killed off. Now Dearie and Cole have to stick together more than ever but everyone thinks that they did it and they are the main suspects. Now with the whole town thinking it's them, they'll have to figure out who the real killer is and prove that they aren't guilty... but with a bunch of people faking relationships to not be the next target, old town secrets, things are about to get very complicated! I am a huge fan of queer horror and this was a unique homage to Scream (which just happens to be one of my favorite horror movie franchises) and it definitely was a very unique story. It was a fun read and makes you interested to see what happens to the characters. Dearie and Cole aren't likable but thats what makes them interesting and I do enjoy a murder mystery but the plot felt a bit slow at some points but it might just be a me thing, so I would definitely recommend this for fans of queer horror!

*Thanks Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, Viking Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Queer, campy, and sassy are a few words I would use to describe this horror YA novel by Adam Sass. Horror mixed with comedy and snarkiness is my favorite genre. As a girl who watches the Scream franchise every year, I loved this slasher environment Sass created. The serial killer is truly unique and terrifying.

Mr. Sandman had a rash of murders back in the day and has returned. His MO is targetting heartbroken and lonely people by leaving a calling card that their "lonely nights are over". I felt this premise to be truly spooky and if I got into the mind of "Sandman", I'd think he could justify it as having some warped idea that he was motivating people to be together. The premise of this story is that he's back but now seems to be targeting members of the queer club.

Any interesting side effect of serial killers, or certain crimes in general like scams, has been how society adapts to them. For example, we have home security systems, we don't leave our doors unlocked, we rarely answer unknown numbers, and we have different routines. In this case, one side effect was the increase in marriages and babies because people didn't want to be alone. I found this fact included in the novel interesting!

Told in dual viewpoints between best friends Dearie and Cole, we follow these two as they navigate high school, dating, oh, and trying to not get killed. I don't want to give away the ending but I enjoyed it and only correctly guessed one part. Coming in mid-September just in time for spooky season, I loved this book and hope you will too!

Loved this book! Great level of suspense, and a very pleasant read.
The true crime aspect of the book and the tv show about the serial killer were some of my favorite details of the book.
The queer positivity and the friendship between the two MC’s are top tier! I love these boys a lot! It was realistic, cute, sad, sweet and had me rooting for them the entire book.
However I was wondering what a ‘Flop’ was most of the book but maybe I’m not Gen Z enough to understand that lol (thanks urban dictionary for helping me figuring it out)
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC for this book ❤️

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC! This is a perfect second book for Adam Sass. It was funny, scary, and a very entertaining read. It had a great twist at the end. For anyone who loves classic slasher films, you will love this book!

→ 3.5 stars;
→ arc provided via netgalley;

i fully understand that this is a me problem, but jesus christ, if i read or hear the word „flop” one more time i will go insane. there is absolutely no reason for someone to use that word so many times and it pulled me out of the story everytime. the slang was simply over-used.

despite this minor setback, i thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. it held my attention from beginning to end, as i managed to finish it within a day. the book's mystery element was skillfully executed, although the identity of one of the culprits was somewhat foreseeable. i liked how the horror and the humor were intertwined, but i can’t say i loved every joke. at times, they leaned too much towards cringy for my liking. overall, it was a quick, fun read, perfect for fans of true crime!

i’m not sure if that was the point, but dearie & cole aren’t very likeable characters. they often display a sense of superiority when it comes to their classmates, but especially towards those in the queer club.while their behavior aligns well with the main characters typically found in slasher stories, i think sometimes they were mean purely for the sake of it, only to be shocked when their peers disliked them for it. while i did enjoy dearie’s pov, cole was unbearable at times, especially towards the beginning of the novel. i do have to point out that the author did an amazing job at creating these two characters, as they had very distinct voices, so the two point of views didn’t feel redundant.

one aspect of the plot that i found less effective was the portrayal of dearie's relationship with grover. it felt forced, lacking any noticeable chemistry between them. prior to this development, their connection was not convincingly established, as they weren’t even friends, so they jumped from hating each other to being in love in the spawn of a few pages. in parallel, cole and dearie’s friendship was so well-crafted and it flowed naturally and i liked that it didn’t grow towards a romantic relationship, which is often the case. the cast of side characters was wonderfully done as well and i liked their dynamic – from being enemies to being friends because of the shared trauma.

overall, “your lonely nights are over” is a fun slasher novel, that features a diverse and intricately crafted cast of characters. it combines horror, humor & some heavier themes quite well and i can see this being a well-loved book by its targeted audience.

A queer YA horror novel that addresses DV and incorporates our obsession with true crime, Your Lonely Nights Are Over is a must read. I will admit, I think it started out a bit jerky - I wish there'd been a teensy bit more backstory before jumping right in. But once it got going, it really got going. The relationship between Dearie and Cole is lovely, and their relationships with their own and the other's parents is really well written. They both felt believable as seniors aching to get out of their small town, while also clinging to each other their long-term friendship. The mix of fear and longing for the future was beautiful and poignant.

Onto the horror! The Sandman was delightfully creepy, and I really did love the "clips" we got from the true crime series about the older murders. Our protagonists do occasionally fall prey to the stupidity of all horror movie characters, and let the killer escape to kill again another day. (Seriously folks, kick em when they're down!) But overall no one behaves with glaring idiocy, and the ways people survive - or don't - are all pretty reasonable. And the threat of The Sandman felt very real. Every character we grow to love had me fearing for their safety.

Overall a very fun thrilling read, and one I definitely recommend.

You’re Lonely Nights are Over

Queer YA Horror

I am here for this book! I absolutely loved it! Can we get more YA Horror?!

This book is more than just a horror book. But I’ll start there. The horror aspect of this, totally plays out as a sharp tongued dialogues slasher film. The characters are trying to avoid being killed when they are alone, they all suspect each other, while trying to work together. Its fast moving timeline really kept up the anticipation and made it so thrilling. This gave me the vibes of the Scream TV show by mtv (not the movies).

Now for the social aspect of this book. All the characters in this story (except for most of the adults which had such a tiny part) were queer. The killer is targeting the Queer community. But within that Queer community is strife, bullying, gaslighting, manipulation and so much toxicity. It shows how one alpha bully can change the narrative on so many situations, large and small, and how easy it is to get caught up in their manipulations.
These are high school seniors, so the peer aspect is important and accurate (queer or not) so seeing toxic relationships and friendships vs healthy ones is important.

The two MCs are besties, and it alternates between their POVs. One is white, and one is Hispanic. This also gave us different perspective on the situation, especially with how the police treated them, as well as how the public was quick to forgive one and demonize the other.

For a slasher/horror book, this is so much more. So many deep layers, which made it so much fun, since I love horror.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

𝙎𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙢𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝘾𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙔𝘼 𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧, 𝙞𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙬𝙤 𝙜𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝘽𝙁𝙁𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙩𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡’𝙨 𝙌𝙪𝙚𝙚𝙧 𝘾𝙡𝙪𝙗.

Scream is one of my favorite slashers, it’s such a classic movie. I was so excited to pick this up when I heard that reference, this would be the perfect spooky read!!

This was a YA story, but I found myself intrigued throughout the book. The actual kills start off early and multiple members of the Queer Club die off one by one. I always love when we get action right away, and this book definitely didn’t disappoint with that.

I really enjoyed Cole and Dearie’s friendship in this book, they’re both queer, but their friendship is so strong - and romantic feelings.

While this is primarily a mystery, I did enjoy that romance subplot. It wasn’t too strong and didn’t take away from the overall story, which I fairly enjoyed.

This book definitely has diverse & LGBTQ+ characters. While they’re not all rootable, I really enjoyed the concept of this book with the Queer Club… with that does come homophobia though.

I did find the ending to be very unsatisfying and predictable. I predicted who the killer was and the bigger twist very early on. Also, the subject matter in this book wasn’t discussed that well IMO. The combination of humor and terror just didn’t blend that well. I also felt like the tension of these kills was over the top.

However, this book was very enjoyable for the most part. It definitely gave similar vibes to Scream, I just wish it wasn’t as predictable. I still think this book is worth the read!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

Im a big fan of queer horror and friendships, so I was excited to read this book. Right off the jump it gets into the action. I don’t think I’m the target audience of this book, as I’m not a teen. Because of this I think I had a hard time connecting with this book.

Also worth mentioning that in the book members of the queer club are being targeted by a serial killer. Because of the subject matter, some people obviously might be uncomfortable with this read.

I was tentatively excited to pick this up as Sass' debut, [book:Surrender Your Sons|45154800] [ my review <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4961877444">here</a> ], was a surprise hit. While their follow up didn't work for me as much as I would have hoped, this at least was a return to a darker story like the debut. As bad as it feels to call a book about queer people being slaughtered by a serial killer, this was a fun time. I didn't quite expect for the novel to go as far as it did, for the murders to start as soon as they did or for the scenes to be as descriptive as some of them wound up being.

Unlike other books I've read I really felt like I was watching a teen horror movie play out as I read through this book. The middle dragged slightly, simply because I am never invested in playing detective. I think it's very admirable that these boys wanted to clear their name and get the person that was setting them up unmasked, but I had a pretty firm idea of who was behind it and was just waiting to see if I was right, so these boys could play detective for as long as they wanted as far as I was concerned.

Speaking of our two POV leads, I loved them. 2023 seems to be the year of me reading queer books with protagonists that break the mold of what I've come to expect from queer representation in this age category, and while I was side eyeing Dearie quite a lot in the end I did really enjoy him and Cole and the way the two of them interacted as well as the way they interacted with the other prominent characters.

This book comes out right in time for the Spooky Season and I think that any October would be thoroughly lacking if this wasn't included.

This was a great thriller and at times very funny. It was great seeing 2 friends and their close relationship and how they were protective of each other. I loved how each character showed a different side of themselves to other characters and not just each other to me that made it realistic. What I didn't like was how they made them kind of stereotypically gay at times. Something else I liked was the representation of how domestic violence is more than just being beat on but there is a mental and verbal form as well.

This book was so much fun! Very funny and crazy! I just wanted to say YASS queen the whole time. Thanks NetGallery!

Thank you Netgalley, Adam Sass, and Penguin Teen for sending me an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review! 🥰🫶
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WOW! The way my throat hurt from screaming when I finished reading! There were so many twists and the last half of the book had me on the edge of my seat screaming at each reveal! I loved the pacing of this book and it picked up right from the first chapter. There were a lot of characters but they were all different enough that over time you’re able to sort and identify them easily. I also like how there is plenty of foreshadowing of who the killer is and events that happen later in the book, as it was fun to realize all the clues I missed. This book is also wonderfully queer as the killer's main target is the MCs’ queer club members.
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I would compare it to The Pledge by Cale Dietrich as it is the only other queer slasher I’ve read and I loved both of them! I think I need to read more queer slasher horror! So if you need a book to tie you over until September, I would recommend The Pledge while you wait. Besides books, it also gives Scream vibes as well as Fear Street vibes.
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I really really loved this one and read the majority of the book in one sitting as I just couldn’t put it down. I really didn’t expect to love it as much as I did! I absolutely can’t wait for this one to come out so I can have a physical copy on my shelves.
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Your Lonely Nights Are Over by Adam Sass comes out on September 12th!