I adored this YA slasher where two queer BFF’s are unlucky suspects when a old serial killer comes to town 50 years later, but this time targeting their school’s queer club.

This was such a thrill from start to finish, like I couldn’t put it down! Needing to find out the killer and how the little queer pack of ‘friends’ unmasks them. Finished in one day. This isn’t a romance in that the two MC’s aren’t destined to be together, it’s about young loneliness and friendship.

Described as Scream meets Clueless, and I would agree.
If you like 90s teen slashers this is the book for you!

If you like twisty thrillers with an extra queer flair…this is for you! I really enjoyed the POVs of Cole and Dearie. Also the examination of abuse in its many forms.

Sometimes the writing was overly quirky and casual so it felt like reading the stream of consciousness of a teenager which was hella immersive and fun at times but other times it was a bit distracting or annoying. But overall, I enjoyed it!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Review based on final copy. All opinions are my own.
I had never read anything from Adam Sass before, but I was drawn to Your Lonely Nights Are Over, as it sounded like bloody good fun. I was immediately drawn into the framing device around a docuseries around an infamous serial killer, Mr. Sandman and his targeting of lonely hearts (the title is such a clever homage to the song and I can’t believe I missed that!), with the interstitials about the original murders in this docuseries format helping to build suspense as the present story plays out, with the killer presumably active again.
Dearie and Cole are delightful, even if they’re absolutely unlikable. They’re very much their school’s version of “mean girls,” and yet, they’re incredibly endearing. It’s hard to say whether I rooted for them, or rooted for someone to off them. But their friendship was wonderful, even with the cattiness.
The plot was pretty engaging, and kept me on my toes, wondering what would happen next. The mystery was interesting, and while it was somewhat predictable, it was no less fun, and it felt believable overall, given the general premise.
I enjoyed this book overall, and am interested in reading more from Adam Sass in the future. If you’re interested in a campy slasher horror story with messy, unlikable queer leads, and a true-crime element, I’d recommend checking this out!

I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. The downfall was that I requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before the book was archived. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it!

I am HERE for the Queer Horror Renaissance! Adam Sass joins the ranks of Queer authors doing horror right alongside Ryan La Sala! While YLNAO is a beautifully heartfelt take on slasher narratives, this book centers so heavily on queer and multiracial friendships. That’s the aspect I feel is truly at the heart of this novel.

Another cute feature is the Netflix/documentary interludes. I love it when authors use multimedia approaches to help propel the events of the novel forward. It’s clever and brilliant for keeping readers’ attention.

This was done so well & had me fully captivated within the first few pages. K enjoyed it so much & cant wait to see what the author does next.

This was such a good read! I loved dearie and Cole and their friendship. This is definitely a fun modern take on meta slasher a la Scream. The podcast interludes added a really fun aspect to the book but even without them this is such a solid YA thriller! It has so much depth beyond just the slasher aspect which is what really brings a book to the next level. I’m keeping it vague to avoid spoilers but it’s one of my fave YA reads of the year.

Thank you I really enjoyed this book It felt like I was reading old school horror movie it was super creepy and had me on the edge of my sit.

I don’t know where to start with this review because merrily mentioning “Your Lonely Nights Are Over” makes my mind jump to moments of a ton of emotions. I know emotions is a broad term but this story gives me so many at once. The most frequent feeling is being proud. Proud of myself for being queer/trans but also proud that I live in a moment in time where we are getting books that represent us. It represents the elements of horror that we love, the slasher aspects through and through and in the end, we are the main characters!

I think what Adam Sass brought to a lot of us is being able to look forward to reading a book that is a staple for our SPOOKY season or just a book that we wanna pick up whenever. It’s something that I was looking forward to before it was released but now that it’s been out for a while, I find comfort in it being out. I am proud to be a fan of this story and a fan of Adam Sass. I took time writing this review because I finally have read all of Adam’s books and have seen what a master writer he is. From different genres and different stories told, he brought so much life for those who look forward to reading stories about ourselves (queer/trans representation)

This book was so good! It was like watching a slasher movie, but in book form. It was gory and gruesome, but yet funny and entertaining at the same time! If you like YA Campy books you will love this!

Terrifying queer teen slasher. Dearie and Cole are best friends, completely inseparable. They're a bit on the outside of their school's Queer Club, but that doesn't matter to them as long as they have each other. Then a serial killer from the 70s resurfaces, targeting members of the club... and Cole becomes the top suspect. Will they be able to uncover the truth, or will the bodies just keep piling up?

This thriller was super twisty. I was continually kept guessing as to the killer's identity, never sure which way the story was going. I could easily see this translated to the screen. It already feels just like a slasher flick. I really enjoyed the friendship between Dearie and Cole. It's obvious that they are besties for life. Overall, creepy and fun.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I gave this a four out of five stars I really enjoyed this. I liked the friendships. I really liked this especially because I have been listening to My Favorite Murder podcast and it gave me that vibe.

Although I had a bit of a difficult time initially getting into this book, I found myself enjoying and being increasingly drawn into it the more that I read, making its 400+ pages feel long but still full of story. And while it wasn’t initially as scary as I expected, the tension and stakes continue to ratchet up as the story goes on and make it both hard to turn the page while being a little scared to. This book also feels unabashedly queer. Even if there are some elements of the queer community in it that I’m not personally as much of a fan of, I appreciate that they get to exist in this book and I especially appreciate how Adam Sass looks at the idea of the mean queer in response to abuse within the queer community. All in all, this book ended up surpassing my expectations despite some initial concern, and I think it’s well worth the read if you’re interested in a scary queer horror/thriller.

I’ll admit, I have some mixed feelings about our main character, although I think I ended up feeling a lot more positive towards them near the end. In all honesty I’m not a big fan of YA books that focus on how much the characters are hooking up with people or make out teenage relationships as sex-crazed but I can also acknowledge that a. that happens and b. queer characters reclaiming their sexuality is an important thing so it’s really up to you to decide how you feel about it. All that aside, both our main characters are a little abrasive at first meet, but I honestly found myself more empathetic to Cole once I was able to differentiate his perspective from Dearie’s. Both have their flaws, both as people and as characters, but I can say that I liked their ending and the continued emphasis on platonic relationships as well as just non-romantic relationships in general.

Plot-wise, I really enjoyed what Adam Sass did here. I can’t say how much horror I’ve read with a more serial killer twist but I honestly enjoyed it and was decently scared throughout the book (without being unable to go to sleep). I really can’t say if the twists are obvious because I didn’t personally guess anything but the well set-up final twist once the characters themselves began to figure it out. There are a few erroneous elements but nothing that sticks out to me enough to put into words.

Overall, I pretty well enjoyed this book once I was able to fully get into it. I thought the concept behind it was pretty interesting and well-executed in my personal opinion. This is probably my favourite Adam Sass book so far, and I hope he writes more within the horror/thriller genre in the future!

This book is really great at creating suspense. I did think some of the dialogue and slang sounded a little forced and unnatural. Also I got really sick of reading the word “flop”. That being said, I did eventually really enjoy this book and was excited to find out how it concluded.

Interesting story of a serial killer that’s come back from 40-50 years ago but this time isn’t killing single people only but people found or connected to the high schools queer club. Two students are determined to figure out who it is but will they be the killers next target ?

This YA Horror had me on the edge of my seat!

It had a great balance of thrills and comical relief. Cole and Dearie’s BFF status had me rooting for them to make it out alive!

I figured out one of the twists fairly early on, but completely missed the other big turn!

This book was incredible! I read it just in time for Halloween and it could not have been more perfect. Dearie and Cole remind me so much of me and my best friend and I loved reading about their banter with each other and just that undying love that platonic soulmates have for the other person. And the TWISTS in this book. So well done! I couldn’t predict any of them which I always love when that happens and each one shocked me more than the last. I truly loved this book and I hope there’s more to come from the Dearie and Cole saga

4/5 Stars!

Reading this ARC it was difficult to get into but I found it on Libby and listened to it and I was HOOKED!!! The atmosphere is so great and the story had me silently screaming at work in fear and anger. I do think the killer reveal could have been better (and that’s all I can say without spoiling) and some of the lingo took me out of it. I /was/ the gay kid in the lgbtq+ club in high school and just the thought of hearing some of these people talking in real life would have had my head spin! But otherwise the story is very good and had me on the edge of my seat! If you have the availability to listen on audiobook, I definitely recommend! Perfect Halloween read!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

2.5 stars

I loved the premise and idea of this story. It’s what sold me on wanting to read it.
There were times where the story was really good. Especially with Mr Sandman. But there were many times I’d get thrown off by the banter, which would take me off course. I don’t know. I don’t wanna say I’m too old, cause I love reading YA. Between the actual story and conversations between characters, it just didn’t mesh well for me. And unfortunately, that’s where this fell flat for me.

REVIEW

As you may know, I have taken it upon myself to create THE SLASHER LIST, a comprehensive list and review of slasher-inspired novels. I’ve been away from the project for a bit (work, life, personal demons, you know how it is), so I haven’t been able to dedicate much time to pursuing the project.

So when I started reading Your Lonely Nights Are Over, I wanted so much, despite knowing it would make the fall worse if I was disappointed.

I am so happy to say that Your Lonely Nights Are Over was everything I wanted and more. I devoured this book in two sittings.

We’ve got twists, we’ve got turns, we’ve got messy queer characters, and, of course, the most important element of every slasher: buckets of blood.

The death scenes and the tension is brutal. These kids die, man, and Sass doesn’t hold back. There’s a Saw-trap-esque strangulation by barbed wire in the first few chapters.

I will say that if you’re like me and you read and watch a lot of slashers and are familiar with the tropes, the twists might be a bit easy to predict. I knew who the killer was pretty quickly (and the twist about the killer, because I’m familiar with Saw and Scream).

That all said, while I caught the foreshadowing and know the genre a bit too well for my own good, it wasn’t frustrating to wait for the characters to catch up with my realizations. Twists don’t have to be unpredictable to be fun.

This is a YA book. I typically don't like YA (I'm just not the target demographic), but I think that this is one of those YA books that, while definitely for teens, is fun to read as an adult, too. (Especially if you were in a queer club in high school. Because, woof, this book captured that feeling of young queer drama well.)

This book has an important message about queer community that is vital for young queer folk to learn, especially in an era of the internet full of toxic queer spaces. Ultimately, Your Lonely Nights Are Over is a story about friendship, community, and recognizing the danger and toxicity of queer abusers, all wrapped up in a witty, barbed-wire slasher with a breakneck pace.
FINAL THOUGHTS

Your Lonely Nights Are Over is definitely going to be one of the crowning jewels of THE SLASHER LIST, sitting in pride of place beside My Heart is a Chainsaw.

If you loved the Scream movies and want a book with that same smart, meta horror vibe, then you’ll have one hell of a time with Your Lonely Nights are Over.

Thank you to Viking Books for Young Readers for providing a digital ARC via Netgalley! If you are interested in Your Lonely Nights Are Over, it is out now!

If possible, support indie bookshops by purchasing the novel from your local brick and mortar or from Bookshop.org.

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