This book was definitely a first for me. I went in expecting a little more thriller, cat & mouse than straight up horror (which was completely my mistake) but the author did an amazing job at crafting a disturbing fast paced nightmare. While this book had a lot of typical horror tropes, the underlying story and the motive for the antagonist made this book unique. The kills were creative & twisted and literally had me closing my Kindle between chapters for a break.

Anyone who is a horror & YA fan needs to pick this up!

A spine-tingling contemporary horror novel that follows a scary-movie buff as she hosts an elaborate Halloween bash but soon finds the festivities upended when she and her guests are forced to test their survival skills in a deadly game, from debut author Lisa Springer.

This book feels like it was written specifically for me. I loved it. Can't wait to see what author Lisa Springer gives us next!

Wow. Just-wow. This book was so good!I honestly don't even like horror but I loved this book! The story was amazing even if it was a little bloodier than I was expecting. I loved how complex and creative it was, telling a story but also making a point.

There's No Way I'd Die First is the debut novel by Lisa Springer. This was a fun read. I liked the main character with her movie buff knowledge. Seventeen-year-old Noelle Layne knows horror. Every trope, every warning sign, every survival tactic. She even leads a successful movie club dedicated to the genre. She decided to throw the ultimate, most exclusive Halloween party on all of Long Island. She hires a low-budget It clown, and he axes one of her classmates. From the looks of his devilish grin and bag full of killer tricks, he's just getting started.

While the premise sounded promising, the story was just okay for me. I felt it dragged in places and seemed to be repetitive. I wasn't a fan of the romance between Nicole and Archer. I love slasher movies and was excited to read this book. However, it just fell a bit flat for me.

A 3.5 out of 5 stars.

#TheresNoWayIdDieFirst #NetGalley @RHCBEducators

So that was a wild ride. I'm loving this era of Black girls in thriller books. I am loving reading Black girls as the final girls in these books. 80s and 90s horror movies are some of my favorites and it makes me so happy to see Black girls in the iconic scream queen roles!! this book definitely has those 80s and 90s slasher movies vibes, so if you like that era of horror movies, this might be good for you to read!

While there was a lot for me to enjoy in this, I ultimately didn't like quite a few things. for one, the romance in this story was interesting. I feel like it's really challenging to attempt romance in the middle of a slasher. it never really feels quite right and it didn't work here for me either. I also wish the twist could've been, well, twistier. I wasn't all that surprised when we found out and, while it did make sense, I just wanted more of that shock, gasp, and awe moment. There were also a lot of moments where I was confused where we were exactly in the mansion (a better grounding of the setting would've been nice). And since 95%ish of this book takes place in the house, sometimes it was confusing getting my bearings on exactly where something was. Overall though, the main character was fun to be with, the action was so good, and this was very fast-paced!

Great, thrilling fun. I liked the way it was written, solid and smart but also appropriate for teen readers. Horror and slasher fans will like this one a lot. Recommended.

A fresh, fun, and incredibly exciting debut! I'm a huge fan of horror movies, and this was a perfect take on the novel-form of a slasher. The deaths were unique, the characters were fun and original, and the thrills were sky high!

Fun YA horror where Noelle, a high school senior, film influencer, and future critic, uses her horror movie knowledge to outsmart the villain. So many great elements--a house party in a massive, isolated mansion, a terrifying game of hide and seek with an evil clown, a dark and stormy night that cuts the power out, and everybody has a secret they're trying to hide. I hope teen horror fans have lots of fun with this book and engage with issues like racism, class, wealth, and privilege that Lisa Springer seamlessly weaves into the story. Thank you for this chance to read an arc!

Throwing a horror Halloween bash for the most exclusive influencers was suppose to help Noelle get her horror club a bigger audience, it was not suppose to lead everyone at the party to be hunted and killed by a killer clown. Can this horror fan prove that she’s the ultimate Final Girl? Noelle Layne is a seventeen-year old girl who absolutely loves horror, she runs a successful horror movie club and wants to work in horror cinema. When she decides to throw the ultimate Halloween party with an ultra exclusive guest list of the top of the top influencers of her school including her singer-songwriter crush Archer Mitchell, Noelle expects it to be the best party ever.... but when the clown she hired for the party starts actually harming them and killing them... Noelle will have to use all her horror movie knowledge and survival skills to try and stop this murderous clown and save herself and her friends before it’s too late. this was such a fun book, and as a huge horror movie fan I had a blast with it. I loved all the horror movie references and commentary and it was just a really fun read that kept me invested until the end. It was giving me Scream vibes and I loved it! I think if you enjoy a good slasher/horror read with a bit of mystery then definitely give this one a go!

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

More like 3.5 rounded down.

There was a lot I liked about this! I love that the main character was this kick ass Black girl who was a horror movie buff and doing cool things with her life and her passion (and look at that cover!! Definitely one of my favorite covers possibly ever). I liked that it was a diverse group of kids who all had interesting things going on in their lives in a rich kid/influencer kind of way. So much of it I liked IN THEORY! And I did really like the ending! Although I was expecting more of a major shock/betrayal once we found out who the murderer and any possible accomplices were, and I just didn’t get that. It was more like, oh, okay. I guess that checks out.

But so much of it felt like the the same thing over and over, page after page. Basically the kids running around the house trying to escape the murderer. They go into one room, talk about stuff, maybe discover something/something happens, and the murderer comes back. They run to another part of the house and it starts again. Once I hit about the halfway mark I was kind of just wanting to get to the end.

There were definitely some interesting and creative, uhh… things. The murderer did. Whether it was something to actually kill them or just to freak them out. Not sure how he could have pulled it all off but creative nonetheless.

I’m generally a fan of a romantic element but the romance between Noelle and Archer felt a bit typical and heavy-handed. I found it hard to believe that they would have so many heated, flirty moments when they were running around trying to escape a serial killer. And the way he talked to her etc just wasn’t my speed. For example: he lifted her chin to get her to look at him probably about 4 or 5 times. I don’t care how much I like someone, if they keep doing that to me, they’re getting punched in the face. Or at least a good swat at their hand.

I’m a fan of slasher movies but don’t often read books of this sort, so I don’t know if something was missing or if it’s easier for me to get swept up in a movie with the dramatic music and sound effects and cinematography etc.