This was a rocking fun time! I read this on two flights and it definitely kept my attention the whole trip. A mature YA with a good message and lots of BIPOC characters, thriller fans will have a good time with this diverse book this fall.

There's nothing better than reading a slasher book in the summer, and this book did not disappoint! I am horrified of clowns, but I somehow always end up reading books with killer clowns anyway. The pacing of this book is really good, there's great POC and LGBT representation, it's twisty, it's turny, it's gory, and it would make a perfect mini series. I can't wait to read more from this author.

There‘s no way around it…There‘s No Way I‘d Die First by Lisa Springer was not good. I do not like to do negative reviews, but I receive eARCS in exchange for my honest opinion, so here it is. It was bad. The premise of the story is fun enough- Noelle runs the popular horror movie club No Jump Scares and she wants to get her elite high school‘s popular influencers to boost her profile as she introduces a podcast element to her movie club. Noelle plans an elaborate, and super exclusive, Halloween party at her mansion- fantastic catering, glamorous costumes, gory movies, and an instagram-worthy game of tag with a creepy clown. What could possibly go wrong? In Springer’s novel-everything. There are ALL the horror movie tropes. And then there is just plain…confusing “add-in” tropes. There is a level of irreverence towards the slasher movies ala Scary Movie, and a few funny quips and lines, but the line between believability and outright impossibility is crossed fairly quickly. As the bodies pile up, so does the ridiculousness. At one point, the killer Clown (of course, it’s a killer clown!) craps into a Birkin bag in front of Noelle and her crush, Archer. What?! And more importantly, why???? There are times when the killer is just calmly having a conversation with the entire group of kids (more than 8) and they just sit there? I know , I know…one of the main tropes of slasher movies is that people don’t do what they should and you are screaming at the screen to RUN!! But in this case, it just made me want to put down the book. I’m a book finisher, I very rarely DNF a book, but this one almost made it into that rare group. The reveal of who the killer is and why they are butchering these teens is bad, introducing a whole level of non-sense that I think is supposed to make the novel deep. The writing itself was a bit juvenile, and I know it is supposed to be YA but that doesn’t excuse lazy writing and plot-building. Maybe I’m not the target audience, so please take this review with a grain of salt if you are a huge horror fan. This might be for you, but I would not recommend it. I really wanted to like it, as so many of my students love horror, but I was let down. Random rating 2/5. Again, I don’t like negative reviews- just because this wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it won’t hit the spot for someone else. Thanks to @NetGalley and @penguinrandomhouse for the eARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

First, I’m in love with all the Summer horror books coming out. They have my heart. I fell in love with this cover and premise so fast. Even the title is outstanding. I love black girls fighting till the end. This was also one of the more entertaining slasher books I’ve read recently. Most of them have been kinda stale, but this one was very fun and I was rooting for everyone to survive. One of my only negatives was that it was kind of hard to follow along with the character since there were so many. I caught myself being confused on who was who and having to go back and reread parts. I love the message of fake wokeness and being performative.

The clown and deaths were actually very well described. This felt like an actual horror movie while reading it. I was guessing about the motivations and everything and was pleasantly surprised I was wrong. I like when it isn’t as predictable. I was waiting for certain people to get bad and they never did, so plus for that! This was an awesome debut and I’m excited to see some more black girl horror from this author!!

Okay, I am easily terrified, but this book was the perfect amount of terrifying. Murderous clowns are usually NOT my thing but the mystery elements, creative kills, and social commentary made this book such a fun read! I truly couldn’t put down the book. I was so worried for these characters but I was also so intrigued by the characters and what social issue led to them being hunted by the clown. This was a surprisingly deep book involving a killer clown and I really enjoyed it!

The title pulled me in, but the writing kept me going. I couldn’t put this quick read down. The pace was fast, the action was intense, and the ending was a surprise.

Perfect Final Girl vibes.

“It’s Halloween, I guess everyone’s entitled to one good scare” - Halloween (1978)

Noelle has seen every horror movie and knows how to be a final girl. So when she throws a Halloween party for all the top influencers in her school. When she hires a clown for the party she doesn’t except him to murder the guest.

This is a fun slasher read that is in the YA Horror Genre. It gets you scared and your heart pumping without too much gore.

You don’t have a clue who the clown is and why he is doing this until the party guest figure it out.

This is a fun read that would be great for spooky season. Also the horror movie quotes were so fun at each chapter.

Can you be a final girl?

If you love:
🔺Slasher vibes
🔺 Great POC and LGBT representation
🔺 A killer among them
🔺 Killer clowns

Genre
APK: Ebook
Pages: 304
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Series or Standalone: Stand-alone

Content Warnings: Murder, some gore, Clowns 🤡

I’m sure the people who are horror enthusiasts won’t go to bed at night after finishing this and lie awake, wondering if every noise they hear is a very creative killer clown coming to get them. I, however, am very new to horror and at 33 years old, I’m not ashamed to admit that this book scared the hell out of me. This book was tense as hell and full of some great action scenes. It is pretty graphic and there were times I was thinking “Oh HELL NO” during the descriptions, but they were well done! The action also starts pretty quickly in the book and it’s a pretty fast paced ride throughout. I will say, there were a few too many characters in my opinion and I did get them confused a few times. The twist I definitely saw coming and it wasn’t necessarily a bad twist, but the “villain reveals all” speech felt a little meh. I wanted a bit more of a shock. Also, there were times I got lost as to where in the house we were and had to flip back pages to get it right. I think, and this might just be a me thing, a map of the house at the beginning would have really helped. Overall, I thought it was a very action packed horror thriller that will be great for spooky season, especially for those who enjoy horror movies and gore.

TW: gore, murder

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Anyone who is deep into the gory genre of slasher has spent some time thinking about all of the idiotic moves that a character makes during a movie or book – all of the ways that have essentially ensured that this particular character would be the first to die, or at least that they wouldn't be making it to the very end. And sure, who hasn't spent a movie ridiculing those characters for their choices, thinking that you definitely wouldn't make those same mistakes?

Noelle Layne is one of those people: a whip-smart high school senior hosts Jump Scares, a horror movie club that puts Black people at the front and center of a genre that often treats them as castoffs; Characters are almost always the first to die. But as Noelle's club has grown in popularity, so has her desire to achieve national recognition through a podcast. Is there a better way to launch a horror podcast than through a spooktacular Halloween party where only the creme de la creme of Salford Prep's student influencers will receive invites?

At first, the party is going exceptionally well -- Noelle's friends arrive in costumes befitting the uber-rich, the food is exquisite, and the drinks are chilled to perfection. She's even hired a terrifying surprise in the form of a killer clown to treat all her friends to a haunting rendition of hide and seek -- but is all as it appears to be?

This book was full of entertaining twists and turns, with some of the predictability that comes with any excellent slasher flick, but it in no way disappoints! And if gore is your thing, trust this reader: you'll be able to tally buckets of blood by the end.

"There's No Way I'd Die First" is Lisa Springer's debut YA novel, set to arrive on shelves in early September, just in time to curl up with a pumpkin spice latte and pretend that you're not someone who'd die first either.

"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.

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. Who better to throw the ultimate, most exclusive Halloween party on all of Long Island?

With some of the top influencers in her school on the guest list, including gorgeous singer-songwriter Archer Mitchell, her popularity is bound to spike. She could really use the social boost for an upcoming brand expansion. Nothing is going to ruin this party.

Except...maybe the low budget It clown she hired for a stirring round of tag. He axes one of her classmates. From the looks of his devilish grin and bag full of killer tricks, he's just getting started. A murderous clown is out for blood, but Noelle has been waiting her entire life to prove that she's a Final Girl."

Just saying, if Randy Meeks couldn't make it...

This book. I have so many thoughts about it. First of all, I am a horror fan. Slasher, especially. This book was basically the perfect fit for me. Unfortunately, it wasn't my favorite. I'm not sure what it was about it overall, but it didn't stand out the way I really hoped it would, especially after the premise. I think there were just too many instances where the clown was just standing there talking to the characters. I think the stakes just weren't there for me because of all the talking. I would've loved to have them basically hide and fight, finding bodies or seeing the death through a door, etc. Instead of having so many slow parts of them just talking. This is obviously just my opinion. I did enjoy the writing style and I think the author has a lot of potential! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this early!

A new twist on the classic slasher genre, updated for modern technology and influences.

While the slow start might be off putting to some traditional horror fans, the fast pace of the rest of the book will keep you reading till the end to find out who might survive. Clues throughout the book give readers an idea of why the clown is on a rampage, but there are some twists and turns that will leave you guessing till the end.

The premise seemed interesting but this was not what I was hoping for. I wanted this to be more of a thriller but this was written like a very mediocre slasher movie. The killer has supernatural strength, knows everything about his prey, has every exit covered, confiscated every possible weapon and has a very questionable motivation for killing. Some of the dialogue was quite cringy as well and the atmosphere of the book somewhat reminded me of the movie Bodies Bodies Bodies. Don’t waste your time.

I...really wanted to love this novel. Really, I did. The premise of a horror-obsessed Black teen throwing a real life 'final girl' party is absolute catnip, and I love any meta takes on the genre. Unfortunately, the book couldn't quite decide on a tone -- at turns, it's a relatively sharp look at race and gender in the horror genre, but it's also a wildly clunky and over-the-top slasher with confusing political motivations. I'm willing to suspend a lot of disbelief (it's a Long Island high school full of world-famous teen celebs? Sure, why not? The killer is seemingly invincible and has more traps and backup plans than possible? Of course! Part of the fun!), but I was stretched past the breaking point about halfway through the novel. The action scenes (which are plenty) are very fun and nonsensical in the best slasher way, and I would've loved to see this play out as a Netflix movie.

I thought the blurb sounded interesting, with the "It" and "Scream" vibes, but the story missed the mark for me. I wasn't expecting the political angle, and I could've done without it. This book was so full of implausible scenes, even though many slasher movies do, as well. But it works better on the big screen than in this book. So many details about the house were confusing. Then there's the repetition. So, Much. Repetition. The killer's motive almost feels like an afterthought. Character development is lacking (or minimal, at best), and everyone's voice was pretty much the same. The romance angle felt out of place. There may be a market for this book, but apparently, it's not me.

This was definitely an exciting read! I liked the characters and the plot was interesting. Considering this is a Young Adult book, the kills were brutal, which I loved. Overall, a good YA horror!

First I want to address this COVER!!! It is so terrifyingly pretty. There’s No Way I’d Die First is a book about a black teenaged girl Noelle who is heavily into the horror movies. Noelle decides to throw a Halloween party and invites the top influencers of her senior class. The party is off to a great and fun start until the clown Noelle hired kills one of her classmates. Noelle becomes thrust into her own horror movie and wants to prove that she’s Final Girl material.

When I say I enjoyed this book so much that once I picked it up I couldn’t put it down. I was fully invested to see was this really real or was this a big elaborate game/prank. You’ll have to find that out when you read the book because I won’t spoil it.

This book gets a 5 star from me because I enjoyed this story. It flowed great, kept me engaged and the horror trope was beautifully executed through each chapter.


Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children’s for the eARC for an honest review

Noelle is a horror buff who is celebrating starting a new horror podcast and invites, instead of her closest friends, a handful of the most influential people at her school who can hopefully boost her podcast release a little lollll

Until the clown she hired to play a spooky game of hide and seek with them starts killing everyone lol :o)

Thus begins a night from hell as the students try to both run and hide from the clown, whose name is Gage for some reason. Knowing his name was odd to me lol I feel like just calling him "the clown" would have been scarier...

So it's juicy, and definitely has high stakes, because the author ain't scared for a character to die, but like, it's soooo repetitive

For one, they're in Noelle's family's home, which granted, is big because they're rich, but like, imagine your Scooby Doo sequence in which every time someone enters a door someone else comes out of another door... like plz it got so tired after a while that these kids had the room to have whole ass conversations because the clown was off in a different room. There is only so much I can extend my disbelief...

Also, there's only so many times you can try to thwart the killer and fail. These mfs were like, fighting this man, only to get shown why it didn't fully work and for one of them to die. Like the circumstances changed from instance to instance but thematically it was the same exact thing.

I liked Noelle's critique of horror as a genre and the way Black people are treated in it. I would have liked more of that. The whole murder spree is also a critique of something kind of particular and I thought it was sorta stupid. But how easy is it to have a logical and clean excuse for a clown to be murdering teenagers??

I also am pretty disappointed in the cast... there was like 12 teenagers and I had NO CLUE which were which. Like all of their voices were pretty identical even when they all had different attitudes and hobbies, allegedly.

But hey, I think the target audience will like it well enough!!

An entertaining satirical horror! This novel is great for readers who may not want nightmare scares or gory body horror. It's like an episode of are you Afraid of the Dark? but with comic relief that fits in the narrative.

With references to popular scary movies and a wonderful homage to horror movies with all the gore filled scenes this one will not disappoint fans of the genre.
I did get a little bored with the cat and mouse tactic and lack of action in certain parts but still found this to be a fantastic addition to the ya horror genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Childrens for the eARC for an honest review.