I knew what this story was before starting and I picked it up because I loved Slashtag and Jon Cohn's writing so much. However, I'm really not the biggest fan of the "choose your own adventure" type stories. I guess I'm lazy and just want the story written for me by a professional and want it to progress in a typical fashion. Having said that though, this was really a phenomenal book. Honestly. It's almost as much fun as Slashtag, but with an added interactive portion. Jon somehow makes keeps the narrative light (is that the word I'm looking for?) while writing truly horrifying scenes. If you're a fan of horror and interactive stories, I highly recommend giving this one a read, as well as any of the others in the Try Not to Die...universe.

This is by far one of the best prequels to a book!!!! The entire Try Not To Die series is one of my favorite series of all time and to have Jon Cohn come in with a prequel to Slashtag is just amazing!!!! I died 9 times ...4 of those were before they even got into the hotel lmfao.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read a book from a very nostalgic series that us a whole lot of fun!!!!

I absolutely loved the choose your own adventure books and to have an adult one like this in a seriously creepy setting is so much fun. I loved going through all the different scenarios and I died A Lot!!!

Never been so happy to die multiple times.
Growing up on Goosebump books and similar choose-your-own-adventure books, this was both nostalgic and a new experience for me.
I only reached a few of the endings and am looking forward to getting a physical copy of the book to try again (I will say, reading these types of books as an ebook is not has fun but doable).
I haven't read Slashtag (for which this book is a prequel) but this makes me want to read it.
As someone who enjoys both horror books and games like TTRPGs, this was a good combination of both. Highly recommend.

An interactive horror book - a choose your own adventure for adults and it was a fun ride. I did die A LOT and I hope you do too.

This was fun, it had a good plot throughout as well, You also don't need to have read Slashtag to enjoy this prequel due to the interactive nature of this. You get to decide the direction of this story, just be careful of dieing.

Jeremy is a contestant playing a reality show set in a famous haunted house. There are tons of puzzles and tasks to solve throughout the journey for these contestants to find possessions of a serial killer and escape. But it's not that easy. This book is full of gore and death so definitely not a book for children. It's a fun read and is definitely an experience for us adults.

I enjoyed this one, it felt like a fun read for me and dieing many times on this journey was a good time, seems my decision making needs some work haha!

Do you think you have what it takes to survive Slashtag? Well, here's your chance to put your money where your mouth is! This prequel allows you to make the important decisions and see if you'd make it out alive! Will you be able to push further into the hotel and continue to solve the puzzles or will you meet your fateful end at the turn of a page?

When my bookish bestie told me about this book, I had to jump on and snag a copy. I absolutely DEVOURED Slashtag last year, it was one of my top reads of the year, hands down. I'd grabbed it thinking it sounded interesting, and I'm a sucker for a horror story that takes place in one location over a short span of time. I did not expect to love it as much as I do though, so when I realised this prequel existed AND it was essentially a choose your own adventure vibe, I was SOLD!

I grew up reading Goosebumps. They still hold a special place in my heart, and I still have them all. I think I actually have two copies of the original series, and the choose your own adventure books. I absolutely loved the choose your own adventure thing, and I love that Try Not to Die is a basically an adult version of that. The only minor difference is that there are really only two endings, either you die, or you don't. What I loved about this book in ebook version, was that, when you do inevitably pick the wrong choice and die, after you read about how you left this mortal coil, there's a link saying "The correct choice was..." you click that and BAM! You're back into the story at the point you're supposed to be. I just thought the hyperlinks in the ebook were absolutely bloody fantastic and I would read it again in a heartbeat. Even just to pick the OTHER options I didn't choose and see what happened. I died 9 times. Yes. I kept a tally. I needed to see how many times I'd bite the dust before I reached the end. I was actually impressed I didn't die more.

The story was the same engaging one that I found in Slashtag, still incredibly creepy and well written, several different scenes gave me the Heeby jeebies, and I am here for it. I did find that I felt a little bit disconnected with the story at times, but I think that was mainly when I'd died and then clicked back through to the right path, which, when your story is chopping and changing between death and going back in time to the right path, of course it's going to pull you out of the story a little. But! One thing I also loved is that you had the option to read the interactive story, or the option to read the winner's story which is the actual correct path through the interactive one. I love that there's the option there for you to read which ever one you're feeling at the time.

I really enjoyed the characters and found that they'd endeared themselves to me quite quickly. I love that the story looked at and used their different fears, and how even though you might think you know the formula for a horror story, it doesn't matter because, what you think you know, you probably don't, and Cohn is going to do whatever the hell he feels like. And I love everything about it. I loved the character of PQ, and I also loved the protagonist that we see the story unfold as - Jeremy. Shiv was a fun character, and I did find myself both loving her and wanting to throttle her at the same time, which is always good. I love a flawed character and one that feels so real because they piss me off sometimes.

All in all, there's not a whole lot that I can say about this one as it's a relatively short read and you really just have to read it to fully understand it's vibe. All I can say is that Cohn has once again brought the goods to the party and fully delivered on my expectations. If you want a party that has intestines as the streamers, and eyeballs as a cake topper, you've come to the right place my friends! Indulge your inner child, read the interactive horror story, you know you want to! And let me know how many times you died!!

I died so many times during this interactive adventure, and each time was more gruesome than the last! I have not read an interactive adventure book since I was a kid, so this was nostalgic fun with a horror twist. Jeremy and the crew are chosen to test-run a reality TV game show in a haunted house terrorized by a serial-killing poltergeist. Perhaps Jeremy could have survived the game had I not been the one calling the shots. I'm sorry, Jeremy. You deserved better.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the digital ARC so that I could provide this voluntary and honest review.

As someone who loved the choose your own adventure Nancy Drew books as a kid, this was an ideal book for me, especially as I am currently in the depths of writing my dissertation and seeking escapism wherever I can and it certainly did not disappoint - while technically a prequel this was a great introduction to the Slashtag world and I can’t wait to read the main book as well as anything else this author publishes.

Try Not to Die: On Slashtag by Jon Cohn was so much fun to read. It reminds me of the books I read growing up where you choose your own adventure. Great characterizations and well written. I'm looking forward reading more from this author.

This was a gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to keep an eye out for more from this author.

As a 90's baby who loved any "Chose Your Own Adventure" type books this was very nostalgic for me. I loved how this book took it a step farther because I always remembered those types of stories being adventure based and this was horror themed. It was definitely entertaining trying not to die. I am very pleasantly surprised at this and think it would be a great read for anyone who enjoyed Goosebumps as a child.

Try Not to Die: On Slashtag is a prequel to the novel Slashtag; however, either book can be read completely on their own without any knowledge of the world. Even if you are an expert on Slashtag, plenty of new horrors wait around every corner, while you do everything you can to Try Not to Die!

"I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

I really enjoyed this. This is a choose your own adventure type story where the mc is invited to take part in a new game at the Propitius Hotel. Trapped inside with puzzles, challenges, and evil spirits, it's up to the reader to help the mc make it out alive and I admit I died. A lot. But this was so much fun and I haven't read a story like this in a long time. Highly recommend.

In the book Try Not To Die On SlashTag by John Cohn after reading/tag when I saw this book I knew I wanted to read it and although it is the same story because you get to choose it’s as if you get multiple versions of it which was great because there were some characters I really wanted to personally take out I love this book and if you like pick your own adventure books you will love it horror style. So if this sounds fun to you download a copy today I absolutely loved it! I want to thank the publisher for my free ARC copy via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This was very silly!!! I loved slashtag and felt like an interactive story would be fun to dive into. I was proven correct!! I would definitely revisit this book to try again and see what happens.

This was such a fun interactive horror story!

I haven’t read an interactive book since R.L. Stine’s “Reader Beware…You Choose the Scare” books 😂

I read this after Slashtag, which although you don’t have to read them in any particular order, I think it gave me more of an appreciation for this interactive story.

Highly recommend both books!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this book. All opinions are my own.

Let me start by saying that I adored this book. When I requested an early arc I wasn't aware that this was sort of like a "choose your own adventure" novel. But I ended up loving it so much, although, I did end up getting the main character killed, (Yikes). I would recommend this book to any reader who loves the horror genre. Or, anyone who is currently in a reading slump. This book grabs your attention and forces you to be present and I really needed that.

I honestly don't know how to describe this book. It's like if Jack Ketchum and Encyclopedia Brown had a baby. A few of the transitions were awkward in the "Survivor" version, but the interactive was absolutely so much fun. A one-of-a-kind horror novel, and will get anyone out of a reading funk. Will become a cult classic in the genre!

I love horror books. I love interactive books. Combine both and it should have been a recipe for a great type but unfortunately it was a dnf.
I didn’t connect with the characters so when It didn’t get to the fun stuff I had no interest