I really wish there was a 3.5 star option because it was better than just 3. A nice little spooky read in time for Halloween! I really enjoyed this book. It's giving me Final Girl/ Teen Creep movie vibes. The only thing I can't get over is how often the author mentions the Covid Pandemic. I don't want to read about it every few pages for hours. The whole book came together nicely and the ending had me a lot more surprised than I thought! A nice easy read that kept me hooked the whole time. All in all a great book I will definitely be recommending to my friends and followers.

This was way better than I expected. Teen mystery type books always are hit or miss for me, but this one didn't try to talk down to the reader or aim to be bigger than it needed to be. The energy was perfect, the cover is perfect, I loved it.

Thank you NetGalley for this audiobook ARC.

This is perfect for the spooky season!

This gave me scream vibes with a 90's nostalgic horror film.

This follows Jessa and her group of friends who after a really bad thunderstorm are stuck in her old haunted house , in the dark with no power and no signal or phones. WIth lots of unexpected vistiors and a serial killer on the loose this had a lot of jumpscare and had you at the edge of your seat.

The story opens with Bella, a teenager at a party, having been separated by her friends and trying to get home. She meets a boy and he offers to drive her open. Is it a good idea? Then we jump to the main story, Jessa is the "perfect girl", she always follows the rules, does what she's supposed to. Her parents are going away for the night and she's been given permission to have her 3 friends over for a sleepover. But then there's a horrible storm and visitors start showing up, and things start going downhill really fast. The power goes out, her brother shows up with his friend (her crush) even though he was supposed to be gone for the night, one of the girls' scary boyfriend pops in with a knife, and oh yeah, there's someone abducting girls not that far away.

It's definitely a YA book, there's the typical high school "drama" between friends and the siblings, along with the fun of having a crush that could turn into something more. But it's not a bad drama, it's all very relatable and takes me back to that time in my own life. However the thriller aspect is mostly jump scares and feels a little lame, but still holds your attention and makes you want to know more.

I did DNF this book at 40%, not because of the story, I'm curious to how the two stories fit together because it can't go well for Jessa and her friends. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator so horrible. It was hard to follow with her overdramatizing and tone changes. I wouldn't recommend the audio version, but definitely would recommend reading this book. I'll be picking it up myself to finish the story because now I NEED to know what happens.

This started kind of slow and I was a tad confused on the “before” parts but as the story progressed, I started to get the inkling that it was a kidnapping. So jessa being “so perfect” made sense for why she’d have caught the attention of a stalker. Thinking she’d be willing and submissive but that’s just delusional thinking on their part.

I do think there could have been some more fleshing out of the story as the before parts felt so awkward at times. While they do explain some of what was happening in an early timeline, I think some of it felt out of place.

TY to publisher/NetGalley/author for the Audiobook ARC!

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⅕

Format: Audiobook ARC Review 🎧
Plot/world building: ✔️
Well rounded characters: ✔️
Romance: does a crush count?
Tropes:
Forbidden romance ✖️
Final girl vibes ✨
#57 📚

Ty to NetGalley/publisher/author for the Audiobook ARC!

BEWARE OF YOUR NEIGHBORS 😈 You never know what they're capable of. 🖤📚

"You better stay my perfect little girl. Okay? Forever."

Overview:

Want a quick Halloween read with haunted houses and creepy neighbors?

Jessa, the "perfect" daughter, sister, and friend is preparing for college and has a sleepover while her parents are off at the ballet, opting to invite an estranged friend: Tiny. During a 'fight', the power goes out and Jessa must navigate the night to survive while no longer being "the perfect girl".


The good:

- Jessa, the FMC, was relatable and likable.

- I'm definitely more like Josh. 😂

- All of the narrator's different voices were absolute perfection. 🤌🏻

- A truly gripping edge-of-your seat thriller the last half of the book.

- It's so weird and honestly kinda cool listening to a book where you know the towns/live in the same state!

- David is honestly so manipulative and it's impressive! He was a greatly written character, along with all the others.


The bad:

- I know this is Teen/YA but the first 40% was Jessa obsessing over her brother's best friend: Ryan.

- The before bits were kinda confusing at first, until the later before bits when they begin to make sense and tie into the story.

- My girl Jessa was worried about kissing a boy alone in the middle of the woods in the rain while her friends are mostly missing. Like, girl, wtffff. 😭


Overall, it was a truly riveting and a great/quick listen. I would definitely recommend it.


"Life of a chaos demon is tough."

Excellent book, loved the narrator for the audiobook as well. This is a YA, the author did a great job and it fits the genre and doesn’t sound too mature or too babyish. The characters could be a little annoying but they are teenagers and very true to life. Exciting scenarios and twists with cute side storylines. Highly recommend this one!

This was so good! I devoured this in one sitting I love the narrator and this author has a way of writing and I’m hooked

First off, I was so into this book I was so sad I had to put it down to sleep because I had to be a responsible adult. Secondly this book was kind of predictable but in a good way the cheesy horror movie that you can tell what's going to happen, but you are still invested in the story and loving every second of it. One minor thing I didn't like was the references to covid, but it did fit in the storyline.
Jessa invites her friends over to a sleep over because she didn't to be home alone with her home ghost "betty". Her brother and his best friend end up coming over unexpectedly and that causes some problems when Tiny her friends crazy boyfriend shows up causing trouble. All while that is happening there is a storm going on eventually the power goes out and she lives in a terrible spot, so she leaves and tries to get into contact with the power company and her parents when they arrive back home everyone is missing and that will lead to an interesting rest of the evening.

This was the perfect mix of thriller, YA friendships, light romance, and jump scares. I may be a grown ass adult but the high school sleepover turned nightmare really worked for me! Also the "bad guy" might not have been the most shocking reveal ever, but the depth of crazy made up for that for sure. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks NetGalley! Nice listen but nothing tones or shocking. The main character was a bit annoying at times. But a good listen just nothing too different.

Haunting. Creepy. Scary. Every woman’s nightmare.
This book was frightening. There were so many creepy moments where I wanted to scream at the FMC to figure it out. Had me on the edge of my seat, read in one day kinda book. Very much enjoyed.

This book was captivating and creepy. The good girl syndrome is real and powerful. Really makes you think hard of the damage it does. There was a lot going on with the characters but it works for a ya book.

Update: when you read as many books as I do sometimes you don’t remember a book from a title right off which is what happened here. I read the description and enjoyed the synopsis of course late at night as I was falling sleep and
Requested this as an audiobook.

Listening to the first page I realized my
Error As I had read the eARC a few months ago!

Happy to say that the audiobook was still just as good as the first time. The narrator did a great job with the characters!
Wow, that was a decent read for a YA thriller. It was definitely a very fast read having done so in one sitting!

The opinions expressed are honest and my own but I am thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this title.

This is definitely a YA book beyond the teen characters. I could visualize it the entire way through like a teen suspense flick. I enjoyed that the teens acted like teens. While there were suspenseful and sick (psychologically) moments it didn’t go overboard and was kept fairly clean.

It was a great read to break up a bunch of romance that I’ve read recently. So if you are a YA loving adult, while this one is on the younger part of the genre spectrum it was very entertaining and brought me back to memories of high school.

If you like suspense thrillers, put this in your TBR for November 19, 2024. I wish it was published the month before as it would have made a great Halloween release.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

“I’d rather be a b*tch than be your perfect girl.” 🖤

While I found the mystery and ending to be predictable, the pressure and tension built up leading to it was eerie and worth the read. There’s a romance subplot that is adorable, and the characters were so much fun. The problems the face are very realistic and relatable, making the story even more interesting and entertaining.

Thank you so much, Tracy Banghart and Netgalley for ALC of Perfect Girl! This was such a fun listen for spooky season and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Nerve wracking twists and turns. Don’t really see where things would go for awhile. I liked the undertone of romance as well.