Last summer Nans life changed forever when three of her best friends disappeared. A year later on the anniversary of theirs disappearance, Nan and the grieving families gather for a memorial at the scene where the girls were last seen. Commotion erupts when one of the missing girls returns, everyone is in shock, especially Nan. That’s impossible,how can one of her friends be back? Nan was sure they were dead, I mean she is the one who killed them after all.

First off can we talk about the cover?!?!
It’s stunning, as soon as I saw it on NetGalley I wanted to read it.

This was a fun and quick read, with some unpredictable twists. Some of the reveals were a little expected but one in particular, oh man I yelled out loud “I KNEW IT”. I think this book could’ve been great it just needed a little something, I was just left wanting more.

Thank you NetGalley and to the publishers for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I couldn't put this book down! Although a little predictable I loved how Nan was an unreliable narrator but I did not see the twist coming (with her dad). Loved the setting and how it was described, felt like I was there and I could picture it really well. I think the length of the book was perfect, wasn't too long wasn't too short. i would totally recommend this for a quick read!

I was so excited about this premise, but the reveals didn't rise to the level of the premise. The relationships felt entirely supported by telling rather than showing, which made sense after a few reveals, but still affected the experience of reading the book.

"Last year, Nan's three best friends ventured into the canyons near their small town and never returned. Now one of them is back, and Nan can't believe it...because she's the one who killed them. From the New York Times bestselling author of Wilder Girls comes another dark thriller about friendship, jealousy, desire, and revenge, with a twist ending that needs to be talked about.

Last summer, Luce, Edie, Jane, and Nan took a boat out for one final swim in the river. It was a perfect summer night.

But the only one who returned that night was Nan. Edie, Jane, and Luce disappeared, and Nan's story has always been the same: She has no idea what happened. The girls went ahead, and it was as though they vanished into thin air.

Now, one year later, all of Saltcedar has gathered at the river for a memorial. Nan even recreated the outfit she wore that fateful day last summer. And when Luce climbs out of the water, no one is more surprised than Nan.

Because Nan killed her. Right before she killed Edie and Jane."

You know you need to know if it's ghost, revenant, zombie, or manifested guilt!

Rory Power really knows how to write some complicated and mysterious female leads. Because the book starts by indicating that nothing supernatural will take place, I was at first worried that I wouldn't be as engaged or might find the story too obvious. While pieces of the plot were predictable, there was also enough intrigue to keep me engaged. I feel like it was a pretty short read too, so it was easy to be swept along and finish it quickly. Despite there being no supernatural elements, I find that Power's writing still maintains the dark undercurrent of eeriness I enjoyed in her other books without relying on otherworldly aspects.

Even though thriller isn't my go-to genre, our readers love a good mystery thriller. So I just had to pick this one up, and it did not disappoint. Kept me on the edge of my seat, and I finished it in 2 days. Pretty good, for a non-thriller reader. An easy add to our collection!

ARC Review

Kill Creatures
By Rory Power
Expected published date:

Haunting, lyrical, and that twist? I did not see it coming.

Kill Creatures is the first book I’ve read by Rory Power, and wow—what an introduction. Her writing is dark, poetic, and razor-sharp, pulling you deep into a story that’s as unsettling as it is beautiful.

This book dives into themes of grief, girlhood, violence, and survival with a haunting atmosphere that lingers long after the final page. The pacing is slow but deliberate, building tension that simmers beneath the surface. The characters are raw and unfiltered, and the emotion behind it all feels real.

I gave it 4 stars—not because it wasn’t powerful (it absolutely was)—but because it took a bit to fully pull me in. But once it did? I couldn’t look away. And that twist at the end? Completely unexpected and perfectly done.

If you’re into moody, emotionally intense YA with a touch of horror and a lot of heart, Kill Creatures is one to add to your list.

thank you NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review ⋆.˚

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

this was such a fun and stressful read. truly nothing terrifies me like teenage girl friendships & Rory Power's prose is so beautiful and entrancing. will deffo check out her other work!

Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead.

Perfect for fans of Pretty Little Liars, “Kill Creatures” quietly holds a vigil marking a year since 3 girls went missing only for one to shockingly return. Uncovering the secrets of her survival and the events that went into that night keep Nan on edge as she works with police to make sure that some things stay buried even if the bodies do not.

An interesting read that had a lot of promise even if I wished for a bit more of a bite. The set up is perfect as unfinished business and the lengths people will go to keep others from finding skeletons in their closets. I really liked the unreliable narrator and without spoilers, Nan did a good job of carrying the burden of knowledge while also doing her best to keep her hands out of things. Luce too is someone who cannot be trusted both in the past and present as her only motivation is revenge against those she feels wronged her whether they are truly deserving or not.

The plot is good and I liked how there were sprinkles of what happened before but we mostly remained in current day. There was a lot going on behind closed doors but that’s expected of a story like this though I do wish there wasn’t a heavy handed explanation fee to us earlier than a later reveal it sort of took away from the gotcha like energy making it seem like a regurgitation rather than revelation.

Not a bad book but one that could have trusted the readers to get there on their own.


**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

This is a pretty major departure from Power’s earlier YA books. Instead of lyrical prose blooming into horror, it’s more of a character study wrapped up in a mystery/thriller. Power sets us up for this in the beginning with the Author’s Note: in previous books, the setting came first (and in Wilder Girls and Burn Our Bodies Down, the settings are what lead) but here it was our MC Nan.

We learn right after meeting her that Nan is a liar, that she has turned her life into a story where she is both main character and editor. And we get to watch as her carefully crafted (and fragile) narrative is poked and prodded.

I liked the way the dual timelines came together, mostly sticking with the present and occasionally adding a dash of the past to fill in the background and build the relationship between the girls and lay out the events that led to disaster. There were a couple of time jumps in the “now” that I found a little confusing, but it was pretty easy to roll with it

I also liked that the setting did still play a role. The dying tourist town (revived by a dash of True Crime), the stark beauty of the desert, the sharp contrast of the rising and falling water levels, the imagery of the canyon and trails.

I wish some of the hints were a bit less subtle, particularly when it came to Nan’s relationships with the girls, but with Nan as our POV, I suppose it makes sense.

This book will keep you guessing. I didn’t really like the ending, I think it could’ve been a lot better if it had a different ending.
The ending plot came out of nowhere and didn’t give enough background for it.

if there is one thing about me, it is the fact that i support women’s wrongs 😌 Nan is such an incredible narrator! i loved every second of being inside of her head. one of the only truly unreliable narrators ever to do it!!! the way Nan takes us through the twists and turns of this book were executed were chef’s kiss perfection! i genuinely did not see the ending coming. give Rory Power all of the money in the world for this masterpiece STAT!

Lyrical and evocative, brisk and compelling, Kill Creatures has me a little bit blue, but really stinking happy about it.

*Thank you to NetGalley & the Penguin Teen Canada influencer program for allowing me the opportunity to read this eARC.

**This review is my own opinion and has not been influenced by any entity.

Wow, this is a gripping, fast paced thriller that locked me in from the very first chapter. I love that it’s not a whodunnit, we already know who did it. Nan did it. Nan killed her three best friends, but we’re left grappling with the why, and that’s always the question that’s harder to answer.

From the first chapter I knew this book was going to be different, Nan staunching guilty - at least in her own head - and showing very little signs of regret or remorse about her actions, while still loving her friends was such a wild juxtaposition to read for me, and it only became more and more unraveled and unexpected as the book continued. Luce showing up, very much alive one year after Nan killed her, and throwing Nan into a panic and scramble to figure out where she’s been, what she knows and if the truth will come out was a genius way to tell this story.

I really appreciated the dual-timeline, and having things revealed in tandem as the story was told, and I loved Nan’s inner voice. Nan is never a particularly likeable character and it becomes more and more clear who she really is as the plot thickens around her. That being said, her being unlikeable, didn’t make me want to stop reading any less, in fact I think in this case it drew me in more, Nan was unlikeable, but the trio of Luce, Edie and Jane were so enticing and it’s easy to see how Nan lost herself in them.

While it’s clear that this book is written for a younger audience but some of it’s more obvious foreshadowing and breadcrumb-y plot devices, it still kept some suspense for me even through to the end of the book and I really do think this book transcends it’s young adult audience and is very much readable for thriller enthusiasts of any age.

I think my favorite part of the book is the epilogue, which I rarely ever say, but that little plot twist at the end really was like a cherry on top, a little bow to tie everything together and I’m so glad that it was there as a final word.

I am rating this book a 4.5 star, and I’m very pleased that I got to read this so far ahead of release, because this was such a fun read and will definitely be on my list of recommended thrillers in the future.

Rory Power once again delivers the best cast of teen girls - a complex blend of vulnerability, rage, and power. Full of twists and an almost darkly magical quality, Kill Creatures is perfect for fans of Yellowjackets and deeply complicated characters.

I loved Power's Wilder Girls, so when I saw an ARC of Kill Creatures, I knew I had to read it. Power did not disappoint - I was so hooked, I read the entire book in one evening. The complex characters, the thrilling turns, and the almost magical quality of the mystery kept me entranced.

While I think this is a perfect book for any horror fan's TBR, I have to especially recommend it for any fans of Yellowjackets. If you love the messy complexity of teenage girls and their relationships, this book is for you.

This book will leave you stunned speechless by the end of it, and I completely devoured it.
If you’re looking for a fast-paced thriller with an obsessive unreliable narrator, this is one you must definitely add to your shelves.
With each chapter the story only became more chilling, finding myself never wanting to pause as I became enthralled with the main character, Nan, and her thought process throughout. I mean, when the character basically begins with the most blunt confession saying, “The girls are dead. After all I should know, because I’m the one that killed them”, you can’t really pause there, can you? Absolutely amazing writing, and as my first of Rory Power, I wish to read more of her other works as she’s an amazing storyteller.
This was equal parts bone-chilling and intoxicating. I didn’t know what else to expect as the plot began unfolding and tension rising you could drown in it. If you’re looking for something deliciously dark to jump into, I cant recommend this book enough.

This was my first book by Rory Power and it made me SO EXCITED to read all her other releases! The premise was super intriguing and it grabbed my attention from its first chapter. I also really liked the writing style, there was some incredible quotes in here that made me wish i had a physical copy to annotate. Being in Nan’s head was definitely interesting, i just love this kind of main character ; delusional and a little messed up, i’m in. i did feel like the ending was a little rushed, but it was a fun time!

i fear i am not liking this as much as i anticipated 🫣 as much as i really wanted to hop on the rory powers train after seeing how wilder girls blew up, i was excited to give this a shot but it’s not keeping my interest and 46% through, i am deciding to dnf

YESSS dark vicious delusional girls! So so good - though Nan tells us she's the killer, there's still so much to unravel and it was so riveting. I love stories of murderous girls and this one killed it.

Kill Creatures follows Nan a year after her friends disappeared. Nan has always repeated the same thing. They went out for a final swim last summer. Her friends went ahead and never came back. A year later, Luce returns. Nan is floored. Because it’s impossible for Luce to return. She killed Luce last year along with Edie and Jane.

This was such a unique story. I don’t know if I’ve ever read a mystery/thriller where we know the killer from the start, and it’s the mc. This was such a twisty tale with plot twists I wasn’t expecting. It’s super fast paced and the setting feels so vividly alive. It’s the perfect book to read during the summer.

Nan is a fascinating main character. Spending time in her head was so interesting, especially with how she justified things and moved through the world and the friendships. Super fascinating. I loved the ending and the reveal for what really happened to Luce and that fateful summer night. Really great take on friendship and jealousy and revenge.

I’d definitely recommend you check this out if you like mystery/thrillers set during summer with a unique and gripping take.

Thank you to Penguin Teen CA and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

*Also, OMG the cover!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm in love and obsessed. So stunning!!!!!