Book Review: The Last Girls Standing by Jennifer Dugan

The Last Girls Standing

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The Last Girls Standing 〰️

Actual rating: 3.5/5

I'm torn. The premise of this book is everything I love. I mean, a gay slasher final girls' story? Sign me up! And I've read every single one of Dugan's books and loved every word of them. And the cover for this book? Absolutely stunning.

Yet I feel like Dugan wasn't fully ready to commit to this new genre. Don't get me wrong. I still loved the story. But that ending? That's why I'm not rating it as high as her usual books.

Yes, it's okay not to answer every plot point that gets brought up. It's like life. We don't always get everything we want. But I swear EVERY major plot point went unanswered. And Sloan fully committing to the cult is real, and that she's a part of it, and then murders Cherry? Yeah, I wasn't here for that. I don't think Sloan's descent into madness was handled very well. Was it believable? Sure. She went through some pretty severe trauma. But that doesn't mean I like how it was done. And speaking of trauma, as much as I love a good gay story, Sloan and Cherry's relationship was a bit toxic. I still felt the love, but Cherry was a bit too controlling in Sloan's life for my liking.

As for the other characters, they weren't built up very much. I get how Sloan would distance herself from her besties after the incident at Money Springs (terrible name, by the way). But the way she used Connor (such a sweet boy, loved him!) after not speaking to him in months, and then Dugan just kinda writes him off into oblivion, kinda irked me. Sloan mentioned he ghosted her, which fair, but I felt like his character was wasted.

I know I harped on about a lot of negatives (especially with how quick the ending was and with no resolution), but I truly did enjoy the book. It's only because of the above-mentioned that it got a lower rating than usual for Dugan's books. This book won't stop me from auto-buying anything else Dugan writes, and I am glad she's trying different genres with her usual gay twists.

Book review: Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton

Haunting Adeline

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Haunting Adeline 〰️

Well, this book made me see things in a way I didn't think I ever would. I picked it up because a friend told me about it, and it sounded interesting. I read Satan's Affair first, and I love that we get to see that mini-story again, but from Zade's perspective. It was short but cool. You don't need to have read Satan's Affair in order to understand this story, especially as it was such a small part of the grand scheme of things, but I will admit it enhanced the reading experience. (Plus, I enjoyed the little novella).

There were basically two stories going on at once. Well, three, if you count the stalking part before Adeline and Zade made contact. We have Adeline trying to solve the murder of her great-grandma, Gigi. While interesting, this plot point wasn't the main focus, in my opinion. The really interesting part was Zade's storyline. He truly is a hero for what he does, even if he goes about it in, let's say, an interesting way.

At first, you wonder how Zade can be so passionate about saving women and children from the horrors of sex trafficking and not wanting to do anything to them other than get them to safety, yet at the same time be willing to stalk and assault Adeline because he's super attracted to her. I mean, yes, it's sort of consensual as she's into the non-consensual stuff, so in a way, it does make it consensual? I dunno. It's weird. But when we read from Zade's perfection, somehow it all makes sense and we root for him even though he's the bad guy (yet also the good guy?) This book really makes you question your own morals.

Side note, though I don't mind reading smut so smutty it may as well be porn, I do wish the author stopped using the word "juices" so often. That was kind of a turn-off for me; not gonna lie. Took away any sexiness the scene had as it was more gross than anything.

Also, don't get me started on both MCs having a major cliffhanger. Guess I need to get reading on book two now because what can I say? This may be a dark read, but it's a helluva interesting one.

Book Review: The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

The Final Girl Support Group

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The Final Girl Support Group 〰️

I have been waiting a long time to read this book. I bought it last year in October and was waiting until this October to read it as it's now "spooky month." I had great expectations for this book based on the title alone and was super pumped to read it. Did it meet said expectations? Was it worth the wait? Mostly.

I loved the premise of this book, and I loved that I recognized all the movies that each final girl was based on. I thought this book had an excellent story, having all the final girls going to a support group and then they picked off one by one.

Sadly, while the first few chapters were interesting, I did find it to drag a bit in the middle, and the MC was going from destination to destination of shoddy guesswork at best. But don't get me wrong. I still enjoyed it. And it did pick up in the later half of the book to deliver the slasher stuff we were expecting. I didn't like how the MC kept guessing who the killer was, then proven wrong, then immediately suspecting someone else. Sure she is right in the end, and she figures out the true motives behind the killings. But for a while, it felt like she was bouncing around while things happened to her.

But besides that middle bit, I still thoroughly enjoyed my read. And I loved the showdown at the end. I felt like I was inside the mind of someone who had survived unspeakable horrors. It was nice to read the aftermath of a slasher movie (or book, in this case) many years later from the survivors.

If the middle of this book were a tad different, I would have rated it higher. But still, I recommend this to anyone who loves a good slasher movie and wants to hear more of the final girl's story.