Final Girls

Final Girls attempts to turn the horror trope of the “final girl” - the blood-stained heroine who makes it out alive at the end of a slasher-horror flick - on it's head, with great success.

Our heroine, Quincy, is one of three “final girls” but is trying desperately to move on with her life. Between her baking blog and her fiance, she's making a good start. The police officer who saved her life contacts her to let her know that the first “final girl”, Lisa, has been found dead in her home of a suicide. The other final girl, Sam, shows up at her apartment out of the blue, and the news hits that Lisa's death might not have been at her own hands.

For anyone who is a fan of the slasher horror genre, this book is a treat. As I was reading it reminded me so much of Scream that I could almost picture the scenes in my head. This book is not a wink-and-nudge commentary on the genre, though. It takes itself very seriously and, as a result, does a better job translating into a proper suspense-thriller than it might have had it attempted any level of camp. Watching Quincy's perfect facade crumble under the strain of Lisa's death and Sam's arrival was cringe-worthy, and I found myself shouting at her to just go back to baking! The flashbacks Sager used to fill us in on exactly what happened the night of the massacre Quincy survived were well executed and were a nice way to show, rather than tell, the reader about that night. Sager successfully juggles several red herrings that lead up to a twist that, I'm happy to report, I didn't see coming in the least. (Others have said they did correctly predict the ending, so perhaps I should have as well. I was just having so much fun I clearly wasn't paying close attention!)

This book is pure entertainment and a ton of fun. It's entirely suitable, though, for someone who stays away from horror but might want to dip their toes into something that will leave them up late at night with the lights on. :) (Does that classify a horror-lite?)

* Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for an advance copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.*

Personally, I really enjoyed this book. Though that may have something to do with the baking the main character does. Give me all the cake... I enjoyed it more than a certain other book with a similar concept. I appreciated that dual timeline didn't have some weird twist where the narrator is outright lying or its someone else. That being said, I can definitely see why it wasn't the right book for some people. The pacing was occasionally odd the main character doesn't take enough responsibility for her present day actions. The whole secret drawer thing, where she never feels bad about stealing someone's cellphone rubbed me the wrong way. Similarly, she constantly blames her mother for her drug problems even though she hasn't lived with her mother for years. In addition, while I enjoyed the lead up to the ending I'm not sure it stuck the landing. It felt like the author wanted as many twists as possible, which meant the final twist didn't feel as genuine.
Tl;DR: I enjoyed the prose but the pacing means you might not feel as invested at the midpoint. The finale is good, but the final final scene just doesn't get 5/5 from me.

“You can't change what's happened. The only thing you can control is how you deal with it.”

This is actually a quote that my therapist has said to me numerous times. It's so easy to allow yourself to be a victim and feel sorry for yourself, it's taken me years to stop that pattern and do what I can to use what I have gone through to benefit me and potentially others.

I was so pleasantly surprised by this book. I went into it thinking I had the plot figured out in first couple chapters but I was so happy to see that I was wrong and that the author delivered such a perfectly written plot twist.

I enjoyed the characters and the different dynamics they brought to the story. There were many parts that I had started to question everyone's motives. I loved that this book emphasised that neither Quincy or Lisa needed a man in their lives to feel fulfilled in their lives.

It was a book that got better the more I read and I would definitely revisit this.

Wow. Just wow. The build up of this one took some time. Although I enjoyed the read every time I picked it up, the last 100 pages were so incredible hard to break away from. Such a huge twist, turned into a bigger twist. I had suspicions but it definitely threw me for a loop. Can't wait to read more from this author!

Final Girls is not a bad book, it just didn't engross me the way it needed to for me to consider it a success. I figured out or suspected what was supposed to be the biggest twist really early on. Well, a couple of the twists. The main character was one of those people who, for much of the book, couldn't do the smart thing to save her ass. The ending ultimately carried some satisfaction.

i really enjoyed this one for the most part! the plot is really intriguing and i was having a nice time throughout the story! it's such an engrossing book!

with that being said, the ending felt rushed. i felt let down & unsatisfied by it. the killer being coop was just disappointing & i feel like it would've worked better for me if it was actually quincy's boyfriend jeff maybe? idk the twist isn't bad at all that's why i'm having a hard time figuring out why im so disappointed with it

i think all in all it's just the execution & the way all the information was delivered/how the story wrapped up.

I kept hearing things about this book that I had to read it. I think the praise and hype that I kept reading about was well deserved because this was a read i devoured in two days. There are twists and turns every step of the way which made this one of those books I did not what to put down. Quency the only girl to make it out alive from that horrific night ten years ago struggles to put the pieces together not only of what happen but of her life, trying to figure out who she can trust who she can believe and how to move on. All and all I found this first novel thrilling and engaging and will be reading more by Riley Sager in the future.

Wow, wow, wow, WOW! Finally, a book that gave me exactly what I wanted and needed- which is practically everything. This book packs a serious punch of all the ingredients that I personally need in order to make it impossible for me to put the book down. There were so many twists and turns, I literally had no idea what to even think or who to suspect whatsoever. In that sense, this book reminds me of Gone Girl, except in that one I was completely shocked somewhere closer to the middle of the book and in Final Girls it was more towards the very end.

This is my third book from Book of the Month Club and I think they finally got it right or maybe I just spent more time reading the plots before deciding which book to chose. I honestly don't even know how I'm going to put my love for this book into words but I know I have to try.

Let's begin with the way the chapters were laid out- I loved going between Quincy's present day life and then having a small chapter that focused on what actually happened at Pine Cottage all those years ago and the drama that led up to the murder rampage. Sure, not every chapter was action packed but even the Pine Cottage drama chapters were necessary to the book as a whole because they really gave us an in-depth look into the complex relationships between the unlucky characters who were at Pine Cottage when the murders happened. This gave me a chance to bond with all the characters, even the minor ones.

And don't get me started on the main characters- Quincy, Coop, Sam, Jeff- these characters grabbed at my quickly beating heart and refused to let go. I loved that all of them had memorable flaws that in reality all human beings undoubtedly possess. It also made them all so much more relatable, even the characters who were seemingly really “out there” and really peculiar human beings.

Moving on, the writing was done in a truly masterful way with the flow moving effortlessly and not lagging behind on something. I loved that the sentences were complex and yet didn't bore or go into too much unnecessary detail. The story itself kept up a good pace and the chapters were on the shorter side which I definitely prefer because it made me keep reading, not wanting to put the book down for the life of me. And quite frankly, that's saying a lot, considering the fact that I'm 7 months pregnant at the moment and have to keep up with a toddler who's turning two in less than a week. Reading has become a kind of me time, a quiet moment when I don't have to clean or change poopy diapers but just get to dive head first into someone else's life. This is seriously why I was so happy to get a book that was exactly my cup of tea.

Also, the term “final girls” was something very new to me and for this reason I am very impressed that this book was also able to teach me something new and to open my eyes to something I've never given much thought about before. Sager is truly innovative in that aspect as well.

As I've mentioned before, in previous reviews, I love me a twisted book- the more twisted the better and Final Girls by Riley Sager delivered big time. Overall, this book is for anyone who appreciates things that are outside the box, the types of books that don't come with a plot that's perfectly wrapped in a nice little bow with everything laid out neatly and in a logical way that you already see coming a mile away. If you want a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat and give you surprise after surprise that you didn't see coming at all, then this book is for you. Definitely one of my favorite books of all time!

Intro: Good. Originality: Fair. Form: Excellent. Routine: Excellent. Dismount: Shaky. Landing: Botched. Ouch.So, on the cover, Stephen King says this is fans for Gone Girl. I'll be honest, this is way more [b:Dark Places 5886881 Dark Places Gillian Flynn https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1354988288l/5886881.SY75.jpg 6873353]. One thing I loved about both books is the call-out of nosy true crime fanatics who don't treat victims with humanity. Sager brings the reader through some twists and turns and does a pretty good job with that. The journey was more important than the destination on this one, though. But the final line is one of the corniest things I've ever read.Still a solid book. I definitely recommend it. Just not life-changing or anything.