Not Your Final Girl – ARC Book Review

Quick review-Slow burn and predictable with unlikable characters. Plot was however interesting but could have been better

Rating:- 3/5

• gory and disturbing images of killing

A feminist slasher novel fueled by female rage and haunted by gruesome murders, in this contemporary reimagining of Tess of the D’Urbervilles there can only be one Final Girl.

Darcy and her high school friends haven’t gathered together in seven years. After a tragic murder on prom night, the group graduated and never looked back. But when the lakeside cabin they spent their summers at is put up for sale, they reunite for one last hurrah.

Darcy hopes it will be an inspiring weekend that will help them all move on from their shared trauma. But Ashley, her biggest tormentor and the group’s manipulative self-appointed leader, is sure to stir up trouble. After a first day filled with jealousy, heartbreak, and unexpected guests, tensions are bursting, and the feud between Darcy and Ashley resurfaces.

The reunion takes a sinister turn when a masked killer slaughters one of their own. Cut off from the outside world with the death toll rising fast, the terrified friends turn on each other and uncover long buried secrets. Someone is seeking justice for their past betrayals and with friends like these no one is safe in this dark-femme slasher for fans of Maeve Fly by CJ Leede and The Indian Lake Trilogy by Stephen Graham Jones.

Darcy and her high school friends, Ashley, Nate, Lettie, Spence and Kai all gathered together for a union at the cabin before the cabin went up for sale. Many years ago, a murder happened which changed their lives and one of them ending up in a mental institute. Now they are all united except Ashley brings her girlfriend Su-Ahm while Nate brings Eliza who is the sister of Tessa who was involved in that incident years ago.

Truth to be told, I had high hopes for this book. I really thought this book is going to be interesting, gory and intriguing, like one of those slasher movies in 80’s and 90’s you have watched. But to be honest, this book is OK–it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t as great as I thought it would be.

There are multiple POVs–we have Darcy, who happened to be the main character, Su-Ah who is Ashley’s girlfriend, Ashley and Eliza. To me, I didn’t like any of these characters. The plot was great but the execution of the plot wasn’t that great. This was slow burn and it took me some time for me to really get into the story. I really wish the author has described more in detail about what really happened on the prom night where one of their friends actually killed someone brutally. The ending was actually predictable but the ending would have been more satisfying if everyone dies in the end and someone else not connected to the story discovers the body. This book wasn’t as dark and scary as I thought it should, by the title.

Will I read more books from this author? Probably. Would like to read more books from this authort and would like to give another chance. Worth 3 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.