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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Final Girls in Books

Jan 21, 2018  
Final Girls
Final Girls
Riley Sager | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
5
8.0 (26 Ratings)
Book Rating
Disappointing, especially after all the hype
In college, Quincy Carpenter goes on vacation to a remote cabin (Pine Cottage) with a group of friends and ends up being the lone survivor to a massacre. The horrific event puts Quincy in the "Final Girls club"--so deemed by the press--a group of women who are also lone survivors of other similar massacres. Lisa survived a bloodbath at her sorority house and Samantha a brutal attack at a motel. The women have never met, but Quincy and Lisa have spoken on the phone. They all share two things--being a "final girl"--and trying to move on with their lives. And Quincy is really trying. With the help of Xanax, she has a successful baking blog and a good relationship with her understanding boyfriend, Jeff. But Quincy's attempts at moving past Pine Cottage are derailed when she receives a call that Lisa has died, found with her wrists cut in her bathtub. Shortly after, Samantha shows up at Quincy's apartment. Reporters are breathing down Quincy's neck and between Samantha and the press, Quincy feels forced to confront the past she's tried so hard to leave behind. But once she does, what will she really discover?

I had really high expectations for this novel, as the "first great thriller of 2017" blurb from Stephen King is prominently placed on the cover, and its been highly reviewed in a variety of magazines. Maybe I'm just a cynical soul, but it just didn't live up to the hype. For about the first 3/4 of the book, I just couldn't get into it, and I almost decided not to finish it. I actually started and finished another book between starting (and finishing) this one. The book switches between present day and flashbacks to Pine Cottage; the Pine Cottage portions were far more intriguing, and I just kept wanting to flip forward to those pieces.

Thankfully, the last fourth or so of this novel is much better: things pick up, the various parts come together in fairly dramatic fashion, and the story grows much more tense and hard to put down. It's the last portion of the book that makes it difficult to give it a truly negative review, even if I did find a few parts of it a tad unbelievable.

Indeed, you definitely have to suspend disbelief a bit for this one. Quincy is a pretty good character herself, but once Sam arrives, she sends Quincy on a path that is just hard to stomach. Quincy's reactions to Samantha and the actions she takes once she arrives irked me and often, I found them almost implausible. (Also, how gullible and unaware was Jeff?) Samantha was an unlikable character and she seemed to cloud everything she touched.

So, overall, I was a little disappointed by this one. I had to slog through a lot to get to the payout at the end and even then, it all seemed a little crazy and hard to buy. I liked Quincy well-enough, but no other characters in the novel were of much redeeming, or interesting, value. The story was fairly engaging, especially at the end, but not the shocking, amazing novel I'd hoped for. Alas. On to the next one! (And most people loved this, so take my review with a grain of salt!)
  
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Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated Final Girls in Books

Apr 9, 2019  
Final Girls
Final Girls
Riley Sager | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.0 (26 Ratings)
Book Rating
Ten years ago, Quincy Carpenter was the sole survivor of a killing of her closest friends. She joined a small group of women the media has dubbed as the Final Girls. But Quincy doesn't want to be a Final Girl, she just wants to move on with her life and forget about the events that took place at Pine Cottage. When the original Final Girl is found dead in her apartment of an apparent suicide, and another Final Girl is brought into her life, Quincy must decide how she is going to live the rest of her life.

I loved this book. I couldn't put it down, it kept me up past my bedtime each night.

Imagine if you were the sole survivor of a mass murder. How do you think that would change your life? Would you become a recluse or would you try to live your life to the fullest? Quincy has tried to forget what happened to her best friend, boyfriend and other close friends that weekend at Pine Cottage. It was supposed to be a fun weekend to celebrate a birthday, but that quickly changed. When Lisa, the original Final Girl is found dead and Sam, the other Final Girl, shows up at Quincy's apartment, she is forced to take a look at her life and decide what to do next. Full of twists and turns, the end was something I didn't see coming.

This was a great debut novel. This author has another book coming out in July called The Last Time I Lied, I already have a copy of this book from NetGalley and I can't wait to read it.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2165 KP) rated The Last Mrs. Summers in Books

Aug 5, 2020  
The Last Mrs. Summers
The Last Mrs. Summers
Rhys Bowen | 2020 | Mystery
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Gothic Trip to Cornwall
It’s fall 1935, and Lady Georgiana O’Mara is back from her honeymoon and settling into her new married life until Darcy is called away on another of his assignments. Suddenly at loose ends, Georgie jumps at a chance to join her friend Belinda is looking at the cottage she just inherited in Cornwall. However, the cottage turns out to be more of a shack. The friends are deciding what to do when they run into Rose, a childhood friend of Belinda’s. Rose announces she is now the mistress of one of the nearby mansions, and insists that Georgie and Belinda stay with her. However, something is off about life at the mansion. Will Georgie figure out what is going on before tragedy strikes?

It's always fun to slip back into Georgie’s world, and I picked up this book with anticipation. As usual, the book opens with updates on Georgie’s various friends and family, and I enjoy finding out how life is going for them. Once the story gets going, we are treated to a mystery filled with confusing happenings and plenty of atmosphere. The plot is minimally inspired by the classic Rebecca, and it uses the gothic elements well. I’m not familiar with Rebecca, but not picking up on nods to that book didn’t diminish my enjoyment at all. The new characters we meet along the way help pull us into the book. Naturally, everything makes sense once Georgie figures it all out. When you pick up this book, be prepared to be swept back in time. Fans of the series will be thrilled to catch up with Georgie’s latest adventures.