If truth be told, Riley Sager and me aren't the best of friends. I've read all of his books and I've only loved a couple, and the others have all been decidedly average for me, and unfortunately, that's where this book sits as well.

The only reason for the 3-star rating, as opposed to a 2-star rating, is because I did really enjoy the first half of this novel. I loved the scenes in the car when the 2 characters started out on their drive. There was this constant feeling of dread, of something being not quite right. The slow build up of tension was great, together with the spooky atmosphere. I loved all that. The book had so many great possibilities at that stage. But then, alas, things went downhill from there. Once the characters left the diner, everything went pear-shaped for me.

The main character in this book just makes such poor decisions, but that actually wasn't what bothered me the most (because thrillers do tend to breed characters that make strange decisions). The thing that really got under my skin was how bizarre the whole story became. Just so unlikely. And characters whipping in out of nowhere and acting in bizarre ways. Things that would never happen in real life. Okay, again, I suppose thrillers do by their very nature lean towards the unrealistic, but I don't know exactly what it was about this book that seemed to make the bizarre happenings more bizarre than normal. And as for the big reveal at the end...oh please! Again, just so out of left field. I don't know. Something just bothered me about it all.

The main character was okay, and she didn't bother me as much as she's bothered some others. Yeah, her decision making was dodgy, and the weird movies in her head were also a bit too much, but I was just mwah about her. Overall, the book didn't have any specifically memorable characters. There were very few characters in this book, which didn't bother me and it did make for an easy read, but none of them were specifically developed.

So in summary, I didn't feel like I wasted my time with this one, and the first half definitely entertained me, but the story as a whole fell flat. There was so much potential with this one, but I didn't love where it went. So, it was okay, but not great. It's not one that I'll remember in weeks to come.

2.5/5 rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I had such high expectations for this book but it was a huge disappointment. I had so many WTF reactions throughout but I ploughed on to the end, I ended up skimming parts after 85% of the book because I wanted to know who the killer was. The main protagonist Charlie I did not like/care about as I found her very dumb and she ends up doing things that are stupid even though she knows she shouldn’t be doing. The concept was interesting although the book falls flat for me.

First of all, I was so excited for the release of this book & when I heard some mixed reviews, I was really nervous to get into it.

But thankfully, I really enjoyed this book!

As usual, Riley Sager did a fantastic job of creating this atmosphere where I was constantly on the edge of my seat while reading this.

I loved the isolative settings, the long stretches of empty roads. Additionally, I think setting this book in 90s before everyone had phones handy, really added to the isolation and suspense.

I did think it was strange at the start why Charlie got into the car with Josh, but as the story progressed, I definitely came to understand how she made that decision.

I thought I had the story sussed, I knew the ending, I was so sure but I was do wrong, I never could have guessed that twist & it was amazing!

Overall, I gave this 4 stars!

Thank you to Riley Sager, Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for an eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Riley Sager has written a book, Survive The Night, which is unlike any other book I have read before. The whole book spans the events of just one single night, though we do get glimpses of the past, though recollections and films.
It is incredibly hard to discuss the story, without giving away vital plot lines. The story twists and turns so much, that I felt the same confusion that Charlie feels within her head. I struggled to understand what was real, and what was in Charlie’s mind, which made the book more of an immersive experience.
I did find Charlie’s decisions and behaviour hard to understand, but very thankfully, I have never found myself in her situation, and I hope to keep it that way too. I felt the story did stretch plausibility, but it is fiction, so maybe that’s unfair. Having said that, it’s just 3* from me.

Survive The Night sees Charlie accept a ride from a stranger Josh, in an attempt to get away from university as quickly as she can after the murder of her best friend.

As a main character I found Charlie a little annoying and unbelievable in parts. Her best friend is murdered by a serial killer who hasn’t yet been caught but she gets in a car with a complete stranger that she met the day before. A pretty dumb thing to do.

Although Charlie did some stupid things I did like her character development. Survive the Night started off a little slowly but from around 20% in is full of twists at every turn and will keep you wanting to read more.

I thoroughly enjoyed Riley Sager’s most recent book and would definitely recommend to any thriller fan.

This is my fourth Riley Sager book, two of which I've really enjoyed and two of which I haven't. Happily, this is one of those that I liked very much! It tells the story of Charlie, a university student accepting a ride share back to her home town who finds herself in an increasingly dangerous position. I thought that the narrative style and structure here worked really well. Charlie is a film buff and has a passion for old movies, and the structure reflects that, which I thought was a very clever choice by the author. I also thought that the plot, while utterly ridiculous, was wildly entertaining throughout and read like a movie - again, a clear choice by the author. There are some character motivation choices that I didn't like, however and some areas that pushed my suspension of disbelief too far, but overall I would say that this is another fast paced and wild ride from Riley Sager that starts strong and just keeps going. Such fun!
I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I must admit I was really excited to receive an ARC for this book. The female protagonist was naive and ubeliveable and the story spiralled into a fantasy-like scenario. It’s a shame as I love serial killer/thriller stories but this one was just not for me.

Survive The Night is the first book I’ve read by @riley.sager. I’ve watched many of Heather at @bookables booktube recommendations of Riley’s other books so I was excited to get started with this. I’ve been saving it until the end of September when all the Halloween decorations have started to appear on the shelves and it’s a bit darker at night so it was a more atmospheric reading experience!

The story follows Charlie and Jordan. They meet on campus when Charlie is looking to hitch a ride back home and Jordan just so happens to be looking for someone to share the journey with. The embark on the journey home shortly thereafter and almost immediately something just feels amiss.

From there the story twists and turns, I doubted myself the whole way through, often flicking back to check what I’d read. Charlie is introduced as an unreliable narrator from the get go and this definitely added to the overall suspense of the story.

I truly was completely captivated by this book. I’m not sure why I still find myself surprised when there’s always just one more twist. Lately I’ve been reading more thrillers so you would think I’d learn! The twists in this story just kept on coming, the pacing of the story cranking up with each one to the point where I didn’t want to put the book down. I read it over two sittings and just felt blown away by it by the end.

I’m definitely going to have a closer look at other books from this author. Have you read any of Riley’s books? If so where would you recommend I start next?

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book. This was one nerve wracking, twisted tale. I loved it. So far, this is my favorite book by this author. Didn't care much for the others.

'Survive The Night' follows Charlie, a college student who has recently lost her best friend and is looking to escape back home. She gets a lift from stranger Josh Baxter and they end up travelling through the dead of night. Charlie starts questioning who she is travelling with and Josh's intentions. What will happen?

I read the whole book in one sitting and on the edge the entire time. Throughout the tension was thick and with the fast pace, it made for a entertaining read, I did have to suspend reality for some parts to work, too many questionable decisions were made. Charlie's internal monologue, at first I really enjoyed but it did get a bit convoluted towards the end. The mental-health aspect could have been explored at a deeper level (not more movies in the mind: too repetitive). I liked the epilogue, maybe it's the Pisces in me. The book had good twists and I liked I could visualise it like a movie, in line with the premise.

Thank you to the author, Riley Sager and publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, for the e-arc via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Charlie needs to go home so accepts a lift from a stranger who may or may not be the campus killer..... All she has to do now is survive the night with Josh. It doesn't help that movies play in her mind and she isnt sure what's reality or what's just her mind. Josh keeping secrets and telling lie in the car doesn't help at all. All things point to Josh being the killer but is he and why? What does he want with Charlie, hasn't she been through enough trauma?

Many thanks to net galley for letting me read thus.

Behind the wheel is Josh Baxter, a stranger Charlie met by the college ride share board, who also has a good reason for leaving university in the middle of term. On the road they share their stories, carefully avoiding the subject dominating the news - the Campus Killer, who's tied up and stabbed three students in the span of a year, has just struck again. Travelling the lengthy journey between university and their final destination, Charlie begins to notice discrepancies in Josh's story. As she begins to plan her escape from the man she is becoming certain is the killer, she starts to suspect that Josh knows exactly what she's thinking. Meaning that she could very well end up as his next victim.

Wow, wow, wow! I absolutely ADORED this book and honestly do not know why I left it on my shelf for so long. This is set over the course of one night but events that took place prior to the night do come into play. Sager writes this like a film description and Charlie being a film buff plays right into this. I loved the classic film references that run throughout the read and the atmosphere that Sager creates ties in perfectly as well. This feels like a classic thrilling film that is actually a book and I was absolutely gripped by it.

Sager really throws everything at this read, there is twist after twist and I found the whole read incredibly exciting and could not wait to discover what twist would come next. From the beginning, I was hooked, but as the read progresses, I was even more thrilled by the way Sager ramps up the dramatics and the tension, I really did not know what would happen next and it was an intense experience.

I will not dwell on the characters too much as I think it will ruin it for you but suffice to say, the characters are excellent and really bring this plot to life. Sager has created the perfect balance in personalities and I loved what they all brought to the plot.

I think it is clear that I adored 'Survive the Night', it is such an exhilarating, thrilling read and definitely the most exciting thriller I have read this year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy.

Sorry, I will not write a Review about Survive the Night von Riley Sager. The book was not what I expected... not my cup of tea...

I enjoyed this book so much that I read it in one sitting. Yes, the main character Charlie, was extremely annoying and needed professional help and a hug. Yet, she had suffered from so much trauma with recent losses. Her best friend/ roommate was killed by the campus killer. The name alone was extremely nerve wracking. She decided to leave school to go home after her friend died. Totally understandable when there was a killer loose. Now what I don’t understand was why she choose to get in a car with a stranger?! No references, no discussion, no questions beforehand?! That was stupid on her part. The first half of the book was great in setting up what could be possibly be a great ending. Which was why I enjoyed the book. But then the second half was a bit of a let down because of the killer. Now the killer, which I never guessed but in retrospect should have, murdered those girls for reasons that made no sense to me. I didn’t get it. It seemed to me the writer was trying to give us something. Even if it made it worse. Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot until the ending which was meh for me.
I received a copy from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I have read a couple of Sager's books previously and although I enjoyed them, I felt they kind of just trundled along without much excitement or thrill.

Unfortunately this one didn't change my view on his work, and I don't know if I will read another. Although, I would never say never, it may just have been the plot/characters - the writing is good.

Charlie has to hitch a ride with a stranger and it turns out he's a serial killer. Will she SURVIVE THE NIGHT?

I didn't like Charlie - she's a bit stupid, she doesn't make good choices. I understand that kind of makes the book, but I had to really try hard to believe any of what she did/said. She is an unreliable narrator if ever I did read one, and I think this was just a bit too disorientating for me.

Like I say, the writing was good, it had good pace, I just didn't get on with the plot or characters and this let it down for me. I think if you are a horror film junkie then you may appreciate this one a little more as you will have the nostalgia and recognition coming through pretty much from the start. I lean more toward the thriller than the horror so I didn't appreciate this as much as I imagine it was intended.

The story premise for the first half of the book is quite simple, to survive the night in a car with a person who might or might not be a serial killer. Although, being in one place for the majority of the book might seem boring; however, Riley Sager played up that one setting. It propels the story instead of being stagnant. Charlie's concept of reality or a movie in her head does mess with the reader's mind. At times, I didn't know which way was the truth. The characters development was good. The ending does have one imperfection, the tooth. I won't ruin the book by stating what it is. This book is worth the read.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Riley Sager’s ‘Survive The Night’ is certainly entertaining, I’ll give it that.

It starts off with a snapshot of the story half way through (apparently film noir, but for me I was concerned it would spoil the narration and suspense going forward). That snapshot also provides a glimpse into one of the other key threads in the novel - ‘life as a film’, which again had me questioning the entire premise of the book.

Despite my reservations, the book was a definite page-turner, and by the end I was convinced that the initial snapshot of the future was brilliant, and that the film underpinning wasn’t absurd and convenient (convenient in the sense that the plot just wouldn’t work without it and the protagonists behaviour just wouldn’t be accepted as plausible), but was clever and even a little artistic.

Look, if you suspend the rational for a little bit, this book has a lot to offer in terms of entertainment and enjoyment.

I will split my thoughts in a way the main character of Survive the Night would appreciate: in reference to cinema. So here goes:

The Good:
• Super fun premise
• Well set up to predict future reveals
• Creepy scenes were creepy
• Pretty fast paced
• The numerous car scenes did not get boring so I think that was well written

The Bad:
• Charlie is the dumbest protagonist (I can always suspend disbelief a bit for a thriller, but this was beyond!)
• The 'epilogue' was ineffective and made me not want to ruminate over the plot twists after I finished
• Did not care for small sections from tertiary POVs - I'm not sure what these added, and one caused an actual plot hole!

The Ugly:
• Lazy trope of unreliable narrator via mental illness (that didn't come to as much as I thought it would)
• Seriously Charlie makes the STUPIDEST DECISIONS that no-one would make (especially a woman), even a few decades ago

She's unfortunately a 2🌟 for me (but I think there might be more in it for cinephiles as a guilty pleasure)

However, I would highly recommend Sager's previous book Lock Every Door for a protagonist that makes (slightly) fewer poor choices and a more satisfying turn of events!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Hodder and Staunton for providing an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Love Rileys books and this one didn't let me down, well written and keeps you engaged. Twists and turns all the way through and I would never have guessed the ending.

Well this book takes place over one night, as could be guessed from the title. From receiving my copy to beginning to read it, I didn’t read too many reviews or re read the blurb. So I went in a little blind. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was set in 1991, which meant no mobile phones or internet. It was nice to revisit this time, and I have to say it makes thrillers seem more dangerous as you can’t just call for help on your phone.

The plot begins with the main character Charlie, we learn that her best friend has been murdered on a night out. Charlie feels guilty and wants to leave campus and get home. As she isn’t able to drive herself home she looks for a travel buddy to car share with. Here enters Josh. The majority of the story is between these two characters and told from their points of view.

Because the chapters are written from the two main characters point of view, I got a good sense of who they both are. Personally I didn’t like Charlie and after the first few chapters, any sympathy that I had for her was gone. I found her to be one of the most stupid characters I have ever read about. She made terrible decisions concerning her own safety and I don’t think this was due to lack of common sense I think she just decided to do stupid things. Charlie was a very frustrating character to me. The only positive part of her that I liked was that she used a lot of movie references. These were entertaining and helped to get a better idea of who she was and why she was as she is.

Josh on the other hand was a bit more interesting. I had a few theories about who he was while I read the chapters. I won’t say too much about that because it would lead to spoilers. The writing was easy to read and flowed well.

As we were reading this as part of a book club we ended up reading it much faster than we initially planned.

Overall I have to say that sadly I was a bit disappointed with this book. All the chapters lasted the one night, but then at the very end goes years to the future and tells us what happened there. Again I found Charlie to be continuing to make bad decisions.

I wouldn’t be against reading another book by this author as the writing style and the idea of the plot was good. I just felt to strongly that the decisions made were a little ridiculous. There was also a part of Charlie’s character where she had what she called ” movies in her mind” . It was left unclear whether this was a mental health condition or just part of Charlie’s coping mechanism. ( perhaps it’s the same thing?) I would have liked the epilogue to make this a bit clearer as I felt it was quite a big part of the story that wasn’t explored and explained to the reader enough.