I'm very conflicted again.
I loved the way this started, but the things went into a completely different direction from where I expected things to go, and I'm not sure I liked it!
I feel like a lot more could be done with the story, but maybe that's just me.
I did love the ending though, it definitely took me by surprise!

This was my first Riley Sager book, and while it wasn't a bad start per se, I did expect more from this!

I’ve just finished this book & honestly I think the ending saved it for me.
It took me a while to get into because the pace was a little slow & I struggled to follow the ‘movie hallucinations’.
Overall I liked the setting of the book, the premise & the twists!

Full review to follow on my insta blog

Thankyou to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me a e-arc of this book. I love Riley Sagers writing and the stories that get created however this fell a little short for me. i liked Charlie as a character and the way she gets lost in the movies in her head and the plot twist i didnt really expect, it was a quick read and i flew through it in one sitting but i expected more.

SURVIVE THE NIGHT is the fifth psychological thriller from Riley Sager, the pseudonym of an author who lives in New Jersey. I have to admit that this is the first book that I have read from this author, even through I have all the books on my Kindle to read, but life has a way of getting in the way. Now after finishing this novel, I am so impressed and now plan to catch up and read all his other novels before his next novel is published in June 2022.

His Novels Include:
Final Girls (2017)
The Last Time I Lied (2018)
Lock Every Door (2019)
Home Before Dark (2020)
Survive the Night (2021)
The House Across the Lake (June 2022)

Charlie Jordan got into a car with a perfect stranger. She is being driven across the country by a serial killer?

Two people, a young woman, Charlie Jordan, in the passenger seat and the driver, a man, Josh Baxter are travelling the lengthy trip between university and their destination. They had met at the college ride share board, and Charlie accepts a ride from a perfect stranger to go back home in the middle of term, to handle her grief after her best friend, Maddy had been killed by the “Campus Killer”.

They spend the trip sharing stories, but there is no mention or discussion of what was dominating the news-the Campus Killer, who had tied up and stabbed three students in a year, and had just struck again.

Charlie soon notices warning signs with Josh…and discrepancies in Josh's story.

Charlie suffers from Hallucinations, where reality is replaced with a movie in her mind…where she sees movies in her mind. Movies are her life.

She suspects that Josh is the Campus Killer and plans her escape, while in a moving car. Will she be his next victim?

This novel is a game of cat and mouse, and Charlie must find a way to survive the night.

Favorite quote: “A stranger is just a friend you haven’t met yet.”

This was a very enjoyable gripping read, with lots of movie quotes, and an ending, I did not see coming. Highly recommend!

Many thanks to the author, Hodder and Stoughton and NetGalley for granting my wish to receive a digital copy.

Riley Sager packs so much tense drama and terror in these pages it’s difficult to stop yourself from devouring in one go.

The claustrophobic atmosphere and uneasy dynamics between characters is gripping and shows how Sager can really make a reader feel what the characters are feeling.

Another excellent title from Riley Sager, he is a master of suspense, and this book did not disappoint

I could not put this book down at least not for long. I liked the premise that the main character chose to get in a car with a stranger and then realising he is possibly a serial killer. I enjoyed the writing style and the choices that had to be made along the way. I didn't see the twist coming when it arrived but I was gripped to see how it turned out. I liked the way the story played out right to the end. As the first book by this author I have read I am intrigued to try more.

This was my first book by Riley Sager and I was having severe FOMO seeing it everywhere and not having read it. Suffice to say it won't be the last one I read by Riley. It was a fantastic read, perfect for thriller and mystery readers. A little bit slow to get going but that didn't last long and then I couldn't put it down.
I did guess a couple of the twists but mostly I was surprised along the way.
I would definitely recommend this one.

A unique and interesting premise that is deftly executed. I especially enjoyed how the story takes a turn from what you'd expect of the setup near the halfway mark, and the style of writing itself lends a cinematic quality that's true to the storyline. Very enjoyable!

This is only the second Riley Sager book I have read, I absolutely loved Final Girls sadly Survive The Night didn’t hit the spot as much as I wanted it to.
It was very slow to get going and I didn’t really feel any connection to the main character. I felt that what was happening was a little farfetched. The last part of the book was better and did have me gasping at a few places and I did enjoy this part. Overall it was okay.

Riley Sager's previous books are all fraught with tension and a sense of dread and Survive the Night is perhaps the best of the Sager's books. Charlie, a university student who's best friend has been murdered, hitches a ride with a stranger because she needs to get home. She becomes suspicious on the driver she's riding with, Josh, and we're not sure how dangerous or threatening he really is. As a film major and a film noir fan, Charlie is fully aware of the overused movie trope of the untrustworthy stranger but we're not sure if she has just watched too many films. To compound the problem, Charlie also suffers from hallucinations and has stopped taking her medication so we're never sure what is real or not.
Survive the Night is set in the nineties and features tropes from nineties horror films. With its breakneck speed and twists, the book is perfect for a film adaptation.

I want to thank NetGalley, the author, Riley Sager, and Hodder & Stoughton for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was my first Riley Sager thriller. As expected, this was a very fast-paced novel with lots of twists and turns, increasing towards the end of the book especially. It is set over the course of one night and there is a lot to unpack in such a short space of time. I didn’t realise that the book is formatted like a screenplay (maybe because it was an ARC and on kindle) until right near the end, but it is obvious that the author is penning a love letter to movies.

Initially I did not enjoy the ‘movie in my mind’ trope of the main character Charlie. However, I warmed to the idea more as the book went on and it was undeniably gripping to read from the POV of an unreliable narrator. I also enjoyed that this book tied up every loose end uncovered throughout. Every question had an answer by the end of the novel, though maybe there was slight over-explanations at points.

The ending of this book was full on crazy. There was so much action and drama, and so obviously it is easy to imagine this book as a movie itself. It was a very far-fetched concept but it surprised me how hooked I was.

In my opinion, you really can tell that this book was written by a man. The main character Charlie was so unlike any woman that exists in real life. She had no common sense and made some infuriating decisions the entire way through the book.

Even though this book did not blow me away (and even irritated me at points) I still could not put it down and read it all in one sitting. That is why I have gone with a mid-tier 3 star rating.

I read this book in one sitting. I kinda had to hate read it a little to find out what happened and to get to the end. Some twists were super obvious, there was one I didn't get which was a nice surprise.

Thanks to NetGalley, Riley Sager and Hodder and Stoughton for an earc in exchange for an honest review.

For some reason I just couldn't seem to get into reading this book no matter how much I tried. So unsure if it just wasn't for me or anything to do with the book itself.

REALLY GRIPPING! Full of tension, and some really unpredictable twists. Great YA thriller, that adults and teenagers will enjoy alike.

Charlie is leaving College after the murder of her best friend and room mate. Leaving behind the memories of why her friend was alone that night and her boyfriend, Charlie agrees to a ride with a stranger. However, as their journey begins, Charlie feels she may have actually stepped into the car with her friend's murderer. Quite a few twists and turns in this one, including right at the very end. Charlie's habit of slipping into"movies" in her mind also takes the reader on a bit of a mind bend. Interesting read.

Oh my God, this started off very slow, I almost gave up on it, but persevering, But it definitely picked up pace later on, and there were a few twists, one of which I wasn’t EXPECTING AT ALL. Was this one of my favourite reads? Definitely not, but I’m glad I stuck with it.
It was still worth a read.
Probably my least favorite of Riley's works.

DNF at 30%
This book was really not for me.
I was excited for the story, but it didn't really deliver on it i.m.o.

DNF at 21%

I tried to read this, I really did! After loving The Last Time I Lied, I was beyond excited to get an ARC for this, but sadly I'm just not enjoying it.

Boring, with an annoying main character, Survive the Night is putting me in another slump, and I just haven't wanted to pick it up. It may get better, but I can't muster up the motivation to read more than a couple of pages at a time before rolling my eyes, yawning and closing the book.

The reviews are mixed but many have enjoyed it, unfortunately I am just not one of them.

Many thanks to Netgalley UK and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgaelly, Hodder & Stoughton, Hodder Paperbacks and Riley Sager for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

I read a lot of thrillers and I am not easy to surprise. I can usually predict what's lay ahead. I was wrong about this one - Survive The Night is totally unpredictable. The plot weaves and twist all the time and when you think you got it - you got it wrong. You want something surprising, totally unpredictable, something that keeps you second guess yourself - this book might be for me.

However, even with the full of astonishing twists and turns, I wasn't really engaged. I was tired of the main protagonist, Charlie Jordan from the very first page. Her peculiarity about movies and how she created some images in her head instead of reality was interesting at first but annoying by the middle of the novel. Many references to old movies have been lost on me as I am not familiar with them. At first I tried to google, and it tuned out to be a tedious task as too many references - too many distractions.

It was an ok thriller and it did not blow my mind away.