28. You’re Not Supposed To Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you’re into slasher horror then this book is definitely for you! Packed full of twists, turns and (quite a lot of) gore from the very first page. Definite creepy vibes and super fast paced to read - perfect for Halloween week!

YA is hugely popular in my Library and students just can't get enough of murder. I was keen to try this book as I hadn't previously read anything by this author.

I liked the fact that this was a relatively short murder story which is actually quite rare in my opinion and the author managed to create tension, introduce characters and have a pretty strong plot.

Charity was the main character in the book and the author had made her quite believable and realistic, which I really enjoyed as so many characters in murder novels are not believable.

I did find the ending a bit weak based on how good the rest of the book was, but I absolutely will be purchasing this for my Library as I think the students will love it.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS! This book will live rent-free in my head for awhile! I have been wanting to read this for so long, and decided to get the audiobook, the narrator, Hewot Tedla, was spot on and it most definitely had all the slasher summer camp films, and done so well! And even when you read about one twist, that could have gone horribly wrong. It didn't! Everything worked, from the stunning and addictive prologue, to that final chilling, but thrilling final word in the epilogue!

I just devoured it, I was there at the Camp, re-living all 80s slashers, such a great homage, and I hadn't realised I needed such an awesome slasher book until I read this. It was perfect!

I kept seeing Owls mentioned in the other reviews, and I had no idea of the meaning....let me say, now I do!

I loved the idea that you could pay to stay in the cabins and basically be terrorised all night, acting out these films, a survival horror camp (I want to go to one). That's Charity, the Final girl, and she works it so well! Her team, all work so hard to scare the bejesus out of you! Each have their strengths, but when three people up and leave suddenly, it puts more pressure on the season's final night for them and then they have to cancel the final night...well the proverbial s##t hits the fan! It takes time to ramp up the mystery and the horror, but once it's been let out, the action and the running don't stop! I loved learning about the camp, and the people and didn't bother me that most of the action was in the final third. I wanted to care about Charity and friends. Boy were there some brutal incidents.


Oh, I want to scream and talk about this book right from the rooftops! It was just beyond epic. It is so nostalgic, but up to date, so thrilling, chilling, and exciting all at the same time! Seriously read this book if you want something to take you back, back to the summer, back to when Jason climbs out of the water.......

If you’ve ever wanted to be scared off owls for life, this is the book for you.

I went into this book with high expectations as I’ve been such a fan of the author’s previous works. However, I feel this missed the mark slightly, with the ending and characters motivations being somewhat confusing, as if their intentions hadn’t been completely thought through. It was a bit of a disappointment, if I’m totally honest. It was enjoyable overall, but just missed the mark.

Charity has been playing the role of the Final Girl at the Camp Mirror Lake thriller experience and loving what she does, but when a few staff members appear to have left without warning, leaving her short, she pulls some strings and get some friends in to help, including girlfriend Bezi. They’re somewhat hesitant to get involved, but don’t want the final night of the game, her big finale, to come crumbling down.

Things soon take a dark twist though, and it’s not going to be an easy night for the team. Things get weirder, and darker, and soon the realities of being an actual Final Girl are terrifyingly possible.

The book is fast paced with characters you find yourself easily warming to, all while being kept on edge by the strangeness of the setting even before the drama starts. In this, Bayron has hit the mark dead on (bad pun not intended), so you’re already ready for things to get dark and tantalizingly messy. Charity and co quickly find that they are not ready at all, however, and the weight of their emotions is clear through the pages.

Without wanting to give anything away, I absolutely did not see the last few chapters coming, and the motivations of those on both sides becomes a bit blurry. On the whole, it was a quick, fast-paced read, with characters that will grab your attention and affection, and is a great book to get lost in this summer.

A terrifying camp horror with an interesting history. I found this book to be terrifying and loved every minute, I enjoyed that we saw the terror in a safe setting to begin before we hit the stride of the actual story which had me shook and checking over my shoulder before going up to bed.

In a shorter book I was really happy that the characters felt real and we cared for each of them rather than just filler which I've found in other horror books.

Highly recommend and I've found a new auto-buy author.

A short, but gripping book with a surprising twist at the end. Such a page-turner and I absolutely flew through this one. My first book by Kalynn Bayron but definitely not the last one I read!

A queer book set at a camp slasher experience... I was destined to love this, and love it I did! Its the final night for the summer horror experience 'Camp Mirror Lake', and Charity takes her role as 'Final Girl' very seriously. However, when staff start dying in real life, she quickly realises something is very wrong. The twist of the story was not what I expected at all, but damn was it entertaining. This is something I would love to see adapted!

I have absolutely adored every single book this author has written, and this was no exception. The character development is next level and I just can’t help becoming invested in knowing how their journeys will end. Add that to intriguing and well crafted plots, the authors books are always an absolute joy to read. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for a chance to read and review this book.

I wanted to like this despite my feelings for horror as the premise sounded interesting and I like Kalynn's writing.

I found the first few chapters to be quite interesting and loved the set up but I quickly found myself losing interest and only powered through because it's a short book.

Things just got weird and it was just not for me 

Maybe I just don't enjoy YA thrillers anymore?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Charity works at a interactive theatre experience playing the final girl in this game which is made to scare their customers. However as the season is drawing to an end her colleagues start to disappear leading those who remain to look into the history of the camp they have been calling home over the summer.

I really like Kalynn Bayron's writing. I went into this book knowing that it was horror and this is not a genre a normally gravitate towards. I liked elements of the story and found the opening very engaging. I was not as keen on the reveals that happened towards the end. The atmosphere kept me engaged throughout though,

I chose to read a free eARC of You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight but that has in no way influenced my review.

Regular visitors to the blog may be aware that as well as being a crime fiction nut, I also love a dash of horror fiction, in particular anything slashery! So when an author I've had on my radar for a while publishes a new YA slasher novel - You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight - I, of course, jumped at the chance to read it. I've been wanting to read one of Kalynn Bayron's books for a while now. Both my daughter and I have been eyeing up Cinderella Is Dead since it arrived in our local library (it's always out on loan though so we haven't had a chance to borrow it yet!). But Cinderella can wait for now because it's all about Charity and Bezi at creepy Camp Mirror Lake.

Charity has landed the job of her dreams. She and a few of her friends are the cast at Camp Mirror Lake, a full-contact horror game based on a cult movie from the early 80s. Charity is the 'final girl', a role she believes was made for her. The friends plot and plan every night coming up with new, terrifying ways of scaring their guests. But as the end of the season approaches and the camp starts to wind down, things take a strange turn. When one of Charity's friends is attacked and left for dead, Charity knows the group are in terrible danger. Cut off from the outside world, it's down to Charity to keep everyone safe. But Camp Mirror Lake and it's dark, deadly history have other plans...

You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight (brilliant title!) is a gripping, well-paced YA horror novel which I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of.  It's a dark tale with multiple, unexpected twists and turns, shedloads of tension and a cast of fascinating, well-drawn characters. I loved Charity and her girlfriend, Bezi. Charity completely stole the show and I had everything hanging on her making it out of Camp Mirror Lake alive. When realisation dawns and the situation the group are in becomes clear, it's Charity who steps up and takes charge. From there we watch as things escalate. Bayron takes the slasher trope and gives it a bloody good shake and ends up with a story that's highly original and unlike anything I've read before.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. I enjoyed every moment of You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight. It's a fairly short read so once you pick it up, chances are you won't be putting it down again until you've closed the back cover. Full of tension, mystery and suspense. With bucketloads of fear, menace and foreboding, this YA thriller was fully engaging, well-written and highly compelling. I'm still reeling from one particular twist which turns the story on its head and takes the reader off in a different direction. Despite still not being over it, I loved how the story concluded and found it a satisfying, emotional denouement. You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight delivers so much more than initially expected and I cannot wait to read more from this author soon. Recommended.

I chose to read and review a free eARC of You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

Charity is a final girl. Every night she recreates the famous horror film Camp Mirror Lake for willing guests, picking them off one by one with her camp mates in a game of who can survive until she's the only one left. As the last night of summer approaches, several of the councillors seem to have left early, leaving Charity to call on a few friends to deliver the final game of the season. Except this night it's a real game of survival, and she's about to become a real final girl.

This delivered everything it promised. A fun love letter to the slasher genre, this had a feel of Friday the 13th mixed with Scream and the video game The Quarry. The beginning in particular is really strong, with its atmospheric camp setting and surrounding woods looming and building this sense of foreboding for Charity and her friends. There's glimpses of people moving in the dark, bodies dragging across the grounds, and people mysteriously disappearing. The bumps on the night will always be scarier to me than the actual threat.

I also really like Charity and her girlfriend Bezi. There's a strong connection between the two that isn't overplayed for the storyline but helps to ramp up the stakes as the two set out to find their friends and run the risk of getting hurt themselves. The plot I enjoyed, although the twists I guessed right from page 10. If you've seen any kind of horror movie it's easy to guess what's going to happen, and I found that I didn't really like the way the storyline progressed once the group leave the camp itself. It got a little cliche and lost a lot of the tension for me as instead of a classic serial killer on a rampage the story gets a bit convoluted with the different groups of threats.

Great start, super thrilling and entertaining but this lost itself half way through as the plot gets too convoluted and cliche

I really enjoyed this one. There were lots of moments in the book where I thought we'd find our first dead body or someone would be killed and it was just the anticipation kicking in. Rare I find this in a book as opposed to a movie. I think this would make a really good movie, I'd definitely watch it. I'd also definitely read more horror from Kalynn Bayron

This was a fun Young Adult slasher set in a theme summer camp.
Charity is at last playing the most coveted role at the themed sleepover serial killer camp "The Final Girl" at camp mirror lake where a movie of the same name was set. Customers can now pay for the serial killer experience in real life (for the night) and charity has a lot of fun during her summe rat the camp. But one evening a crazy woman ranting about hidden secrets waving a gun around means the camp has to close before the season is through. Charity had invited her friends up to stay for the season finale but instead they sit around telling. Scary stories until one friend tells the tale of what she found out about the camp while doing some research. It was an actual camp once upon a time until a real life brutal slaying of the occupants but it has been hidden in the archives ever since.
While cleaning up the camp they discover that 3 co-workers left all their food and belongings behind and have vanished presumably to go home, but as the night goes on they find out that something is stalking them in real life and the role that they've been playing all summer is about to become their life.
The characters in this are amazing very realistic and I found I empathized with charity as her friends get picked off one by one, in wonderful brutal ways, the kills are what I was there for ( it is a slasher) and the mystery of who the killer is was much like a very dark scooby doo episode.
I really enjoyed kalynns writing and would very much like to read from them again

For such a short book (less than 250 pages) there was a lot packed into this one


Not all of it was good.

I really dislike books that have too many 'current pop culture' references in it as I never feel it ages well. This book is basically one big camp pop culture references. With throw backs to popular Final Girls and current trends.

I went in expecting a cheesy slash camp horror and I definitely got that. Unfortunately this just wasn't for me. I just didn't mesh with the overall story and I thought the characters were flat and very 2 dimensional. And the dialogue was just b movie level cringe.

This was a phenomenal thriller and I truly believe Kalynn has found her calling when it comes YA thrillers. I was gripped from start to finish, only putting the book down to top up on drinks and snacks. It was the perfect amount of terrifying, topped off with a thrilling plot twist to finalise the whole horror show. I can only hope that Kalynn carries on with the YA thrillers, as I am already anticipating her next.

The "Divergent" style twist at the end honestly saved this book from being a disappointment to me. Props to the author for that stab in the gut ending.

As soon as I realised this slasher-thriller was set in a summer camp location I immediately switched up my reading plans in order to read it during the summer. It felt appropriate. Ever since bingeing the Scream movies recently I've been yearning for some literary slasher to get my blood pumping the same way that franchise does. You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight was my first literary slasher read and it was good. Not as great as I was hoping.

First off I loved how the book went about building up the atmosphere and suspense as the start of the book. I really felt that sense of impending doom throughout the first chapters. The book actually opens with one of those trickster opening chapters which made me think we were being thrown head first into the story. Unfortunately that was not the case and it actually took a long while to get to the actual slashing of the slasher.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This was a great, captivating little read, with a narrative so fast that it really was a wrench to put it down. I've loved all of Bayron's books and she's quickly becoming one of my must-read authors. Not one for anyone who doesn't like gore or horror, and I did also feel that the overall explanation of the events was a bit lacking, but it was a fun ride so I didn't mind.

Slasher is my favourite horror movie/book genre of all time. If there is a camp-based slasher book out there I must read it, no questions asked.

I am so glad I got to read this little gem. It was wonderful. Full of slashery goodness with a little twist. I also loved the characters and there actually weren't any that I wanted to die straight away, which makes a change as usually I have a list at the start of any horror book/movie! There was a good level of suspense, and you really cannot beat the summer camp/camp experience setting for any slasher (Hello Friday the 13th I love you).

This has made me want to hunt out all the other summer camp slasher books and go right down the slasher rabbit hole!

Thank you to @netgalley and @bloomsburyya for this e-arc.

Five big fat stabby stars!

✩​​✩✩✩✩

This was so easy to read - I basically read this whole thing in one sitting. I really enjoyed the tension - the setting of the dark lake, spooky woods, creaky cabins, it all added to the atmosphere that was really freaking me out for most of the book. I just think that the book went in a weird direction towards the end, and it just took away from the scariness of the first half. There's a sort of paranormal thing going on, but it just doesn't fit with both my expectations and where the story seemed to be heading. It meant that I no longer felt very invested or as freaked out by the story as I was originally, and I just felt like rolling my eyes at the ending. It's not a bad summer-slasher by any means, but I think the execution just didn't work. I would've preferred if it hadn't taken that paranormal route it started going in and instead stuck to the more classic horror route.