I really enjoyed this! Gimme more books about final girls and horror movie-esque tropes. I found this brilliantly readable and it gripped me throughout. There are a few moments where I thought it could’ve been a bit pacier, but they were few and far between!

Thank you Netgalley, Penguin Random House UK Children's | Penguin and Joelle Wellington for the eArc of The Blonde Dies First.

As a horror lover, you can't beat a good slasher! The Blonde Dies First follows a group of friends who have known each other since been little. Devon decides to make summer special as her twin sister is off to collage. Things were going ok, until an Ouiji board was break out and all hell breaks lose.

I really enjoyed reading this and its my first from Joelle Wellington. The whole pacing of the book was constant, building from slow to medium throughout. I loved the character building and the dynamics between both Devon and Drew, the twins and the rest of the friendship group. I felt they all stood out as characters, all individual with their own voices. I loved the horror slasher vibes/references and how that all tied up at the end.

This book has a bit of everything, it's a bit creepy with some laugh out loud moments, Creepy atmospheric moments, teen angst and some very raw, exposed moments too. Would love to listen to this as an audiobook !

4 stars

I had high hopes for this because I loved Their Vicious Games and the title and cover are amazing, however I found it quite boring. Not really enough horror action and quite a lot of relationship drama.

This is a lot of fun, and very fast=paced! These poor kids don't really ever get a breather but it made for a quick and easy read, with high stakes but also being very aware of how camp it was. Despite this, it does have a pretty slow start for the first 70-ish pages, so persevere! The characters all felt very distinct, with their own personalities. There's plenty of twists, some of which were a bit predictable, some of which took me by surprise. I didn't fully understand the explanation of everything at the end of the book? But I think you just have to not take this book too seriously and just have a fun time!

(Why were we constantly talking about the main character's eyebrows though? Like it was A LOT).

Thank you Netgalley for the advance copy. I really loved the book and its characters. I can see that the author spent a long time on worldbuilding and forming 3 dimensional characters. This was already on my wish-list for the year, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. I loved the read and can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next!

This book was a delight and almost like a palette cleanser amongst some angsty reads this year. The story follows a group of teens desperate to make this the best summer ever, when one of their own is heading off a year early to college.

The story is an enjoyable, tongue in cheek horror where the group after a party with an ill-conceived play around with a Ouija board is being hunted by a demon in the same order as the characters in a movie. It often pokes fun at itself quite often, never really taking itself seriously. The cast is a well-rounded group that has a strong LQBTQ+ representation, the story wasn’t just one of horror but of teens finding themselves and working through their familial relationship challenges.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and will definitely be checking out other books by Joelle.

Horror thriller that's a rattling good read once you overcome the slow start. Will have appeal for the jump scare fans. Great cover too. For older teens.

Horror Tropes in a novel are always exciting to me - especially as we move towards autumn and the spooky season.

This book felt extremely cinematic and the pacing of it was great - I always prefer a faster storyline in a horror/thriller.

Wellington was also great at infusing humour and laughs within quite a tense story - it was just a really enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

This was so bloody good!!! I really thoroughly enjoy a horror type book that feeds into classic horror rules and stereotypes while bringing a fresh plot.

The friendship and family dynamics added so much to this book, the characters were interesting and conflicted throughout. There was tension, slight romance, funny moments and some good twists.

I need more books like this!

This felt like a love letter to horror cinema. I loved all of the nods to the classic films we love but also appreciated the uniqueness of its story. Each of the characters fit their role so beautifully and each of them took their chance to push their own boundaries.

I had guessed the third act twist but still appreciated it all the same. I had only wished we found out *why* Keith and his Mum chose to invite the demon in. The “you’re annoying” reasoning, while very funny, felt quite surface level and I wished there was a deeper tie linking back to the house or her father.

Overall a very enjoyable YA thriller and I will be picking up more from this author in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC!

The Blonde Dies First had me from the first page. Wellington drops you right into a richly described setting, its cinematic. The book wastes no time, which I appreciated a lot - we get right into it without feeling rushed.

I haven't read a rules of horror Scream type book that was so enticing, unsettling and enjoyable in a long time. Wellington is working magic with well known tropes, keeping the spirit of the genre alive and turning the whiteness and straightness of the it all on its head.

The perfect Summerween read! I loved this ode to slasher flicks and horror films. The characters were wonderfully written an their friendship dynamics were fabulous. Devon had such a strong voice and her relationship with her sister was so compelling. And like any good piece of horror media, the book was funny, socially conscious, and very creepy. I did find it a little slow to start, but once it got going I flew through.

This was so out there in the best ways! I love this genre of horror movies with teens and demons…so obviously I REALLY enjoyed this.
Some of the scenes genuinely gave me goosebumps which is always amazing to see in YA horror especially.
The main thing that made this book SO strong was the characters. All so well fleshed out, with their set personalities & roles in the friendship. Also that cheeky lgbtq romance that felt natural? I LOVE IT ALL.
More of this please and thank you.

This book was exactly what I needed for a change of pace. It paid a fantastic tribute to my favorite slasher, Scream, blending the perfect amount of suspense with humor. I couldn’t put it down and finished it in no time. I’m definitely looking forward to Joelle Wellington's next book!

Thanks NetGalley and to the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Random House UK, and Joelle Wellington for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a fast paced supernatural horror, featuring a diverse and well-developed group of childhood friends and a creepy demon - with a splash of slasher vibes and sapphic romance. As someone that skipped from middle-grade to adult fiction, I never had the chance to enjoy some good old YA horror and only now do I feel like I’ve missed out! I know that 14yr old me would have ate this up! Also, the romance subplot was so sweet 🥹

Some characters were a bit whiny and their problems could have been solved with a simple bit of conversation, but really this was reminiscent of my teenage woes so I get it. I did guess the twist quite early on in the book but it was still super entertaining and a fun summer slasher read!

The Blond Dies First is a fast and intense thriller about a twin who creates the Best Summer Ever to do list for her close friend group and sister to complete before she goes off to college. In typical horror movie fashion things go awry and soon Devon, Drew, Malachi, Leila, Yaya, and Gael have to band together to combat a demon and they must do whatever it takes to survive.

This book cuts right to chase and I was pulled me in from the first page. The sudden start of drama was refreshing and added a level or normality to the horror genre within the book as things don’t always have this huge dramatic build up, they just happen. I think that due to me having to know if survival was possible for the group and if they'd be able to stop the demon, but this book was a quick read and I burnt through the 336 pages. I loved the humour and I even laughed out loud several times. The humour doesn’t take away from the horror element as the villain in this story is absolutely horrifying.

I think this book was a brilliant tribute to The Final Girl and Slasher tropes.

3.5⭐️ rounded up

This was completely ridiculous and you’ve just got to go with it. Such an enjoyable, twisty, hilarious read. Honestly, I didn’t expect this to be as funny as it is — I found myself laughing out loud several times. I loved it.

I love Wellingtons writing. I think it’s so easy to sink in to, her characters feel so alive, and her plots are always so vivid. I loved how we had a mixture of different horror/thriller tropes in here and how it discussed them (mocked them, a lot of the time) outright. I thought it was a cool and unique take in the genre.

Sometimes I felt there were too many characters and it got a bit too chaotic, but overall I think we got to know each character well enough, even if with a lot of them I only felt a surface level connection. Sometimes the plot also got way too chaotic and confusing but all in all I do think it was well paced and the motivations for murder at the end made me laugh. It probably shouldn’t have, but it did.

I think one of the strengths of this book was the twin relationship between Drew and Devon, I loved seeing their relationship in all its messy and loving complexities play out on the page.

Excited to read whatever Wellington has coming next. She’s got a fan in me! Both her currently released books have been books I’ve devoured (ha, pun) within a short space of time and had a good time reading it.

This book has been on my radar for a while so I was really excited to read it. The horror and slasher genre is one I absolutely love and reminded me of the classic slasher films I adore.

Thanks the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a fan of slasher films I was excited to read a slasher book, however I had to remember that I am now older than the target demographic for this book and have read darker slasher books. However I still thoroughly enjoyed this.

I think this is a perfect kind of book to get YA readers into the thriller and horror genres.

I enjoyed the characters and felt immersed in their culture but I lost the enjoyment for the story when demons and supernatural elements came into it. It just seemed a bit jarring and too unrealistic to be scary, instead it was a little bit cringey.