When Dez Lane maneuvers her way onto a billionaire island owned by the rich Ruskin family in her attempts to get close to Fashionista Marie Caulfield-Ruskin things take a turn for the worst with their servants finally having enough and hunting down their rich abusers. You’ll hear people talking about this book in the same breath as Saw, Glass Onion, The Menu, and Ready or Not. Honestly, I can’t argue against any of these comparisons. I think it definitely takes a lot more of the themes of The Menu and Ready or Not than Saw with a definite “eat the rich” tone. It’s a wild thriller that will leave you wanting to get to the next chapter as quickly as you finished the last. Dez is a great protagonist with her being this sarcastic person that you need to deal with the Ruskin family’s boorish behavior. If you want a fast-paced novel like that, I highly suggest Guillotine.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Titan Books for approving me for this early copy of Guillotine.

This book was WILD. I devoured it the same day I finished another book of her's, Bloom, which is also insane and I highly recommend it.

Guillotine follows Dez, who uses Patrick Ruskin, to get her in with his mother, Marie Caulfield-Ruskin, who is the editor in chief of one of the biggest fashion magazines. Patrick takes her on a weekend Easter trip to his family's island, makes her sign an NDA, and starts to realize this family is a bit insane, with their ridiculous and unncessary luxury. Once everyone is on the island and the boat has taken off, shit gets real. Dez comes to find out that their personal butlers have signed contracts that make them indentured servants, and for them to get out of their contracts, they will stop at nothing to get rid of the Ruskin's. As Dez and Patrick are on the run, more and more truths come out about the Ruskin's and Dez comes to the conclusion she wants absolutely nothing to do with Marie, this family, and the company.

It's more than just a gory, revenge story. It makes you realize how messed up the 1% truly are, thinking that they are everything and more than anyone else in the world, and how everyone below them doesn't deserve the love and respect they should receive.

The description of the book doesn't prepare you for the absolute wild ride this book takes you on. The servants pick off the family one by one until they're done. It's graphic and gory, but it doesn't make you want to put it down because you want to know what happens in the end. I was rooting for Dez the whole time.

****A ittle bit of a spoiler**** - She was spared in the end, but I thought she would be spared in a different way than she was. I truly thought she was going to get away from all of this because she was nice to the servants at the beginning of the book. She spoke to the servants, thanking them for everything they did to help her when realistically, no one on the island was able to speak to them.

The big reveal at the end makes you root for the servants. No, truly. The Ruskin's are a fucked up family who deserve all the horrid things that happened to them throughout the book.

I truly wish this book was longer, a second part where we see the servants get away and try to live life the best they can.

Overall, I truly loved this book. Delilah Dawson is easily becoming the queen of horror in my mind, and I can't wait to read the rest of her books.

This was compared to Ready or Not and The Menu, which are two of my favorite movies, so I knew I had to pick it up and I'm so glad I did. This book was dedicated to everyone who works service or retail jobs, and as someone who worked in retail in a fancier neighborhood, I can't count the number of times that I imagined rage quitting over the entitlement that some people had. And in some strange way, reading this novella repaired a piece of my soul.

Some of the characters were pieces of work, but I enjoyed following Dez as the main character. She's doing what she needs to do to get her foot in the door (at least in the beginning) and I can respect that. The family was wild though and honestly (mostly) deserved everything that went down.

This book was a wild and crazy time. My only complaint is that I wish this were longer. Besides that, I highly recommend this book and I think anyone who has ever worked a service job should read this too.

Big thank you to Titan Books and Netgalley for providing me with this eARC!

If you read the blurb, you know exactly what to expect. Very similar to, but much more engaging than Sarah Gailey's Eat the Rich. Although, you know, without the cannibalism.

Alas.

Weird that this is the second book I've read this month that takes place primarily on an island off the coast of Georgia. That doesn't have anything to do with anything, it just felt worthy of being mentioned.

If you don't enjoy gore, you'll have a bad time with Guillotine, but bloody as fuck is my absolute favourite, ESPECIALLY when it's assholes doing the bleeding.

This was a fun one. The plot isn’t a super new one, typical eat the rich fare which is always something I can get behind. I honestly had no idea where this book was leading for the first half. I assumed some of our less than likable characters would be meeting gory ends, but had no idea from which angle it would come from. When things ramp up it gets pretty wild fast.

The plot is fairly simple. Dez has struggled in life and is having a hard time securing a job despite a 4 year degree. Seeing an opportunity arise with the son of a fashion magazine, she’s whisked off to an island where things are *strange*.

The first half was almost a bit Black Mirror like with its rising creepiness and strange interactions. Everyone on the island is bizarre and as the tension climbs things just get stranger. I really enjoyed Dez as a character. The book has a nice satirical tone and definitely has an anti-misogynistic message which obviously won’t resonate with all readers. I really enjoyed The Violence by Dawson as well and can only hope life hasn’t been as cruel to her as it has some of the characters in her books.

Overall this is one of those books that goes FAST once the tipping point is reached. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone who vibes with fast paced revenge-esque horror. There’s some fun kill scenes but most of the darker themes aren’t presented graphically in the book. I look further to reading more of Dawson’s work in the future.

A gruesome look at consequences, and the call to action when one finds themselves caught in the bloody crosshairs.

If you've ever dreamed of a modern-day class uprising or enjoyed a bloody 'Eat-the-Rich' revenge drama, Dawson's Guillotine will appeal to your tastes. Part horror, part thriller, all heart-pounding action, Dawson performs a violent, exaggerated, yet somehow cathartic takedown of a family of racist, classist White supremecists through the eyes of an ambitious middle-class scholarship student caught up in a terrifying Saw trap of a situation mostly outside her control. I tore through this book in an afternoon, the storying carrying me along at a (literally) breakneck pace from start to finish. This isn't a book of anti-heros or sympathetic villains: nearly every character is an evil caricature designed to be propped up and torn down. Yet, somehow this fits so neatly into the tradition of B-list slashers that I can't countenance it: each characters is merely a vehicle by which the author vents her anger at white-collar criminals and their enablers. If you are looking for a quick, satisfying horror novel and don't mind reading about grotesque methods of violent murder, Guillotine lives up to the invention that gave it its name.

This is a satisfying "eat the rich" revenge story. The first half dragged a little, but once the plot picked up pace, it became an engrossing read. I would have liked a few loose ends tied up, but overall, I enjoyed this story.

You could feel the tension as soon as Dez made it to the exclusive home dubbed the Island. I wanted to yell: you in danger girl. With the staff in all pink, the wives being weird, it just gave off a very sinister feeling. I understood Dez wanting to make it in the fashion game, but she definitely did not know what she was walking into.

This was very bingeable, with very rich, entitled people behaving disgusting, and characters you hate and characters you are rooting for. There were very inventive ways to commit the act of murder which even I was a little shook while reading. This gave me Get Out and Ready or Not vibes I was very much here for. Don’t let this pretty pink cover fool you, this one gets very gory and very graphic, which I think horror fans will love.

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC for early review.. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.

I was a HUGE fan of Bloom, the first book I picked up from Dawson, which really did scream of being written from a fan, for fans. She blatantly said that she was still waiting for a fourth season of Hannibal, and I'm thrilled to see that Guillotine is something that came out of that period of waiting. And we even got a reference to Will Graham in this one.

Guillotine is another story that is definitely written for an audience. It's self-aware, funny, brutally honest, and fiercely unapologetic. It's referential of movies like Saw and horror tropes, it's full of modern touches that don't overwhelm the fact that it's terrifying. Dez is such a fantastic main character--- she's not perfect, not by any means, but no one really is. And when you see her lined up with all of the Ruskins... Wow, the creep factor is seriously severe. This one is definitely a psychological horror for the girlies. The gore, the revenge, the final girl, and especially the fashion. I was totally engaged and finished it in a single sitting. You hate all of these Ruskins, you feel for all of the servants, and you know that nothing is ever going to be normal again. I'm totally looking forward to Dawson's next book. Also, 5/5 stars for extremely feral horses.

This is only my second book by Delilah Dawson and she continues to entertain. The pace of this novel never eases up and is as much a political statement of the working versus upper classes as just a fun horror thriller read. I do believe that I had as much fun reading it as the author did writing it. Very satisfying to see crappy people get much deserved ends.

Guillotine shines with "eat the rich" opulent horror. It is a deeply alluring and darkly violent read, wrapped in a pink bow the colour of a kitten's nose.

I finished Guillotine this morning, after reading it in sub-18 hours. I am not sure I have been so excited for an ARC's publication so that we can all DISCUSS.

If you liked Bloom, I have a strong suspicion that you will like Guillotine. If you didn't like Bloom because of the topics discussed, please do not immediately assume you won't like Guillotine! While the storytelling style is similar, the more uncomfortable topics discussed are not the same (IYKYK).

In keeping with the similarities to Bloom, you get a similar storytelling path:
1. General setup and character outline.
2. Are these descriptions intentionally quirky or is this set up for something weird...
3. Wait, what?
4. Yes, something is certainly weird.
5. Okay very weird.
6. Oh gosh I feel uncomfortable.
7. THINGS ARE HAPPENING!
8. Who am I supposed to be rooting for here?
9. Am I satisfied by this ending or disquieted?
10. I need to discuss this with everyone immediately.

I will be rushing to my bookstore to buy a copy on the publication date. The urge to annotate, re-read and analyze is strong!

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for a digital advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A satisfying "eat the rich", sweet, sweet revenge story. Some intense (bold and underlined) bits of body horror. If you liked the movie or the premise of Ready or Not, this will probably be your jam.

Delilah Dawson horror really just does it for me because Bloom was also fantastic!

***This review will go live on Goodreads on 9/1***

I was a big fan of Dawson's book “Bloom," so this was an exciting ARC. It's a very different story and feels like a horror movie with visceral kills and an imaginative setting. I think the aesthetic of the island was supposed to be “a bit much,” but I loved it. It was so vivid and unique and all terrible events aside I would absolutely stay in a vacation spot that *looked* like that! (Maybe I like the color pink more than I realized?)

I'll get the negative out of the way first, because my only complaints happened early on. It was initially very tough to have sympathy for the main character Dez because of the decisions she made. (No spoilers, but there's a very big one that affects the plot and I was flabbergasted by the stupidity.) As a result, there was then constant justification for why Dez was staying in this situation. Mostly in the first third or so, I could not get on board with her choices. Things eventually got better as the book went on, because her situation became dire and her actions were more understandable at that point. Dez was a good character, and I do want to make that clear. There was just stuff in the beginning that had to happen to kick off the story and that stuff had me going, "Are you kidding me?" 

What I appreciated the most about this book: once the horror kicks in it is nonstop. You will not be bored for even a second. 

It is filled with violent, creative scenes that are oddly satisfying given the circumstances. It’s one of those books that makes you question your own morals a little bit. At least, I did. I think I had the reaction that I was supposed to, but at the same time: was I meant to enjoy some of it that much? Another reviewer described this as an “Eat the rich” story and it is very much that. Also, a bloody revenge tale. But I don't want to give too much away.

One other minor nitpick I had, but this is always a problem for me: I don't care for straight up "villain" monologuing. However, the dialogue was pretty good, so it was bearable.

This was a stressful but exciting horror read. I recommend it for people who like things very violent and want a story in which people get what they deserve. (But heed the triggers if you have any!) I look forward to reading more from this author!

Thank you to Netgalley and to the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own. 

Potentially spoilery trigger warnings list below! 

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TW: Sexual Assault (off-screen), Torture, References to Abortion, Incest

Guillotine was a blood bath fueled on revenge. Wow, Delilah S. Dawson can write a murder scene. This book was such a fun read. It was fast paced and brutal. The beginning was a bit slow for me but once it got into it, it really got into it. I really enjoyed this one. If you love a story filled with revenge and blood then this one’s for you.
3.5/5 Stars

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an arc copy in exchange for my honest review.

My hopes were sky high for this book, especially since Bloom was one of the best books I've read this year. However, this one seemed a bit too silly and lacked Dawson's sweeping, lyrical writing style. The plot would actually make for a great horror movie though. In some ways, it reminded me a lot of The Menu. Stylistically, this book does not showcase Dawson's strengths as a writer, but it is incredibly quick, morbid, and fun.

I genuinely have no idea how I feel about this book! It was a wild trip that I got caught up in reading, but I didn’t like Dez like I had hoped to. I liked how fast paced the story was, and I can definitely see why it was compared to Ready or Not; however, I absolutely loved Ready or Not and this one didn’t quite do it for me. The short length is nice because you can read it in just a couple hours, but I do wonder if it would’ve benefited from being longer if it meant the characters got some more development?

If the premise sounds interesting, you’re looking for a very fast read, and you aren’t squeamish…give it a shot! You might love it more than I did!

ARC by NetGalley and the publisher.

Dez Lane has always felt a calling to fashion and while her passion to be in the industry seems to be haunted by all her job rejections she refuses to give up. So when a chance meeting with the uber rich Patrick Ruskin occurs she finally sees her ticket in. Patrick’s own mother is hugely famous and one of the most influential women in fashion today. She decides to pretend to like the insufferable man even if she can’t stand him just until she can get a face to face meeting with his mother. After weeks of enduring dates Patrick invites Dez to his families private island for a family Easter gathering. She jumps at the chance even if upon arrival she is met with strange staff dressed in all pink and an extensive NDA. As one strange family interaction bleeds into the next she begins to think this was a waste of her time. Until the dullness of the Island is rocked by one dinner she won’t forget that has her running for her life trying to escape the very world she so badly wanted to belong in.

I absolutely devoured this short but impactful and satisfying revenge tale. Guillotine has all the female rage, fast pace action, and dark twists that I cant help but enjoy in a final girl horror read. Dawson paints a perfect picture of the ultra exclusive evil side of the 1% that honestly had me feeling like I was watching a movie while reading. With that being said this absolutely gives Ready or Not vibes which admittedly is my favorite horror film, along with a bit of The Menu as well as having surprising humor that despite the gruesome aspect made me honestly laugh. This book also isn’t just your typical gore horror read as it explores the question of what would you do for your dreams, how far would you go to achieve success and where does that line end and begin. There are a fair share of trigger warnings that the author mentions prior to the books beginning however most of these aside from the obvious horror aspects happen off page. This book simply put was a great revenge horror serving all the darkly poetic justice that I love!

Guillotine comes out September 10th, 2024.

Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Fantastic gorry horror story for all women!

Dez decides to date Patrick Ruskin in order to get closer to his mother who is editor of the number once fashion magazine. She overlooks his extreme boorishness and misogyny and scores an invite the family compound. Once she arrives at the island estate she learns just how cutthroat and coldhearted the Ruskin family is, and she just happened to pick the worst week in the world to visit.

Dawson creates a believable horror scenario that is completely satisfying! #guillotine #deliahsdawson #titanbooks

Holy shit, that was a fast, shocking, occasionally gross, and gory ride. Second Delilah S. Dawson book (under this name, I guess?) and loved it just as much, if not more.

Titan really keeps impressing me, and books that aren't longer than they have to be are my new favorite.