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Slasher Summer
In this campy love letter to the slasher films of the 1980s, seven friends reunite for a weekend of fun—only to be hunted down by a cold-blooded killer. But the real horror is not being able to escape who you were in high school...
The sleepy town of Cedar Lake Falls is best known as the shooting location of the campy ’80s horror flick Slasher. In high school, preppy Patrick, jock Jason, cheerleader Tiffany, stoner Freddy, goth Jennifer, and nerdy Michael had played the cast of Slasher during midnight showings, with virginal Carrie as the Final Girl, of course.
Years later, the friends reunite at the remote cabin where Slasher was filmed. They've changed since high school—Patrick came out, Mikey bulked up, and, well, Freddy's still stoned—and they're looking forward to a weekend to catch up. But when night falls, and the eponymous masked killer is spotted, the reunion takes a deadly turn. The friends discover their tires deflated and the phone line disconnected, and soon they’re being stalked by a mysterious assailant. Is someone trying to make their Slasher experience as authentic as possible?
One thing is for sure. Before the night is over, they each will have to take on the role they thought they'd left behind.
The sleepy town of Cedar Lake Falls is best known as the shooting location of the campy ’80s horror flick Slasher. In high school, preppy Patrick, jock Jason, cheerleader Tiffany, stoner Freddy, goth Jennifer, and nerdy Michael had played the cast of Slasher during midnight showings, with virginal Carrie as the Final Girl, of course.
Years later, the friends reunite at the remote cabin where Slasher was filmed. They've changed since high school—Patrick came out, Mikey bulked up, and, well, Freddy's still stoned—and they're looking forward to a weekend to catch up. But when night falls, and the eponymous masked killer is spotted, the reunion takes a deadly turn. The friends discover their tires deflated and the phone line disconnected, and soon they’re being stalked by a mysterious assailant. Is someone trying to make their Slasher experience as authentic as possible?
One thing is for sure. Before the night is over, they each will have to take on the role they thought they'd left behind.
304 pages, Paperback
First published June 23, 2026
About the author
E.L. Chen
12 books134 followersE. L. Chen is the author of Summerwood/Winterwood, Sweetside Motel, Slasher Summer, and One of Us Is Already Dead. She lives in Toronto, Canada with her son and many TBR piles. Find more about her at elainechen.com.
**Disclaimer: I resurrected this account to support my fellow writers, so everyone gets 4 or 5 stars.**
**Disclaimer: I resurrected this account to support my fellow writers, so everyone gets 4 or 5 stars.**
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,025 reviews
July 15, 2026
fun, but not super fulfilling
2.5 stars
this review is spoiler free!
꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷ what to expect ꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷
✃ 7 ‘friends’ from high school reuniting at a remote cabin in their early twenties
✃ all 7 members were a part of a horror movie fan club – the Jumpscare Society – in high school
✃ each character is named after an iconic horror movie (we have Carrie, Jason, Freddy, Michael, etc.)
✃ multiple pov. though written in third person, we do get to follow different characters each chapter
✃ per all 2000s horror movies, they encounter a killer that wants to pick them off one by one
✃ per every 2000s horror movie, this was slightly (purposefully) cheesy
✃ per every 2000s horror movie, we have all the stereotype friends hanging out (the stoner, the jock, the nerd, the person of color (also the queer one), the edgy one (also queer), the straight hot girl, and the Final Girl)
꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷ my thoughts ꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷
the set up was honestly very fun. i love horror movies and games, so i was really excited for this as my Summerween read. i expected just a *little* bit more than i received.
the action didn’t really begin until halfway through the book (around page 150). most of the first 50% is getting to know our characters, and this felt a little… TOO stereotypical? i think that perhaps we spent a little too much time on everyone. some depictions of the characters almost felt YA, which i didn’t love.
as for the writing, it wasn’t necessarily bad… but we did love to harp on the same things over and over. The Final Girl can’t die, the stereotypes of each person, the lack of weapons, etc, etc.
in the premise of this book, it does mention that this story is an ode to 1980s slasher films and, while i can see why it says that, it definitely felt more like an ode to mass-produced, low-budget 2008 horror movies rated PG-13. this isn’t a bad thing at all, but it didn’t scream old slashers to me.
i'll admit, the last 10-15% kind of lost me. all of the reveals felt pretty predictable and the end scenes were just… not my favorite.
it was all fine, but this is just like any horror movie i watched as a teen – a good time for a few hours, more cheesy than scary, and overall pretty forgettable.
i'd recommend for a quick summer read or as a palate cleanser! great for Summerween.
2.5 stars
this review is spoiler free!
꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷ what to expect ꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷
✃ 7 ‘friends’ from high school reuniting at a remote cabin in their early twenties
✃ all 7 members were a part of a horror movie fan club – the Jumpscare Society – in high school
✃ each character is named after an iconic horror movie (we have Carrie, Jason, Freddy, Michael, etc.)
✃ multiple pov. though written in third person, we do get to follow different characters each chapter
✃ per all 2000s horror movies, they encounter a killer that wants to pick them off one by one
✃ per every 2000s horror movie, this was slightly (purposefully) cheesy
✃ per every 2000s horror movie, we have all the stereotype friends hanging out (the stoner, the jock, the nerd, the person of color (also the queer one), the edgy one (also queer), the straight hot girl, and the Final Girl)
꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷ my thoughts ꒷꒦꒷꒦꒷
the set up was honestly very fun. i love horror movies and games, so i was really excited for this as my Summerween read. i expected just a *little* bit more than i received.
the action didn’t really begin until halfway through the book (around page 150). most of the first 50% is getting to know our characters, and this felt a little… TOO stereotypical? i think that perhaps we spent a little too much time on everyone. some depictions of the characters almost felt YA, which i didn’t love.
as for the writing, it wasn’t necessarily bad… but we did love to harp on the same things over and over. The Final Girl can’t die, the stereotypes of each person, the lack of weapons, etc, etc.
in the premise of this book, it does mention that this story is an ode to 1980s slasher films and, while i can see why it says that, it definitely felt more like an ode to mass-produced, low-budget 2008 horror movies rated PG-13. this isn’t a bad thing at all, but it didn’t scream old slashers to me.
i'll admit, the last 10-15% kind of lost me. all of the reveals felt pretty predictable and the end scenes were just… not my favorite.
it was all fine, but this is just like any horror movie i watched as a teen – a good time for a few hours, more cheesy than scary, and overall pretty forgettable.
i'd recommend for a quick summer read or as a palate cleanser! great for Summerween.
June 24, 2026
The description of this book isn't misleading, Slasher Summer is a love letter to 1980's horror films. In this book seven friends from high school reunite to catch up and have some fun, but find it isn't too much fun when someone is trying to kill you!!!!!! Before the you-know-what hits the fan, I could not help but notice that the friends are made up of characters which reminded me of the movie, The Breakfast Club. Yes, this book is very much a love letter to the '80's.
Cedar Lake Fall (does this remind you of Camp Crystal Lake from Friday the 13th?) was the location where the SLASHER, the 80's campy horror movie, was filmed. The seven friends not only were in a group called "The Jumpscare Society", but they also played the cast of SLASHER during midnight showings. Yes, if you are getting strong Scream 2 vibes you are not alone. So, when their friends get together at the cabin where SLASHER was filmed. They hope to reminisce, have fun, and talk about their lives since high school, but instead find themselves in a horrific situation...
This book reads like a movie and the author brought on the thrills and chills in this campy horror book. It's entertaining, full of characters who love horror films and trying not to repeat mistakes their "character" made in horror films. The entire book I was trying to figure out who the killer might be and was shocked at the reveal. I love it when this happens. Plus, the ending!
This book is not titled a YA book, but at times this did feel like a YA novel. That is not necessarily a bad thing; I just wanted to point that out. This book does have some horrific scenes, but I didn't find any of them to be that bad or that gory.
Thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Cedar Lake Fall (does this remind you of Camp Crystal Lake from Friday the 13th?) was the location where the SLASHER, the 80's campy horror movie, was filmed. The seven friends not only were in a group called "The Jumpscare Society", but they also played the cast of SLASHER during midnight showings. Yes, if you are getting strong Scream 2 vibes you are not alone. So, when their friends get together at the cabin where SLASHER was filmed. They hope to reminisce, have fun, and talk about their lives since high school, but instead find themselves in a horrific situation...
This book reads like a movie and the author brought on the thrills and chills in this campy horror book. It's entertaining, full of characters who love horror films and trying not to repeat mistakes their "character" made in horror films. The entire book I was trying to figure out who the killer might be and was shocked at the reveal. I love it when this happens. Plus, the ending!
This book is not titled a YA book, but at times this did feel like a YA novel. That is not necessarily a bad thing; I just wanted to point that out. This book does have some horrific scenes, but I didn't find any of them to be that bad or that gory.
Thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
July 9, 2026
4.75 stars rounded up.
This was phenomenal. If you pick any slasher book up this summer, it should be this one. We're following a relatively large cast of characters, but EL Chen did such a fantastic job of making sure they all had their own personalities. This was a true slasher book. I was creeped out while reading this, flicking lights on and closing blinds because I felt scared and creeped out. It's not often a book can do that to me. The isolated setting and the history of the slasher movie being filmed at the cabin just really added to the atmosphere. As did the blood and gore of the slashings. I had a blast reading this.
I also loved the character names being a nod to some of the classic horror movies (Carrie from Carrie, Jason from Friday 13th, Michael from Halloween, Freddy from A Nightmare on Elm Street, Tiffany from Chucky, Patrick from American Psycho, Jen from Jennifer's Body?! and even Sidney (the van) from Scream.)
This was phenomenal. If you pick any slasher book up this summer, it should be this one. We're following a relatively large cast of characters, but EL Chen did such a fantastic job of making sure they all had their own personalities. This was a true slasher book. I was creeped out while reading this, flicking lights on and closing blinds because I felt scared and creeped out. It's not often a book can do that to me. The isolated setting and the history of the slasher movie being filmed at the cabin just really added to the atmosphere. As did the blood and gore of the slashings. I had a blast reading this.
I also loved the character names being a nod to some of the classic horror movies (Carrie from Carrie, Jason from Friday 13th, Michael from Halloween, Freddy from A Nightmare on Elm Street, Tiffany from Chucky, Patrick from American Psycho, Jen from Jennifer's Body?! and even Sidney (the van) from Scream.)
July 6, 2026
DNF @79%
I loved the camp/lake setting. I loved the cover and the 80’s vibes.
The characters were bland, it was hard to keep up with each one. Sometimes the chapters would drag.
Meh 🫤 disappointed. This was one I was really excited for this summer.
**Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to review this book in exchange for an honest review. **
I loved the camp/lake setting. I loved the cover and the 80’s vibes.
The characters were bland, it was hard to keep up with each one. Sometimes the chapters would drag.
Meh 🫤 disappointed. This was one I was really excited for this summer.
**Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to review this book in exchange for an honest review. **
July 15, 2026
Disappointments in life are inevitable. I've had plenty - I'm often a fool for believing the hype, I fall for it every time. I even rushed to try vegan meat free sausages because of the buzz around them (tasted like a grandma's beach worn flip flops) - but nothing makes me feel so depleted as wasting hours on a novel that fails to deliver.
This is actually my second review for the same novel (originally posted in June) but I accidentally deleted my original review.
On paper, theoretically I should enjoy this novel. It's a horror which of course is a genre that I've grown to love, and it promised to be a nod to the classics particularly from the 80s and 90s, my favourite era. But I am struggling to find any redeeming qualities at all (similar to that vegan sausage - seriously why does it have the texture of sawdust?)
There are plenty of nods to previous horrors, particularly slashers, it doesn't take much to find a nod to past movies like ‘Halloween’ or ‘Chucky’, but stumbling across these countless nods, is really where the fun ends within this novel.
It takes way too long to get into any sort of rhythm, with the first half of the book trying to develop its very unlikeable characters (of which there are too many) and when the supposed ‘horror’ begins, it's too corny to be taken seriously. There is a fine line between satirical and cheesy and this has more cheese than a margarita pizza
The extremely stereotypical characters were a major stumbling block for me, I understand that much alike television and movies today, the writing industry is trying to be more diverse and inclusive of different people regardless of race, gender and sexualities - and that's a positive change for which I applaud - but, this novel is inclusive just for the sake of being inclusive. It doesn't feel natural, it feels pointlessly forced.
The writing style was terrible - I've seen some reviews compare the style to that of a YA Novel - honestly I think that's offensive to Young Adult novels, a large portion of them at least have substance to them, this does not.
Writing aside, I just really didn't enjoy the story. Half a novel wasted on teen soap opera drama, just to be left with a terribly poor and easily predictable ending.
Sadly, my least favourite read so far of 2026, ranking lower on my list than the instructions on my IKEA wardrobe of which I still don't understand how to put together
This is actually my second review for the same novel (originally posted in June) but I accidentally deleted my original review.
On paper, theoretically I should enjoy this novel. It's a horror which of course is a genre that I've grown to love, and it promised to be a nod to the classics particularly from the 80s and 90s, my favourite era. But I am struggling to find any redeeming qualities at all (similar to that vegan sausage - seriously why does it have the texture of sawdust?)
There are plenty of nods to previous horrors, particularly slashers, it doesn't take much to find a nod to past movies like ‘Halloween’ or ‘Chucky’, but stumbling across these countless nods, is really where the fun ends within this novel.
It takes way too long to get into any sort of rhythm, with the first half of the book trying to develop its very unlikeable characters (of which there are too many) and when the supposed ‘horror’ begins, it's too corny to be taken seriously. There is a fine line between satirical and cheesy and this has more cheese than a margarita pizza
The extremely stereotypical characters were a major stumbling block for me, I understand that much alike television and movies today, the writing industry is trying to be more diverse and inclusive of different people regardless of race, gender and sexualities - and that's a positive change for which I applaud - but, this novel is inclusive just for the sake of being inclusive. It doesn't feel natural, it feels pointlessly forced.
The writing style was terrible - I've seen some reviews compare the style to that of a YA Novel - honestly I think that's offensive to Young Adult novels, a large portion of them at least have substance to them, this does not.
Writing aside, I just really didn't enjoy the story. Half a novel wasted on teen soap opera drama, just to be left with a terribly poor and easily predictable ending.
Sadly, my least favourite read so far of 2026, ranking lower on my list than the instructions on my IKEA wardrobe of which I still don't understand how to put together
July 12, 2026
If Scary Movie were turned into a book, this is exactly how it would feel… cheesy, self-aware, and full of nostalgic humor. It doesn’t take itself seriously, which makes it an easy, fun read.
Thank you to the publisher for the eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to the publisher for the eARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
this was the perfect slasher novel for me aka someone who adores horror stories but has no ability to actually watch horror movies 🔪
slasher summer: the annual festival in otherwise-sleepy cedar lake, celebrating the cult-classic 80s horror flick, slasher, which was filmed at a local cottage deep in the forest. this year, seven friends reunite four years after their high school graduation for one last hurrah at the slasher cottage.
they are the former members of the jumpscare society, a club that coalesced in high school school over a mutual love for horror films. back then, they'd play the shadow cast of the slasher film at their local theatre, spraying the audience with super soakers filled with reddish water. patrick is the preppy straight-A student. jason is the handsome jock. tiffany is the queen bee cheerleader. jen is the rebellious goth. michael is the bumbling nerd. freddy is the goofy stoner. and carrie, she's the Final Girl—virginal, demure, and inspiring of all sympathy.
but the group didn't part on good terms, four years ago. and when they receive a phone call in the cabin—You're all going to die tonight—and discover all their cars' tires slashed, the seven of them must figure out a way to survive the night... or suffer the same fates their shadow characters did.
🔪 ◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️
i thoroughly enjoyed this novel and devoured it over two days. slasher summer riffs on classic tropes in a dark and campy manner—a convenient lack of cell service; incapacitating the killer without checking to see if they're dead dead; the wide-eyed final girl; and all the characters named after iconic horror movie protagonists—while still allowing space for subversion. it's a self-aware book, with the characters commenting on their own identities as people of colour, as queer people, as women—and how they'd typically be treated in horror films: eliminated, early on. i appreciated this self-awareness, which allows us readers to relish in the tropes without them feeling too overdone.
moreover, seven characters can easily become an unwieldy cast, but slasher summer tackles it formidably. each chapter of the novel alternates between a different character's POV, so we get glimpses into everyone's heads and backstories. (it's another layer of subversion, in my opinion: that we get to see the nuances that lend individuality and humanity to each person.) and i found myself invested in everyone. and although i was able to predict a key part of the ending, that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book—because we're thrown off and misled just enough that i started to doubt myself, too.
lastly, it was very fun reading horror by a fellow chinese canadian who's based in toronto! this was my first story by e.l. chen, and i already know it won't be my last.
many thanks to crown publishing and netgalley for an advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
slasher summer: the annual festival in otherwise-sleepy cedar lake, celebrating the cult-classic 80s horror flick, slasher, which was filmed at a local cottage deep in the forest. this year, seven friends reunite four years after their high school graduation for one last hurrah at the slasher cottage.
they are the former members of the jumpscare society, a club that coalesced in high school school over a mutual love for horror films. back then, they'd play the shadow cast of the slasher film at their local theatre, spraying the audience with super soakers filled with reddish water. patrick is the preppy straight-A student. jason is the handsome jock. tiffany is the queen bee cheerleader. jen is the rebellious goth. michael is the bumbling nerd. freddy is the goofy stoner. and carrie, she's the Final Girl—virginal, demure, and inspiring of all sympathy.
but the group didn't part on good terms, four years ago. and when they receive a phone call in the cabin—You're all going to die tonight—and discover all their cars' tires slashed, the seven of them must figure out a way to survive the night... or suffer the same fates their shadow characters did.
🔪 ◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️◻️
i thoroughly enjoyed this novel and devoured it over two days. slasher summer riffs on classic tropes in a dark and campy manner—a convenient lack of cell service; incapacitating the killer without checking to see if they're dead dead; the wide-eyed final girl; and all the characters named after iconic horror movie protagonists—while still allowing space for subversion. it's a self-aware book, with the characters commenting on their own identities as people of colour, as queer people, as women—and how they'd typically be treated in horror films: eliminated, early on. i appreciated this self-awareness, which allows us readers to relish in the tropes without them feeling too overdone.
moreover, seven characters can easily become an unwieldy cast, but slasher summer tackles it formidably. each chapter of the novel alternates between a different character's POV, so we get glimpses into everyone's heads and backstories. (it's another layer of subversion, in my opinion: that we get to see the nuances that lend individuality and humanity to each person.) and i found myself invested in everyone. and although i was able to predict a key part of the ending, that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book—because we're thrown off and misled just enough that i started to doubt myself, too.
lastly, it was very fun reading horror by a fellow chinese canadian who's based in toronto! this was my first story by e.l. chen, and i already know it won't be my last.
many thanks to crown publishing and netgalley for an advanced e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 5, 2026
This is such a delightful Horror-fueled romp through some classic Slasher imagery, tropes, characters and lore.
It reminded me of The Last Final Girlby Stephen Graham Jones. I enjoyed it so much that I ordered a hardcopy so I can read it again and annotate all the references.
Full review to come...stay tuned!!!
It reminded me of The Last Final Girlby Stephen Graham Jones. I enjoyed it so much that I ordered a hardcopy so I can read it again and annotate all the references.
Full review to come...stay tuned!!!
May 10, 2026
In high school, seven students who all were in different cliques formed a theater group called The Jumpscare Society where they reenacted a horror film called Slasher each year.
After not seeing each other since graduating high school, they meet up for a weekend in the house where the original movies was filmed before it’s scheduled to be torn down.
What they end up experiencing is anything but a relaxing weekend catching up.
This book played on a lot of the stereotypical cast members in slasher flicks and I also liked that each of the characters were named after a prominent character from a horror film:
Jason the jock
Tiffany the cheerleader
Patrick the prep
Jen the goth girl
Freddy the stoner
Mikey (Michael) the nerd
Carrie the virgin
Another thing that I appreciated with the casting was using characters of different ethnicities and sexual orientations to make it more reflective of the times (well, at least modern times up until the past year and a half).
It also mentions a neighboring city called Fairvale, which I’m assuming was a reference to the fictional city in Psycho.
I try my best not to judge a book by its cover (both literally and figuratively), but I will admit that in this case the cover was definitely a selling point.
What’s not to love about a retro looking VHS cover that gives both 80’s horror and Stranger Things vibes?
Whoever designed this deserves an award!
I think that this book will provide a lot of nostalgia for some Gen Xers and Millennials who enjoyed 80’s, 90’s and early 00’s horror flicks like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer.
It’s marketed as a remake of 80’s movies, but felt more like 90’s to me since I wasn’t allowed to watch “scary” movies until the mid 90’s.
This was definitely written to be more satirical and nostalgic than scary.
A horror aficionado looking for something scary enough to keep them up at night may be disappointed.
The first half of this book was a slow burn, but the second half was all popcorn thriller with a great ending.
I definitely had fun with this one…it read just like watching one of my slasher movies from the 90’s.
Thanks to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC to review in exchange for my honest review.
Pub Date: June 23, 2026
After not seeing each other since graduating high school, they meet up for a weekend in the house where the original movies was filmed before it’s scheduled to be torn down.
What they end up experiencing is anything but a relaxing weekend catching up.
This book played on a lot of the stereotypical cast members in slasher flicks and I also liked that each of the characters were named after a prominent character from a horror film:
Jason the jock
Tiffany the cheerleader
Patrick the prep
Jen the goth girl
Freddy the stoner
Mikey (Michael) the nerd
Carrie the virgin
Another thing that I appreciated with the casting was using characters of different ethnicities and sexual orientations to make it more reflective of the times (well, at least modern times up until the past year and a half).
It also mentions a neighboring city called Fairvale, which I’m assuming was a reference to the fictional city in Psycho.
I try my best not to judge a book by its cover (both literally and figuratively), but I will admit that in this case the cover was definitely a selling point.
What’s not to love about a retro looking VHS cover that gives both 80’s horror and Stranger Things vibes?
Whoever designed this deserves an award!
I think that this book will provide a lot of nostalgia for some Gen Xers and Millennials who enjoyed 80’s, 90’s and early 00’s horror flicks like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer.
It’s marketed as a remake of 80’s movies, but felt more like 90’s to me since I wasn’t allowed to watch “scary” movies until the mid 90’s.
This was definitely written to be more satirical and nostalgic than scary.
A horror aficionado looking for something scary enough to keep them up at night may be disappointed.
The first half of this book was a slow burn, but the second half was all popcorn thriller with a great ending.
I definitely had fun with this one…it read just like watching one of my slasher movies from the 90’s.
Thanks to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC to review in exchange for my honest review.
Pub Date: June 23, 2026
July 6, 2026
"And anyway, she was too pretty to die."
A 1980s-based horror slasher taking place in the small town of Cedar Lake, where a cult classic film, Slasher, took place, and seven friends stay at the cabin it was filmed in. Six of them know each other very well, while the other has been an outsider since graduation. However, not all of them can be final girls.
This was so much fun! It reads exactly as watching a slasher movie feels, and it has all the usual slasher characters and tropes. There's the jock, cheerleader, stoner, etc., and this book perfectly encapsulated what watching a mid-slasher feels like!
It's not going to be a new favorite book by any means, but it's so quick to read! There are a lot of slasher movie references, even down to the cast's names, so it truly is a love letter to the 80s slasher classics we know and love!
You get the POV of every character, so it's pretty easy to distinguish which character is which. I find this hard to do when you have more than three POVs, so to successfully do all seven characters uniquely is great! This book was so fast-paced and easy to get sucked into. Every time I picked it up, I binged a giant section of it.
July 11, 2026
Vibes were there but the repetitive writing style and the constant reference/analysis that the characters are “in a horror movie” really kills all the suspense
July 13, 2026
3.75 ⭐️
honestly such a fun, easy horror read. It gave major classic slasher vibes but still felt modern and fresh, which I really liked. The whole summer setting mixed with the creepy, tense moments, had that 80’s horror cabin slasher trope which i enjoyed, was giving friday the 13th setting with scream vibes
The pacing was solid, not too slow but not rushed either. I would say it was predictable but that didn’t take away from the fun of the book
The characters were decent, not super deep, but they fit the vibe of the story and worked well for a slasher-type plot. I wasn’t overly attached, but I was still invested enough to want to know what happened to them
Overall, if you like quick, entertaining horror with summer camp/slasher energy, this is definitely worth the read. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s fun, addictive, and perfect for getting into a spooky mood
honestly such a fun, easy horror read. It gave major classic slasher vibes but still felt modern and fresh, which I really liked. The whole summer setting mixed with the creepy, tense moments, had that 80’s horror cabin slasher trope which i enjoyed, was giving friday the 13th setting with scream vibes
The pacing was solid, not too slow but not rushed either. I would say it was predictable but that didn’t take away from the fun of the book
The characters were decent, not super deep, but they fit the vibe of the story and worked well for a slasher-type plot. I wasn’t overly attached, but I was still invested enough to want to know what happened to them
Overall, if you like quick, entertaining horror with summer camp/slasher energy, this is definitely worth the read. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s fun, addictive, and perfect for getting into a spooky mood
July 28, 2026
You know when you should bail on a book but, for whatever reason, you keep ploughing on until the end in the hope that it'll all get better? Yeah, that was my experience with this one.
I'm a sucker for a slasher, which is perhaps why I persevered, but this one is a poor addition to the genre. Yes, you'll hate the characters, but not in the way that it's fun to hate characters in a slasher. They're just annoying.
The killer is uninspiring too, as is the final reveal, which you'll see coming a mile off.
Another gripe I had is the plethora of horror movie references, all of which feel basic as anything, not very genuine, and totally shoe-horned in. It's similar for most of the other pop culture references and idioms used...they feel fake and forced. The narrative feels strongly like it was written by a millennial who is trying to hit a Gen-Z market, with the result being as cringe as you would imagine.
However, my biggest bugbear? No kills until after the 50% mark! It's a slasher! Give us blood and bodies early on! The closest I came to bailing was right around this point. On reflection, I should still have ditched it but, come on, if you're giving me a slasher I want an early kill or I'm itching to give up.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the review copy.
I'm a sucker for a slasher, which is perhaps why I persevered, but this one is a poor addition to the genre. Yes, you'll hate the characters, but not in the way that it's fun to hate characters in a slasher. They're just annoying.
The killer is uninspiring too, as is the final reveal, which you'll see coming a mile off.
Another gripe I had is the plethora of horror movie references, all of which feel basic as anything, not very genuine, and totally shoe-horned in. It's similar for most of the other pop culture references and idioms used...they feel fake and forced. The narrative feels strongly like it was written by a millennial who is trying to hit a Gen-Z market, with the result being as cringe as you would imagine.
However, my biggest bugbear? No kills until after the 50% mark! It's a slasher! Give us blood and bodies early on! The closest I came to bailing was right around this point. On reflection, I should still have ditched it but, come on, if you're giving me a slasher I want an early kill or I'm itching to give up.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the review copy.
July 16, 2026
Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the advanced copy of the ebook, I bought the paperback for myself lol, and I also listened to the audiobook on Spotify while reading along.
This was just as much fun as I was hoping it would be! A classic slasher with a fun twist and plenty of gruesome deaths. I loved all the drip-fed reveals and red herrings as we wondered just who is the slasher, and I love the twist on the final girl. It had some major Scream vibes but with a fun setting of an old cabin on a lake this time around (the setting reminded me of Until Dawn, along with the cast of characters!), plus there's the horror homages in all the character names haha this book really is a love letter to horror and it's a fun one at that! And the ending!! I loved it, so fun.
This was a really cinematic slasher as well, I was really able to picture everything. The audiobook was really well done too, with a different narrator for every character - each chapter is narrated by one of the main characters. I was a little overwhelmed by that at first but you really do get to know each character and it wasn't as overwhelming as I'd thought it would be - I was able to keep everyone straight by the halfway point.
I want this as a movie so bad, it would be so fun!! I'm also curious as to who everyone's favorite character is, if you've read this book... for me, it's a tie between Patrick and Carrie.
I can't recommend this love letter to slashers enough!
*I read this for my Summerween reading vlog! https://youtu.be/zdH5DSA7OAI
This was just as much fun as I was hoping it would be! A classic slasher with a fun twist and plenty of gruesome deaths. I loved all the drip-fed reveals and red herrings as we wondered just who is the slasher, and I love the twist on the final girl. It had some major Scream vibes but with a fun setting of an old cabin on a lake this time around (the setting reminded me of Until Dawn, along with the cast of characters!), plus there's the horror homages in all the character names haha this book really is a love letter to horror and it's a fun one at that! And the ending!! I loved it, so fun.
This was a really cinematic slasher as well, I was really able to picture everything. The audiobook was really well done too, with a different narrator for every character - each chapter is narrated by one of the main characters. I was a little overwhelmed by that at first but you really do get to know each character and it wasn't as overwhelming as I'd thought it would be - I was able to keep everyone straight by the halfway point.
I want this as a movie so bad, it would be so fun!! I'm also curious as to who everyone's favorite character is, if you've read this book... for me, it's a tie between Patrick and Carrie.
I can't recommend this love letter to slashers enough!
*I read this for my Summerween reading vlog! https://youtu.be/zdH5DSA7OAI
July 6, 2026
this one was unfortunately very disappointing.
things i liked:
1) slasher. i like slashers and this slasher did contain slashing.
things i didn't like:
1) the characters were total caricatures of what people are actually like. this felt very YA with how much this book tried to commit to the character tropes.
2) character motivations made no sense
3) the writing was subpar. there was very little sense of tension and it was just hard to stay rooted in the story in certain scenes. for example, we are in a brutal murder scene but with the way its written, it felt like we were talking about something as mundane as the weather. like girl, your limbs are getting axed off, lock in!!!!!
4) the thesaurus was getting used and abused in this one
5) painfully predictable ending
6) i'm no horror expert, but one thing i value a lot is when the reader can be very rooted in the setting. to me, this is what makes the difference between a horrifying thriller and a true horror. the tension in the setting should be palpable. this book set it up in a way where i thought that was where we were going (a horror cabin) but we barely spent any time in the cabin??? and when we were in the cabin, we spent so little time there that there was no way to pick up on the intricacies of the setting that would become important later. i dont know if this makes any sense, but it annoyed me a lot. when i realized that a majority of the book was in the woods, i was so annoyed at the missed opportunity of the horror cabin.
things i liked:
1) slasher. i like slashers and this slasher did contain slashing.
things i didn't like:
1) the characters were total caricatures of what people are actually like. this felt very YA with how much this book tried to commit to the character tropes.
2) character motivations made no sense
3) the writing was subpar. there was very little sense of tension and it was just hard to stay rooted in the story in certain scenes. for example, we are in a brutal murder scene but with the way its written, it felt like we were talking about something as mundane as the weather. like girl, your limbs are getting axed off, lock in!!!!!
4) the thesaurus was getting used and abused in this one
5) painfully predictable ending
6) i'm no horror expert, but one thing i value a lot is when the reader can be very rooted in the setting. to me, this is what makes the difference between a horrifying thriller and a true horror. the tension in the setting should be palpable. this book set it up in a way where i thought that was where we were going (a horror cabin) but we barely spent any time in the cabin??? and when we were in the cabin, we spent so little time there that there was no way to pick up on the intricacies of the setting that would become important later. i dont know if this makes any sense, but it annoyed me a lot. when i realized that a majority of the book was in the woods, i was so annoyed at the missed opportunity of the horror cabin.
August 14, 2026
MID summer
probably shouldn't have picked this up again after dnfing, but i felt guilty not reading the arc and i had the audio so. it's a very standard homage to slashers; all the characters are named after iconic horror killers, the setting is reminiscent of friday the 13th and sleepaway camp. however! this doesn't really do anything new or interesting. it also reads as ya despite being marketed as adult. would have liked it more if it had more gore tbh
probably shouldn't have picked this up again after dnfing, but i felt guilty not reading the arc and i had the audio so. it's a very standard homage to slashers; all the characters are named after iconic horror killers, the setting is reminiscent of friday the 13th and sleepaway camp. however! this doesn't really do anything new or interesting. it also reads as ya despite being marketed as adult. would have liked it more if it had more gore tbh
July 8, 2026
Prepare ye'selves, travelers, as spoilers are about to abound.
Do you like scary movies?
Hmmm...kind of.
I have mixed feelings about this one. Let me frame this by saying that slasher flicks aren't honestly my favorite genre of scary movie. Watching teenagers (who...let's face it are basically children) be brutally murdered is not my cup of tea. But, I do enjoy jump scares, vibes, and the nostalgia of the ketchup-soaked 80's/90's horror movie.
'Slasher Summer' had its moments--overall, it was a fun, quick summer read that invoked some of the feelings of a VHS horror movie I would sneak from a Blockbuster with my friends on a late July weekend.
I also kind of feel like this author was bullied by a blonde cheerleader in high school, but we'll come back to that.
Here's where spoilers start, spooky people:
What I liked:
-Vibes (a secluded...sorta? there was a camp right across the lake?... cabin and a homage to horror movies is a fun summer read)
-Patrick (I know some people find him annoying but I thought he was the most well-plotted out character and his line at the end of 'No, I'M the final girl, bitch' was charmingly cheesy. I enjoyed seeing him have to come out of his uptight shell to embrace the chaos to survive)
-Patrick and Jason's relationship* (we'll come back to this as well).
-There were some funny moments in this! Freddy was charming af and boy did he not deserve his fate (do they ever? Again, we'll come back to this haha). I almost feel like this story would've worked way better if the author had leaned more into the humor.
This is gonna get messy:
-Let's talk about the girls. I get the vibe this author doesn't like other girls....and/or was bullied by a blonde cheerleader in high school and wanted to make her suffer. This book is sort of a feminist nightmare. While the boys and girls all were subjected to terror and pain...I feel like the women took the brunt of it, especially Tiffany. I'm not sure if the author was ever trying to say **something** about the archetypes in horror movies--I feel like we were told she was but it didn't come across this way. Tiffany was the most two-dimensional character in this novel. There are moments when we are told she has depth or that there are things other characters admire about her, but then her actions and inner monologue are just the most stereotypical 'I'm a blonde bitchy bimbo' ever. It's like the author wanted to just torture this awful archetype and the publisher was like...does she have any redeeming qualities? And the author was like 'ugh...fine. I guess he has a sister that she like sorta cares about?'. Compare her death to Freddy's....when Freddy dies, I felt sad! He was a sweet little puppy who loved his mom and dad and he thought of them in his last moments and worried for them and then thought of his lost dreams. Tiffany's last thoughts? Was it of her sister? Nope. Was it of her friends? Nope. Was it for the loss of the children she wanted someday? Nope. It was 'It's a shame it won't be an open coffin'. Wtf....what human being thinks like that? It's like the author was like 'this bitch, amirite? Let's horribly chop her apart!'.
-I also feel like Jen was the most interesting character--but she was also kind of awful. She had hopes and dreams and talents. But again--let's compare her to Patrick. Patrick's hopes and dreams and interest in cooking is seen as charming (He's breaking out of his shell! He's growing as a person!) where Jen's almost seemed like they were there to paint her as a deviant ('Ugh...this slot wants to go to Europe and paint?'). I also do not understand the physics of her death. She got impaled by a tree...by stepping....backwards? I may have misread that, but I really feel like....that defines basic physics? Maybe she just had a really squishy back because she's a lesbian amirite???? ALSO DID YOU KNOW SHE'S A LESBIAN!? AND A BITCH!? DID YOU GET THAT!? BECAUSE IT'S REPEATED SO MANY TIMES. I wanted to like her so much....but her 'edginess' just was actually kind of mean and bratty. Again, an archetype that I feel like the author mishandled.
-Carrie and Mikey. Let's talk about this. I do not believe Carrie's motivations at all (and also...strength and physics defying abilities...like I don't know how she got some of these kills in as a tiny little innocent tiny wittle girl). So, at first it's because of THE PHOTO and then it's just because she 'likes it'....and yes, Wes the Therapist was pulling the strings as I'm sure we'll see in a sequel....but....it just feels.....super out of character of a character whose head we spent a lot of time in. There's a line from Jason about how he realizes she was monster all along because...'some monsters are created, but not her...she must've always been like this and we didn't want to see past her veneer'...but....we spend a lot of time in her head and there are absolutely zero breadcrumbs that she is actually a crazy, violent lunatic with a taste for blood. ALSO, going back to a 'this is a feminist nightmare'.....Jason doesn't have those thoughts about Mikey at all...there's no like 'wow....he must've been crazy all along too!'....instead there's sort of a 'Carrie drove him to this because he was so in love with her!' which boy does that feel like....blaming the woman!
-The Photo. Omg. This was so stupid. I get that ultimately this wasn't the full reason for Carrie's murder spree----but....this is repeated over and over and over again. (In general this book is very repetitive). I don't know if this author wanted us to be on Carrie's side--because I think it's really valid that she's like 'NONE OF YOU ASSHOLES WHO WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MY FRIEND STOOD UP FOR ME AFTER THIS STUPID THING THAT HAPPENED' and that's valid....but the 'heroes' (Jason and Patrick) of the book....never really get a consequence or growth from that. Jason even says at one point if THE PHOTO hadn't happened...maybe who would've been interested in Carrie. Boy, wtf. Again, that feels very 'let's blame the woman'. And it sorta counteracts the whole 'Carrie is a victim of this bad thing that happened' because from the Hero's eyes....she is directly responsible with a bad choice for what happened. Gah. Okay, you know what...I'm taking a star away. This pissed me off too much.
-Jason and Patrick. I don't feel like the women who were 'in their way of a relationship' needed to go down as hard as they did for these two boys to get together. It almost feels like Jason and Patrick were charmingly flawed and complex....while the girls were TERRIBLE MONSTERS AND VAPID ASSHOLES AND DEVIANTS. It felt....weird and kinda bitchy. The author wanted to say something about the Final Girl....I don't know what that was....because one second it was like TAKE BACK YOUR POWER, FINAL GIRL...and the next was like IF ONLY YOU HADN'T SENT THAT PHOTO YOU SLUT!
I am probably taking this book way too seriously, but parts of it sat really wrong with me. Read it for vibes and tropes but...Idk....I feel like I could be coaxed into reading a sequel but only if the summer sun is setting and I can do a few shots of tequila at the same time.
Do you like scary movies?
Hmmm...kind of.
I have mixed feelings about this one. Let me frame this by saying that slasher flicks aren't honestly my favorite genre of scary movie. Watching teenagers (who...let's face it are basically children) be brutally murdered is not my cup of tea. But, I do enjoy jump scares, vibes, and the nostalgia of the ketchup-soaked 80's/90's horror movie.
'Slasher Summer' had its moments--overall, it was a fun, quick summer read that invoked some of the feelings of a VHS horror movie I would sneak from a Blockbuster with my friends on a late July weekend.
I also kind of feel like this author was bullied by a blonde cheerleader in high school, but we'll come back to that.
Here's where spoilers start, spooky people:
What I liked:
-Vibes (a secluded...sorta? there was a camp right across the lake?... cabin and a homage to horror movies is a fun summer read)
-Patrick (I know some people find him annoying but I thought he was the most well-plotted out character and his line at the end of 'No, I'M the final girl, bitch' was charmingly cheesy. I enjoyed seeing him have to come out of his uptight shell to embrace the chaos to survive)
-Patrick and Jason's relationship* (we'll come back to this as well).
-There were some funny moments in this! Freddy was charming af and boy did he not deserve his fate (do they ever? Again, we'll come back to this haha). I almost feel like this story would've worked way better if the author had leaned more into the humor.
This is gonna get messy:
-Let's talk about the girls. I get the vibe this author doesn't like other girls....and/or was bullied by a blonde cheerleader in high school and wanted to make her suffer. This book is sort of a feminist nightmare. While the boys and girls all were subjected to terror and pain...I feel like the women took the brunt of it, especially Tiffany. I'm not sure if the author was ever trying to say **something** about the archetypes in horror movies--I feel like we were told she was but it didn't come across this way. Tiffany was the most two-dimensional character in this novel. There are moments when we are told she has depth or that there are things other characters admire about her, but then her actions and inner monologue are just the most stereotypical 'I'm a blonde bitchy bimbo' ever. It's like the author wanted to just torture this awful archetype and the publisher was like...does she have any redeeming qualities? And the author was like 'ugh...fine. I guess he has a sister that she like sorta cares about?'. Compare her death to Freddy's....when Freddy dies, I felt sad! He was a sweet little puppy who loved his mom and dad and he thought of them in his last moments and worried for them and then thought of his lost dreams. Tiffany's last thoughts? Was it of her sister? Nope. Was it of her friends? Nope. Was it for the loss of the children she wanted someday? Nope. It was 'It's a shame it won't be an open coffin'. Wtf....what human being thinks like that? It's like the author was like 'this bitch, amirite? Let's horribly chop her apart!'.
-I also feel like Jen was the most interesting character--but she was also kind of awful. She had hopes and dreams and talents. But again--let's compare her to Patrick. Patrick's hopes and dreams and interest in cooking is seen as charming (He's breaking out of his shell! He's growing as a person!) where Jen's almost seemed like they were there to paint her as a deviant ('Ugh...this slot wants to go to Europe and paint?'). I also do not understand the physics of her death. She got impaled by a tree...by stepping....backwards? I may have misread that, but I really feel like....that defines basic physics? Maybe she just had a really squishy back because she's a lesbian amirite???? ALSO DID YOU KNOW SHE'S A LESBIAN!? AND A BITCH!? DID YOU GET THAT!? BECAUSE IT'S REPEATED SO MANY TIMES. I wanted to like her so much....but her 'edginess' just was actually kind of mean and bratty. Again, an archetype that I feel like the author mishandled.
-Carrie and Mikey. Let's talk about this. I do not believe Carrie's motivations at all (and also...strength and physics defying abilities...like I don't know how she got some of these kills in as a tiny little innocent tiny wittle girl). So, at first it's because of THE PHOTO and then it's just because she 'likes it'....and yes, Wes the Therapist was pulling the strings as I'm sure we'll see in a sequel....but....it just feels.....super out of character of a character whose head we spent a lot of time in. There's a line from Jason about how he realizes she was monster all along because...'some monsters are created, but not her...she must've always been like this and we didn't want to see past her veneer'...but....we spend a lot of time in her head and there are absolutely zero breadcrumbs that she is actually a crazy, violent lunatic with a taste for blood. ALSO, going back to a 'this is a feminist nightmare'.....Jason doesn't have those thoughts about Mikey at all...there's no like 'wow....he must've been crazy all along too!'....instead there's sort of a 'Carrie drove him to this because he was so in love with her!' which boy does that feel like....blaming the woman!
-The Photo. Omg. This was so stupid. I get that ultimately this wasn't the full reason for Carrie's murder spree----but....this is repeated over and over and over again. (In general this book is very repetitive). I don't know if this author wanted us to be on Carrie's side--because I think it's really valid that she's like 'NONE OF YOU ASSHOLES WHO WERE SUPPOSED TO BE MY FRIEND STOOD UP FOR ME AFTER THIS STUPID THING THAT HAPPENED' and that's valid....but the 'heroes' (Jason and Patrick) of the book....never really get a consequence or growth from that. Jason even says at one point if THE PHOTO hadn't happened...maybe who would've been interested in Carrie. Boy, wtf. Again, that feels very 'let's blame the woman'. And it sorta counteracts the whole 'Carrie is a victim of this bad thing that happened' because from the Hero's eyes....she is directly responsible with a bad choice for what happened. Gah. Okay, you know what...I'm taking a star away. This pissed me off too much.
-Jason and Patrick. I don't feel like the women who were 'in their way of a relationship' needed to go down as hard as they did for these two boys to get together. It almost feels like Jason and Patrick were charmingly flawed and complex....while the girls were TERRIBLE MONSTERS AND VAPID ASSHOLES AND DEVIANTS. It felt....weird and kinda bitchy. The author wanted to say something about the Final Girl....I don't know what that was....because one second it was like TAKE BACK YOUR POWER, FINAL GIRL...and the next was like IF ONLY YOU HADN'T SENT THAT PHOTO YOU SLUT!
I am probably taking this book way too seriously, but parts of it sat really wrong with me. Read it for vibes and tropes but...Idk....I feel like I could be coaxed into reading a sequel but only if the summer sun is setting and I can do a few shots of tequila at the same time.
August 26, 2026
So my friend wanted to buddy read this and i loved the cover and love horror movies so with 7 friends going on a trip to the cabin in the woods sign me up. There were alot of personality in this book but they were fun characters to read. All named after horror movie icons.
But at one point listening to it on audio dragged. I wanted blood and death in chapter 2 lol.
But nothing really happened until 50ish% and it was alittle repetitive 😞
You can guess who the killer is. I wont say because I want you to see if your right lol.
Recommend-maybe
Cover-⭐️⭐️⭐️
Audio-✨️✨️
But at one point listening to it on audio dragged. I wanted blood and death in chapter 2 lol.
But nothing really happened until 50ish% and it was alittle repetitive 😞
You can guess who the killer is. I wont say because I want you to see if your right lol.
Recommend-maybe
Cover-⭐️⭐️⭐️
Audio-✨️✨️
July 26, 2026
3.5
🪓 Slasher Summer 🪓
Looking for a campy, fun slasher that subverts the final girl trope? Check out Summer Slasher by E.L. Chen.
This book pokes fun at slasher tropes, following a group of friends who reunite at a slasher-themed cabin and unknowingly find themselves in a real life slasher.
I loved how all the characters were named after horror movie icons. That made me smile. I also loved how meta the boom was!
My minor complaints were that the drama felt a bit high school and that the action kicked off a little too fast. I wanted the characters to simmer a bit more before getting slashed.
Overall, a fun book perfect for those craving a slasher this summer!
🪓 Slasher Summer 🪓
Looking for a campy, fun slasher that subverts the final girl trope? Check out Summer Slasher by E.L. Chen.
This book pokes fun at slasher tropes, following a group of friends who reunite at a slasher-themed cabin and unknowingly find themselves in a real life slasher.
I loved how all the characters were named after horror movie icons. That made me smile. I also loved how meta the boom was!
My minor complaints were that the drama felt a bit high school and that the action kicked off a little too fast. I wanted the characters to simmer a bit more before getting slashed.
Overall, a fun book perfect for those craving a slasher this summer!
August 9, 2026
"Sometimes life-and death-simply took you by surprise, and no amount of planning could prepare you."
Me and horror go hand in hand like hot fudge on ice cream or a frozen beverage on a hot day. We’re that tight, so I may know a thing or two about horror. It was a no-brainer to read this.
The first thing that slapped me in the face were all the character names. They are all popular horror movie character names or monsters of horror. Mickey, Tiffany, Jason, and the list goes on. Nothing new there. Then we get to the page after page of cliché horror scenarios. When I say page after page, I mean almost every single page. Talk about the one-two punch to the solar plexus.
With all of that aside, it was decent for what it was but so very predictable. If you like predictability, then this is perfect for you. If not, run very far away. The ending was even cheesy.
I did enjoy this for what it was. It was a true love story to horror. Not my favorite but it was readable. And I’ll probably read the sequel because that’s where I wanna be.
Me and horror go hand in hand like hot fudge on ice cream or a frozen beverage on a hot day. We’re that tight, so I may know a thing or two about horror. It was a no-brainer to read this.
The first thing that slapped me in the face were all the character names. They are all popular horror movie character names or monsters of horror. Mickey, Tiffany, Jason, and the list goes on. Nothing new there. Then we get to the page after page of cliché horror scenarios. When I say page after page, I mean almost every single page. Talk about the one-two punch to the solar plexus.
With all of that aside, it was decent for what it was but so very predictable. If you like predictability, then this is perfect for you. If not, run very far away. The ending was even cheesy.
I did enjoy this for what it was. It was a true love story to horror. Not my favorite but it was readable. And I’ll probably read the sequel because that’s where I wanna be.
August 19, 2026
THANK YOU TO NET GALLEY, THE AUTHOR AND THE PUBLISHER FOR THE ARC.
(sorry it took me so long to finish & write this review...)
This was a lot of a fun! Exactly what you'd expect from a slasher. A group of "friends" in a cabin in the woods being hunted by a masked killer. It has humor, revenge, troubled relationships and it has a lot of "you almost made it!" moments.
The reveal was a bit different and causes some conflicting feelings.. at least for me. I recommend for any slasher fan.
(sorry it took me so long to finish & write this review...)
This was a lot of a fun! Exactly what you'd expect from a slasher. A group of "friends" in a cabin in the woods being hunted by a masked killer. It has humor, revenge, troubled relationships and it has a lot of "you almost made it!" moments.
The reveal was a bit different and causes some conflicting feelings.. at least for me. I recommend for any slasher fan.
August 5, 2026
A little cheesy and predictable, but I liked it and enjoyed it nonetheless!
July 11, 2026
I had a blast!🔪🎃🖤
This was the perfect book to get you into the summerween vibe. It’s described as a campy love letter to the slasher films of the 1980s, and I couldn’t agree more because it definitely paid homage to them with all the references, elements, and tropes.
We have seven friends reuniting in the sleepy town of Cedar Lake for a weekend of fun, but is it really though? THINGS REALLY HIT THE FAN.
Everyone has a huge personality with an interesting past. I love how diverse the characters were and how chaotic things turned out. I was questioning everyone’s motives.
I caught myself laughing out loud at their actions and inner monologues. At times, it reminded me of my favorite franchise: Scary Movie.
It’s gory, fast-paced, and didn’t feel scary more thrilling than anything. It left me second-guessing myself about who the killer might be. Then, when the reveal came, I was surprised.
Overall, I enjoyed this so much, and the writing felt atmospheric/motion-picture. It’s nostalgic in a way and everything I look for in a fun horror/thriller novel. DEF REC!! 🖤
This was the perfect book to get you into the summerween vibe. It’s described as a campy love letter to the slasher films of the 1980s, and I couldn’t agree more because it definitely paid homage to them with all the references, elements, and tropes.
We have seven friends reuniting in the sleepy town of Cedar Lake for a weekend of fun, but is it really though? THINGS REALLY HIT THE FAN.
Everyone has a huge personality with an interesting past. I love how diverse the characters were and how chaotic things turned out. I was questioning everyone’s motives.
I caught myself laughing out loud at their actions and inner monologues. At times, it reminded me of my favorite franchise: Scary Movie.
It’s gory, fast-paced, and didn’t feel scary more thrilling than anything. It left me second-guessing myself about who the killer might be. Then, when the reveal came, I was surprised.
Overall, I enjoyed this so much, and the writing felt atmospheric/motion-picture. It’s nostalgic in a way and everything I look for in a fun horror/thriller novel. DEF REC!! 🖤
August 6, 2026
The best part about this book is knowing I never have to read it again.
Did Not Finish
June 30, 2026Reads like YA, maybe it is YA. Wasn’t for me
June 9, 2026
1.5/5 (Rounding Up for GoodReads)
I want to say that this book has been on my watch-list FOREVER, and was thankful enough to get an ARC copy through NetGalley.
The book follows a group of friends who are getting back together for a reunion of their HS horror movie club, The Jumpscare Society. They rent a cabin in the woods and from there things go down hill with a killer that has revenge on their mind. Or so they think …
Pros: I liked how each chapter was a different characters point of view. I think it worked very well seeing how each character viewed the events that were going on. One POV picked up where the other left off. I also, thought the ending was very fitting and on par for the trajectory of the book. It sent everything else up for a sequel.
Cons: right off the bat the books starts really fast with a gang of characters and backstories that kinda made me feel like I was outside looking in and missing something. I do not feel that this book is in the horror genre. If so then it is more YA horror. This definitely fits the thriller description with some bloody moments. The tropes were played well and at times too well. A lot of issues were harped on and beat into the ground (the photo, Micheal’s muscles, people being better than others). The characters conversations also, felt really awkward and inorganic. I found myself having the say it out loud because it didn’t sounds right. Some of the things the characters said were quite cringe at times and not things real people would say. A lot of whining as well. I’m not sure if that was the character playing their role and if so bravo but, it made me back to skip certain characters chapters. This might be controversial but, outside of the setting there was almost no “slasher summer” vibes. I never got the feeling that I was on summer break being chased by the slasher.
Overall, the book was just alright. I can see a lot of people liking it and gaining a cult following. I wish there could have been some tweaks and there might be since I didn’t read the final version. Although, I can see this being a CLASSIC slasher summer book once it comes out and gets some hype around it. Props to E. L. Chen for writing an underrated underrepresented theme.
I want to say that this book has been on my watch-list FOREVER, and was thankful enough to get an ARC copy through NetGalley.
The book follows a group of friends who are getting back together for a reunion of their HS horror movie club, The Jumpscare Society. They rent a cabin in the woods and from there things go down hill with a killer that has revenge on their mind. Or so they think …
Pros: I liked how each chapter was a different characters point of view. I think it worked very well seeing how each character viewed the events that were going on. One POV picked up where the other left off. I also, thought the ending was very fitting and on par for the trajectory of the book. It sent everything else up for a sequel.
Cons: right off the bat the books starts really fast with a gang of characters and backstories that kinda made me feel like I was outside looking in and missing something. I do not feel that this book is in the horror genre. If so then it is more YA horror. This definitely fits the thriller description with some bloody moments. The tropes were played well and at times too well. A lot of issues were harped on and beat into the ground (the photo, Micheal’s muscles, people being better than others). The characters conversations also, felt really awkward and inorganic. I found myself having the say it out loud because it didn’t sounds right. Some of the things the characters said were quite cringe at times and not things real people would say. A lot of whining as well. I’m not sure if that was the character playing their role and if so bravo but, it made me back to skip certain characters chapters. This might be controversial but, outside of the setting there was almost no “slasher summer” vibes. I never got the feeling that I was on summer break being chased by the slasher.
Overall, the book was just alright. I can see a lot of people liking it and gaining a cult following. I wish there could have been some tweaks and there might be since I didn’t read the final version. Although, I can see this being a CLASSIC slasher summer book once it comes out and gets some hype around it. Props to E. L. Chen for writing an underrated underrepresented theme.
June 28, 2026
Slasher Summer is a slasher horror novel being advertised as a "campy love letter to 1980s slasher films," and honestly, this absolutely holds true
We follow seven friends who reunite at a cabin in the woods for a last getaway, only to end up being hunted by a masked killer. You can tell from that description alone what kind of book this is. Trope-y, fun, a little gory, and one that keeps you guessing. In a nutshell, the perfect Summerween read!
It does start out a little slow, but it doesn't shy away from killing off characters you start to like, it's extremely binge-able, and it kept me invested all the way to the end.
There's quite a few POVs, but they're easy to follow, given they're written in third person, and I feel like the switches between the characters at pivotal moments actually help build tension.
Overall, definitely one for fans of classic slasher films such as Scream and Friday the 13th, who crave a little bit of nostalgia.
We follow seven friends who reunite at a cabin in the woods for a last getaway, only to end up being hunted by a masked killer. You can tell from that description alone what kind of book this is. Trope-y, fun, a little gory, and one that keeps you guessing. In a nutshell, the perfect Summerween read!
It does start out a little slow, but it doesn't shy away from killing off characters you start to like, it's extremely binge-able, and it kept me invested all the way to the end.
There's quite a few POVs, but they're easy to follow, given they're written in third person, and I feel like the switches between the characters at pivotal moments actually help build tension.
Overall, definitely one for fans of classic slasher films such as Scream and Friday the 13th, who crave a little bit of nostalgia.
August 17, 2026
This was a DNF at 80%… but a temporary one because I do plan on going back for that last 20% when my brain is in the right space.
This book was super corny in my eyes, which YES that is exactly the 80s/90s slasher nostalgia we need in our lives. But the reasoning behind everything, the culprit and the absolute lack of brain functioning from this entire group just was not my cup of slasher tea.
I also felt like these people were written as though they all hated each other and should absolutely not be friends. There was very little character development, everyone was pretty unlikeable and the killer was so obvious from the beginning. The choppy writing style also made some things feel confusing and the dialogue didn’t always make sense.
I know this review sounds very negative and that doesn’t mean I won’t come back and change my rating once I eventually finish that last 20%. But for now, I’m landing at 3 stars because this book is the absolute summer slasher vibe.
I genuinely wish we had more books like this and I hope this author continues writing in this trope because I LOVE the concept. This one just wasn’t quite my cup of slasher tea.
This book was super corny in my eyes, which YES that is exactly the 80s/90s slasher nostalgia we need in our lives. But the reasoning behind everything, the culprit and the absolute lack of brain functioning from this entire group just was not my cup of slasher tea.
I also felt like these people were written as though they all hated each other and should absolutely not be friends. There was very little character development, everyone was pretty unlikeable and the killer was so obvious from the beginning. The choppy writing style also made some things feel confusing and the dialogue didn’t always make sense.
I know this review sounds very negative and that doesn’t mean I won’t come back and change my rating once I eventually finish that last 20%. But for now, I’m landing at 3 stars because this book is the absolute summer slasher vibe.
I genuinely wish we had more books like this and I hope this author continues writing in this trope because I LOVE the concept. This one just wasn’t quite my cup of slasher tea.
August 4, 2026
3.75 ⭐️
I'm a sucker for slashers, and this book absolutely delivers🔪🔪🔪
I'm a sucker for slashers, and this book absolutely delivers🔪🔪🔪
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