Thank you so much to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

what's it about? ⬇️

It's been five years since that awful night on Cassadaga Island. Five years since Tessa's life changed forever...and for the worst. Five years spent hiding behind locked doors with a weapon handy just in case the monster from the massacre comes back to finish what he started.

Even knowing that the man who killed all of her friends and nearly killed her, too is gone, Tessa hasn't been able to heal and find peace in the wake of her trauma, hasn't been able to keep a job, hasn't been able to move out of her sister's spare room... But after things almost go horribly wrong one night, Tessa knows that she has to do something. She has to make a change. She has to take her life back and give her sister back her life, too.

And what better way to get over her trauma than to dive in head first, go back to the place where it all began, and write a tell-all book about the massacre?

Going back to that beautiful house on Cassadaga Island is terrifying, and of course Tessa is careful to lock doors and not go out at night, but even with her added layers of caution, things on the island seem off. It's the off season for tourism, most of the rental properties have been closed down for the year, and the locals are a somewhat odd bunch. And when increasingly concerning things start happening, Tessa has to wonder...is it really all just in her head like people say, or is her past coming back to finish her off once and for all?

my thoughts? ⬇️

I loved the concept for this story so much, and so many of the ideas were so solid and would have made for an excellent book, but unfortunately, I think the execution just fell a little flat for me personally. Tessa was one of those characters who you want so badly to root for as a final girl, but who repeatedly makes poor decisions because she just doesn't have the knowledge base you would expect her to have. Of course, some of this could be attributed to her years spent in near-isolation, so I mostly gave it a pass.

I think the biggest struggle I had with this book was connecting to the trauma Tessa went through and the friends she lost. Sure, there were flashes of memories here and there, but I thought there might be a bit more to connect us emotionally to that place in her memory considering how stuck she was in it.

However, all in all this was a story of healing and resilience and determination even when the world seems like it's against you, and I had a good time with it despite my issues. I think I'd try another book by the authors to see if this one was just a dud for me.

based on you other likes? ⬇️

If you liked any of these, this one might be for you, or vice versa.