The Final Girl Support Group Review

*SOME SPOILERS AHEAD*

Lynnette Tarkington is a real-life final girl who survived a massacre twenty-two years ago, and it has defined every day of her life since. And she’s not alone. For more than a decade she’s been meeting with five other actual final girls and their therapist in a support group for those who survived the unthinkable, putting their lives back together, piece by piece. That is until one of the women misses a meeting and Lynnette’s worst fears are realized–someone knows about the group and is determined to take their lives apart again, piece by piece.

Lynette as our main character felt like a realistic portrayal of a victim. Had I have lived through the same situation she has I don’t know how I would of coped so her mannerisms and ultra awareness gave the book depth for me. I of course think she went too far in her quest to find out ‘who’ is trying to kill them and came across as a little out of touch but in the end her experience as a final girl is what pulled her through.

It was a little difficult to differentiate between all of the women. I kept forgetting who was who and how what happened to each of them. We are definitely given a back story on each of them and where they have ended up now but this was glossed over too quickly for me to feel a connection to any of them.

There was a steady build up of anticipation and mystery surrounding who was trying to kill them all, but in the end everything just felt a little rushed. I needed more of an explanation as to why that person decided to go ahead and kill all of these final girls. What motivated them to groom their accomplice and put together this elaborate plan and kill so many people.

In the end this was very entertaining and thrilling. I thought it was a pretty quick read and the twists and reveals definitely kept me engaged. I think I was expecting a lot more blood and gore though. Just being told about all of the horrifying things that happened to these women instead of being in that moment was a little anticlimactic for me. The majority of the story was just Lynette on the run and brainstorming who was behind everything, there wasn’t very much action until right at the very end.

⭐️3/5 stars I was expecting more…

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires Review

*SPOILERY!*

Set in the ’90s about a women’s book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious and handsome stranger who turns out to be a blood-sucking fiend.

Patricia was a great perspective throughout the course of the storyline. She undergoes such a transformation and even though some of her actions are questionable there is no doubt that she is highly entertaining. She’s a proud, dedicated, resolute woman and even though James did his best to undermine and gaslight Patricia at every turn but she stuck to her guns and did whatever she thought was necessary to protect her children.

James’ character was definitely intriguing! I liked how we get a bit of context about his character from Miss Anna and her explanation about what happened with her daddy and how James inevitable killed him. I would of appreciated if we were given a more comprehensive history of James and how he came to be. He boasted at the end how he was one of a kind and there was no one who could compare to him, but I want to know why. Why is he the only ‘vampire’ out there and who created him?

Right at the start meeting all the different ladies was a little confusing. I couldn’t really differentiate between them all, but as the story continued each of the women started evolving and we get more of each of their story. They all felt like real, relatable characters that you would find in that time period, not really taken seriously by their husbands who think they don’t do anything all day. It’s frustrating in that aspect that these women have to just simply drop everything and cater to their husbands whims, but again very much applicable to the time period. I love how the book highlighted that these woman are just supposed to be ‘housewives’ that aren’t capable of anything, but when their community/families are in danger the lengths to which they will go to in order to protect what is theirs.

There was the perfect amount of build-up of anticipation in my opinion. The twists were perfectly timed to ensure I was continually intrigued and wanting to know more! I knew this was a horror book and there were some scenes that had me on the edge of my seat for sure, but for some reason I was expecting a little more blood and gore. I was very much invested in the story and seeing how everything was going to play out and I wasn’t disappointed!

⭐️4/5 stars A thrilling, tense and entertaining read!