A review by kj468
You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight by Kalynn Bayron

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I picked the audio up for Halloween, wanting some queer slasher fun; I was excited about the premise: teens working at a slasher-simulation camp. The setting was cool, but was the best part of the book. I was left dissatisfied by the characters, the writing, and the main plot twist.

Specific thoughts:
  • I liked the premise (a slasher set at a slasher-simulation camp) a lot. However, the slasher-simulation part ended much earlier in the book than I was expecting or hoping for, and the book very much became something different (a thriller set in the woods, with the camp playing a minor role)
  • The writing was very detail-heavy, especially in the first 25%. I think it was ~setting the mood~ but I had a hard time telling what was important vs. what was just vibes & if I had been reading (instead of listening), I might have DNF’d. On the bright side, I could envision the setting very well -- unfortunately, it came at the cost of my attention to the plot.
  • I didn’t like the main twist. Around 50% mark, the plot deviated from the traditional slasher I was expecting into something I didn’t like (
    a cult sacrificing people to a paranormal power
    ).
  • For the most part, the people involved in the evil-doing were pretty predictable. There's a fine line in mysteries & horror, where as a reader, you want to be surprised by who's evil, but you also want to be able to look back and see the signs that were pointing to them. In this book, I was able to pick up every sign pointing towards the evil-doers as I was listening for the first time. So, when evil-doers were unveiled, I wasn't surprised at all -- even their most of their motives were pretty spelled out before the 'big reveal'.
  • Mediocre characters - I didn’t feel much of a connection with any of the characters, even the MC. Outside of the MC, I feel like I knew very little (almost nothing) about any of them. Also a fine line in horror -- authors probably don't want readers to be too heartbroken when characters die, because that's what happens in horror -- but I really truly feel like I knew nothing about any of these characters. There was a bit of backstory about the MC, her girlfriend, and another character being lifelong friends, but it wasn't sustainable enough to make me feel like I knew much about the characters. Most of them rang hollow.
  • The final chapter and epilogue were a good ending, though. As much as I wasn't thrilled about the major twist that happened around the 50% mark, I did feel like this ending was probably the best ending possible, given that twist.
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