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livelaughlesbian99's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
First half is a little slow but second half really picks up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Outing and Police brutality
fieldfarmer's review
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Racism
sonygaystation's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Homophobia, Murder, Xenophobia, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Medical content, and Racism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Kidnapping
bookcheshirecat's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
“Romance is for straights. Queers get to bicker with each other about petty bullshit while we get killed one by one, you know that.”
➽ Your Lonely Nights Are Over is a YA Slasher about a serial killer who target's the school's queer club! A famous serial killer called Mr. Sandman emerges from retirement and starts to go on a killing spree again. He targets anyone who might be feeling lonely and I found his MO very interesting! It's inspired by the Mr. Sandman song! I liked that we get excerpts from a documentary on the topic in between chapters, as it added another layer to the story. Best friends Dearie and Cole are both in the sights of the killer, who's coming closer and closer to them. Even worse, someone is trying to frame them for the murders and the police is all too eager to blame Cole, a young black man. I liked seeing Cole and Dearie's friendship and how it changed with everything that was going on. The story was dark and suspenseful, touching upon homophobic hate crimes, police brutality and the danger of getting into relationships just so you're paired-up and no longer 'lonely'.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Hate crime, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death, Homophobia, Murder, Racism, Stalking, and Violence
Minor: Outing
cboddie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
HS & up
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Toxic relationship
lettuce_read's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Murder, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Bullying and Outing
readthesparrow's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This review is based on a digital ARC provided by the publisher.
REVIEW
As you may know, I have taken it upon myself to create THE SLASHER LIST, a comprehensive list and review of slasher-inspired novels. I’ve been away from the project for a bit (work, life, personal demons, you know how it is), so I haven’t been able to dedicate much time to pursuing the project.
So when I started reading Your Lonely Nights Are Over, I wanted so much, despite knowing it would make the fall worse if I was disappointed.
I am so happy to say that Your Lonely Nights Are Over was everything I wanted and more. I devoured this book in two sittings.
We’ve got twists, we’ve got turns, we’ve got messy queer characters, and, of course, the most important element of every slasher: buckets of blood.
The death scenes and the tension is brutal. These kids die, man, and Sass doesn’t hold back. There’s a Saw-trap-esque strangulation by barbed wire in the first few chapters.
I will say that if you’re like me and you read and watch a lot of slashers and are familiar with the tropes, the twists might be a bit easy to predict. I knew who the killer was pretty quickly (and the twist about the killer, because I’m familiar with Saw and Scream).
That all said, while I caught the foreshadowing and know the genre a bit too well for my own good, it wasn’t frustrating to wait for the characters to catch up with my realizations. Twists don’t have to be unpredictable to be fun.
This is a YA book. I typically don't like YA (I'm just not the target demographic), but I think that this is one of those YA books that, while definitely for teens, is fun to read as an adult, too. (Especially if you were in a queer club in high school. Because, woof, this book captured that feeling of young queer drama well.)
This is a YA book. I typically don't like YA (I'm just not the target demographic), but I think that this is one of those YA books that, while definitely for teens, is fun to read as an adult, too. (Especially if you were in a queer club in high school. Because, woof, this book captured that feeling of young queer drama well.)
This book has an important message about queer community that is vital for young queer folk to learn, especially in an era of the internet full of toxic queer spaces. Ultimately, Your Lonely Nights Are Over is a story about friendship, community, and recognizing the danger and toxicity of queer abusers, all wrapped up in a witty, barbed-wire slasher with a breakneck pace.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Your Lonely Nights Are Over is definitely going to be one of the crowning jewels of THE SLASHER LIST, sitting in pride of place beside My Heart is a Chainsaw.
If you loved the Scream movies and want a book with that same smart, meta horror vibe, then you’ll have one hell of a time with Your Lonely Nights are Over.
Thank you to Viking Books for Young Readers for providing a digital ARC via Netgalley! If you are interested in Your Lonely Nights Are Over, it is out now!
If possible, support indie bookshops by purchasing the novel from your local brick and mortar or from Bookshop.org.
User-defined content warnings are available via Storygraph.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Sexual content, Murder, Blood, Racism, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, and Death
booksthatburn's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, Child death, Grief, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Violence, and Death
Minor: Sexual content
legalplanner's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
First and foremost, thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the chance to give my honest opinion in exchange for a earc of this book.
I was drawn in from the moment we met Dearie and Cole. I was wrapped up in who they were and what was going on. I found that the queer friendships, toxic friendships, and fear all played really well in this novel.
I will say that there were moments where watching Dearie and Cole's dynamic was hard because it felt a bit toxic to me, but I may have felt that way because they were just friends but often acted as more. The side characters were very lackluster and not likable to me, which made it hard to want them to stay alive.
Overall this was a great read, and I'm so glad that I got a chance to read this thriller headed into spooky season.
I was drawn in from the moment we met Dearie and Cole. I was wrapped up in who they were and what was going on. I found that the queer friendships, toxic friendships, and fear all played really well in this novel.
I will say that there were moments where watching Dearie and Cole's dynamic was hard because it felt a bit toxic to me, but I may have felt that way because they were just friends but often acted as more. The side characters were very lackluster and not likable to me, which made it hard to want them to stay alive.
Overall this was a great read, and I'm so glad that I got a chance to read this thriller headed into spooky season.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Racism, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship
Minor: Homophobia, Outing, and Gun violence
avidreaderandgeekgirl's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
In this queer dramedy thriller, you'll find queer friendship, found family, and an abusive/controlling romantic relationship. Plus quite a bit of murder!
I enjoyed this book! I laughed, I almost cried, and I was on the edge of my seat. I liked the levity that kept the book from just being too dark.
I was pretty sure I knew who one of the killers was, and I was right about the younger one. But the older one I had guesses Keven RIP.
I honestly wish I could have Cole and Dearie for my gay beasties! They are just the right amount of bitchy for me! But sweet on the inside. Which shows more as the story progresses. A lot of the other characters weren't particularly likable though, like AA, and Theo.
Overall a really enjoyable and not too predictable thriller. With excellent narration!
I enjoyed this book! I laughed, I almost cried, and I was on the edge of my seat. I liked the levity that kept the book from just being too dark.
I honestly wish I could have Cole and Dearie for my gay beasties! They are just the right amount of bitchy for me! But sweet on the inside. Which shows more as the story progresses. A lot of the other characters weren't particularly likable though, like AA, and Theo.
Overall a really enjoyable and not too predictable thriller. With excellent narration!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, and Racism
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual content, Homophobia, Outing, Gun violence, and Vomit