Reviews

The Blonde Dies First by Joelle Wellington

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stfucatalina's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read the eARC.

i’ve heard about this book from so many people and was excited to read it when it was published so i was quick to want to read it when i got approved for the eARC, but made myself wait a few weeks to give my review closer to its publication date.

i loved it as i expected. the main cast consists of six people and they were all introduced at the same time with a few others so it took me a little bit to remember who everyone was and how to tell them apart. it worried me a little, but i kept reading.

there were a few comedic moments here and there, but it didn’t take away from the horror aspect of the book.

the reveal wasn’t a surprise at all. i don’t try to guess the plot twist of books and instead focus on the story, but when the reveal came, i wasn’t surprised at all. it almost felt like unnecessary information since the answer felt so obvious. that might just be me though.

this was so close to being a five star read, but i wished that the author touched on how it all came to be. a few of the characters were very close to asking but didn’t. there was a storyline that was introduced towards the beginning that didn’t get attention again to tie it off, but i’m not too upset by it. i’m thinking the lack of it is the answer.

i really enjoyed this read and this author’s writing style. i purchased her debut while i was halfway through this book so i’m excited to start that and read any future books she might write.

lpcoolgirl's review

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5.0

This was such a fantastic read, I loved these characters and I was cheering for them dealing with these circumstances!

fictionlux's review

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fast-paced

4.0

I got this book for free, in exchange for my honest opinion via NetGalley.

"The Blonde Dies First" is an engaging and suspenseful thriller/horror that captivated me from beginning to end. The storyline is filled with unexpected twists and turns, keeping me guessing throughout. The characters are well-crafted, each adding a unique dimension to the plot. Being the horror nerd that I am, I appreciated the nods to the horror community and of course the mentioning of "Friday the 13th," one of my favourite summer horror films. My only minor complaint is that a few of the scenes felt slightly predictable; Despite this, the book is a fantastic read for thriller and horror fans alike.

Thank you, NetGalley and Joelle Wellington for allowing me to review! As always, my review is my own opinion and thoughts. This review will be shared to my Instagram @fictionluxblog shortly.

gigireadswithkiki's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

"The Blonde Dies First" has all the makings of a good thriller; its fun, its campy, the characters are reckless and brash...but unfortunately, as with most thrillers, it also falls into the trap of being entirely predictable.

The story starts off with a bang: a group of teenagers ready to start their carefree summer, a house party with people to please and drinks to imbibe, and a Ouija board full of menacing promise and forbidden boundaries. As the plot progresses, Joelle Wellington's writing style caters to the level of creeping suspense that builds as the characters uncover more about the dark presence stalking their every living moments.

There's a level of predictability in a plot of this caliber, one that follows the horror movie framework to a T, darting from blonde girl to queer boy to asshole, picking off its victims one by one. But for me, this is not where the predictability of the plot lies. No, the predictability inevitably falls when Wellingtons tries to subvert these tropes. The attempts to set clues and lay preamble to the supposedly shocking plot twists are weak at best, with overtly obvious overtones masked as undertones and formulaic character realizations.

All the characters were entertaining, even if bit cliched, though I do wish there had been a more concerted effort to flesh out Malachi, Gael, and Leila as much as the other 3. However, the character development, and subsequently relationship development, between Devon and Drew felt overly drawn-out, to the point that the peak argument from their months of resentment felt empty. Yes, their conflict persisted, as high emotions don't dissipate after the course of a single argument, but the rationality behind their continued animosity felt redundant and overly repetitive, to the point where I left the book empathizing far more with Drew than with Devon.

For all my negativity, I do think "The Blonde Dies First" is a really great beachy/summer read, I just wish there had been more effort to make both the story and its characters multi-dimensional. That being said, I would still be interested in Joelle Wellington's next book PURELY based on how well the atmosphere of this book is written.

noreimerreason's review

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

lokiisreading's review

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-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

4.75

Thank you so much to @simonteen for the arc! I was over the moon when I got it in the mail!!!!

With a debut like Their vicious games, the blonde dies first set some high expectations and I felt like it completely knocked it out the park for me!

In the beginning it was a bit slow, and me being me I kept getting side tracked BUT once things started to hit the fan I was locked in.

Now Ms Wellington knows how to make a girl feel scared! My imagination is a bit overactive, and she was so detailed with the kills and the way she was describing that monster/demon I legitimately was shaking in my boots and did sleep with my lights on (I’m also just a scaredy cat in general and VERY easily spooked).

The only thing I wanted more of was to get to know more about the rest of the group. Because I would have loved to get to know Malachi, Gael, and Leila on the same level that we got to know Yaya, Drew and Devon. Now the character development between Devon and Drew LOVED that. I loved that we saw there turmoil just bubble over, and become uncontainable. The reconciliation of sisterhood , and the battle they fought between themselves outside of fighting for their lives was just so well done I wish we could have seen more with the others.

Since this was an ARC I’m not going to blab too too much, but this has definitely solidified that I will read anything Joelle Wellington puts out!