A Dream Within A Dream: Final Girls Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway

Final Girls

Author: Riley Sager
Genre: Adult Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Release Date: July 18, 2017
Publisher: Dutton Press

Synopsis:

Ten years ago, college student Quincy Carpenter went on vacation with five friends and came back alone, the only survivor of a horror movie – scale massacre. In an instant, she became a member of a club no one wants to belong to — a group of similar survivors known in the press as the Final Girls. Lisa, who lost nine sorority sisters to a college dropout’s knife; Sam, who went up against the Sack Man during her shift at the Nightlight Inn; and now Quincy, who ran bleeding through the woods to escape Pine Cottage and the man she refers to only as Him. The three girls are all attempting to put their nightmares behind them, and, with that, one another. Despite the media’s attempts, they never meet.

Now, Quincy is doing well — maybe even great, thanks to her Xanax prescription. She has a caring almost-fiancé, Jeff; a popular baking blog; a beautiful apartment; and a therapeutic presence in Coop, the police officer who saved her life all those years ago. Her memory won’t even allow her to recall the events of that night; the past is in the past.

That is, until Lisa, the first Final Girl, is found dead in her bathtub, wrists slit, and Sam, the second, appears on Quincy’s doorstep. Blowing through Quincy’s life like a whirlwind, Sam seems intent on making Quincy relive the past, with increasingly dire consequences, all of which makes Quincy question why Sam is really seeking her out. And when new details about Lisa’s death come to light, Quincy’s life becomes a race against time as she tries to unravel Sam’s truths from her lies, evade the police and hungry reporters, and, most crucially, remember what really happened at Pine Cottage, before what was started ten years ago is finished.

Final Girls is a riveting thriller that will have readers on the edge of their seats, begging for more. I'm a huge fan of thrillers and I was so excited to read this one. I'm glad to say that it lived up to any hopes or expectations I might have had. It's everything I look for in a great suspense - intense plot, tons of twists and turns, complex characters, great writing. Every aspect of the book was incredibly well done. I don't do spoilers in my reviews, so I can't get to in depth about the story line without giving anything away. It's pretty easy to figure out the overall plot by reading the description. The story is full of intricate detail and vivid imagery that pulled me into Quincy's world right from the very beginning. I normally don't read adult fiction in one setting because it's usually a bit more complicated than YA, but I got so deep into this novel that I just had to keep going to learn the truth. It was totally worth it and it'll be in my mind for quite a long time after finishing.

Quincy is a great main character for the book. She's the survivor of a horrific event that only two other people can relate to. Instead of remaining a victim, she has devoted her life to moving past what happened so it doesn't define her, which is commendable. She's working hard to keep her life in order - her baking blog is successful and she has a great boyfriend that she thinks is going to propose soon. I loved getting to know Quincy throughout the book. We get to really see inside her head - her fears, hopes and dreams, inner thoughts, memories, and so much more are revealed for us. I couldn't exactly identify with Quincy because of her past, but I definitely empathized with her right from the start. I enjoyed watching Quincy in her present life, her interactions with all the other characters, seeing her overcoming obstacles, and finally remembering what happened that terrible night.

One last thing I want to note (as usual) is the writing style. I absolutely LOVED the way the author chose to write this book. It's done in two different perspectives - one from Quincy's point of view in the present, and the second from the third person POV from the past - the night it all happened. The two styles were completely different, but did a fantastic job complementing one another. I really liked that the past was told from an objective stance - it made it stand out from the rest of the story. Somehow it just gave this part of the book a different feel, although I can't pinpoint exactly what that is. I'm a huge fan of the first person POV and I'm so happy the author chose to do the majority of the story in this style. I don't think it would have the same intense effect if it had been written any other way. The blending of the two narratives and styles was a great idea and works perfectly for this novel. I very highly recommend this one for fans of mysteries, suspense, and thrillers!

Riley Sager is a pseudonym for an author who has been previously published under another name. A native of Pennsylvania, Riley is a writer, editor and graphic designer who now lives in Princeton, New Jersey. Riley's first novel, FINAL GIRLS (called "The first great thriller of 2017" by Stephen King), will be published in 2017 in the United States, the United Kingdom and more than a dozen countries around the world.