How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates: Final Girl Energy… But Can She Find Love?

Does anyone actually win Goodreads giveaways? That was the question constantly living in my mind month after month as I entered so many giveaways. I felt about as hopeful as every other girl in Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! when Rosalee’s name gets called.

And then suddenly, the answer to my question was answered when I found a package on my doorstep.

Looked like a book, felt like a book, but I definitely hadn’t ordered a book. Not within the past week, anyways. Opened it up — it was a book! How To Kill A Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson. I was officially a Goodreads giveaway winner.

Naturally, I decided to save it for the perfect moment… which, for me, meant reading it when it would count toward one of my Goodreads quarterly achievements. Because this romcom horror was like a trophy to me and deserved a lasting title (Trending Books).

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How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson Summary

Meet Jamie Prescott, a rom-com loving, horror-obsessed cinephile who reluctantly agrees to attend a speed-dating event with her best friend, Laurie Hamilton. How to Kill a Guy in 10 Dates is absolutely packed with nods to both rom-coms and horror films, right down to the character names, which made it such fun details to catch along the way.

What starts as a night of awkward conversations and questionable dating prospects takes a very literal deadly turn when a blackout hits and one of the men is murdered.

And just like that, Jamie isn’t just stuck on 10 bad dates, she’s trapped inside with a killer… with an ever-growing body count.

With no obvious way out, Jamie has to rely on everything she knows about horror movie “rules” to survive. As panic sets in and alliances form, suspicion starts circling the room, leaving everyone as a possibility.

And somehow, in the middle of all of it, the line between romance and horror begins to blur, especially when Jamie finds herself caught in an unbelievable love triangle while trying to stay alive.

How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson Review

This was such a fun and quick read! It has humor, nonstop movie references, and just enough romance to keep things interesting. The story leans fully into both rom-com and slasher tropes, constantly playing with what you think is going to happen next.

And if you’re a slasher film fan like Jamie, you may predict where some things go along the way.

Ok, as an avid slasher film watcher years ago, I will say, I did find the story a bit predictable. I had a strong feeling about who the killer was pretty early on, and that instinct ended up being right.

Have I seen far too many terrible horror movies? Yes. But it didn’t take away from the experience, that knowledge made this book all the more enjoyable. Because even knowing where things might be heading, I still enjoyed getting there!

And one of my favorite little touches were the chapter quotes. The (as I refer to them) “rom-com turned deadly” lines, like “you have butchered me, body and soul” (not Pride and Prejudice), added such a fun touch to the reading experience.

Overall, this really was the perfect blend of rom-com and slasher. Beautiful, intelligent, self-aware, and just the right amount of breaking “horror movie rules” chaos has you wondering: can Jamie truly make it out alive as the “Final Girl” …and find love along the way?

Let’s just say… she will never be the girl who says, “I’ll be right back.”

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