Scan barcode
A review by literaryland_livin
Guillotine by Delilah S. Dawson
5.0
ARC by NetGalley and the publisher.
Dez Lane has always felt a calling to fashion and while her passion to be in the industry seems to be haunted by all her job rejections she refuses to give up. So when a chance meeting with the uber rich Patrick Ruskin occurs she finally sees her ticket in. Patrick’s own mother is hugely famous and one of the most influential women in fashion today. She decides to pretend to like the insufferable man even if she can’t stand him just until she can get a face to face meeting with his mother. After weeks of enduring dates Patrick invites Dez to his families private island for a family Easter gathering. She jumps at the chance even if upon arrival she is met with strange staff dressed in all pink and an extensive NDA. As one strange family interaction bleeds into the next she begins to think this was a waste of her time. Until the dullness of the Island is rocked by one dinner she won’t forget that has her running for her life trying to escape the very world she so badly wanted to belong in.
Dez Lane has always felt a calling to fashion and while her passion to be in the industry seems to be haunted by all her job rejections she refuses to give up. So when a chance meeting with the uber rich Patrick Ruskin occurs she finally sees her ticket in. Patrick’s own mother is hugely famous and one of the most influential women in fashion today. She decides to pretend to like the insufferable man even if she can’t stand him just until she can get a face to face meeting with his mother. After weeks of enduring dates Patrick invites Dez to his families private island for a family Easter gathering. She jumps at the chance even if upon arrival she is met with strange staff dressed in all pink and an extensive NDA. As one strange family interaction bleeds into the next she begins to think this was a waste of her time. Until the dullness of the Island is rocked by one dinner she won’t forget that has her running for her life trying to escape the very world she so badly wanted to belong in.
I absolutely devoured this short but impactful and satisfying revenge tale. Guillotine has all the female rage, fast pace action, and dark twists that I cant help but enjoy in a final girl horror read. Dawson paints a perfect picture of the ultra exclusive evil side of the 1% that honestly had me feeling like I was watching a movie while reading. With that being said this absolutely gives Ready or Not vibes which admittedly is my favorite horror film, along with a bit of The Menu as well as having surprising humor that despite the gruesome aspect made me honestly laugh. This book also isn’t just your typical gore horror read as it explores the question of what would you do for your dreams, how far would you go to achieve success and where does that line end and begin. There are a fair share of trigger warnings that the author mentions prior to the books beginning however most of these aside from the obvious horror aspects happen off page. This book simply put was a great revenge horror serving all the darkly poetic justice that I love!
Guillotine comes out September 10th, 2024.
Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.