You think speed dating is harmless? Wait until the bodies start piling up in this slasher-romcom mix. 🔪💕

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My Review

🎬 First Impressions

Okay but THIS?? This was such a fun and surprisingly addictive debut. I went into How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates expecting a cute little horror romance moment and instead got trapped inside a chaotic slasher nightmare with suspiciously attractive people, murder, panic, flirting, and enough tension to keep me side-eyeing literally everyone.

And honestly? I had the BEST time.

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🩸 The Plot

Jamie Prescott is a slasher and rom-com obsessed PhD student writing her thesis on horror tropes and Final Girls, which immediately made this feel like it was written for the girls who binge true crime documentaries and then cleanse their palate with rom-coms after.

“If watching rom-coms has taught me anything, it’s that you don’t dim yourself for fear of shining too bright. You wear the dress, you sing out loud, you take the leap. And if watching slashers has taught me anything, it’s that you take chances whenever you can. Run out the door, grab the knife, double-tap the killer in the head with a sawed-off shotgun.”

Jamie and her best friend Laurie attend a speed-dating event that quickly turns into a full-blown murder spree leaving multiple people dead inside a locked venue. From there, it becomes a survive-the-night situation where nobody can be trusted and everyone suddenly looks guilty.

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👀 Everyone Looked Guilty

I was suspicious of EVERYONE.

No seriously. Every time a character disappeared for five seconds I was like, “Oh you’re absolutely the killer.”

The way the story was structured kept me constantly second-guessing everything and I genuinely did not fully piece together the reveal until the end. The twists actually worked for me because the book planted enough little moments of doubt throughout the story that literally anybody could’ve been “Heart Eyes.”

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🔥 The Vibes Were Immaculate

Can we talk about the concept for a second because this was SO fresh.

A slasher horror romance mixed with speed dating and rom-com energy? Obsessed.

It felt like a love letter to both genres while still having its own personality. I especially loved the little altered rom-com quotes at the start of each chapter. Such a clever touch and honestly one of my favorite details in the whole book.

This one is for:

• the horror movie girlies
• the romance readers
• the “I watch true crime before bed” crowd
• anyone who loves Final Girl energy

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💘 Romance + Horror Balance

The balance between horror and romance was handled really well. Sometimes books try to mash genres together and one side completely overpowers the other, but this one actually found a solid middle ground.

The romance gave the story emotional stakes without taking away from the thriller elements, and the horror side delivered enough tension and gore to keep things genuinely stressful.

And yes… people die.

A LOT of people die.

This definitely leans more “fun slasher horror” than dark romance though. The body count is high, there are graphic murder scenes, blood, stalking, and some pretty brutal moments, but it still keeps this darkly funny energy throughout.

Also… I will never look at meat cleavers the same way again.

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🎧 Audiobook Thoughts

I listened to the audiobook and overall had a really engaging experience with it. The narration brought a lot of life to the story and made the chaos feel even more intense. I did struggle a little with the male narrator’s voice though — it was very low, I sometimes had trouble understanding what was being said. That could totally just be a me problem, but it slightly affected my listening experience at times.

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🙈 My Tiny Complaints

The middle section dragged just a little at times, mostly because the entire story stays trapped in the same setting for almost the whole book. I found myself wanting either an outside perspective or maybe even some Laurie POV chapters just to break things up a bit.

I also couldn’t fully get behind Jamie and Laurie constantly calling each other “Baby Girl.”

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🎥 Someone Adapt This Immediately

BUT overall? This was such an impressive debut.

Shailee Thompson absolutely nailed the vibe she was going for and created something that felt different from a lot of romances I’ve been reading lately.

If you love thrillers, horror movies, rom-com chaos, Final Girl energy, suspiciously charming men, and books that feel like a slasher movie you can binge in one sitting, I definitely recommend giving this one a shot.

Also… somebody turn this into a movie immediately because I would watch the hell out of it.

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✨ Final Thoughts

This book felt like the perfect crossover for horror girls and romance girls. It was tense, funny, chaotic, twisty, and genuinely entertaining from start to finish.

Not perfect, but SO memorable and such a strong debut.

I’ll absolutely be reading whatever Shailee Thompson writes next because this was one was a wild ride.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4/5 Stars from this “Good Girl”

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