Good-Bye, Valentine

by River Gardner

Mel was happy, engaged to the love of her life, planning to spend the rest of her life with him.
In an instant, her entire world was completely shattered, her heart ripped to shreds. She's left to pick up the pieces, and put herself back together, but how?

Then, one night, one traumatic event, unleashes a monster from inside. A monster she can't seem to control. One she's ready to use to seek revenge on those closest to her, who destroyed her. Now, she's ready to destroy them.

Genres: Horror, Dark Romance, Ebooks, Novella

81 pages, ebook

Published February 22, 2024

About the author

River Gardner (she/they) is an author from Central Alabama. She lives with her two children and husband, along with an army of cats. In her spare time, she likes to draw, read, and play video games.
She enjoys writing dark romance, horror romance, and horror. Her debut novella, Good-Bye, Valentine came out in February of 2024, and she’s since published two other novellas and two anthologies.
You can find her on Instagram to keep up to date on upcoming works!

Reviews

[Kate Victoria RescueandReading · Rating 5 out of 5]

There was sooo much happening in this unhinged short read! There’s an awesome mix of horror, splatter, erotica, and revenge!!

I love how wild the main narrator becomes, and by the end of the story she’s almost a completely different character!

What would you do if you found your fiancé and best friend together in your bed? If you heard them talking about how they didn’t have to sneak around for Valentine’s Day anymore? If your last straw had broken and you’re dying for vengeance? Well Mel doesn’t take the high road this time, she takes the bloody murderous trail instead.

I will definitely be checking out what else River has penned and hope to see more in the Heartbreak Killer Series! 💔🔪

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ya know, I was really expecting her to cut his 🍆 off, too. 😂 This is just your average revenge for cheating story. Except. Well. Ya know. Most people don't go on a murderous rampage, they put Nair in shampoo or slash their tires. So maybe not your average revenge story after all.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good novella for sure !!!
And this checked all my boxes !
It’s a super fast read that keeps you locked in !
Can’t wait to read more of this authors work

[Paige Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The monster inside finally awoken, and I finally set her free.“

River fucking knocked this one out of the park with this Extreme Horror Novella! This was one hell of a dark ride. I was completely captivated from the very beginning.

Femme Fatale perfection💋🤌

Good-bye Valentine follows Mel. Mel’s life is turned upside down whenever she catches her fiancé banging her best friend. Immediately thrown into an overwhelming sadness and rage she kicks Dylan out and she’s done for good. Not far long after the encounter Mel runs into them both once again at the local diner so she leaves. She’s so lost in her thoughts she quickly forgets where she is and is violently SA’d by a random man on her walk. Mel quickly turns things around by finding an advantage and ultimately overpowers him 😬🍆🩸

Mel is overcome by complete euphoria and decides to get the ultimate revenge on both her fiancé and best friend for what they did to her. Karma’s a bitch🤭💅🏻

Highly recommend giving this one a go if you like Extreme Horror with all the feminine rage vibes! 🙌

[Allyssa Gaines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic story of feminine rage, cheating revenge, and a sprinkle of Valentine’s Day. This is a bit of a horror erotica, but the revenge is soo deserved. Our main character, Mel, doesn’t wanna take anymore s**t from anyone, and boy, is she brutal! The one thing I didn’t love was that we read the povs from the two people that wronged Mel, Tess and Dylan. I liked when we read how scared they were when Mel was having her revenge, but I didn’t like reading about them having sex and not regarding Mel’s feelings. Overall, this is another fantastic female revenge story!

[Madison Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! This novella was just perfect. A short Valentines Day gone wrong. What would you do if you caught your significant other with your best friend? I’d say Mel did what any psychotic woman would. (We are all. Little psychotic whether we want to admit it or not.) I highly recommend reading!!

[christy - pr0bablyreadingsmut · Rating 5 out of 5]

super short yet brutal read. mel gets her revenge on her cheating fiancé and best friend. her rage is palpable from page one. beautifully written and bloody af

[Xtina Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

✨GOOD FOR HER✨

[Honey Dy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4 stars 🌟 fast paced action, splatterpunkish blood, gore violence not since talia has there ever been a girl like Mel

[Kindle And A Cuppa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What happens when you catch your fiancée sleeping with your best friend? Mel chooses violence, all the bloody violence.
Super short and quick read.

[♡ jenn ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

i didn’t realize how short this book was when i started it😂 definitely a good, unhinged short read

[Aiden Messer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, very satisfying! I had a lot of fun with this one. I really liked the multiple POVs

[ChaptersbyKeeter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a fun read. The saying "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" is so so true in this one. I can't wait to read more from this Author!

[Kat To · Rating 3 out of 5]

My initial thoughts are "good for her".

I don't typically get into splatterpunk books, but I read the plot to this one and I'm glad I checked it out.

I think this was a pretty decent debut novella, but I also think that this being a novella was this reads greatest weakness. Having a lot more character development in a story like this could really make it take off.

I think this author is really going to find her stride one day with writing and I'm really looking forward to that.

[Timiddy Jaymes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started off a little rocky. It felt amateur at best. But after pushing through the first 2 chapters it seemed like the author found her writing and rhythm. Not a bad debut novella. Needed some better editing but overall enjoyed the read!

[Damien Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Revenge - Psycho Sisters

This little book would have fit in perfectly as a movie made in the 70’s and shown on 42nd street.

[Stuart Knott · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Good-Bye, Valentine” is the debut publication of River Gardner, an eight-chapter novelette and the first in her “Heartbreak Killer” series. This is a short, but disturbingly brutal revenge tale about Mel a perfectly normal girl who’s engaged to be married to her long-term partner, Dylan, and whose life takes a dramatic and gory downward spiral after she finds him cheating on her with her best friend! What follows is an intense descent into bloody revenge and an aggressive sexual reawakening for Mel, who develops a taste for blood and unashamed erotic pleasure as she discovers new aspects to her formally shy and bookish character. These aspects, the mixture of sex and violence, may be disturbing to some but they’re captured and depicting in graphic and engaging detail; River knows how to write these scenes in a way that entices and brings the spice, but also disturbs through how violent Mel’s lusts become and the intense pleasure she feels in indulging those whims, unshackled by the weights that used to hold her down.

The story follows Mel exclusively and River delves into her personality and sexual reawakening in a way that is well-paced and professionally presented; extreme content aside, this is a well-written and intriguing piece that focuses on abusive relationships, feelings of betrayal, and a tangible depiction of hypocrisy as Mel’s former love and best friend try to justify their actions. The frustration and anger Mel feels is extremely relatable and when she strikes back, you feel her vindication and catharsis; sure, she escalates this to an uncomfortable and macabre level most of us will never know, but as a revenge fantasy, “Good-Bye, Valentine” delivers in a satisfying way. However, that’s not enough for the imaginative River, who laces scenes of semi-torture and bloody brutality with a blatant sexual energy designed to make you uncomfortable not just for how they’re presented, but also because they may have you questioning your own deep-rooted desires and fantasies. Some of the content might be too much for some, but it worked for me and I found this a gripping and enticing, spicy read led by a relatable character and bolstered by its extreme marriage of sex, blood, pain, and pleasure.

[Sie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The only good things I can say about this absolute mess are that it's short and that it ends.

Our introduction to our main characters is Mel catching Dylan, her fiance, in bed with Tess, her best friend. There is no lead-up to any of that, it's just right off the bat so there's no real emotional connection to anything going on.

Even after that, there's no character development at all. The writing is repetitive at best and the tense flips between past and present constantly, in the same scenes and not because something is a flashback or anything.

I used to complain that the Saw franchise was just straight-up torture porn and gore and I now have to recant that statement because I would rather watch that entire series straight through than ever read this again. At least the Saw movies have a plot.

There is a fair amount of SA and dubious consent scenes and Mel is the main perpetrator of the assault. On top of rapidly turning into a serial killer who is apparently so smart that she doesn't get caught for murdering her ex fiance and ex best friend.

I am also convinced the author has never read even a basic article about how human bodies function. Their descriptions make absolutely no sense and are in no way how bodies work or how the types of injuries inflicted work. Research and a good editor are your friends.

I need to stop trusting stuff your kindle events.

[Nadine Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. This is a great debut by River Gardner. Good-bye Valentine is an extreme horror story that will leave you both nauseated and wanting to know more. I was sucked in from the beginning. The story and plot were well thought out and I didn’t once feel the need to skim anything unnecessary. I finished this over the course of the day but it could have easily been a one sitting read.
‌
S͟y͟n͟o͟p͟s͟i͟s͟:
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“𝙼𝚎𝚕 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢, 𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎, 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚖.
𝙸𝚗 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝, 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚢 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚍, 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚍𝚜. 𝚂𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚕𝚎𝚏𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚞𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚒𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚠?
‌
𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚗, 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝, 𝚞𝚗𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚜 𝚊 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎. 𝙰 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚕. 𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚔 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚌𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚛, 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛. 𝙽𝚘𝚠, 𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖.“
‌
I can’t say much without giving a lot away but River writes with such vivid passion. She takes us inside the mind, essentially, of what breaks a person. And leads them down a path of revenge. A point of no return. It felt like a rare glimpse into the mind of a female serial killer in the making. This is violent and brutal, just be forewarned.
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[fanboyriot · Rating 4 out of 5]

♡ Revenge
♡ Violence
♡ Feminine Rage

I can’t really say I enjoyed this book but it was definitely an entertaining read. The inner rage taking over Mel and getting the justice deserved was satisfying in its own dark way. The feminine rage was very strong in this book. A short but satisfying read for any of those who love the darker more gruesome parts of fiction. Anyone who dreamed about letting their rage take over, destroying the people who hurt you, this book turns that into reality. While some of the dialogue came off a bit stiff or unnecessary, the overall book had some nicely written moments too. The last chapter was great, it ended on a good note that fit the vibe of the rest of the book.

Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (4/5)
Angst Level: 💧💧💧 (3/5)
POV: First Person
Release Date: 06, March 2024

⚠️ Content Warnings:
Graphic: Body horror, Grief, Infidelity, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Blood, Cursing, Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Torture
Moderate:Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

[Courtnie Pollard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4.2⭐️

Disclaimer: Though I was gifted a copy by the author, my review is an honest one.

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

🧠My Thoughts🧠
In River’s debut novella, we get a very quick and whirlwind of a read that doesn’t shy away from sex, gore, or psychopathy. Mel’s path of revenge was disturbing, yet too intriguing to look away from. The body horror in this was so well written, and I think my body thought it was happening to us at one point.
I could totally have seen this being played out as an episode of Game of Thrones or an explicit version of Criminal Minds or something.
I’m definitely looking forward to see how the monster of Mel evolves in the next installment! I’m sure it’s gonna be a bloody-good time.

Paperbacks and e-Books of Good-Bye Valentine are currently available on Amazon. A special hardcover edition comes out tomorrow, April 1st, on Amazon! (and no… that’s not an April Fools Joke)
Also, there are signed copies of Good-Bye Valentine in paperback and will be signed copies of it in hardcover in @ River’s Etsy.

Thank you so much to River for providing me with a copy and all of these awesome goodies! I’m so happy that your debut is out there, and I’m so proud of you! 🥰

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novella reminds me of those ridiculous mobile game ads in which a woman (it's always a woman) finds her boyfriend or husband with another woman, except this is actually interesting.

Mel finds her fiancé in bed with her best friend Tess. Mel is understandably heartbroken. After taking out her anger on a random man who assaults her, she decides to get revenge against Tess and Dylan.

Even though I really liked reading this novella, I could not stop thinking about how exhausting it is to live in an amatonormative society. Amatonormativity sucks and I'll never understand why monogamy has to be the default. Also, everything that happens in this novella could have been avoided with communication. But then again there wouldn't have been a fun and gory novella if these people really took the time to talk each other.

Anyway, this is my first time reading something by River Gardner and I'll definitely be reading more by them. :)

[Mary Slumski · Rating 3 out of 5]

💭Initial thoughts….Good for her! It’s definitely the most disturbing thing I’ve ever read. However, I couldn’t stop reading. The author did a wonderful job keeping the reader engaged and (unfortunately for me 😂) added many details. I didn’t really understand splatterpunk until this book so thank you for that.

📚For those of you who would like to read this book. Don’t be an idiot like me and eat while reading. I’m still a little queasy 🤣 Also trigger warnings can be found in the back of the book. I wish I would have known that, but let’s be real I would’ve kept reading even if it was in the front.

✍🏻To the author: You did a great job writing this book. It just wasn’t for me. I didn’t stop reading though! I couldn’t. I had to know how it ended! Also I don’t think I’ve ever felt such hatred for a character before I met Tess.

[Rayven Hatchett · Rating 5 out of 5]

*SPOILER FREE REVIEW*
First let me say, if you love a BRUTAL, gory, “good for her” horror story, this is for you. Check TW if you haven’t already!

WOW. For a novella, this one really packed a punch. I thought the pacing was nice, and the story didn’t feel rushed. I really got a sense of witnessing a woman reaching her breaking point and completely going UNHINGED.

Mel gives a whole new meaning to the word malicious. Like seriously, her nickname should be Melicious. I haven’t come across a more brutal FMC in a very long time. It makes you think, what are people really capable of when they’ve been broken one too many times??

I thought this was a fantastic debut novella from author River Gardner, and I cannot wait to read what else they put out!!

[natalielikesbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

”He knew she had changed. She saw it in his eyes. He just didn’t know how much she had changed. He didn’t know the damage he’d caused her had awoken something savage and unforgiving inside her.”

This book is why theres the saying “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” cuz woahhh😳 After finishing this novella, I WAS scared of Mel 😅 9 chapters and an epilogue but it still packed a big punch! This also kind seemed like an erotic horror? Is that a thing? Lol there were times that I actually winced and the pearls were clutched, let me tell you! 😂 the end left me wanting more…it’s almost like the start of a serial killer was happening 🫣

[ANNIE MARIE · Rating 4 out of 5]

holy. if feminine rage was a book, this would be it. if heartbreak was a book, this would be it. this is a revenge cheating story turned killer. like.. violent gruesome killer. but listen she had reasons. valid reasons❗️.

this is a short erotic horror that is nothing short of gruesome and gory. mel was truly heartbroken in the beginning and by the end of the book she owns their hearts (wink😉). cause i mean, what would you do if you found your fiance and best friend together??? so like. gOOD FOR HER. 👏🏼

CAUSE FUCK DYLAN AND FUCK TESS🫵🏼

rate: 4/5⭐️
spice: 3/5🌶️

[Luc Dantes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Be sure to read the trigger warnings at the back of the book, because 'Good-Bye, Valentine' is the very definition of splatter punk—I loved it!

The story is a simple classic, boy meets girl, boy sleeps with girl's best friend and then boy is reminded that hell hath no fury like a woman scorend.

The dialogue felt a little too telenovela for me, but it is does add layer of humour to all the mayhem. So if you are into quick, fun and exciting splatter punk, this is the book for you!

[Breanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good-bye, Valentine by River Gardner is a chilling descent into heartbreak, rage, and revenge. Mel has endured betrayal, heartbreak, and violence — until the pain finally pushes her over the edge. What follows is a raw and unsettling journey as she transforms from victim to executioner, punishing those who destroyed her. Dark, emotional, and haunting, this book grips you from the first page and refuses to let go.

[Risshan Adele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaker!

Gory horror novellas are one of my favorite things to read. It’s like bite sized disaster. Goodbye Valentine is a perfect little story of revenge and how the mind can break. Is it bad to emotionally relate to the main character who is murdering people? Nah.. Nah it’s fine. If you enjoy dirty extreme horrors you should absolutely pick this one up!

[Zoey Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

BOOK REVIEW:
Good-Bye, Valentine By @rivergardner.author

Five Stars: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was such an interesting, dark, and gory read! I absolutely enjoyed how Mel changed and how she finally got to stand up against the people who wronged her!
I really enjoyed this Novella!

Amazing first book by this author! I can't wait to see where they go from here!

Also I SERIOUSLY LOVE the dedication!