Prom Queen

by H L Crowe

From "permanent teenager" H.L. Crowe comes their 2000s-based comedy slasher, PROM QUEEN.

Evelyn Rose, alternate-emo extraordinaire, is just trying to get through senior year of Big Pine High School in Milbridge, a town set in midwest Wisconsin. From a MySpace stalker to petty girl drama, there's always something new going on around the corner-all before the big prom.

When Evelyn scores a new boyfriend, shy but charming Finn Harper, things feel like a typical Cinderella story. But when her old enemies begin to get too close to the love of her life, she formulates a plot to get back at them...in blood.

But all bets are off when Evelyn's plan goes awry, forcing her to slash through the competition on her way to the top. Because in this world? It's an Evelynomenon...and we're just living in it.

348 pages, Paperback

Published October 12, 2026

Reviews

[Maggie · Rating 0.25 out of 5]

I can't believe I'm leaving a review like this again....I had to get out my laptop to do this (because I'm a MILLENIAL!). Anyway. Here we go. I was an original ARC reader the first time around for this book and I left a pretty brutal review of it. A few days later H.L. Crowe announced they would not be publishing the book and instead rewriting it to fix some of the errors. Unfortunately, the errors remained. All of my complaints about the book went ignored. There are still a multitude of continuity errors. For example, Kenny, a female character, is referred to as the principal’s nephew twice on one page, which is something I pointed out the first time around! She is also at one point referred to as Kenzie. Something else I pointed out the first time!! There are also multiple instances where the wrong word is used. I had to google various words because I would read the sentence and go “do I not know what this word means?”. These include the words “sporadically”, “avidly”, manure instead of minute (to mean small), etc. At one point Crowe writes “perpendicular parking” when they meant parallel parking. One of the things I mentioned in my original review is a sentence where someone is murdered by having their spine severed, and then they are “instantly paralyzed”. I did not think I’d need to say this again. You cannot paralyze someone once they are dead. The continuity errors with the prom dress remain the same (sometimes it is red with rubies, sometimes it is a different colour). Her brother is at one point three years younger than her, and then later on two years younger than her. I am a millennial and was alive and making memories in 2007, which is how I know disposable cameras do not have the option to review your photo once it’s been taken. I also know this because disposable cameras TODAY do not have this ability either. I could go on for a really long time about all my issues with this book but I recently discovered the author is only 19 and I’ve already been mean enough. I am upset that the main concerns I had about this book were entirely dismissed. I thought the purpose of rewriting it would be to fix all the continuity errors and typos and whatnot. Instead they remain, and it somehow kinda got worse? I need to move on from this book somehow…but it will haunt me.



Review for the first edition of the ARC i received: removing my review as the author has decided to not go forward with publishing this book. I commend the author on listening to reader feedback and wish her the best in the future.

[Antonia · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Edit* - The author has decided to not go forward with publishing this book. I am happy the author listened to reader feedback and wish her the best in the future.

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Slow to get going but some gory random fun at Prom. Full of ridiculous  teen drama, it is very much the kind of book to turn off your brain for a while and just have fun with it. Can't say I fully enjoyed this book as much as I was hoping to but the author does have a distinctive way of writing & so much sass, it's entertaining but in a car crash kind of way.

Lotta inconsistences like wrong names used & things to that extent & inaccuracies (for example Alex Brightman is not Beetlejuice in the movie nor had he been cast in the musical by 2007 when the book is supposedly set) & editing mistakes that really pulled me outta the story.  This book really could've benefitted from a good editor as the amount of glaring typos was just frustrating. Overall felt a little lazily written & the epilogue a massive cop out for all the random shit. I found all the characters unlikeable & flat

[Abbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fun and exciting.
Hits of nostalgia were obviously throughout, lots of little references that made me giggle.

Definitely not my usual type of reading, however I enjoyed this slasher-esque, horror style comedy.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

PROM QUEEN

WHAT DID I JUST READ ?!? It gave such 2000s vibes horror to the peak and with the comedy oh I thought I was watching a movie! H.L Crowe just knows how to keep you on your feet and I’m glad to have been an arc reader for this beauty ! Also made me cry at times :,(