The Last Girls Standing

by L.C. Valentine

A group of teenagers work as camp counsellors at a recently reopened summer camp. A camp that hides a sinister secret. It's home to an undead killer. A monster that picks them off one by one, until there's only one girl left standing. For Ellie Cartwright, that's not how the story ends. That's how it begins. Because Ellie's not the only girl to have faced evil and survived. There are others. And now, they've sworn to protect those in danger. They've sworn to fight back against the creatures that lurk in the darkness. They are the Last Girls Standing. And Ellie's journey is just getting started...

Includes special bonus The Interview .

Genres: Horror, Audiobook, Fiction

417 pages, Paperback

Published November 2, 2021

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every so often I peruse Amazon Kindle genre freebies to see what’s out there, what the self-published authors get up to, etc. Most of the time, it’s as crappy as one might expect, but now and again, there are pleasant surprises. This book was the most pleasant of such surprises.
Plus, I like to read thematically, so yes, I did read the author named Valentine on Valentine’s Day.
I was drawn in by the cover, how can you resist an awesome retro throwback over like that. But then I began reading it and realized that in this unicorn-like instance the insides matched the outside perfectly – it’s the pretty face that’s also smart situation and it’s so much fun.
Normally, you probably wouldn’t sell me on a bunch of teens and whatever’s immediately after teens (new adults?) fighting supernatural creatures. Or you might, but it would be a tough sell. Because it’s been done, so many times. And because I don’t care for young protagonists.
But when something is done right it just works and none of the particulars matter, not as detractors, anyway. In fact. The young protagonists here are a delight, a bunch of snarky genre trivia-laden over-the-top sort of personalities, which are technically clichés or would be technically clichés for a less talented author, but Valentine brings them to life with such zeal and dimensionality and charm that they are absolutely charmers. In pink, in black, in dresses, trench coats, or cowgirl getups, this team is awesome.
The mission is to kick monsters’ butts and survive. Each girl is already a protagonist of her own story, the proverbial final girl, the designated survivor – together, they are a force.
So that’s the basic plot and it’s fun enough, but it isn’t the main attraction. The main attraction is that this book is a sort of…well, it’s scary movie geek love letter to scary movie geeks. It’s positively meta with self-awareness, these characters know the plot conventions and work them. It’s what drives the book, it’s what drives them. It’s post-modern in the way Scream was and then some. And it’s so well done in that respect, so wink-wink-nudge-nudge perfectly assembled to revere, poke fun and honor the genre classics, that you just gotta love it.
Whimsical in the best possible way, but also with plenty of monster-slaying action, camaraderie and girl-power messages, it works magically well and remarkably none of the components are overdone. It really is most impressive for a debut. The entire production is. The cover is terrific, the editing’s good – nary a typo to be found. This was aces through and through. A genre fan’s delight. Recommended.

This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting concept- horror movie monsters and scenarios being real - but the execution wasn’t great for me, the characters were flat, and the dialogue took me out of it. Also, I had a hard time believing a horror movie lover (the type Ellie is supposed to be) would know horror movie facts but not understand the narratives or tropes contained inside those movies! It’s still worth a read if you love horror though! Give it a whirl!

[Jeff Wait · Rating 4 out of 5]

There’s a lot of fun stuff in this one, including a million reference to the horror franchises both slasher and not (Evil Dead, Gremlins). The premise feels like Grady’s Final Girl Support Group but the tone feels like Thompson’s God Damn Zombie Chainsaw Murderer (I think I got those words in the right order). Ton of fun, surprisingly inclusive, and charming. If you need something light after reading something dark and/or gross, here’s a good one to cleanse your pallet before your next depraved read. Horror movie buffs will enjoy this at any time. My only qualm is that it bordered on a bit too ridiculous at times (especially the ending), but that’s the shtick, right?

[Dez Nemec · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy shit, this was a fun book!

The book starts with Ellie being chased through a summer camp by a monster. After defeating it, she is left feeling unmoored. That is until she is sought out by Nina, who invites her to feel alive again. For Nina and her partner Suzi are final girls too - but they have decided to take their restlessness and help others. They know there are monsters, and they understand there are rules. Together the pair help out other teenagers who end up in the same situations that they did. Ellie decides to join them in their fight regardless of the consequences. And boy, will there be consequences...

If you are a lover of slashers, I highly recommend!

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know what's going on with me...this is the second book this week that I've been looking forward to but it just falls flat for me. I did not care for or about these characters or what was happening. I seriously considered DNFing a couple of times. The premise had potential but it just felt very cliche and the characters got on my nerves. I just didn't enjoy this one...just not for me.

[Kirsty Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good easy reading YA horror slasher.
Think you've seen enough horror films to know all the rules? What if the monsters from the horror films were real, would you know how to defeat them? Highly recommended this to general horror fans, not a taxing read just kick back and enjoy the ride. Probably more appealing for girls with the strong female characters, a good diverse mix of girls so most would find someone relatable. Some nice references to iconic horror films for the film fans too.

[Dion Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, this book has a Fear Street / Buffy the Vampire Slayer vibe to it, with lots of fun references to iconic horror movies and books, and the way they reference the movies almost feels like they are breaking the 4th wall. but they are not.

The story is unique and entertaining, and before I finished I added the other book "The Last Girls Standing: The Beginning" to my wish list.

[Shelly Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
The grammatical errors were really, really bad but if you can look past them, this book is a fun little horror read. The author did a fantastic job of making these characters shine and that’s what I enjoyed most about the story…oh and the comfortable knowledge the author had of horror movies! I loved the tie-ins with the old classic horror movies that I love and their final girls. Really fun story!

[TheseHauntedPages]

DNF at 29%- unfortunately I just couldn’t get into this book and found the characters weren’t very likeable.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is mostly a fun send-up of slasher tropes but unfortunately the actual writing is really bad. The book is riddled with typos ("yolk" being used multiple times instead of "yoke" in a tense scene involving a plane comes to mind), weird writing decisions and stereotypical characters.

[Amy ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

🌸 The last girls standing - L.C Valentine

🪞 👻 ☠️ 👽 🏚 🔪 🚗 🎀 🛫

Rating ⭐️⭐️☆ 2.5/5

Thank you, stacey, for giving me this in my 12 books in 12 months challenge xoxo

Its Ghostbusters meets scary movie.

Honestly, this book is a riot. 😂

So, I'm not into horror movies, so a lot of the references were lost on me. And there were a LOT. That was the point of the story, to be honest. A young girl defeats a monster, and all her friends die, so she is the last girl standing. She finds others like her, and they become monster hunters. It's all about following 'the rules' of horror films. E.g. never say "nothing could have survived that" because something bad will happen.

I have so many issues with this 😂. It's like the author went, "Right, how incluse can i be? How many stereotypes and communities can I put in, and how many times can I remind the readers of them?" Spoiler. The answer is them all and every opertunity and more.

It was giving academy essay to be honest. But i did have a good laugh throughout because I just couldn't beleive how cliche it was. But i guess that was the point?

That ending? I'm sorry. No 😂

⁉️ Do you enjoy horror movies?

🤍

'Losing just one person made you realise that anybody could die at any time. Losing several? It left the world feeling like it was made out of a delicate paper, about to be torn down at any moment.'

'Defeating one monster wasn't the end. Because once you accepted one monster existed, you had to accept all the others did too.'

"Didn't anybody ever tell you idiots? Never go into the creepy basement. If I find out one of you idiots has been reciting Latin, I swear, I'm just gonna leave you to die."

[Sweet book of mine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellie es la única sobreviviente de una masacre, en el campamento donde trabajaba como consejera. Lo consiguió matando al asesino con sus propias manos.

Durante los meses posteriores a este suceso, Ellie se se ha sentido vacía y sin ánimos de nada. Ella no se siente deprimida, piensa que sólo le falta algún objetivo en la vida, hasta que…

Un día cualquiera recibe un misterioso mensaje en su celular que la lleva a conocer a un par de sobrevivientes como ella, Nina y Suzi. Junto a estas chicas, Ellie comenzará una cacería para terminar con algo que acecha en un pueblo lejano y que ha terminado con la vida de varias personas.

Me encantó este libro!! Es una carta de amor a las pelis de terror y de slashers. Tiene muchísimas referencias cinematográficas de clásicos del terror de varias épocas.

Al principio todo parece tan cliché, predecible y aburrido, pero en seguida se vuelve súper emocionante. Ellie, Nina y Suzi son personajes muy fuertes y funcionan muy bien juntas pese a sus diferencias. Los capítulos son un poco largos, pero siempre me dejaron queriendo saber qué pasaba a continuación!!! El final… ufff lo amé.

Si te gustan las películas de este genero te va a gustar este libro.

[readingsianola · Rating 4 out of 5]

🗡️𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐲 𝐋.𝐂 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝐇𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎
𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝟒.𝟓 ⭐️
I love a good slasher story, this one wasn’t just a slasher though, it was a love letter to all slashers and a homage to the horror genre.

We first meet Ellie at the end of her final girl story but this was just the beginning. She meets Suzi & Nina. All both stereotypes in the horror genre but they beat their stereotypes and rewrite the narrative. I loved all the pop culture references and adored all the characters.

I don’t want to go into too much detail but I 100% recommend this, it was a fast paced, action packed story and had a few laugh out loud moments.

It gave Supernatural and Buffy vibes yet giving us the rules of the slasher genre and the villains!

Also, love this cover. Definitely retro! Definitely pays homage to the slasher VHS tapes!

#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookreview #lcvalentine #thelastgirlstanding #finalgirls #slasherbooks #horror #horrorbooks #booklover #bookworm #bookish #booksbooksbooks #bookishgirl #slasher #bibliophile #bookstagramuk

[Carmen · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF @ 8% - two glaringly wrong problems with this book that made me stop reading it:

1). Contradicting Descriptions: For example, she is initially described as blonde and white, but in a later chapter she talks about how it would be suspicious of her to be in her neighbor’s yard at night because she is black. I don’t know if maybe the character was supposed to be black initially, then was changed (since the cover of the book has a blonde white girl), but this seriously confused me.

2). Clearly, this author hasn’t been a teenager in a long time. The one thing that particularly stood out was the fact that she said that teenage girls change their social media profile pick every couple of months to match the season. I haven’t changed my profile pick since I was 17, and I haven’t noticed any of my friends change theirs either. This, and other comments, just kinda threw me off.

[Tia Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brought this at an event then kept it in my tbr pile for about a year not knowing what amazing treasure it really is!

When I did get round to reading it I absolutely loved the characters, the story… the horror/slasher movie references. The right level of humour, it didn’t cross over the line of being utterly stupid. I also found that I visualised a character and then it was a little way into the book and it had to make me visualise the character completely differently. Made me realise how much I had stereotyped a main character… because it’s a main character. It was very clever!

I’ve not read anything else like it, it’s very unique! (In a good way).

It’s also made me want to explore more indie authors and also I think this would make an awesome movie! XD

[Alysha Everwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had a really fun and unique concept. I loved the vibes at the beginning and thought it had a bit of CWs supernatural vibes, but I admit I felt it did lose some momentum as I kept reading. When I got closer to the end, I kind of lost interest. The characters were interesting, but I also didn’t feel like they had enough dimension to them to keep me rooting for them and the pacing felt a bit slow even though there were things happening. If the energy from the very first chapter would’ve stayed throughout the whole story, I think I would have found it a bit more intriguing, but still an interesting concept.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll admit I 100% bought The Last Girls Standing based solely on the cover art. (Authors take note. An 80s VHS cover will make me buy your book every time.) I'm so glad it was more than just a pretty cover.

It's an awesome love letter to slashers and the horror genre. I love the concept of using the rules of horror movies to survive a horror movie. I also love that the book doesn't take itself too seriously. I would love a sequel, but I will happily read anything LC Valentine puts out.

[Aaron Lebold · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent juxtaposition of scary and funny. Initially, it seems like some of the plot is inspired by classic horror films, but it proves to be quite intentional once the author begins to highlight the references themselves. Very well written and engaging, with very well defined characters. This story turns out to be very unique, and enjoyable. Definitely recommend it.

[Zimbellina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ellie survives a night of slaughter at a camp and joins two other final girls to fight monsters.

Fantastic book! I loved all the references to horror movie tropes and how that was built into the story. It was vastly enjoyable. Ellie was a great main character and had good growth, the ending was satisfying.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I was expecting. The whole thing one was cliche after another without being entertaining. It had enough to keep me reading, skimming at times. It’s a weird book. Not bad, not great.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, entertaining read. A little long in spots but still enjoyable, especially for horror fans like me. Worth a read.

[Shanna Tidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good story with a horror movie rules knowledgeable girl.
But like the title says this is just the beginning!
Narration by Leanne Woodward was great

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you like Seanan McGuire’s Wayward Children and horror movies, this is the book for you.

Pretty fun!

[Ashleigh Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would’ve gotten 4 stars if the editing hadn’t been so terrible.

I think it would make a great movie though and I love the story.

[books-on-a-wire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cover is awesome, and any horror lover will love all of the references but I never got super attached to anyone. By the end, it felt like it was mashing up all the genres and just gor a bit messy.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last Girls Standing is an enjoyable, easy to read twist on the classic horror/slasher genre. The characters are diverse, worry e and likable and the story is gripping. Full of tongue-in-cheek, meta references to horror classics without feeling tired or overdone. Great first novel from the author.

[Lyndsay booksbooksgin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ellie is the only one who survives the massacre at a camp. She is recruited by another Final Girl to be part of a bad ass group that will take these mofos down.

This book has all the horror clichés. Don’t say ‘it’s over’ (it never is) or ‘nothing could have survived that’ (because it did). I had Scream vibes while reading.
I loved the slasher horror comedy, the quick pace, the characters and the twists that were added to break the clichés.
A great choice to begin spooky season.