Title: How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates
Author: Shailee Thompson
Genre: Romance/ Horror
Published: 2026
Description: When Jamie Prescott and her best friend Laurie attend
a speed-dating event, Jamie expects to meet a roster of mediocre men and
indulge in some street food afterwards. She doesn’t expect one of her dates to
have his throat slit at their table during a blackout. After the lights come
back on and there are more bodies on the floor, it becomes clear that dating
can be a very dangerous pastime.
Armed with a makeshift weapon and Jamie’s extensive knowledge of what
NOT to do in a slasher, the remaining speed dates try to find an exit while the
killer adds to their body count. As the night progresses Jamie comes
face-to-mask with the murderer, she beings to suspect they are committing they slayings
to woo one of the daters and turn them into a real-life Final Girl. But Jamie
has other plans, and as she fights for her life, she can’t help but find
herself ensconced in a love triangle with two of the other survivors. Will she
make it through the bloodshed to find her happily ever after? Or does this
machete-wielding psychopath have another ending in mind?
Review: As a massive cinephile and lifelong movie lover, I found “How to Kill a
Guy in Ten Dates” to be an absolute blast. It is a rare kind of romantic comedy
that doesn’t just follow the rules of the genre – it dissects them while
winking at the audience the entire time.
Jamie and her best friend Laurie are going out for a night of
speed-dates: ten dates in one night. What they didn’t expect is for one of
Jamie’s dates to get slashed during a power-out. When the body count starts to
rise, Jamie has to use her extensive knowledge of slasher films to survive the
night, when she also gets tangled in a love triangle with two other survivors.
Two genres that shouldn’t work well together: horror and romance. But in
this book, it’s a match made in heaven. The book is incredibly self-aware, playing
with the tropes we’ve seen on screen for decades. Many names in the book refer
to horror movie characters. To name a few, the leading lady Jamie Prescott;
Jamie referring to Jamie Lee Curtis (known for “Halloween”) and Prescott being
Sydney’s last name in the “Scream” franchise. Love interest Wes Carpenter
refers to horror directors Wes Craven and John Carpenter. And Laurie is obviously
hinting at Laurie Strode, the final girl in “Halloween”. And there are many
many more of these hints spread around the book. Also fun is that each chapter
of the book starts with a quote from a famous romcom (Jamie’s other favorite
movie genre), but twisting it to become more sinister. The enjoyment factor of
this book really depends on your film IQ. If you don’t get the movie
references, you probably won’t like this book as much. The humor and the
character motivations are so deeply rooted in cinematic history that the Easter
eggs act as the heartbeat of the story.
The love triangle in the movie, didn’t really feel like a triangle.
Since Jamie is very obviously leaning towards on of the guys. And there a moments
in the book that felt a bit too silly, even for this story. Because the last
thing I would be thinking about whilst being in the middle of real-life slasher
movie is hooking up with one of the dates.
Listen to this book on audio when you can, because this is one of the
best audiobooks I have I ever listened. We follow the narrative through Jamie,
but whenever one of the main men talk, you get a male narrator as well. And
there a several sound effects that make this a great listening experience.
The ending wasn’t very surprising, but I still enjoyed it. If you’re a
fellow movie geek and looking for a romcom and horror combo, this is definitely
a good choice. Super fun book to read.
Rating: 4/ 5
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