Review: Europea Halls by Alan Shivers

Europea Halls: A YA Slasher Novel (Europea Halls, Book #1)

by Alan Shivers

Release Date: October 1st, 2023

2023 Independently Published

Kindle Edition; 174 Pages

ISBN: 979-8857604199

ASIN: B0CFMD5V8Z

Genre: Fiction / YA / Horror

Source: Review copy from author through Kindle Unlimited

3 / 5 Stars

Summary

Welcome to Europea Halls. Only the select few have made it into these prestigious dorms in the capital of the EU, Brussels.

When six best teenage friends get stalked by a serial killer, the campus is on high alert. As the body count piles up, it seems the killer knows a thing or two about slasher movies. Can these girls fight back in time to discover the truth behind the gruesome murders, or will no-one live to tell the tale?

 

 

My Thoughts

Europea Halls is a short, fun, somewhat mindless horror romp that will have you turning the pages rather quickly, but came up a bit short on character and story development.  I enjoy reading YA novels, but I was a bit surprised when I learned the age of the characters as they seemed a lot younger due to their behaviours and the way they spoke.  I know that making silly choices is one of the tropes driving a story forwards, especially in horror novels, but I have never been a fan of that technique and wish characters could make better decisions as it would seem more authentic.

First of all, I did love the 80s campy vibe in this book as I enjoy 80s slasher films and I do think the author achieved this in this book.  I stopped taking the story so seriously and just enjoyed the ride, working my way through those 80s vibes set in a modern setting.  Therefore, while a lot of the scenes were not necessarily realistic, they were fun, and I wanted more of them.  And while the scenes involving the deaths were bloody, I don't actually think they were that graphic, especially when you think in terms of Clown in a Cornfield type of graphic, these were pretty tame.  They were however, my favourite parts of the book; but then, I am a horror fiction fan so take that as you wish.  

I did enjoy the characters, but they were rather immature and didn't really take what was happening seriously.  Part of the problem, I think, is while the book moved along rather quickly and was short, that was also its negative as it didn't allow much room for character growth and development, so you didn't really get to know the characters at all.  I don't think I could distinguish any of the girls even now as they all seemed the same.  I will say though, that while it was rather easy to guess one of the twists in this book, the other one did escape me completely, so that was fun.  

Verdict

Europea Halls was well-written and the ending was satisfying, even if the author left some things to continue in the next book.  While the story moved quickly and was filled with murder and mayhem, I did find it to be weak in certain places, and wasn't thrilled with the killer's motivations.  The characters didn't have a chance to show any growth and development, therefore they didn't really stand out and it was difficult to develop empathy for any of them.  Overall, this was a fun, campy horror, and I definitely think anyone new to the horror genre will enjoy this book.