Sweetly sugar coated horror.

The story centres around Emary, a young guy, whose holidaying where they always do, in Florida.

He's been lusting after the neighbours family's son and has done for years. And oh does he lust. This takes up a good deal of the story. Anyway, they're both horror fans. There's many a nod to King,, and other horror writers, which I enjoyed.

They end up battling their own local demon and there's many a nod to popular horror films which is fun.

I just kind of wished there was less lusting, and more horror if I'm honest, but it was a free listen in return for an honest review. The narration was excellent and the characters likeable.

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Great New Adult story! Great Audio Performance!

I really enjoyed this story a lot when I read it with my eyes; Blake Lockheart’s audio performance made me love it even more. The voices he used were great and made it easy to distinguish the different characters. Sometimes when I listen to the audio of a book that I’ve read recently I don’t pay close attention to it because I already know the story. This was not the case with This is not a Horror Movie. Blake Lockheart sucked me into the story all over again and had me paying very close attention to the whole thing.

If you’re looking for hot and steamy this might not be the book for you. But, if you’re looking for a fun, witty, and a bit scary, escape about two young guys who fall in love I highly recommend this book. The story really grabbed me from the start and didn’t let go. It’s told in first person from Emory’s POV until the Epilogue which is from Connor’s POV.

I’ve only read three other books by Sara Dobie Bauer but I loved each of them. Her writing is diverse and compelling. This is Not a Horror Movie is about two guys about to start their college years. Their families each spend the same few weeks on Longboat Key each year so the families have gotten to know each other.

Connor and Emory share a love of horror movies (I do not share this love at all – LOL) and they bond while watching movies. They never expected to actually experience their own personal horror story. Emory’s twin sister, Liz, is a great secondary character who adds a lot to the story. Their sibling bickering reminded me a lot of my childhood. They might fight and say nasty things to each other but they are also fiercely loyal to one another.

Like many of the horror movies mentioned throughout the book, Connor and Emory have difficulty convincing the adults of the danger that they’ve discovered. A lot happens before the adults finally realize that the kids aren’t making up a story.

I look forward to reading more books by Sara Dobie Bauer.

A copy of this audiobook was provided to me at my request but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author.

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Epic!!!

Omg I loved every minute of this audiobook so so so much!! This book is great. We have Emory, the cute nerd, and Connor, the handsome jock. It starts like most summer romances, it's cute and funny and we even get a sassy twin sister. Then there's a mystery disappearance and after that things escalate and it gets really bad for the young adults. It was suspenseful and I really loved the pacing and the writing style and all the horror movie and book references. And the ending was just epic. I had the best time listening this audiobook and I think that the narrator did an excellent job bringing the story to life! Amazing!

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Fun, scary and romantic

I really enjoyed this audio not only is it a lovely teenage love story but then it also plays out amongst a demon attacking the town. I thought the characters were great and I really felt for Emory and Conor as they developed in their relationship it felt very real

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Coming of Age

The romance between Emory and Connor is delightful. These are two young men discovering themselves and their sexuality one summer in Florida. They are realistically young and insecure about a lot of things and I loved them. I would have been perfectly satisfied just with their story, but Bauer gives us so much more. We have a truly dark and scary mystery the two guys get involved in and the lightness of their Hardy Boys adventure quickly gets much scarier. I never really think of YA relationships in HEA terms, but these two make a lovely, age appropriate couple and I like to think about how their off page relationship will grow and develop over time. Blake Lockheart did a superb job here of making the boys sound like their appropriate ages with all the emotional ups and downs. He also made the mystery deliciously spooky.

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good

i really liked this. narrator did an amazing job with the characteristics and their personalities. it was fun to listen to.

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Great fun, sweet and a joy to listen to!

First off, this is a great story for lovers of horror movies, humour, romance. Lucky me, I'm a fan of all three :)
This is such a good story! The characters are fun - from Emory (aka Emily - funny how that started), his twin, Liz, Connor (of course), their parents (both sets mostly supportive), to the others (villains, lazy 80's cop (lol), etc.). Ms. Bauer created a fun, yet slightly menacing story, with a dash (a pinch, really) of teenage angst, all the best horror movie references, a great first POV from Emory and romance. Honestly, this is more than a YA/NA story, it's really just a great story that transcends any type of trope.
As for the narration - Blake Lockheart has done a fantastic job - his Emory is in turn funny, introspective, snarky, awkward (sometimes all in one conversation!). He did a great job with the other characters as well and has subtle, but great comedic timing. Honestly, this will be a relisten in the near future. Excellent all the way through :)

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Wow

What do you get when you listen to a book with absolutely fantastic characters, a strong storyline, a good dose of humour and scary movies, Plus a dash of amazing (ok the whole bottle) narration? This book that’s what and you need to listen to it. The characters had me enthralled from the first chapter til the last

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Emory and Connor

I really like YA/NA stories in between and the blurb appealed to me right away, so I was very excited about this audiobook.
Emory's and Connor's families have spent several vacations in the same place and yet it takes time before they are able to admit their feelings.

The story is told from Emory's point of view as he slowly comes out of his shell to find himself and love. I really liked Emory and it was as amusing as it was interesting to witness how he is doing with Connor.
The love story develops slowly, and in flashbacks you always learn a bit of the past summers that Emory and Connor spent together.
A classy character was Emory's twin sister, who you can't help but love and can't miss in the story.
And if you like horror stories or movies, you'll love this book even more. I have to say that I knew many of the movies mentioned, which is why I really enjoyed the audiobook.
At the same time, the story is creepy and suspenseful, as Emory's friend disappears and strange things happen in the abandoned resort. Will Leland be found in time? And who is behind what is happening?

I didn't know the narrator Blake Lockheart before, but he really rocked this audio book and read absolutely outstanding. I'll have to remember him. He portrayed the characters believably and brought the story to life with his voice and all the emotions he did a great job of conveying.

I received a review copy of this audiobook and this is my honest opinion.
I haven't read the book, but as an audiobook "This is not a horror movie" was even more fun: it's romantic, suspenseful, humorous and a great narration.
I highly recommend this audiobook!

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1 person found this helpful

I loved it!

I thoroughly enjoyed TINAHM. I'm a horror fan myself like the main character and loved spotting the book and movie references. The book is really well written but at the same time fun to listen to which is a tricky balance to get right. Blake Lockheart (great name!) did a fantastic job of the narration and was perfect.

The characters were well described and fun and it was easy to imagine exactly how they would look in real life. The Florida weather plays a part too and the desriptions make you almost feelas thoughyou are there. They didn't play a massive part in the whole story but I loved how different the boys' parents were. Emory's sister, Liz, was great fun too as were the villains. I really hope it gets made into a movie.

The story moves along with a good pace with an effective mixture of the relationship developing between Emory and Connor and the main plot. The boys are cute together and this being a YA book there aren't any x rated scenes.

If you like horror books and movies and want a treat I recommend you read/listen to TINAHM. I'm definitely listening to Sara Dobie Bauer's other book on Audible.

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