I live a bit of a double life. On the one hand, I’m a self-professed, slasher-loving, blood and gore horror fan. On the other hand, I adore great banter, enemies-to-lovers arcs, and happily ever afters. Basically, this means that I spend my time consuming both horror and romance books. I read (and watch) them separately, but rarely can I find a story that combines the two.
When I do, there’s often a fairly tragic ending to the tale, or the horror doesn’t quite hit the way I want it to.
But this month, I may have just found a recent release that scratches that weird little part of my brain that craves the best of both worlds: Shailee Thompson’s How To Kill A Guy In Ten Dates. This debut novel, published on February 3rd, combines all of my favourite things: humour, romance, and grisly, grisly murder.
RelatedJanuary Horror Books That Will Keep You Up For A Week
When Speed Dating Turns Deadly
How To Kill A Guy In Ten Dates follows Jamie Prescott, who heads to a seemingly innocuous speed dating event with her best friend Laurie. The women aren’t particularly hopeful about the event, thinking that they’ll leave with a few drinks and some stories to tell at dinner over the next few months. But when the lights go out in the middle of a round, Jamie’s date winds up with his throat slit.
“I don’t have much free time, but I got some time off recently and thought what’s the worst that could happen?”
Didn’t I tell myself that very same thing earlier in the night? Although there is one scenario that always comes to mind.
“We could get murdered.”
As the night of awkward small talk officially turns into a bloodbath, Jamie – a horror aficionado as well as romance lover – must tap into her extensive knowledge of slasher tropes to help the survivors navigate their way out of this deadly dating game. This killer is searching for their final girl, and they may have just found the perfect person for the job.
The Perfect Blend of Passion & Peril
Like many folks out there, I’m a lover of multiple genres. Spaces like Booktok often showcase readers who stick within their same preferred genre. There’s nothing wrong with this, of course, but more often than not, I find that I can’t stay within one specific genre with my reading habits.
Much like eating the same thing for breakfast every day, I can’t bring myself to do it. I want the spicy hockey romance with no third act breakup just as much as I want the gory revenge rampage by the angry girl who’s tired of being repressed, or the blood dripping down the walls in a dilapidated old house. I like options.
RelatedYour Valentine’s TBR, Sorted: The Early-2026 Love Stories Already Heating Up Feeds
There’s only one kind of person who’s able to have so many near misses. One kind of woman…one kind of girl.
What Shailee Thompson has done with How To Kill A Guy In Ten Dates is blend the options together into a fun, self-aware, bloody, and surprisingly romantic romp that kept me wholly entertained from start to finish.
Are there gruesome murders being committed? Yes. Is there a whodunnit element in trying to unmask the killer? Of course. Is there some great chemistry and, dare I say, a little spice in there to break the tension? You bet.
But it’s the seamless blending throughout the narrative as well as the genuine moments of humour and heart, particularly within Jamie’s narration, that make this novel the perfect balance of romance and horror for this year’s Valentine’s Day read – whether you care about celebrating or not.
Love, Laughter, and Escaping a Slasher
I’m here for a little meta fun to keep these winter blues at bay, and How To Kill A Guy In Ten Dates is the perfect level of escapism for this February cold spell in the Great White North.
You’ll have just as much fun dissecting the little easter eggs of horror trivia and figuring out which character is named after which horror icon as I did. I cannot wait to see what sorts of bloody adventures Shailee Thompson takes readers on in the future.
