Although I appreciate the story, I wasn't too crazy about the format. It was a bit exhausting to read and go through the story only to realize that I choose the wrong path and have to read the other option anyway. I think it would have been more engaging if the different options leads to different paths and versions of the story. It didn't feel much like a choose your own adventure when there is really only one storyline that you can actually read, since all the "wrong" choice just lead you back to the same path that you would have gone down had you chosen the correct answer. I did find the story pretty interesting and would look into reading the regular novel of SlashTag.

Wow! That was great! I've never read/played an interactive book before, so this was an amazing first experience. I loved the escape room setting and the backstory of the villain.

I really like the idea and the way choices were presented. It wasn't obvious what the right options were all the time, and I made a few mistakes along the way. I do wish we got a proper explanation for how they managed to do all the ghost stuff and how they knew the fears of the characters. I'm hoping for a sequel to wrap up the loose ends and also because it's such an exciting book. I do wonder how this works out in a physical book. Are there page numbers that indicate which part to turn to based on choice, or is it a continuous thing?

Overall, it was a really good book, and I had a great time. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun reading experience.

I've read a few CYOA horror books at this point but nothing has been as thorough as this.
This have made me VERY interested in Jon Cohn going forward. You actually want to die because the kills are so bloody. Poor Jeremy. I have never been so afraid of a chandelier until reading this story.
At the end of the book, it mentioned the author was creating a horror game called ' Grind House' and that will be my next purchase.

This was such a fun book! A grownup choose your own adventure, perfect for horror fans. I “died” twice and I loved how I could easily undo it and see what the correct outcome was supposed to be. Also, don’t worry if you haven’t read Slashtag yet! This book is labeled as a prequel and all the backstory you need is explained. I’ll recommend this to my horror-loving friends! Thanks so much for the opportunity to read!

Try Not to Die: On Slashtag was my first ever read of Jon Cohn, but I can guarantee that it will not be the last. This was such a fun read. There were incredible elements of horror, suspense and adventure. It captures your attention from the start and doesn't let go. There were times I was reading at night, dead exhausted and kept thinking: "Just a little farther. To the next choice." Like I said, it was so much fun. I haven't read a choose your own path book in ages, not since reading Goosebumps. With that being said, this doesn't necessarily feel like Goosebumps. It felt like reading a full horror novel that you got to take part in. I'd equate it like this: it was like reading an adult Goosebumps mixed with an escape room. I've already bought Slashtag this was so good.

This is my first time in the Try Not to Die or the Slashtag universe, and let me say this book is a great introduction to both! If you are concerned about not reading Slashtag before this book, let me quiet your concern. There was no need. And in fact after reading this interactive (or choose your own adventure) story on the same setting for Slashtag I am even more interested!

I have not read an interactive story in many years (at least 15) and I must say they are just as fun as you remember. Jon Cohn did a great job keeping me guessing on the direction of the story and I will admit it is challenging trying not to die! I recommend coming into this story completely blind and experiencing it in one sitting. There is also a handy survivor section that takes you through the whole story without going down the wrong path if that interests you. If you are a fan of slasher movies, horror video games (especially The Quarry and similar) then you are really gonna dig this book!

This review will be hosted on my podcast The Books and the Bees podcast Episode 14 (release date 4/24/24). Listen to me talk about it in more detail there!

I had a great time reading this interactive horror book. And let me just tell you it has been cemented in stone that I would not have survived this situation our characters found themselves in as not only did I die in the first chapter, but it was also followed by a LOT of poor decisions on my part that lead to me dying over and over again. Only occasionally interspersed with making the right decision and moving forward within the story.
Beyond the fun of the interactive story which has made me want to track down others like it and see if I can find my old Goosebump choose your own adventure books, I thought this book was appropriately creepy. Being set in an old abandoned mining town where the ghost of a notorious serial killer made his home experimenting on his unsuspecting victims. I liked our main character Jeremy and although I led him into some hairy situations, some of which he made it out of alive, he showed himself to be smart, and empathetic towards his fellow contestants.

I will absolutely be checking out Jon Cohn's other books especially Slashtag, which is the book set after the events of this one.

I love this style where you as the reader decide the paths. This brings back my love of R.L Stine Goosebumps “Give yourself Goosebumps”. The story was interesting and had a lot of decisions. However, I did not like that there was simply one path regardless of the options there were not other methods to leave. Your decision either resulted in death or success. I would have loved if there were at least 2 paths of surviving so it would be a bit more interactive in that sense. It was enjoyable and I will recommend it to the adults in the book club program.

I devoured Goosebumps books when I was a kid, and always had a special love for the choose your own ending variations, so Try Not to Die on Slashtag was a deliriously nostalgic, if significantly gorier experience. I enjoyed the book immensely, and did indeed die a lot. As in I think I managed to choose the wrong choice every single time (I'll admit some of it was on purpose). The deaths are pretty imaginative and varied enough to not get tedious, and they manage to stay on the right side of disgusting and disturbing.

The one fault I had was that I wish there was a bit more of it - not more deaths, we definitely have enough of that. But I would have loved a bit more variation in actual story. Paths that are eventually not the right choice, but that go more than one node off the main path. If I'm not mistaken, I believe basically every wrong choice results in instant death, and it would have been nice to feel a bit freer in actually choosing your own story, instead of essentially reading the one story with frequent but short detours into different death scenarios. I do understand there are fairly significant technical obstacles to that, especially with an e-book where flipping back and forth is harder, and that making more headway into a wrong choice before finding out that you're doing so might be prohibitively frustrating for some readers, but it would have enhanced the feeling of being in control of the story significantly.

This book was fun it reminded me of the “choose your own adventure” books I read in middle school but for an adult. I will definitely read more in the series.

this was really cool! even though i chose the wrong option 99% of the time, i had a lot of fun going through the different scenarios! the reason i’m rating this 3 stars is that i wasn’t really attached to the plot or characters in any way and it was a surface level “activity” sort of book for me.

Arc was kindly sent to me by NetGalley.

This was absolutely a 4 star read for me!

Try not to die on Slashtag is an interactive book, kind of like the choose your own adventures we read as kids. Think goosebumps on steroids.

Jeremy and three others were chosen to be a play tester for a reality game show, but is it just a game?

Choose your answers carefully, the one you pick might just be your last.

This was my first Try Not to Die experience. I am a really indecisive person, so I struggled with this aspect at first, but I began to enjoy it more as I went through the book and found myself hoping to pick the wrong choice so I could read all the different ways the main character could die. I didn't want to miss any of the death scenes! If you previously read and enjoyed Slashtag, I think you will enjoy this prequel just as much. I personally didn't love either. Jon is a talented writer with lot of potential. His novel Everything is Temporary was one of my favorite reads last year, so I will continue to follow his career and be sure to check out his future publications. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC to review!

I’m not sure what I was really expecting when I downloaded this book but I really enjoyed it. I haven’t done a choose your own outcome book since I was a kid and I loved this adult version and reading it on the kindle was even better! I lost count of the amount of times I died 😂😂 a fun, quick read! Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

That was super well done! I haven’t done a choose your own adventure-esque book since I was a kid and those used to majorly stress me out. I’d be dog earring all of the “choose” pages for fear of missing a vein of the story. Because of that I was a little hesitant to read this one. I LOVED Slashtag and would’ve hated to not enjoy this experience.

Luckily this was awesome. Cohn is clearly an (evil?) genius. The kindle format made it super easy to back and forth with the choices. The story was great and had plenty of gore and creepiness. The main character felt a bit hollow to me (tbh I kept forgetting who was the narrator) but other than that the characterization was great as well.

I blew thru this one as well. Definitely recommend to anyone looking for a fast paced horror thriller. The TNTD aspect was really fun and I look forward to checking out more of these books.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a delight.

Adult, choose your own adventure, horror. Yes.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

This book married the delight of childhood adventure books with the beauty of adult horror novels. Wonderfully done.

I can't wait to read Slashtag.

Okay, apparently I'm not good at this, because I kept making the wrong choice. I was impressed at how well this was set up, though, because making a bad choice didn't end things for the reader. You can still go back and choose correctly so you can continue your adventures. Anyone who enjoys choose your own adventures will have fun with this. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

I've not (yet) read Slashtag but found this choose your own adventure to be fun, funny, gory and so enjoyable that I even went back to check out all the wrong paths. It was extremely well set up as an e-book and instead of forcing you to start again when you go (fatally) wrong it directs you to the correct choice, which is perfect. I'd almost give it 5 stars apart from one of the characters is called Shiv, which is apparently short for Shiobhan, and that extra h in her name hurts my eyes. Yes, I am fussy. But yes I will track down Slashtag and hopefully enjoy it as much. Good job all round (apart from Shiobhan)!

This was very different and I enjoyed the interactive element. I did have to go back and read the original just to make more sense of it, however never the less a very unique and quirky interactive story!

You’ll be happy to know that I died, a lot.

Remember those “choose your own adventure” books? They were always my favorite when I was young. I never got tired of them. I would read and re-read them, looking for every single possible version of every story.

This? This is so reminiscent of that. Plus supernatural shenanigans and horror. Oh, hello wheelhouse! Obsessed is an absolute understatement. Most of us here love reading, but this takes something we enjoy and makes it a downright experience.

Be aware, there is plenty of gore here. Just so ya know. But if that doesn’t bother you, or is your jam, you’ll spend plenty of time laughing at dark humor, dying and trying again, and enjoying the hell out of this book.