I really enjoyed this story a lot. 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.

Emory is a geeky guy who was always on the small side until he hit a growth spurt the last year. He’s had a huge crush on Connor who is a football star who Emory always assumed was straight. This summer their relationship takes a turn when Emory learns that Connor isn’t so straight after all.

One of the fun things about this book for me is that Emory’s family is from Ohio (my original home state) and the story is set in Florida not too far from where I now live. I’ve been to a few of the locations that are mentioned in the story.

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.

Reviews for Sara Dobie Bauer

♥ Amazon US ♥ Amazon CA ♥ Amazon UK ♥

I’m about to follow a mysterious rat into the darkness when a hand lands on my shoulder. I suck a panicked gasp in through my lips as Connor says, “Sorry! Sorry.”

I put my hands on my knees and relearn breathing.

He stands there, backlit like some kind of hot angel, and shrugs. “Maybe you should be thanking me.”

“What?”

“You like to be scared,” he says.

He’s right. Haunted house in the neighborhood? I’m first. Spooky cemetery? Coming through. Maybe that’s part of the reason I always let Liz drag me to parties at the Outpost. It feels like being in a scary movie. I’m waiting for Leatherface to show up and murder the morally reprehensible youth. Of course, if horror movie rules are true, I’m totally dead. I lost my virginity at sixteen and more often than not spend “happy hour” sharing malt liquor with Longboat’s famous homeless dude, Leland.

“What are you doing over here?” Connor asks.

“Befriending local wildlife.” I glance over my shoulder into the dark. I shove hair out of my face—a nervous tic I’ve acquired since growing it out. Because I needed another nervous tic. “What are you doing over here?”

“Talking to you.” He grins, but I can feel a disconnect.

Connor and I have always had a mutually agreed upon rhythm. He’s the big, gorgeous straight dude who puts up with me, the skinny, little gay kid.

Well.

No one knows I’m gay down here. Florida is for family, not fu— Anyway.

In summers past, Connor wrestled me and tickled me, and I pretended not to like it. We talked about some things, mostly scary movies, but kept an emotional distance. He accepts me being a drama queen, and I never let him know I would climb Everest for his kiss.

Staring at me with a dumb look on his face is not our rhythm.

I finally lose my shit. “Jesus, am I bleeding from my eyes?”

He coughs out a laugh. “What?”

“You’re looking at me funny.”

He looks away. “Oh.”

I cross my arms. I have, in fact, filled out a lot since last summer—and the lifeguarding helps—but I’m still self-conscious about my small frame and will probably never forget the jocks calling me “Tinker Bell” from seventh to tenth grade. I press my lips together and side-eye the kids dancing to some club beat on Liz’s phone. “Everyone’s looking at me funny, actually.”

Connor clears his throat and plucks at the front of his tight, white T-shirt. He looks like he wants to dive headfirst into the empty pool at his back.

“You don’t have to talk to me, you know.”

His blue eyes flit back my way. Even in the dark, I know they’re blue. He says, “But I like talking to you.”

I hug myself tighter and lift a shoulder. “Seen any good horror movies lately?”

His smile is back. “Tons. I saw this French one called Raw.”

I bounce up on my toes. “Cannibals! Oh my God, that movie was so good! The writing.” I tear at my hair in euphoric bliss.

He nods. “And the scene with the roommate.”

“And the ending!” I poke him in the chest. “Dude, I tried to get Liz to watch it. She’s all vegetarian now because she dated this hippie dude senior year. She said she gave up meat for her health, but I think it’s because he said he tasted death in her mouth.”

Connor does the silent open-mouth laugh thing that happens when my storytelling reaches peak levels of absurd.

“She made it thirty minutes into the movie before she had to leave the room and vomit. Meanwhile, I was sitting there eating, like, spaghetti.”

He puts his hand on my shoulder as he keeps laughing. I smell his deodorant: sporty man stuff. “I can’t believe I almost didn’t come this year.”

That steals the air from my lungs. Sure, I should be avoiding the guy, looking forward to the future, but all of a sudden, I can’t imagine a summer without Connor Nichols making me blush.