For HAPPY DEATH DAY & HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U by Aaron Hartzler, I must admit that I have seen the movies prior to reading the novel, so I pretty much knew all the characters and everything that was going to happen. But, by no means does that make this story or novel bad. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and enjoyed the novels as well. Albeit, this was one of the rare times that I liked the movie better than the book. I felt the book was just a simple novelization of the movie almost, rather than a substantial novel that creates and connects the plot and characters. That it was almost a screenplay from a movie rather than a book to be made into a movie.

That being said, it was an interesting horror twist on the old "groundhog day" trope and had some fun similarities to another horror comedy show, "Scream Queens". The story has many great aspects from some actual thrilling sequences, to comedic college and sorority interactions. With some compelling and interesting characters, it balances regular stereotypes with dynamic and developing characters.

Although, I felt that the novel did add too much detail at some points, which I felt were better suited as quick simple scenes as in the movie, such as overly detailed death scenes. Although, on the other hand, there were also some small details that I had missed when watching the movie that now caught my attention and interest.

Overall, it is a very enjoyable and quick read for anyone who enjoys a bit of horror laced with comedy, and it even has a bit of mystery throughout the story. There is not too much derivation from the movie version of the plot, but both have merit on their own and are enjoyable media pieces.