I really loved the main character, Bram, her skepticism and her determination. The solution to a major mystery of Bram's past was really, really heavily foreshadowed, to the point where I had it figured out very early, and where I thought BRAM had figured it out several times and that she was just biding her time, kind of. So it was a surprise to me that she didn't actually know until the pivotal moment! The other mysteries of the book were much more mysterious.

What a chillingly good book! I loved the creepy, haunted, atmospheric story, and even though it technically is YA, didn’t feel that I lost the darker more disturbing aspects of horror! It was well written, tense, scary, and chilling, with an haunting tone and storyline! Found it to be fast paced and unputdownable! Left me in goosebumps a few times, which I loved! I highly, highly recommend to my geoooe gothic horror fans, even if you don’t think you’ll enjoy YA, because I think you’ll definitely enjoy this spooky feast!

Will buzz around and use low Amazon reviewer number!

When I saw Don’t Tell a Soul by Kirsten Miller and its cover I was very intrigued, after reading the synopsis I knew I had to read it. Rebecca has been on my TBR for the last few years so when I saw that this was a retelling I wanted to read Rebecca first. Although this is a very loose retelling I could definitely see the similarities.

Description
Bram has to get away from her life and all the scandal that she is supposedly a part of. No one seems to be on her side, not even her mom. The only place she can think to escape to is Louth with her Uncle. Getting away is not her only reason for wanting to go to her Uncle, she also wants to find out more about the mystery that surrounds the house that he lives in. His previous wife died in a house fire that people believe her daughter started. The daughter, her uncle’s stepdaughter, now resides in a mental hospital denying that she started it. There are also other rumors surrounding the house that Bram is very intrigued with. When she arrives she finds the information she came for and more. Solving the mystery is a lot harder than she thought, especially when she gets varying info from the people in town. It doesn’t help that she has no idea who to trust and who not to trust.

Thoughts
It took me a while to get into this book. It was hard for me to connect to any of the characters. This story did creep me out at times and there were a few times at night that I was a little too creeped out to continue reading. Once I got about 30% in I was pretty much hooked. I had to know what was going on. Was there really a curse on the house? Were there ghosts haunting the place? What really happened to the women of the house? Like Bram, I had no idea who she should trust and who she shouldn’t trust. The ending worked well with the story, but overall I still had trouble connecting with the characters. They all kind of fell flat for me, as did the little bit of romance in the story.

Conclusion
I think that many will enjoy this book, so I definitely recommend it. It just wasn’t the book for me.

Don’t Tell A Soul is a fun twisty thriller set in a gothic mansion.

This book was like a camp fire ghost story. It was a super quick read and I really loved the writing. The plot really kept me on my toes the entire time! I read this book in a few hours.

I definitely don’t agree with this being categorized as horror because it really wasn’t scary. It’s definitely more on the thriller side. So it’s something to be aware of if you’re hoping for horror.

I recommend this if you’re looking for a quick read.

Thank you netgalley for the eARC.

I received this and as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for giving me access.

When I saw that this was a modern day retelling of Rebecca, I was super excited! I had read that earlier and loved it and wanted something similar. When I finally got around to reading Don't Tell a Soul. I was left a little disappointed not making that retelling connection. Was there similarities? Yes, but it was a stretch for me as the author strayed from the Rebecca plot vastly.

Keeping the story on its own, without the comparison to Rebecca, it was a great mystery that I didn't want to put down. It kept me interested, once I stopped comparing it.

Don’t Tell a Soul is a Rebecca-esque thriller set in a cursed manor house. Bram’s doubly widower-ed uncle is renovating the house into a posh hotel, but the fire that killed his second wife also wiped out a wing of the house. A burned-out manor sounds better than a life that’s going down in flames to Bram, though, so she hops the train to crash with her uncle until she can get it together. It’s just her luck that the house she’s chosen for her escape is cursed: Women and girls die there, and Bram could be next if she can’t piece together what’s really happening at Louth Manor.

There are plenty of twists and turns in this Gothic thriller, which nudges the drama toward justice and female empowerment that — let’s face it — is sadly lacking in much Gothic literature. The tale shifts back and forth (not always successfully) between ghost story, thriller, and mystery, and there’s probably a little too much going on, which ends up jostling the eerie atmosphere occasionally, but it’s a fun, spooky read that I’d recommend to anyone who likes a fun, spooky YA read.

YA thriller fans will like this one. This is much more than a creepy gothic ghost story. Loving the female empowerment theme.

Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley for the advanced e-reader copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I am always intrigued by YA and contemporary re-tellings of classic literature. There's something so fascinating about hearing the same story, told through a different lense. Don't Tell a Soul was so different to how I imagine Rebecca, and I cannot say I am displeased with how this book was written.

Bram + Creepy Manor = interesting plot

I feel as though it would work well in a movie, for the pace was so captivating and really kept me entranced the entire time I was reading.

This did not disappoint! I loved the characters, and the mysterious setting. It was a quick read, but interesting the whole way through. Rebecca is one of my favorite novels, and this was a solid re-imagining of the tale.

Special thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

This is a story about being haunted by the past.

This was a solidly okay book, with some interesting elements. I can’t pinpoint what didn’t work perfectly for me, because the book was fine. I think I just didn’t feel the connection to the characters I was hoping for; however, I’ll definitely pick up more by the author!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you so much, Random House Children's and Delacorte Press, for the chance to read this book!

TW: drugs, overdose, victim blaming, attempted rape, murder, attempted murder

Bram only wants to get away from her cold mother, her life and the scandal that haunts her. Her only remaining family is her beloved uncle James, who now lives in an ancient manor in Louth, a little town on the Hudson River. Both the city and the manor seem to be filled with dark and dangerous secrets. People say the house is cursed and preys on young women. Dead girls, they are called. Recently James' wife, Dahlia, died in a fire, apparently set by his stepdaughter Lark, who went insane, leaving James very different from the uncle Bram loved and remembered. Bram is determined to find out the truth about , but the locals don't like outsiders and between rumors and gossip finding the truth isn't easy. But Bram doesn't want to give up on Lark, she doesn't believe in rumors, mostly because the lies spread about her and her family. Finding out secrets, though, could be lethal for her.

I absolutely loved reading this book, it's deliciously creepy. The story is intriguing and I love Bram so much. She's a stubborn and fierce main character, weighed down by traumas and by her difficult relationship with her mother.
It was hard to read, but relatable, her reaction to men, her fears, her distrust. Harder to read was realizing how Bram was seen by her own mother, and by others, as too "villainous" to tell the truth, to be trusted. How in the "game" of "he said, she said" the rich guy was the winner.

In this book there's almost a dichotomy between women and men, big city and small city, past and present. The locals hating the outsiders and wanting to preserve their city against changes, the past that wants to be left buried, the difference, in trust, between men and women
Bram trusts, almost implicitly, Miriam and Maisie, she mistrusts Sam and Nolan, she's afraid of other men. After her esperience, being alone with men is the equivalent of being in danger, but I've liked how the author made her and the readers realize there's no Absolute either way.

I really enjoyed the creepy atmosphere of the novel, the mysterious noises and sightnings and how Bram investigated the past and how it was connected to the present. The plot is thrilling and I loved the mystery and how the characters were relatable.
The author did a great job talking about victim blaming, traumas, losses and how difficult is to fight against rumors and gossip about oneself.
This book was also about bonds and family, finding justice and fighting for the truth.

“Nothing will change if we stay quiet."
(Quote from the earc, so it can be subject to change)

Bram is no longer welcome in Manhattan after one-too-many scandals. Her mom ships her off to live with her uncle James in Louth where it's said the manor house is haunted by Dead Girls and the locals are aggressively unwelcome. Bram goes on the hunt to discover the mysterious of the girls who died in the manor or were deemed "mad."
This was a very interesting unravelling of a family and mystery surrounding a creepy house and creepier town. There were still a lot of questions and the build-up of the mystery was a lot more interesting than the revelations. The story shows how gossip and lies can destroy lives (and reputations). It was also great to see how the young women in the story work together against the untrustworthy (violent) male characters.

Bram is on her way to stay with her beloved yet distant uncle in his up and coming Inn in a small town, basically in exile for her actions over the last few years and since her mother wants her away. But it seems that Bram just landed in the middle of a new unfortunate circumstance when she finds her uncle not exactly as she remembers him, a mystery of a mentally ill girl and a house that has a ghostly past of its own.

This was totally different from what I was anticipating, and I mean that in a really good way! The story kept me guessing, all the twists in the plot and possible suspects had me on my toes trying to predict who did what and why- all the while trying to determine whether this was a paranormal/ghost story or a psychological thriller. I really liked not knowing and I won't tell you here so now you have to read to find out. I do feel that the ending was a little too abrupt, the author using tell method instead of show to sum up everything that happened in a few pages instead of having it unfold for the reader which was disappointing (as well a few unbelievable/unreasonable things that didn't really make sense). Overall though I really enjoyed this standalone read and would love to get more books from this author in the future.

Keep in mind this book hits on some dark subject matter like mental illness, drug abuse/addiction, date rape as well as rape in general, violence, physical abuse, murder and not being given a voice.

Fun, twisty thriller!

I read this with a buddy and it was so difficult to only read a couple chapters a day. There were creepy things happening and so many questions. This is really a story about several girls and their experiences at the manor and I was hooked from the beginning.

Bram has had a rough time lately and has been sent to live with her uncle. As soon as she arrives, she's drawn in to the tragedies of three girls and starts to look into what truly happened. There are unexplained noises at night, ghost sightings, and threats and I was impressed that Bram wasn't scared off. She handled everything so well and I liked seeing her put the clues together.

This book kept me guessing until the end and wove an entertaining story. I did think the ending wasn't quite as exciting as I hoped, but the rest was great.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was very undecided about this book. I loved the mystery of the dead girls and the mystery of the scandal Bram was running from. I also love that name, btw. I loved that I never knew who to trust.
Part of it just felt too weird to me. I dont know how to explain it. It just wasn't my kind of weird?

I would recommend if you like weird horror books. Maybe it will be your kind of weird!

This wintery, gothic story is going to be right up the alley for YA thriller fans.

What starts out as a classic ghost story quickly evolves into a stressful, high tension mystery. We have Bram Howland, our seventeen year old protagonist, thrown into the middle of a wolf den of suspicious locals and her own haunted uncle, James. And even worse, Bram is escaping her own devastating past that continues to follow her everywhere.

I'll start out by saying that I absolutely loved our main character. And I want more characters like her in young adult books. The thing that struck me about Bram was the way Kirsten Miller made her realistic and unwavering through out the novel. That's not to say Bram is a static character with no growth. But there's no fooling her suspicious, anxious nature. She has had a traumatic life, and she carries that trauma with her in the form of bear repellent and a box cutter. Bram meets multiple characters through out the novel who want to befriend her (or do they? what are their motives?) but her trauma never mysteriously and magically leaves her in the face of a pretty boy.

I also loved the atmosphere of this novel. I am a true sucker for a novel set in winter (I mean, I love in Vermont, I love winter) and I felt chilled every time Bram was describing her setting around her. The small town vibes were immaculate, making Bram feel even more isolated, making it feel even more high strung and the tension even thicker.

What I didn't particularly love was the plot itself. I found, unfortunately, for the plot to be very...well, tropey. There was nothing shocking about any of the reveals. In fact, most of the things that happen in the book seemed pretty formulaic. I felt like I could guess everything that was going to happen and so nothing really surprised me. It's very clear from the beginning what happened to Bram in the past even if you don't know the specifics until about 40% in. It's also pretty obvious that this isn't an actual ghost story either; which is fine, I love a good ghost story but I'm okay with the 'o it was a person all along!' reveal as well if it isn't so obvious.

The other thing that seemed to hinder the book was the first person narrative. I know that's far more popular in YA novels, but I felt like it was really stilted because as much as I liked Bram as a character, her POV felt very emotionless. All the right things were being said and done, but there didn't seem to be much behind everything. I think the book could have flowed better if it was told from third person.

That being said, I still really enjoyed this book and I'm giving it a solid three stars. I think people who are into creepy YA books are going to really love this one!

Received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A captivating thriller that follows Bram, a girl kicked out of her mother's house in NYC for mysterious reasons we eventually find out as the story unfolds. Bram's sent to live with her uncle whom she hasn't seen in a decade, only to find out his wife died mysteriously months earlier. Bram discovers more mysteries surrounding the mansion she and her uncle live in.

A really fun mystery novel that was entertaining from beginning to end. Only issue I had was that the ending wrapped up a bit too quickly for my taste but it was a well-written ending regardless. I liked that we couldn't really "like" a character in the book, all of them couldn't trust each other and thus kept showing their worst sides. Not to say no one's completely unlikeable, but it works very well for this mystery. Excellent writing overall!

Don't Tell a Soul was a perfectly eerie midwinter read packed to the brim with twists and turns, from the manor in which the protagonist lives with her uncle to the past of the protagonist herself. Miller weaves together multiple mysteries into the perfect thriller.

I thoroughly enjoyed this spooky tale. The characters and settings were perfectly fleshed out while the plotlines came together to create a veritable subway tunnel, keeping the readers in the dark in the dark and guessing until they reach their destination.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Bram goes to her Uncle James estate in tiny Louth, New York, after an "incident" in Manhattan. Uncle James' mansion is rumored to be haunted and there are several "dead girl" stories associated with it. When Bram starts to see a white figure during the night at the mansion, she begins to investigate, making many acquaintances on the way.

I really enjoyed this book. It had several twists and turns and kept me guessing until the end. Highly recommended.

Don't Tell a Soul by Kirsten Miller was a spooky, almost gothic, YA mystery. At the heart of the story, is Bram, who wants to escape from her life and goes to live with her uncle in a creepy mansion. She doesn't understand why the locals seem to despise her and she has recurring nightmares (or are they real? She can't tell) about the house. There are various rumors surrounding the mansion and legends about girls who have died there. To make matters worse, her mother and uncle aren't supportive in the least.

While I loved the creepy mystery and the pacing of the novel (much of it had me on the edge of my seat), I found the relationship with her mother absolutely abhorrent, and possibly a little farfetched. The mystery was excellent and I loved how it all tied together in the end. All in all, a solid read.

One more thing, I love Rebecca, but do not for the life of me, understand the comparison. I hate when books are billed as a modern day version of a classic and end up bearing no resemblance. I wish they would stop marketing books like that.

'Don't Tell a Soul' by Kirsten Miller is a modern thriller with a hint of Gothic horror atmosphere about a house that's believed to be cursed and small town stories centering around a series of young women referred to as 'the Dead Girls.'

Bram is a teenage girl with a tough story of her own. Rocked by scandal and an unbearably complicated family situation, she finds herself in a small town on the Hudson called Louth.

Taken in by her uncle, she settles into the rose room at his stately manor. Unfortunately, he's struggling with his own problems.. the loss of his dear wife in a tragic fire that people say was set by her daughter and the destruction of half the house he'd restored with plans of opening an inn.

Pretty much from the moment Bram arrives in Louth, it seems like the locals don't want her around. There's this whole 'us vs them' vibe that's common in small towns.. where even if a family has lived in the area for a long time.. there's no historical ancestry and that deems them outsiders. Miller did a great job conveying that imposing unease of everyone knowing your business and many of the locals have quirks that make them seem a bit off.

Though I knew within moments of her arrival at the manor where a good chunk of the blame was going to lie, I'm relatively certain that was due to the kind of media I like to consume and my own cognitive leaping skills. In fact, the author seemed to work hard to throw misdirects in the reader's path.. frequently.. and I think others may find a surprise or two along the way.

There's definitely a love of lost girls and ghost stories on display in this book and I enjoyed the paths Miller chose to take us down for the most part. I think what's scary about the story is that it could literally be ripped from the headlines somewhere.. though some plot points seem a bit exaggerative, I've read stranger truths.

Nolan is probably my favorite character in the book and I loved Maisie too. I think they both had a lot of potential in their backstories which I would have loved to see more of.. but they were clearly just side characters as the story really focuses on Bram. Either way, they added a wonderful burst of color and texture to this wintery, gray tale.

While it's not quite as robust or eloquent as 'Rebecca' or 'The Woman in Black,' fans of similar types of soft, Gothic ambience should enjoy this book. It was a quick read, that never got dull and there are plenty of puzzle pieces for those like myself who are adept at figuring out the mysteries before they're revealed.