Only one correct path to survive - can you choose the right way? The deaths themselves were almost as interesting as trying to find your escape.

This is an interesting concept but I did not enjoy the execution. It felt like a lot of work to keep the story going, but this may be more fun for others who are not trying to clean and listen to an audiobook at the same time.

I love that it’s an interactive novel.

Being able to make choices throughout the book gave it some extra excitement.

I used to read interactive books as a teen so I was really excited about this book and I was not disappointed.

Not for me at all! The concept was cute but I found myself becoming distracted and not invested into the story. This is perfect for the YA audience that wants a thrill though

Fun book to read never read one like it. Hope to read one similar again. The book was very well written and flowed well. Good plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and pub for this ARC

Nicely narrated and a good story thank you for letting me hear it

Remember the “choose your own adventure” books from way back when? Even better, add some horror and mystery in there and you’ve got a winner! Welcome to Brookside, a prison where people can read your mind and the nurse carries a gun. You’re trying to escape, but choose wrong and pay the consequences.
Thank you Netgalley, Mark Tullius, Dawna Gonzales, and Vincere Press for the opportunity to read and review this book. This was an audio book narrated by Maxine Dennis. I really enjoyed this book. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book where you choose what path you take. It definitely keeps your attention throughout the entire book. This was a quick and easy read. Being an audio book it may be difficult to make choices as to where you want to take the story depending on where you are listening to the book. The nice thing about this book is not only does it have the option to choose your path, but you are also able to read the book straight through if you prefer. This is part of a series which I didn’t realize so I’m not sure if it would have changed anything had I read the first book before reading this one. My overall opinion, I loved it and will be reading the rest of the series. I’m rating this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The main story is psychics or mind readers in particular are rounded up and put into their own town called Brightside. But it really is more of a containment town where there are high fences surrounding it and they are not allowed to leave.

The story follows Rebecca who is 16 and hears about a breakout and is undecided whether to join them or not. In the meantime, there is a serial killer loose who tells her she is next.

This is told in an interactive follow your own adventure method where you choose what path to follow. I was doing an audio of the book and this made it a little difficult because I like to just listen to the story. I found out when it ended that I could have avoided the choices and just started at chapter 55 to follow it straight. The book didn't give that choice in the beginning. I would have preferred to do this for an audio book.

Otherwise the story was interesting but I kept getting taken out of the world when choosing a path.

I thought I would like this book. Growing up I loved the choose your own ending books. I can't say much about the story as I really didn't make it far without dying. Kind of funny given the title. I found the navigation of the story to go back and try to find the right path was just clunky and it really threw me out of the story. I wasn't able to make it very far because of that. For me, I am not sure this style of audiobook works and I think for me it would be best navigated through book or e-book format. I really would have preferred not to rate this book, as I don't feel I was able to read enough of the story to be a good judge. What I was able to enjoy which was about 15 to 20 min of it was fun though. I just don't think this format was for me.
However because I am being asked to I am going to give this 3 stars, again this has more to do with me not personally enjoying how the choose your own ending format was set up in the audiobook than this book not being good.

I found the 'choose you own adventure' style of listening was difficult when using my phone so I opted for the straight story which formed the second part of the recording. This was a decent story which was nicely narrated.

This is a very exciting story and it is in two versions, starting at chapter one is the interactive version where the listener makes decisions at the end of each chapter, as to how the story should proceed - I died several times! Starting at chapter fifty five is the complete story. Brightside is run by the Boots, police who seek to control the thought thieves. The story is plot driven and you are the main character, Becky, a sixteen year old thought thief, and the only way not to die in Brightside if you are a thought thief, is to escape!

Mark Tullius and Dawna Gonzales have done a great job with the story and Maxine Denise does an excellent job of narrating. Aimed at teenagers and young adults, this puts the excitement of game playing into reading or listening to the book. A great idea, recommended

I don't normally listen to audiobooks but I really enjoyed this one. I loved the interactive elements, though they led me to realise that in the event of a disaster situation I would probably not survive (I picked the wrong option more than once).
The story was really engaging and the characters well developed. I would definitely like to listen to the next one in the series.

Full disclosure, I got the audio copy and then it got archived before I got a chance to listen to it, so I am reviewing the print version I later got off of Amazon. I'm honestly not sure I would like this on audio because I am a passive audiobook listener. I have them on while driving, doing dishes, or mindless tasks at work, so it would ruin the fun for me.

As for the story, I thought this was a really cool concept. I would place it as a middle grade or young teen read. The story was fun. I did like that if you "lost" it directed you back to the last choice you had so you didn't have to go searching like many of the Choose Your Awn Adventure books I grew up with. There are more in this series, including a pandemic themed one that I will definitely be checking out.

This is Give Yourself Goosebumps but creepier and obviously intended for a mature audience.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Vincere Press for this free ARC. This review is made of my own accord, with no monetary compensation, whatsoever from the names mentioned above and/or the owners of this ARC.

TNTD in Brightside couldn't engage me and I'm still not sure if it was the narrator or the story. I think I'll have to revisit this book in the future to see if it grabs me.

More than two dozen ways to die.

Just one correct path.

Do you have what it takes to survive??

Spoiler alert: I didnt! I died so many times while listening to this book.

In Brightside ( Try not to die #2) is a super fun book and not like anything I have picked up before. It is a part of a series and personally I urge you to read it that way ( I did NOT and I feel like that took away some of my understanding and enjoyment....however that is totally on ME.) Its not often that you come across a book where you can choose how you think it should progress. But with TNTD, the reader holds the reins and pieces the story together. Sometimes you get it right and sometimes you get it wrong but its a lot of fun.

What exactly is Brightside?? On the outside it looks like a beautiful town but it holds a secret and you are its prisoner. You aren't just any prisoner though and you aren't there for just any crime. Your crime is that you are telepathic. In this interactive story Horror meets supernatural meets adventure as YOU try to escape Brightside.

I had a lot of fun with this book and will definitely be picking up the other books as well.

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

I was really disappointed in this. It's made out to be a choose your own story but in actuality it just has something for you to choose that tells you your wrong and try again so there is really only one option. Not as fun of an idea as I had in mind.

I also hated that it was so short and broken into several books.

Altogether I didn't love the story either.

*Recieved from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to try this book because it was interactive. My version was also an audiobook. The narrator was great. However, I think for me a physical book would have been better for an interactive book. I am more of a visual learner and a physical book is easier to flip back and forth in. Admittedly, with audiobooks, I am typically driving or multitasking with a mundane task. That does not work with an interactive audiobook.

Since this book is interactive and an audiobook you need to sit down and concentrate and hands need to be free to choose your path in the interactive forum. The first time I started it I forgot it was interactive and I was in the car where I use most of my audiobooks. That did not work at all. I tried picking it up several times after that. It was a chore to finish.

This was the first Try Not To Die book I read. I don’t think it would have helped to read the books in order. I might try one of the other three interactive books in the physical form. The third one is In the Pandemic, published in October 2020. I’ll try the first book. I’m not ready to read about a pandemic while I am still living it.

I received this book from NetGalley.

It was an okish book. Not my type of read tho. I wasn't rooting for any of the characters. however I did like the choose your ending ideas it's a very good idea. Just wish the book was better.

Try not to Die: Brightside by Mark Tullius and Dawna Gonzales is a wonderful concept. You dive into the town of Brightside and get to choose your storyline as you unravel the day. This was a fun read, and the narrator did a great job at keeping the audience engaged. I listened to every option because it was not as easy to skip around while listening. I feel this concept might be better as a physical/e book. The story itself made me want to learn about the strange place of Brightside, and I will be going back to read the other two books.

Thank you Net Galley, for my copy of the book. All opinions are my own.
#TryNottoDieInBrightside #NetGalley