Great debut novel! Wolf Ridge, Vermont is a sleepy little town until the November Sickness each year when many people are murdered or die by suicide. Teen Wyatt is one of those girls who lost her mother and it still sickens her to think of it. Boyfriend, Cash is controlling but appears to love her so she wallows in his arms. Later, jealousy rears its angry head as she is partnered with Porter for an English assignment and they attempt to throw a Gatsby-like party in an abandoned barn. But everything that can go wrong in this town, does go wrong and tensions run high. Once you start this, you can't put it down so go in ready to read all night if you have to!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

There’s a sickness in Wolf Ridge…
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Every November teens are filled with an overwhelming urge to kill in this sleepy town. Unexplained deaths, murders and suicides pop up every year. Last November Wyatt found her mother stabbed to death in their home and the killer was never found. She regrets fighting with her over her stoner boyfriend, Cash. When she’s paired with Porter, Cash’s worst enemy, she starts to see Cash in a new light. When her best friend is almost killed in a fire, Wyatt makes it her mission to figure out what happened then with her mother and what’s happening now.
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This was a very dark YA book that’s been on my radar for a while. The ending was predictable, but getting there was not. I wasn’t sure if this was a mix between The Purge and Scream or if it was something even more sinister. Props to the build up in suspense but I still give it 3.5 ⭐️

CW: attempted rape, suicide, self-harm, alcohol, drug use, murder, blood, fire, death, car accident, vomit, smoking

Yes, yes, yes!! I loved it! Loved the plot. Loved the unreliable characters, Loved the cover! Such a great, fast paced read!

This one was really, really good! It's dark and disturbing, but at the same time it's revealing. Wyatt is the MC whose mother was murdered a year previously. Many deaths, accidental and murders committed, occur every year in November. Cash and Porter are the other two main characters in the novel. They have a history and hate each other, but Wyatt doesn't know who to believe about their past. Cash and Wyatt have a very dysfunctional relationship and I know that many teens hold onto relationships for the wrong reasons, as did Wyatt. Eventually the mystery of her mother's death was solved; however, there were too many questions I still had at the end of the novel which is the reason for 4 stars.

I would like to thank NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for a free e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion which I have given.

I’ve been sleeping on The Violent Season by Sara Walters and I have to say, I am not proud of that fact. I really am not. So let’s see why it is a bad thing that I slept on this book for so long.

First, a quick trigger warning – murder, sexual assault, suicide, death, gore, fire, depression. If you choose to read this book, please be careful to protect yourself.

characters
There are three characters I want to talk about here…

wyatt
Wyatt is our main character. She’s still reeling from her mother’s brutal murder the year before our story takes place. She still wants answers. She’s broken and that is very apparent from the start of the story. She isn’t super likable, but she isn’t horrible either. I’d probably have been friends with her in high school, if I’m being honest.

cash
Wyatt’s love interest – at least in the beginning. I don’t like him. He seems like a huge jerk to me, and I honestly think Wyatt can do way better than him. He seems sketchy and as the story continues that feeling doesn’t get any better.

porter
Porter is the final character I want to talk about. He’s a popular boy, a jock, and honestly, even though he was never the type I went for in high school, I love him. He sees Wyatt in a way that most other people don’t. He doesn’t shy away from her or her issues. He’s nowhere near as arrogant as you’d think a popular jock would be and that makes him special.

atmosphere
The story takes place in the tiny town of Wolf Ridge, Vermont. The vibes this town gives off are fairly creepy. It has that usual “everyone knows everyone and their business” vibe of a small town, but it also has an enormous death rate, especially in the month of November. You can’t help but feel the chill run down your spine and the gooseflesh pop up on your arms when you really start thinking about this town. While we don’t get huge descriptions of the town, the bits we do get are enough to keep one wondering how anyone still lives there with all the tragedy every year.

writing style
Sara Walters’ writing style can best be described as perfect for thrillers/suspense novels. She has a way of making you wonder what’s going to happen next while also making you question what is actually going on. You might figure out who did it, but you’ll question whether or not you’re right at just about every turn. She writes with a combination of action packed and slow burn that makes this book stick out in my mind.

plot
I think this book has a rather unique plot. The idea of a town that has an abnormal amount of death in one particular month every single year, with a main character who personally experienced one of those tragedies the previous year who is wondering what really causes these deaths. Is it a sickness, is it a curse, what is it that makes this happen every year? Add to this the main character searching for answers about her mother’s death and you’ve got a recipe for a great book.

intrigue
If you’re looking for a thriller/mystery book that is going to leave you guessing and wanting more as you continue to read, this is it. Like I said above, you might think you’ve figured out who did it… but then something will happen or something will be said and you’ll start questioning your decision. I know I did – while I did ultimately guess who had done it, I also second guessed myself at many points.

logic/relationships
The relationships in this book – one is toxic as all get out, the other is sweet, funny, and sometimes a bit alarming. Wyatt and Cash are toxic and it’s obvious, even if Wyatt can’t or chooses not to see it. Wyatt and Porter are sweet, funny, and a little alarming because Porter follows Wyatt no matter what she’s thinking – even if he isn’t fully on board with her plans. To be honest, I love Wyatt/Porter and I want to slap the daylights out of Wyatt for ever loving Cash.

enjoyment
I really did enjoy this book. It took me a little less than 24 hours to finish, but I should preface that by saying that I do read relatively fast. I didn’t want to put the book down and the first time I did was because I really needed to go to sleep. The only times I really put it down were because I had to do other things like sleep, eat, etc.. The Violent Season kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting to know more about what was happening, the town’s violent history, and what was going to happen next. I had a driving need to get to the end.

I will admit, I was a tad disappointed with the ending as it leaves too much up to the imagination. It felt like the ending was left that way because the author might not have known exactly what to do for the ending – or possibly because she’d originally planned there to be a sequel that as far as I know, has not come to pass.

Regardless of my feelings about the ending, I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good, creepy thriller, especially if they’re more interested in YA than in adult books.

3.5 rounded up.

oooh, this one is dark. Dark themes, heavy relationships. It's hard to get in to too much detail about the plot without ruining some of the twists. I loved the idea of a town sickness. It was curious, all these suicides, murders and "accidental" deaths - all around the month of November. It's a small town and felt like everyone had had their own touch of death in all the years this mystery has been going.

Wyatt was also really easy to identify with. She could be anyone - touched by tragedy and still broken, trying to put the pieces back together. Her struggles were realistic and her temporary solutions were easy to embrace as she spiraled. Porter was a nice added relief to some of the darkness as his own wonder at what was going on. I liked his curiosity and his light memories of a young girl. All of it combined to make a really compelling, well-written read. I was drawn in and it was hard to stop once I'd started.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I thought I could read this book, but honestly it's a bit too gruesome for me to finish. It's very captivating though.

This is a great horror/thriller about a small town and the mysteries surrounding the events that happen every November, including the death of Wyatt's mother. Wyatt was an excellent main character and I love how the author wove important aspects of society into a horror story about a small town. This novel tackles more than just the killing, it contains important information for young adults about relationships and what can happen when you lose yourself in them.

This book is a combination of dark mystery and mental health awareness, which sounds like an intriguing combination that would really work for me, but it just didn't. I felt like there were pieces of each character that were missing. I wasn't fully sure about the motivations of either main character at different points, and it confused me. And the premise of the book is that this horrible November sickness is causing all of these problems in the town and that is the big mystery, but the big mystery slow morphs into another storyline (related, but different) and leaves the November sickness kinda just lingering. There's a big twist toward the end, which again, should be really exciting, but instead it just made a dark book darker. I almost felt like there was a lot of darkness for the sake of drama without the motivations or feelings really being fully realized, so it all just fell flat for me. I wish I had liked this more as the premise really drew me in.

This disturbing psychological thriller will keep you intrigued by the writer's talented writing. It will make you second guess mysterious or brutal deaths. Rumors of a November sickness plaguing this small town has Wyatt Green searching for answers. After her mother is brutally murdered, she is convinced it was not a rumor, as well as her neighbors who have been affected by the sickness. She probes for the truth and checks every brutal death in the past in the town for some evidence. Will anyone believe her? When everything she needs to prove it, is disappearing.
Thank you NetGalley for this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Violent Season was an ok story. I found it original and intriguing but it was also missing something. Just some extra little bit of oomph. I cant really put my finger on it, but something was missing from making this book really great.

I love, love, loveeeeeeeed this book! Super spooky with horror/thriller elements yet still relatively YA and palatable (nothing egregiously icky, IMO). Without giving too much away, let's just say the ending is not what you expect and yet what you hoped for. It's heartbreaking, terrifying, and satisfying all at once. I hope beyond hope this author brings us more tales like this. It was such a great read!

I can't stay away from young adult thrillers no matter how hard I try. This one caught my eye because it also hints at a sickness that makes people violent which sounds SO FUN!

So here is what I liked. I really enjoyed the main character Wyatt. She's been through hell and back, but keeps on pushing along. Her relationship with her dad was great. I also liked the pace as I felt like this one flew by! I did read it in one day.

There were a few things that didn't work for me as well. I wasn't a fan of the toxic relationship Wyatt was in with Cash. It was so easy to hate him. I also felt parts of the story were a little unbelievable but that comes with the genre normally.

Overall, I'm really impressed with Walters debut and I will check out her next book for sure.

I enjoyed reading this book and loved the plot. It was a great scary read that I brought on vacation!

Someone else described this book as "claustrophobic." Yep, that sounds about right: claustrophobic and nerve-wracking. It is well-written and holds your attention.

I thought this book was going to be a YA horror book. I don’t really like horror but YA horror is easier for me to stomach.

The writing is well done and the characters are fleshed out. I kept reading because I needed to know what was happening in November. Why was everyone going crazy.

It was a good story. Not as dark or twisty as I expected from the synopsis. But good anyway.

I feel like this book tries a little too hard. We start with this idea that there is something wrong with this town, that there is something broken in the people. But Walters is too successful at creating doubt. We're meant to go back and forth, to wonder if something more sinister is happening. Instead it feels like the protagonist is trying too hard to convince herself. The atmosphere is flat. The characters aren't dynamic. There isn't enough tension or mystery to make it truly compelling.

This is a thrilling read that will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very end. The November killings in the end are not at all what they appear to be and there's more at hand than what meets the eye.

Interesting but not really my cup of tea. Well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. A horrible death and all memories have been erased. Who can she trust and when can she learn to trust again. Predictable and honestly it was a struggle to keep my interest. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a great mystery/thriller even if it was bleak and disturbing at times. The twists were mainly unexpected and kept me engaged, trying to figure out everything. The book was really well=written Sara Walters does a great job of taking you to Wolf Bridge and into Wyatt's mind. Be warned that there is an abusive relationship at the core of the story which may be triggering to some readers. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for an advanced reader copy of this book for an honest review.