Kat Ellis wrote one of my favorite YA books last year, Harrow Lake and I was so excited to hear about Burden Falls, another YA spooky thriller that’s put Ms. Ellis on my fav authors list.

I love any creepy story featuring small towns but add in urban legends, sketchy superstitions and generational curses? Well, that’s just catnip to my little kitty soul!

Ava Thorn has had it rough; her parents died terribly a year ago and the person responsible is now purchasing her childhood home whose family, incidentally is the Millers and have been at odds with Ava’s family for generations. When people start to die, the urban legend of Dead-Eyed Sadie begins to float around but the police are soon suspecting Ava. Ava will have to prove that Dead-Eyed Sadie exists in order to clear her name.

This is the perfect spooky book for any fan of the genre, I loved the addition of a little romance to keep things moving and loved the twisty plot that perfectly blends eerie dark themes with the more realistic premise of friendship, love and loss. Highly recommend this one!

I can see why readers enjoy Ellis' brand of writing. Atmospheric, eerie and makes you debate whether it's paranormal or man doing the slaughtering. This is my first novel by Ellis and I'm definitely looking forward to more of her style.

Ava Thorn lost her parents in a brutal car accident almost a year ago. Now, due to financial struggles, she has to move out of her childhood home only to find out that the one buying her home is none other than the man who killed her family in that deadly crash, Madoc Miller. If that isn't the worst part, she becomes primary suspect in a string of eye-gouging murders unraveling across the town. The age old feud between Thorns and Millers starts to bleed it's bloody history into Ava's world. Right on the back of that feud is the ancient legend about Dead-Eyed Sadie who kills by taking the eyes of her victims. Ellis easily lures readers into wondering who, or what, is the culprit behind the torturous killings of the local kids.

Definitely a fun excursion into the macabre for a young adult thriller. The beginning is a slow ride into the build-up of the characters, history and events leading up to current circumstances. While I wasn't wholly invested due to the slower pace I still found myself intrigued by the lead-up. Each character is well crafted and given a realistic depth that readers can find connection in. The urban legend surrounding Sadie was pretty captivating in an all at once creepy and sad way. Her current presence being creepy and her past being sad.

Ellis has an excellent way of tying things together. The way she worked everything into the plot and created this clean sweep of the storyline was expertly done. I did not figure out the mystery by the end even though my inkling staggered in a few close directions. I wasn't into any particular character over another but I did enjoy how everything meshed together. Ava was slightly on the too dark and broody level for my character liking but I can see how her persona can reflect a realistic and connectable image for other readers.

Looking for a slow building manifestation of eerie atmosphere for your Fall TBR? I'd recommend this one to young adult readers. Thank you Penguin Teen for the gifted advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. True rating 3.5/5.

I literally loved this so much! This book really got me back into the reading mood and I couldn’t put it down! The pacing was incredibly suspenseful and building, with slow burn horror. I loved the rival legacy families and learning all the history. The author was very thorough in laying out the foundations and connections to the legends of the town and how it connected to all the characters in the present.

I really liked the writing style too, the narrations from Ava felt very visceral and visual. Her artsy personality really helped portray the atmosphere and suspense. I didn’t think the mystery elements were predictable and I was really shocked and satisfied by the twists and turns the story took.

I loved the characters and how many detailed side characters there were that actually played important roles in unraveling the murder plot. The romance in this book is definitely a side plot but I still adored their dynamic. Their chemistry felt so well balanced with mutual understanding of grief and the typical natural development. No offense but Dominic Miller is just so !!!!!!!!! *sighs dramatically*

I really can’t think of any negative thoughts about this book. I am not typically drawn to the more paranormal based mystery/horror novels but this one has the perfect amount of it in my opinion. This is perfect for people who may not like to read super scary books as it was mostly suspenseful. I really recommend this one!

I have previously read two books by Ms. Ellis, Breaker and Blackfin Sky, and loved both of them, so I was excited to see this tour announcement for her latest, Burden Falls. I can’t say I read a *ton* of YA horror, but of that I have read, Ms. Ellis is definitely at the top of the game. I raced through this book with my heart pounding, and perhaps to my detriment read this before bed and freaked myself out good! I stayed up way too late two nights in a row because every time I thought I’d get to a stopping point, something would happen and I’d be shocked into continuing. The enemies to lovers trope is so well done here, but note the romance is light and this is definitely a horror book. The only thing that was a little off to me is that the reveal seemed to kind of come out of nowhere, but that is really just me being nitpicky because this is a great book with serious creep factor and I would highly recommend it to any YA horror fan!

Rating: 5 stars!

**Disclosure: I received an early e-copy of this book from the publisher for purposes of this blog tour. This review is voluntary on my part and reflects my honest rating and review.

Starting off, I feel so bad for Ava. This book opens up just under a year after her parents died in a horrific car accident and Ava's Uncle Ty is selling the family home to pay off debts. And the worst part? The house is being sold to the Miller family - the same family Ava has had a feud with for years and whose father killed her parents. 

Moving out of the manor and into a new home is stressful, especially since Ava is giving up the last pieces of her parents by moving. And to add to the stress, she painted a mural of the family history, including her parents car accident, as a therapeutic release to get out her feelings instead of journaling. Mortified that her nemesis, Freya, and her older brother, Dominic, were going to see the mural, Ava does the only thing she can think and sneak onto the land to paint over it. There, she finds out her best friend, Ford, has begun hanging out with the Miller siblings - an ultimate betrayal for Ava.

There's a lot of layers to this book. We have Ava's grief over the loss of her parents and her home. We also have her best friend, Ford, acting like a total jerk to her. Freya is being mean as always, rubbing it in that they're now living in her old home, and creepy stuff starts happening in town. A lot is going on!

Plus, when someone she knows is brutally murdered, she's now the prime suspect. Poor Ava can't catch a break!

Looking at the plot, I loved how the story progressed. We go from moving, to upset about the Miller family moving in, to a dead body found, to her parents death anniversary, to more murders, to ghosts possibly haunting her, and it gets even wilder from there! The way that Ava slowly starts to lose her mind, seeing Dead-Eyed Sadie around town (or thinking she does), and other weird things happening, this book got creepy fast. I mean, I would freak out too if I saw a girl with gouged out eyes following me around. It's unclear whether these murders are supernatural or not, and poor Ava is stuck in the middle of finding it out. 

One thing I didn't like though, were Ava's friends. All of them were kind of awful, in their own ways. Ford was very manipulative and would treat Ava poorly, then do something nice to get her to forgive him. Daphne and Carla, her other two friends, seem to really down play Ava's feelings. While they're both the rational ones, Carla more so than Daphne, it still seemed pretty rude that Ava would come to them upset or scared of what they saw and they would be like "it's no big deal. stop worrying about it" - like huh?? Why are they the judges of what is acceptable to be scared or upset about? They kind of irritated me. 

The only character I liked, besides Ava and even then I had some issues with her character, was Dominic. He seemed like a nice guy who wasn't outright mean or rude to Ava, just supporting his younger sister, and he minded his business. While Ava felt like he was a stuck up asshole at first, when we actually get to know him, he's really the opposite. Especially compared to Ford or Freya's other friends. 

And then we have the horror aspect. I'm not gonna lie, this was a 10 // 10 for me! There are some really creepy and gruesome moments, both supernaturally and in the real world. I felt so bad for Ava for some of the dreams and visions that she had, because if I saw these things, I would have lost my mind. By the end, I kind of guessed what was going on and then a wrench was thrown in that and I had a total "what the heck!?" moment! So, so good and I absolutely recommend if you like thrillers!

Burden Falls has been described as Riverdale meets Stephen King, and guess what readers.. It DID NOT disappoint! I felt as though it had a touch of Stranger Things vibes, so fans of the show (like myself) will definitely enjoy this read. A small eerie town, characters with secrets, a murder mystery..
What’s not to LOVE?!
Things are often NOT as they appear, can you uncover the truth?
This one is for the mystery thriller readers, those who love to read about a creepy atmosphere, and characters who may be hiding a truth.. or two..
You’re gonna want to set some time aside to read this one.. in one sitting! You’ll thank me later!

In Burden Falls, Dead-Eyed Sadie is on the haunt. After Ava's parents die in an accident, she starts having nightmares of Sadie. When bodies start popping up with brutal injuries to the eyes and Ava seems to be the main suspect, she has to work with an unlikely ally to stop the killer.

This book felt like it had everything. A little spooky, a little romance, and a big dash of mystery and murder. Since most of those are my kryptonite I couldn't help but love it. There were points were I didn't want to read at night because the horror aspects were getting me too spooked of the dark. Ava was such a fun character to follow along with. She has everything working against her but she's still trying to find the murderer of a person she didn't even like. I also feel like Dominic was such a standout character since she has a completely skewed opinion of him before she really knows him. The ending definitely threw me for a loop and made me want to reread immediately to look for extra signs of what was to come. Unlikely allies working together against what could be a revengeful ghost? You know I had to give this one a 4.5/5.

If you like goth artistic girls with snark, a creepy eyeless ghost leaving bodies in its wake, or like a bad boy who turns out to be not so bad, this one is for you.

I received a digital copy of this book free from Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved it everything about Burden Falls. Burden Falls is an eerie read that is the perfect spooky book to kick off the fall season. Burden Falls is my first book by Kat Ellis, but definitely not my last. I am a sucker for apples and a small town with a dark history, Ellis deliver that and much more. Ghost, news clippings, a little gore, thrills, and a budding romance—what more could a YA lover ask for?

I enjoyed the mystery and thrill around what exactly is haunting Ava. Is it a vengeful spirit or something more? Ava, the main character, is going through a lot her senior year. She recently lost her parents, her was home sold to a rival family, and now she is the a possible suspect for multiple murders. She navigates the grief of the loss of her parents and life she loved as she slowly looses grip of reality around her. Ava becomes engulfed with nightmares haunted by Sadie.

Speaking of Sadie, or Dead-Eyed Sadie. She was one of my favorite things about Burden Falls. I enjoyed Ava’s possessiveness of Sadie and the tale as a whole. At one point Ava says she feels as if Sadie is a ghost that is handed down through the Thorn family but also a warning danger is on the way. The whole scene freaked me out, more so as Ava is haunted by the gouged eyed images. Overall Sadie gave me major Grudge girl vibes. Sadie’s story ran as deep as Ava’s family ties to the town. Like most legends go, Dead-Eyed Sadie is rooted in some truth. As unfortunate events continue to unfold, Ava is not alone in the growing fear Sadie might have a part to play. Adding yet twist to Burden Falls.

I enjoyed Ava’s journey in trying to unravel who the true killer was. If you enjoy a good crime as much as I do, you will be questioning everything and everyone—Ava included. Ellis left enough doubt for me to truly be unsure of what exactly was going on in Burden Falls.

Burden Falls is a serious page turner, if you enjoy mystery, thrillers, horror, and of course YA this book if for you

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Burden Falls is a fast-paced read with an engaging writing style and characters. I especially enjoying heroine Ava as she is spunky and witty. Her dialogue and thoughts had me laughing me out loud numerous times throughout the book and I appreciated the comedic relief Kat Ellis sprinkled throughout the text.

The mystery of local teen deaths kept me flipping the pages and there was definitely a couple twists I did not see coming! Like the author’s previous novel, Harrow Lake, there are plenty of down-right creepy moments that made me shudder and think this would make a great starting point for readers new to the horror genre.

As a whole, I’d say I enjoyed this more than Harrow Lake and only decided upon a 3.5 rating as opposed to the 4 I was considering due to some eye-rolling cliche plot points. Without going into spoilers, these definitely took me out of the story from time to time and wished Burden Falls had primarily focused on the mystery/horror elements and less on teen drama.

Regardless, I’d glad I picked this up and would recommend it to suspense and horror lovers alike. Thanks so much to Penguin Teen for providing me with a digital ARC!

This book was spooktastic!!

Burden Falls follows 17 year old Ava dealing with the aftermath of her parents tragic death and her own healing. Ava has had to leave behind her family’s ancestral home (Thorn Manor) and move into the Mill cottage with her uncle and his wife. Ava is trying to deal with her grief that still lingers a year after her parents accident, when a body appears. The cops call it an accidental death, but things start going very wrong very fast and surely ghosts don’t murder teenagers…right?

Burden Falls is a vivid murder mystery mixed with spooky local ghost lore, Dead Eyes Sadie. A girl who was accused of being a witch and murdered in the 1800s. A girl every person in Burden Falls has grown up hearing the story about.

Burden Falls is a riveting YA horror, honestly! Between teenagers dying- and Ava always being right there to find them or be there when they’re found, on top of all the seriously sinister things she’s seeing (as if her nightmares are following her into waking moments)- I honestly wasn’t sure who was behind everything happening!

This fast paced plot leaves you reeling from jump scares, to who the hell is killing these teens and how is there not a trace, to Ava seriously seeing some terrifying things even during the day- this book had me reading well into the night with the tv on playing cartoons and I’m freaking 30 years old!

There’s bad blood between the main characters family and another family in town, the mc is seeing some dark stuff alongside graphic nightmares, there’s blood and gore, ghost lore, murder, and teenagers who decide to figure out what’s going on when the cops can’t figure it out.

Burden Falls has me itching to read more YA Horror/Thrillers and murder mysteries, instead of my usual fantasy books.

If you love a good ghosty mystery with plot twists you didn’t see coming- READ THIS BOOK.

The story had a lot of promise. I felt like there was a lot of filler though that I was skimming over, which made the book longer than it really needed to be. Especially when targeted to YA. The ending was a surprise though.

Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for an eARC of this book! All opinions are my own.

3.5 rounded up.

CW: Car accident, death of a parent, death of a child, alcoholism, fire/arson, pedophilia, body mutilation
-ALSO I am not sure how to describe this one, but basically scenes that could make someone with claustrophobia very uncomfortable.

One year prior to the start of Burden Falls, Ava Thorn lost her parents to a car crash. Soon after, the family business was lost due to financial troubles. Even worse, her uncle has to sell the family home, Thorn Manor, to the man who caused the crash that killed her parents (plus his infuriating children). Soon, people close to Ava start dying and she and the people of Burden Falls are left to wonder - who is out killing the townspeople? Is it someone in the community, or Dead-Eyed Sadie, the town ghost?

This book was described as Riverdale meets The Haunting of Hill House. Usually, I hate it when people say "this book is x meets y", because it never is. However, I do think that this comparison is spot on. The whole story line feels like it could have been a season of Riverdale, with all the messy drama and family secrets piling up.

I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a solid YA horror novel. This is very much atmospheric horror as well - creepy small town, creepy ghost/urban legend, etc.

This book has a a couple of things that I really love in it: the enemies to lovers trope, and an unreliable narrator. Our MC keeps seeing what she thinks is the town ghost Dead-Eyed Sadie...but is she actually seeing ghosts or is she just hallucinating as a way of coping with her grief and trauma?

A couple of things I didn't love:
-The vague mentioning of COVID at the beginning which didn't add anything to the story and also confused me at points (are we still mid-pandemic? if we are, why are these kids partying in close quarters?). I feel like it could have just not been acknowledged, seeing as it didn't lead to a broader discussion or explain any major plot point.
-Some of the dialogue and Ava's inner monologue was a bit...odd. At some points it read like a text message (when it wasn't supposed to be) or comment on one of my TikToks. I would never thing "hahahahaha" to myself. Idk. It doesn't happen too often though, so it's pretty easy to look past

I loved the family rivalries and drama, which is set up quite well in the first third of the novel. The side characters were likable, but didn't necessarily add much to the story until we got near the end.

I do feel like the pacing of this book was a bit off in the first half of the book. It seemed like some scenes or thoughts were cut short, only to be finished later (and sometimes I'd forget what it tied in to). However this was fixed in the second half, which flowed much better in my opinion (and had much more tension/spooks).

I absolutely loved the plot twist and how that panned out. The ending also left me feeling satisfied and knowing just enough about the character's lives after-the-fact.

If you're a fan of horror/mystery and are looking for the perfect spooky season read, this may be the book for you!

4.5 STARS!

I can never resist a YA thriller so when the invite for this tour arrived in my inbox there was no way that I could pass it up. The blurb had me hooked and gave me strong supernatural vibes which I absolutely love.

After receiving the book I practically read it in one sitting. Every single break I had from work and whenever I had 5 minutes to spare I was reading this book. The short, snappy chapters made it so easy to pick up and left you desperate to know what was coming next.

This is my first book by Kat Ellis but her writing style had me gripped from beginning to end so I would be very keen to pick up her other books based on this one.

So what's this book about you ask?

It's about Ava, the youngest of the Thorn family who has had to move out of their manor where her family have lived for generations after the death of her parents in a terrible crash the year before causes financial difficulty. This is the end of Ava's life as she knows it and she has to come to terms with a whole bunch of stuff.

There is a very creepy, supernatural small town vibe in this book that I just love. The descriptions of the manor, the grounds surrounding it and the town itself is done amazingly well and there's just this really eerie feel about it all.

All the way through you are left wondering what the logical/rational explanation for all the goings on are and even when the big reveal is made at the end (which by the way completely shocked me and I did not see coming at all) you are left wondering whether there was actually something supernatural going on.

The town legend of Dead Eyed Sadie and the way it all relates to the two main families in the story is really weird and creepy and I loved it!

The love interest was a bit obvious but I still loved it.

Ava was a fun and realistic main character and I just had so much fun with this book. It was full of surprises, fast paced and just worked really really well for me personally.

I think any fans of YA thriller books will have a blast with this one!

BURDEN FALLS is a story about family legacies and how they can haunt us in the present. This book gave me the BEST spooky szn vibes that I have been desperately craving during these horribly hot dog days of summer. I loved the paranormal thriller vibes this book gives off, and the mystery that our MC, Ava Thorn, must face when kids begin showing up dead with their eyes gauged out after she is forced to move out of her ancestral home of Thorn Manor. I loved the lore of Dead Eyed Sadie and the history of the rivalry between the Millers and the Thorns. The small town setting of Burden Falls only enhances the stakes and I honestly didn't know who I could trust for most of the book. Watching Ava grapple with the present day mystery of who is murdering teenagers in Burden Falls and with her grief over the accident that killed her parents just worked to show how independent and strong this character was, and she was very well developed throughout the novel as she shifts through changing loyalties and heartbreaking betrayals. I found myself surprised with the way it all wrapped up, but looking back I see the signs. Burden Falls is a story about family legacy and loss, and how the most terrifying monsters are not the ghosts of the past, but the people in the present.

4.5 stars! Wonderfully creepy! This was masterful storytelling with an ending I did not see coming. I loved the buildup and family history as well as all the secondary characters. This felt like watching a season of Riverdale, except better scripted and with more realistic characters. These characters who have grown up together in a small town have their lives intertwined in ways they never saw coming. Teen drama, a sweet romance, and lots of mystery made this a super fun, creepy read. *I received an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A haunting, compelling read that is bound to be a very popular book in the community! This is definitely a great horror book that will keep you guessing until the end, and you might even have to sleep with the lights on. Kat Ellis did it again and wrote another book full of secrets, horror, and twists.

Burden Falls did not disappoint, and I read it in one sitting. Kat Ellis has a knack for creating uncanny atmospheres that draw you in and refuse to let you go. The small-town atmosphere, family history, and legacies make this a creepy book.

We’re following Ava who recently lost both of her parents in a vehicle accident. She is grieving, and to make matters worse, her Uncle Ty is forced to sell the family home, which has been in their family for centuries. The Millers, who have always despised the Thorns, purchased it from Ty. Madoc Miller was the one who collided with her parents’ automobile, killing them. So, Ava isn’t doing her best right now, dealing with so much, but then one of the Millers appears.

Kat Ellis has created a strong protagonist that is able to stand on her own. I usually read horror for adults, but I appreciate reading about powerful adolescent characters. The intricacies, the responses to circumstances. Ava is an example of such a character. Her precious has been through a lot of sorrow and suffering, yet she has remained a strong character. She made mistakes like any other person her age, but despite her age, she sought to correct them. She has a maturity far above her years. Her reactions to certain occurrences made me like her even more.

Then things start to get out of hand, and Ava is singled out as the prime suspect. What is the explanation for this? Everything begins on the anniversary of her parents’ deaths in a vehicle accident. Eva isn’t sure if she’s being watched or if she’s seeing things. The author handled extremely delicate subjects with grace and clarity. If you appreciate spooky young adult horror, add this to your TBR list right away.

Burden Falls is brimming with creativity. Intelligent and fast-paced. A brilliant and amazing novel.

Every house leaves an echo; a presence of what was. For Ava, it’s Thorn Manner, her family home with a past that haunts still to this day. It was believed that a servant of the Thorn’s was a witch and “Dead-eye Sadie” is who those see before they die. Ava has had plenty of death in her life, but when all the sudden two other people in Ava’s life turn up dead, all eyes turn to her and the legend that plagues her cursed family. It is believed that the waterfall, Burden Falls, by Ava’s manor is where you go to unload your burdens… or is it where you go to face the witch.

I really enjoyed this haunted house story. Kat Ellis has a way with her words that draws you in. From the very first page I loved her lyrical sense of writing to describe the Manor and the feelings of being suffocated just by the thought of being watched. It was such an un-put-downable and thrilling read. You sit there wondering if Ava really is crazy or if there’s more to the eye than we see. With that being said, I was able to predict the killer, if you read the clues correctly, but I didn’t see the twist of it and I really enjoyed that. The characters weren’t necessarily relatable to me, but I actually connected to them through the way they were written. It felt like you were right there on the pages with them.. sleuthing.

All in all, I loved this little haunted house/ murder mystery!

Thank you @penguinteen for my copy of Burden Falls.

This one releases on August 24!

@katelliswrites is back with another YA horror book! Last summer I had read Harrow Lake so I was really excited to read this one. Going into this book the story was different then I had expected so it did take me a little bit to get into it, but around the 50 percent mark it completely grabbed my attention and it kept my attention until the end. I am giving myself a pat on the back cause I was able to figure out the majority of what was going on, but it was still exciting to see how everything played out.

There is a small town where each generation is told the stories of a ghost that lives there. But Ava Thron knows more about Dead-Eyed Sadie than anybody, for the ghost haunts the very grounds she lives on.
Though she’s a skeptic, the murder of a classmate brings echos about Sadie being responsible, and while some may believe in the ghost doing the killing, the police have Ava as their prime suspect. Now she must do whatever she can to prove that she is innocent…even if that means proving a ghost was the one responsible.

Though I’m not well-versed in horror books, I thought that this one was spooktaclar!
The author paints such a great image of your main ghost, that you can’t help but worry that she’s in every dark corner you find in your own home

Each character is well rounded- and I loved the foreshadowing that the author put into the book. Reading about small details, only to later find out they were important to the storyline, was really interesting and made it feel as if I too was investigating the murders that occurred in Burden Falls!

If you’re wanting a spooky book, where each chapter unfolds a new clue to the mystery, then you’re going to love this book!!

Big thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an ARC in exchange of an honest review!!
This book is set to come out August 24th!