DNF at 21%

I loved Courtney Gould's first book, but I really, really did not like this one at all. I found it to be incredibly boring and I did not like anything about the main character. The love interest got introduced and she's just immediately a jerk for no reason, which I absolutely hate.

I tried some of the audiobook and while the narrator is fine, it did not help with my enjoyment at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

This is an autograb author for me. I have loved everything that I have read by them. This was no exception. I loved it. It was strange and weird and wonderful. I needed to know what was going on the whole time. The end was such a twist. I did not see it coming. I loved the characters. I felt for Beck and Riley. Watching their mom slowly fade must have been so hard. I cannot wait to read more from this author. I cannot recommend this one enough. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the audio arc in exchange for my honest review.

A cool and creepy tale! I loved the mysterious atmosphere of the desert setting, and unraveling more of the mystery.

Would you return to the town you think destroyed your mom? Beck and Riley did in Where Echoes Die. Riley thinks they’re here to connect with the memory of their mom but Beck is searching for an answer of why their mom was so drawn to this town. People can’t tell them where they were before moving to Backravel. Everyone directs all questions about Backravel to Avery, the daughter of the leader of the town. Beck is drawn to Avery for the answers to her questions and Avery is drawn to Beck for other reasons.
After reading Courtney Gould’s debut last year, I was excited to see what she would do next and I wasn’t disappointed! I knew going into my reading that there would be an element of ~supernatural~ which I didn’t know going in to her first novel. I love love LOVE seeing lesbian representation in genres other than romance, where their sexuality isn’t the plot point, it’s just part of who the character is. I called what one of the twists would be pretty early on but the pay off and the characters reactions were excellent even knowing what I knew.
Where Echoes Die got ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me. I liked the main characters and the plot. The scene where Beck and Riley first arrive in Backravel and get out of the car, and Riley peels food wrappers off the back of her thigh made me feel like I was there and these characters were real people just like me. The only downside was I felt like some of the minor characters were underutilized. I also feel like the ending didn’t really fit the tone of the rest of the book. I typically like endings like this but I was really pulling for a different kind of ending.
Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould is out June 20, 2023, for pride month of course.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! Also the biggest thank you to Courtney for choosing me to be a part of your street team. Beck and her glasses were a part of my very first ARC and I will never forget them.

I think Courtney Gould writes very creepy, very original things and I'm excited to see what else she comes up with. This one wasn't as sharp as The Dead and the Dark, mostly because I think the nature of the story intentionally keeps things from the reader which in turn makes it hard to really get what's going on--and then the pacing at the end feels very rushed and uneven. Still, I think it's a solid sophomore book.

I found this book difficult to get through. The plot didn’t move along as I expected. Although the creepiness of the town’s characters added tension and suspense, I stopped reading, Not my kind of book.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for an arc of this beauty!

After Beck's mother dies, her and her younger sister go to the small town in Arizona her mother was obsessed with. Something about the mystery of the town calls to Beck, and she can't put it out of her mind. But when they get there, things are even stranger than Beck expected and she discovers a town-wide conspiracy her mother was digging into, and Beck won't rest until she figures that out.

I loved this! I was instantly drawn in by the mystery of the town, the atmosphere, and Beck's determined attitude. I loved the way the mystery unfolded and the romance! I loved the sibling relationship and everything about it.

I get to go to a book signing for this tomorrow and I am beyond excited! I loved this so much and can't wait to see what Gould does next!

CW: grief, parental death, cancer, confinement

Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould is a YA novel that promised to be a mystery thriller but ends up leaning more towards the realm of speculative fiction/sci-fi, akin to an episode of The Twilight Zone or Black Mirror. While the concept of the story sounded intriguing, the execution fell short, resulting in a disappointing reading experience for me.

One of the main drawbacks of the novel is its slow pace. The plot unfolds at a leisurely pace, lacking the sense of urgency and suspense that one would expect from a mystery thriller. This slow progression can make it challenging to stay engaged and invested in the story, as it failed to build the necessary momentum to keep me invested in the story.

Additionally, I found the lead character, Beck, highly unlikable, which can make it difficult to form a strong connection or root for her throughout the narrative. Her choices and actions often leave much to be desired, and her constant selfish behavior hindered my ability to fully engage with her journey.

Furthermore, the novel veers into excessive introspection, with the protagonist's thoughts and reflections dominating the narrative. While introspection can add depth to a story, an overabundance of it can slow down the pacing and overshadow the plot. In this case, it detracted from the overall momentum of the story.

Despite these drawbacks, it is important to acknowledge that the novel's speculative fiction elements provide an interesting twist to the traditional mystery thriller genre. The concept and ideas explored in the book have potential, offering a unique and thought-provoking premise that fans of speculative fiction may appreciate.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in return for an honest review.

This book was such a good read. An amazing story of grief and family, full of mysteries and suspicious characters. It also talks about mental illness in a very realistic and relatable way. The small town of Backravel is creepy and intriguing, the author was great at creating the atmosphere of uneasiness main character Beck was feeling. I really liked Beck’s relationship with her little sister Riley, and her attachment to her mother’s investigation is actually really sad and also relatable. The way the story develops is interesting and smart, but the pace felt slightly off - the first half dragged a little, and the ending came way too fast. Overall, it was a great book that mixes suspense with sci fi, brings really creepy vibes, and has queer representation. Perfect for fans of stories such as Black Mirror.

Backravel is one strange town. People don't know when they arrived. This book has themes of dealing with grief, the relationship of sisters, the relationship of mother and daughter, and the dream of living forever.

Description:
Beck Birsching has been adrift since the death of her mother, a brilliant but troubled investigative reporter. She finds herself unable to stop herself from slipping into memories of happier days, clamoring for a time when things were normal. So when a mysterious letter in her mother’s handwriting arrives in the mail with the words Come and find me, pointing to a town called Backravel, Beck hopes that it may hold the answers.

But when Beck and her sister Riley arrive in Backravel, Arizona it’s clear that there’s something off about the town. There are no cars, no cemeteries, no churches. The town is a mix of dilapidated military structures and new, shiny buildings, all overseen by the town’s gleaming treatment center high on a plateau. No one seems to remember when they got there, and the only people who seem to know more than they’re letting on is the town’s enigmatic leader and his daughter, Avery.

As the sisters search for answers about their mother, Beck and Avery become more drawn together, and their unexpected connection brings up emotions Beck has buried since her mother’s death. Beck is desperate to hold onto the way things used to be, and when she starts losing herself in Backravel and its connection to her mother, will there be a way for Beck to pull herself out?

My thoughts:

The people and the town are definitely strange. They are warned not to take their car into town. Everyone walks or rides bikes. There are no churches or graveyards. Everyone seems to have to go for "treatments". It just gave me kind of a creepy feeling. The writing was good and gave you a sense of place and I liked that. There was some tension building. The book did seem slow at times and I didn't get attached to any of the characters. It's a worthwhile read and I'm giving it three stars.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on June 20, 2023.

I found this so hard to get into and was angry at Becks for dragging her sister out with her and not including her in her thoughts or motives. She just ignored her and cared more about Avery after knowing each other for a few days. I just found a lot of this to be confusing

I love Courtney Gould's eerie style, and Where Echoes Die was another dark, twisty entry into the Gould literary canon. I couldn't put it down -- devoured in less than 24 hours. Cannot wait to see how Gould's writing and approach continue to evolve.

Where Echoes Die follows 17-year-old Beck and her attempt to make sense of Backravel, AZ, the town that haunted her mother for years before her death.

Unfortunately, this book never really came together for me. I did enjoy the overall concept of the novel, which is pretty interesting, as well as the descriptions of the town of Backravel. Gould does a fantastic job at painting a clear, beautifully rendered vision of the town and the desert for the reader. There's also a great undercurrent of suspense and dread throughout the novel as Beck tries to understand her mother's connection to the town and what is happening in the town. I also think the themes its tackling, namely that of grief and the grieving process, are well done.

My main issues with the novel lie in the pacing and the execution of the concept. This book is pretty repetitive for the first 60% of the story, which makes it feel so much longer and more arduous than it is. Beck is, at times, an exhausting character to be in the head of, not because she makes questionably dumb decisions (she is a teen and she's grieving, so I can understand that), but because so many of her thoughts are the exact same, over and over again. Thinking the same thoughts about her mother, thinking the same thoughts about Avery, thinking the same thoughts about the town. This does make sense once the reader is told what's happening, but it would have been more effective in a shorter novel. Or, it may have been more effective to have multiple POVs the reader follows, like Riley, who is so barely in this novel, I wondered why she was a character in the first place.

I'm not going to spoil what's happening in the town, obviously, but it's a concept that is difficult to pull off, and I don't think it's executed the best in this novel. There either needed to be more explanation as to what was happening or it needed to be more vague. As it stands, it's both easy and also confusing to understand what's going on. It should be noted: this is sci-fi novel, not a horror novel. It could be argued that it's a sci-fi novel with some horror elements, but I would not classify this as a young adult horror. If you're going into this looking for traditional horror elements, you're going to be disappointed.

3.5 stars. A good sophomore effort by Gould, this is another novel with some magical elements, but really this is a story about dealing with grief and wanting to forget. I liked it (although not as much as her first book) and I'm not going to try to explain the magical/paranormal elements, because while I enjoyed that part of the book, they're not going to make sense unless you read it. Backravel is an atmospheric small town, and a character all its own. Beck is a fantastic character, and the supporting characters are well-done as well. Beck brings her sister Riley to Backravel after their mother dies, to try to figure out why her mom was so obsessed with the town. Things are not as they seem, and the town starts to make Beck and Riley sick.

"Beck Birsching has been adrift since the death of her mother, a brilliant but troubled investigative reporter. She finds herself unable to stop herself from slipping into memories of happier days, clamoring for a time when things were normal. So when a mysterious letter in her mother’s handwriting arrives in the mail with the words Come and find me, pointing to a town called Backravel, Beck hopes that it may hold the answers.

But when Beck and her sister Riley arrive in Backravel, Arizona it’s clear that there’s something off about the town. There are no cars, no cemeteries, no churches. The town is a mix of dilapidated military structures and new, shiny buildings, all overseen by the town’s gleaming treatment center high on a plateau. No one seems to remember when they got there, and the only people who seem to know more than they’re letting on is the town’s enigmatic leader and his daughter, Avery.

As the sisters search for answers about their mother, Beck and Avery become more drawn together, and their unexpected connection brings up emotions Beck has buried since her mother’s death. Beck is desperate to hold onto the way things used to be, and when she starts losing herself in Backravel and its connection to her mother, will there be a way for Beck to pull herself out?"

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

Where Echoes Die was a very atmospheric and haunting story about two sisters who are searching for information about a town that kept drawing their mother to it during the last years of her life. Well- one sister is, the other sister is kind of tagging along because she is a good sister. Beck is deadset on figuring out why their mom was so enamored with the small, seemingly random town of Backravel, Arizona. Honestly even the name suggests you needn't pay it a visit, right? But since their mother's passing, they have to go live with their father in Texas, so they take a little side trip on their way there. They lie to Dear Ol' Dad, of course, but it still feels like incredibly irresponsible parenting to let your teen girls deal with the death of their mother (and only involved parent, from the sound of things) and then drive themselves across the country. Even if they lied about the stop (something about hanging out with a friend's relative at the beach)... Dad sucks, is what I am saying.

So on one hand, it's a wee bit Parent-In-YA-Syndrome, but on the other, it certainly explains why Beck is going to be more concerned about her dead mother's secrets than getting to dad's place. I'll allow it. Of course, nothing in this town is as it seems, and people seem... off. Everyone seems suspicious of Beck and Riley stopping by, which in itself is strange. There is only one place available to stay in the town (a very janky Airbnb, which is basically an RV on some rando's property, seems totally legit and not at all terrifying for two teenage girls). Anyway, point is, maybe the girls should just head to the beach with Fake Grandma?

But they don't, obviously, or this would be a dull story! No, instead Beck dives right into her search, consequences be damned, and what she finds will definitely not be what she expects. And I will leave you at that, because what fun would it be if I said any more? During the story though, Beck will form some relationships, and have to figure out her relationship with her sister, and of course, come to terms with what happened to their mother. So it is definitely emotive, and certainly mysterious!

Bottom Line: A solid sophomore offering from Courtney Gould. I felt quite invested in this creepy town as well as Beck's journey. Can't wait for more from this author!

First off, thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book. WOW where do I start with this book?! There are so many great highlights in the book, and various different aspects of it make the book such a mesmerizing read. The most obvious to point out is Courtney Gould’s wonderful prose. I loved the way she built and developed Backravel — It gave such creepy, ominous, mysterious vibes. The way that Gould developed the setting also made it seem as if it existed in a completely different parallel reality. Time seems to function differently, and as I was reading it, readers are kept at the edges of their seats because there’s always the feeling that something was not quite right about the place. And just the whole premise of the story — with the characters being drawn into the town through a mystery, only to find themselves in even further mysteries.

In addition to these aspects, I loved the way the book also explores other themes as well, especially representation and grief. The way the Beck attempts to cope with her mom’s death, albeit were not always the most ideal, were realistic, and it made her so much more of a relatable character. I would say that the pacing seemed a little bit slow for my liking, but otherwise, this was a lovely mystery, thriller, fantasy read for all readers who love these genres!

3.5 stars

This is weird, but it's meant to be weird and that's what draws you in. The mystery and wanting to know what happens keeps you turning the pages but it is a small let down at the end for me personally. No one in Backravel is trustworthy and you're always looking sideways at everyone every time they are on the page. I'm starting to really like the strangeness that is Courtney Gould's writing, I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

Thank you to Netgalley, Courtney and the publishers for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Two sisters travel to an isolated Arizona town to investigate its connection to their mother’s death, but uncover more than they bargained for in this supernatural thriller.

This book left me not knowing what was going on, but in the best kind of way. I was pulled into the mystery of Backravel & its citizens & could not pull myself away. I stayed up late reading and even woke up early to finish it.

This was the first book by Courtney Gould that I have read but I’m definitely going to be checking out her other book!

Where Echoes Die immediately grips you and I had a really hard time putting this down! I read it in under 24 hours because the way Courtney Gould creates atmosphere and tension makes you NEED to know what’s going to happen.

Beck and her sister Riley are on a road trip to Backravel, Arizona - a town that their recently deceased mother was oddly obsessed with. When they arrive there are so many strange things about the small town that just don’t add up. There are no churches, no cars and no cemeteries. On top of that, there seems to be a man in charge of the treatment centre in town that pulls all the strings.

I had so many questions during this wonderfully cultish, sci-fi, mystery book. It was a fantastic combination of genres and showed a really interesting look at grief and love.

This was a very emotional book. The messages I received from this book were:
- it is ok to grieve however, there is no timeline of feeling better.
- Returning to the past keeps you stuck, not experiencing life.
- People should alway have a choice in their life.
- Just because you love someone does not mean you have their best interest at heart.
This book was a bit confusing at times but as I read more and more, I began to understand that this was the purpose behind this story. I would recommend this book.