[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Where Echoes Die releases June 20, 2023

Beck and Riley are two teenaged sisters who recently lost their mother. Before they have to uproot their lives from Washington to live with their father in Texas, they decide to take a two week detour and stay in an Arizona town called Backravel — a place where their mother often frequented while she was alive, hoping to uncover a journalistic story.
With a letter left to Beck with the words “come and find me”, will Beck finally be able to uncover the truths hidden in Backravel, and finish what their mother started all those years ago?

Backravel is a highly unusual town. It’s not quite idyllic, but it does seem to be set apart from the rest of the country. There are no churches or cemeteries here, bikes are the main form of transportation, and it’s unlikely that you’ll cross paths with another person.
With tourists presenting with sickness, this leaves for a close-knit community, with a lasting sense of confusion as a core theme and a treatment center being the root to everyone's purpose.

At the end of the day, this wasn’t really a book that had me feeling like I wanted to set everything else aside to pick it up to read. I wanted more of the actual logic explained, or some sort of tangibility with this whole concept of manipulating time within this one Arizona town. As a whole, I thought it could have been condensed to achieve a more well-rounded story in terms of pacing, and other side characters could have been developed more to give a richer perspective (Delia, the group of teens, pov’s from Ellery, etc.)

This definitely leans towards sci-fi, rather than strictly being your standard YA mystery/thriller.

A compelling, mysterious tale about time and grief, Where Echoes Die shows what can happen when you don't try to move on.

Beck and her sister Riley travel to a tiny town in Arizona that was the focus of their mother's obsession before she died. Beck wants to understand what made the town more important than her and her sister but finds a mystery -- and a girl -- she never expected.

This book was such an interesting exploration of grief. Gould is amazing at crafty twisty, haunting tales.

After the passing of her mom, Beck gets a letter, urging her to go to Backravel, Arizona, a town that her mother had been researching for her latest article. As soon as she gets there, she realizes that something is off with the town and the treatment center with the elusive leader, Ricky.

I was definitely hooked in the beginning. There are a lot of young adult books with similar premises these days (poor kid mixed with rich kids and murder), so this was refreshing, even if parts of it felt familiar. Gould's writing is strong, and I liked the protagonist, Beck.

It was a little predictable, and the pacing was back and forth. I don't think it's great when I want to skim the climax. I wasn't a huge fan of the love story in general, but I understand that I am not the target audience for the love stories, and it helped to make the stakes higher for Beck. Overall, 3.5 stars rounded to 4!

What a slippery and elusive story about time, which in itself is slippery and elusive. This book didn’t give me what I expected, but it was definitely a very good story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Wow, this was incredible--prose so gorgeous it made me want to slow down and savor, a mystery compelling enough that I could hardly put this down, an eerie setting that practically leapt off the page, and a lovely, understated sapphic romance. I absolutely loved this one.

Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould sounds like the perfect book for me on page. Mostly contemporary with some sci-fi twists and a deep exploration of grief, I was so excited to pick this book up.

Unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me. I never wanted to pick it up. The story felt very slow to me. The romance felt forced to me as well. I’ve seen so many glowing reviews of this book that I know I am in the minority. I feel like I probably would have dnfed this if I didn’t have a physical arc alongside my eArc.

I think for anyone who enjoys more of a slow burn suspense plot, this will be a fun one. It just wasn’t for me.

Courtney Gould’s signature style comes through brilliantly in her sophomore novel. I was disturbed, intrigued. and as just as confused at Beck reading WHERE ECHOES DIE.

Courtney Gould can WRITE.

WHERE ECHOES DIE is a totally mesmerizing story written in Gould's gorgeous prose. I was completely drawn into the town of Backravel, Arizona-- a place where there are no cars, cemeteries, or churches. It seems like a picturesque place built among worn military structures. But Beck's mom started out writing an article on Backravel and eventually the town consumed her until her death. Now Beck and her sister Riley are spending two weeks in Backravel for a supposed vacation. But for Beck, it's so much more: she has to know why she lost her mom to Backravel.

This is an amazing fantasy tale that explores grief in deep and beautiful ways. The methods Beck uses to deal with her mom's death are not always healthy, but they are nuanced and touching. ECHOES is haunting in so many ways. Time just seems to move differently in Backravel. It's a mystical place, though not necessarily a good one. Gould uses the stark desert landscape to her advantage, creating an atmospheric story that is truly creepy and unsettling. You can feel Backravel as you read--see it, imagine the characters, sense the heat rising off the car-less streets.

The story dragged just a little for me slightly after the halfway mark. I needed Beck to be better to Riley, to communicate more, and things to move just a little faster. Otherwise, this was a great read. A wonderful spooky fantasy page-turner with a sapphic bent.

4.5*

THIS WAS SO GOOD!!!!

beck and her sister riley go to Backravel, a small town that their mom was obsessed with. when they arrive, they notice that people’s memories are messed up and things just don’t seem right. beck tries to find out answers about their mom without losing herself in the process.

i loveddddd the dead and the dark so i was so excited for this one!! i definitely prefer the dead and the dark over this one but it was still really good! it was so interesting to see the relationship between beck and riley change and how much they’ve done for one another. it was really sweet.

the romance was not a main focus and i liked that. it did happen pretty fast but i honestly didn’t mind it at all.

i loved the atmosphere as well! the memory loss & unspooling was really interesting to read about as well!

i can’t wait for courtney gould to release more books!!

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for giving me this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

I loved this book! Dystopian, twisty, with a sprinkle of sci-fi. Beck made me want to throttle her on multiple occasions- like, why are you lying?!? I did enjoy this and based on other reviews, the author has several other great reads. I received this eARC from NetGalley for my unbiased opinion. Thank you.

"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 from the author of The Dead and the Dark.

Beck Birsching has been adrift since the death of her mother, a brilliant but troubled investigative reporter. She can't stop herself from slipping into memories of happier days, longing for a time when things were more normal. So when a mysterious letter in her mother's handwriting arrives in the mail that reads Come and find me, pointing to the small town at the center of her last investigation, Beck hopes that it may hold the answers.

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

As Beck and her sister search for answers about their mother, she and Avery are increasingly drawn together, and their unexpected connection brings up emotions Beck has fought to keep buried. Beck is desperate to hold onto the way things used to be, but when she starts losing herself in Backravel - and its connection to her mother - she risks losing her way back out.

In Where Echoes Die, Courtney Gould draws readers into a haunting desert town to explore grief, the weight of not letting go of the past, first love, and the bonds between sisters, mothers and daughters."

Oddly seems written just for me...

This was a fun read! A very intriguing story with some interesting characters. I would have liked to see a bit more in terms of Beck and Avery’s relationship, but I really loved their progression through the story. I also wish we had learned a bit more about what was causing all the weirdness in town. I think it would have been slightly more satisfying to get a more in depth description, but it was still a great plot device.

After the death of her mother, Beck receives a letter from her from beyond the grave that says Come find me. She travels to Backravel, Arizona, where things seem very wrong and nothing like the outside world.

Courtney Gould is a master of creepy small town mysteries.

I really loved how past memories and the present were blended seamlessly to avoid info dumping and to get a deeper look into their lives.

Grief is portrayed so well in this book and I loved the relationships between the characters, especially Beck and her sister.

Perfect for fans of The Dead and The Dark.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

4 Stars

Wow this book had me HOOKED!

As soon as I started reading this book, it gave me major "Twilight Zone" vibes. So atmospheric in the best way possible. If you've ever watched this episode, it reminded me of the one where the guy is in this town where there's no one. No cars moving, no animals, no people in windows. Which is pretty much the vibes with this town, Backravel.

Beck and her sister, Riley, travel to Backravel after receiving a mysterious letter from their mother who passed away. (There is a trigger warning for death of a parent.) Backravel ends up being a very strange town with no cars, no cemeteries, no churches, and is overseen by the towns treatment center.

I loved seeing the story unfold - the entire time I was like... I gotta know how this ends. I loved the sibling relationship in this, and made me think of my sister and I.

Highly recommend this book when it comes out on June 20th (my birthday!!). Thanks to @netgalley and @wednesdaybooks for gifting me this book to review.

This book was a sapphic masterpiece! It’s about strange towns, sisterhood, and the relentless hold of grief. Courtney Gould continues to amaze me and I’ll be reading any and everything she publishes next.

As someone who LOVED the dead and the dark, I was so excited to read the next novel from this author. I actually really enjoyed the beginning of this book. We have a strange little town where weird stuff is happening, cool. Then the reveal of what was actually going on happened and I felt disappointed and confused. It just didn’t work for me, I think part of it is that this was marketed as a YA horror and I think it falls more into a Sci-fi/contemporary category. You also have to suspend belief for this book. Your telling me two teenagers are renting a camper with no adults and no one is batting an eye. And then the way Beck just leaves her younger sister all the time. Yikes. I see the messages the author was trying to portray about moving through trauma and grief but it felt strange with the sci-fi element.

The structure of this book was a bit overly complicated, and that's why it's getting 4 instead of 5 stars. Otherwise, I loved the story. I found the characters to be well-constructed and developed - maybe not likeable, but competently crafted.

After reading and loving Goulds previous book I was so anticipating this one only to come out of it with just an okay reaction.
Books that deal with timey wimey stuff are very hit or miss with me and that area of the book is the part I did not vibe with the most.
Her writing? Superb. I love it and will continue to pick up more.
This just wasn't the story for me.
Another smaller thing to add is that we get so much build up about this festival and then it barely even happens. Like half a page at most. I was expecting a full blown carnival type of fest.
And our main character Beck... yeah couldn't stand her.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

What I loved:
-Spooky, ominous feeling throughout the book
-I "thought" I knew what was going on, I totally did not. What was truly going on was way more twisted than I thought it was going to be. LOVE!
- The author made me sympathize with the main character and her mission in Backravel, I wanted her to succeed!
- The evolution of the Beck/Avery relationship

What didn't work for me//was ok:
- I wanted to know more about Beck's mom & her illness and how it was interwoven with Backravel
- God, I hated Ricky! That was obviously the point but his scenes with Beck made me angry!
- More science explanation please! How? Why? I wanted a bigger explanation to what was happening.

I ended up really enjoying this one! It took me a few days to get past the first couple chapters into the story but when I really sat down and focused, this turned into a quick read! I really loved Courtney Goulds previous book so I'm thrilled that this one was just as great! Ill be watching for future books by this author for sure!

Great queer representation, wonderful writing, a creepy, twisty story. I am not the biggest sci-fi fan, but it held my attention enough to see it though. This is my first time reading a book by the author. One of the things I admire most about a writer is how I can hear their stories in my head like songs. This book is a great example of a hum and a tune while flipping pages. 

The book is captivating, has wonderful queer representation, as well as a creepy, twisty story that kept me intrigued. I'm not the biggest sci-fi fan, but it was enough to hold my attention, and I saw it though to the end. This is my first time reading a book by the author, and I think they did a great job. One of the things I admire most about a writer is how I can hear their stories in my head like songs. This book is a great example of a hum and a tune while flipping pages.

It is not my first choice in book types, but I am open minded to the arts and I appreciate the artist. I also feel more history of the town could have been tied in. I still have questions. I found myself wavering between a 3-4 review and decided on a 3 with the other similar books I read this year. 

Thank you Net Galley & St. Martin's Press for the ARC