Where Echoes Die is a slow burn thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. So good!

A slow-burn of a thriller where at the very heart of the story are the sisters' relationships with each other and what each thought they had with their mother. Definitely a refreshing book with a twist.

I really enjoyed this one. I really liked Gould's debut back in 2021, but this one kind of blew it out of the water. Gould crafts an atmosphere and a mystery that really sinks into you and gradually consume you until the very end. I was figuratively on the end of my seat as I was reading it, trying to figure out alongside Beck what the hell was going on in this town. Though I managed to figure out a couple things earlier, the official reveals were still immensely satisfying.

I also really adored Beck. You could really feel her need to solve this mystery of how important it is to her because of its deep-rooted connections to her mom. Beck has also had to carry so much weight throughout her life, like her dad leaving, her mom's illness, taking care of her younger sister, all of this cumulates into her obsession and her grief; it really tugged on my heart strings.

I don't wanna say too much about mystery, but if anyone has ever read Remember Me Gone, a similar thing happens here, only Gould executed the idea/themes much better, in my opinion.

Overall, this was such a great novel. I cannot wait to continue to follow Gould's career and see what else she will come up with in the future.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of WHERE ECHOES DIE!!

Wow, this book was so unnerving in the best ways possible. The whole mystery shrouding the town and how out of place Riley and Beck were made the experience that much more tense. I was thoroughly creeped out at many parts in the story, and while I figured out part of the twist, the rest of the twist and the entirety of the ending really took me for a ride.

I was invested in the characters and the plot from the beginning, and seeing Beck’s spiral reminded me of Pip’s spiral from the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series. The intensity of the borderline obsession and the fervor of Beck’s persistence was so visceral. I also appreciated how established and real the relationships between the whole Birsching family were. It made me able to both sympathize with and understand the characters a lot more.

I found some writing style choices to be repetitive (one being the repetition of Ellery’s full name, which felt overdone and unnecessary) but it didn’t impact my thoughts and feelings of the plot too much. It was a minor thing that slightly bothered me at the most.

Highly recommend this book for any fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder who are looking for a slightly paranormal sapphic thriller. Definitely going to be reading more of Courtney Gould in the future!

What I loved
-examination of grief in an intense horror/thriller
-slow build up and revelations leads into a crescendo of possibly unavoidable events
-Supernatural vibes
What didn't work as well for me
-dialogue tags felt oddly intrusive in their use from time to time
-the girls keeping things from their surviving parent regarding their travel plans in the begging was profoundly unsettling.(Likely intended to be so but I was shaken)
Who I would recommend this title for
Where echoes Die is the perfect read for former fans of Supernatural looking for a female eccentric story examining themes of grief while pulling strong horror and mystery vibes.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for "Where Echoes Die" by Courtney Gold.

Normally I have no issue finishing books quickly, but it initially felt like there was a very slow start to the book: I had trouble engaging with the story, and wanting to care about the characters. The setup, and world building was a little scattered, and sometimes I did have a bit of trouble remembering or following events... which actually worked considering this story deals with some 'slips' in memory, and 'slips' in time.

Overall though the concept was phenomenal. I've always been fascinated by reading about oddly cult-like communities... and this book definitely had that. I am sure this book is one that my students would enjoy - for the creepy factor. I also felt like "Where Echoes Die" tackles the ideas of loss and grief in a way that they can be processed easily.

Side note: For some reason while reading I kept thinking of the Strangerville world in Sims 4 game... it had the same creepiness with the people of the town, and the secret facility.

Overall 4/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this e-arc!

This book was slow crawling, but so worth it. I loved the queer rep. I found it so interesting to follow Beck through her grief. The story slowly builds and builds on itself.

The emotional aspects of this story were heart wrenching. The storytelling was beautiful.

4.5 beautiful stars.

I liked the premise of this book and its initial focus on family relationships. However, the romantic subplot felt unnecessary and one-dimensional, and I did not understand Beck's motivation to stay in the town given all of the negative things about it. The focus was so heavily placed on the negatives of the town. I wish more positive aspects had been explored to explain Beck's motivation to stay, or that she had not wanted to stay at all.

Thank you to Courtney Gould, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

First, look at that cover! I absolutely love it!

Second, this book does start slow. But you must hang on because it gets so good. I found the characters really enjoyable.

I also like Courtney's writing style. Very easy to follow and read. Beck's grief was perfectly captured and written. The details make you feel like you are standing there, watching this all play out in front of you. This is definitely one that I will recommend.

Before I started my review I wanted to check the genres tagging for Where Echoes Die, and I’m a little surprised science fiction isn’t listed.

Beck, my darling Beck. She is my bookish doppelgänger; and I love her deeply. She is so broken, yet so strong.

This book is quite a bizarre adventure, but I highly recommend visiting Backravel, and enduring your dose of “wtf.”

I also need a Desert Woman book, because she has to have the answers I seek.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC of WHERE ECHOES DIE!!

Wow, this book was so unnerving in the best ways possible. The whole mystery shrouding the town and how out of place Riley and Beck were made the experience that much more tense. I was thoroughly creeped out at many parts in the story, and while I figured out part of the twist, the rest of the twist and the entirety of the ending really took me for a ride.

I was invested in the characters and the plot from the beginning, and seeing Beck’s spiral reminded me of Pip’s spiral from the A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series. The intensity of the borderline obsession and the fervor of Beck’s persistence was so visceral. I also appreciated how established and real the relationships between the whole Birsching family were. It made me able to both sympathize with and understand the characters a lot more.

I found some writing style choices to be repetitive (one being the repetition of Ellery’s full name, which felt overdone and unnecessary) but it didn’t impact my thoughts and feelings of the plot too much. It was a minor thing that slightly bothered me at the most.

Highly recommend this book for any fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder who are looking for a slightly paranormal sapphic thriller. Definitely going to be reading more of Courtney Gould in the future!

Where Echoes Die sucked me in right away. It was giving me very strong Supernatural (the show) vibes (minus the Impala, classic music, and pie!). Overall, I liked this book but there were a few things that kept this from being 5 stars for me. Unless I missed it somehow, the ending isn’t fully explained. I also kind of felt like the relationship between Beck and Avery was forced. They didn’t really have a lot of chemistry while I was reading.
The amount of growth that Beck goes through while processing her mother’s death at the end makes it worth it!

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was invited to read this title after reviewing the debut book by Gould, The Dead and the Dark. 2 things are clear to me: Gould is a gifted writer of sci-fi/paranormal horror YA & it's not necessarily for me. She does very good descriptive language and character development, I just feel a little lost over the book and relieved it's finished.

Beck and Riley are sisters who have driven many hours from their home in Washington State to a hidden, mysterious town called Backravel, Arizona. Beck has been pulled there under false pretenses after their mother has died by a letter in her mom's handwriting. Things are odd in Backravel. People seem to be forgetful and hazy, and there's no cemeteries or animals. The first part was a struggle to read because I didn't understand the draw of this town to Beck. Then things go from weird to bad to worse.

The ending was intriguing, and I enjoyed the Sapphic romance between Beck and Avery. The unspooling and time lapses are just hard to comprehend as well as a town that is preserved in time where echoes die. The thing that made this book interesting to me is that it gave me Christopher Pike feels at times. He was one of my favorite authors when I was a young adult - before there was a genre of YA. I just don't know if this content is right for anyone under 16. It's just a lot to take in, and it's not because of the lesbian representation/ kissing. [Trigger warning for disapproving adult in power although it could have been other reasons ]

35/☆ 6/20/23 release.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for an Electronic ARC of this novel.

Beck Birsching is grieving the recent death of her mother and has traveled to the town that intrigued her mother during the last years of her life. Spinning a lie to their father about where they actually are, Beck and her sister Riley are on a pilgrimage to Backravel, Arizona, ostensibly to honor their mother, but Beck has ulterior motives - she is determined to figure out why the town enthralled her mother so much.

Once they arrive, they have an eerie feeling that things are not as they seem. No spoilers, but it was an interesting plot. Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould is a mystery at its heart. Some of the twists and turns were obvious but I wasn't expecting to go where it ended up.

I enjoyed it for the most part. I wish that we found out more about Riley, the sister. We got a lot of the interaction of Beck and everyone else, but I thought the relationship with her sister should have been fleshed out more.

I received a free digital copy from Netgalley for my honest review!!

Whoo what can I say. I was very excited to read this book. The cover drew me in and so did the premise. Unfortunately...I started it, stopped, started it again, and then stopped and FORGOT I was reading it. I couldn't get into it, and that was a bad sign. But I was determined to finish it and when I did, I was just thinking, I'm glad it's over.

I recommend everyone read ANYTHING that sparks their interest and take my review with a grain of salt.

What I thought the book was about: murder cult. Yeah, maybe I was reaching a little too far for that one, but come on!! Mysterious desert, mom dead, investigating a charismatic leader of some treatment center???

What the book was actually about: not that.

I don't want to give any spoilers, but even though I could picture the desert very well, it could've been in any desert and not specifically Arizona. I mean, California and New Mexico are deserts too. And the characters were a mess. I didn't care about any of them except kinda Riley and only because I wanted to leave Backravel (not wild about that name) as much as she did. I didn't buy the hasty romance and I got impatient with Beck's constant suspicions over things that I felt had simple explanations. This book relied heavily on telling, not showing. I felt the author was trying too hard to build mystery and suspense when that should come naturally.

Also, Becca acting like no one uses the word slip...like what?

Anyway, I couldn't feel any sense of mystery or urgency and I felt like the Desert Woman's character was pretty obvious. The reveal was VERY interesting, again, the premise is great. But the follow-thru fell flat and there was no flow (probably like this review, ha). The ending was partly intriguing, partly thrown together, and tied everything up neatly.

I was then surprised to learn this was NOT a debut novel. However, I saw a lot of reviewers on Goodreads did not like it and felt like her first book was much better. I remember seeing it when it first came out but I didn't end up picking it up and probably won't. I think this book could benefit from some hardcore editing and peer review before it comes out.

Honestly I might try another book by this author, why not?

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review.

Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould is an intriguing YA novel that hooked me from the first page and didn’t let it go. It perfectly combines mystery and thriller, it was atmospheric and ambient. In my opinion, this is a wonderfully done book - especially with the added element of representation, as this is a genre that sorely lacks it. The author established setting beautifully, had a clear and distinct narrative voice, and wove the story intricately with ease. I would definitely recommend this book

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely adored Courtney's first book and was thrilled when I heard about this one. I love the way Courtney writes and from the very beginning I was sucked into this. It was enthralling and I loved the mystery and intrigue. I couldn't put it down. Another hit from Gould!

Gave me major Don't Worry Darling vibes!

I loved everything about this and I couldn't put it down. The weird town and the sister relationship are done so perfectly.

It's definitely slow-paced and can seem like nothing is happening at times but you get these bits and pieces that make you NEED to keep reading to find out what happened. Another masterpiece by Courtney Gould!!

*thank you NetGalley and the publisher for my eARC*

I feel like I can tell a good book when I want to brush the desert dust off myself after finishing it, but I'm actually still in my living room. This book was so eerie and spooky but so vivid and real at the same time. Courtney Gould does such a good job with her visceral descriptions of grief, family and sisters and her writing made Backravel seem so real. I did get a little lost in the story at points and I'm not sure I fully gathered the plot but I still really enjoyed it!!

In a year of really great sophomore novel releases, Courtney Gould is hitting this one out of the park. A stellar exploration of grief and trying to hold onto the past. And it's gay! Thematically different from Dead and the Dark while continuing to deliver that atmospheric eeriness that is becoming a calling card of Gould's work. I don't read much paranormal fiction but something about these stories draw me in every time.