I legitimately cannot tell which of Courtney Gould's books that I like more at this point. A master of setting and making interesting characters already for sure!

Overall Score: 3.25/5
Character Development: 3/5
Plot: 3/5
Ease of Reading: 4/5
Overall Enjoyment: 3/5

I was really enticed by this read- the premise was interesting and from the beginning I felt the writer’s style was both captivating and eloquent. I love books that have family secrets and this one seemed like a great mystery thriller with familial drama.
I think overall there was just some disconnect with the characters for me. I found the mystery of Backravel interesting and there were definitely some major plot twists, but something just didn’t fully hit the head on the nail for me. Sometimes the characters- Riley and Beck and all the characters we meet in Backravel- just felt flat and more plot driven. But I did have a good time with this book and I know some people that would definitely love it! I might try picking it back up in the future to see if my mind changes!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review!

Oh boy, why’d it take me so long to read this! I loved The Dead and the Dark so I should’ve been right on this one but life gets in the way.

Courtney Gould is such a talent and knows how to write emotion, especially when it comes to grief and loss with a supernatural/fantasy twist. Dark, eerie and atmospheric, Where Echoes Die turns a town into a character itself. The town of Blackravel is as much a character as the two sisters who travel there, searching for the hold it had on their mother until her death.

While there is a pervasive supernatural premise within this story, there is a strong theme of love, forgiveness and gut-wrenching grief, too. The incorporation of the two is so beautifully done as only Gould can do.

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. Looking forward to what Gould does next.

Thank you for this advanced copy, I actually listened to the finished audiobook from my library. I loved Gould’s first two books. They were perfectly spooky, and this book was missing that for me. It was suspenseful, emotional, and dramatic, but there was just something missing for me. I couldn’t stay engaged, and I wasn’t all that invested in the characters.

I think I might've enjoyed this one more than Courtney's previous book, The Dead and the Dark. This one was so atmospheric and profound in its handling of loss. I looooove stories about weird towns, so this was definitely right up my alley. And I wanted to know all the answers - why all these weird things were happening - so bad that the book never really dragged for me. I found Beck to be a very effective narrator for this story, albeit somewhat unlikeable and unreliable at times, and overall liked all the characters and their dynamics. Avery was an interesting character to read about, because even she wasn't really sure of who she was for most of the book, leading to just more questions to explore.

This story also had some interesting things to say about grief and loss that I liked. You can choose to forget the pain, to live in bliss, but is that really a life if you forget your loved ones?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. This review reflects my honest opinions.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I went into it, but ultimately I thought this was a great story! It drew me in and kept me hooked. I can't wait to read more from this author!

In the vein of books like "Wilder Girls" and "Where Darkness Blooms", books about Troubled Girls and Strange Towns solving a Slightly Supernatural Mystery are having a Moment. It can be difficult for these books to stand out from each other at a glance, but I truly think Gould had something special here.

"Where Echoes Die" hits all the typical story beats of this subgenre. Sad, sapphic girl, weird town, trying to uncover familial problems. The problem of the town being a kind of supernatural force but without being too specific. The writing is good, and the plot is fine. Where I think this book shines the most is in its depiction of grief. Gould perfectly captures the frozen-in-place force of depression, how it keeps you rooted, how you're constantly looking back and just can't even imagine what a future where you're happy could look like. It's one of the most honest and most accurate depictions I've seen in YA literature, and it was wonderful to see. If you enjoy the genre, you'll enjoy this, and its rawness makes it all the better.

I have such conflicting feelings about this one. I loved The Dead and the Dark and thought I would enjoy Where Echoes Die as well, sadly I didn’t. I had to be honest with myself and dnf 45% in. This one just wasn’t for me.

I tried reading it digitally and then decided to stop 20% in and wait for the audiobook to publish because I thought I might enjoy it more. I’m just not. It feels to slow and I’m not connecting to our main character. The town is spooky and gives of this crazy vibe which I did enjoy but it’s taking to long to get to the heart of the story for me.

I will still continue to pick up this author in the future. This book just didn’t work for me unfortunately.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould!

I gave this a four out of five stars. I really enjoyed this book. It was different than I was expecting to but I liked it. I liked the characters and the story line. I enjoy the others writing.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have loved some of the darker teen releases in the last few years. Most of the ones I really enjoy center around something you could call southern gothic but this one was a little different. I think that it still worked but at the same time I felt like I could really see the divide between teen reading and adult reading -- some of the YA books I read in this genre have an understanding of the characters and don't belittle them with their age. I think that some of this book did that to Beck, making her useless and incapable for 17. The adults loomed too large and her younger sister, Riley, was more capable than her. That, and the fake science was a bit wonky. But it was fun!

3 stars.

I’m just glad it wasn’t aliens! 😅

Before Beck’s mom died, she had a secret. A secret hidden in a secret mysterious town with secret mysterious people. And Beck is going to figure out that secret, even if it kills her and her sister (and maybe everyone else in Backwoods, AZ).

This book started out soooo intriguing! I loved the premise and the town really creeped me out. But then it just got so boring and repetitive. I wanted more creeping from the antagonist and more showing (less telling).

Overall I liked it but I wanted more!

3/5 creepy little stars.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book! All opinions are my own.

Where Echoes Die is a flawed but interesting YA horror/thriller that hooked me, but also frustrated me.

The book begins after Beck and Riley’s mother Ellery has died. Beck receives a letter from Ellery inviting her to visit a town that she (an investigative journalist) was obsessed with.  

The buildup is fantastic, and the town of Backravel is SO creepy.  Residents seem to forget having met Beck and Riley, and there are odd rules and traditions.  Scariest of all, the town is built around some kind of “treatment centre” but no one will tell Beck what the treatment is for.

I struggled a bit with the character motivations in this book.  I’m not sure I believed some of their choices to keep silent about things they learned, or to stay in the town once they discovered worrisome things (it’s hard to explain my feelings without spoilers…).  

I also felt I needed a bit more from the ending.  The book had such a creepy, suspenseful build and then lost me a bit.  There wasn’t enough payoff for me.

Still, I’m glad I read the book and I enjoyed a lot about it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for my review copy of this book.

➽ <b>There's something strange going on in Backravel, Arizona.</b> Where Echoes Die is definitely a weird book, in a good way. It follows <b>sisters Beck and Riley who arrive in the town their mother was obsessed with</b>. Beck's the driving force that brought them here, desperate to uncover the mystery of the town in order to fulfil what her mother wanted to do before her death. <b>Something is off about Backravel right away and the inhabitants aren't too keen on her asking questions</b>. It's not exactly a tourist spot and Beck stands out as an outsider. She lied to her sister about why she wanted to come here, so Beck's on her own and time is running out for her. Afterward they are supposed to go live with their father, but <b>Beck cannot rest until she finds out why Backravel was so special to her mother!</b>

I have to admit that <b>I liked this a bit less than The Dead and the Dark</b>, because the story was a bit slow in parts and not as surprising as I would have liked. I don't need a grand plot twist, but I called so many of the reveals, with one being so obvious to me, the moment we meet this character. <b>Where Echoes Die has many great messages</b> about pain, grief and refusing to move on. Nevertheless, <b>I wish the author had introduced a bit more action into the story</b>, for a majority of the time, nothing much went on except Beck asking questions and not getting many answers.

➽ <b>Beck was a great, complex main character</b>. She's still struggling with the grief of losing her mother and was never too good at interacting with other teens. <b>While her sister Riley is great at fitting in wherever she goes, Beck is more of a loner and didn't have much of a childhood</b>. Their mother's obsession with Backravel and failing health didn't make it possible for her to take care of her girls. Beck had to take care of the household chores and make sure bills were paid and food was on the table. She tried to hide it from Riley as much as possible, so the burden was on her alone.

➽ <b>I loved how the book talked about pain and grief - how they shape us and if it's possible to overcome them</b>. The longer Beck stays in Backravel and its strange community, the more she feels like maybe she was supposed to be here. The town's charismatic leader <b>Ricky promises a world without pain</b> and the possibility of going back to before your suffering started. Part of Beck is drawn to that, as her life has been very hard, but getting rid of all your pain isn't as easy as Backravel promises. There's a lot of mystery surrounding Ricky's treatments and the reason why Backravel specifically works for them!

➽ <b>Above all, the book explores family, sisterhood & first love. Beck had a complicated relationship with her mother, but she still loved her</b> and isn't ready to let her go. She's still got her sister, but they are both so different. There's lots of love there but <b>Beck's been keeping secrets</b> and Riley doesn't quite get her sister's mental health struggles. They've had very different experiences in their childhood and Beck feels like her 'new normal life' with their father and her stepmother has no place for her. While Riley might fit in, Beck has been the provider for so long, she feels like she no longer has any purpose and future. Then there's <b>Avery, Ricky's mysterious daughter who isn't too keen that Beck is snooping around the town and asking too many questions</b>. Avery might be her only source of information, so <b>Beck feels increasingly drawn to her</b>. Things aren't as easy for Avery as they might seem and finding out what's really happening will change everything between them 👀 The romance was very slowburn and in the background, but I still enjoyed their dynamic a lot!

Quick synopsis: Beck and Riley pretend to vacation in a small Arizona town called Backravel after their mother's death. But really, Beck wants to figure out why their mother, an investigative journalist, was so raptured by this desolate desert town before she died.

What I liked:
✨Backravel: this town feels like a secret character that adds to the mystery. Backravel is an isolated location with quirky residents. All "seem" to be happy getting "treatments." But there are no cars, no churches, no animals, and no cemeteries.
✨Exploration of Grief: grief unravels throughout the story - how to process, how to accept, and most importantly, how to let go.
✨Narration: Isabella Star LaBlanc's delivery adds to the ominous tone of this book. She also accentuates how Beck and Riley are deeply flawed, frightened, and emotionally messy with grief. I ended up listening more than reading the physical.

Where Echoes Die blends sci-fi, horror, and mystery. I recommend this one for fans who love creepy, isolated towns, paranormal storylines, or slow-burn mysteries. If you are already making your spooky list for October, be sure to add this one.

After the death of their mother, sisters Beck and Riley decide to travel to Arizona to visit Backravel, the small town that was the object of their mother’s obsession, before they move to Texas to live with their father. Beck, however, has an ulterior motive for visiting. Before the trip, she received a letter in her mother’s handwriting that read, Come and find me with the location of the town. Hoping to unravel the mystery of the secluded town that consumed their mother’s thoughts, Beck gets an uncanny feeling once she sets foot on the land. First, the town has no cars, cemeteries, or churches, and there’s a mixture of run-down military buildings and newly built buildings. Furthermore, the inhabitants appear to be in a perpetual state of confusion, except the town leader Ricky and his daughter Avery, who know more than they're willing to show. Desperate for answers and engrossed with her grief, will Beck find the answer she seeks or lose herself just like her mother did?

Where Echoes Die is a YA mystery that explores themes of grief, memory, and relationships. I really loved how Gould described the setting, highlighting the beauty and allure of the desert, especially against the backdrop of a small, secluded town. I did, however, find this book to be extremely repetitive at the start, especially in regard to Beck’s mission of unraveling the mystery of Backravel. While this aspect of the story was probably meant to illustrate the frustrating lack of clarity of the town’s history and her mother’s obsession, it made the pace of the narrative feel very slow. However, two-thirds into the novel, the narrative took a sharp turn which was extremely satisfying for the patient reader. Where Echoes Die is a great read for the analytical reader; this novel will have you guessing and making theories until the very end. Even so, readers will be left with more questions.

Where Echoes Die is a compelling book that takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions. Courtney Gould’s writing is descriptive and engaging, which allowed me to vividly imagine the story. I loved how relatable and complex the characters were and that they had incredible growth throughout the book. There were several plot twists that kept me invested until the end. However, there were a couple of issues that kept me from fully enjoying this book. The book sometimes suffered from pacing issues, with certain parts feeling a little slow and dragging on for too long. Also, a couple of subplots seemed underdeveloped, leaving me wanting more depth and resolution. All in all a solid debut novel. I’m excited to see Gould’s writing improve in future books! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys exploring the complexities of human emotions and is willing to overlook some pacing issues along the way!

Not what I expected at all!

There were a couple of things for me about this book. The first thing being the age of the characters and being allowed to just go on vacation on their own. I get it… they didn’t tell their dad the whole truth, but still.

This book was a little slow for me. Hard to get into. Overall the story was creepy and unsettling but that’s what the author was going for.

Interesting book. Read it if you’re looking for something a little different.

I’d like to thank Net Galley and Wednesday Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Courtney Gould is a fantastic writer, there's no denying that. She writes weird low-intensity thrillers with queer girls and I'm all here for it.

This one had a really interesting concept and I loved the idea of this strange little town. Beck and Riley come to Backravel for a vacation before moving in with their dad, to investigate what their moms fascination with the town was.

This was a very slow paced book - even the romance portion was extremely slowburn (which I actually really enjoyed, team #noinstalove)

Riley was more of a side character so I don't feel like I fully got to know her or the other teens in Backravel - but Avery and Beck are well rounded and enjoyable characters. I truly truly loved Avery, she has my entire heart and I feel so bad for her and everything she's endured.

I didn't really see the plot twist coming and I was pleasantly surprised with the turn of events and finding out what was really happening in Backravel.

In the end I feel like this book helped me in a way, the way that Beck and Avery dealt with their grief and the way that the citizens of Backravel dealt with both their emotional and physical pain was...so real. There's a point in the story where Beck discuss's if life is worth living while hiding/suppressing your pain and grief and the difficulties of moving on, remembering, and learning how to live. It was difficult to read but something that I felt like I needed to hear.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was an engaging story with fun and interesting twists. I will definitely continue to read Gould's books!

I initially thought this was a sequel to The Dead and the Dark (which I loved!). So the first chapter took me by surprise.

I didn’t really care for any of the characters and I did not understand anyone’s motivations. Both Beck and Riley were stubborn, and I found myself annoyed by both of them most of the time.

I was intrigued by the town in the beginning, but it really dragged for me. The twists were good, but weren’t enough for me to completely fall in love with the book.

It wasn’t a bad book by any means, I think I was just expecting something completely different.