Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books for the ARC! “Some secrets should have never been buried…” This was a fun read - definitely a YA thriller.

Secrets Never Die by Vincent Ralph
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Five teens leave their annual Halloween Party behind to go into the woods to unload their worst secrets. This year their secrets won’t stay buried.
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What I liked:
-This book was a lot of fun to read. The pages flew by and I was suspicious of loads of people!
-The reveal was not what I expected! I was most suspicious of the wrong character entirely! 😅
-I loved Sam’s little sister. 💜
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I don’t want to say much else and spoil things but I would recommend this for any YA thriller fans for sure.
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

How nice would it be to get your secrets out somewhere in the woods, far away, and your secrets stay just that. Secrets. No one has to know. Well, we all know that doesn't happen. Whatever secrets you have unless you keep them to yourself and do not speak them or write them down, they will come out.
This is what happens to our characters. Now I will say the secrets being told in this hut is not earth-shattering, but for the teens they are major to them. We all know teens are dramatic.
So when the threats and blackmail start happening, they start wondering who is behind it, and what can they do so their secrets don't get out. I will say I didn't get who was behind it until the end and it all goes to show that what happens in the past doesn't always stay there. I think the teenagers will like this as it has that right amount of mystery, it does have a queer character in the story, but nothing that should turn you away. One of my favorite reads? No, but it was enjoyable.

Thank you Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the eARC of this book.

Tropes: Secrets, Found Family, Past Coming Back to Haunt You, Betrayal

This book follows a group of friends that have a ritual that they do every Halloween. They go to the Dark Place and confess their secrets. What is said in the Dark Place is never repeated and the friends don't share what they say- because some secrets need to be buried. This year Sam, Dom, Elisha, Lauren, and Haran go to the woods, but when Sam goes in to tell their secret they hear screaming... then the smell of rancid blood as something is thrown at the Dark Place.

The next day the group starts getting Instagram DMs from a Sasha Craven and somehow she knows their secrets.

Quote: "There are four people in this photograph, but only three of them are smiling real smiles. The other is staring out of the image with eyes as black as coal and a grin like a knife slash, because they are wearing a mask. The same mask that has been haunting us for weeks."

Thoughts:

It took me about 45% of the book to decide that I enjoyed it. The first part of the story was hard for me to get into and honestly it creeped me out a little bit. I didn't really care about the characters and Sam was very "woe is me". Thankfully the story was very fast paced so it was easy to keep reading... in the hope that it would suck me in. Thankfully it did.

This book creeped me out multiple times, and I was concerned about the safety of the kids in this book. I have lots of questions for the parents and why they didn't take action sooner... like I don't fully understand. If I had a kid and they were being stalked I wouldn't be as relaxed about it. Also the dad in this book- not a fan.

I appreciate that the conflict between Sam and his friends that "stabbed him in the back" somewhat got resolved at the end of the story. I don't know how realistic that is for high school kids but I liked that he didn't block them out forever. Also I liked the resolution between Lauren and her significant other.

I did not see the bad guy plot point until they revealed it. I like that she was introduced earlier in the story, but I never would have guessed her as the person - along with her minions- stalking the kids.

Overall a decent read but not my favorite YA thriller that I have read.

Everyone has secrets. This group of friends has decided that every year on Halloween, they will go off to the Dark Place in the woods and let their secrets free. But what happens when someone hears you free your secrets and then uses them against you?

This book is fast paced and will keep you reading until the very end. I was able to read it in one sitting and enjoyed the twists and turns within the storyline.

3.25/5

Secrets Never Die is my first time reading Vincent Ralph, and judging from the reviews I've seen, I need to go back and read his last two books. This was a fast-paced and very engaging novel, and I love that it kept me guessing. I was suspecting almost everyone in this book EXCEPT the person the bad guy ended up being. The chapters are all very short and I liked that each one was titled to insinuate something about that chapter. The book is told almost entirely from Sam's point of view, which was fine, but I wish the author would have gone into a little more detail with the characters' lives. You don't really get to know much about Sam and Elisha as a couple and are basically just dropped into the story without a ton of background.

Christopher Gebauer is our MC for the audiobook, and I thought he was a very fitting voice for Sam as a character. He sounded younger which was perfect since this is a YA novel, and I enjoyed every moment of listening to him. There are plenty of twists and secrets revealed along the way, and also lots of action! At times I was thinking there might be a paranormal aspect as well, and in some ways, the different elements did feel a bit all over the place. The climax also felt oddly anticlimactic, and I was expecting more though again, I didn't guess who it was or what was actually going on until the reveal. All in all, I think tweens and teens alike will be into this one, and if you are an adult, you just might like it too!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Loved this book from start to finish! So many twists and turns I didn’t see coming. Easy to read and keeps you on the edge until the last page.

3.5⭐️

For a YA read, this one was a decent story! It was fast paced, had short chapters (MY FAVE) and it did pack a few good twists that I was not prepared for.

I do feel that if the "secrets" had been a bit more "life-threatening" maybe or larger in some way that it would have given this an extra punch.

It's a little harder to give a full review without spoiling anything, but I think some of the story was a bit unrealistic. Parents (especially today imo) would be way more overbearing and involved. It's hard to imagine something so big happening and them not really realizing or paying attention to the potential afterhshock and effects of that.

Overall it was a fun read, I just wish it would have been a bit bigger!

Big thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books for the ARC copy! Out everywhere now!

This YA horror stumbles but creates a creepy mystery.
Every Halloween Sam Hall and his friends tell their secrets in an abandoned hut in the woods. This “Dark Place” is supposed to be where their secrets die. But when Sam and his friends are attacked in the hut, they begin to realize that their secrets are coming back to haunt them. Someone is holding them accountable for their past by terrorizing them. Who is it and why are they torturing them?
The book is not well written. Each chapter is short, which in itself isn’t a problem, but Vincent Ralph presents ideas and plot points brushing only the surface. There were chapters that I didn’t understand why were in the book; they were a waste of space. Also, the events don’t escalate in the proper order during the beginnings of the creepy events. This wouldn’t be so bad if the characters said things had escalated when they had backtracked.
The root of the story is pretty good, harkening back to classic horror stories. Ralph also creates creepy scenarios that fuel the story. The events the kids live through create an urgency to find out what happened and what Sam’s secret is. The story builds up to something life-changing, but Sam’s secret is almost nothing. While it explains his guilt, it doesn’t really change anything in the long run or truly affect the cause of the story.
I enjoyed the last quarter of the book where the heart of the mystery unfolds, but it was sluggish getting to that point.

This book was a bit of a challenge for me. While I loved the short chapters and family elements, I found the central secrets to be a bit low stakes for the amount they matter to the plot. Only one character had a secret I actually considered worth the fight, and I didn’t love the ending. I also would have loved more character development as it mostly felt like these characters all just existed to have the dark place set up. Overall this was a miss for me.

Thank you to Wednesday books and netgalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

There's nothing like a YA thriller to reset my love for reading. This book was twisty and enjoyable. Kept me guessing in all the right ways.

I received a Digital Reader Copy from St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is a Young Adult book. The short chapters made this an easy read for me. The pacing kept me interested in finding out how the story ended.

I do think this novel is geared toward YA. Reading it as an adult, the characters could have been more developed, and the story was drawn out.

I was a big fan of R.L. Stine's Fear Street series back in the day, and Secrets Never Die gave me all the same vibes as those books. It seemingly starts out like a lot of YA thrillers I've read - something creepy happens in the woods, and then the group of friends starts receiving weird messages from someone unknown. However, I felt like Secrets Never Die had a really strong plot, especially as it came to light who the stalker was and what happened in the past. It's a true, secrets never stay hidden kind of story.

While I don't read a lot of YA, I did really enjoy this one and feel like all ages will enjoy it.

Thank you Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

This book is about a group of friends who visit an abandoned hut that they call “The Dark Place” to bury their secrets each year. This year, secrets from their past are coming back to haunt them. In particular, their secrets from the night Sam’s career as a child star ended.

This story very much gave me the vibes of a YA version of Scream mixed with Pretty Little Liars.

Thank you to Netgalley, Vincent Ralph, St. Martin’s Press, and Wednesday Books for the digital arc of this book.

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book. If you like Pretty Little Liars, you’ll love this book. For me, this reminded me a little bit too much of PLL so it was just a meh for me. I didn’t see the twist coming, but it was kind of underwhelming for me. In the beginning of the book, I couldn’t tell who the main character was because it didn’t give a lot of information on if the main character was a boy or a girl, what he looked like, or what his name was. It was an ok book, not the worst, but not the best either.

4.5 round up

Vincent Ralph's "Secrets Never Die" offers a chilling and exhilarating thrill ride that kept me engrossed from start to finish. This suspenseful tale immerses readers in an atmosphere that's as mysterious as it is captivating, setting the stage for an unforgettable narrative.

One of the standout elements of this book is its unwavering pace. The plot hurtles forward with a relentless energy that ensures there's never a dull moment. I found myself eagerly listening along, driven by the need to uncover the secrets that loom over the characters.

Speaking of characters, the main protagonists are a dynamic ensemble, each harboring secrets that are as diverse as they are compelling. I appreciated how their individual mysteries ranged in depth, revealing layers of complexity within the group. This multifaceted exploration of secrecy added depth to the story, keeping me guessing about what lay beneath the surface.

The ending of the book was a well-executed. It managed to provide closure while leaving just enough room for speculation, a delicate balance that's often hard to achieve in thrillers. This touch of ambiguity added an extra layer of intrigue, ensuring that the story lingered in my thoughts long after I'd finished reading.

In summary, "Secrets Never Die" is a spine-tingling thriller that masterfully blends suspense and mystery. With its engaging atmosphere, a cast of intriguing characters, and a thought-provoking conclusion, it's a book that deserves every bit of its 4.5-star rating. For those who revel in stories that keep you on the edge of your seat, this one is a must-read. Vincent Ralph has delivered a tale that will haunt you long after the final page is turned.

Secrets Never Die is a thrilling novel of suspense for teens. Former childhood TV star, Sam Hall, and his friends "bury" their secrets in the dark place once a year. This year, someone was there, listening, and remembers everything they've shared. I liked the horror aspects of this story and a twist that kept me guessing. Some aspects were hard to imagine, like what exactly the dark place looked like. For some readers this might have added to the creep factor but for me I found it distracting. Readers who like Karen McManus and Kara Thomas will enjoy this book as well. A recommended purchase for school and public libraries serving teens.

A group of friends go to the Dark Place every Halloween, a physical space where they can spill their secrets and no one else can hear, where they can leave feeling lighter and less burdened. But someone knows their secrets now, and are using them against them.

This was by no means a bad book. There was a lot of suspense and some genuinely scary moments. But the story also felt a little convoluted, and like there was too much going on. The ending chapter packed a punch though. I liked this book, it just wasn’t my favorite of the genre.

I liked the pacing of this book with every chapter ending on a cliff. I went in expecting Pretty Little Liars type secrets so their secrets were a bit of a letdown. I like this author and will read more by him. I can see this book being turned into a mini-series.

I feel like this book could have been so much more and I was a little let down by the “big reveal”. I just felt like the backgrounds and motivations of some of the main people didn’t feel fully fleshed out. Like some of the things they did didn’t seem to make sense.