I am utterly torn in regards to this book. I liked the reading of it, but feel completely cheated by the outcome. So, do I recommend it because I enjoyed the journey, or not recommend it because the end kind of ruined it? I suppose the only way to make any recommendation at all is to simply state the good and the bad, and let people make up their own minds about it.

The good bit is that the story itself makes sense. There is no failure in that regard. Everything is built up without any real extraneous "evidence" (oh, how I hate the seemingly ever-present "evidence" that actually makes no sense at all). The misleads worked and made enough sense to be viable. Many of the characters were a particular joy, especially Molly.

The bad is a little more complicated, and will require some spoilers, so be forewarned before reading further (skip the next paragraph to avoid spoilers).

The end, the answer to the mystery, while it makes perfect sense, is never hinted at. You, as the reader, have basically no chance to ever see it coming. Also, the whole thing feels like either anti-traveller racism, or an extremely clumsy attempt to bring attention to anti-traveller racism. Given the fact that there is nowhere in the book that actually describes anyone as being a traveller (or any of the more racist terms) and I am getting this feeling from vague charactizations, I would sadly say it seems more likely to be a subconscious form of the former.

I could 100% be seeing something that's not there. I am not an expert on what does and does not count as anti-traveller racism, but I am very leery of promoting anything that might be. I honestly tried to find out more about the author, hoping to get some clue about the intention behind this, but I could find nothing. So, sadly, I do not think I can recommend this book, due to the issues listed above.

Secrets Never Die is out on bookshelves today. Sam and his friends have a tradition of visiting the Dark Place every year on Halloween. They take turns in the Dark Place and reveal their secrets. Secrets they haven't shared with one another or anyone for that matter. This year is about to be different. They are attacked at the Dark Place and then they start to receive texts from an anonymous source.

The source knows their secrets and is using them to blackmail them however there is a lot more than meets the eye. This is told it some fairly short chapters and you will find yourself sucked into it.
My favorite character is Molly. Who is a minor yet important character. Who is yours?

Sam and his friends have been spilling their deepest, darkest secrets to a small hut in the woods every year on Halloween. But one year the sanctity of their space is ruined when they're interrupted and blackmailed with their secrets.

Secrets Never Die was a creepy story that had me on the edge of my seat. The short chapters made it easy to read quickly, and there was enough suspense that I needed to know who was behind the threats. I thought the ending was a little anticlimatic. The main characters are all teenagers who didn't have secrets that it really would've been so bad that it leaked.

Secrets Never Die (ARC)
Vincent Ralph
4.25⭐️

Pub Date: 8/29/2023

Every year, there's a special party. Fun and big. Every year Sam and his friends sneak out and hold a special ritual. They whisper their secrets in the Dark Place, where they know those words will never be heard. But they were. And now someone's out to get them, threatening them in exchange for supposed silence. Sam suddenly can's trust anybody, even friends and family. How far will Sam and the rest go to protect their secrets? And how deep do the lies go?

Yes omg I'm late with this review! For some reason I thought it doesn't come out til late September 😑

It starts off so cliche. Partying teens. But this doesn't bother me at all because immediately in the first chapter, there's mentions of the rituals and secrets already. Then trouble comes in. The stalker left so much messages that were creepy and intense. Suddenly everyone is suspicious... friends and family members. The chapters are short. The author is good at building tensions. It runs on a good pace. Ofcourse, there are the thriller parts which were really good. But there were also chapters that let's the reader breath a little. But since they're all short chapters, the momentum is not lost. I actually like the small breaks in between. The climax of the story, the culprit of who started all these , was so misleading. Never thought that there were other secrets from long ago that would actually bring about this tragedy.

Among other thrillers I've read, this is on the lighter side. No gory details. But nonetheless, enjoyable!

This is my second, maybe third book by this author and it did not disappoint. I was so excited to read this and I'm beyond glad that I did.

This isn’t my favorite genre, but I feel like I’m growing to appreciate it more through books like YOU’RE NOT SUPPOSED TO DIE TONIGHT and ONE OF US IS NEXT.

I liked that SECRETS NEVER DIE starts with a close-knit friend group in which everyone hides a secret. I definitely didn’t predict the direction that some of those secrets took the story. There were a few things that I did successfully predict. They were pretty minor, though, so mostly, that made it satisfying that I was right.

One particular plot bend shifted the focus of the story away from the main characters. I found some of the things that happened at that juncture to be a little less engaging. By that point, though, the stakes of the story were so high, and it seemed like whoever had it out for Sam and his friends was closing in on them.

In one scene, Sam and his girlfriend need to make up after a fight. She sits at her desk reading her favorite book, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER. Sam wants to talk to her, but he says she makes him wait until she gets to the end of the chapter she’s reading. I thought that was funny because PERKS only has four chapters in the whole book, and they’re like 40-60 pages. That’s a LONG wait unless she happened to be near the end of one already.

On the whole, I think the book does a great job in the way the story builds tension. I liked the characters, and I kept finding reasons to sneak another chapter in so I could keep reading.

I think readers who enjoy suspense/thriller stories will want to check this one out.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

When you're alone in the dark, some things won't stay hidden...

I absolutely loved this YA mystery/thriller! It’s got all my crucial elements…a high creepiness factor, a remote woods location, and everyone keeping secrets! Vincent Ralph had me guessing all the way through. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, he threw me a curveball, and I was sent off down another path. Secrets Never Die is not only perfect spooky season reading, but it's perfect anytime reading! Thanks for the opportunity to review!

This book was an interesting read, while I wouldn't have ever predicted the ending, the characters felt a little lackluster. All in all, this was a great read, and I will recommend this to all my friends!

I was shocked at how much I enjoyed this book!
While the book is touted for fans of Courtney Summers (who I adore) so I jumped at the chance to request it. It was hard to go into this book with no expectations because I wound up enjoying it a lot more then I would have if I went in with high expectations.
First, I was so grateful for the fast chapters. It kept the book moving. I don't understand why I like shorter chapters, maybe because I feel like I'm reading it faster.

I truly loved the twist, and a majority of the characters. My only issue with the book was Sam and Elisha's relationship. I didn't buy for a minute that they were a couple. That whole relationship story line was really not needed in the book.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the arc!

If you’re looking for the perfect creepy book go get you in the mood for spooky season… THIS IS IT!

This book honestly exceeded my expectations. The writing was haunting in the best way possible, the thrills were thrilling, and the chill factor was top tier👌🏼.

This was a pretty typical YA horror story. It was action packed and fast paced. The twists were a little convoluted but I did like the ultimate reveal. I liked that we didn't get a blow by blow of the school day and that there wasn't a ton of teen lingo to make the chatting bog down with slang. I also loved that it had a band of friends and their deep, dark secrets. Even though I thought some of the secrets were a bit silly to really be all that worried about, I loved that this was a layered story and you do get the laid out confession at the end, along with the reveal. It's a good little horror story, an easy & quick read.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

This book started strong and continued to grow in suspense. The characters were well developed. This wasn’t exactly in my normal realm of reads but it was good.

I cannot believe that that was the ending we were left with. The suspense throughout the novel and how it continued to build was so good. One reason I always love Vincent Ralph’s novel is because of how short the chapters are which makes it easier to get into due to the fast pace. There’s no boring parts used to fill up space or add to a flow, we just cut from one scene to the next (and it’s done in a great way). The premise of this book didn’t have me as excited as his other books but grabbed my attention very quickly. I loved how it made me question everyone (even though I did not guess the villain). I grew to really like the characters and the idea of their secrets coming to life. The fear really started to build as betrayals were revealed. It made me question a lot of things and made me consider if we really know anyone at all. There were some very surprising plot twists that I did not see coming at all. I haven’t read a thriller quite like this before and it was super enjoyable!

Okay, so, I didn’t like this book as much as I liked Ralph’s prior offering, Lock the Doors, but I did enjoy it. I just enjoyed it on a different level. I found myself enjoying it like one enjoys a slasher flick or a fun horror film that you watch for kicks (yes, I’m one of those people who adores horror films and doesn’t get scared): You just lay back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Suspend your disbelief, beware the red herrings, and be aware this book can be extremely derivative at times. Because it is. I’ve seen more than one review comparing this book to one of my favorite horror films, “Scream”, and while that’s not totally on the mark it’s not totally wrong either.

Things I loved:

1. How each main character has trauma. They may almost all be in high school, but if any parent thinks their teenager hasn’t dealt with some sort of trauma by the time they get to their senior year of high school then they haven’t been paying close enough attention.

2. Flawed parents. I can’t count how many YA books I’ve read where there has to be one set of parents who are perfect. None of the parents in this book are perfect. If any kid gets to be 18 and thinks their parents are perfect, well, see above: you haven’t been paying enough attention.

3. The ending. I can’t spoil it, but I liked it.

4. Our main protagonist, Sam Hall, and his dynamic with his little sister, Molly. If only all big brothers loved their little sisters that much the world would be a better place.

5. The friendship between Sam and Haran. Their friendship is GOALS.

Things I didn’t love:

1. How many loose ends were left. Spoilers there be, so I’ll leave that there.

2. There were just too many twists, turns, and convolutions. The writing could’ve been tighter.

3. Did it really have to be so derivative? Or could Ralph have gone a little darker or deeper instead?

4. The book as a whole felt rushed because there was so much stuff packed into it. It felt a little green, like it could’ve used another editing round or two.

5. As much as I loved the teen horror-flick feel, I would’ve loved to have seen this topic taken on as a more deeper, darker, tone.

All that being said, Vincent Ralph is an incredibly talented and entertaining writer. It’s a fun book to read, even if it’s not something that’ll keep you guessing or have you quaking in your fuzzy socks. It’s a great bit of fun.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Coming of Age/YA Fiction/YA Mystery/YA Suspense/YA Thriller

Each year Sam and his friends visit the Dark Place, an abandoned hut in the woods, to confess their secrets and then leave them behind. It’s helped them to unburden themselves of deeply held secrets, but this year is different. Someone has been listening to their secrets, someone who wants revenge.

This is a well paced YA Mystery Thriller. We follow this group of friends as they are stalked and blackmailed for the secrets they revealed in the Dark Place. With several twists along the way, I suspected just about everyone at one point. While I didn’t love every twist along the way, I did love how the book leaned into the importance of true friendships.

This is a perfect spooky season book for YA readers; and adults who are looking for a fun read with a little bit of spooky sprinkled in.

⭐⭐⭐💫 (3.5)

Thank you to @netgalley @macmillam.audio @wednesdaybooks and @stmartinspress for the gifted copy of this book.

Personally, I had a hard time getting into this one. I liked the concept, but the writing style wasn't for me - I felt like the way the characters talk didn't feel like the typical experiences I have with most of the teenagers in my classroom all day. That being said, I found the story concept very unique (kind of a mix of thriller and supernatural?) and I will be recommending it to my students to read!

An atmospheric, fast moving thriller.

The story is about a group of kids that go into a cabin in a forest to shed their secrets. But after this last time, someone starts to follow them and threaten them to expose their secrets that they thought were safe in this cabin.

At first it felt like it might be a paranormal/horror thriller. There's a feeling of impending doom. That these secrets are going to implode their worlds. And that something evil and paranormal came out in those woods. I loved the atmosphere.

However, towards the end.. It kind of fell flat. Yes, I liked the reveal of the secret person. But no, I did not like the secrets. It was one of those moments where having a conversation could have solved a lot of heartache and anxiety for these kids. From that perspective - the lesson is, please talk to those you think you hurt. Sometimes our secrets are bigger in our head and heart, than they would be in real life.

I liked how fast this moved. It was an easy and a fun read.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

This was quick-paced and has a fun ensemble. I liked the idea of the story more than the execution, but will still recommend it to readers looking for a thrill.

While I didn’t totally connect with the main character, the story still got my attention and kept me fully engaged from start to finish. Former child star, Sam Hall, and a small number of his friends have an odd Halloween ritual. They come together at an old hut in the woods every Halloween. They’ve named it the Dark Place and they take turns going inside, holding private ‘funerals’ where they burying their secrets and fears. This year is things are a little different. They get interrupted, but they don’t know by who. And then they all start to receive bizarre text messages from someone called Sasha Craven, a person who supposed doesn’t exist, that was made up as a way for one of them to get out of a relationship. That might sound odd, and perhaps I’m not explaining it well, but it’ll totally make sense when you read it in the book. But why is everyone receiving these messages? Who knows their secrets? And what do they intend to do with them? This is a quick read with short chapters, the kind that make you say I’ll just read one more again and again until you suddenly realize that one more chapter you intended to read has now become ten more chapters. The pacing is good, the story intriguing and twisting. Like I said the only real issue I had was not totally connecting with Sam, but maybe that’s just me. Totally worth the time. I’d like to thank St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Secrets Never Die.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R1MSCJFOXEZJ3T/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

I enjoyed the creepy moments and the twists in this book were lots of fun. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy thrillers and mysteries. Special Thank You to Vincent Ralph, St.Martin's Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy prior to publication in exchange for an honest review.