Just wow! Well done Abbott Kahler! So great to find a new to me author. This was definitely dark and creepy with strong cult-ish vibes. Alternating timelines and POVs kept me flipping pages way past my bedtime. Incredible character development.
Thank you NetGalley and Abbott Kahler for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you @henryholtbooks and @macmillan.audio for the #gifted copies! This one comes out TOMORROW.

A book about a cult?! Sign me up. I knew immediately after reading the synopsis that I needed this book.

Overall, this was a strong mystery read. The first half was fast paced and had me guessing. I was hooked. Maybe it was just me, but the second half was a bit hard to follow? All the characters lost me a bit and started to get jumbled in my mind.

But I think a lot of folks will like this one, so I recommend giving it a try!

Where You End by Abbott Kahler #thirdbookof2024 #arc

CW: traumatic brain injury, sexual abuse, cults, manipulation, death, murder

When Kat Bird wakes up from a coma following a car accident, she remembers nothing from her previous life, and has to rely on her twin to fill in the gaps. But Jude doesn’t tell her the truth. And Kat needs to discover why so she can relearn her history and the reason why Jude is determined to keep her from remembering.

The author of this book has written four nonfiction books but this is her first novel, and I think it was a stellar outcome. At first I didn’t care for either twin, but as I learned their backstory, their behavior started to make sense. And all of a sudden, I was all in. I was on the edge of my seat as the novel wrapped up the mystery of what happened surrounding the car accident and the traumatic history they shared.

I think this novel is well paced, and the details of the girls’ past is doled out at just the right speed. The content warnings may make it hard for some to read this one, but if you are okay with these subjects, it’s worth your time.

Thank you to @netgalley and @henryholtbooks for the advance copy. (Pub date 1/16/24)

#whereyouend

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC! Where You End is a crazy ride with all the cultish fervor and thrilling drive that closely echoes that of Mona Awad's work. While the story begins at a more soapy, YA premise with an amnesiac whose mirror twin seems to be the only surviving remnant of her memories, the underlying plot unfurls to be much more sinister.

After a harrowing car crash, Kat wakes from her coma only to remember her twin sister. The first third of the story illustrates Kat's ongoing struggle to assimilate back into her life, but how can she when the only person who can vouch for her identity is feeding her misshapen memories?

This book is told by both dual timelines and dual perspectives—mostly by Kat, as she seeks to resurface her old life, and sometimes by Jude, who attempts to fill the gaps in Kat's new reality. The timeline flips were the best part of this book. Each flashback vehicles in both truth and twist, and with it an excitement that sustains the story's crescendo. What I admired most was how almost every single detail was crafted to be a callback. Kahler's writing proves to be a promise that yields fulfillment every time.

The latter third of the book was so good, I couldn't put it down. The timelines switch more frequently, allowing brief vignettes to shine and drive the story forward, like watching two parallel lines finally coalesce.

My only issue with this story was the execution of some plot points. The romance with Sab for example just fell flat and almost unnecessary. The depiction of cults can often be difficult in an attempt to be original, and I do genuinely commend Kahler for her creativity; however, some aspects just felt too absurd (the naming conventions in the cult specifically), or at least not fully fleshed out to the extent that it appeared nonsensical. Not to bring it back to a place of Mona Awad, but I do feel that there are some absolutely ludicrous scenes that can be written to feel authentic despite its weirdness. Unfortunately, I didn't feel that while reading certain details in the past timelines here.

Overall, very interesting fiction debut from Kahler with a killer cover!!!

WHERE YOU END is a literary thriller that will keep you engaged from the very beginning. Told in alternating POVs and timelines, the story follows mirror twins, Jude and Kat. I recommend going into this blind for the best read, because you won't spoil any twists for yourself. I also recommend checking trigger warnings as well. I really enjoyed this read and enjoyed the alternating POVs and timelines. I have seen this marketed by some as horror, and in my opinion it is a stronger literary thriller than horror but horror readers will enjoy the creepy and psychological twists that WHERE YOU END brings.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an early review copy.

Abbot Kahler does not disappoint in Where You End. I look forward to reading more of her work in the future. A novel about two identical twins on a journey to truth as one navigates to understanding who she was after an accident leaves her without any memory of her past. Love between sisters as one fights to recreate a life for them both as one desperately seeks the truth. As the author provides subtle hints throughout the novel and both travel back in time to the truth from the view of Jude as she recalls the past and as Kat battles to remember. With each page, a new part of the puzzle has one pondering the truth and eager to turn the pages. With a realist view on a cult in the 70's and the effects it had on the innocent involved. A suspenseful page-turner that had me mystified right up to the end. This book is one to be devoured and worth reading as the characters and plot are so realistic.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this review copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book was captivating and perfectly paced. It kept me on edge for the entire story I found it deliciously gripping. Who are these twin girls and what happened to Kat for her to lose her memory? I highly recommend reading this story if you enjoy climatic gripping dramas with a side of cult.

5/5 for the premise of this book, 3/5 overall because the slow burn without sufficient payoff wasn't what it felt like the premise promised. The author's pivot from nonfiction is commendable, however, as this is definitely a creative structure and interesting story.

Thanks to Netgalley and Henry Holt and Co for the chance to read this eArc in exchange for an honest review. I like books surrounding cults and it was an interesting twist with the twins (I'm an only child so I don't know what it's like to have a sibling). It does get kind of odd at times with the story line, but it held my attention the entire way through. I also saw this was an Aardvark pick, so I would try it if you get the chance.

Where You End - Abbott Kahler Review

Jude and Kat are Mirror Twins. Identical in every way, but on the other side as if seen in a mirror. When Kat gets in a serious accident and isn’t able to remember anything except for Jude- it begins a dark and twisty story involving sisterhood, secrets, cults, amnesia, and an unreliable narrative unlike any I’ve read before.

This was a tough review to write, because there were definitely a lot of things I really enjoyed about the book, but there were also quite a few things I had a hard time with. In the end I don’t think I was able to land on a number rating because I think I was just the wrong reader for this one, and instead wanted to outline what I did and didn’t like and who I think this book would be best for.

What I liked:
The story used a split timeline in a really effective way, giving us events in interesting orders, and building characters’ personalities in the present and then juxtaposing that development with their previous actions in the past.
The author is clearly knowledgeable about cults. Having just read a non fiction book about cults, ‘Cultish,’ I recognized all kinds of things that real cults use in the language of the book, like thought terminating cliches and love bombing in the beginning.

What didn’t work for me:
The pacing was too slow and clunky for me to consider this a thriller. There were thrilling events happening here and there, but it was primarily character and atmosphere driven. It’s only a 300 page book, but I felt like I was reading a 400-500 page book because the pacing dragged a bit.
The prose used a lot of uncommon words in interesting ways to really place you in the time and setting, but occasionally overusing certain words (Looking at you: Malaise) made it feel a little clunky.
I would have possibly skipped this book altogether if I had checked the triggers beforehand. The descriptions of child abuse were just slightly too close to being on page for me as a reader. I recommend checking the trigger warnings for this book.

You might love this book if:
Some of your favorite horror and thriller books are also considered outside traditional genre themes/tone.
You love lyrical, descriptive prose that uses confusion and revealing info at specific times to create an unsettling eerie atmosphere.
You like character driven cult novels.

Where You End is releasing 1/16/2024 Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early review copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt Books for this advance copy.
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Twin sisters, Kat & Jude, are in a car accident, causing Kat to lose her memory. Her sister, Jude, attempts to fill in the blanks of her past, but is she telling the truth? This is truly one of those wild, “what did I just read?” kind of books. It is very dark, with disturbing content that is mostly alluded to - happening off the page and not graphically depicted. The beginning started slow for me. A lot of time was spent building up background and the early years of life for these sisters, while also alternating time periods to present day Kat healing and searching for answers to her past. Secrets are slowly revealed and by the halfway point I could not put this book down. The last thirty percent is definitely a thrill ride. I recommend this if you don’t mind a thriller with a slow start, and enjoy something that is more dark and literary. Definitely pick this up if you are fascinated by cult stories.
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Where You End publishes January 16th. It is also a January @aardvarkbookclub pick!

Memory loss is an incredibly traumatic event. Trust me, I know. In the summer of 2017 I had a seizure, and from that point until the fall of 2018 I have maybe one or two memories because I was diagnosed as having a type of epilepsy caused by traumatic brain injury. We don’t even know what the traumatic brain injury was because I can’t remember. I have a specific type of PTSD that’s tied directly to the trauma of having over a year of time lost. To this day, my memory is splotchy at best.

So I can deeply identify with Kat, the twin who loses her memory in a car accident at the beginning of this book. When you lose your memory, you become completely dependent on those around you to fill in the blanks. Then you have to hope that those around you are honest and ethical enough to tell you the objective truth and not mislead you.

Can you imagine that level of trust? (Yeah, I have a lot of trust issues).

Luckily, Kat knows one solid thing once she wakes up: her mirror twin, Jude. Jude is where she ends and begins, like a Mobius strip. They twist and flow into one another. They may be separate beings, but they share that mystical twin link, and Jude is determined to care for Kat and help her slowly but surely remember all she has lost.

The thing is, Kat lives up to her name, for she is curious and things just don’t quite add up.

The things I liked the most about this book were the prose and the psychological terrors that lie behind trusting someone else to fill in your memories. It doesn’t matter how good someone’s intentions are–memories intrinsically belong to the individual, and unless you spend 24/7/365.25 with a person you can’t begin to provide them with anything close to a reliable recitation. Even if you try, you should be truthful, even if the truth is painful.

The prose is compelling and propulsive, engaging in its vigor and imagery. If this wasn’t so clearly a thriller novel I would classify it as literary fiction. Kahler has a lovely way with words, painting vivid pictures and thrilling scenes throughout the book.

The book is truly great, but it’s a little too long, in my opinion. I feel like it could have been trimmed in a few places in each act and made for a much tighter novel, but I don’t truly believe the story suffers overmuch for it. I definitely recommend it.

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: Cult Fiction/Domestic Thriller/Historical Fiction/Psychological Thriller/Suspense Thriller

Twins Kat and Jude are in a car accident, and Kat sustains a traumatic brain injury where she remembers nothing from her past (except her sister).

Jude realizes it’s up to her to rebuild her sister’s life—and decide what to tell her about their shared history.

From absent parents to mysterious strangers to what they were really doing the night of the accident, is Jude protecting her sister or manipulating her into keeping deadly secrets?

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The chapters alternate between the sisters’ POVs and timelines. Kat is in the present, after her accident. Jude’s chapters are mostly in the past—appropriate, considering she alone holds those memories now.

The book started strong, with a good hook. But it floundered early and I was struggling with whether to finish it. I’m glad I did; the twists were satisfying and the prose itself was well written.

It was a sad story about the relationships closest to us; the people who should protect us and the ones who actually do. The bond between sisters was strong, but individually the characters seemed a little one-dimensional. Maybe because they’re so connected to each other?

Overall, a good thriller with an interesting angle.

Thanks to @netgalley and @macmillanusa for the eARC. This book will be published on January 16, 2024.

Check out this book if you like dark, complicated, emotional thrillers.

I wanted to love this book so bad! The premise is so interesting. We have a pair of twin sisters in a horrible accident and one of them loses all of her memories and becomes completely dependent on the other. The past is cloudy and so is the truth, we don't have any sense of a reliable narrator and its really interesting. I think the book lost me on the shifting perspectives and time frames. It was just too much. For majority of the book we only see Jude's, the twin without amnesia, perspective from DECADES in the past and it took away from everything going on with Kat, the twin with amnesia, and made it feel like two separate stories. It wasn't until just about the end that the two began to seem cohesive. I know this was meant to be a mystery and I'm not saying they should have gotten rid of all the suspense but by giving Kat absolutely ZERO memories we don't have context for any of Jude's past memories and we don't really have a reason to care. I didn't enjoy Jude's perspective until very late in the book because of that. Then I didn't like the way that they left Kat and Sab's romance completely unresolved and vague after it takes up so much of the first 2/3rds of the book. Lastly the ending was really abrupt and I still felt like the twins had a lot of loose ends still, I feel like their story wasn't finished. But this didn't feel like a good cliffhanger-y type of unfinished, it just felt meh.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company and Macmillan Audio for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of this literary thriller by Abbott Kahler and perfectly narrated by Megan Tusing; Samantha Desz - 4 stars!

When 22-year-old Kat Bird wakes from a coma in the hospital after an accident, she finds herself looking into her mirror image, her twin, Jude. Jude is all that she remembers from her past, and Kat relies on Jude to try and relearn her history. But is Jude being honest or is she hiding Kat's past from her?

Best go into this one as blind as possible to be even more surprised at all the twists and turns. This book is told in such a creative way - we get the past from Jude and the present from Kat. But are either of these stories reality? A great read!

"Where You End" is a gripping novel perfect for fans of literary suspense. The pacing is not especially fast so that's why I say "literary" suspense versus a typical thriller. The author did a great job of weaving a complex narrative and keeping the reader guessing. I was not a big fan of the cult storyline, but I am sure a lot of readers will be.
The ending does provide a satisfactory conclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance e-galley; all opinions in this review are my own.

a great, twisted horror thriller with dark vibes. the twins work great as protags, and i'd so rec it! thanks for te arc

Where You End, while classified as a thriller, I think is better defined as a literary thriller, as the bulk of this book was about the character development between Kat and Jude rather than a more traditional thriller. It took me about half the book to get really engaged in the story and while I enjoyed it and couldn’t put it down once I got there, it took me a while to get to that point. For lack of better words, the character development felt clunky at times, especially when first introduced to the twins. Some minor edits that need to happen, which is to be expected with a galley. I loved the cult aspects and Kat and Jude grew on me but I was not invested in them for a bit too long.

The premise of this - a mirror twin who wakes up from a coma with amnesia and has to rely on her twin to fill in the holes in her memory about her past - intrigued me. The plot alternates between past and present. Some very strange things happened in the past, which heavily influence the decisions the twin makes in keeping secrets from her sister. The plot was definitely unique and unexpected, not quite what I thought it would be, but that’s ok. It will appeal to readers who are looking for a psychological suspense with a little edge.

This book had a very promising premise: twins, memory loss, and cults. But the pacing was glacial and the plot didn’t make a lot of sense. Why isn’t Kat being monitored more closely after her accident? Perhaps by a neurologist? Why didn’t she question her tattoo? Why didn’t she research anyone except her childhood home if she had the means? It was frustrating, to say the least.