Thank you to Henry Holt and Co. and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review! The beautifully eerie cover and book blurb for Where You End really had me intrigued from the start.

This book revolves around 22-year-old twins, Kat and Jude. Kat woke up from a coma after a tragic accident and is unable to recall anything about her past besides her twin sister, Jude. As Jude tries to help Kat piece together her past and herself, Kat begins to question what she’s been led to believe about their past. “I am a person who will believe anything I’m told”. Why would her sister keep parts of their past from her? What is she hiding from Kat and why?

This is a great psychological thriller and cult drama. It was unique in every way, from the storyline to the writing style. The author does an excellent job of intertwining past and present timelines to keep you curious and wanting more. It is not the fastest paced thriller out there because of the timeline changes, but I enjoyed the flow of it and did not feel like it was overly slow or dragging. There were parts of this story that were confusing to read, but not necessarily in a bad way. I actually really enjoyed how loose the author left certain descriptions and events. It made me feel more connected to the narrators, especially when dealing with the trauma in the “past” timeline. I felt like I was looking in through a child’s lens that was a bit hazy from trying to block out and/or rationalize the trauma they had experienced. I do feel that a trigger warning of child sexual abuse should be mentioned. It wasn’t graphically written about, but existent nonetheless.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading more from this author. If you’re a fan of eerie psych thrillers and cult-iness, add this to your 2024 reading list!

I really wavered on finishing this book for the first two-thirds, but in the end, I'm happy I did, since all the action really started around the 60% mark and the plot twist was one of the best I've read in a while. There were definitely some parts of the plot that didn't get resolved by the time the story wrapped up but given that the last few pages were focused on the main characters moving forward with their lives (becoming After Jude and After Kat), I thought it fit the ending. While I enjoyed that the twins were written to be very distinct from each other, I also thought that their reactions to such a traumatic event were a little muted. I thought stronger emotions would have fit the storyline better. Also, I disagree that this book should be classified as a "thriller" - there weren't any parts that I felt were particularly suspenseful or scary, but despite that, I thought it was a pretty solid read.

After a car accident, Kat wakes up in a hospital with amnesia. Jude, her mirror twin, is by her bedside more than willing to fill her in about their ideal past. As Kat realizes that they live in the middle of a big city with no friends or family, Kat begins to doubt if Jude is telling her the truth. After discovering emotions and a physical temper she cannot control, Kat begins searching for the truth about their past.

This was a thought provoking, dark and suspenseful novel that was inspired by a true story. I was heart broken for the main characters but did not always agree with their shocking actions. This story was intriguing in a way that kept me hooked and needing to find out how the story resolved.

Each chapter switched back and forth from each twin’s perspective but was easy to follow.

Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the advanced reader copy. #NetGalley #WhereYouEnd

Thanks so much NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co.

Kat wakes up from a coma and sees her twin, Jude. The only thing she remembers is Jude's face and name. Jude will answer questions. What actually happened?

This book is creepy! Mirror twins are cool. I thought this was a slow burn of a book, which I think helped with the creepiness. It didn't quite grab me from the start, and the twist was not my favorite, but I still thought it was a good read.

"Where You End" was a phenomenal reading experience. It introduced the amnesia trope in a unique and captivating way, weaving an intricate narrative that had me hooked from the very first page. What's even more astonishing is how it swiftly evolves into a cult book, and I certainly didn't see that coming. The ending was a perfect climax of the intricate plot threads, leaving me with a sense of satisfaction and a longing for more. I never wanted to stop reading, and "Where You End" is a remarkable gem that I'll be recommending to all.

Where You End by Abbott Kahler. Thanks to @henryholtco for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Bird twins are mirror image twins. When one suffers amnesia from an accident, she needs to work out their past and the secrets.

Mirror image twins and amnesia? I was there for the plot and knew there would be some wild twists. I didn’t expect how wild the backstory got. To be honest, it lost me for a while and I had no idea what was going on. The current time line kept my interest but this is sure a dark and twisted tale.

“No one but identical twins begin life as the same exact person, and only mirror twins cleave together as long as nature will allow, parting almost reluctantly in the womb.”

Where You End comes out 1/16.

Oh. Y'all. This was very very gewwwd. I read this in 2 sittings and the only reason why I didn't finish it in 1 is because my eyes hurt from staring at the pages and it was 2:30 AM.

I loved the progression of this story; the author blended in bits of what's actually going on little by little, reaching a perfect conclusion. I found the pacing to be excellent and absolutely thrilling from start to finish. Not a single complaint to be had here 💁🏻‍♀️

I received the ARC at an event from the publisher's booth ❤️

this book started out really intriguing with an amnesia trope - a twin is trying to help her sister piece together her entire past after a coma, but is she telling the truth? i was hooked. but then i quickly realized that this was turning into a cult book, which is something i’ve been trying to steer away from as very few of them hit the mark for me.

This book is about a set of twins involved in an accident that leaves one twin without her memory, and the other twin swooping in to save the day and fill in the blanks. The only problem is that without a memory, how can one be sure that the information they’ve been given is the correct information-and if someone (in this case your twin) is lying-what would be their motive? For me-this book didn’t “grab” me from the start. It was a slow burn and I didn’t feel connected to either twin. You’re wondering if there is a switch involved (like many books about twins have done) but other than that I missed the thriller aspect. I was rushing to just get through/finish the book. Overall-it was decent but just didn’t leave me at the edge of my seat like I had hoped for. Will still give this author another chance though, as I’ve heard good things.

Where You End sounded so intriguing, and spooky, one might say... I was captivated by the story in the first portion, but about mid-way I started losing interest due to the repetition, I didn't like either FMC, and I was left more confused than not. Will I read this again? Likely not. Should you? Sure, why not? This is only my opinion and who is to say you won't like it.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher, Henry Holt & Company, for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

One word... CREEPY! I couldn't put this book down... perfect read for that chilling, goosebump feeling.

Thank you Netgalley for the early edition of this novel.
Kay and Jude are mirror twins. Identical in every way. But Kay wakes up from an accident and has no memories except for her twin Jude’s name. What happened to Kat and why does it seem like Jude isn’t telling her the truth. I liked this and it hooked me from the start. Very good up until the last 3% of the book I’d say then I got bogged down before it picked back up at the end. But it left me with some questions that never got answered so three stars for me.

Where You End is a fever dream type thriller and I really enjoyed it.

It’s best in my opinion to go in blind here without spoilers so all I’m gonna say is…

Kat and Jude are mirrors twins - complete with their own language to communicate and are very close. Kat is injured in a severe care accident and wakes up only remembering who Jude is but nothing about her past or anything that has happened to them.

Jude attempts to ‘help’ Kat remember their past but is she really helping? Or is she lying?

This one gets really crazy and is super twisty and fun.

Loved it and am thankful for my early copy! Will read anything that this author writes now, the writing her is amazing!

4.5 ⭐️

WHERE YOU END has a haunting, hypnotic quality that left me wondering through the first half … who is who? Which twin is which? Who is telling the truth? And why on earth is Kat’s boyfriend so forgiving? (I don’t think that question is ever answered, BTW.)

I’m fascinated by cults, but this book had too many elements that seemed far fetched. It helps that WHERE YOU END is set in the late 60s and early 80s, otherwise some of the events would be completely implausible.

Around the point where the story began to come together, about two-thirds of the way through, I lost interest as things became repetitive. I did, however, appreciate the author’s exploration of sisterly connection and the concept of protection: how far would you go to protect the person you love most in the world? What world would you create for your loved one if you had a chance to start over fresh?

Thank you to Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for the ARC of WHERE YOU END and the opportunity to give my honest feedback.

Made it to 15% before DNFing this one.

I think I’d have been able to keep going with an audiobook version because I do enjoy a readable thriller, which this is. But I wasn’t captured enough with the ebook.

This is about twin sisters after a car accident. One of them, Kat, has lost all her memories but those of her sister Jude. They’re very isolated, so you pretty quickly feel suspicious of Jude and don’t fully trust what she tells Kat. The book also starts to include flashbacks via Jude of the girls’ childhood. It’s clear that their past is messy, and more will be revealed as the story progresses in the present day as well.

At 15% I just found I didn’t care. With thrillers, I like to feel more intensity than I felt here. Again, if I was listening while driving or something, I think it’d be easy to keep going to satisfy my curiosity. But I don’t find myself invested enough to physically read it.

I think if Kat were a little less dopey and more reflective, more inquisitive, I’d like it more. I was rolling my eyes at her instead of caring about her. You can blame her behavior on the memory loss, so it’s not necessarily a flaw, but it wasn’t a good match for my taste.

There are moments that felt like they should be intense, but didn’t come across that way from Kat’s POV, like when she interacts with the person supposedly collecting signatures for a petition and gives away her address. I felt bored instead of engaged.

The twin language made me roll my eyes. I didn’t grow up with a twin, but with a very close sister, and that kind of thing never strikes me as true to life. It’s more a long history of inside jokes and random quotes than made up vocabulary that is difficult to pronounce. 😂

I think this is probably a decent thriller if you feel invested in Kat, so it’s worth a try.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book.

Kat Bird wakes up from a coma and has lost all her memories except for the name and face of her twin sister, Jude. Amid the tragic, Jude can’t resist the opportunity to give her sister a new past. Kat has to figure out what was real life and what was a fiction her sister developed for her.

This book was so fun to go into completely blind and seeing the twist and turns. The character development in this book was intense and I really enjoyed the pacing of this book. It definitely keeps you in the story and ready to find out more. The flip between past and present really helps keep the reader addicted to the story and developed the story. This book will keep you on your toe and is great for those who love a good thriller.

I honestly didn't love this book. I really couldn't root for the main character Kat or her sister, Jude. I didn't like either character and didn't like the choices either of them made throughout the book. I thought that parts of the book dragged and I found myself not really caring how it ended.

Hands down, one of the best books I have read this year! Just enough mystery/twists/turns to keep you from being able to put this down, without being too complicated of a story. Brilliant writing, including a very believable plot line and just enough character development to get attached to everyone in the story. One of my favorite things about this book is how plausible this story was; I wasn’t rolling my eyes thinking it was too unrealistic. I was getting chill bumps. I would put this author on my top 5 list for this genre, which happens to be my most read genre.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ooooooph. I am straddling between 4.25 and 4.5, which would bump the star rating up to five. This was a heck of a book with a unique twist on the twin element.

Kat wakes up from a coma and knows nothing: not her name, not the year, nothing about the past, not how she ended up in the hospital. Nothing, that is, except her twin sister's face and name. Jude struggles to help her more-than-identical mirror twin cope with the complete loss of their life before. She takes on the role of caregiver and teacher full time in addition to cleaning houses for a living.

When she is home, she tells Kat about their trip to Europe after their mother died, where they met a lovely lady named Wen who they stayed with for a while before moving on to another city. She takes Kat to their childhood home. She shows her mementos from their past. But there are very few pictures. Jude tells Kat this is because it is unnerving - when Kat looks at Jude in pictures, she sees Jude in reverse, which is herself, and vice versa, so they don't like having their pictures taken.

Despite Jude imploring Kat not to wander too far from their apartment, Kat finds herself playing cards in the basement of a bar with a stranger named Sab. Sab has a history of his own, and they find that Kat may have anger issues, so he takes her with him to an anger management group.

Kat wants an unbiased view of who she was before the accident, so she speak with Wen, who agrees to send photos to Kat of them in Europe. But when the photos come, she starts to ask questions that perhaps Jude was not prepared for her to ask. She runs into people claiming to be strangers, but who are not. And what is Jude herself hiding?

Does Jude have a good reason to lie about these trivial things to Kat? What justification could she possibly have. But things are not what they seem and soon the twins must face their past in an all too present way.

This book was mesmerizing. I kept thinking I had Jude down, but by the time I realized what was happening, it was too late to go back and think whether I saw it coming or not. There's a lot of hurt in this book. The Goodreads page says it is based on true events, although for the life of me I cannot find the event it is based on.

There is also a part in the book where Sab and Kat are at Sab's anger management group meeting and he talks about his brother, who has a drug problem, and stole from him. He had paid for his rehab once, but when his brother ODd again, Sab went and spent all his savings in Atlantic City. He said that his brother's sickness made him sick. He started having panic attacks and got an ulcer.

This hit deep in a way I was not prepared for, and I had to put the book down and just cry and cry.

The character development was intense. You have Kat and Jude (among others) on one side and you have these other characters (King Bash, the RonDon, Verona) on another side. The evil is clear but the author still does an extraordinary, uncanny job with making them all very human in a way that we don't want to see bad guys. It's easier to see a villain as a complete villain, a complete manifestation of evil. But that's not always, in fact it's usually not the case.

This is the first book by this author that I have read, but I am definitely impressed enough to pick up more.

I really enjoyed the author's use of time jumping and description. It further solidifies the uneasy feeling this booth gives you as the main character tries to piece her life back together with her twin.