I love Audiobooks. I have a busy job that allows me to listen to a book while I do my work and this one definitely was enjoyable to listen to while I went through my workday. Highly recommend!

Every Halloween Sam and his group of friends gather in the forest to whisper their sins to "The Dark Place", an abandoned hut in the woods. This year, they are interrupted when someone throws eggshells filled with blood at their meet up spot. The next day, each of them receive a text message from Sasha Craven, blackmailing them with the knowledge of their darkest secrets.

I found this to be an extremely average thriller. I usually read thrillers pretty quickly, but this one took me a bit of time. I liked the fast-pace and short chapters, but overall I didn't think that the twists were that exciting. At times I found it a bit hard to keep track of who was who. The majority of the characters were very one-dimensional, and unremarkable. I wish that we had gotten more POVs from other characters other then Sam, as I think that would have given us more insight and details into the other character's lives. I wasn't able to guess who the culprit was, but I found it to be a bit anti-climatic in the end, hence the 3 star rating.

I wish I could say I like the book. Unfortunately it was good in the beginning. It was so slow after that. The characters were terrible. It was difficult to finish. , NetGalley and publisher for providing this advanced audiobook to

I found it to be bit too simplistic and absurd, but I may be the wrong audience for this particular title.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙔𝘼 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢.

I have such mixed feelings about this book?!? The premise had me hooked, but the story itself was a chaotic mess.

Let’s talk about the positives, first of all, I absolutely love it when there are short chapters. I tend to fly through those books so quickly and they keep me engaged, this one did just that.

The tension and twists throughout the book were exciting and I enjoyed the action. I thought the whole blackmailing part was a fun idea, it added secrets throughout the book.

However, I feel like the characters were difficult to follow. Normally I don’t care if characters are likable in thrillers, but in this case, it was tough caring for the story when the characters lacked so much depth.

Also, there were certain moments when I felt like the author was trying to make something clear, but it sort of got lost in the narrative.

Overall, this wasn’t a bad book by any means, but it also wasn’t exceptional. It was just a fun, quick, and decent read. I did a combo of the ebook and audio, both were fun methods! If you enjoy blackmails, secrets, and twists & turns in your books then you might enjoy this one.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

While I appreciated this thriller, I felt like it was pretty standard for the genre and didn't feel super original or stand out in any spectacular way. While enjoyable, it wasn't something that made me feel like had super special qualities or particularly stuck out in any way.

One night a year, Sam Hall and a very small group of friends traipse off into the wood to tell their secrets to a private little hut. A place, or an object that lets them unburden themselves of the weights on their shoulders.

Sam a formal child TV star has lots of secrets. Secrets about a fire, about his dad, about his life. But so does everyone else. And now the blackmail has begun. Secrets leak out, some small, some large, causing problems and danger for all.

This book was okay. It starts on Halloween and goes a few more days. The adult in mean screams “talk to your parents or trusted adults” and this book wouldn’t exist. To me, this book was nothing special. It will have a hot flash in the pan this year but die off by next.

I liked this book initially but quickly grew tired of it. It's a fairly standard thriller set-up - a mysterious force revealing characters' secrets. While the individual character details were interesting, especially the former child star, this interest doesn't carry through the plot on the whole. The eventual reveal of the truth was tiresome, lacking in sufficient foreshadowing.

Another great edge of your seat thriller from Ralph. These books never disappoint. This book has so many layers with the teen characters secrets layering on top of the parent's secrets. Truly keeps the reader guessing until the last minute as to who you can trust and what will happen.

well, this book just wasn't for me. it was basically a "sins of our father" type of book. the storyline just wasn't a favorite of mine. that being said, Ralph is a good writer. I would give another book of his a try. I feel like My daughter would enjoy this book though.

This one started off so strong, but fell SO flat starting around the 60% mark. It just wasn’t what I had anticipated, but still a good audio!

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.

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.

Sam Hall and his friends have a yearly tradition on Halloween. They go out to ‘the Dark Place’, a hut in the woods, and one by one tell their secrets alone to the empty hut. But after years of doing this, their secrets are finally coming back to haunt them. The group is being blackmailed and threatened by a stalker, a stalker they are determined to unmask.

Secrets Never Die is classified as a YA horror/thriller and I definitely agree with this. The things that happens definitely have that spooky feel of horror and the speed of the story and the stalker for right into the thriller category. When I read YA thrillers, I usually avoid the horror element because I already have an over active imagination and don’t need help stirring it up. I am glad I gave this book a a chance though. This has the perfect amount of spooky Halloween book and a storyline that was easy to follow but full of twists and turns. I enjoyed most of the characters in this book and liked the the surprising twists when the identity of the stalker and the motives behind the stalking start coming to light. Overall this was an enjoyable read, not the best I’ve read in this genre, but still entertaining and able to hold my interest. With Halloween approaching, this seems like the perfect book to pick up if this is your thing!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

This was not good…? Like I’m not even sure what to say because I really just felt like it was kind of pointless and anticlimactic. The secrets weren’t as serious as they were made out to be and bringing the parents storyline into it was weird. Idk this is one that I feel like I just wasted my time on 🤷🏻‍♀️

"Secrets Never Lie" reminded me of "One of Us is Lying" but without the actual obviou murder. A group of friends sneaks away every Halloween to tell a Dark secluded out building in the woods their deepest secrets. So as they begin to be blackmailed by their secrets they start turning on one another.

This book slowly unravels to the readers. But, without enough backstory to grasp the "why this may be happening" and the immature antics and "secrets to rip to tell one another" the premise of this story fell a little flat for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
*
I absolutely love Vincent Ralph’s YA thrillers. They suck the reader in fast and they are such a quick read that I usually blow through them in a matter of hours! I thought this was such a unique premise for a book as well, a group of teens going to a secret place to whisper their secrets to get them off their chest but then those secrets come back to haunt them. This book kept me guessing and kept me wanting to turn the pages the entire time!
*
Now while I loved the storyline and loved the ebook version of this book, I didn’t really care for the narrator. I tried listening to parts of the book and I felt like the narrator just didn’t capture my attention. This book is definitely one that I would recommend a physical or ebook version instead of the audiobook.

The kids have a secret hiding space where they go and tell all their secrets, too. But now someone is telling all the secrets that they have told to the secret hiding place. They are unsure who is the one telling the secrets. They have begun to receive messages about their secrets and daring them to do certain things or have their secrets exposed.
Will they find out who knows their secrets
Will their secrets be safe, or will everyone find out the secrets they are trying to hide

Perfect read leading into spooky season. Everyone in the group has their secrets but no one knows each others secrets. This book will keep you guessing down to the final secrets and who those secrets belong to.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Secrets Never Die is a YA-Horror/Thriller release from Vincent Ralph. With a cover that screams 90s-Horror to me, I was super excited to pick this one up. I listened to the audiobook on a solo road trip and it was a pleasant way to pass the time. The audio narration is good, it sounds young-feeling and fits the story well. Admittedly, my attention wavered, but I'm not sure if that was necessarily the story, or my mind being on vacation. This story follows teenaged, Sam and his close-knit friend group. They have an annual tradition of holding private funerals for their secrets at an abandoned hut in the woods, which they call the Dark Place. Suddenly, those secrets are coming back to haunt them in eerie and unexpected ways. Sam, once a promising child star, had his career tank after a terrifying fire at his home. This event is heavily tied to the current events, but how? There's blackmail, dangerous secrets and lots of head-scratching twists and turns. Sam isn't sure who he can trust. Even his friends are starting to feel like potential threats. How far will Sam be willing to go to bury the past and free himself from his own deeply held secrets? This was a good time. As far as YA Horror-Thrillers go, it does read a little on the younger side, in my opinion. Maybe more in the Tween category. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, I am just pointing it out so that you can decide whether or not that would suit your tastes. For me, personally, I enjoy Horror-Thrillers from Childrens, all the way up through Adult, so it doesn't bother me at all. Content-wise, this is a decent, fast-paced story. It would probably go direct to video if it were a movie, but again, there's nothing wrong with that. I think for me, I just found the narrative a little hard to track. Sam's personal story was compelling, but his friends lacked memorability to me and I had a difficult time distinguishing between them. These difficulties could perhaps be due to the audio format, but I'm not sure about that. I consume A LOT of stories via audio and that's not a common problem for me. I think, personally, I would have just liked to see a bit more character development to go along with the action. Also, some of the darker elements felt a bit all over the place; like perhaps too much was going on at one time. That could 100% be personal taste though. Overall, I think this is a solid story. A fun way to pass a weekend and I know a lot of Readers, particularly the Teens this is intended for, will really enjoy this. Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copies to read and review. I would definitely be interested in picking up more from this author!