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!

I received Where a you End as an ALC through NetGalley and I couldn’t wait to read/listen to it! The beginning had me captivated and I was invested in Kat’s story, so captivated in fact that I chose this book as my Aardvark book box… but then somewhere in the middle the pacing felt like it came to a halt and as I was trying to push through, I found myself zoning out from time to time. I thought the narrator was fine but something about it didn’t quite get me to the five stars I really wanted it to be. Maybe the story to narrating didn’t translate how it should have but unfortunately it ultimately fell a bit flat for me. Now, I still found this story to be enjoyable and definitely unique! The beginning and end were great, I just got lost somewhere in the middle. I will definitely be checking out any other books Abbott Kahler puts out, and I’m curious to see other people’s thoughts on this one. Where You End comes out 1/16/24!

Thank you so much NetGalley, & Macmillan Audio for my advanced copy and the chance to review it honestly.

Happy reading!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was an absolutely enthralling story about a set of mirror twins, amnesia, and a cult. I felt that this story was more of a suspenseful read for the first 80% and picked up a lot of pace in that last 20%.. I devoured it within 5 hours. I couldn't stop myself. The writing style was fantastic.

I was fortunate to receive a gifted audiobook from Macmillan Audio and Netgalley. However, I also received this book in my January Aardvark subscription. Not only was the audio incredible but the book itself was so beautifully written.

This book may not be for everyone but I loved it.

This story is culty and twisty in the best way.
I found it extremely interesting, entertaining and suspenseful.
Mirror twins Jude and Kat have to start over when Kat looses her memory after an accident. Is Jude deceiving Kat with information from their past? Why can’t Kat seem to control her emotions? Who is she really?
The concept for this book is fresh and different and I truly appreciated that as an avid thriller reader.
Listened to the audio and it was well done. Quick and easy listen.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ARC audio.

Sadly, Where You End did not hit the mark for me. While I appreciated a creepy story of twins and cults, the text felt so slow and tedious that I had to convince myself to finish it. This text started with great promise but fell short with one-dimensional characters.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

This book is beyond bizarre and not what I was expecting. I really loved the premise of the story - two mirror twins one who has lost all of her memories after an accident. I listened to the audiobook and I liked the narrator and I think she did her best to bring the characters to life. But the two main characters and narrators of this story both fell a bit flat for me. I felt like the story moved too slowly and this was book I had to remind myself to read instead of tear myself away for breaks. IT did have some good twists and really is a good debut. When Kat wakes up with Jude’s name and face the only things in her mind. But Jude is happy to fill in her twin’s memories. But when Kat realizes she is a person who will believe everything she starts to question what she thinks she knows about herself and her past. The story alternates between past and present and the past is a bit more twisted than I was expecting.

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 audio rendition was well-done with a stellar narrative performance. 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.

DNF @ 40%
Found the story boring and couldn't establish any emotional connection with the characters.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Abbott Kahler, and Macmillan Audio for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

Kat Bird wakes up in the hospital with no memories. But she's not alone, her "mirror twin" Jude is there with her, and brings her home to care for her. Jude tries to help rebuild their lives, telling stories of their past and their shared lives. But as Kat begins to explore the area around her she starts suspecting Jude may not be telling her everything.

Abbott Kahler does an excellent job with her first fiction book, creating a rich character study of someone who has their entire identity taken away from them and tries to figure out who they are and how to rebuild their life. This aspect of the book slowly falls away as the broader mystery of where the Bird twins came from takes focus. Without getting into too many details, I really enjoyed how Kahler's research into cults in the 1970s impacted the story. A ton of creepy imagery and Kahler is very good at putting just enough on the page for the reader to imagine the rest at some of the more horrifying parts of the story. I recommend this book for people who like family conflicts and cults.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of Where You End in exchange for an honest review.

As far as thrillers go, this one was much more suspenseful than it was thrilling. Also, it absolutely should come with trigger warnings for pedophilia, emotional and physical child abuse, and murder and more…

The audiobook narration was fine but the actual writing was very slow, with the Kat essentially stumbling around in the dark to understand her life until the last 25% or so. The thread of the twins only difference being Jude’s queerness felt heavy handed at best.

Once things picked up, the writing got a bit better, but overall I found this to have too many threads to follow, while also somehow being a bit boring until shortly before the end.

Wow! This is the amazing story about twin sisters, one who lost all her memories after a car accident of who she was and all that has happened to her. She relies on her twin to fill in the gaps, but not all is as it seems. This is a very dark tale set in the 1970s and 80s. An eccentric mother, a genius father, and a group of individuals who pledge your mind can do magic. This story made me feel sad, angry, and disgusted of childhoods lost by many. I would absolutely recommend this book, however, check your trigger warnings.

This book was good but had alittle to much going on. I liked the cult aspect and the narrator was great!

An extremely enjoyable, unique, quirky, and at times devastating story about "mirror twins" - twins that are mirror images of eachother, and even closer in the womb than regular identical twins. Kat and Jude are the mirror twins and at times it's hard to tell which one is the "evil" twin, though Jude lays claim to the title. In the beginning of the story, Kat loses her memory in a devastating accident, and it is up to her twin Jude to help her rebuild their shared memories. But is Jude being truthful with Kat? Or is she reconstructing fictional memories for her own reasons?

This story is fascinating and basically has everything: Murder! Mayhem! Twin switches and antics! Amnesia! A cult! Even more importantly than its unique plot though, is that this book is beautifully written. I found myself marvelling more than once over the magical way this author can turn a phrase. Abbott Kahler is one to watch for sure. This book was devastating, striking, wild, beautiful and twisty -- everything I look for in a thriller. The audiobook narrator also did an excellent job with the voice acting.

Abbott Kahler is a talented and unique author and from now on I will always reserve room for her on my bookshelf!

I was intrigued by the premise for this, but this book feels like a fever dream. The beginning of this was really, really weird. To its credit, I will say that it did get more interesting and less strange as the story unfolded. However, I wouldn’t recommend it.
If you like quirky, mysterious books, this might be for you though.

The audiobook was a great quality and for a while I was interested in the book, but eventually it just got a bit boring to me. This was not a good fit for me personally.

Someone interested more in a slow burn with creepy elements will enjoy this more than I did. I do like a bit more action and intense moments in my thrillers.

I did really enjoy the premise and don’t think that this was bad by any means, I just wasn’t the right audience.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this audiobook for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I ADORED this book! Not only was the audiobook narration stellar, I was also completely sucked into the story. I loved puzzling together all the little details of the twins' lives just as Kat was doing the same. I also really enjoyed hearing both Kat and Jude's perspectives and seeing how they came together in certain moments.

Also, I've read few books with pacing as good as this one. It felt slower when it needed to, and sped up when that made more sense, and I absolutely loved the pacing ebb and flow that felt so deliberately created.

As a big fan of cult documentaries, The Plan felt very well thought out and so many of the details reminded me of pieces I'd seen from various documentaries. I'm so intrigued by the story this book claims to have been based on, and if I had any critiques, it would be not being able to find that info! Otherwise, I am completely sold on both this story itself and this wonderful audiobook version.

So excited to get a physical copy when it comes out!

🎧WHERE YOU END by Abbott Kahler is narrated by Megan Turing and Samantha Desz.

This story is as creepy & disturbing as the cover suggests.

This is a suspense about a girl named Kat who wakes up with amnesia to everything except her mirror twin Jude. Kat tries to reenter her life with memories given to her by her sister. She begins to question things and begins to discover Jude is lying. Why? Who can she really trust, and why does it seem like she is being followed?

I loved the dual narrators for this story. It was a perfect way to keep the POV'S separate and distinctive. I also felt the voices fit the characters well, bringing in the undercurrent of tension and unreliability.

This is a dark, culty, slow burn mystery. The first half or so builds the tension with Kat, and then as things begin to be revealed through the dual timeline it goes a bit off, in a good way for me.

I first thought this would be more predictable with an amnesiac twin as a MC. It wasn't. At least, not for me. I was trying to decipher just what the truth was and what led to this situation. The pace could have been a bit faster, but I did enjoy the way the the story unfolded.

Thank you to @netgalley @macmillan.audio for @henryholtbooks for this ALC and letting me share my thoughts! This atmospheric story will be available January 17th.

Mirror twins, an unusual form of amnesia, and a hidden past all lead to an atmospheric literary thriller from nonfiction writer Abbott Kohler.

Following an accident, Kat Bird awakens from a coma with only memories of her twin sister Jude. As Kat is forced to relearn her history with the help of Jude, she begins to suspect there is much more to the story than she is being told.

I wanted so much to love this one. The premise, atmosphere, and insanely fascinating characters should have made this a win. And while it did start off with a bang that kept my attention early on, I found myself utterly confused for most of the book.

First, I would classify this book as more literary mystery than true thriller due to the pacing and story development. It is verrrryyy slow burn. The writing is unique and clever, but simultaneously disjointed as we bounced between the current and past timelines.

This book is also insanely dark at times (you will discover the rationale for the intense eerie cover) which to be honest, I wanted a bit more focus on. Every time I started to grasp what was happening by following the various threads, I felt as though they unraveled in my hands. I am honestly not even sure I understand the entirety of what happened here once I finished.

I think there is something wholly unique about this book. I would suggest doing an immersive read with the audiobook and physical book. I think it may end up being a better and more organized experience.

Read if you like:
•twin drama
•psychological thrillers
•slow burn
•cult thrillers
•dual timelines

Thank you {partners} @henryholt and @macmillanaudio for my gifted copies.

Woah what did I just read?!?! 😆

Where You End is the story of an unusual form of amnesia that upends the lives of identical twins, forcing them to face the indelible, dangerous shadow of the past.

If identical twins and amnesia doesn’t peak your interest are you even a thriller reader?!?! 🤣 this book was CREEPY. Loved the cultish vibes and all the secrets. I was fully invested in the first half of the book and the second half just went off the rails. Overall the premise was good but the second half of the story just threw me for a loop.

I don't know if I have met any twins so similar that they would be considered mirror twins. I cannot imagine how disorienting that must feel, but this book helped me guess at the impact of living that way might be. I enjoyed the pacing of the book, and I think young adults will like the insta-love aspects of the relationships. Not necessarily a must-add to a collection, as there is not much diversity explicitly mentioned, but a fine book.