This book had a great premise, but unfortunately fell flat for me. I couldn't connect with the characters and I found the story to be disjointed and confusing. The writing and descriptions were excellent, though! I may try the authors work again in the future.


My appreciation to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book. My opinions are my own.

One of those books you keep thinking about way after you finished reading it!

​We follow Isa, as she makes her return to her hometown she swore she would never go back to. She has no choice to reeturn though, after the death of her abusive father = the father that left her an inheritance. While back in town, she reconnects with Mason, one of her childhood friends who is also the son the town's psychic. He is looking for Isa's help.

1⭐️

DNF: 13%

Oooh how I am saddened to DNF a book that contains my favorite sub-genre: A small town full of murders and buried secrets. And yet, after reading 3 chapters I felt so disconnected from the characters, the town of Slater (where this story take place), and the entire premise. While I may not have been able to get into this, it may not be true for someone else. For anyone who comes across this book and decides to read it, I say: GO FOR IT!!! The dark atmosphere might just be what you need to get out of a read slump, take your mind off of your everyday activities, or just need something to pass the time.

Unfortunately, for me, this is where I have to leave things behind. I truly want to wish Wen-Yi Lee the best of luck on her future endeavors, especially her writing career.

Thank you NetGalley and Zando/Gillian Flynn Books for granting my request for an Advance Reader’s Copy in exchange for my honest and personal opinion!!!

Thank you, NetGalley, Zando | Gillian Flynn Books, for the chance to read this book in exchange of an honest review.

Isadora is an art student, bisexual and never lived well in her city Slater. In the former mining town, she felt oppressed and when two of her best friend died she decided to move, even though that meant leaving behind her friend Mason. Now back after the death of her abusive father, agreeing to come back only for the inheritance, Isa meets Mason after years. Son of the local medium, Mason is sure their friends were murdered by a supernatural entity and now they want justice. With strange songs in the wind, weird artwork in her artbook, Isa has to confront her past, becaue there's something in the valley and they won't let her escape another time.

This YA horror is creepy, intense, brilliant and it broke my heart so many times I can count. It's a story of murder, hate, anger, supernatural entities and more. I loved reading The dark we know even though it's not an easy book to read, but I fell in love with it anyway and since the first page. Isa is amazing and I love her relationship with Mason and all the pain and trauma she carries and how much she grows during the whole book. I'm proud of her and her journey.
Bravo

Currently catching up on reviewing my arcs so I will give a more detailed review in the future!

Really wanted to like this...but as an adult this just felt too...YA to me. I know that's the intended audience but I just couldn't really get into it

"The Dark We Know" had a promising premise—returning to her hometown, to discover an evil has taken over the town and uncovering past tragedies. However, I struggled to connect with the story. While the book was intriguing, the pacing and narrative made me enjoy it less.

This book was a decent read, for a YA novel.

This book was different than what I’ve read before. It was creepy and atmospheric. There were elements that definitely made me unsettled. There were also parts I had to go back and reread/relisten to due to me spacing out. Some parts I just didn’t enjoy. However, definitely a solid book to read for YA Horror.

Such a lovely cover and a dark story.

This one has some heavy themes. Definitely visit the trigger warnings and take care before reading.
I think this is one of the first books in a while that actually suffered from me doing it as an audiobook and I had to flip this one back to my e-reader.

The plot is heavy and the characters are pretty angsty. I felt like I didn't get a lot of build up of the tension or the horror - it's pretty quickly the old friend in town just drops the bomb that she has to help him and then story was off from there. I liked a few twists but somehow always felt outside of the story and never found my groove with the writing. I liked it, found it interesting, but never loved it.

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.

2.5 Stars

"The Dark We Know" follows Isadpra Chang as she is forced to return to Slater the repressive small town she ran away from. However, I found myself wishing this book was from any other character's perspective. Isadora's P.O.V. was quite the slog to get through, plus I found the overall reading experience to be overwhelmingly boring. Also, the flowery writing in this novel didn't match the tone I believe the author intended to set, so I didn't find the novel's atmosphere as chilling as I expect the author hoped I would.

To focus on Isa and her running away from Slater, I don't think that made much sense. Based on the current age of Isa and the other characters we follow, she was about 16 when she first ran away and started university and I'm pretty sure you need to have some sort of parental permission to enter university at that age. Then the timeline for the town doesn't really make any sense either. A big part of the creation of evil plaguing Slater is the mass death that occurred during/because of a plague. But as the story goes on, we discover that the plague wasn't that far back in history as the story initially led us to believe. And since this plague took place sometime in (earliest) the early 1900s, many of the actions taken by the characters in the plague didn't seem like things they could easily get away with.

As I said before, the overall reading experience of this book was really boring, I attribute this to the fact that almost the entirety of the novel lacked any actual suspense or tension. There were scenes that I felt should have heightened the overall tension, but the writing went on so much that it took me out of the story.

The Dark We Know by Wen-yi Lee is a haunting and beautifully written novel that blends small-town secrets, queer identity, and supernatural terror into a story that lingers long after you’ve turned the last page.

Isadora Chang is in college when her sister Trisha calls with news their father died. So Isa reluctantly returns to the last place she wants to be—Slater, a grim and oppressive former mining town that practically drips with dread. Lee nails the feeling of being trapped, not just by geography but by history, trauma, and unresolved grief. Isa’s voice is raw and authentic as she's dealing with depression. The reason she escaped was because two of her best friends suddenly died and she didn't get to say goodbye to either.

"When I ran away with no plan, part of me was hoping to end up a police file too, so at least I'd be written down somewhere, so at least I could join them. Leave or die, my brain is screaming."

The book is kicked into high gear when Mason, Isa’s surviving childhood friend and the town medium’s son, reveals that he doesn't believe the deaths of their friends were tragic accidents—they were caused by a supernatural entity. What follows is a tense, eerie unraveling of Slater’s dark secrets, with Isa and Mason forced to confront their pain and fears head-on. The supernatural mystery is both chilling and emotionally resonant, weaving in themes of generational trauma and the lingering impact of small-town repression.

"It's amazing how many things you can keep shut inside a house that never opens its curtains, what the worst gossips in the world can ignore."

Lee’s prose is atmospheric without being overwrought, and her descriptions of Slater—a town where even the air seems heavy with unspoken pain—are stunning. The supernatural elements are terrifying yet symbolic, exploring how death, grief, and heartbreak can manifest as something monstrous. The eerie artwork Isa creates without remembering, the haunting melodies she hears on the wind, and the sense that something is always watching the townsfolk—all of it builds a creeping sense of dread that keeps you turning pages late into the night. Everyone in this town is either running or hiding.

At its heart, The Dark We Know is more than a horror story. It’s about confronting the things we’d rather bury, both in ourselves and in our pasts. Isa’s journey is messy and cathartic, as she reckons with her identity, her complicated relationship with her parents, and the bonds she left behind. The friendship between Isa and Mason is a standout—strained, but tender and deeply loyal. Their dynamic adds emotional weight to the supernatural stakes, making every decision feel personal.

"It seems unfair that the two of us who are still alive are the most heartless half."

If you love stories that mix character-driven drama with spine-tingling horror, this book is for you. Wen-yi Lee has crafted an unsettling and captivating tale about what it means to face the darkness—together and alone. This one got a solid four stars, I highly recommended!

"I think we can choose not to become what hurt us because that's how you know the world is chooseable and if it is chooseable then it is makeable and if it is makeable then we can make something better of it."

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Zando-Gillian Flynn Books, for providing this eARC with me in exchange for my honest opinion. This review is based off of an uncorrected proof which did not sway my opinion either way.

This was absolutely fantastic. I adored the themes of grief and different ways people choose to deal with it. I really loved our main character Isa and her desperation to just have normalcy and forget the past, no matter how hard it tries to drag her back. I loved the mystery and the horror elements of the story and how the entity fed off pain. It was creepy and the writing was absolutely stunning.

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-book ARC of this book. And thank you Mai for putting this on my radar!

This YA horror book was everything. In fact, it was so good I binged it in 4 days and could not stop thinking about it. I think YA horror might be a new favorite genre for me.

Isadora Chang is a Chinese American teenager who left for art school and told herself she would never return to her hometown of Slater. But when her dad dies unexpectedly she attends the funeral and is swept up into a mystery involving talking to ghosts, digging into the archives to find out what really happened in the mining accident decades before, hunting a death angel, and fighting off the angel’s song which lures its victims into committing suicide.

This book was the perfect mix between mystery, thriller, and horror. There were so many deep dives into cultural shame, loneliness, belonging, and LGBTQ coming out/acceptance. The writing was gorgeous and filled with emotional dialogue and prose. I loved this book so much that I will now read anything Wen-Yi Lee writes next. This was her debut novel.

Do yourself a favor and pick this book up. It’s such an engaging and unique read.

Wen-yi Lee’s The Dark We Know is a masterful blend of mystery and emotional depth that keeps you on the edge of your seat. With lyrical prose and haunting imagery, Lee explores the complexities of family, memory, and the secrets we carry. The twists are perfectly timed, and the richly drawn characters make this story unforgettable. A must-read for fans of atmospheric and thought-provoking fiction.

I liked this book, but I didn't love it. It was a nice story idea, but I had trouble connecting with the characters. I found myself putting it down and waiting days to pick it up again.

I was really excited to read this one, but I could not do it. I couldn't connect with any of the characters or care about anything that was happening. I only made it halfway, starting and stopping so many times before I said okay. This one is not for me.

This ist a poetically written story about grieve, loss and the strength to continue to live your life despite the many set backs you will have. This was dark and gruesome at times and so very relatable, I really enjoyed reading this book.

I absolutely adored this! The characters, the setting, it was such a thrilling read!

Isa only comes back to the small town she grew up in after her abusive father dies. Without that threatening presence, the trip should have been bearable, but when she begins to hear things, and her drawings become reality, she and her friend Mason, need to discover the truth of what is haunting the small town before it takes it next victim.

A perfect read for the Halloween Season!

There were a lot of strong reviews of this one, but I was personally a bit more mixed on it. The atmosphere is good, however.

(I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

Slater has a rich history of people's pain. Called the Angel by locals, a being feeds off this pain using nightmares to derive more.
Called by the death of her abusive father, Isa returns home. After the death of two close friends, Isa ran off to college, putting herself and a life together. Now Isa is force to experience Slater, her loss, and Mason - the friend remaining.
The song returns - one she has heard since a child, now being revealed in her drawings.
Great building of tension, backstory and unhinged Slater residents.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but it just wasn’t for me. I struggled to get into the story and found that it took a bit too long for the action to ramp up. I think the plot had a lot of potential but ultimately there wasn’t enough early character development to keep me engaged.