I liked it! The whole book I thought I had the basic ending figured out, but NOPE! Didn’t see that coming! It’s a perfect weekend read, and I was impressed with the author’s easy writing style. A good choice for those who like thriller/mystery with some romance. The ending went a tad too fast for me - it wrapped up so quickly in that last scene when I think it could’ve unraveled a bit more slowly… but I enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the copy.

The story centres around East Henderson, Pennsylvania and the strange goings on where people just disappear, but no one will talk about it.

Angie has lived here all her life and starts to find life interesting when she hears a ghost, but no one will believe her and she can't figure out what the ghost wants.

Madelyn moves here to start her teaching job, she also hopes to find out what happened to her cousin, who has mysteriously disappeared but in doing so comes across more than she bargains for.

What a brilliant mystery, with some great twists and turns. The characters are adorable, I really loved them and was invested in finding out what was going on with them.

I love the use of articles, emails, clips, etc at the beginning of each chapter to give a little more insight into the plot and the two points of view from Angie and Madelyn and their experiences.

You Shouldn't Be Here, picked up by Netgalley for the name and vibes. We follow Madelyn, new school teacher as she moves into her new home in East Henderson Pennsylvania. Madelyn’s cousin went missing 2 years ago and begins to search to find out what happened.

I found this story to be very YA the MC Madelyn was very annoying and read WAY younger to me. Very slice of life book with a slow pace vibe. Found this to be more of a romance story with the thriller being a subplot. Madelyn’s constant fear of losing her instant love connection with Alex was an eye rolling experience. The story telling was very back and forth with snippets of social media posts and interaction. I didn’t care for the flow of the story and found the inserts to be intrusive on the storyline. I did not connect with Madelyn or care as to the ‘missing person’. I found I was drifting while reading and this book did not hold my attention. Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC Netgalley copy for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC
This is the 2nd book I've read from this author and once again I enjoyed the connection from each timeline. My only regret is that I didn't read it during spooky season

This was a rather fun thriller to read. If you liked the book Ask for Andrea then this will be right up your alley. Madelyn moves to town to start a new job, the same town her long lost cousin went missing in 2 years before. What could go wrong? 3.5 stars for me

Not my normal read but it was a good ghost/mystery story. Madelyn does a dna test and finds a cousin that she writes to and they decide to meet up. When Madelyn goes to visit her cousin basically ghosts her, when she does some research she find out that Doug Raymond is a sketchy guy that thinks he owns and runs the town. Angie disappeared ten years ago and her friend Alex/Bas was worried about her because she left without warning and with no communication. Fearing the worst when he meets Madelyn and they learn about their pasts they go researching and weird things happens. Madelyn hears voices in her house which just so happened to be Angie’s house 20 years prior and she heard voices to.

I’d like to say thank you to Lauren Thoman for the wild ride in this what I like to think was a coming of age suspense novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for their he arc copy in exchange for my honest review

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of You Shouldn't Be Here by Lauren Thoman.

I was actually surprised that the GR reviews of this book aren't higher because I really liked this book. I thought it was so fresh, interesting, and fun.

It starts with an attack that immediately has you one edge as the story goes back and forth in time, unraveling the plot a bit at a time. There's romance, mystery, a very clear villain, and a whisper of the supernatural.

I know that some found it to be too political (nonbinary character, loud disdain for one percenters who will stop at nothing to get richer), but I just saw it as a commentary of the world we live in. And it helped to write one heck of a story. So, grab your pearls if you must, but be brave and give this a try!

Slow burn start with a big pay off at the end! I stuck through the somewhat slower start and I’m so glad that I did. I really enjoy Thoman’s writing style and felt drawn in from the very start.

This is okay. I absolutely loved the villain and the setting in the school. I found that relatable as a school employee. I absolutely loved hating Doug. Also the named Potato for a pet is my favorite name. That's what I called my Rooster.
I love Miss Zhao too and how she dealt with people mispronouncing her name.
Can't wait for the next one.

Couldn’t get into this one. I rarely DNF a book but this was one for me.
Have to give this one a one star.

With so many twists, I had no idea which way this book was going to go. I was constantly surprised and appreciated the way the author tackled the mystery element. While the story was slow to start, it did pick up around the 30% mark and I found myself reading the remainder of the book in close to one sitting. I don't usually love a paranormal element but the author wrote this one cleverly. This is my first book by this author and I am now keen to read more.

DNF at 25%. The book started off with a bang, but quickly petered out. I couldn’t connect with the two narrators enough to care how their seemingly unrelated storylines came together. Very disappointing, especially after Thoman’s debut novel, which I really enjoyed…

Thriller-romance about an individual who goes to a new town and lives in a house with a mysterious past. Some things did work: I liked the introduction of information (hypothetical tweets, e-mails, blog entries, etc.) that dealt with each chapter, and I connected with Madelyn and her attempting to find roots in a new town. There was also at least one twist I didn't see coming, so I applaud the author for that! I did, however, find some of the writing sophomoric and felt the romance aspect was less interesting than the thriller portion, but that might just be my perspective. Additionally, Doug seemed too much like a caricature to be an effective villain, and so his sections strained some credulity. I did appreciate the author's storytelling ability and the genuine empathy the characters had toward each other.

Missing people, mysterious sounds in a house at night. However, the plot took too long to get going and I was confused a few times with the POV and who was who.

I had zero problem with the politics or pronouns in this story - it's not that hard. However, I didn't find the story drawing me in or keeping me hooked. I did like the excerpts at the start of each chapter of social media posts. I did like the mystery once it got going. I found the villain a little too over-the-top and the ending unrealistic.

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.

Thank you to the author, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The premise of this book was intriguing, but unfortunately the overwrought writing spoiled it for me. I have no problem with non-binary characters - unlike so many who have commented - but I found all the characters lacked depth, the dialogues and plot were clunky and at times soap opera-worthy, the bad guy was cartoonishly and buffoonishly bad, the plot twists were foreseeable and the paranormal element was unnecessary. Sorry, but not a fan - I only finished this due to my hyper-developed sense of obligation, having received an ARC.

Overall a good book and story, loved how the story flowed and you were able to easily follow the different characters throughout the book. Definitely had you thinking of what was actually going on and how everyone was connected. The villain in this story is the worst, I loved the little pieces of information that were added through news stories, interviews, tweets etc. they definitely added a little something extra to the book as you were working through the clues to figure out the story and how it all came together at the end. Thank you NetGalley, Lauren Thoman, and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC of this book.

This was a great contemporary story that definitely kept me interested, particularly in how the POVs in the story were going to connect and how some characters were going to come into play. There's an element of this that's a little speculative, but if you aren't a fan of that, know that it's a minimal part of the story, and is definitely accessible to the average reader.

📚: You Shouldn’t Be Here by Lauren Thoman
⭐️: 4/5

The gist: East Henderson, PA — where first-year teacher Madelyn Zhao arrives with a hidden agenda to find out what happened to her cousin, who disappeared into thin air years ago. This town is also where 16 year old Angie Stewart lives with her father, and starts hearing unexplained noises in her house. A thread tying them together? The ubiquitous local celebrity (and high powered) realtor, Doug Raymond. A man with that much power and that much ego can create complete catastrophe.

The good: Overall, I really liked this read — it hooked me from the prologue (this book starts out with a bang and doesn’t slow down). The dose of mystery is strong, with a few twists along the way that worked well - including one I absolutely didn’t see coming.

The eh: The paranormal angle is one that isn’t my favorite trope, and fell just a bit flat for me.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer (@amazonpublishing) via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. You Shouldn’t Be Here is out now!

I liked this book well enough. There were some parts I really liked - the friendships and how current certain elements of the story felt. I didn't really feel connected with the characters or the plot as a whole though.

The writing's decent enough and I liked how things tied together in the end. The way social media was used was clever at times. All in all, I'd say it was a quick, interesting, timely tale that just felt a bit flat at times.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.