Alexa Donne has quickly become one of my favorite YA thriller authors. If you’re looking for a book you can binge read in a few hours, look no further! As the weather cools off this fall, this is the perfect atmospheric read to get sucked into while cuddled up with a fuzzy blanket and hot chocolate.

In The Bitter End, a guidance counselor brings a group of 8 teenagers to a “digital detox” in a cabin miles from civilization. When the weather unexpectedly takes a turn for the worse, they’re trapped in the cabin while the blizzard continues. Then someone dies. At first, it seems like an accident... until another person dies.

I was convinced I knew who the murderer was, so I was completely caught offguard when it was revealed that it wasn’t them. This book is full of twists and turns, I loved how macabre the murderer’s motives for killing were. The Bitter End is a fast-paced thriller with high-stakes teenage drama, unlikeable characters, and an unexpected ending.

*I received a free eBook ARC, but this is my honest opinion.

8 senior year students, 1 guidance counselor as a chaperone, and a remote mountain lodge in the dead of winter. What could go wrong?

Set in snowy Colorado, none of these students chose a “Digital-Detox Retreat” as their senior trip, but here they are! They’ve found themselves at a desolate lodge surrounded by lots of snow and silence. Most of the teens think they can treat the weekend as one big party, until Ms. Silvia takes all their electronics and presents them with a strict schedule. Then a vicious snowstorm hits their isolated retreat and circumstances go from bad to worse. No outside contact, intermittent power, and then, one of them turns up dead. At first they think it’s an unfortunate accident, but as one-by-one they fall victim to fatal accidents, they realize one of them is a murderer. Someone’s goal for the weekend is revenge, can they figure it out before they all die?

I thought this was a good YA thriller/Mystery. Set in past & present views, slowly giving you snippets into possible motivations for murder. I did not guess the who or the why.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. I highly enjoyed it and will be recommending it.

THE BITTER END could also be called Payback is a Bitch! 8 seniors take a planned trip to celebrate their upcoming graduation. No cell phones, no outside contact. A remote cabin in snowy Colorado. Does this seem familiar to anyone who watches horror films? Two parties, two timelines, the same people. As freshmen there's Something that goes wrong. Those that escaped....well turns out they didn't escape. As each one dies, the story circles from then to now. The story line might seen familiar but the ending.......unique!!!

Thank you to Alexa, Random House Books, and NetGalley for an ARC of The Bitter End!

I really enjoyed this book and found it to be a fun ya thriller. The book was fast paced and a fun read for the fall. The book is told from multiple POVs and jumps between current timeline and a past event with the cast of characters. It did take a little bit to understand how all of the characters were connected and get used to the jumps in the timeline, but once I was a few chapters in it all made sense. I loved the isolated setting for the book and found the cabin in the woods to add to the eerie factor of the book. I did find some of the phrases that characters used or pop culture references they made to be a little off putting at first, but was able to overlook it with remembering that they’re teenagers and it’s set within the last 4 years. 

I did not guess who the killer was, which is a big win for me with a thriller when it keeps me guessing. Overall, the book was super fun! It was my first Alexa Donne and made me interested to checkout her other books. The writing style was enjoyable and it was a goof, fast paced ya thriller!

My only main issues with the book outside of that was that there were a few moments of things being mentioned or happening that were slightly vague and had me stopping to question if i read the moment correctly and what purpose it was serving. There was a moment where a character tripped while skiing and it was written as if something big had occurred, but only left me with more questions. I’m assuming that was the point and that readers were supposed to wonder what happened and if the girl tripped or was pushed, but it needed just a little more explanation in my opinion. I also did think the ending was one of type weaker points within the book, mainly the last couple pages. I did not guess who the killer was, which is a big win for me with a thriller when it keeps me guessing. However, the last couple pages kind of threw me off and made me unsure if we will be looking for a sequel or if it was meant to end a little confusing and leave some mystery.

Overall, the book was super fun! It was my first Alexa Donne and made me interested to checkout her other books. The writing style was enjoyable and it was a goof, fast paced ya thriller!

This book has all the elements of things I do like so I should like it and yet I did not. I didn’t care about any of the characters who felt like they were written by someone that know any teenagers in real life. I was bored from pretty much the start. Maybe it was just not for me but I did not enjoy this book.

Eight students, one guidance counselor chaperone, and a remote mountain lodge in the dead of winter. What could go wrong? As it turns out, everything. None of the students chose this Digital-Detox Retreat in the wilds of Colorado as their senior excursion from Warner Prep, but they have all found themselves at the desolate lodge surrounded by snow and silence. Most of the teens think they can treat the weekend as one big party, until Ms. Silvia takes all their electronics and presents them with a strict schedule. Then a vicious snowstorm hits their isolated retreat and circumstances go from bad to worse. No outside contact, intermittent power, and then, one of them turns up dead. At first they think it’s an unfortunate accident, but as more of them succumb to other fatal accidents, they realize one amongst them is a murderer. Someone’s goal for the weekend is revenge. With no where to go and no one to turn to, will any of them make it out alive?

Alexa Donnie’s The Bitter End is chilling and suspenseful. An intense closed-loop mystery, it leaves the reader tense and unnerved as suspicions and the body count rise. With multiple characters and POVs, we don’t know who to trust or who is telling the truth. Sympathies for the characters switch, fast and furious, from like to dislike and back again depending on the oftentimes faulty narrator. None of the characters are truly likable. They are selfish, arrogant, rude, insecure, and mean,,,typical teenagers, but their faults are elevated by setting and circumstance. Donne has done a tremendous job of delving into their psychologies and motivations. The reader is left with a bit of whiplash, never really knowing who to root for or if we should really root for anyone. Donne leaves us constantly guessing and on the edge of our seats. The plot is carefully crafted and well formulated, leaving no huge plot holes. Donne doles out little nuggets of information, but the plot is in no way transparent. The end, a terrifying surprise. The Bitter End is creepy and twisty, unsettling and scary good.

📖 Book Review 📖 What’s the worse than a digital detox weekend in the snow capped mountains for a bunch of privileged teenagers? Obviously being trapped with a serial killer in a cabin in the aforementioned snowy mountains. As my husband and kids spent their weekend getting all of our ski and snowboarding equipment down, I hunkered down with this absolutely gripping read! The Bitter End is a fast-paced, psychological thriller that follows a long weekend getaway for seniors that goes horribly wrong…

THE BITTER END by Alexa Donne is a young adult version of Agatha Christie's AND THEN THERE WERE NONE set in a snowed-in cabin in the mountains. While I'm sure it was cleverly plotted on some level, I had an impossible time differentiating several characters and couldn't follow the story very easily. Maybe it was just me, but I wish the character voices and personalities had been more distinct. Spoiler alert: I also didn't feel like the murderer had sufficient motivation, so making them a sociopath felt like a bit of a cop-out.

4.5 stars rounded up

The Bitter End is a twisty thriller following a privileged group of high school seniors on a digital detox ski trip who get snowed in with a murderer. And the killer just might be one of them... There's lots of bad behavior, secrets from the past, backstabbing, and unreliable narrators. I really enjoyed it!

This is a cool way to do a modern isolated closed circle murder mystery- a remote location, a snow storm AND a digital detox where a chaperone has all of their cell phones. The characters are layered and complex, and there is so much messiness you could plausibly imagine most of the characters as being the culprit. Bodies keep dropping in a variety of gruesome and inventive ways, and then we get flashbacks to a key party freshman year that the whole thing revolves around. It's clever and salacious in a juicy kind of way. Definitely recommend! Note that I am friends & mutuals with the author and received a copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

The Bitter End struck my attention first with the isolated mountain trip of wealthy teens going to a prominent school.

Oftentimes an isolated routine can provide the best backdrop for something spooky to occur. Something like a body drop or many.

The character is being from a wealthier standing just needed all the more entertaining. The lack of restraint when it comes to devices and the harm that I can play in society. But also to other things that can play a key role in societal problems.

I was caught up in the mixture of all of this clever secrets and details.

Initially I was shocked at the fact that these teenagers were so exposed to online things because back when I was a teenager we didn't have that kind of access. At least I didn't have my first cell phone until middle school and I couldn't connect to the internet. In high school I had a flip and I didn't connect to the internet until I was in about high school.
It's also unrelated to my teenage years because our parents made sure that we weren't around things like alcohol or drugs.
We were taught that sexual conduct was for marriage (fade-to-black or references only are mentioned in book).

Something I realize is not the normal these days. In today's society all of these things become an actual occurrence within the lives of various youths. Causing this book to be a reminder that innocence is fleeting.
Betrayal within circles is sadly a very real occurrence as well.

There is much to be discovered in this trapped in a cabin murder spree book.
Evoking shock, fear, & addicted page flipping. This was a twisted ride.

Check Content Warnings always.

A YA thriller that is Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None meets Gossip Girl about a mountain retreat for a select group of students who all have terrible secrets and deeds except for one uninvited guests...and when bodies start dropping so does the betrayal begin. Eight teens are are trapped in a remote ski cabin where they find that they are being killed off and that the killer might be one of them... and they all have a motive. Warner Prep is an exclusive school and the students who go there all have secrets.... and when eight students get are put together for a trip all their secrets will come to light. From the jealousy, to the cheating, to the sabotage and the anger... they all want each other gone.... but someone is willing to go through much greater lengths to make it happen, can they figure it out before it's too late. And Then There Were None is my favorite Agatha Christie story so when I found out this was inspired by that and had a touch of Gossip Girl, I was so on board. The story starts off interesting as it jumps from various POVS and does have moments of recalling the past, but where the story ends is the problem for me. The story ends in such an abrupt open ended kind of way, it just doesn't feel satisfactory in the least and it just feels like nothing really paid off or was resolved. There was only one likable character in the book and the fact that she barely had an ending just felt so unfinished. The reveal of the killer and there motive just didn't feel all that earned or well thought out. I wish I liked this more but I do think that teen YA thriller readers would have a fun time with this.

Release Date: October 15,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's | Random House Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Imagine a game of Clue crossed with the high-school slasher vibes of I Know What You Did Last Summer. Then cast the scene with a bunch of wildly rich and spoiled Gen Z influencers.
That is the backdrop of Alexa Donne’s young adult thriller, The Bitter End.

The story is a classic closed-circle mystery. A rented shuttle drops eight high school students from Warner Prep and their guidance counselor at as isolated mountain cabin in Colorado. The teens are there for a digital detox retreat at the request of their parents (or so the reader is led to believe). They forfeit their cell phones. There is no TV and no internet. Nothing but snow and mountain-fresh air. Oh, and murder.


Photo by Gabriel Alenius on Unsplash
The killings start in the early hours after drunken games of “Oh the Humanity” (Donne’s version of Cards Against Humanity) and “Never Have I Ever” the first night. The characters throw down cards and make backstabbing claims that surface old rivalries and betrayals from a party they all attended three years before.

The Bitter End is a reminder to be careful who you pretend to be

and what company you keep…online and off.

(from Alexa Donne to the reader at the beginning of the book)
Donne tells the mystery in two timelines. We read flashbacks of the party from each teen in the third person. In the present, however, we see the events unfold through the eyes of only three of the teens: Willa, Delaney, and Piper. Suddenly, the high schoolers are stranded without power, without adult supervision, and without a clue as to why they are all there. The body count rises.

This story really makes you believe that any of the characters could be the killer. They are, simply put, that unlikeable. Or perhaps that flawed. The teens all have motive for violence, and you can see them falling apart in front of each other.

Donne writes a thriller with plenty of bitterness, duplicity, and page-turning drama.

That might be where this story fell short for me. I like heroes in my stories. I don’t mind twists or cliffhangers. Epic drama? I’m here for it. But maybe I don’t like teenage drama as much as I thought I would before I picked up this book. It was difficult for me to find a character to root for in this story.

The Bitter End is a twisty thriller that is a good fit for any reader who is itching for a fast-paced, young adult/teen murder mystery to keep them company this winter.

This book was provided in exchange for an honest review

This was a great read! Prefect October/Fall read. it gave me”I Know What You Did Last Summer” vibes even before the reference was made. The killer was not predictable. You knew it was one of them, but it could have also been an outsider. Loved it!

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

Big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this early copy!

Alexa Donne, dare I say, crafted a perfect YA thriller. The Bitter End follows a group of (mostly) rich teenagers who all got stuck on a trip that ends up being deadly. It focuses around three characters — Willa, Piper, and Delaney — with flashbacks for all of the characters from a pivotal party 3 years ago sprinkled in between.

Donne keeps the suspense up from the first body that’s found. It’s fast-paced, nail-biting, and a page turner. You find yourself wanting to desperately put all the puzzle pieces together before the book tells you. But honestly? I wouldn’t have guessed that twist from a mile away.

This book was great and definitely a one-sitter. Easy 5 stars!

I think this may be it for me for YA thrillers with the “rich kid” vs “poor kid” trope. It’s just so played out and I feel like I’ve read this exact book like 100 times. I also just didn’t live the motivation for the murders because it was just so unserious and absurd. It honestly was fine and I probably would have loved this a few years ago, but I need YA thrillers to do something fresh and this was a bit stale.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

This story had a lot of twists and turns with me thinking I had the ending figured out but second guessed myself (then realizing I actually did have part of it figured out in the end). The first part of the book was a bit harder for me to get into while I was trying to get a feel for the main characters while going through the different POVs. But once I got to the second portion of the book, I was hooked and needed to know how things ended. There were certain characters I really enjoyed and some that were harder to like given the drama and pettiness. I graduated high school 10 years ago so some of these moments weren't really for me and lost my attention at times. 3.75 Stars!

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for the ARC. The Bitter end is an atmospheric thriller book, about a group of teenagers, stuck in a cabin during a snow storm during a school trip. This book kept me guessing. I thought I had it figured out half way, just for Alexa Donne to throw in more plot twists. I would recommend this to fans of Lisa Jewel. Alexa has become an auto buy author for me!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Alexa Donne’s latest thriller, The Bitter End, is a masterclass in suspense and psychological tension. Set against the chilling backdrop of a snow-covered Colorado ski chalet, this novel traps eight high school seniors in a deadly game of survival when a winter storm isolates them from the outside world. The twist? One of them might be a killer.

From the first page, Donne hooks the reader with her atmospheric writing. The remote ski cabin, with its creaking floors and howling winds, becomes a character in its own right, amplifying the sense of dread that permeates the story. The isolation and the relentless storm outside mirror the internal turmoil of the characters, each of whom harbors secrets and fears that slowly unravel as the plot progresses.

The strength of The Bitter End lies in its well-crafted characters. Donne excels at creating multi-dimensional teens who are far from the typical stereotypes often found in YA thrillers. Each character is given a distinct voice and backstory, making their interactions and conflicts feel authentic and compelling. As the tension mounts and trust erodes, the dynamics between the characters become increasingly fraught, leading to explosive confrontations and shocking revelations.

The pacing of the novel is impeccable. Donne expertly balances moments of high-stakes action with quieter, introspective scenes that delve into the characters’ psyches. This ebb and flow keep the reader on edge, never quite sure when the next twist will come. And when those twists do arrive, they are both surprising and satisfying, a testament to Donne’s skillful plotting.

The Bitter End explores themes such as trust, betrayal, and the lengths people will go to survive. Donne doesn’t shy away from the darker aspects of human nature, and this adds a layer of depth to the narrative that elevates it above a simple whodunit. The moral ambiguities faced by the characters force the reader to question their own assumptions and judgments, making for a thought-provoking read.

The Bitter End is a gripping, atmospheric thriller that will keep readers guessing. Alexa Donne has crafted a story that is thrilling and emotionally resonant, with characters that linger in the mind long after the final page is turned.

For fans of YA thrillers and anyone who enjoys a well-told tale of suspense, this book is a must-read.