4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This was a fun and twisty YA mystery/thriller that is a quick and easy read. Eight students from LA’s elite Warner Prep are on their Senior Excursion. It's supposed to be five days of Instagrammable adventure in one of the world’s most exclusive locations. But, at the last minute, each of the students is pulled from their original excursion and assigned to a new one set high in the mountains. It's explained the excursion will be a digital detox in an isolated Colorado ski chalet.(insert eerie music here)

Well this isn't suspicious at all, is it? Nothing could possibly go wrong, could it? Yep - you guessed it. A severe storm hits the chalet, they are snowed in and the internet and phones are down. There is no car to leave the chalet. It looks like they are in for a few uncomfortable days, but nothing too bad. Then the deaths begin and the suspicions begin to fly. First it's one member of the group that they might be able to check off as an accident. But then one after another student is found dead. It's clear one of them is a killer, and as the suspect list gets shorter and shorter, is there anyone you can trust?

All of the characters in this book are horrible people with questionable morals. They all have secrets they don't want revealed, and their relationship with the other students have multiple layers. All of the narrators are unreliable and you never know whose version to believe. There are plenty of red herrings, which are quickly dispelled when each suspected person is killed off. Things continue to get worse for the survivors as they barrel toward the exciting ending.

The author does a great job of building tension as the story progresses. You can almost feel the student's despair jump off the page as their plights get more and more dire. The reason behind the murderer's killing spree was a bit ridiculous - but then again, mass murderers are not exactly known for their clear thinking.

Overall this was a quick and fun read that can be read in a day or two. If you like closed door mysteries and reading about bratty, spoiled kids getting picked off one by one, this is the book for you.

I received a complimentary e-copy of this book from TBR and Beyond Book Tours, the author, NetGalley, and Random House Books for Young Readers. All opinions are my own.

Eight teens are trapped in a ski lodge in the middle of a blizzard with a killer on the loose.

Eight seniors who did not want to be on a four-day trip to a mountain in a ski lodge found themselves without internet access. Instead of embracing the situation, Eden, one of the seniors, drugs the chaperone and throws a party with the contraband alcohol they sneaked in. Unfortunately, the party takes a tragic turn when Declan, a former TikTok influencer and one of the seniors, dies. Soon after, the group begins to die one by one, indicating that there is a killer among them. Will they manage to survive and uncover the identity of the culprit?

The book I just finished was absolutely gripping and utterly impossible to set down! I devoured it in less than a week. It was my first foray into the thriller genre, and I was captivated by the challenge of trying to unravel the identity of the killer. It reminded me of the intense mystery-solving in Danganronpa, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Willa is a character I found incredibly relatable and endearing, and I couldn't help but root for her. Declan's larger-than-life personality was intriguing, and Delaney's outward perfection left me questioning her true nature. Wyatt's penchant for video games added an exciting layer to the story, while Eden's dramatic tendencies kept things lively. Liam's unwavering loyalty was put to the test, and Camille's prickly demeanor added a dynamic twist. Lastly, Piper's enigmatic personality and sharp intellect drew me in.
Give this book to fans of thrillers who are intrigued by a thriller with a revenge best-served cold.

Happy Reading, Paige ❤️ 📚

Good YA stuck in one place can't get away or communicate kind of murder mystery with more than one death. The interesting thing about this one is that there was a death in the past, and we unveil that mystery from the flashbacks. I appreciate the vocabulary level in this one.

A nice paced YA thriller. The book is set in the past and present which I personally like when it is done well, which I think this is done well. I liked how the past and present helped to show the plot of the story unveil.

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!