I chose this book based off the author, Kiersten Modglin, as her trillers are generally quick easy reads. I feel like this book was more of a cutesy love story with a little drama mixed in- and I was not thrilled.

Kiersten Modglin has quickly become one of my favorite authors! I loved the romance meets thriller vibes in this book. The narration was perfect and this was a quick listen for me because I just had to know how it ended!

As always this author does not disappoint. She is an instabuy author for me. This is a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat guessing, get comfortable, cause you will keep guessing until the end. The fmc gets more than she bargained for when she comes home for her friend's funeral. It's not long before she starts asking questions that will eventually bring answers she doesn't want to know. I love that this one is sprinkled with romance as well. I definitely recommend this one.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 / 3.5 stars

Where the Darkness Goes is a romantic thriller, with more emphasis on the romance rather than the thrill. It's told in dual POV, as well as dual timeline, and the audiobook utilized dual narration as well.

In the beginning I could feel the suspense building, as well as the tension between the two MC's, but a lot of the thrill I craved was not there in the second part of the book; even though this is where all is revealed. I found myself just kind of being like, "Oh, that's it?". The revelation was interesting, but overall it wasn't really the thrilling ride I come to expect from a KMod book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this advanced Audiobook Listening Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Where the Darkness Goes by Modglin is a book that I could not put down. The narrator was great. Five stars!

I've always been a sucker for a good romantic suspense novel, and Where the Darkness Goes by Kiersten Modglin didn't disappoint. This was my first time reading her work, and I'll definitely check out other books by her.

The story follows Tessa and Garrett, two childhood friends who drifted apart. The dual timeline format gave us more insight into their past and present, and I appreciated the dual POVs that gave us a peek into their thoughts and feelings.

While the romance was sweet and the suspenseful elements kept me guessing, I wished for a bit more thrill. Some of the twists were unexpected, but I craved a deeper dive into the darker side of the story.

That being said, the narration was fantastic. Ellie Gossage and Jay Myers were new to me narrators, but they brought the characters to life and made the listening experience a pleasure.

If you're a fan of romantic suspense or Kiersten Modglin, I highly recommend giving this book a try. It's a delightful blend of love and mystery, perfect for a cozy night in.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC of this book. I voluntarily listened and gave an honest review.

I’m loving all of Kiersten Modglin’s audiobooks so far! The writing sucks me in and the narrators are wonderful. It has me listening every moment I can. Tessa is returning to her small hometown after the death of her friend, Brittany, from high school. She ends up unexpectedly staying in the same house as Garrett, her brother’s best friend and her ex. Past and present timelines weave together as Brittany’s death mirrors the mysterious deaths of teen girls years before while Tessa and Garrett find themselves reliving their hot and steamy will-they-won’t-they dance.

Dual timelines and POV (Tessa and Garrett). I loved hearing both characters’ inner thoughts and monologues. It made me root for them hard knowing their intentions were both so raw and pure for each other.

Audio specific: enjoyed having male and female narrators. Fantastic production.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this audio ARC. This review will be shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.

Pub Date Dec 31 2024

Where The Darkness Goes by Kiersten Modglin
🌟🌟🌟🌟 (3.5 rounded up)
This was a fairly entertaining romance/thriller story. I felt as though the romance was out weighing the thrills, which wasn’t my favorite though.
I enjoyed the dual timelines that this story has, as I found it fun to get pieces from when the characters were younger and then older.
There were some twists and surprises more towards the end, when pieces started to come together.
I love Kiersten Modglin’s writing, but this definitely wasn’t one of my favorites.

Thank you to NetGalley for an audio copy of this story. The narrators were excellent!!

Is Tessa Becker dreaming? Stranded in the middle of a storm, waiting for help, she sees someone she thought she’d never see again—Garrett Campbell. Not only does Garrett assist Tessa after her car breaks down, but she also discovers that they’ll be roommates while she’s in town for a friend’s funeral. Tessa’s intention when returning to her hometown was to stay with her brother Will, unaware that Garrett and Will are roommates, and Will is actually out of town on business.

Tessa and Garrett have a history which is explored in this book. However, despite the romantic theme, there’s something sinister lurking beneath the surface. When Tessa, Garrett, and Will were in their late teens, murders shook the town. Those murders remained unsolved.

As the story unfolds, the timeline shifts between past and present, revealing how the trio was affected by those murders. Now adults, speculation arises that the current death is connected to those of years ago.

With unexpected twists as the story begins to unravel, past and present collide, impacting both the romance and the suspense. The dual narration in this audiobook made it incredibly easy for me to become fully invested in this captivating story.

Many thanks to Kiersten Modglin and NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

The narrators were really good. This is the first book I've listened to by this author. The problem I had with it was the inconsistency. At times characters respond in a that only makes sense for the plotline but not the character and how they are written which I find it frustrating. The other issue I had with it was the plotline itself. Dealing with small towns and teenagers there is no way that the situation would have remained secret for years. I liked it it overall but not sure if I'll read anything by this author.

"romantic thriller" was not the crossover I was expecting but it was good. For those who like spicy but want some non-traditional impediments to get there, this is for you. As always, big fan of KMod and her stories.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Dreamscape Media for my advance copy of this audiobook

Thank you to the publisher and author for this audio ARC! I am a Kiersten Modglin fan, but this is the first of her "romantic thrillers" that I have read.
I am not sure the romantic thriller genre is for me. I can't say that I have inherent issues with this book specifically, and I still enjoy Modglin as an author, but for future reads I may pass on romantic thrillers. For me, both the romance and the thriller aspects of the books didn't go *far* enough - meaning neither were developed enough for me to be invested.
It was not bad, but not all that memorable for me. The audiobook was perfectly fine, except for when the female narrator changed her voice to voice the pastor...that part didn't fly for me, and I am not easily bothered when it comes to audiobooks.
This book isn't bad, but not Modglin's best - but it could be the genre type that is a miss for me. Modglin has some far better books out there and I will definitely keep reading her works!
2.5 stars rounded up to 3

Wow! Absolutely blown away by this story! The author definitely had me on the edge of my seat!

When I started listening I for sure thought I knew how’d it all go. I was so smug about my hunch but nope I slapped in the face by amazing twists and crazy turns!! A very intense book with so much heart!

The narrators did a great job! I thought both did great voicing the opposite sex which can be hard and I judge harshly on that so I appreciate that the male didn’t do a high pitch nasaly voice for every female!

A first for me by this author and not a last! I’m hooked!

If Kiersten Modglin asked me to take her on a date and pay for everything, I absolutely would. She is a goddess of a writer, even if her books tend to be aggressively hetero.
I loved this weird book. I loved Tessa. I actually felt for Garret. The mystery was decent.
These are my guilty pleasure books.
The narration was perfect!

I loved this audiobook!

It was a great mix of romance/spice and thriller/mystery! There was no way I was guessing the who and the why! I enjoyed the main characters and their stories. Every person was a potential suspect and I could not wait to find out who.

The dual timelines worked very well for the story and I enjoyed learning how Garrett and Tessa’s relationship developed. Their connection & their love was palpable.

I always enjoy listening to this narrator- she has great range and she changes her voices for the characters so they are distinctive.

I highly enjoyed and highly recommend!

OMG!!!
I had to wait a little while to write this...in order for my heart rate to come back down to baseline! ❤️😭🙏🏼 🤐

So, to say that I 'never had a clue' would be an understatement! I thought I had a clue...several times. Several times, I was WRONG!! Like I was in Disney and it was in Universal... 😮😮😮

That being said...HOLY COW!!! Talk about suspense! 🫣 Talk about surprises! 😬 Talk about out of left field! 💡Well, this one had them all!!!

Tessa and Will are brother and sister. Not twins, but may as well be.
They are very in-tune with each other. And then there's Garrett. (The same Garrett I wanted to reach through the book and slap him 🤜🏼 a time or two to say ... WAKE UP!!!)
He and Will are best friends. He kind of likes Tessa (when they were young), but is afraid to show any feelings, as it's his best friend's lil sister.

This is told in kind of dual timelines...so, when the bunch of them were teens, and then NOW.

They highlight the chain of deaths of young girls/women in the area, and how afraid everyone was as they were growing up.

And then, they bring you back to now. And another death looms large....that seems similar to those of years ago, but then again, not really.

So I had my hunches throughout the story. I thought I was correct (multiple times)!! Only to be proven wrong, and BLOWN right out of the water! 🤯

If you have not read Kiersten Modglin before, 🛑 STOP 🛑 what you are doing and pick up one of her books! I'd venture to say that they all HAVE IT ALL!! Give you all the feels (romance), all the creeps (scary stuff), all the tingles (suspense), and then the JUST DROP YOUR JAW TO THE FLOOR cuz that did NOT just HAPPEN!!!!

All the stars for me on this one!!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫💫💫💫💫✨✨✨✨✨

#WhereTheDarknessGoes by #KierstenModglin and narrated beautifully by #EllieGossage and #JayMyers.

Thanks so much to #NetGalley and #DreamscapeMedia for an ARC of the audiobook which is ***** DUE TO BE RELEASED ON 12.31.24! *****
(I believe the actual book has already been released, so you should be able to find that one now...)

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Mystery/thriller books that also have romance are some of my favorite books so whenever I see them, I have to read them. This book does mix the mystery with the romance pretty well but I will say I was a little let down by the ending of this book. I didn't really care for the "mystery" in this one and it felt underwhelming to me. The romance however, was delightful. I really liked Garret and Tessa and I think Will was also a strong character.

The audio narration done by Ellie Gossage and Jay Myers was great.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for access to the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

This one was a little bit romantic, suspenseful and mystery. When Tessa returns home, she has to face old memories and cold cases, not to mention her best friends’ brother whom she had a crush on.
I enjoyed the dual timelines and the relationship had some spice, to keep things interesting. Modglin is an auto-buy for me and I look forward to every book she writes.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5)/🌶️🌶️🫚(2.5/5)

“Better watch that smart mouth before I eat something else.”

“We know what matters now, truth, love, happiness.”

If you know anything about my reading habits, you’d know that I will read anything Kiersten Modglin puts out.

I did the audio of this one but of course I had to get the paperback for my collection too. The audio was really well done, they always are, so no surprise there.

This one was a little different than her typical edge of your seat thrillers / domestic suspense books. It had a slower pacing until things pop off at the end but the slow burn pacing worked well for this storyline. I think the extra spice she added in this book compared to others helped to keep the slow burn pacing interesting because the romance element was a strong theme throughout even with the mystery to be solved. The romance elements gave me vibes like her book The Cleaner (if you have not read it, go check it out, I gave it an infinity rating).

Kiersten has a gift for writing fluid transitions between past & present timelines and between the different character POVs. With some authors I struggle to keep the time periods and characters straight and it can be extra difficult with an audio HOWEVER THAT IS NOT THE CASE WITH KIERSTEN’S BOOKS. The characters are well defined and the time jumps are as well.

Can’t wait for the next one which I. Sure is dropping soon because she clearly never sleeps the way she pumped these books out.

This is exactly how I like my childhood romances….aka with a creepy thriller/mystery. This book pulls you right in with a funeral, where you then learn it is far from the first in this town, then keeps you hooked with a cute past/present love story. Really enjoyed this one.