For the past 25 years, Fairport Village has seemed to be cursed. A student was murdered long ago and since then there have been 2 other mysterious deaths. Now,Eden and some schoolmates are about to have one last hurrah before the place is bulldozed. That is until another student dies. What is going on? Is the place really cursed? Or is something more sinister at play?

An enjoyable YA thriller! Loved the spooky atmosphere. The author got the teenage high school drama pretty spot on too! Makes me glad I’m past that time of life lol! I didn’t guess part of the conclusion but at the same time it wasn’t a surprise either. I did appreciate the lack of foul language in the book! Thank you to Tantor audio and Netgalley for allowing me to listen to the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

I read this via audiobook and oh my god I could NOT STAND the narrator's voice! Especially when she tried to do the other voices, oh my goodness those were especially annoying. I am so sorry, that's kind of mean, but I find the narrator to be such an important part. They need to have the right kind of voice. I think it was also a combination thing. The writing feels very YA, so when you combine that with certain voices and it just kind of irritates the listener that much faster.

This follows our main character Eden and her very spooky town. This town has legends and curses and spooky abandoned places and is just spooky all together! There is also lots of drama with the people that live in this town (EVERYONE IS SHADY), so this was the perfect setting for a thriller or mystery book to be set.

I was a little disappointing with the pacing of this story, it felt like it took a really long time to get to the point and even then it was quite a bit lackluster. I had to try really hard to be engaged with this story and to care about these characters. They felt rather flat. They had their purpose in how they moved the story along (except for some of those random and annoying friend side characters) and besides that they were so flat and lacking in depth and personality.

This book just needs a whole lot more oomph in just about every aspect of it. I can see a very young YA audience enjoying this, but I really expected more from such a cool premise and cool atmosphere. This just felt like a missed opportunity. Overall, this was okay. But read it, don't listen to it on audiobook.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

The first 20% of this book had me so freaked out I almost didn’t finish it because I’m such a baby with ghost stories. I’m so glad I stuck it out because this was exactly the YA Thriller vibe I was hoping it would turn into, and just when you think it’s done the very last chapter knocked it out of the park! I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since I’ve finished it. Thank you Netgalley, Chelsea Ichaso, and Tantor Audio for this ARC to review.

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Pub Date: 3/4
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I am a huge sucker for any kind of paranormal / curse type of story so when I was granted the ALC of this one I was super excited to dive in.
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Right form the start I was hooked. I loved the backstory to the curse, I like how it tied into the present story and the more recent murders. I also really like how Ichaso had no problem with killing people off in this story.
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This is a pretty steady paced book that has some very suspenseful parts. The characters are typical teenagers, they can be annoying but still have good growth. While this is a YA, it didn’t really feel like it read as one. I figured out majority of the twists throughout the story except for the end one, which I felt brought the story full circle and I really like where Ichaso took the story.
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I listened to this via audiobook and Jennifer Jill Araya was fantastic for this. If you are thinking of picking this one up - I highly recommend the audiobook.
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Overall, this is a quick and entertaining YA. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Chelsea Ichaso and Tantor Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5 Stars

A chilling, fast-paced thriller with plenty of twists, Fairport Village delivers an eerie atmosphere and high-stakes tension, though it doesn’t quite break new ground in the YA psychological thriller genre.

Eden Stafford is no stranger to being an outcast, but when she’s dragged to a party at the infamous ruins of Fairport Village, she expects the worst—from her classmates, not from the place itself. Yet when a student turns up dead and the legend of the cursed resort seems more real than ever, Eden and her longtime tormentors find themselves trapped in a deadly game. As they’re hunted by an unknown stalker, past grudges blur with present danger, forcing Eden to decide who—if anyone—she can trust... The mystery keeps you turning the pages, but seasoned thriller readers may predict some of the major twists.

While it doesn’t completely reinvent the genre, it delivers enough tension, intrigue, and surprises to make it worth the read.

ARC read thanks to Netgalley ✨️ 📖

We were Warned

I loved the suspenseful, spooky vibes of this book! A very fun YA Thriller


Thank you so much to NetGalley/Publisher for the audio ARC

Messy. Drama filled. She knows how to do it.
These poor teens were put through the wringer.
It was a shocking plot twist for sure!

Okay!! This book was way better than I expected it to be, and I went in with higher expectations after enjoying Ichaso's previous books. This book was spookier than it had any right to be, and way more twists than your average YA thriller. I actually did not see a majority of the twists coming, at all, which is unusual for me as a dedicated thriller fan! This YA does read very YA at times, which I understand I am not the target audience for so it will not affect my rating. But overall, I FLEW through this one and really enjoyed!

3.5
Liked the story but I found it was just a little slow at times for me.

Found a few too many characters and lack of execution on some

Perfection. Everything I want in a good thriller. So many good twists and turns, this book was a rollercoaster.

I received an audio copy of this book. The narrator was really good and easy to follow at an increased speed.

We Were Warned by Ichaso started out as a great mystery, but then it kind of fell flat. I feel like it was wrapped up too quickly at the end. The narrator was great.

I found this book very intriguing from the start! It kept me guessing throughout and kept me invested in the story with all the twists and turns. I did find some aspects a little confusing but honestly I’m sick right now so that might be more of the reason why 😂🤷🏻‍♀️ overall, a very solid YA mystery/thriller!

What a twisty thriller!
Our main character Eden and her mom have been ostracized because her dad scammed a lot of local families and disappeared. Said he had to start over somewhere new. Desperate for some money, Eden goes with some classmates to a haunted abandoned beach resort to help someone film a documentary. But he ends up dead, just like 2 other students in the past few years. Then another student ends up dead. Eden has to team up with her ex-friends to figure out what is really going on.
It was easy to root for Eden. Everyone left her due to something out of her control and that sucked. I wanted her to become friends with these people again, but at the same time, she had been so hurt by them and it was difficult for her to let them back in. Caleb had been one of her best friends, but you could tell that there had been something wrong on both ends of their friendship. It wasn't just him leaving her because of what her dad did (cue the miscommunication trope). Victoria was a typical mean girl, but I think she came around. Eden did have one good friend, May, but she wasn't in the book much. She seemed like a really good friend though.
The plot was really engaging. We are lead to believe that this abandoned resort is haunted by some sort of hooded figure - some sort of ghost or demon or something. It really seems like a possibility. Or it could be one of the friends or anyone who lives in town. I like when something really feels like it could be a human being or some supernatural creature. We learn interesting tidbits along the way and keep unraveling stories and histories. I was never bored and really wanted to know how it was going to end. The ending was very fast paced and action packed. The who/why made sense and wasn't just pulled from thin air. We do get a little bit of after the action has died down and then the epilogue puts a nice bow on something that was left open ended in previous chapters.
The audiobook narrator was great. She pulled me into the story and made things seem suspenseful. The only thing was that when she was doing the male voices, their dialogue sometimes fell a little flat, but other than that I loved her narration.

Solid Young Adult Suspense.

Property in ruins and an old brutal murder has set the stage for ghost stories in this small town. Of course, in a small town, there is not much for teens to do, so why not enter old private property, drink, and stir up trouble, or possibly ghosts.

As time goes on, it's up to a few brave, avenging kids to get down to bottom of the story and find out why their friends have been killed and why they are the next targets.

Just enough creepiness, gore and suspense to keep you turning the page without having to sleep with the lights on.

We Were Warned is a twisty YA thriller that readers will devour! The characters are likeable but flawed and they will hook readers into the story. Hand this to fans of Natasha Preston and Natalie D. Richards. A must have for YA collections!

I always love a good YA mystery/thriller novel, and this one was no different!

To begin with, the audiobook was narrated by Jennifer Jill Araya, and she did an excellent job, 10/10.

This is a fast-paced, creepy, atmospheric story set in a seaside town, with a dash of the supernatural to keep you on your toes. It has complicated family stories and dynamics, a "haunted house", and almost too many murders (and near-deaths) to count.

As always, I enjoyed the drama and high tensions that YA always has - because you can't just be solving a mystery, you also have to be resoling inter-personal conflicts the whole way through (obviously)! The relationship between Eden and Caleb did take up a bit more of the story that I thought it would, but I wasn't disappointed by that. I was mostly just annoyed by Eden's constant lack of trust in absolutely everyone, especially Caleb, even after he proved himself trustworthy to her multiple times.

As for the mystery, I was kept guessing the whole way through. The reveal and murderer's monologue were a touch overdramatic, but overall pretty shocking. There are some heartbreaking reveals and complicated emotions throughout, and the epilogue shocked me!

For any fans of YA mystery, definitely would reccomend!

This was my first read by author Chelsea Ichaso, and being a YA book, outside my usual genre. I really enjoyed the dimensions in this story, past/present, enemies to crush, finding the truth, etc. The story definitely had multiple aspects that would translate well on the big screen! The pacing was on point and with enough suspense to keep the reader wanting more. I highly recommend this to those that enjoy YA without any restrictions. I also enjoyed the narrator for the audiobook! Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire for this arc!!

This book had me hooked from the moment I read the first chapter! The eerie history behind the abandoned Fairport Villa is just too tempting to resist! (For both me as the reader and all the teens in the book! ;)

Eden Stafford isn’t quite like all the other seniors getting through their last year of high school… After her dad was caught in the middle of a crime, he up and abandoned his family, turning Eden (and her mom) into the prime target for bullying and being ostracized by the town. Determined to make the most of her last year, (and also make some money) Eden agrees to attend a late night senior party at the Fairport ruins to help a classmate capture footage for his big documentary. But when the night ends with a student dead, what started as a typical school year quickly morphs into a fight for survival.

With a mysterious stranger on their tail, Eden and her unexpected allies must unravel the truth behind the curse! With creepy consequences, unforeseen connections, and an ending that will leave you reeling! This book is one I would recommend for everyone, not just the young adults!

**Contains brief mentions of teenage drinking, murder, and some gore. But I just have to add how much I love that Chelsea can write an intense emotion filled novel without all the swearing and foul language often found in other books!

Thank you so much to Chelsea Ichaso, Netgalley and Tantor Audio for the complimentary copy of this book! All opinions are my own!

This wasn’t a bad book. I didn’t love it but I have to keep in mind it was a YA book. I liked the setting of it. The characters were ok. Decently written and easy to listen to. Good narration. Not a bad book but not a favorite either.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.