This is one book that I could not put down. You get invested rather quickly into the lives of the characters and want to know more. I think this will be a good suspense read for our students. There were some supernatural vibes that I wish had been wrapped up and connected a little differently, but I can see what the author intention was for the storyline. All in all a fun read!

The Violent Season by Sara Walters was very very fun to read! There were many twists and turns, and I really love that the characters were complex in their emotional vulnerabilities because it made them really relatable. I found the premise to be very refreshing, it's Myth vs Reality in this a YA thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley, SourcebooksFire, and Sara Walters for the opportunity to honestly review an e-arc of The Violent Season.

Every November in the small town of Wolf Ridge, horrible things happen. Car accidents, violent attacks and horrible deaths. Almost a year has passed since Wyatt Green’s mother was brutally killed in a home invasion becoming one the statistics. Wyatt is determined that there is some sort of sickness in the town causing all of the bad, but no one believes her, not even her best friend, Cash. Cash is the one constant in her life. After his own mother died, they had become each other’s rocks. When Cash turns on her, Wyatt struggles to find out the truth of what is happening in the town she calls home.

The Violent Season is a gripping, fast paced, small town YA Thriller. The story is dark and complex, dealing with heavy issues of death, grief, and unhealthy relationships. Walters does a marvelous job of putting us in Wyatt’s head as she struggles with all of these different, conflicting emotions. It made it easy to root for her to succeed in her efforts to find her mother’s killer and solve the mystery surrounding Wolf Ridge.

I love Wyatt’s relationship with her dad and how their interactions have developed since the tragedy struck their lives. It serves as a bright spot for the dark setting of the novel.

This was a very solid debut from Walters and I will definitely be checking out her future works.

Massive trigger warnings for this book: there is a really long scene where one of the characters sexually assualts and attempts to rape another character.

I went into this book with really high hopes for it but unfortunately it didn't quite live up to the hype I had created for it. My primary issue with the book was that the blurb felt as though it gave too much information away. I could be misremembering but I think the plotline about hunting for her mother's killer didn't really come into play in any meaningful way until around the 75% mark which is definitely too far into the book for something that has been included in the blurb.

I was expecting this story to give me the vibes of "teenagers scare the living shit out of me" with a touch of unreliable narrator but the book just didn't have murderous teenagers vibe that I was expecting, I think the expectation for this book was that teenagers are mysteriously murdered in November when the actual vibe is a lot of people die in November and it's a very weird coincidence.

The prolonged SA scene was somewhat crucial to my low ratings of this book. I can somewhat understand the intention behind its inclusion but it felt gratuitously long and was incredibly detailed. I read an eARC of this book so it is possible that finalised copies of this book will include a trigger / content warnings page but I definitely didn't have one in this book and this is very definitely a book that needs one.

I think this book also felt as though it was missing a lot of intrigue as my friend who had only read the blurb for was able to accurately guess in a single guess who the murderer was.

I hate leaving such a poor review for a book because it is no mean feat to write a novel but unfortunately this is a book that I don't think I liked anything about :( I am definitely not writing off this author as this definitely feels like a book that someone with different tastes to me would enjoy or even if it had been blurbed differently...

trigger warning- suicide, death, death of a parent, toxic relationship, drinking, drug use, drug abuse, blood, fire, fire injury.

i think the biggest thing about this book was that i honestly found this book to be something that wasn't groundbreaking or anything. like, i feel like most of this book was just so boring and i feel like nothing really happened in here. and i feel like it was just kind of annoying with this plot that had nothing really happening. and i mean, i wish there was just more plot in this book.

but, i do feel like if someone went through some of the same things that wyatt went through, i feel like this book would have been more impactful and something that more people might like. like, i feel like it would have been something/someone that you could see yourself in, but i feel like for me, i didn't really see myself in her anyway, which i guess just took it all away for me.

and i feel like there was some plot about this 'november sickness.' and it was brought up over and over again, and i feel like in the book it never was really answered and i feel like they talked about it a couple times, but they never brought it up since then, which i think was just kind of annoying and i feel like they should have had this plot throughout the whole book or to have them not really talk about it so much.

granted, i did kind of like that they 'solved' the murder of her mom. like, i'd personally use the word 'solved' loosely, since i feel like as the murder mystery plot was the one of the main things in this book, i feel like we got zero plot with them actually trying to find the killer, and i feel like it really just fell into their laps. and i mean, who did it was so obvious if you actually read the book, so that kind of annoyed me.

and i feel like they kept bring up the november sickness and the murder of her mom again and again, but they never really had a plot in the book. like, i feel like they should have created a better plot around it, caused with the sickness, it was brought up when it was convenient to the book, which wasn't to often. and then the murder of her mother, she would be doing something random and then be like 'oh yeah my mom's dead, she was murdered lmao.' and after awhile it just got to be on my nerves and i feel like it should have been dealt with better. and not just have it be some side plot to everything that is going on in her very boring life

and since they kept going on and on and on about the bloody past and how this town is haunted, i honestly wish, as a whole, that this book was bloodier and that it kind of got to be a bit spookier. like, i think if they really wanted to sell this murder town plot line, they should have made it gorier and have it be more bloodier and kind of set it up like a slasher novel, and maybe made the town to be more dark, since overall, the town wasn't that bad, or at least in my opinion.

The Violent Season, while a solid debut, was not at all what I expected it to be. I expected a spooky, horror type story but this was predominantly about the toxic relationship between our MC Wyatt and her best friend/love of her life Cash, and the mystery of who killed her mother.

I’m not even sure if I enjoyed the book or if I just couldn’t stop reading because I wanted answers. The writing was easy to read and the pace was good but I didn’t particularly love the characters. I was surprised to see it was actually a debut from Sara Walters! It definitely didn’t feel like it.

My main issue (or frustration) with the story was the lack of answers surrounding the ‘November sickness’.. it was mentioned so much throughout the book but for what? Nothing ever comes of it so what was the point! I think it would have been an all round better book if that element was taken out and it was just listed as a YA contemporary/murder mystery.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting concept for a book! I was invested in the characters and the story all the way through. I was unsure where the story was going from the start, but it made for great tension and building of the story. I am not generally a fan of paranormal type stories so I was nervous this was hovering in that realm but I was pleasantly surprised by the directions taken by this book. Was it believable? Not really. Was it dark and disturbing? YES. Was it a satisfying YA thriller? Absolutely!

There are trigger warnings galore for this book, so if sexual assault, abusive relationships, homicide, or suicide are triggers for you, be warned!

I am going to try again, but the narrator kinda killed my anticipation for this book. Maybe I'll try it next month and actually pick up a physical copy. Thank you netgalley for the arc

Synopsis: Wolfridge is home to the Urban legend - every November, suicides and murders rampage this small Vermont town. Wyat Green, who lost her mother believes it's due to the November sickness and feels that Cash Peters ,the boy she loves may be affected this time. As she tries to investigate her mother's death , she would soon find out that all her beliefs may not be true.

Review: This book is a YA mystery thriller with horror elements. If you need to get spooked / creeped out with every page you turn, this is the right book. The setting of a small town where all is not well is quite bone chilling and atmospheric . The characters all have their own issues and is well portrayed. Wyat Green , our MC is that broken complicated girl with a crumbling family and literally just two friends. Other characters were written aptly suiting the haunting mileu of the book. I loved the fast paced immersive narrative with images connecting the past and the present. I must say that this gave me all the feels of a horror movie and is an excellent debut. The ending did feel underwhelming due to predictability.
Content warning: This book is not a feel good book and is quite a dark one. I would suggest you not to read this if you aren't in the right state of mind. W/f murder, suicide,physical and emotional abuse, substance abuse and toxic relationship . All these themes were well portrayed.

So just to get this out of the way, the cover of this book does not match the feel of it, at all. The cover gives you the impression of a hokey or campy thriller while this could anything farther from the truth. The Violent Season is a dark, lyrical, and deeply descriptive story about multiple toxic relationships and their consequences. The writing was well done and kept me interested but I didn't care for the story. Wyatt reminded me of (view spoiler) I felt the conclusion was rather pointless although I was invested enough to finish.

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this title in exchange for a fair and honest review**

I'll be honest, when I read the blurb and requested this title, I thought it was going to be more of a blood-fest. I'm glad it turned out to be an intelligent thriller.

Lots of twists and turns as we slowly work out (along with Wyatt, the main character) exactly what happened to her Mum the previous November. As she slowly untangles hreself from the influence her friend / long-term lust object / occasional partner, Cash, she finds increasing levels of clarity. It's a shame she went straight into the arms of another boy (however dreamy he might be). Are the levels of violence every November really just an urban myth or is there something deeper?

I was surprised to read the author info at the end and learn that this is Sara Walters' debut novel. Impressive work, I'll look out for future titles.

A solid read, perfect for the spooky season, that will definitely be added to the teen collection at my library.

This book is being marketed as a mystery/thriller, but I think it's more of a hard-hitting contemporary. Walters takes a common topic and approaches it in a fresh way that I loved. This book is perfect for fans of Courtney Summers and Tiffany D Jackson.

I really loved it. It took me by surprise every step of the way - even though I was able to figure out the "reveal". For me the book wasn't so much about the twist, but about how we got there and what it revealed about our characters and what was really going on in the town.

5 stars! Perfect for spooky season! Couldn't wait to have my own copy! This is definitely one that I will be recommending.

*Thanks to Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review*

I have a bit of mixed feelings about this book. But overall, I really liked it! It's angsty, atmospheric, and keeps you interested.

I think the one thing that bothered me a tiny bit is that from the premise I expected something else, especially with the the town "November violence curse" rumor/urban legend. More of a creepy (or maybe even supernatural?) thriller, and I got more of a contemporary-angsty-dark-edgy story with romance, and a bit of murder in the background.

Then, there's the whole investigation part of the story. There were never really red herrings or many suspects. So in that term, it was a bit predictable. If it had been made a bit harder to guess and mislead us a bit more it would have been even better and more suspenseful!

Despite that, I enjoyed the story! The prose is beautiful, the premise is bomb, and the relationship between Wyatt, Cash, and Porter, was interesting and well developed! I feel like you can understand Wyatt and why she makes the choices she makes.

I also liked the ending and felt that it was the right way to wrap up everything and give us some food for thought.

It was a good atmospheric read!

Excellent read by Sara Walters. The Violent Season will make a nice addition to my high school classroom library. It’s a great work of literature and I’m pleased to have read it.

This is a story about deadly Novembers.

I loved this concept & was thrilled to read the book, especially during spooky season.. but I think I wanted more violence & fidelity to the terrifying premise.. instead this book felt like a horror novel about abuse & trauma bonding. So, it wasn’t what I was hoping it would be- but it was a beautifully written, frightening work.

Thank you so much @ This is a story about deadly Novembers.

I loved this concept & was thrilled to read the book, especially during spooky season.. but I think I wanted more violence & fidelity to the terrifying premise.. instead this book felt like a horror novel about abuse & trauma bonding. So, it wasn’t what I was hoping it would be- but it was a beautifully written, frightening work.

Thank you so much @netgalley
@dreamscape_media & @sourcebooksfire for the eArc & Alc!

Thank you so much Netgalley & Source Books Fire for the eArc & Alc!

At first I wasn't completely hooked on this book. But good god, did I get invested. I love the story and how bits of information are given but just muddled enough so that you're not entirely sure what the outcome will be. I can't wait to get this book in print!

The best word I can use to describe this book is viscous - not because it's slow, but because the violence in it is dark and fluid. It walks the boundary between horror and contemporary issue book, never fully committing to either side. But this is a strength of the story, not a weakness.

Wyatt has unclear memories of finding her mother's body, the most recent crime in a town that crumbles into violence every November. But is it an annual sickness, or an artifact of humanity?

It's easy to get invested in Wyatt's POV, especially as she struggles to create a narrative that allows her to accept the violence in her own life. Her cognitive dissonance is carefully parsed without ever appearing clinical or outside of what a teenager might understand about themselves. The author has a background in victim advocacy, and that expertise is clear in the story. Enjoyable and sad, and no one leaves entirely clean.

The Violent Season focuses on important and difficult topics. I think the author did a good job of navigating these topics. The dark YA was a fast paced read. Check TW before reading

“There is something terribly wrong in Wolf Ridge. Every November, every teen is overwhelmed with a hunger for violence…at least, that’s the urban legend.”