I've heard the Lizzie Borden rhyme many times and know just a couple bits of information about what happened. A modern retelling is definitely an interesting idea and the author did a good job showing how someone could spiral to the point of wanting to commit murder. I did find this too slow, with almost no action to keep my interest. I was hoping for more of a thriller vibe with fun twists but unfortunately it fell flat.

There are two narrators in this, sisters Maddi and Charlotte. The majority of the book is Charlotte and she has this inside monologue that runs constantly and contradicts herself. It got irritating after a while and I wanted more of Maddi. She sees things more clearly so watching her put together pieces and suspect that something was going on was more fun.

The story definitely builds as the sisters discover more clues about their mom's deaths. I also felt their rage at their dad and his new girlfriend and wanted to jump into the book and throttle them. It was very believable that things could escalate this way and I think the author has a future in psychological fiction.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all opinions are my own. Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the copy

Grief is a powerful thing. For Charlotte and her sister, Maddi, the loss of their mom comes as a shock and a crippling blow. Especially once they start coming to terms with what really happened to their mom before she died. Charlotte can’t believe that this is her new reality: her mom is gone and her dad is acting like he doesn’t even miss her. In fact, almost everyone around Charlotte seems to be in the process of moving on, while she can’t quite get past the circumstances surrounding her beloved mom’s passing.

Charlotte and Maddi have a close sisterly bond that has withstood this tragedy so far, but something inside Charlotte is waking up, telling her that there’s more going on than meets the eye. Then, with almost perfect timing, Charlotte becomes friends with an eccentric girl from school who reveals she may know what really happened to their mom. Having isolated herself for several months, Charlotte is wary of cultivating a new friendship; however, she and Maddi can’t turn down the opportunity to learn more about their mom.

As It Will End Like This goes on, Charlotte seems to become more and more of an unreliable narrator. It’s hard to tell what she is perceiving as reality versus what is actually happening. In fact, maybe Charlotte has made the whole thing up, it’s hard to say.

Though this book deals with some heavy stuff, it was a fast-paced read, and I was uncertain on how this book would conclude up until the very last pages.

Review of a Digital Advanced Reading Copy from Random House Children’s Group

Charlotte and Madi are still grieving the death of their mother but it seems like their father has already moved on getting enganged with their mother's assistant. The situation gives Charlotte and Madi reasons to believe that their mother's heart had just not stopped. They start finding clues which make them more convinced that she'd been murdered.

I was really excited for this one because I read that it's inspired by the Lizzie Borden case. The story is told from both of the sisters' perspectives which I really liked. We see how they both differently deal with loss and grief. There were some things that I loved like the atmosphere and some that I hated such as the execution. I thought it was quite lacking which was disappointing because this book has so much potential.

I thought I would really enjoy this book. The retelling of the story of Lizzie Borden sounded right up my alley. The book somehow missed. It wasn’t bad. It was good. But it was missing something. Since the reader knows pretty much where this is going, there needed to be some sense of suspense, of building tension. I could not feel that. The writing style was too stilted for me to get into the kind of flow that would allow those feelings to build. I’m sure that the change in age of the characters to teenagers instead of grown women made some sense to both the intended readers as well as placing the setting in current times. But I am not a teenager, so I did have trouble connecting. I can often connect with characters who are very unlike myself. It wasn’t something I could do here. I think that someone who is less familiar with the source crime and who prefers the shorter back and forth style of writing could really enjoy this book more than I did.

This book just didn’t really do it for me. While I felt for what the two sisters were dealing with, the way they chose to deal with matters didn’t really resonate with me. I will say I enjoyed the ending of the book which has a bit of a redeeming quality for me.

Gotta love some unreliable narrators!

This was a lot of fun. Did it have its problems? Of course it did. Was it entertaining? Hell yeah!

This modern take on the story of Lizzie Borden was a dramatic tale told from the points of view of sisters Charlotte and Maddi. The two girls recently lost their mother and now their dad is moving on with their mother's former assistant. Everything they thought they believed about their family is falling a part. Charlotte can hardly get out of bed and Maddi is just trying to keep everything together. They begin to think that their mother's dead might actually been a murder. Their grief starts to lead them down a dangerous path. The growing paranoia added with the fast-paced nature of the story made this incredibly readable.

There were a lot of things that didn't really make sense: Charlotte missed so much school over the span of six months that the school had to have become involved and the way the girls treated their dad and his girlfriend (and vice versa) was so overdramatic it was almost laughable. The Lana/Stephen storyline was wrapped up too lazily and I really wish they would have gone into it more—it felt almost like an afterthought. Parts throughout definitely felt clunky, however I did really enjoy the very end of the book—really left you questioning everything.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a story! I was hooked right from the first quote from no other but Lizzie Borden. You know it's going to be dark, and bloody if Lizzie is involved.

The story is about two girls Maddie and Charlotte. Their mother dies, and the girls are told her heart just stopped. But did it? And why? While trying to dig themselves out of despair and depression of their loss, they start to unearth somethings that could prove their mother was killed.

It is a story if loss, depression, and a spiral down into paranoia and almost obsession. The girls in their own different ways are dealing with the changes and discoveries. One is getting more and more angry, and the seems to be loosing her mind.

This story for me was a slow burn that worked. The build up to the end was tense and kept me asking for more and what will happen next at every page. Is the paranoia real, or is it all in their heads?

The only issue for me was how the girls were treated - as adults when it came to taking care of themselves, and having to daily things, but as kids when it came to talking about the real things like loss and depression, and what their mother was going through. It was a case of "if only you could have talked to your kids as adults earlier.."

I didn't know I needed a modern retelling of Lizzie Borden, but it was great! So different and unexpected.

TW: Murder, bloody scenes, gore, miscarriage, alcohol and drug abuse.

Thank you to the publisher for my review copy.

I mean, honestly, they had me at Lizzie Borden.

This is a sharp and heartbreaking take on an old story. At first, you’ll likely have certain expectations of the story, however there are all sorts of layers here that make this so much more.

While I liked our characters, I soon found that I didn’t know who I could trust and who I couldn’t. The trauma and the grief they’re dealing with makes things so very murky.

Wonderfully nuanced storytelling and I’m so glad I read this!

*ARC via Publisher

This book had me waking up at every little noise. The story itself was not super scary but left you with a feeling of....what if...it could happen and that has stuck with me since reading. The story is well written and thought out and leaves you with enough confusion to not be sure of what is happening right until the very end - and even then you might still be confused! This book will be added to my list of October books as a re-read for the season.

When we start, Maddi and Charlotte are relateable and you feel poorly for the situation they are in - as the story continues, you find yourself constantly questioning where the truth lies.

Would recommend this book to anyone who likes a bit of suspense and unreliable narrators.

Charlotte and Maddi’s mother is dead under mysterious circumstances. Shy, maternal Maddi is handling it quietly, while the once popular, beloved Charlotte is falling apart with an intensity that shocks everyone. Their father is moving on with their mother’s much younger assistant, whose open disdain for the rebellious girls grows by the day. If that weren’t bad enough, a new classmate named Lana says her mother was an old friend of theirs and provides Charlotte with proof that their mother felt she was in danger shortly before her death. As the sisters’ lives slowly begin to spiral out of control, they seek answers and aid from the adults in their lives, but there neither can be found. If Charlotte and Maddi want to stay together, they’ll have to take control before it’s too late.

It Will End Like This is a modern novel inspired by the Lizzie Borden story— and the word “inspired” is important. It’s not a re-telling and shouldn’t be treated as such. If you’re looking at the details beat-by-beat, they’re not going to line up, but I think the novel did a great job capturing the spirit of the infamous true crime tale. There’s a strong sister at the center of toxic family tensions growing after the mother’s death and the father moving on, all coming to a head in an explosive fashion.

The novel is narrated by both Charlotte and Maddi, but the content leans so heavily in favor of Charlotte’s narration that I’m guessing Maddi’s was added as an afterthought. After all, it’s Charlotte who’s struggling the most and the plot lines involving outside characters mostly revolve around her, despite Maddi being the one who actually leaves the house on a regular basis. She has a warring internal monologue that’s a bit jarring at first, but I got used to it as the novel went on. The secondary characters were effective, though some more than others. You’re supposed to question all of them and I did for sure. However, I think I was supposed to feel sympathy for some of them in the end and well… that didn’t really happen either. Pretty much everyone here is a horrible person, it’s just to different degrees.

This is a slow burn following the characters’ descent into the unthinkable and only takes place in a couple of settings. Most of the chapters were very short and ended with a little cliffhanger, so that made it easily digestible for me. But it will probably disappoint if you’re looking for something closer to the comp books: The Cheerleaders and Sadie. Both of those books have a lot more movement, action, and sleuthing than you’ll find here.

Here’s the problem: The story had me riiiiiight up until the end, where it moved too quickly and really effed up one of the storylines in a way that defies all logic. It glosses over the biggest moment in the whole production, then unveils obvious details that would have changed everything if only this family bothered to talk to each other (and tbh, if Charlotte had any sort of reasoning skills.) We’re then given a “twist” involving the characters outside the home, but there’s just one problem: We barely know the outside characters, have little investment in their feelings or motivations, and the whole thing felt very out of left field. [Stephen wants to mess with Charlotte for ditching and embarrassing him in the wake of her mom’s death? Lana is his new girlfriend helping with the plot? WHY? Stephen speaks in like two scenes before this!] It really needs better buildup to keep it from falling flat.

It Will End Like This is a pretty decent horror, but it’s not the mystery thriller it purports itself to be. The main characters are interesting, the story has its intrigue, and the writing style helps the plot move fast enough, but ultimately, the execution wasn’t strong enough to truly stick the landing.

This was not a bad book by any means. It just wasn’t a book for me. The story line got lost a few times and the character weren’t likeable.

Sisters Maddie and Charlotte suffer the loss of their mother. Thrown in deep depression and then have mom’s helper start a relationship with dad after mom has.just died is tearing the family apart. Angry and unable to deal with the loss,Charlie has let herself fall apart, losing school and friends. Letters suggest mom was murdered. And things only get worse….more death and destruction. Depression is a killer and there is no lack of it. A chilling tale.

The author starts off this book with a quote from Lizzie Borden and the ends the book saying that Lizzie Borden’s Murder trail inspired her to write this entire story!! That being said, IT WILL END LIKE THIS is a story of two sisters — Maddi & Charlotte, who after a sudden demise of their mother feel alone and they feel betrayed when their father quickly starts dating their mother’s in-house assistant. Several things happen soon after that drives the girls to the edge of insanity.

This is really a book that wouldn’t let you stop reading! Its super fast paced and keep you guessing what the next chapter would be despite the very straightforward storyline. I sympathised with the girls, felt everything that these girls felt. The writing sucked me in so effortlessly. The altering povs between Maddi and Charlotte kept the story moving steady; sometimes I lost track of who was thinking to do what, but that could be just me!! Charlotte scared me at some places and I wasn’t expecting that mean trick being pulled on these poor girls!! The ending sure was unexpected, but it is true to the tone and it all made sense after I read author’s note.

Thank you Delacorte Press via Netgalley for this smart, dark and atmospheric thriller!!

I was really surprised by It Will End Like This, I wasn't expecting how eerie and tense the entire book was till the last 10 percent. I found myself glued to the book because there really wasn't any good places to stop and that didn't bother me at all.

I can't think of anything bad to say honestly, the only reason this isn't a 5 star read is that it just didn't give me the vibe that it was a 5 star book. I enjoyed it, but I didn't fall in love with it.

I am definitely interested in reading future books from Kyra Leigh based on this one alone, I enjoyed the writing style and how easy it flowed together.

This is a rather short review because I can't think of much else to say other than it was good and I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who likes a good thriller.

Intense. Suspenful. Will have you flipping pages as fast as you can. Don't dismiss this book because it's young adult. Well written with a strong voice. Hard to put down. Happy reading!

I can't finish this book. I am 50% though and it's so slow. I feel horrible for these two girls. They lost their mother, and their father is an ass hole. I am going to try and get this on audio when it comes out and will update my review at that time.

When Charlotte and Madi lose their mother, their whole lives are upended. They cannot seem to get over the loss, especially when their father proposes to their mothers assistant shortly after their mothers death. Charlotte and Madi are convinced that their mother was murdered, but getting someone to believe them is a hard sell. Follow the sisters as they do their own detective work while seemingly unraveling their own thoughts that may or may not be driving them crazy.

An imaginative, modern retelling of the Lizzie Borden story, with twists and turns along the way! It reminded me in a great way of We Have Always Lived in the Castle: The two sisters cling to each other as reality seems to distort around them and they become less and less sure who they can trust. This is a whodunit that works backwards and forwards--while the girls work to solve the mystery of their mother's sudden death, the book builds steadily toward the murders we know are yet to come.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Six months ago, Charlotte and Maddi's mother died under mysterious circumstances, and both girls' lives were broken by her loss and by the answers they were never given. When their father gets engaged to their mother's personal assistant, and a classmate brings their attention to some letters penned by their mother, Charlotte and Maddi begin to become convinced that their mother's death was no accident, and that her personal assistant may have had a lot more to do with it than it seems.

While there wasn't tons that happened in terms of plot in this novel, the psychological aspects were interesting and kept me hooked the whole time. As the mystery unraveled, I found I couldn't put the book down for want of real answers about their mother's death.

There were moments where both Charlotte and Maddi's narration read as self-centered and privileged, which occasionally rubbed me the wrong way. Though they're understandably traumatized by the loss of their mother and their father's apparent disregard for everyone's feelings, they approach most situations with narrowmindedness and deep distrust. As much as we can assume this is meant to show the girls spiraling into insanity, there are moments where their behavior feels unnatural or forced enough to disrupt the reader's suspension of disbelief.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this book, and would certainly recommend it for anyone interested in YA psychological thrillers.

A sporadically interesting story about grief, family, and paranoia. I found it hard to connect to the characters—Charlotte in particular—but it was a somewhat compelling and sad read.