"The only way to free yourself from your darkest secrets is to bring them into the light."

Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Since they were kids, Sam Hall and his friends Haran, Dom, Lauren and later Sam's girlfriend Elisha have been traveling out into the woods once a year to tell all of their deepest, darkest secrets to the Dark Place. It's their secret place away from the rest of the world where they can air out the worst of themselves in peace where no one will ever hear them--not even each other. They don't see any harm in the ritual. In fact, it's what keeps them feeling like they're doing all right sometimes. What makes them feel like they can move forward from some of the worst of themselves.

But when they sneak out of one of Dom's noisy, crowded Halloween parties to go and visit the Dark Place this time, it turns out they aren't entirely alone. Someone is there with them in the woods, and they make their presence known while it's Sam's turn to vent his secrets to the darkness. When they rush out into the woods, they find no one around, but what initially seems like a simple prank of eggs thrown against the side of the little hut proves to be far more sinister when they realize the eggs were full of blood. Blood that now paints the sides of the Dark Place, taking that safe space away from them. Someone was there. Someone heard them. Someone knows their secrets. Now they have to do whatever it takes to keep not only their secrets safe, but also themselves and the people they love most.

Secrets never die was such a wild ride. The twists and turns the story took kept me on my toes constantly, the story was well paced and packed with action and suspense, and the characters were all flawed and interesting and had so much to learn as they grew in the story. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a fun, tense thriller.

A few content warnings:

Suicidal ideation, failed suicide attempt, fire, injuries and scars due to fire, mortal peril, car accident, violation of privacy, violence with a knife, cyberstalking, cyber abuse, threat of danger to a child.

I'm not sure what I was expecting with this book, but it didn't exactly hit the mark. I liked the short chapters which helped with pacing and that it was full of action and some twists. I think the twists and action just wasn't big enough and I didn't fall in love with the characters, they weren't exciting. I think if I knew more backstory about all the characters, the story would've felt more complete. I did enjoy the ending though with is why I gave it three stars.

This will be enjoyed by fans of Karen McManus and Natalie E. Richards. It's not excessively original, but it is really enjoyable and fast-paced.

I really enjoyed this book! There were so many twists, and I couldn't put it down. Excited to add this one to my classroom library as I think my students will really enjoy it as well.

WOW! I pride myself on being able to figure out mysteries before the author wants you to but this book kept me guessing until the very end. I loved it and couldn't put it down.

The book description does a good job of describing the plot and I would hate to tip my hand and spoil things. There were a few twists and turns along the way. Some I saw coming and some I did not.

I enjoyed this story. Ralph carefully integrates lots of easter eggs throughout the book that any true horror fan will appreciate and enjoy.

Due to St. Martins Press refusal to address the remarks made by their employee regarding Palestine, I will not be reviewing this book.

This in no way has anything to do with the author. But I refuse to support anything from SMP because of their refusal to address a major issue at hand.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my copy of Secrets Never Die. This one definitely kept me entertained! So many secrets! It was just a little too YA for my taste but would definitely recommend to someone new to the thriller genre! 3/5 stars!

Let's see...some positives. The book was easy to read and the plot was simple to follow. It had good flow and seemed to move along well with only a few spots of dragging. I'm not sure what age group this is aimed at, but other than one use of the word "fuck," it's definitely not anything you would have a problem with tweens reading. That said, I'm not a tween. And this book seemed to be trying it's best to hit all the less murdery aspects of a teen flick a la I know What You Did Last Summer or Scream, but it just fell short. The characters lacked depth and development, which only made their juvenile "secrets" even less shocking. The final reveal of the main culprit and motivation was silly and farfetched, with an elaborate revenge plot that planned for a final punishment far outweighing the supposed crime. If you are looking to read a thrilling rollercoaster of secrets, lies, and revenge, look elsewhere. But if you want to read an okay book on a boring afternoon, this just might work for you.

I'm sorry but I didn't like this book, I love mystery books but this wasn't the case, it was a difficult read for me even though it wasn't such a long book.
I didn't connect with any character or their stories.
The chapters were not interesting enough for me to continue reading.
Thanks u netgally and thanks to the publisher for this advanced copy.

They call it the Dark Place. They don’t know who built it or when but, for them, it’s special.

Every year Sam Hall and his friends hold funerals for their secrets in an abandoned hut in the Dark Place in the woods. But this year, their secrets are coming back from the dead...to terrorize them.

Sam is a former child star whose career went up in flames – literally. And no one, not even his best friend knows why. His friends each hold a secret pertaining to the night. A secret they would all like buried.

Now someone from the past is blackmailing them with their dangerous secrets. Sam isn’t sure who he can trust, who’s watching him – or how far he’s willing to go to bury the past once and for all.

When you’re alone in the dark, some things won’t stay hidden.

This book is definitely different from any book I ever read. It's a mystery thriller that borders on horror. But it left me more confused by the time I finished it. The parent's involvement in the past and then in the present would have prevented all of the events. They could have stopped in the beginning.

Secrets Never Die is available now.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙔𝘼 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢.

I have such mixed feelings about this book?!? The premise had me hooked, but the story itself was a chaotic mess.

Let’s talk about the positives, first of all, I absolutely love it when there are short chapters. I tend to fly through those books so quickly and they keep me engaged, this one did just that.

The tension and twists throughout the book were exciting and I enjoyed the action. I thought the whole blackmailing part was a fun idea, it added secrets throughout the book.

However, I feel like the characters were difficult to follow. Normally I don’t care if characters are likable in thrillers, but in this case, it was tough caring for the story when the characters lacked so much depth.

Also, there were certain moments when I felt like the author was trying to make something clear, but it sort of got lost in the narrative.

Overall, this wasn’t a bad book by any means, but it also wasn’t exceptional. It was just a fun, quick, and decent read. I did a combo of the ebook and audio, both were fun methods! If you enjoy blackmails, secrets, and twists & turns in your books then you might enjoy this one.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

I am never too certain when it comes to horror-adjacent books, but this novel had the right touch of fear and excitement that propelled me all the way until the end. The pacing was excellent right from the start, and I knew there was something up at Dom's party before we ever got the details. The Dark Place, and the idea of it, felt original, and every members' secret was never so far-fetched that it made me roll my eyes when they were eventually revealed to us. I kept suspecting everyone as the source of their secrets unveiling because everyone had just a tad bit of a weird vibe that made me wonder enough, "could it be them?". I totally didn't see the ending coming, and I am a huge lover of something just a TEENSY bit open/unresolved at the end. This was truly a well-thought out novel and I'm a fan.

This was a did-not-finish for me. I gave it twenty percent but just couldn't get into the storyline or relate to the characters in any way.

I decided to buddy read this with two of my coworkers, and for the most part, we quite enjoyed it. We were all skipping ahead and not wanting to stop reading at our designated check in chapters. We all kept making educated guesses as to what happened, and then every time a theory got thrown out the door, we produced a new one. They were upset there wasn't more death in it (I wasn't as it's a YA novel and I wasn't surprised.) We all agreed that the ending felt a little rushed and that it kind of fell flat. Overall, an enjoyable read, just not something I'd go out of my way to reread or even recommend.

While I appreciated this thriller, I felt like it was pretty standard for the genre and didn't feel super original or stand out in any spectacular way. While enjoyable, it wasn't something that made me feel like had super special qualities or particularly stuck out in any way.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc!

Sam, a former child actor, and his friends have a yearly tradition. On Halloween, they visit The Dark Place. One at a time, they enter and reveal their biggest secret. This year, they discover someone else is there. Now, they keep receiving texts taunting them. Who is doing it? How do they know all their secrets?

I really wanted to like this book. It gave off Pretty Little Liars and One of Us is Lying vibes. The ending really just wasn’t for me. I had a hard time believing the motive and who the culprit was. I don’t want to give anything away so that’s all I’ll say about that.

I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. The downfall was that I requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before the book was archived. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it!

When reading the book, you can tell a lot of planning when in to making sure that the reader was constantly guessing what was going to happen next.