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.

This one was not my favorite. While the big plot points were all there, and seemed pretty cohesive, there seemed to be a lot of disconnect in the small aspects. I'm not sure if it was because it was written in first person, but for a large chunk of the book, it seemed like the main character had a very bad case of ADD or something, because every paragraph would veer from one thought to another. They didn't seem to really connect to each other in the grand scheme of things. There were also moments where I didn't know where the book was taking place. Some moments it felt American, other passages made it seem like we were in the UK. All together, I was not a fan of how this one was written.

This YA novel explores very real dangers from keeping secrets that should never have been buried.

A group of friends sneak into the woods for a ritual every Halloween. Each goes into their Dark Place (a hut near an arch of twisted elms) to confess a secret.

Threats begin - and escalate into violence targeting more than just these teens. Seems that older - and darker - secrets are in play, and that more than one person seeks retribution.

This is a well thought out YA horror. I was kept guessing the whole time!
Sam and his friends share their secrets with the forest, but it turns out that someone has been listening. And is playing nasty pranks on the group. Pranks turn into blackmailing and people ending up hurt. The group has to figure out who is behind it before someone ends up dead.
This is a very well thought out plot. The characters are well developed and different. They aren't very deep, but they don't need to be for the story to still work. This would make an excellent horror movie.

An intriguing mystery/thriller that may read on the younger side for adults but is perfect for teenagers, who it is intended for.

This book gave me mixed feels. On the one hand I loved the race against the clock aspect. On the other hand, I think it lacked the depth that other ya mystery novels provide.

A fun, YA thriller that held my attention initially, but eventually lost its hold. A quick read with a predictable ending, "Secrets Never Die" was a good book, just not great.

I loved the beginning of this novel – an eerie, atmospheric Halloween party that sets a dark tone. When Sam and his three friends leave the party to sneak off to the Dark Place, an abandoned hut in the woods where they privately confess their worst secrets, the action starts immediately. With short chapters and a brisk pace, this novel is a pretty quick read.

If you can suspend your disbelief, this is an entertaining story that kept me flipping the pages. Someone from the past is stalking Sam and his friends and blackmailing them with the secrets they thought only the Dark Place knew. The threats soon involve his younger sister, Molly (both a heart and scene-stealer), which makes Sam even more determined to discover who’s behind everything. Several twists and surprises are tossed into the story, but it’s not terribly difficult to figure out the culprit. Still, that didn’t lessen my enjoyment. I especially liked the ending, which leaves the door cracked for a possible sequel.

I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy entertaining, fast-paced mysteries with surprising twists and dark secrets.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed this book, I want to add it to my collection, I wanted more answers and more on the characters. I wish it was a little bit longer. I liked the writing style.

I loved that they made this book use apps to make everything more spooky but it’s also so true nothing stays secret anymore when you can post it on the internet

Pub: August 29, 2023
Genre: YA thriller/horror

Thank you @wednesdaybooks my gifted copy 🖤

"We call it the Dark Place. I don’t know who built it or when but, for us, it’s special."

✨🖤

Vincent Ralph knows how to write fast-paced action and suspense.

Secrets Never Die is no exception. The short chapters and engaging writing style are what kept me interested in the story.

When Sam and the gang’s secrets are finally revealed, I was left wanting more. A lot more. After being blackmailed by the very cleverly named Sasha Craven, I was expecting some dark and juicy info! Alas, that wasn’t the case.

That said, I thought the book ended on a strong note. That's all I can reveal without spoilers.

This is a light YA thriller so it’s good option for readers new to the genre or people who like to stay away from dark stuff.

I'm a big fan of Vincent Ralph's work in general and look forward to read his next book!

"I’ve learned that secrets can come back from the dead no matter how deep you bury them."

Sam is a young ex-actor living a quiet life with his family in his small, English town. But Sam has a secret no one else knows. So do his two best friends and his girlfriend. And once a year, they meet up and speak their secrets into the darkness of an abandoned hut in the woods. It makes each of them feel just a bit better getting the weight of their secrets off their shoulders. But then one night, their secret telling ritual is interrupted by a weird prank. Then they all start getting messages, videos and photos from someone who shouldn't exist...someone who knows all of their secrets and is determined to use them to torture and torment Sam and his friends. As the threats get more serious and the stakes get higher, Sam and his friends will learn that some secrets don't stay buried.

This book was an enjoyable, fast-paced and quick read. The chapters are short, the prose is well-written, and the mystery and plot twist are believable. I'm not fond of the use of strong language in any kind of book, but this was a bit toned down compared to similar YA releases.

This is the second of Mr. Ralph's books I've read, and I've enjoyed them both equally. They're great if you enjoy a good suspensful little mystery you can complete in probably two or three days. Overall, I give this book four stars and would be very likely to pick up the next book Vimcent Ralph releases. Thank you very much to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the free advanced reader's copy. This is my voluntary review, and all opinioms are my own.

Perfect for Halloween, this book tells the creepy story of what happens when hidden secrets risk exposure. Once a year four teens gather at a run-down shack in the woods to tell the cosmos their most coveted secrets. Each takes a turn in the shack and reveals their secret in solitude. When they are done, they feel better at least for a year. But this year is different. Someone overhears and begins to blackmail and terrorize the teens. Why? Were their secrets that terrible? What would one do to keep their secret hidden. How far would someone go. The pace of this book is quick and the impending terror is heartfelt. I raced my way to the ending which I found very satisfying.

I liked this book initially but quickly grew tired of it. It's a fairly standard thriller set-up - a mysterious force revealing characters' secrets. While the individual character details were interesting, especially the former child star, this interest doesn't carry through the plot on the whole. The eventual reveal of the truth was tiresome, lacking in sufficient foreshadowing.

Teenager Sam Hall and his group of friends have a unique Halloween tradition. They go deep into the forest to a small hut they call the dark place and hold funerals for their secrets. But this year, someone has found out their secrets and will stop at nothing until everything has been brought to light.

Secrets Never Die caught my attention from the beginning and quickly sent me hurtling down a dark, twisted path to the truth. The pacing and overall events within the story were pretty intense. However, the cast of characters needed to be further explored. Most characters felt a little flat, and most of the secrets weren't really that big of a deal
There were a few that packed a wallop though. I did enjoy the tense atmosphere of the novel. I definitely did not figure out the villain.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Wednesday Books for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all views expressed are my own.

This was definitely spooky and creepy. I thought the ending was a little predictable, but otherwise I thought this was a solid mystery. It had lots of atmosphere and good horror. The thing that lowers my rating is that I just found all the characters to be so annoying and selfish. But this isn't really character driven so it is still pretty good in regards to everything else.