Two Sides to Every Murder is a quick read. It starts with action and keeps going until the end. We follow Olivia and Reagan as they try to find the truth behind murders that happened the night they were born.

This definitely reads as YA, which is fitting. The writing is good and clear. The plot kept moving, though I didn’t feel like I really got to know any of the characters. I also didn’t like the romantic aspect. These people didn’t know their romantic counterparts. It just didn’t make sense to me. The last twist is also unnecessary. There was no build up to it, and we get no explanation.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

4.5 Went from 0-60 within a chapter and never stopped. This fast paced story had me on the edge of my seat suspecting everyone and gasping when the story unfolded. That ending? I need more

This book was so fun! Changing POVs are not usually my favorite, but this one was done SO well! There were several twists I didn’t see coming. And that ending! Awesome!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a galley in exchange for an honest review.

High drama and horror tropes—just add murder. Very fun story with some enjoyable melodramatic twists and turns. You can't beat a derelict summer camp for a setting! The characters were okay, maybe a little thin. Most of the plot twists were predictable but I did like them. I even liked the ending!

I do wonder if the book didn't subtly imply that Matthew and Andie were siblings. I love that little nugget that peeped from under the surface.

A good, quick read!

Four stars.

When I say what the 'heck' I mean literally what the heck! I quite literally never had what I thought was happening correct in my head, at the end ALL I could think about was all of the loose ends that were not cleared up, and iykyk about what happened at the end because I no doubt screamed! Andy, bless your soul, because you need it!

This book was good, had me hooked from beginning to end and I will be seeking out more books by Danielle Valentine because holy heck, I love a great YA suspense/thriller novel! The characters were so relatable (Don't know why because I'm 12 years older than them) but they were and I enjoyed the perspectives, the thought processes that were being shown with the writing, and the surprises that kept popping up. The fact that she wasn't afraid to harm the main characters I found VERY interesting, because some books seem unrealistic because somehow main character comes out unscathed, this was flawless.

When I first started hearing about this book I knew it sounded interesting! A camp with a dark history and what seemed to me as an urban legend witch shooting people with a bow and arrow and then dark family secrets??!! I mean sign me up!
Olivia was born during the Infamous Camp Lost Lake Murders and she grew up in a loving family. However, her life is turned upside down when she runs a DNA test and she doesn't see the DNA origins that she knew she should have had so she then runs a paternity test on her father and finds out her dad is not her dad. Finding out that information she immediately wanted to find out the truth and where is the best place. Camp Lost Lake.
Reagan has been hiding and moving most of her life, her mother was the one the public opinion was she was the one responsible for the Infamous Camp Lost Lake Murders. Reagan knows that her mother wouldn't commit those murders like everyone thought that she did so she wants to find proof her mother was not involved with the murders. Naturally, she returns to the site of the murders Camp Lost Lake.
Finally reopening Olivia and Reagan have the opportunity to return to Camp Lost Lake to try to find the information both of them are seeking. However, once they try to start looking for the information a big secret arises, and then when that secret is revealed there is one person who is dead set on that secret staying buried and will do anything including murder to keep it from coming out.
This was an intriguing story and was full of surprises! I loved it! Thank You Penguin Group and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this one!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for access to an eARC in exchange for my honest review!!

what's it about? ⬇️

The Camp Lost Lake Murders seventeen years ago changed the fate of the surrounding town and the survivors forever, but no lives were changed and defined more than those of Olivia and Reagan. Olivia was born in the middle of the tragedy and has lived her life being judged by that fact, and Reagan and her mother have been on the run from the law ever since that awful night, as her mother was seen fleeing the scene of the murders and found guilty of committing the crimes.

But now that Camp Lose Lake is finally opening back up to campers after all these years and Olivia's older sister is taking over running the camp, both girls have a lot of questions that need answers, and those answers can only be found at the camp. Even if that means Olivia has to lie to her family and Reagan has to take off without telling her mom where she's going to pull it off.

But when people at camp start dropping dead again, will the girls be forced to form an alliance to get out alive and figure out what happened in their dark shared past and what's happening now? Can they really trust anyone?

my thoughts? ⬇️

Okay, this book already had me intrigued by the short summary on NetGalley, but a short while through reading I fell even deeper in love with the concept and the twist comes along that you get to slowly piece together as you read the first quarter or so of the book. Reagan and Olivia were fantastic characters who were cunning quick thinkers and made for two incredible final girls--especially since there was so much evidence from their backgrounds and hobbies to explain why they handled things as cleverly as they did--and I loved going on such a crazy journey with them.

The twists and turns this story took were incredibly well written, the characters were all beautifully fleshed out, the stress Danielle Valentine built up as the plot really got rolling was insane, and genuinely it was just such a fun time.

Described by the author as The Parent Trap meets Friday the 13th, this book delivers on this and so much more! Highly, highly recommend.

based on your likes? ⬇️

If you enjoyed any of the following, I think this one will be great for you (and vice versa)!

🏹 The Counselors by Jessica Goodman - summer camp murder mystery, strong female friendships.
🏹 Summer's Edge by Dana Mele - summer vibes, a group of friends in peril, what's going on at the lake?
🏹 The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson - fourth in a series (kind of stands alone plot wise), summer camp murder mystery.

trigger warnings ⬇️

murder, death, blood, gore, violence, injury/injury detail, death of a parent, child death, police brutality, pregnancy, miscarriage, infertility, kidnapping, stalking, medical content, chronic illness, adult/minor relationship, grief, gaslighting, infidelity, toxic relationship, panic attacks, animal death, vomit.

3.5

this one took me a while to read, i wasn’t in the spooky mood whenever this came out but given it’s october i decided to pick this but back up and i really enjoyed it. i felt the pacing was really good & kept me engaged the whole time. I really enjoyed the characters as well as the relationships. The twist i felt was really good. I felt like the twist at the end wasn’t needed.

Absolutely thrilling. This mystery is full of suspense and turns that you don't see coming. I love the muliple point of view style and the time jumps.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. I highly enjoyed it and will be recommending it.

This review has been posted to Goodreads and Storygraph on October 9th, 2024. Links provided.

While Olivia’s life seems flawless, everything starts unravels when she learns the man she’s calls dad isn’t her biological father. With her lineage in question, she is determined to seek the truth about her origins at the notorious Camp Lost Lake - where she was born admits the chilling Camp Lost Lake murders sixteen years ago. Meanwhile, Reagan has spent her life on the run, branded as the daughter of the suspected killer of the Camp Lost Lake murders. Convinced of her mother’s innocence, she is resolute in her quest to clear her name. With Camp Lost Lake set to reopen, both girls see a chance to uncover hidden truths. However, as they delve into the dark history of the camp, they realize someone is determined to keep the past buried, even if it means resorting to murder. Dive into this gripping young-adult tale of secrets and survival, where the quest for answers could cost both Olivia and Reagan everything, including their lives.

I absolutely loved (and devoured) this book! So much so that it makes me want to go back and change all of my recent five star reads to four stars because this book should be at the top of the list. I don’t even know where to begin explaining why this book was so enjoyable and memorable for me. The writing, the storyline, the character development, and the twists and turns were all so well crafted. I absolutely loved following the story with different points of view, including present day and past plot points. This was the type story that as soon as I finished, I wanted to create a character map and read it all over again so I could really appreciate the attention to detail the author provided in creating such a fun and interesting story. I also really appreciated the voices of the main characters. It has been quite a while since I’ve read a young adult novel/a book with high schoolers as the main characters that I’ve actually enjoyed it and didn’t find myself annoyed with decisions/actions of the young cast. But in this book, I felt the author really did an amazing job of having the main characters be true to their age while also being relatable, no matter how old the reader is. If you are looking for a fun, fast-paced, twists at every turn type suspense story, I highly recommend you do yourself a favor and read Two Sides to Every Murder!

Thank you to Penguin Group/Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read to an ARC of Two Sides to Every Murder in return for my honest review.

This book is probaly for a youinger audience however I really enjoyed it! It was well-written and kept me on my toes! I will be reading more from this author. This book earned 5 stars!

I love a good YA thriller and this one hit the mark! I read it in a few sittings and devoured this dark twisty thriller. The dual timeline and summer camp setting keep me flipping pages. A great read if you enjoy summer capes, cold cases and twists!

Two Sides To Every Murder
Danielle Valentine
4⭐️

Pub Date: 6/4/2024

Okay this one really threw me in for a loop! Campground with history of murder, sounds pretty cliche. But add in some pretty twisted family drama, a witch who hunts people down, and a sprinkle of romance, they all tied up into an amazing YA thriller. Obviously since it's YA and it involves kids, I also felt the frustration of having to read about their questionable choices in life. The writing style was pretty slow in the beginning and I also got confused with some aspects. But it all made sense as you go on with the plot. I found myself holding my breath couple of times. The ending answered so much of my questions but it also ended kinda open-ish. Overall, the writing style was good, the plot was pretty solid. I never guessed who the actual killer was so it was really an enjoyable read for me.

Thank you @netgalley and Penguin Random House for a gifted digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! I was fairly hooked throughout this book and I enjoyed it a lot. At some points it was difficult to keep the characters straight but it wasn't too difficult. I certainly wasn't expecting that ending!

This book unfortunately was not as good as I thought it was going to be. There was a lot of the plot that seemed very unrealistic, especially towards the end. There were a lot of characters to keep up with and not much depth to any of them.

This was amazing! I love the two main characters. Loved how they handled these horror situations. Also 10/10 villain.

**4.5 stars

My first take on this book was that it was so weird that the murders took place in 2008, and that is was so long ago 😭 It took me a while to get past that. But even with that, I enjoyed this book from the very beginning. It's multi POV with two character POV in the present and one taking place in the past. I like this set up for a thriller, especially when it involves a murder in the past. You get to see what the present people are finding out about the murder, while also getting to see what really happened back when the murder actually took place. It just really paints a better picture to me.

I did guess part of the plot twist for this, and while I'm proud of myself for figuring it out, I don't think it's meant to be that hard to figure out lol. There were two parts that got me in the end though, one specifically. But my lips are sealed so you can be just as surprised as I was.

I enjoyed this author's first book, but I enjoyed this one so much more. I think because we weren't left of an ending that was just so far out in left field. Danielle Valentine also does a great job with the thriller aspect of her books. I had to quit listening to this one one night because I was home alone, and even though I don't live in the woods, the dogs were just wanting out a bit too much for me to keep listening. It also got kind of gory in parts. Nothing too bad, but the author definitely describes the scene well enough that I could feel what happens to Reagan's ankle. Ugh. I even shivered just now thinking about it.

Definitely one to add to your TBR - especially with spooky season here!

A juicy YA thriller with just enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. Would recommend to anyone a fan of the genre!

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

This book had me GUESSING! I guessed about a hundred times who did it, and it took until the very end to get it right. This book is geared towards younger readers.

One quote from the book that I loved was “Even strong people need to fall apart..” and I felt this was the perfect audience to remind of this.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this book prior to publication in exchange for an honest review.