A dark academia setting for Megan Miranda’s latest. As expected from this author, there are some satisfying plot twists and the storytelling fits together neatly. But, this one is fairly slow to launch and not my favorite by Miranda.

You Belong Here will certainly satisfy fans of Megan Miranda. I love Miranda’s writing because she often inserts her protagonist in a horrific place from her past where she is forced to reconcile what has happened. Here, the focus is on Beckett Bowery who returns to the place she grew up because her daughter wishes to attend Wyatt College, the very same institution from where Beckett fled decades ago.

Unfortunately, Beckett’s fears of her daughter repeating her past mistakes are realized when she receives a frightening phone call. Beckett not only has to confront the events that caused her to flee but also rescue her daughter.

This story is not quick-paced, especially at the start, which is typical for Miranda’s writing. Also, Beckett reconnects with a former love interest, who is now campus dean, which came across as a little tropey. However, I enjoyed the story overall, especially because the mystery part kept me guessing.

Four out of five stars.

My thanks to the publisher, Megan Miranda and Net Galley for this memorable book.

Megan Miranda is an auto-read author for me. I thought this one was entertaining and well written.

Overall, I think this is one best recommended to readers who are newer to thrillers or just not avid thriller readers. The plotline seemed to follow a similar routine of mass marketed thrillers that I am seeing lately, and it wasn't really anything new that wowed me to five stars.

Mom has dark secrets from college. Daughter goes to same college. Someone comes out of the woodwork to bring the secrets to life. It might be me reading too many thrillers, but I knew exactly how this one would play out and end. All I was waiting for was the big reveal of who was behind it all.

Overall, it was a solid read. I would recommend it, but I think it is more for an audience who hasn't already read a ton of thrillers following the same formula.

You Belong Here by Megan Miranda is a very highly recommended mystery/psychological thriller following two different mysteries.

After a tragedy and police investigation during her senior year at Wyatt College, Beckett Bowery left the college and Wyatt Valley, Virginia, planning to never return. Her parents were professors at the college and still live there but Beckett rarely visited. Now Beckett's daughter, Delilah, has received a full scholarship at Wyatt and Beckett very reluctantly helps Delilah settle in on campus.

Beckett, however, knows about the Howling, a hazing tradition at the college and how easily things can go terribly wrong. When Delilah calls her one night, says nothing, and then is not responding to any subsequent calls or texts, Beckett fears run wild and she heads back to Wyatt Valley to find her daughter who has disappeared. This also puts law enforcement's focus back on Beckett.

Beckett initially comes across as an overly concerned helicopter parent when she takes off in the middle of the night to Wyatt Valley after Delilah doesn't respond to her attempts to contact her. She also calls Delilah's father, Trevor, who immediately comes to town to help look for his daughter. Later her concern appears to be justified, but it is also clear that much more is going on beneath the surface and perhaps neither mother or daughter are safe there.

The descriptively written story is told through two timelines, the present day and twenty-plus years earlier when Beckett lived in Wyatt Valley and was later at the college. The pace is even at first, setting up the plot, the setting, and the history, while allowing suspense, tension, and uncertainty to gradually build. The plot becomes increasingly atmospheric and eerie. The present mystery includes the search for Delilah and ensuing incidents, while the past mystery follows Beckett as a student.

Beckett is a fully realized character with plenty of flaws and insecurities. She clearly loves Delilah and wants to protect her. Even if her concern seems overly protective, it comes to light later why that is the case. Delilah is a realistic teen, exerting her independence, but still needing the support and wisdom of her parents whether she realizes it of not.

You Belong Here by Megan Miranda is a perfect choice for anyone who enjoys well-written mysteries with dual timelines. Thanks to S&S/Marysue Rucci Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

The review will be published on Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Received an ARC via NetGalley.

Megan Miranda is one of my most consistent stand alone reads. I always enjoy them and the suspense. The characters are usually relatable and root-for-able and they usually hook you in early. Most of the time I don’t even care how they end bc the journey is fun.

I think I enjoyed this one even more bc the narrator was around my age which is a nice change.

Wyatt College is nestled in a picturesque small town in Virginia’s Blue Ridge mountains. But, it has an ugly history-a HAZING tradition called “The Howling”, which went horribly wrong one year.

When the wind whistles, the undergraduates must run from home base through the dense woods and back to campus without getting “caught” by any Seniors wearing masks.

Beckett Bowery was a senior at the college the year that tragedy struck. Two local men dead, and her roommate, Adalyn Vale, on the run, never to be seen again, after being suspected of starting the fire which claimed their lives. Beckett was accused of being her accomplice and though never proven, she was asked to finish her senior year at a “sister college” in London.

For the last two decades, Beckett has stayed away, despite both of her parents being Professors at the college. Then her daughter, Delilah, applies to Wyatt College secretly and accepts the full scholarship she is offered. Beckett is worried that the town will still remember the accusations.

TURNS OUT, SHE WAS RIGHT

Not less than a week later, Beckett is awoken by her cell phone in the middle of the night. Her daughter’s name is illuminated, but all she hears is a gasp before the call is dropped…

Megan Miranda always sets a scene vividly, transporting me to wherever her book takes place, with this being no exception. And, her characters feel like real people-with the mother/daughter dynamic here ringing true.

This book unfolds from Beckett’s POV in three parts, with the first two setting up the story mostly in the PRESENT with glimpses into the PAST when Beckett was the student on campus-but it doesn’t read as YA since she is now a Mom. The third part, which begins at 56% is when the pace picks up and most of the action takes place, with Delilah seemingly being targeted by someone with a grudge.

I’ve always enjoyed Megan Miranda’s work, particularly for her strong character development, and her latest novel is no exception.

In this story, we meet a mother who isn’t quite ready to let go as her daughter prepares to head off to college—especially since it’s the very same college the mother once attended, before being asked to leave under mysterious circumstances. That history casts a long shadow over the present, adding layers of tension and intrigue.

This novel is full of twists, emotional complexity, and those “oh wow” moments that Miranda delivers so well. A compelling and satisfying read from start to finish.

3 stars. The pace was a little slow and the whole story was too melancholy for me but it still kept my interest. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Love Megan Miranda and will always read anything from her. I enjoyed this story but it took me a little bit to get into. Halfway through I was hooked. Couple of good twists. Thank you NetGalley for this arc

Megan Miranda always flourishes in creating a specific, engulfing atmosphere, and creating complicated storylines between her casts of characters. You Belong Here is no exception! I really enjoyed figuring out what happened to Beckett in the past while untangling what happened to her daughter at present. Fans of thrillers where the past starts to bleed into the present will love this one!

Megan Miranda is a classic and an autoread author for me. This book pulled me right in, all gorgeously atmospheric, which I absolutely love. And it doesn’t hurt that her fictional university town was set in the same region as my real university. I am not a parent so the parent anxiety in the beginning was a bit much for me once Delilah disappeared, I wanted the pace to be quicker so we could get to the mystery and connections between Delilah and Adalyn’s cases. Loved the creepy old traditions of the howling. Perfect autumnal read.

I love a good thriller and Megan Miranda is one of my favorite authors so I went into this book blind and knowing it would be good. The storyline is unlike any other that I’ve read and it really keeps you wanting to figure out what’s going on.

Beckett decided not to ever return to her hometown after being accused of being an accomplice to the death of two men in her senior year of college. Everything changes when her daughter, Delilah, applies to the same college and gets in. Delilah doesn’t realize that the town never forgets and that she put herself in a position that could lead to a lot of damage.

You Belong Here has all the right ingredients for a great thriller—a dark past, a missing daughter, and a mother forced to confront secrets she thought were buried. But for me, the story lacked tension and emotional depth. The pacing was sluggish, and while technically things happened, it rarely felt urgent or compelling.

The writing style is competent, and the structure of past vs. present is effective. However, I didn’t find myself connecting to the protagonist Beckett or her daughter Delilah. The twists were okay, but I was hoping for more impact—something to make the slow buildup feel worthwhile.

This was my first Megan Miranda read, and while I appreciate the themes of motherhood and personal perception, this book didn’t leave a lasting impression. I wouldn’t revisit it or recommend it unless the reader enjoys very slow burns with subtle payoffs

This is the first book I have read by Megan Miranda and I really enjoyed it. I will be reading more of her books. This is about a woman who left her college and home town under suspicious conditions. Beckett never wanted to return but her daughter had applied and been excepted to the same school so she had no choice but to return. Secrets from Beckett's past keep coming up while she is there. This is a wonderful thriller and many plot twists that keep you guessing. I really enjoyed this. Thank you NetGalley and Simon Element for the ARC!

I devoured this book. It’s so good! I don’t always love books set on college campuses but this was perfection. The secrets, the lies, the twists truths and the instinct to TRUST NO ONE. This book took the best twists and turns and I gasped along with Beckett so many times! The atmosphere was perfect for this a school with the easygoing facade that actually harbors dark secrets in its past. I loved the juxtaposition between the small college and the town and how emotionally separated they are. I love how lines were blurred and sides were taken and how it all spins out of control. I LOVED all the characters, vivid and auspicious. This one captivated me and I read it in 24 hours.

Thanks to the publishers for an ARC; my thoughts and review are my own.

I've been reading Megan Miranda since the 2010s. This is my 11th read by her and I always enjoy her books!

I feel about You Belong Here a little bit the way I feel about The Only Survivors. I loved the overall vibe of You Belong Here. The setting was a highlight: a small college town with plenty of town/gown politics. Then add in a secret (now banned) college game that ended in tragedy. Then a mother, dropping off her daughter for college orientation and seeing ominous signs and threats everywhere.

At the end, I feel like things fizzled just a ltiny bit for me. The culprit was always high on my list and I felt like Beckett's roommate Adalyn stayed too much a mystery. I sort of wished that we'd had some sense of her beside the vague memories that Beckett gives us.

4 college nostalgia stars

Beckett grew up in a college town with parents who were professors. She fled during her senior year, though, after a tragedy. Twenty years later, imagine her shock when her daughter, Delilah, announces that she is attending the school on a full scholarship!

Wyatt Valley is in West Virginia, and Wyatt College has strong mountain traditions. One such tradition is the Howling, where the wind howls and freshmen attempt to outsmart mask-wearing seniors and reach a landmark through the woods and back, a bit like capture the flag.

Beckett is forced to return to her hometown when her daughter goes missing. Some of the same people are around, and she doesn’t know who to trust. Are the secrets from her past coming back to get Delilah?

This author is great at creating a creepy setting, with the wind howling, old college building with hidden tunnels, deep woods, and mysteries all around. Even the house she grew up in seems haunted.

This thriller was a bit of a slow-burn, but I read it quickly. I was captivated by the hidden message in the cover. Do you see it? There are some good twists throughout!

3.5/5 ★
Twenty years ago, Beckett was involved in a fire that killed two local men. Her roommate Adalyn was blamed, but she disappeared without a trace. Beckett left the university to avoid all the suspicion and has stayed away since. However, her daughter Delilah applied there without her knowledge and is attending with a full scholarship. When Delilah starts there, a chain of events starts that bring the secrets of the past out.

This one took a little to get going, but then was pretty fast-paced. I was expecting more suspense than there was or more mystery. It was kind of a combination of both but didn't punch as hard because of that. I felt the main whodunnit was a little obvious by about ⅔ through, so there was not really any twist for me on that front. The Adalyn storyline though was more unexpected, as I had thought that she would have been killed 20 years ago too. For those who love Miranda's books, you will definitely enjoy this one too!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Beckett Bowery grew up in Wyatt Valley, her parents were professors at the university and she left there as a young woman. It seems the school has a lot of secrets and now Beckett's daughter has gotten a scholarship and will be attending the university. Beckett left in a cloud of suspicion years ago after a fire that the school. It seems her roommate set a fire, and it killed two men and Beckett doesn't know where her friend is now after twenty years.
Delilah is the daughter and when Beckett receives a call in 2:00 AM she know that her daughter needs her. When she shows up in town it brings a lot of suspicion to her again and people need to help her find her daughter.
Beckett's parents have also been keeping secrets from her for twenty years.
Wonderful story with plenty of mystery and suspense to now solve an old case and the new case.

solid and fun page-turner thriller with some awesome twists throughout! the plotting is great and the preparation is too. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.