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.

Megan Miranda is always a pretty reliable author of thrillers that deliver on believable yet twisty plots, strong pacing, and engaging characters. You Belong Here was a bit of a letdown in some ways, but still largely an enjoyable read. I found the stakes felt too low for too much of the book - maybe more explanation regarding the past earlier on would have helped this, if it could be done in a way that wouldn't undermine later revelations. The twists and revelations were sometimes relatively predictable, and I found the pacing in the first two thirds or so of the book to be off, like I was waiting too long for the thriller to really get going. But the atmosphere was evocative and the characters and their relationships to one another worked for me. I had a good time, basically, despite its shortcomings, and while this one might not be my favorite of Megan Miranda's books, it still leaves her on my list of auto-read authors!

Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Megan Miranda is an auto buy author. And I am thrilled that I got an early copy of this one. She always keeps me intrigued and guessing what’s next for her characters.

Let me start off by saying Megan Miranda is extremely hit or miss for me. I've absolutely loved some of her books, and then there are others that I've DNFed. Her newest, You Belong Here, fell somewhere in the middle.

The pacing of this book was a little off to me. It had a slow start, but then I became invested, and I started enjoying it. Then, we hit a sluggish patch that lasted for a while, and I was considering DNFing. I managed to stick with it, but it definitely wasn't a fav. It could have easily been 150 pages shorter, and I think I would have liked it a little more.

Do I recommend? If you're someone who reads a lot this might be a fun one for you, but if you'e someone who only reads a few books a year, I think you might have better luck with something else.

Beckett never wanted to go back to her small hometown --where she had spent her whole childhood and stayed for college -- after she was involved in a fire that resulted in the death of 2 people. She spent a semester abroad and then moved away permanently, becoming a single mom and hiding in other people's stories as a ghostwriter. But when her daughter, Delilah, is accepted into that very same college Beckett attended, she can't avoid her past any longer. Things get weird the second she returns to Wyatt. There's another suspicious fire. Her daughter goes missing after a frantic middle-of-the-night dropped call. And then they find a body on the campus...

I've read a few Megan Miranda books, and they are historically hit or miss for me. The characters mostly all seem like jerks (I guess so you suspect everyone?), and sometimes the twists and turns of the plots work better than others. And here, they didn't work at all.

Now I realize this is an ARC so some further editing might tighten some of the details left hanging, but I had a lot of trouble following what on earth was going on in this book. There were all these different subplots (Her parents! Her former roommate! A random dude she dated in HS who was sus and is now the dean! A possible romance with her daughter's dad!) that didn't add much to the story because they were all only partially explored . and seemed tossed in as misdirection. I'm still not sure I could tell you what actually happened in the big reveal at the end. The plot was so murky to keep the readers guessing that it was completely incomprehensible and made it pretty hard to care whether any of it made sense.

In my mind, a good mystery weaves a complex web around the reader that makes them ask a lot of questions and become invested in the outcome. Instead, this book (as it currently is) leaves the reader completely in the dark and pretty ambivalent about how it all turns out.

While I'm not ready to say that I'm done with Megan Miranda books, I won't be anxiously waiting for the next one.

**Thank you to NetGalley and S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!**

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I devoured You Belong Here in one sitting absolutely unputdownable. Megan Miranda delivers another brilliantly crafted, fast-paced thriller that pulls you in from page one and refuses to let go.

The story is layered with secrets, tension, and the eerie feeling that something isn’t quite right beneath the surface of a seemingly perfect town. Miranda masterfully blends character depth with suspense, and every chapter tightened the mystery while keeping me fully invested in the unraveling truths.

Her writing is sharp and immersive, and the pacing is perfect , there was never a moment that dragged. The way she builds atmosphere and suspense, while also exploring themes of memory, community, and trust, is what makes her books stand out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element / S&S / Marysue Rucci Books for the digital copy. This is exactly the kind of twisty, emotionally grounded thriller I love and Megan Miranda continues to prove why she’s a favorite in the genre.

This book was a DNF for me. I had listened to a previous Megan Miranda book, and that was why I thought I would like this one. It might be that I prefer listening to her books over reading them, but I could not get into this book and gave up reading it after 100 pages. Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for the e-arc.

You Belong Here is a slow-burning, atmospheric mystery set in a small college town filled with secrets. The story follows Beckett Bowery, who returns to her hometown after two decades when her daughter Delilah mysteriously disappears. Beckett has tried to leave the past behind—especially the tragic fire that killed two classmates and sent her best friend on the run—but now she’s forced to confront everything she thought was buried.

The book moves between past and present, slowly revealing what happened years ago and how it connects to Delilah’s disappearance. While the beginning felt a bit slow, the suspense builds steadily and kept me turning the pages. The setting is eerie and vivid, and the emotional tension is strong throughout.

Megan Miranda does a great job blending mystery with character development. If you enjoy quiet, thoughtful thrillers with a dark academia vibe, this is a great pick.

Title: You Belong Here
Author: Megan Miranda
Publisher: Simon Element/ S&S/ Mary Sue Rucci Books
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Pub Date: July 29, 2025
My Rating: 4.6 Stars!
Pages: 352

Story is told in two timelines Before – 20 years ago and Present Day1

Starts Present Day~ Beckett Bowery and her daughter Delilah are traveling to the college where Delilah will be attending. It is in a small town of Wyatt Valley, a picturesque college town in the Virginia Mountains. Beckett’s parents still live in Wyatt Valley and had taught at Wyatt College ~Mother taught Psychology and her father taught Anthropology. It was assumed Beckett would attend plus she never considered studying anywhere else.
However a terrible thing happened her senior year- two local men were found dead, and her roommate Adalyn believe to have been somewhat responsible took off and no one has seen her since. Beckett left Wyatt Valley finished college abroad and vowed she would never return.
Now twenty years later here she is returning with her daughter Delilah who secretly applied to Wyatt and not only was accepted but offered a wonderful Scholarship. Beckett now must not only return but is forced to deal with her past.

Although Delilah sends text messages and keeps in touch with her mother, it doesn’t take long for strange thing to start to happen. Beckett’s parents have retired and are traveling and don’t want Beckett to use the house while they are away. No clear reason why Hmmm??????
When Delilah goes missing Beckett quickly return to as does Trevor - Dalilah’s father.
Although he wasn’t ready to be a father when she was born – he cares deeply about his daughter but he and Beckett are not a couple.

This is my eleventh Megan Miranda|. I call myself a fan!
I was drawn to this because I always enjoy this author’s stories plus I love story set on a college campus. In fact, Wyatt College reminded me of the small college I attended. It is located off a twist mountain road (mascot is the “Hilltoppers). The town is very small with a church, grocery store and, of course, a cemetery used in many collegiate initiations. Thankfully I had a wonderful experience but have to admit a dark academia setting makes for a very interesting read!

Want to thank NetGalley and Simon Element/Mary Sue Rucci Books for granted me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for July 29, 2025.

2.5 stars

I don’t think it’s a secret that I’m a huge Megan Miranda fan and that I’ll read anything she puts out. Sadly, this one wasn’t for me.

I liked Beckett. She’s smart and loyal and easy to root for. There’s a pretty good cast of characters here, but everyone is secondary. This is firmly Beckett’s story and how her present is fully shaped by her past.

Plot wise, it’s okay. There are a lot of moving parts and I didn’t feel like everything was as fleshed out as it needed to be. Perhaps that was meant to happen to help with misdirection; however, it seemed unfinished in parts. I did like the past and present chapters to get the full story (but also, see above.). The reveal and reasoning were meh, yet at the same time, I didn’t see parts coming.

Overall, this one kept me reading, but I’m not sure why. I could have easily skipped to the last chapter and been done with it.

**Huge thanks to the publisher for providing the arc free of charge**

The beginning of this book is quite slow, but the mysterious nighttime dropped phone call from her 18 year old daughter kept me reading,
This daughter is Delilah, now off to college. Her mother is Beckett and father is Trevor. The parents are not together, but Delilah spends every summer with him. Trevor is quite likable but I felt Beckett a bit whiny. Still the two are very friendly with each other. We learn the history of their past and I wish they had stayed together.

Beckett grew up in the small town in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia where her daughter is now going to college completely against her moms wishes. Delilah applied secretly unknown to her mom’s and wishes and obtained a full scholarship. She is enrolled in classes and has a dorm room on campus. Her parents, former college employees are still living there in Beckett’s childhood home. I found them unlikeable, the little we know about them. Beckett left town years ago, before finishing college. There was a fire. Two men died. Her best friend was accused of the crime and went missing. The town folk thought Beckett had something to do with the incident. She's spent the past eighteen years with her daughter, just the two of them living in Charlotte. Now Delilah wants to go back there!?

The mysterious late night seemingly desperate dropped call from Delilah makes Beckett drive all the way to her hometown in the dead of the night. Her parents are not home, they are on a work trip to Peru, so she has no one else to look for Delilah. As she arrives back in her hometown with its tragic past, a flood of characters enter the story. Buried secrets begin to reveal as well as danger. Now the story intensifies and becomes unputdownable.

Known for bestselling thrillers like “All the Missing Girls” and “The Last House Guest,” Megan Miranda once again proves her mastery of suspense with “You Belong Here” (out July 29 from S&S/Marysue Rucci Books, $28.99).

In this atmospheric and emotionally charged novel, Miranda introduces Beckett Bowery, a woman who has spent two decades distancing herself from the small college town of Wyatt Valley, a place haunted by tragedy. When her daughter, Delilah, secretly applies to the very college Beckett fled and is awarded a full scholarship, Beckett is forced to confront a past she has tried to forget.

“You Belong Here” takes its time, but that’s the point. Miranda delivers a moody, slow-burn mystery that’s less about shocking twists and more about emotional fallout. As Beckett searches for Delilah, who suddenly disappears, echoes from her suppressed history at Wyatt Valley resurface, particularly the dorm fire that killed two classmates and left her roommate unaccounted for.

Miranda weaves past and present with quiet precision, digging into the murky terrain of memory, guilt and identity. Beckett is flawed and fiercely human, and Wyatt Valley — with its cozy academic veneer and chilling undercurrents — makes for an eerily perfect setting.

There’s no rush here, just a steady unraveling that rewards patient readers. The result is a haunting character study disguised as a mystery, one that lingers long after the final page.

Thank you to Marysue Rucci Books for my gifted ARC!

Megan Miranda is my girl. I’ll never forget when I “discovered” her first two books nestled side by side at Barnes & Noble. I devoured them in a matter of days, and have done the same with all of her other books since then.

That said… I struggled with You Belong Here. I can’t tell if it was right book, wrong time. Or a reading slump. Or the chaos that is my life right now. But I just couldn’t find it in me to care what was happening. There were so many moving pieces, so many characters, and this long drawn out story for ultimately… nothing.

“I hope you’re happy for …
Nothing.”

Nothing really happened except a lot of speculation and befuddlement. And frankly, I kept getting confused as to whose mom was whose. There were a lot of mom/college student combos in this book.

Anyway, I want to know what you think. I want to know why you loved this book and why I’m wrong for feeling the way you do. OR, why maybe I was right in being confused the whole time lol.