When Beckett left Wyatt Valley, it didn't matter that she grew up there, her family was there, that the college her parents taught at and she attended (and loved) was there … she turned away with the intention to NEVER return. She was able to hold herself to that promise … until her daughter, Delilah, applied and got accepted to that same college.

When Beckett attended college, there was a tragedy. Beckett was guilty by association and no one ever let her forget it. Now she fears that Delilah will not only hear all about it, but suffer discrimination and harassment because of it.

Her fears become reality when Delilah calls at 2AM, it drops, and she can't get ahold of her again. Where could Delilah be? Was her disappearance a result of someone acting out against Beckett's past?

The answers just might surprise you …
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It took me a little while to really get into this book, but I read another review that said it picks up around the 8% mark and she was spot on.
Once I got there, I wasn't able to STOP reading! If you feel the same way, push through. It is DEFINITELY worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed this story once it got me hooked. I thought I had guessed the plot twists (in fact, I was CONFIDENT that I had it right) … only to be left shocked.

Thriller from Megan Miranda set in the Virginia mountains at a small college, with some town and gown conflicts and old secrets that surface twenty years later. Beckett thought she left her past behind after an incident with her roommate at college, but when her daughter Delilah wants to attend the same school, all of the old secrets and feelings are dredged up. The action is non-stop, but a little too breathless and panicked for me, with the main character Beckett making some questionable choices throughout the novel.

Megan Miranda has another great thriller on her hands with this one. Beckett has a past that is caught up with her through her daughter Delilah. Set in the hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, this Southern thriller combines family and a sleepy college town. A great beach read. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Element for the advanced copy.

This book started out really good and the. About 30% in I was so bored I had to give up on it. I didn’t even care about the characters.

i need to start off my review by saying that unfortunately, i did not finish reading this book. it was a very slow burn and there wasn't enough intrigue to continue reading for me personally. i'm fine with slow burn thrillers every once in a while, but they have to have something that keeps me interested enough. i didn't care enough about the plot or characters to keep going. i don't think i would give this book above 3 stars had i continued reading. Megan Miranda is a hit or miss author for me, but i do feel that she always writes atmosphere very well.

thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

During Beckett's senior year in college, her best friend and roommate allegedly started a fire that caused 2 men to die and fled never to be heard from again. Beckett was accused of helping her to set the fire and/or flee but never charged and the night and loss of her friend has been haunting her ever since. Then her daughter Deliliah unknowingly insists on going to the same college and when she arrives weird things start to happen. Someone wants her to be the scapegoat for her Mom's past sins but who and why and can Beckett protect her daughter? Another fun, fast paced and twisty thriller from Megan Miranda!

Thank you to Simon Element and NetGalley for the ARC!

Overall this was a solid mystery. The first half was a bit of a slow burn for me. I enjoyed the second half of this book and was able to lock in and finish the last 40% in one go.

Thank You to Simon Element/S&S/ Marysue Ricci Books for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. Megan Miranda is one of my favorite authors. I always look forward to reading her new releases and this did not disappoint.

This book has some flashbacks to Beckett while she was in college and the incident that changed her life forever. She didnt know her daughter would be going to the same college she went to and stumble upon danger of her own.

This book had a lot of unexpected twists and was an enjoyable read complete with secret tunnels and creepy woods. I look forward to Megan Miranda's next book!

This mystery incorporated two of my favorite themes, a college campus setting and a dual timeline with the past. Beckett leaves her college experience after a fatal fire and the disappearance of her roommate but now she must return to find her missing daughter. There were a lot of small town characters to keep track of and several twists and turns but Megan Miranda made it work. I couldn't figure out which characters were being deceptive and who to trust and that made the plot exciting. I was deeply invested and I really liked how the conclusion was laid out. It felt thrilling but satisfying too. Thanks to Megan Miranda, Simon Element | S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you @simon.audio @librofm @marysueruccibooks #partner for the gifted copy of this book.

Oooooh okay… so maybe reading this right as I’m about to send my college freshman out into the world in 6 weeks wasn’t my smartest life choice 😂 but here we are!

Emotional mom moments aside, Megan Miranda delivered yet again with a slow burn mystery I devoured in one afternoon. I was all in for the dark academia vibes and those eerie little ritualistic ceremonies. (Would I personally join one? Absolutely not. Did I love reading about it? 1000% yes.)

The someone’s always watching creep factor was top-notch, and I really appreciated the dual timelines and how everything built up to what was happening in the present. Also, huge shoutout to the way this book explored the complicated, sometimes messy, always layered relationship between mothers and daughters — it hit a little extra for me this time around.

As always, Megan Miranda nails those haunting, atmospheric reads I can’t get enough of. Now, if everyone could please knock on wood and send some smooth, uneventful college vibes my way for the next 4 years… that’d be great. 😅

Flashbacks to a 20-year-old tragedy bleed into Beckett’s fears as her daughter, Delilah, enters her freshman year at Beckett’s alma mater. Sounds good, right?
I really love Megan Miranda and I’ve read all her other books, so I was excited to dive into this one. And while I’d usually read her books really quickly, You Belong Here dragged for me. This book is all vibes and few explanations. I loved the dark academia and secrets from the past, but everything felt slow and vague and left unfinished - especially the entire premise of “the howling.” I didn’t understand why it was so secretive and such a big deal or why every mention was followed by a dun dun dun. I felt like I was supposed to be convince of the spookiness without true explanation. I also didn’t understand why a glorified game of tag necessitated a fire/murder and for a young woman to completely disappear in the prime of her life. Maybe those guys did something truly terrible? Nope, not fleshed-out.
The local cop with his accusations was such a cartoonishly obvious problem. And Beckett’s parents with their campus professor positions while being so sketchy and distant just irritated me.
It makes me sad to say that this book just didn’t do it for me. There were so many excellent premises with a college campus/small town setting, secrets from the past, locals still hanging around and dredging up the past, underground tunnels, and abandoned quarry, creepy texts & notes, and signs of an intruder. I kept waiting for the dots to connect and really nab me, but the ending felt rushed and unbelievable and unnecessary.
I’ll always read Megan Miranda, but this wasn’t my favorite. 3.5 rounded down cause I was so excited and it didn’t live up.

Megan Miranda has been a solid three star read for me, and this book easily fell into that category. The first 3/4 of the book was a slow burn, laying the crumbs to build suspense. I’m not traditionally a fan of the parent/child, return to the scene of the crime, is it happening again, storyline, but the last 1/4 of the book, uncovering little details, and what really happened all those years ago, had the book ending on a higher note. Fans of Miranda’s previous books should add You Belong Here to their TBR.
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Thank you NetGalley and Simon Element for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Years ago, Beckett Bowery fled Wyatt Valley after being named a prime suspect in a deadly campus fire that killed two students and possibly led to the disappearance of her roommate. Now a ghostwriter and single mother, she’s lived a quiet life until her daughter Delilah enrolls at the same college, only to vanish after a cryptic late-night call. Beckett returns to face her past and unravel a chilling mystery that threatens both her daughter’s life and her own.

This fast-paced, small-town thriller pulls you in right away. The layered mystery blends past and present as Beckett is forced to confront secrets she tried to leave behind. As she races to find her daughter, the story weaves in old scandals, a lost love turned college dean, and the eerie local legend of Howling Night.

The book delivers well-placed clues, steady suspense, and a satisfying resolution. The writing flows easily, making this a one-sitting kind of read.

Thank you to Megan Miranda, Simon Element / S&S / Marysue Rucci Books, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to S&S for the gifted book!

I have read all of Megan's books and she's one of the authors that originally got me into reading thrillers! I can always guarantee that her books will be a good time and I look forward to them every year!

This one definitely held my attention and kept me guessing throughout the whole book! I love books set around college campuses and this one just scratched that itch perfectly for me!

I loved the mother/daughter element, the dual timelines, and the ending! The pacing was pretty consistent throughout the whole book, some might consider it slow, but it worked for me!

I can't wait to see what she writes next!

When Beckett attended Wyatt College 20 years ago, her roommate Adalyn was suspected of killing two men in a fire during a hazing ritual known as "The Howling". Adalyn then disappeared, leaving the cops and townspeople suspecting that Beckett had something to do with it too. This forced Beckett to leave town and finish school elsewhere. Now Beckett's daughter Delilah attends Wyatt. One night Beckett receives a dropped call from Delilah, which brings Beckett back to town in search for her daughter. Now what happened 20 years in the past is colliding with the present.

I enjoyed this fast-paced, twisty mystery. It had elements of dark academia such as an old campus with underground tunnels, but it wasn't too creepy. Most of the characters I suspected played some kind of role in each twist. The dual timeline helps to pull together Adalyn and Beckett's storyline with the current plot that involves Delilah. Although the main character is an adult, I think young adults would enjoy this story as well since it is set on a college campus.

Beckett never thought she'd return to her hometown of Wyatt Valley in Virginia. Not only did she grow up there, but she went to college there, until she didn't. Her senior year, two men are found dead and her roommate ran away and was never seen or heard from again. Wyatt College had some strange things take place, like the annual Howling, where freshmen were lured into the woods and chased as an initiation. After the events of her senior year, Beckett swore to never return.

But when her daughter Deliliah decides she wants to attend college at Beckett's alma mater on a full ride scholarship, Beckett is forced to put her own feelings aside for the sake of Deliliah. But Beckett's fears of the past coming back to haunt her aren't unfounded...Wyatt College isn't what it seems.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Element for the eARC.

Megan Miranda and I sometimes get along and sometimes we do not. You Belong Here held a lot of premise for me, but it just did not work. First of all the mother drove me up a wall, constantly citing danger at the end of every single chapter. There was a twist in this book that just made me roll my eyes. Idk. This one just was not for me.

Megan Miranda has done it again! "You Belong Here" is an absolute masterclass in suspense and atmospheric tension. From the very first page, I was completely captivated by Beckett's story and the secrets of Wyatt Valley. Miranda has a gift for creating a setting that feels both idyllic and menacing, and the constant sense of dread kept me on the edge of my seat.

The story is full of twists and turns that I genuinely did not see coming. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, Miranda would peel back another layer of the mystery, leaving me breathless. The dual timeline, weaving between Beckett's past and the present-day threat to her daughter, is expertly handled and adds a rich complexity to the narrative.

If you are a fan of thrillers that are as emotionally resonant as they are suspenseful, you need to read "You Belong Here." This is a book I'll be thinking about for a long time to come.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon Element | S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books.This is a fast-paced mystery thriller. Flipping between past and present tense with the past coming back to haunt the main character. Good plot twist! Devoured in one sitting.

I have read Megan Miranda’s entire catalog. She is. must read. You Belong Here is a solid thriller, set in the past and present. This book completely went in a direction I didn’t see coming!