Such a good book! It has a slow start and I had to really make myself keep reading during the first 30% of the book. But once I got to about 45% I couldn’t put it down and I had to finish it before I could fall asleep. I liked the glimpse into Beckett’s past and I like how the story unfolded. Overall it was a solid 4 stars and I would definitely recommend it!

Beckett didn't want to come back to to her hometown. The secrets, the fire, the destruction of one night - even though her parents live there. But her daughter, now 18 and graduated, wants to go to the school her mom went to and be close to her grandparents. And Beckett must finally face this old town, old classmates, and the rumors and secrets that surround her.

This one hooked me right from the start. That breathy nighttime call and she has to rush back. The secrets were very slow to unfold and I liked how it kept me guessing what was really going on. As people came back into Beckett's life, I couldn't help but question how they all fit and how they remembered the night long ago. A great mystery that kept me on my toes, I was hooked from the start and was satisfied by the ending.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Release: July 29, 2025
Author: Megan Miranda
Publisher: Simon Element
Rating: 4 ★ 

A gripping thriller about buried secrets and the haunting pull of the past. Beckett Bowery swore she’d never return to Wyatt Valley, the idyllic Virginia college town where a tragic event during her senior year changed everything—leaving two men dead and her best friend vanished without a trace.
For over twenty years, Beckett has kept her distance, building a new life far away from the town and its painful memories. But when her daughter, Delilah, secretly applies and is accepted to the same college with a full scholarship, Beckett is forced to confront the past she thought she left behind.
As Delilah settles into life in Wyatt Valley, Beckett's fears resurface. The town hasn’t forgotten what happened—and neither has she. With danger closing in and long-buried truths threatening to surface, Beckett must face the secrets that once drove her away, before history has a chance to repeat itself.
You Belong Here is a slow-burn, atmospheric thriller that kept me hooked, even if it didn’t completely blow me away. Megan Miranda is known for her suspenseful storytelling, and this book definitely delivered on mood, mystery, and layered characters.
The story follows Beckett Bowery, a woman who fled her college town after a tragedy involving a fire, two deaths, and a missing person. Years later, she’s forced to return when her daughter, Delilah, secretly enrolls at the same college and then disappears after a chilling phone call. What follows is a dual timeline narrative that unravels Beckett’s past while exposing how deeply secrets can bury themselves in a place—and in a person.
I really liked how Miranda built the suspense gradually. The setting of Wyatt Valley had a creepy, claustrophobic vibe, and the flashbacks were well done. The pacing felt a little uneven to me—the first half was slower, and the second half picked up speed quickly—but I still found myself turning the pages late into the night. I appreciated the subtle clues dropped along the way, even though I was hoping for a bigger twist or more shocking final reveal.
Overall, this is a solid, well-written thriller that fans of domestic suspense and Miranda’s past work will likely enjoy. It may not be her most twist-packed novel, but it’s definitely worth a read for its atmosphere, character depth, and underlying tension.

Favorite Quote:
"there are things we choose to forget, and things that haunt us no matter how much we want to erase them."

In this creepy college thriller, Beckett returns to her hometown after years away. She reluctantly returns to town to send her daughter Delilah to the same college that she left in a cloud of suspicion after a mysterious fire and the disappearance of her best friend. When her daughter disappears, she is forced to acknowledge painful truths from her past to find Delilah.

Megan Miranda is truly the queen of atmospheric thrillers. She writes the creepiest settings and this was no exception, with a spooky college campus filled with tunnels, howling winds, and old houses containing messages. This novel is a slow burn but the second half picks up the pace and certainly kept my attention. I liked the dual timelines to tell the story. I think fans of campus thrillers, atmospheric settings, and slow burn thrillers will really enjoy this read!

Thank you to Megan Miranda and Simon and Schuster/ Mary Sue Ricci books for the arc and opportunity to be an early reader and reviewer.

This was a new twist on a similar plot. Usually it is younger person having to return to their college/hometown due to something with a reunion or alumni event of some kind. In this, Beckett returns to Wyatt Valley because her daughter has secretly applied to the college. When her daughter goes missing, it brings back memories and threatens Beckett's current life.

I haves loved all of Megan Miranda’s books until now. This was really difficult to get invested in. I would read a page or two and instantly just not care. It took quite a bit of time for the mystery to get started and I felt like the payoff wasn’t worth it.

First line: I knew how easily a story could shift.

Summary: Beckett grew up practically on the campus of Wyatt College. Her parents were professors at the college and it made sense to attend for her own education. Everything went smoothly until her senior year when two locals were killed on campus and her roommate went on the run for the murder. After these events Beckett left and rarely returned because the town never forgot and didn’t forgive the fact that she may have been involved.

Twenty years later, Beckett’s daughter secretly applies and receives a full scholarship to Wyatt College. Fighting against her fears for her daughter and the secrets of her past she allows her to attend. But then one weekend she receives a mysterious call and then the disappearance of her daughter draw her back to the town and the people who still blame her for what happened so long ago.

My Thoughts: Megan Miranda has been a very solid author. I usually rate her books a 3 or 4 star. They have good storylines and twists that can be shocking but at other times they fall a little flat. This one was a 3 star read for me. It took a while to get into the plot. I loved the short chapters and peeks into the past timeline. It helped explain things that were happening in the present and why Beckett felt the way she did about the town and college.

Having attended a small town college in rural Kansas there were things I could easily relate to. I pictured Tabor College in Hillsboro as I read, which was a fun addition to my reading journey. I also grew up going there for summer camps and visiting the town where family lived or for sporting events gave it this hometown feel. Having this book come out near the start of the school year is a perfect time as kids head to college. I think many will enjoy the plot and the atmosphere of the story.

Wow! This is was my first Megan Miranda book, and it will not be my last. This book kept me guessing throughout. I thought I had an idea of who was behind it all, and then I was pretty shocked by the end. I really appreciate the shorter chapters, different timelines, fast-paced story and atmospheric setting.

🎵Hey there Delilah, what’s it like in Wyatt Valley? 🎶🎤

As I approach the 10th anniversary of my own college graduation, You Belong Here hit me with a wave of nostalgia I didn’t expect. Megan Miranda’s latest novel follows Delilah as she embarks on her freshman year of college—an experience full of excitement, uncertainty, and in her case, secrets tied to her family’s past.

The college Delilah attends is more than just an academic institution—it’s also her mother’s alma mater, and as she settles in, she starts uncovering unsettling truths about her mother’s time there. What begins as a coming-of-age journey quickly deepens into a haunting exploration of legacy, memory, and protection. Delilah’s discoveries offer a poignant reflection on the weight of the past and the lengths a parent will go to in order to shield their child from it.

Of all of Megan Miranda’s books, this one feels uniquely different. The tone is more intimate, the emotional layers richer, and the character development especially strong. It’s less about plot twists and more about the quiet revelations that reshape everything you thought you knew.

I truly enjoyed this read and found myself reflecting not only on Delilah’s journey but on my own time in college. Miranda’s storytelling continues to evolve in meaningful ways, and I’m excited to see what she writes next.

I'm 50/50 on Megan Miranda. I either love her books or can't wait for it to be over. If I hadn't been reading in order to write a review, I would have given up. The book was just way too slow and such long long explanations that I couldn't get into. I didn't care for any of the characters. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers. This one is a miss for me but others might love it if they are fans of Miranda.

This book sadly let me down. I so badly wanted to love this one because Megan Miranda is Queen but it took me forever to finish because I was just not invested in the story enough.

You Belong Here is an interesting tale about a woman who left her hometown under a cloud of suspicion decades earlier. Beckett’s parents were both professors at the local college, so she attended there on a free ride. But when her roommate sets fire to a building and two men are killed, Beckett is suspected of being involved. Now, two decades later, unbeknownst to her, her daughter has applied to attend the college and plans to go. Beckett can’t get past her worry that something bad will befall her daughter.
Miranda totally creates a creepy locale - complete with howling winds and tunnels under the buildings. And it’s not long before it would appear Beckett’s fears are well founded.
The book is told in a now and then format, with Beckett providing the POV for both. Miranda keeps the level of suspense high throughout - a mother’s fears for her child, everyone keeping secrets and not knowing who to believe or trust. She totally gets that eighteen year old mentality of wanting to be an adult and flip side not understanding that actions have repercussions. It totally kept me in the dark and I had no idea how it would play out until right before the end.
My thanks to Netgalley and Simon Element for an advance copy of this book.

Megan Miranda books tend to be more "hit" than "miss" with me and unfortunately this one was a miss.

The writing itself is done well per usual but if I hadn't been obligated to review the book for the arc, I don't know that I would have continued reading. I just found myself uninvested in the characters themselves and in the mystery overall.

I usually enjoy her small town suspense novels but this one was not for me.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book.

M.Miranda is an Auto buy author. She can write small town mysteries better than anyone and this was no exception.

Senior year of college brought a tragedy and police questioning for Beckett. Now, 19 years later, her daughter fires her to return to her hometown. Can you ever escape your past?

This had some dark academia vibes and held my attention from the very start.

This book kept me guessing right until the end. I can’t say I liked any of the characters in the book, but they were very interesting. The ending was really unexpected and left me pretty shocked, but in the best way. I definitely enjoyed this on every level. The writing was very good and the story was executed to perfection!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I wanted to like this book so badly, but the main character was actually insufferable. Bouncing between the past timeline of the moms trauma in this town was a bit interesting, but for a big half of the book it felt like she was projecting her past issues of the town onto her daughters disappearance.

Well, I think this book made me want to read more dark academia mystery books! This book is full of secrets, both past and present, college traditions, and plot that kept twisting and turning and kept me guessing. At the start of the book, the book was so well written that I could physically feel the terror that the mother felt when thinking that something bad happened to her daughter. A parent's worst nightmare. I honestly didn't even know why anyone would send their child to this college...it sounded so creepy, especially with the howling tradition. I did find the point of the book where Beckett finds out what her parents did to be a little unbelievable. I also would of liked to find out a bit more after Beckett's jail term ended...I got invested in the family of three and really wanted them to be a family. I rated this a 3.5 star book on my Goodreads.

This was so boring. Nothing happened for most of the book. And even when things were happening, I didn't care. Nothing about this was interesting to me.

Another solid domestic thriller from Megan Miranda. While I have only read 2 of her books i can safely say she is an author I will continue to check out when I want a nice breezy thriller.

In this book we are following Beckett, a single mom, as she drops her only child off at college at Becketts alma matter. Beckett is not thriller her daughter decided to go to this school, because the school and Beckett have a bad history.

When Beckett was a student her roommate was accused of murder and Beckett was caught in the crossfires and assumed to be helping her.

The story is told in sections and I really liked how each section had me changing my perspective entirely on where the story was going. As a seasoned thriller reader i can't say any of the reveals fully shocked me but they all felt well laid out and I enjoyed the ride.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my gifted copy.

This was a slow burn thriller set in a college town. It was a little predictable, but I loved the setting. If you are a Megan fan I definitely recommend this one.