Always love Megan Miranda books and this one was no exception. Devoured it in less than a day! I liked the mother-daughter tension and while some parts were a bit predictable, it was certainly still worth the read.

You Belong Here by Megan Miranda is a twisty thriller that left me on the edge of my seat! Beckett Bowery left Wyatt College unexpectedly her senior year with no plans to ever return. However that plan changes when her daughter Delilah secretly applies and accepted to the same college. Beckett goes back to get Delilah settled and her past begins to haunt her!

Megan Miranda is an auto read for me and this was one of my favorites of hers! Definitely a fast summer read!

3.5 stars. I love how Miranda’s creepy atmospheric settings almost feel like a second character in her books.. case in point, Wyatt College. At this particular college a hazing called the “Howling” had played out where a tragedy occurred twenty years before, and NOW the past catches up to the present in this mother-daughter tale. With its unexpected turns, and the not knowing who to trust or where the story would end up, Miranda once again entertains in this slow-burn/fast-finish dark academia-mystery thriller. Fun summer or spooky fall read. Pub. 7/29/25

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

You Belong Here is a dark academia thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat. I was totally engaged with the story and the characters in this dual timeline book. It definitely kept me guessing until the end. I highly recommend it!

Synopsis:
Beckett Bowery never thought she’d return to Wyatt Valley, a picturesque college town in the Virginia mountains steeped in tradition. Her roots there were strong: Beckett’s parents taught at the college, and she never even imagined studying anywhere else—until a tragedy her senior year ended with two local men dead, and her roommate on the run, never to be seen again…

For the last two decades, Beckett has done her best to keep her distance. Then her daughter, Delilah, secretly applies to Wyatt College and earns a full scholarship, and Beckett can only hope that her lingering fears are unfounded. But deep down she knows that Wyatt Valley has a long memory, and that the past isn’t the only dangerous thing in town…

Thanks to NetGalley and S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books for the advanced digital copy of the book. It will be published on July 29, 2025.

I really liked this new one by Megan Miranda - she always delivers a solid mystery/thriller and this one did the job. Beckett returns to the hometown she fled under murky circumstances because her daughter Delilah is attending college at her alma mater (mom did not know she had applied until she won a full scholarship). Delilah fell in love with it during summer visits to her grandparents who were professors there. Beckett knows that the town’s memory is long and people have not forgotten what happened when she was a senior (that prompted her to leave in disgrace). She freaks out when Delilah goes missing and heads back to Wyatt to find her daughter.

Set in the mountains of Virginia, the setting was almost another character. I really liked it - it was fast paced and moderately twisty. The dropping kids at college anxiety really resonated with me. 4 ⭐️

The ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Comes out 7/29/25

Main character was hard to like, until the very end. We really do not understand the impact of what happened during her senior year in college until much later in the book and things fall into place. Another event that I would've loved to have been explored is The Howling. Was this a monthly? weekly? yearly event? no clear answer to that

Megan Miranda has mastered the twisty thriller genre. My nephew is leaving for college in a small town, so this book was fun to daydream on. There were a few twists that I didn't see coming, which is always appreciated.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of You Don't Belong Here by Meg Miranda.
You Don't Belong Here is a suspense thriller about a mother and daughter. The daughter is attending college in the mother's hometown and alma mater. This book had all the typical suspense thriller elements, but lacked engaging characters and a solid plot line. The book had too much going on and not enough wrapped up to make it work.

You Belong Here by Megan Miranda is a psychological thriller set in the small town of Wyatt Valley, Virginia. The story follows Beckett Bowery who grew up and attended college in Wyatt Valley and then fled after a tragedy that left 2 people dead and her roommate, Adalyn, missing. 20 years later, Beckett’s daughter Deliliah secretly applies and gets accepted to Wyatt Valley College. Beckett returns to her small home town only to find out that, although it might not seem like it on the surface, no one has forgot about the events of 20 years ago and her secrets all start to come unraveled.

You Belong Here features dual timelines between present and past when Beckett attended college at Wyatt College. The story had me engaged from the first page and I could not put it down. The more I read, the more I questioned the reliability of every character, even Beckett and Delilah. The story features multiple twists, none of which I was able to see coming. The only slight let-down for me was the ending. It left me feeling unsatisfied and wanting more. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and rated it 4.5 stars!

I've always really liked Megan Miranda's books, and this one was another one that kept me entertained. We follow along with a mother and her tortured past at both the town she grew up in and the college she attended. Now her daughter is attending the same college, and she fears that she might endure similar things to her. I was engaged, and the twists and turns were good. Not quite my favorite one by her, but definitely worth a read!

🌙 You Belong Here is a twisty, secret-laced thriller with family at its center, as a mother and daughter are confronted by the ghosts of a past neither fully understands. If you enjoy a slow-burn mystery filled with small-town gossip and secret societies, this one’s for you. Beckett, who fled Wyatt Valley decades ago with no intention of returning, is forced back when her daughter, Dalilah, enrolls in college there. The story unfolds across dual timelines, peeling back Beckett’s memories and slowly revealing why she’s so afraid for her daughter’s safety. She’s a complicated and at times frustrating protagonist, fiercely protective of her child, and that emotional tension perfectly sets up an ending I didn’t see coming.

🌙 Miranda’s writing is so immersive, I tore through the pages without realizing it. There were a few elements I wished had been fleshed out more, especially around the secret society and how its power structures operated. But the strength of the mystery and the timing of the reveals more than made up for it. Miranda’s real magic and secret ingredient is in her narrative fluidity. It’s like getting swept up in a current, never quite sure where it’ll take you, but fully willing to be carried along. Where it drops you off will surprise you, and you’ll be grateful for the chills along the way.

🌙Major Themes & Tropes:

- dual timeline
- mothers & daughters, family
- small town secrets & gossip
- college, secret societies
- whodunit with red herrings & misdirection
- loyalty, truth

🌙You'll probably enjoy if you like:

- Megan Miranda's other thrillers
- Ruth Ware
- Mary Kubica
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
- Pretty Little Liars, Cruel Summer (TV)
- The Girl on the Train

4 out of 5 stars!

🌙Big big thank you to Megan Miranda, S&S/Simon Element, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read You Belong Here! I'll be sharing my review to Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble upon release.

I really was so excited for this one but the start was so slow it didn’t hook me or make me want to keep turning the pages. But MM is an auto buy author for me so I’m of course buying her next book.

Megan Miranda delivers another atmospheric, slow-burn mystery that kept me turning pages. As a longtime fan of her work, I appreciated how it wove together a tense, emotionally fraught mother-daughter dynamic against the backdrop of secrets long buried in a college town.

Told in a dual timeline that alternates between "then" and "now," the structure was compelling without being confusing. Miranda’s writing is effortlessly smooth. One of those styles that allows you to fly through chapters without even realizing how quickly the pages are turning. The suspense builds gradually, with just the right amount of reveals dropped along the way to keep you hooked.

The story follows Beckett, a woman forced to return to her college town when her daughter chooses to attend the same university where Beckett’s own traumatic past unfolded. The setup is strong, and the emotional stakes are high, though I found Beckett’s intense reaction after 20 years a bit over-the-top. Still, the mystery kept me guessing. I actually didn’t predict the final twist, which is rare for me, and refreshing!

While some characters felt a little underdeveloped and the ending wrapped up a bit too neatly for my taste, I still found the overall experience satisfying. There are echoes of The Last to Vanish here: tight-knit communities, secrets in the woods, and Miranda’s signature red herrings. The eerie setting and tension throughout made this a fun buddy read, and I had a blast theorizing each clue with friends.

Ultimately, this isn’t my favorite Miranda novel, but it’s far from forgettable. It’s a solid entry in her collection and worth picking up for fans of domestic suspense with an emotional edge. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed his book. Megan Miranda painted a great picture of the mother daughter relationship in this book. The book is a back and forth between the then and now, but I enjoyed the story slowly developing in that way. Never too much at one day and lots of great reveals. I was happy I was able to get an ARC and that it was also released with BOTM where I bought an early physical copy. If you have enjoyed Megan Miranda's past books, this one will not disappoint. Thanks NetGalley.

✨This is my first @meganlmiranda book. Thanks to #netgalley and Megan Miranda! I own a few but I saw this on @netgalley and had to read it! ✨

✨My thoughts: Let’s start with the fact that her writing is so smooth. The kind of writing that allows you to read so seamlessly you don’t realize how fast you’re reading or how long you’re been reading. I love when I get that entranced! Now, the plot, my 1 and only dislike was that I felt like there’s no way after 20 years she should’ve been freaking the way she was about her daughter going to that college. What I really liked was the fact that I couldn’t figure out the main twist. Everything else yeah but the ‘whodunit & why’ nope. That’s so rare for me. It wasn’t even on my radar, kinda wish there was something to suggest it could be said person but that’s just me being petty because I didn’t figure it out 😂 Overall, I definitely recommend and I DEFINITELY will be reading her backlist asap! And as always, had a blast buddy reading with my bestie and theorizing everything!

Wow- another hit for Megan Miranda. I was not expecting the ending and I don’t even think I had any idea where she was going with it until bam!

I must say I wasn’t a huge fan of any of the characters- nothing about them jumped out at me or made me connect with them.

I am a Megan Miranda fan. There is nothing she has written that I have not enjoyed. This book follows suit.

Miranda writes characters that I can really imagine. This story follows a mother with a sordid past as her daughter goes off to her Alma mater, which is also the scene of her dirty secrets. Similar to “The last to vanish” with a small town, people overlapping and knowing each other’s business, and the woods holding the key to a lot of the mysteries.

The climax was a bit far fetched but it definitely kept me guessing so it was a great whodunnit. A few red herring characters made the story more fun. The ending was not my favorite but it wasn’t bad enough that it ruined the story. Things mostly wrapped up, maybe a bit too neatly.

Beckett’s daughter is headed to the same college where her roommate disappeared and she was asked to leave after two locals were killed. When she gets a mysterious phone call, she is forced to return and face the secrets of the past.

I’m a big Megan Miranda fan but unfortunately this one fell a little flat for me. I was excited about the setting and premise but the overall mystery never pulled me in. I felt like some of the characters weren’t fleshed out enough so I struggled to keep up with their connection to Beckett. Even the ending and reveals were underwhelming. Unlike many of her other stories, this one was forgettable for me.

Thank you to Simon Element for providing a free ARC for review via NetGalley.

This was a real page-turner—I couldn’t put it down. I just had to keep reading to find out what happened and who was involved. The story follows Beckett as she returns to her hometown, the place she fled years ago after a tragedy involving her and her college roommate. Now her daughter is attending the same local college, but nothing feels quite right to Beckett. The whole vibe of the book is eerie and unsettling—there’s this constant feeling of being watched and the question of who’s really there lurking beneath the surface. The story is full of twists and unexpected outcomes that kept me hooked the entire time. I really loved how the author built this tense atmosphere while unraveling the mystery. Definitely a gripping read!

You Belong Here - Megan Miranda
Pub Date - 7/29/25
Rating - 3/5
Thoughts - Thank you to Netgalley and S&S/ Marysue Rucci Books for this gifted advanced e-reader copy in exchange for my honest review. This book has the small town private college vibe sprinkled with some mother-daughter relationship themes. As I was reading this, I found myself losing interest throughout, putting the book down and focusing on something else because it was very slow. Also, the first half of the book, nothing really happens - it seemed like this wild goose chase that lead to....nothing? I think that could have been cut short to get to the real meat of the book. Once we find out more....the ending fell really flat. I ended up finishing it feeling like it was okay.