Megan Miranda’s You Belong Here Now is an electrifying, edge-of-your-seat thriller that delivers everything fans love about her work—sharp twists, eerie atmosphere, and simmering tension. Set in a small town with a dark past, the story unravels secrets that refuse to stay buried, keeping you racing through the pages. Miranda’s pacing is impeccable, her characters unforgettable. I absolutely loved it—this one cements her as one of my favorite authors. A total must-read for thriller lovers!

This book was crazy. No line was unintentionally written. I’m sure if I reread it I would find things I missed. Usually when reading a book like this I have at least one question unanswered. That isn’t true with this book. It is fast paced all the way to the end.
Thank you to Marysue Rucci Books and Megan Miranda for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Megan Miranda, Simon Element, & NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC.

A slow-burning thriller that takes place on a college campus in a semi-rural area in the Virginia mountains. The setting was atmospheric and lent to the creepy, mysterious vibes throughout. The story is told through our main character Beckett's thoughts in the present, and 20 years ago when she was a student at the small-town college where her parents also worked. After a horrible event that left her roommate missing and 2 others dead, Beckett left everything behind to start fresh. She ends up in London, meets Trevor, and has a daughter, Delilah. The present-day story starts when Delilah decides to go to the same college her mother left behind. Delilah goes missing, bringing Beckett back to the town she wants to forget. While Delilah returns, a dead body is found that forces Beckett to face the dark secrets of her past. This brings a host of other characters to the scene, including an old friend of Beckett's, one of the original detectives, and those close to what happened in the past. Trevor, while not in a relationship with Beckett, returns to help find Delilah.

While the novel was a slow-burn overall, I felt the ending was rushed. I had some difficulty grasping the involvement of the leading players who ended up involved in Delilah's disappearance and the dead body. I also wish there was more clarity surrounding what happened to Beckett and Trevor in the aftermath. I enjoyed the writing style, but found Beckett's inner dialogue to be repetitive and over-the-top. While this is most likely to illustrate her anxious personality surrounding the events of the past, it just didn't work for me. She seemed self-important and was not likable. The storyline with her parents also seemed to be a little underdone; I wish there was more there, because it felt like an afterthought to thicken the plot.

I enjoyed the college setting and how it highlights the unique mother-daughter relationship during this phase of life. That said, I wish the traditional hazing "game" was called something different. It just didn't seem to fit well.

Overall, it was an entertaining read.

Megan Miranda’s new novel has all the twists and turns I needed for my vacation read! The story was interesting and gripping.

This slow-burn mystery takes place in a small college town in the mountains of Virginia. Beckett Bowery fled her hometown of Wyatt Valley after a tragedy during her senior year of college. Decades later, she’s forced to confront the past when her daughter earns a full scholarship to the very place she’s kept her distance from all these years.

I couldn’t get enough of this book! It kept me on my toes from start to finish. I loved the mysterious aspect of Beckett’s past and trying to piece it all together. Then the events of the present had me so unsettled, I felt like I was being watched. I was constantly wondering who I could trust.
Megan Miranda describes the setting so perfectly, I found it easy to get lost in this book and feel like I was there.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon Element for my eARC.

If you’re looking for an eerie mystery with twists and secrets that refuse to stay buried, check this one out 📖

Enjoyed this book, Didn't feel predictable and the setting reminded me a lot of my college campus. Was an easy thriller that didn't require much thought and felt like an escapist read. Loved!

I don't do well with slow burn, let me start my review by saying this is likely personal preference!

I only made it 8% 🤦‍♀️ I just have no interest in anything that's going on. I will try to read it at a later date, I'm a mood reader and this just isn't doing it for me.

I'm not putting the stars low, because like I said this is likely me! I will update with a review when I read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon Element for this eARC of You Belong Here, by Megan Miranda. Thriller is not my favorite genre but I was HOOKED with this one, from the very beginning. You Belong Here follows a mom, Beckett, whose daughter, Delilah, decides to attend college at her alma mater. The story begins at college drop-off and you soon learn that Beckett has a complicated past with the college, including that her parents are retired professors there, and growing up in the town that the college resides. So many different characters from Beckett's past come out of the woodwork, and you do not know who to trust. No spoilers but this was a captivating story, with twists until the very end! I could not put this one down. 5 stars!

This was my first experience with Megan Miranda's work, and it exceeded my expectations. The narrative seamlessly wove together Beckett's past and the complex mother-daughter relationship between Beckett and Delilah. "You Don't Belong Here" was utterly captivating, making it challenging for me to put the book down at night. The author's skillful storytelling transported me to Wyatt Valley, immersing me in the college town's atmosphere. I feel fortunate to have received an advance review copy. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity

Megan Miranda is an author I really enjoy. I was so excited to receive this book as an ARC. It had a bit of a slow start. A mother’s history of her college roommate disappearing leads to a struggle when her daughter gets a full scholarship to that same school. Overall a good read. Not my favorite from this author but still good.

Megan Miranda is one of my absolute favorite authors. I was super stoked to get her next book. It always goes right to the top of my TBR!

This book is about a woman who's trying to outrun. Her past. Two young men died during her senior year of college. The whole town thinks she was involved somehow bc her roommate/ best friend was involved. She transferred schools and never came back even though her parents were faculty members and lived down the street.

20 years later she is back when her daughter applied to that same college. She kept the secret from her daughter in hopes of never having to rehash those memories. Now she has no choice. Early one morning she gets a dropped phone call from her daughter. She tries frantically for hours to get a hold of her before she decides to drive all the way to the college to find her. When they finally find her things don't add up. A body is found 24 hours later, and she goes from a missing but found 18-year-old, to a suspect. And so does her mom.

This book was super good. Really enjoyed seeing all the bread crumbs left behind. At one point I was sure I knew who was and all signs pointed to it, then it turns out to be someone else! I don't want to spoil it for anyone. So please read this book to find out!

Thank you netgalley for this Arc and exchange for an honest version

4 Stars
Rating Breakdown:
Characters: 4 stars
Setting: 4 Stars
Plot: 4 Stars
Themes: 3 stars
Emotional: 3 stars
Enjoyment: 5 stars

"You Belong Here" follows our main character Beckett as she is forced to revisit the past when her daughter begins attending the same college where a tragedy occurred decades before. Beckett quickly finds her past unraveling and secrets that were once buried are now coming to the surface. Acting fast, Beckett is forced to confront the very thing she ran away from, but how far will she go to protect her family?

This was everything I love about a thriller! Megan Miranda is the queen at writing tension. Right from page one there is an atmosphere of suspense that is consistent until the last page. Many moments had me looking over my own shoulder and double checking my doors were locked. The plot was fast paced and addictive. I never knew what was coming next. The writing was great and formulated in such a way that it was easy to become the character and live out this wild ride with her. The setting was written with rich detail making it easy to become immersed into this sleepy unassuming college town. We have a vast cast of well written characters that are fully flushed out. They were relatable and realistic. This kept my heart hammering inside my chest. Must read for fans of fast, twisty thrillers! Trust me, you will not be able to put this book down.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for this eARC!

First of all I love the cover! You Belong Here was a quick read that kept you guessing and turning the pages. The only negative for me was the character development. I wasn’t really invested in any of them. But I still enjoyed the story and loved the ending.

This was a good book that I read late into the night. It centers on Beckett, who was caught up in a scandal her senior year of college, driving her away from the town she grew up in and the school that she loved. There is a mystery around just how much she might have been involved in what happened, which led to the death of 2 local men. Years later, her daughter Delilah insists on going to the same school, forcing Beckett to face her past. The story is told in dual timelines, so the reader is slowly figuring out what happened in the past while reading about current events.

The author does a really good job at portraying the mother/daughter relationship between Beckett and Delilah, the friendship between Beckett and her former roommate Adalyn, and the dynamic between Beckett and Delilah's father.. The characters and the dynamics between them felt very real. There were some true creepy parts in the book as Beckett tries to figure out what is going on with Delilah in the current timeframe. The author also gives us plenty of options as who the villain is, most very believable red herrings. When all was said and done, I was surprised at how it all turned out and didn't see a couple of the twists coming. The ending tied up loose ends nicely and also left the reader ruminating on what might happen next with these characters.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read with well thought out characters and a good storyline. They author also did a great job painting a picture of the campus and the surrounding woods and town, where I could picture myself there. I'd recommend this book to those who enjoy mysteries and psychological thrillers. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. .

Told in dual timelines from the perspective of Beckett, both as a college student and as a mother years later, Miranda masterfully weaves the past and present into a compelling narrative. In the past we were drawn into a traumatic event involving Beckett’s roommate, Adalyn Vale, and the tightly knit, small town the college was in. Beckett’s role in that mystery is shadowed in guilt—though whether it’s guilty by association or something more sinister is one of the many questions Miranda plants expertly throughout the story.
In the present Beckett’s daughter, Delilah, is starting college in the very same place Beckett has tried desperately to forget. When Delilah is stalked and terrorized in her dorm, Beckett is pulled back into the town that never really let her go. As old secrets rise to the surface and past relationships come to a boiling point. Miranda explores how far a mother will go to protect her child, and what it means to be an outsider in a place that holds tight to it’s history.

The emotional layers of his novel are deepened by the complex mother-daughter relationship at it’s heart. Beckett and Delilah are both strong, flawed and fully human characters—something Miranda consistently does well. I appreciate how real and relatable the character felt, and how their emotional journeys anchored the suspense. While I found the story to be well-written, at times it felt like there was a lot happening without enough resolution with every thread. Still, the story flows smoothly, and the two timelines are intertwined, with a payoff that is worth it!

This is not a book I would recommend reading before bed but I definitely remember reading it! I love Megan Miranda's books and their ability to keep me guessing every step of the way. This book was no exception and should be in every one's pool bags this summer.

When Beckett Bowery was a senior at Wyatt College, her best friend committed arson, killing two people, and then she vanished without a trace. Beckett tried to escape both Wyatt and the lingering questions about her own involvement. However, two decades later, her daughter Delilah enrolls at Wyatt College, forcing Beckett to return to her hometown—and face accusations
.
Megan Miranda proves herself as the ideal author for campus mysteries with You Belong Here. Perfect for enthusiasts of dark academia and literary suspense, the novel pulls readers into a quiet college town where Beckett Bowery confronts the possibility of history repeating itself. The story captivates with its dual timelines, the dynamic tension between town and college, and an incredibly vivid setting.

While the book excels in its intriguing plot, the ending feels overly hasty. After immersing readers in its richly drawn atmosphere, complex mother-daughter bonds, and compelling mystery, the final act accelerates toward a resolution that, though satisfying, unfolds with bewildering speed.
Despite this, the novel showcases Miranda's talents at their finest—sharp writing, nuanced character development, and the inevitable revelation of buried secrets.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Element for this ARC!

SO GOOD. Thrilling, exciting. Fast paced. I couldn't stop reading this and wanting to know what happened next. I will definitely be reading more from this author

B eckett Bowery had an idyllic childhood in Wyatt Valley. She had the run of campus at the local private college where both of her parents worked and her future seemed mapped out. But when a local tradition leaves two men dead and another woman missing, Beckett finds herself in the cross hairs, forced to leave town in shame, never to return… or so she thought. When Beckett’s daughter gets accepted to the school, Beckett finds herself back home and someone isn’t happy to see her there.

I’m a big fan of Miranda’s writing. Her settings are always so perfect and yet so creepy. They drive home the idea that you never know what’s going on behind closed doors and that even the most perfect people, the most perfect families, have secrets. We know from the very beginning that Beckett has secrets and as the story progresses you find that everyone is hiding something, but whose secret includes murder?

This book had so many twists I was never sure what was going to happen next. Because I’ve read several of Miranda’s books I was able to figure out what had happened based on a clue dropped toward the end but there were still plenty of questions left to be answered.

Anyone who enjoys suspense should check out Miranda’s books. Her stories hit close to home and leave you feeling like maybe you don’t really know anyone in your life; maybe you don’t really know what is happening to you, even as you watch the events unfold.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

This is a wonderful twisty novel and as Megan's books always do surprised me on some elements. It may not be my favorite of her books, but the intergenerational connections and rites of passage are very timely and something that I think will stand the test of time. Megan is still the queen of mystery for me and I will always recommend her stories!