Thank you to Harper and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a great popcorn, quick, engaging thriller. It is YA so it has some elements that give “middle school scary movie night” (ie, a little implausible or foolish) but I didn’t find the writing to be immature— actually I think He has improved a bit in her style since Perfect Little Monsters.

I am a massive locked room mystery fan and this riff on And Then There Were None delivered the chills thst I associate with them. I was very lucky to read this on a 7 hour bus ride— I didn’t have to put it down, which was great because I couldn’t. I would definitely recommend this quick read for the summer or for anyone looking to just pick up something that hooks them but doesn’t require a huge emotional or intellectual investment to get going. Perfect popcorn.

My biggest complaint?

If you have ever seen the Clue Movie (with Tim Curry) you’ll know there’s a moment when the characters have seen so much death, they start to barely react every time they discover a dead body. That happens in this book, but unfortunately it happens with the very first death and it just took a level of intensity out of those scenes.

All in all 3.5 stars rounded up.

This was a super fun and suspenseful twist on the Agatha Christie book “And Then There Were None” ( which funny enough, I just finished reading with my 9th grade English class- I’m a teacher). I appreciated having POV from every survivor, but there were a few times I had to scroll back to the beginning of the chapter to remember who was talking at the time. The dual timeline takes you back to the fateful day two of their friends were lost and helps you get the big picture as to why someone is hellbent on killing then all now. The pacing was well done and the tension held throughout. Read this one if you like drama, tension, suspense, isolation and retribution!

This was a different take on friend group killings we see from other authors. I enjoyed the cat and mouse and questioning everyone's motives as the story progressed. It has it all - love, angst, murder, revenge....who will make it out alive?

This was san easy read and held my attention. I was invested in the characters and the story. Thank you for the opportunity and will be keeping my 👀 on this author!

interesting idea and good writing. biggest flaw is the character building. we bounce around so much in perspectives characters can't get much. 3.5 stars. tysm for the arc.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t for me. A locked room mystery has to really be stand out to work. I liked the premise, but had too many issues. The tone is very blithe for the subject matter and the six points of view have no distinction at all. I kept clicking back to the start of the chapter to see the point of view which made the story confusing overall. The little snippets at the end of some chapters (snatches of conversations? Social media comments? Unclear) didn’t offer any information and seemed to only recap what we already knew. There was a lot telling instead of showing. Each character plainly told us their motivation. Check the trigger warnings, but know that they will give spoilers.

Thank you for NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy and a chance to read this early. All opinions are my own.

2.5 stars.

Will, Isla (I think everyone hoped she died first,) Sadie, Ant, Emily and Charles just graduated from high school. They are the six survivors of a hellish heli-ski (ha!) vacation where two people (really three people. I don’t know why they act like the third doesn’t count. I guess because he was just staff and there to serve the fabulous likes of them? Very nice.) were killed and where the group underwent a major trauma.

To celebrate graduation billionaire Sadie rents an island for the group of six plus sixteen of their classmates. The six arrive the night before the others. The rest never show up and neither does the staff.

Then the murders start. Who is killing them, and why?

SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read any further, though they give this away pretty early, and don’t go into any detail (too bad):


I liked this better when it was called “Yj.” Does it say anything about me that I think I could do this if necessary and not look back? Overall book was fine. I have to admit that I did guess who it was, but this is YA, so, you know.

I was excited to read this, but it wasn't what I was hoping for. There were parts that dragged on for a bit, and I found it to be a bit anti-climactic and relatively unbelievable. I didn't connect with the characters and felt they were two-dimensional.

I appreciate the opportunity to preview the ARC.

Great plot! I figured it out about halfway through, but I wasn’t sold on it being the right answer until about three fourths of the way!

This is Where We Die follows a group of friends two years after they went from eight to six on a ski trip. They’ve never told anyone what really happened on the trip. When an exclusive private island with a mansion equip with staff and luxuries, goes viral on social media, they persuade Sadie to rent it for the graduating class for the weekend. The six friends arrive the day before everyone else only to find the island empty. Matters are made worse when one of them dies and it starts to seem like their past is finally catching up with them.

This was a really fun, modern take on And Then There Were None! I really enjoyed the isolated setting—it’s one of my favourite mystery/thriller tropes. The plot was really gripping, and I loved that there was dual timeline. The reveal of what happened on the ski trip was done so well and I loved the twist at the end. I was hoping the killer would be who I thought it was so I’m very happy about that. Really great tension and intrigue!

I really enjoyed that there were multiple perspectives. I think it really added a lot of drama and depth to the story. Sadie was definitely my favourite, but they all felt very real and made believable choices. And the dynamic between them all was really interesting.

Overall, if you liked your mystery thrillers with an isolated setting and lots of twists, I’d definitely recommend trying this one!

Thank you to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for the arc.

This book had me hooked from the start. I actually had meant to up load it so it was ready for after I finished my other book and randomly started reading and next thing I knew.. I had abandoned the other book to binge this one. The writing and pacing were spot on and while not perfect, it kept me engaged and wanted to keep flipping pages until the end.

Now was it fairly predictable? Yes. Did I care? No. It was a fun read where it was more about the process than the who-dun-it. It did have some “Yellow Jacket” vibes in the survival part of the story so for fans of the TV series this may be a great read for you. It also reminded me of Pretty Little Island by Rhea Ryan- but without the spice and much more stream lined.

I think this book could have been a touch longer where some of the emotions of surviving a tragedy could have been explored a bit more as it had the beginnings of going a bit deeper but that’s just a personal preference. I think the biggest reason I love YA is young adults and teens make choices that they wouldn’t after their brains are fully developed. It opens up the possibilities of being way more twisted than if you used older characters.

This thriller comes out July 1st 2025 from SourceFire Books!
I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary eARC from SourceFire through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley for this arc!

Even as an adult, I like a well written YA thriller book. And this is a very well written thriller. The characters are well developed and the plot is very good! I’d recommend this to anyone.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of This is Where We Die by Cindy R.X. He due to be published July 1, 2025.
Eight friends went on a trip. Only six made it out alive. Now a killer has one night to make sure the survivors pay for what they did . . . so that zero make it out alive. The remaining six high school friends go to an exclusive private island and wait for their other classmates to arrive….but they never do. Cut off from everything they, too, are picked off one by one. Will any of them survive?

I am usually not into YA stories, but this one definitely kept me interested with all the twists throughout the entire book. It had me invested with each chapter unraveling not only what happened in the horrible snowstorm that took the first two friends the year before, but the unveiling of what was happening to the other six on the island and who was behind it! A great thriller!

#NetGalley #CindyRXHe #SourcebooksFire #ThisIsWhereWeDie

Oh. My. Goodness. This book was THE most devourable YA thriller! This book is diabolical in the best way!

Six friends plan to throw an epic graduation party on a remote island, in a house that is off the charts luxurious. The six head there the night before to prepare, but it’s very tense. The six of them, a seemingly unbreakable group, haven’t spent much time alone together since they were once a group of eight…

At the age of sixteen, their Canadian skiing trip went horribly wrong. Two of their best friends died. Now, secluded and completely alone on this island, they are in more danger than ever before. Someone is bloodthirsty and none of them are safe. What really did happen in Canada, anyway?

Ahhh!! This was incredible. This was one of the fastest paced, cuckoo bananas books I have read in so long. Every single chapter gets you closer and closer to the ultimate answer, and let’s face it… by the end, you are SO invested.

This is fantastic because it demonstrates the animalistic nature of humans, but they are just teenagers, on the cusp of life… I loved and hated all of them.

This is definitely in the running for top 5 of the year. I can’t explain it. It was just a great time.

I literally flew through this book in less than a day! I loved the pacing and the plot twists. I do wish we had gotten more scenes set at the cabin to show why the group went to such lengths to survive, but overall, it was a very engaging read! I will definitely recommend and be buying a physical copy for my collection once it releases. Thank you, netgalley, for providing me with this advanced copy!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

THIS IS WHERE WE DIE by Cindy R.X. He

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for the earc (Jul 1)

When 8 friends go on a trip, only 6 return. Two years later, they've graduated. When an exclusive island is up for rent, they rent it, ready for a party of a lifetime. Which is what they get. When no one else arrives, it's just the six of them on the island as they began to be picked off pne by one.
What a thrilling read.
I actually really liked this book. It was über fast-paced and wickedly disastrous and the "accidents" started happening. Honestly, I was all over the place. Like other, I assumed what happened during the first trip bc of the trigger warnings, but that wasn't even the most shocking. It was that final reveal coupled with the lead up to it all. From PERFECT LITTLE MONSTERS, I knew Cindy could write something so utterly shocking, but THIS IS WHERE WE DIE really put that into perspective.
From page one, it was like the monster sank its claws into me, holding me hostage until I devoured every part of this book. Literally, I read this over the span of two days, but hour wise it was probably just a couple of hours. It held my attention, and I haven't read a murder-mystery/thriller like this in a hot minute.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

This felt like a mix between Final Destination, Lost and survivor- I loved it. It isn’t often where you read a book that ends with everyone dying but that’s what made it so intense, I spent the whole time thinking ‘surely they won’t ALL die!?’ And I was proven wrong.

Every time someone came up with a theory, I was on board until I had so many suspects in my head that I didn’t see who the actual perpetrator was.

I really enjoyed this book, so well written, engrossing and it wasn’t drawn out, paced very well.

Once I started reading this book, I didn't want to stop. The further I got into the book, the harder it was to look away, and I ended up inhaling the entire second half in a single sitting, which I haven't been able to do with a book in so long. Towards the end, I even found myself holding my breath.

To have 6 POVs in the same book and for them all to be such distinct voices is beyond impressive, and the descent of the characters into paranoia and violence is written so well! This makes me want to write my own thrillers, and I can only hope I'll be able to write something as compelling as this someday.

Thank you, SOURCEBOOKS Fire for providing the copy of This Is Where We Die, by Cindy R. X. He. I loved He’s debut, Perfect Little Monsters, so I was excited to read this book. He avoids the ‘sophomore slump’ by delivering another breathtaking thriller that kept me guessing until the end. The tension never let up, and I loved the combination of past and present timelines, and speculations of people learning about the weekend trip. If you love a well-written, fast-paced book with an interesting cast of characters, you will enjoy this locked room mystery. I can’t wait for the next book by this talented author. 5 stars.

I read this book in 2 days and could NOT put it down. This is a page-turner, a modern-day YA take on And Then There Were None. Six teens with a dark secret in their past head to a graduation party on an island in the Long Island Sound. The party weekend starts, and we jump through each of their POVs as it soon devolves into a nightmare. He intersperses the current narrative with flashbacks to the incident that brought them all to be at the mercy of a killer, which ratchets up the tension as the teens start dropping, one by one, and the survivors have to figure out which one of them is killing them off before they all die. The final twist was pure perfection. Definitely not one to miss!

Eight went on the ski trip. Six came back. Now, none of them are safe.

This Is Where We Die is a pulse-pounding YA thriller that drops six teens—connected by a past no one talks about—onto a luxury private island, only to strand them there with no cell service, no escape… and someone who wants them dead.

Two years ago, something went terribly wrong on a ski trip. No one knows what, and no one’s talking. But trauma doesn’t stay buried for long—and when the six survivors are lured into one last weekend together, their secrets start to surface... along with the bodies.

This book gives I Know What You Did Last Summer meets The Guest List with a social media twist. It’s fast, twisty, and packed with tension. Cindy R.X. He does a great job balancing past and present timelines to build suspense while peeling back each character’s guilt, fear, and true motivations.

The atmosphere could’ve been pushed even further—I wanted more of the eerie, cinematic vibe that the setup promised—but the pacing, reveals, and interpersonal drama kept me turning pages late into the night. It’s a fun, chilling ride with just the right amount of blood and betrayal.

Perfect for fans of survival thrillers, messy friendships, and the slow, spiraling dread of knowing someone knows what you did.

#ThisIsWhereWeDie #CindyRXHe #SourcebooksFire #YAthriller #SecretsNeverStayBuried