We Were Warned by Chelsea Ichaso

e-Audio, 09:40:16
Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya
Release Date: March 4, 2025
Published by: Tantor Media Inc (Sourcebooks Fire)
Read from: March 8-9, 2025
Stand-alone
Source: Netgalley (I received a free e-ALC from Netgalley and the publisher. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Death, Violence, Stalking, Murder, Suicide, Blood, Forced Institutionalization
For Readers Interested In: Bombshell/Cliff-hanger/Open Endings, Thrillers, Realistic Fiction, Mystery, Multiple POV, Sparkly Covers, YA

      Everyone knows the legend of Fairport Village: twenty-five years ago, a shocking murder closed the place down. This year, the ruins will be bulldozed at last. But tonight, it’s not too late to die.
     All her life, Eden Stafford has heard the lore about the abandoned beach resort at the edge of town: ever since the notorious murder there, anyone who sets foot on the property is cursed to die, It’s more than just a story: over the years, two high school students who dared to explore the ruins of Fairport Village were killed there.
     Eden is no stranger to notoriety, having endured a family scandal that’s made her a target at school. So when she reluctantly attends an overnight party at the ruins, she’s on edge―not because of some legend, but because the clique that has made her life hell for years is there, too, including Caleb Durham, the worst of them all.
     Yet out of all the things Eden expected to happen that night, finding another student dead at Fairport Village wasn’t one of them.
     Though the death is ruled an accident, Eden knows she saw something suspicious at the ruins―and Caleb and her other longtime tormentors did too. Now they’re all being followed by a deadly stranger, and to save themselves, they must work together to uncover the truth about Fairport Village. But after all that’s happened, can Eden really trust Caleb and his friends? Or will they leave her to face a killer alone?

*MY THOUGHTS*

It’s been a long time since I’ve read something that had me stressed like this. But this had me trying to stay up all night to try and finish it. The synopsis seemed like it didn’t make much sense, but it actually was such a gripping story that I didn’t see coming.

Ok so the synopsis sounds all over the place, but its really just a group of teens that come to this party that’s not supposed to be happening in a place where someone has once died. People now think it’s haunted so they forbid people from going there. Come to find out, someone did, but it’s not who they think and who they think killed them well, I guess you’ll have to find out. I don’t think the plot was bad, it was just a lot. Definitley felt a lot like the other book I read and reviewed today. She was basically giving us all these things to look for and do and it threw everything off. I was so intrigued by the back story that I almost forgot to say my theories on whodunit.

Which is another point to this. I LOVED this part of it because I got it right, but there was still another part to this that I had no idea was coming. And this time we had all the clues, we just didn’t know that was a thing we had to look for. And while that annoyed me a tiny bit, I still understood. We still needed a wow factor in case those of us who do guess, guess right. I can say without a doubt tho, this is going to be the shock value the teens are looking for.

The characters were weird tho. Eden seemed like she was so bad ass but then she let those kids treat her like shit. I really wanted to scream at her, “STAND UP!” Lol I didn’t understand making her so angry and mean and mad at them if she still helped them or still talked to them. And Lordt that one girl that had the crush?! I wanted to punch her so bad. She made that girl’s life hell because for what? And THEN, like the person she should have listened to, she didn’t. It was so confusing being in her brain sometimes.

The one thing I didn’t like tho, was the fact that there was still some things that needed to be answered. What were those things she was seeing? Did she ever figure it out? If so, why didn’t we? And why wouldn’t she put that part in the story? I would have loved to have confirmation that there was a ghost or something somewhere.

This was a great read. Huge thanks to the author for helping me to get out of my funk for a little and just enjoy listening to a book.

Overall, I give this