We Were Warned

title: We Were Warned
author: Chelsea Ichaso
published: 3.4.2025
publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
genre(s): thrillers
pages: 344
source: library
format: eBook
buy/shelve it: Amazon | B&N | Kobo | BookBub | BookHype | StoryGraph | Goodreads
rating:

the blurb

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?

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a few notes

trigger warning: ❗some graphic violence❗

POV: 1st person; multi
setting: Fairview, California
keywords/phrases: murder, trust, betrayal, family, bullying
tropes: outsmarting the villain, dramatic reveal, twists, high stakes
spice: 0/5
language: 0/5

mood reading: in the mood for a twisty read with lots of potential suspects.
bonus points: a strong FMC

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my review

Once I started, I couldn’t stop reading! I read it in an afternoon, totally engrossed in the story.

In a nutshell… After being accused of embezzlement from a business he owns with his closest friends, Eden’s father disappears, leaving Eden and her mother to take the fall for him. As a result, Eden’s own friends, the children of her father’s business partners, turn against her, seemingly striving to make her life hell. They spend years tormenting her in often the cruelest ways possible. But after a student is found dead during an overnight party at a urban-legend-ridden abandoned resort, she is forced to join with her former friends to find the truth of the new deaths, and those of the past.

Eden Stafford is the kind of FMC I love. She’s smart, snarky, and highly determined to stay strong in situations where lesser beings may crumble to the pressure. She’s also incredibly brave, throwing herself into the mystery, determined to find the killer. And then there’s Caleb Durham, one of her former friends. While he wasn’t in the forefront of her tormentors, Eden can’t let go of the fact that he hurt in his own ways. But is he as awful as she once thought? That’s a question that is revisited time and time again as things happen that put his credibility in question.

The atmosphere of this book is decidedly creepy and spooky, utterly chilling. From the abandoned ruin of Fairview Village to the dark streets in Fairview proper, there is no escaping the creep factor. It’s the perfect vibe for a murder mystery that delves into secrets, betrayal, and revelations galore.

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

• 2025 52 Books Reading Challenge
• 2025 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge: Author Edition
• 2025 Cloak & Dagger Reading Challenge
• 2025 PopSugar Reading Challenge