Man, Fawcett can WRITE! She is the master of setting the scene, which is vital for creating the powerful and creepy setting that the plot revolves around. The characters, especially Clare, were well developed and easy to connect with and like. I liked the premise of this one, but the "twist" fell a little flat for me. To be fair, I do read a lot of thrillers, but adding more rising action could have made it more dramatic and shocking. Thanks so much for this ARC!

As teenagers, Clare and her friends had a life-changing experiencing in the Octagon House, a nearby abandoned home with an extremely violent history. Beneath the Stairs follows Clare as she returns to her hometown after learning that Abby, one of her childhood best friends, was found unresponsive in the Octagon House, several years after their first terrifying encounter with the home. Hoping to save her friend, and herself, Clare begins digging into the Octagon House: its history, its owner, and its extremely creepy basement.

Atmospherically, I really enjoyed this book. I thought Fawcett did a great job setting the dark, dreary, unsettling scene. I could really envision the dilapidated Octagon House, and I was invested in uncovering more of its story. As a whole, however, this one was a touch underwhelming for me. It felt a bit too drawn out at times, as if intending to add to the suspense, but I don't believe that was particularly successful. The climax of the story, including the "twist," fell short for me, feeling a bit too low-stakes in comparison to the rest of the story. The ending lacked a strong resolution, and while I don't always mind something of an open ending, this specific one was disappointing given the message of finding closure and moving on that had been prominent throughout the rest of the book.

Overall, Beneath the Stairs was a very solid middle-of-the-road thriller. I liked it and would recommend it to others, but it didn't necessarily wow me in the same other thrillers have managed to do. Still, I think this was a solid debut from Jennifer Fawcett, and nothing about this book deterred me from having interest in her future releases.

There was a lot of rambling in this book which took away from the potential it had. I wish I would've liked this book more, but it fell flat.

Deep in the woods of Sumner’s Mills there lies an abandoned Octagon House. As with all local lore this house is the town's haunted home that no one dares enter. That is until one night Clare and her best friend, Abby, sneak inside the home daring to go where others are too afraid to go. But something happened to them inside that house. It is as if something or someone had devoured a part of their soul.
Now all grown up, Clare discovers that Abby returned to the Octagon House searching for what was lost which has put Abby in a coma. Clare must find out what happened to her childhood best friend. Does this house have a hold on anyone who enters it, or does it have something to do with its haunting past?
Overall rating 4/5
I was pleasantly creeped out by this book and was dying to find out about the history of the house’s origins. The forced love story bogged down the pace of the book in my opinion. I was also craving more haunting moments within the house. Or more of the dynamic between the little girl and step aunts interactions before the incidents. I do appreciate the backstory of the house which made a full circle moment explaining what was happening to Clare and Abby in the present.

*Thank you to Jennifer Fawcett, Atria Books, and Netgalley for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

Quote: “Fear is real. Even if what you’re afraid of isn’t, the fear is.” Lori

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5)

Thanks to Atria Books and Bibliolifestyle for giving me the chance to win a copy of this book in their giveaway.

💕What I liked 💕

💀 Creepy atmospheric vibes
💀 The idea of the octagon house
💀 The draw to the house
💀 Then detailed description of the house

😐What I didn’t like😐

👎🏻 Too much of a slow burn for me
👎🏻 Too many varying plots and unnecessary
👎🏻 I got a little lost in the wordiness

🅞🅥🅔🅡🅐🅛🅛 🅣🅗🅞🅤🅖🅗🅣🅢

This was a decent story, a good concept. The house was perfectly described, I almost felt like I could SMELL the house. It would make a cool scary 🎥. This one just wasn’t for me, as I’m not into books that are categorized as a slow burn. So it wasn’t bad or anything, just not my favorite.

BENEATH THE STAIRS  is a horror story for tweens/young adults. I received the uncorrected proof, and there were very few errors. To me, the story was predictable but well written.
One day, Abby and Clare get the fright of their lives while visiting an old, decrepit, octagonal shaped house in the woods. After lying to their parents, they go to a party in the woods near the same house. The choices they make that night affect them the rest of their lives. They will face psychosis, mistrust, miscarriage and death before the end.

The story pulls readers in with back stories that set the tone, while pushing multi timeline characters into events that follow through to the present. When Claire's life seems to have fallen apart, a call from her childhood friend's mother will bring her back to the home of her youth and stir emotions she thought had died many years ago. Sounds great, but there are so many characters pulling attention away from the core story, it just gets lost along the way. Jennifer Fawcett does bring the story back to the plot and give it a great follow through but the detour leaves a few questions at the end.

If you love creepy abandoned mansions and mystery, this book is for you. Clara returns to her hometown to help her friend Abby. They must unravel the mysteries surrounding their childhood trauma and the mansion. I loved the alternating timelines, it really added to the story.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys an eerie creepy novel.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC.

This book gave me the creeps.

At one point I could feel my heart beating and goose bumps rising.

I need more books like this!

it started really good, page after page made me very interested in the story but then int he middle of the book it stopped being interesting, it just dragged a lot, random stories which I did not liked, plus it made my head hurt with all the random stories going back and forth I could not catch up it was a too many flash backs it felt like a was reading four to five different stories in this same book you really have to remember or else you will get lost it made my head hurt trying to remember where the story was going, I do have to say that the last part of the book was getting super good and it was very fast ending, the begging of the book was dragging and the end super fast. over all I did enjoyed the ending but this book I would not reread.

What I surprisingly enjoyed most about this book is that this is, despite the mystery and creepy elements presented in the house, a story heavy on drama and grief and discussion of suicide.
To be honest, in my opinion the most interesting chapters were the one focused on Clare's struggles, drama and traumas regarding her best friend and the house they once visited, other than the creepy vibes.
I went for this for the mystery but stayed for the drama.

"Beneath the Stairs" by Jennifer Fawcett is an enthralling and chilling debut that masterfully blends psychological and paranormal elements. The story follows Clare as she returns to her hometown to uncover the dark secrets of the haunted Octagon House after her childhood friend, Abby, attempts suicide there. The narrative's eerie atmosphere and rich history of the house kept me hooked from start to finish.

Fawcett's writing is captivating, with well-developed characters and a plot that expertly builds suspense. This book is a must-read for fans of haunted house stories and psychological thrillers. Highly recommended!

This was a scary haunted house story with some added romance. Enjoyed the multiple timelines but felt it dragged in places.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I'll start by saying I genuinely liked this book. I think Jennifer Fawcett is a talented writer, and for the most part, she kept me very engaged, very eager to pick the book back up.... that said, two things kind of bothered me: 1) I felt what finally ended up happening to the Octagon House, physically, was quite simplistic and happened quite easily. I guess I thought there would be more of an "epic showdown", of sorts. I don't believe this subtracted anything from the book, but I also just felt that i spent so many pages reading this story, how a building and the terrible things that happened there affected so many innocent loves, yet the climax part was over in less than four pages..... and 2) going back to the "many pages" previously mentioned, I found a couple scenes to be quite wordy and not really necessary in advancing the plot.
Those two (minor) complaints aside, I really enjoyed the book. It was well-written, well thought out, and had an ending that warmed my black little heart. I've recommended this book already, and upon re-reading, plan to up the ante with my recommendations. Definitely a gifted storyteller- one I will actively seek titles from in the future.

If Shirley Jackson and Stephen King gave birth to a novel the result would be “Beneath the Stairs”, a creepy haunted house tale complete with murder, attempted suicide, a dark unescapable basement, a spooky doll, and all those things that “go bump in the night” and scare the bejeezus out of us.

With a long history of events (some gruesome and others unexplained) Octagon House has affected the lives of many beginning with its builder and extending to those who visited or were brave, or foolish enough, to resided within its walls. It's all here for the reader to explore.

For those who read at bedtime - a word of caution. To quote the famous Bette Davis line "Fasten your seatbelts it's going to be a bumpy night".

Thank you NetGalley and Atria for the e-copy to read and review!

Beneath the Stairs by Jennifer Fawcett was one of the creepiest books I've read in a long time! It was atmospheric, immersive and impossible to put down. Perfect for fans of Jennifer McMahon or Simone St. James.

If you're a fan of haunted houses and spooky ghost stories you won't want to miss this one!

Any book that focuses on creepy lore surrounding a historical house, like the octagon house, is an auto read for me. I can't help myself! The book is following a friend who is seeking answers about her friend who has left without any real reason. The secrets in Octagon House's halls engage the reader and create a slow, but eery vibe throughout. The reader can almost see themselves moving cobwebs and blowing dust off furniture along with the character. The scenery is rich and the ultimate ending is one that will haunt the reader forever.

Beneath the Stairs was a good read about a haunted house. There is enough history about the house to give it an air of fright, but I would have liked a bit more of that. When old friends come together again because of the house an unfinished story from the past is finally brought to a conclusion. If ghost stories are your thing, I recommend this one.

I'd like to thank Jennifer Fawcett and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review.

"In this spine-tingling, atmospheric "nail-biter of a novel" (Shelf Awareness), a woman returns to her hometown after her childhood friend attempts suicide at an alleged haunted house - the same place where a traumatic incident shattered their lives twenty years ago. Few in sleepy Sumner's Mills have stumbled across the Octagon House hidden deep in the woods. Even fewer are brave enough to trespass. A man had killed his wife and two young daughters there, a shocking, gruesome crime that the sleepy upstate New York town tried to bury. One summer night, an emboldened fourteen-year-old Clare and her best friend, Abby, ventured into the Octagon House. Clare came out, but a piece of Abby never did. Twenty years later, Clare receives word that Abby has attempted suicide at the Octagon House and now lies in a coma. With little to lose, Clare returns to her roots to uncover the darkness responsible for ruining their lives. A "spellbinding horror story, where the terror comes not from ghosts, but from the haunted places we find within ourselves" (Elizabeth Brundage, author of The Vanishing Point), Beneath the Stairs is perfect for fans of Jennifer McMahon, Simone St. James, and Chris Bohjalian."

I mean, I get tingles up and down my spine just at the name of the house, Octagon House!

The book is skillfully divided into three timelines, introducing characters dealing with traumatic experiences. The main character returns to her hometown in the present day to confront her past and solve the mystery of the haunted octagon house. The story is well-developed, merging psychological and paranormal elements to create a thrilling experience for the reader. The ending is fair for the characters and emphasizes the emotional depth of their friendships. Overall, the book is a great read for those who enjoy psychological and paranormal thrillers.