Just the right amount of creepy - this title kept me up turning pages past my bedtime, but didn't give me nightmares. As usual, Gailey absolutely nails the everyday horror of existing in this world as a woman, and then turns it a little bit sideways.

Vera has gone back to her childhood home to take care of her dying mother, who has summoned her back to the very place she kicked her out of. And this is no normal home-this is the home a serial killer built with their bare hands. There are forces at play Vera is just beginning to understand, including an artist who insists he is using the energy of the home as his muse.

This is not a book for the faint of heart. I actually struggled making my way through it because of some of the gruesomeness, but found it compelling enough to keep going. There were some really shocking moments I never saw coming. However, the ending really let me down. This is a personal reaction, and I cannot speak for others, but the ending just plain did not work for me. I wanted something more, something different, after all the build up.

Just Like Home is a creepy, claustrophobic horror novel about coming home at the insistence of your mother and dealing with the horror and trauma of your father. It’s weird and twisted and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it. But the writing is terrific and draws you in from the first page.

This one is out now but I bet it’s a perfect read for the fall/ Halloween time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for this eARC.

JUST LIKE HOME is the chilling, twisty, eyebrow-raising horror/mystery novel I've been looking for. Gailey intricately weaves multiple of the main characters' relationships throughout a disturbing tale of murder and gore. The final twist is as shocking as it is satisfying. Simply put, Amy Dunne would've loved this novel.

The atmosphere created in this book is incredible. The ride that this book took me on was wild, and once the reveal happened at the end, I couldn't stop replaying things that happened earlier in the book and how all of the pieces fit together. What a time.

This book may be even better than "The Echo Wife" and I'm all for it!!! Sara Gailey has yet to disappoint me.

This one is a wild ride! So many moments I was like “what the actual fuck is going on??” So creepy. Such an eery atmosphere throughout. There are moments that feel really dark and feel like they’re on the edge moving towards extreme horror, but it pulls back enough that it remains only creepy and not horrific.

If you like haunted houses and books that mix this sort of horror/fantasy vibe, this one’s for you!

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The cover drew me into Just Like Home at first. This was such a quick read, I couldn't put it down. I went into it not knowing much about it at al which I think is the perfect way to ready this YA book! I am looking forward to reading more books by Sarah Gailey.

Slooooooooow to get moving. More family drama than horror for more than half the book. Then it becomes a whole lot of HUH? mixed with creepy goodness, but then more HUH?! that ultimately left me wondering why I stuck it out.

Horror fans will find the content rather mild, but those who don't read the genre might find some of the content quite shocking. Ultimately more creepy than scary.

Gailey does a fantastic job of creating a gothic atmosphere, and the writing in the opening chapters, establishing mood and scene are STUNNING! I will admit that Gailey's writing, alone, kept me reading -- both out of admiration of craft and because I'm a curious little cat.

I know many readers who really loved this title, but it just left me scratching my head and wishing Gailey had done more with this story and the creepy atmospheric foundation they created. SO much potential. Sadly, the final execution (pun definitely intended) just felt rushed and unsatisfying for this reader.

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing me the opportunity to read an ARC of Just Like Home via Netgalley in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Just Like Home follows Vera as she returns to her childhood home to take care of final business before her mother dies. Vera hasn't been home in over 12 years and she is estranged from her mother, but filial duty has her returning home on her mother's request. When Vera returns home some things haven't changed at all, in fact they're preserved under plexiglass sheeting, but some things have changed too much and there is something sinister lurking in every dark corner.

This is a book full of tension, with an unreliable narrator whose POV skips back and forth between the past and present, slowly painting a darker and darker picture as the story unfolds.

I really really enjoyed this one. It's got classic gothic horror pacing with slowly growing tension that ramps up as things take a turn from the scary, but mundane, to the unexplainable. I liked Vera, who starts off like a bit of a blank canvas, but each new piece of information about her past sets the tone for what's to come. It was a quick read, but it's not a fast-paced book...by any means. It's slow and winding, but that's what made it so good. The vibes are *chef's kiss*

It made me move straight onto The Echo Wife as soon as I was finished because I immediately needed more of Sarah Gailey's writing...so I feel like that's a good indication of how much I enjoyed it.

Definitely recommend checking this one out, especially if you like the slower pace, but high tension of gothic horror!

An incredible tale of realization. This felt fresh, yet comforting like a childhood sweater. I was blown away from the slow burn this novel provided. I would be interested in reading it again to see what new information I would be able to see now that I have read it in it’s entirety. It’s coming from inside the house!

Vera is the grown daughter of a serial killer who is quite estranged from her mother. Going home to help her mother as her mother is dying is a huge thing for her to do, and we clearly see she did not have a very good relationship with her.

She starts hearing voices calling her name and finds notes she believes are from her father, but can't be sure (there is a house guest who is a spiritual medium?), and wonders if her father's ghost is trying to contact her. This is a little different--might appeal to fans of Riley Sager's latest. I struggled with it a bit to be honest. I loved her last book, and this one felt so different from that. Still a solid read.

Just Like Home is a slow-burning psychological thriller about a haunted house that is sure to keep readers guessing. When Vera returns to her childhood home to take care of her estranged mother, it's hard to be back where her father buried the bodies of his victims. To make matters worse, an artist has moved into the guest house and is stripping Vera's childhood for "art." Someone is leaving notes in her father's handwriting around the house. The story has a dual-timeline. Highly recommended!

Just Like Home is an eerie slow burn that descends into horror. While it took me a bit to be drawn into the story, by the end I was absolutely enraptured. Vera is a fascinating character with a dark past, and her return to a house where unspeakable horrors occurred is a visceral one for the reader. I found the ending to be absolutely perfect. This book is made for someone like me, who sees a house as a body and the life within it as a force that animates it. Obsessed!

“She was a Crowded. She’s finally gotten a taste of the thing that lived under the bed, and she wouldn’t rest until she’d gotten her fill.”

I really wasn’t sure where this book was going in the beginning, in the middle I thought I had things figured out but everything took a turn and almost all that I knew went out the window. This house belongs to the Crowders, it was built by Vera’s father. But Vera wants to get rid of it once here mother dies, will the house allow it though?

Just Like Home is a book that keeps you guessing. The entire time I was asking questions and guessing what was going to happen, for better and for worse. After finishing this book I didn’t fall head over heels in love with it but I didn’t hate it either.

The story by Sarah Gailey is well crafted but the biggest issue I have is our main character Vera. Unlike the characters in something like Hill House, Vera seems like a blank slate with very little emotion and I never connected with her. I feel that the strongest part of her character was the flashbacks to her experience with her father and the present storyline list the charm that the past scenes had.

The reaction to the book hinges on the twist and I didn’t connect with it because it honestly changes the genre and ruined the story for me because of the sudden gear shift.

Overall Just Like Home is a solid 3/5 story that won’t haunt your dreams long after you finish it.

What to say about Sarah Gailey’s work….what to say, indeed. They’re a master of mystery and absolutely foul, and I’m completely, totally, head-over-heels OBSESSED. I anticipated a demented little ghost story about a murder house, possibly bloody and ooky given the dripping graphics on the cover, but honestly? It’s so much more than words can really describe, and I’m at a loss to find a way to enthuse about it that won’t peel away the many layers of its story like the peeling wallpaper and crumbling plaster. It’s something to be savored, but you will find it to irresistible to do so. I love the descriptions, oozing out of the page and creating a heavy, dense atmosphere of sadness and dread. I love how they’ve mastered the art of crafting characters with such empathetic and nuanced flaws; you can’t hate Gailey’s MCs even if you try, even if they’re showing you a million selfish reasons why. It’s just…hypnotic. I got so engrossed in this book i read it in mere hours. Usually I like to savor my books, but this one I read in every spare moment I could muster, for as long as I could. I could put down my tablet and still be thinking of it, much like our Vera, I couldn’t escape Crowder House. It was inside me, within my soul, under my skin… And I don’t think it’ll ever leave. It’s a wondrous thing, this book; it’s despicable and gruesome and depressing, but it’s oddly comforting, leans on your empathy drive, seeps into your heart, and you just cozy on up. Weird to say, but reading it feels Just Like Home.

First off, I love Sarah Gailey and most recently read her American Hippo novellas so I went into this new novel with interesting expectations....however, I did not expect the weird moments of body horror within this book. Quite frankly it made me really uncomfortable which is likely a great sign of a well written horror book. Yet still slightly awful for me when it comes to a book/audiobook. I really struggled to decide on a rating...I loved the premise and got most established within the dual timelines as the book went on but it is hard to find the main character likeable when she never admonishes the actions of her (serial killer) father and does not take full responsibility for her own actions against the people she cared about. Don't get me wrong, I do love an unlikeable/unreliable narrator who is morally grey buuuuut this REALLY toed the line for me. At the end of the day it is definitely a four star read and I continue to love Gailey's writing style but I when I think about this book I cannot get over how uncomfortable and creepy this was. If that is your jam then you may truly enjoy this book!!

Thank you NetGalley, Tor Books, and Sarah Gailey for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I can definitely feel the “Haunting of Hill House” vibes with this one and I loved the beginning of it. It was dark, atmospheric, and left enough mystery for me to be interested in it. However, as it went on, I became more disconnected from the story and by the end it really wasn’t my thing. I wasn’t a fan of the ending, but I know a lot of people are, so it could just be my preference! I think this is one of those that people should try out just to see if they like it.

Vera is the grown-up daughter of a serial killer, but when she returns home to help her dying mother clean up her childhood home, old memories resurface. She begins to hear a voice calling her name and starts finding notes in her father’s handwriting. She can't tell if these messages are from her mother’s other house guest (who is a spiritual medium artist) or if her father's ghost is truly trying to communicate with her.

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey is a psychological thriller meets non-conventional haunted house story that wonderfully captures our complicated relationship with family.

Ironically, it was Vera’s serial killer father who was kinder closer to her while her mother was jealous of the bond they had. Their relationship becomes even more strained when they’re stuck living together again with years of pent of resentment between the two of them.

However, it was the artist character that detracted from the story for me. I almost wish he had been removed entirely or given a less prominent role so the story could focus more on Vera reliving and confronting her past because that’s where the story shined most for me.