Different than what I was expecting. Slow burn from the beginning with the flashbacks to her childhood. Once it got into what her father was doing it was obvious of what would happen with Vera. Ending was different and darker than I thought

I am not sure that I have ever read three such entirely different books by the same author. Sarah Gailey has written Upright Women Wanted, The Echo Wife, and Just Like Home that I have read. Then there's the alternate history series about hippos. This writer is...eclectic. And a damn good writer.

I don't need to repeat what others andvthe blurb tell you. Dark. Gothic. Thriller. Vera isn't very likeable. Neither are the handful of other characters. Honestly the only likeable thing in the whole book is the house. The smells and feelings were palpable.

A tiny continuity issue at the end and a bit too abrupt of an ending, but still a very good novel. I feel like there were some plot details that weren't resolved enough, hope that this could mean a sequel.

"The house swallowed the sound immediately, because it was a house that knew how to stay quiet."
"...tired the way a person gets after they’ve lived too many lives."
"That room had the same gutted feeling as his side of the bedroom, the feeling of a half-rotted baby blanket by the side of the highway. It was something worse than abandoned."
"...tried to find things to look at that didn’t make her feel like a single yawning urge."
"One hard thing at a time. She’d done a packet once, on balancing a difficult workload, and that’s what it advised. She’d given herself a C-minus on that one. One hard thing at a time."
"...I watched you eat up his love like a crab eating a seafloor corpse, one pinch at a time.”

Delightfully creepy. I went into this pretty much knowing nothing, so I'm not sure what even to say about this without spoilers.

The story grows from weird to weirder to truly bizarre as the story progresses. But it was perfectly paced, with so many odd twists and turns, and I found it hard to put down.

Recommended if you like creepy thrillers.

What an interesting story. I will definitely say this took some time to get into but finally when I got about 20% in I started to get very intrigued and was sucked in. This is not my typical genre that I read so it was different for my taste. At some parts of this book I was very confused and I was disturbed and I was very creeped out, so I guess it did its job. Overall I would give this a three star because at times it was a little bit drawn out and confusing. The story is told in two different timelines and I believe that I enjoyed the story of young Vera more than the present story of what was actually happening. Without giving anything away I enjoyed how her story really played out and the when present story finally came together, I was a bit underwhelmed. Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this!

Vera Crowder is returning home after being away for years. Her mom is dying and she needs Vera to deal with the house. Complicating matters is that Vera's father was a notorious serial killer and the son of the author who wrote about him is staying on their property.

I wish this one had either fully committed to the supernatural or fully turned away from it. It couldn't seem to make up its mind until the end, which hurt the overall plot I think. I also was missing the suspense. It was more dealing with family trauma than a thriller for me.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Vera’s dad was a serial killer. She hasn’t been home in years, but when her dying mom calls her back, she returns to the Crowder House to deal with the things that haunt her.

The premise was great, but I did not enjoy this book. It’s hard to explain why it wasn’t what I expected without spoilers, but I didn’t think it was creepy or very suspenseful and ended up skimming through a lot of it. This would be a better fit for readers who like a slow (really slow) burn leading to a bizarre ending.

This wasn't my first book by author, Sarah Gailey, as I read and reviewed "The Echo Wife" in January of last year. It was a genre bending book that I enjoyed so I was excited to read her latest. The premise sounded right up my ally- a gothic thriller is what it was marketed as and I was excited when I was approved via Netgalley.

This will be a short and sweet review because saying too much will give everything away. This story is told in two timelines, past and present. Vera returns home to her dying mother and to the house that her father built- The Crowder House. Her father was a serial killer. Bad things happened in her basement, just below her bedroom.

We learn that Vera had a closeness with her father and that her mother, Daphne, resented from her birth. Daphne never really liked her daughter and the two had an estranged relationship even during Vera's childhood. Now that Daphne is dying Vera is going though the contents of the house and the house is revealing secrets. Secrets even to Vera...

I was so intrigued with the serial killer past timeline. The story flowed easily and I felt the switches back and forth between past and present felt natural. Each timeline gave a glimpse into Vera's weird, messed up life. It was interesting seeing the relationship between Vera and her father knowing he would one day be arrested for serial murders.

Then the horror aspect comes in. Well, it was always there, but it wasn't a definite. At least not to me. At first I thought it was perhaps just a mindfu$k of Vera's memories. A way she coped with her horrific childhood. I was wrong. There was true horror that happened between the walls of The Crowder House. The horror sunk deep down into the cracks and filled every crevice...

I am not sure I liked the horror aspect. I think I would have like it more had that part just been left out completely. The ending was a surprise but it felt unfinished and unsatisfying.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for allowing me an advanced digital copy to read and give my honest review. It was a 3 star read for me.

"Just Like Home" is set to be released July 19, 2022 here in the U.S. so pre-order now!

Happy Reading!

Just Like Home is a delightfully weird horror novel that I adored. I love that I knew so little about this one going in -- I thought it was going to be a Southern Gothic haunted house story, or serial killer novel, or something in between. It was both, and also a lot more.

Vera's mother calls her and tells her that she's dying. Vera must return to her family home, a home built by her serial killer father, to pack up her childhood and tend to her mother, a woman who hates her. At night in her childhood bedroom, Vera hears sounds that make her think she's not alone.

I loved Gailey's writing in this book. It's quiet but immersive. At first, the hard look at mortality in the form of Vera's mother almost turned me off the book, but the dual timeline showing Vera's childhood completely hooked me. Vera's a fascinating character and as we learn more about her, the book keeps getting better.

Horror readers who love atmosphere and quiet dread but also enjoy a bit of body horror and a lot of weirdness will love Just Like Home. Moments made me think of works by T. Kingfisher, Kristi Demeester, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia, but nothing about this book is derivative.

This was my first Sarah Gailey novel and I'm looking forward to picking up more of her work.

Thank you to Tor Books and Netgalley for my review copy of this book.

I read in bed under the covers with my Kindle every night. It's my favorite part of the day when everything is quiet, the rest of the house is sleeping, and I can relax and read. Sarah Gailey's book Just Like Home is not a relaxing read under the covers. I'm not easily frightened by a book, but this haunted house story really got to me. The heroine feels really unreliable. Her sleeplessness, and the horrible family and home she has returned to as her mother is dying, dial up the atmosphere and scariness bit by bit. The addition of a super strange visitor, connected to her story as a voyeur-artist, and her former best friend and neighbor take the sense of strangeness even higher. The first night I was reading it I had to put it down because I was too scared to keep going! The second night I was so engrossed I stayed up well past bedtime because I had to know what was really going on- and the main plot twist took me completely by surprise. How could it not?

Four and half SUPER spooky stars. If you have nerves of steel this won't phase you, but the writing will draw you in anyways. Hurrah for Gailey, I'll keep reading everything they write! Only next time, maybe with the lights on in my bedroom.

This thriller was twisted and creepy and had me on the edge of my seat. What starts out as a slow burn story all at once catapults you into the mystery of the Crowder House. Told in alternating chapters from the past and the present, Vera’s story is incredibly weird and haunting.

4.5 stars

Sarah Gailey has quickly become one of my favorite authors. I will literally read anything they write, and I love that each time Sarah releases a book it's something new and exciting so you don't quite know what to expect.

In Just Like Home, Vera returns to her childhood home after her mother, Daphne, calls to tell her that she is dying. Reluctantly, Vera stays in her childhood bedroom, forced to confront her estranged relationship with Daphne and the ghosts (both literally and figuratively) of her past. Daphne isn't the only other person in residence - an artist has taken up shop in the cottage out back hoping to find "inspiration" from the mysterious Crowder House, and the murders that took place there.

Part haunted house story, part serial killer, true crime-esque novel, Just Like Home easily kept me engaged and disturbed throughout the entire book. I love how you learn a little bit more about Vera's childhood as the story swaps between the present day and the past, allowing you as the reader to piece together what could potentially be going bump in the night. If you want goosebumps and honestly some truly horrifying descriptions, this horror book is for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Vera is going home to take care of her estranged mother while she dies. Home to the house her father built. To the place where he committed his Infamous serial killings. Everything is just like she remembers it. When she starts getting messages from her father and hearing and feeling things that aren't there, everything's a nightmare. What or who is making this happen?
This book seriously freaked me out! It was an anxiety filled, heart pounding attack on the senses that I couldn't get enough of. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment. The only slight problem I had was reading some of the graphic violence in it. This is completely a me problem that I'm trying to deal with, but sometimes when I read scenes like that I feel physically ill. Thankfully there weren't too many of them.

Thank you, Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

This book really hits all the marks for a horror novel. Dark, creepy, a bit twisted! I really enjoyed it. I would’ve given 4 stars but it was a bit slow.

This is one of those books that I loved but struggle to explain what it’s about. It was creepy and bizarre, in the best way. The pace was a bit slow, but that worked for this book. The characters were definitely flawed and unlikeable, but still intriguing. So if you are looking for a horror that is not too creepy and gory, but a step up from someone that is just starting to read horror, I would recommend this book.

Okay...but...huh? I'm a tad confused. This book is unsettling (get it? Houses settle) and really disturbing for two reasons. One--Francis Crowder is a sick fuck. Two--Is it the house? This is kind of a haunted house book and kind of a serial killer book but also an unknown entity book. Lots of options. I'll never drink lemonade again.

Wow, what a messed up book! This was the perfect blend of a thriller and horror for me. It’s pretty dark but not really gory or violent. There are two timelines from Vera’s perspective and I enjoyed the past storyline much more. This left me questioning the cause of her father’s crimes but I don’t want to say too much more or it will be too spoilery. This is a unique, gothic story that both thriller and horror fans will enjoy.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

I was excited to get this as an ARC because I'm always looking for good thriller. The book was slow in the beginning,, and tedious at times. But wow! What a great eerie and disturbing read.

The creep factor is high with this book. No way would I ever return to a house where dead bodies were buried.
Vera’s relationship with her mother is very estranged.
It was toward the end of the book that things got really weird. I couldn’t really make sense of the turn of the narrative and it was unbelievable.
I thought it rather ruined the book, at least for me.

- Sarah Gailey takes on the gothic thriller and adds a supernatural twist in JUST LIKE HOME, and I could not put it down.
- Gailey excels at writing unlikable, difficult women, and Vera is no exception. You'll still find yourself on her side even as the story takes darker and darker turns.
- I also loved the commentary on our society's simultaneous disgust and fascination with serial killers.