Wooooaahhh talk about twisted. This unsettling gripping horror is perfect for thriller fans. Totally kept me on the edge of my seat.... I'm new to thriller books so this pushed me to the edge of my comfort zone, it was so well written and very compelling.

The plot moves at a snails pace the the descriptive text goes on for pages and pages. There is actually very little dialog. I have to agree with other reviewers that I'm not sure what I just read.

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan-Tor/Forge for this advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

WTF did I just read? I don't even know where to go with this review. This was one of the biggest let-downs of the year.

The beginning moved a little slowly and I struggled to get into it at first. About 15% in, it started to get really good. I mean REALLY GOOD. However, the final 25% of the book was a hot mess. I don't even know if I fully understand what was happening. "The house"? It was a weird twist that took the book right off the rails and into territory that I found almost humorous. The complete 180 that Vera underwent in the last section of the book did not fit with her character throughout. This was just a complete disappointment. The ending completely ruined the book for me and made it so I cannot recommend it. Such potential, but a flat delivery.

Two stars because I did enjoy most of it. With a different ending, it could have been a four star book.

I really wish this book was coming out in October because it's a wonderfully delicious spooky-season read.

A note : you do have go into the book willing to suspend your belief in logic, especially toward the end. Because the twist is a bit strange, but it's also beautiful in its weirdness.

We say houses have memories, but what happens when those memories are violent?..but also sometimes good? This, to me, was one of the themes of this book. How do you balance the positive memories, how do you accept those, while also acknowledging the negative ones?

I love clever writing, and what Sarah Gailey has done with "Just Like Home" is nothing short of that. There is a ton of gorgeous prose and heavy metaphors that do a brilliant job at almost manipulating how the reader feels. It creates an immersive experience which I both appreciated and enjoyed. Gailey also doesn't use a ton of dialogue throughout the book, so when it IS used, it becomes extra important. I'm not normally a person who likes a ton of narration versus little dialogue but it worked for this one. I think mainly because of how smart the author is with visual descriptions and what not.

This entire story -- the house, Vera's mother, Vera's past, the love she has for her father -- is a representation of unhealed trauma, and the complicated relationship between children and their parents. Especially if that relationship is strung together with violence and darkness.

This feels like one of those novels that mystery / thriller readers will enjoy a lot! Especially during a dark, stormy night in the fall.

Let me start off by saying I love a gothic book and I love love love horror. That's why I was so hyped to get my hands on Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey. It was creepy but it also really packed a punch. The strained family relationships I thought were particularly well done and interesting to explore. I would recommend this book to classic horror fans and people who liked The Haunting of Hill House. I would love if this became a movie too!

Vera is moving back to the house her father built . To a history that is less then pleasant, but her mother is dying and she doesn't have anything else going right now. so why not?

I enjoyed the creepy scenes of this one, they gave you that feeling of dread that I love. Theres something about this house but you don't know what it is, but with this houses history you know it can't be good. I did feel like the parts between incidents that it felt a slow. The thing in the house was a pleasant surprise, different from what I thought in the best way. The ending was great, I really liked the way it all came together it wasn't what I was expecting at all.

Thank you to Tor Books and Netgalley for my advanced review copy.

DNF at 45%. It was just too slowly paced and didn't catch my attention. I wanted more of the creepiness and less of it focused on her relationship with her family and the history of the house. It felt very repetitive at parts. I've seen reviews that the horror aspects are very subtle and symbolic, and I was just expecting more out of it.

I really enjoyed the first 3/4 of this book - couldn't wait to get back to reading it each night type of enjoyment. But the last 1/4? Completely off the rails. I literally turned to my husband and said, this book just got real weird, real quick.

The first 3/4 was great. Full of a creepiness factor, and and interesting perspective from the main character. Quite a few suspenseful moments leaving you wondering where the story really was going, and revealing more about the characters slowly.. I loved that.

I guess the ending tied everything together? But still, it was odd.

Even with the ending going the way it did, I would still recommend this book.

This title and genre is a little out of my wheelhouse. I wanted to give it a shot because I enjoyed some of Gailey's other titles. I don't think I fully grasped what has going on in the story. I struggled to understand and identify with any of the characters. I didn't particularly like or dislike them. Overall, I think my lack of experience with this genre left me in the deep dark basement calling out for help.

The writing is strong and descriptive. The genre's just not for me.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I’ve wanted to try Sarah Gailey for a while, after hearing about them on Twitter, and Just Like Home sounded really interesting. And while I didn’t entirely know what to expect, I ended up enjoying (if you can say that about a horror novel) it. It’s rather odd, and it took some time getting into the flow of things, especially some of the prose choices, but it’s odd in a good way and has a subtle eerie buildup that is ultimately satisfying.
I love how the title perfectly sets the tone for what’s to come. While “home” and “family” can be a source of comfort for many, for others who deal with dysfunctional domestic situations, it’s very much the opposite, and I love the way it’s captured here. Vera has a fraught relationship with her mother, and she’s also grappling with the parasitic presence lurking in her childhood home and notes which seem to be written by her dead father.
There’s questions around what happened in the house years ago involving her father, and the mystery of that is well-executed, with twists and turns and surprises.
This is a well-crafted Gothic horror/thriller, both atmospheric and introspective. If you’re a fan of the genre, you’ll probably enjoy this too.

I'm sorry, I'm so sorry but I couldn't finish this book. I tried for weeks but at some point, I just had to admit defeat. I found the prose repetitive and annoying. Her father built the house, she was in the house that her father built I GET IT. Perhaps that being repeated would have made sense if I made it past the 35% mark but alas.

This was a horror book and I definitely saw the beginnings of it in what I read. But it seems this book for more in the author's head than anything else.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC

This is my first Sarah Gailey book and this will not be my last!

In this we follow Vera a young woman who is tasked with going back to her childhood home and clean it up while her mother is dying. There is a layer of mystery over the home and why she hasn’t been back in around a decade.

This book was absolutely fabulous! I was hooked from the very beginning and was spooked through the last 50%.

I loved how Gailey writes the anticipation of a reveal and draws you in during moments of plot building.

I honestly at one point jumped out of my skin while reading because I heard a noise outside my home and the book had me on edge. What a wonderful scary time!

5 stars

This is my first read by author Sarah Gailey and it made for a really interesting and different read.

The blurb reads

“Come home.” Vera’s mother called and Vera obeyed. In spite of their long estrangement, in spite of the memories -- she's come back to the home of a serial killer. Back to face the love she had for her father and the bodies he buried there.

Coming home is hard enough for Vera, and to make things worse, she and her mother aren’t alone. A parasitic artist has moved into the guest house out back, and is slowly stripping Vera’s childhood for spare parts. He insists that he isn’t the one leaving notes around the house in her father’s handwriting… but who else could it possibly be?

There are secrets yet undiscovered in the foundations of the notorious Crowder House. Vera must face them, and find out for herself just how deep the rot goes."



The blurb really intrigued me and I was super excited to read this novel. Vera was a very intriguing character, not overly likeable for me personally but when you hear her back story you kind of understand why she is as flawed as she is.

This novel weaved such an intricate and scary in places story that I found myself a bit freaked out at times. The descriptions were great and Sarah Gailey really paints a picture of Vera's serial killer father.

Do not read this if you are on your own at night as it did really get under my skin. For me it was a bit comparable to the likes of Bly Manor tv show so beware.

Thanks to Netgalley, Sarah Gailey and the publishers for allowing me a copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Such an interesting, spooky book. It took me a while to get into it but ultimately I did enjoy it. There were a lot of twists that made me gasp and it really made me scared. The writing style itself wasn't one of my favorites and because of it it did dampen my enjoyment of the book, but still, I had some fun, and I'm excited to see what the author will come up with next. Definitely would recommend.

I've been sitting on this review for a little while and mulling over it. The first half of this book was a solid 4 (even 4.5) star. It was dark, disturbing, made me feel uncomfortable (like a good horror is supposed to do). But THAT ENDING! WTF?!? I still feel a little sore about it.

Vera comes back to the house her father built to take care of her dying mother. The house holds complicated feelings for her as it was a place of great joy, but also great, disturbing pain. But something in the house will not leave Vera undisturbed - could it be the slightly creepy lodger living in the shed? A dark, unnatural evil under her bed? Or all the bodies buried in the basement?

Love the cover! Love the premise! Love the writing! Not happy with the end reveal. Would love to know your thoughts on it.

Looking for a book that will make your skin feel as though it's crawling with spiders? One that will make you want to check under your bed before you lay your head down to sleep? One that will keep you guessing, page after page? That's how Just Like Home was, for me!

3.5/5 stars (rounded up to 4)

Sarah Gailey's writing is descriptive and the vividness of this book was the biggest thing that kept me hooked. It's icky, and I mean that in a good way. Each scene is dark and expressive, told for a reason. I enjoyed the unraveling of Vera's past and her fears as she goes through her childhood home. The overall themes of growing up, death, family relationships and dysfunction, murder, and serial killers... They're woven together to form an interesting, unique story of a woman, her parents, their home, and the dark secrets kept by all. Including the house itself.

I did have a little trouble keeping up at times, specifically during scenes where I couldn't decipher if something was actually, physically happening, or if it was going on inside of someone's head. I also wanted a bit more about James' character, his art, and his own darkness, as well.

Overall, I think Just Like Home is an enjoyable thriller/horror that will leave you a little *uncomfy*.

Read if you like: The Haunting of Hill House, small towns, Bates Motel, secrets, and sleeping with your feet safely tucked under the covers.

Thank you NetGalley, Tor, and Sarah Gailey for an ARC of Just Like Home in exchange for my honest review!

The concept of this book was promising, and the initial intrigue worked well, but as the book continued it fell apart for me.

I found the characters to be lacking. The mysterious air around Vera's past was underwhelming, and the ending felt rushed and vastly unnecessary. Vera as a character had a complete 180 moment in the last few chapters, which came out of nowhere and wasn't very fitting with the character we'd grown to know throughout the book.

Overall I was very disappointed and I would not highly recommend this book.

Gailey’s latest novel goes into the horror genre. Vera has been called back home by her dying mother, but her home is a fraught place, full of dark memories. This novel didn’t quite work for me—the characters seemed underdeveloped and the horror parts of the novel weren’t scary. The parts that were supposed to be realistic didn’t ring true, and the whole thing felt rather drawn out.

The author knows how to draw a reader in and each emotion is so well and in detailed defined that not everyone can do that. But unfortunately I am more into reality rather than science fiction and I wish more development and understanding of the father, the mother and the heroine. You would think that the mother also ended up in jail as she knew about the crimes. You would think that more explanation was given about the heroine. Were they all psychopaths?

The ending was not satisfying to me as it hasn’t explained the heroine at all and the aim of the ending remained unclear, but it still remains an interesting read if one wants a change. Only no expectations should be about the book based on reality.

“It’s a well-built house they live in. It absorbs noise, hides light, keeps secrets. It wouldn’t betray her. Not ever.”

What if the monsters under your bed that you worried about as a child turned out to be real? JUST LIKE HOME is an intensely creepy horror novel that brings that question to life in all its fleshy, terrifying glory. After over a decade away, Vera is called home by her dying mother to help her prepare their family house for sale after her death. As she sorts through old belongings, she’s visited by memories of her father, a serial killer who died in prison, and haunted by the nightmares that plagued her childhood. The people of the small town she was raised in continue to abhor her and an artist with something foul lurking beneath his charismatic surface now occupies the shed out back. But soon her mother will be dead, and she can finally escape the bloody legacy that has chased her for years - or can she?

I’m a huge Sarah Gailey fan, and I love how each book of theirs does something different but in an equally masterful way. This book is utterly chilling from page one, the kind of story that you absolutely do not want to read in bed with the lights out. The writing is terrifyingly evocative, revolting and engrossing all at once. I was gripped by the plot throughout, unable to turn away as the mysteries unraveled and the horror escalated. I also found it to be a deeply insightful book. It’s about the inherent vulnerability and isolation of childhood, how that can be twisted into something terrible; it’s about the early messages we receive about sexuality and gender, how those continue to shape us as adults; it’s about parents, how they inevitably fail us intentionally or by accident; and it’s about our childhood homes, how their shelter and safety become something more. There’s so many blurred lines in this story, between love and hate, safety and danger, fear and hunger. A dark, claustrophobic, and completely riveting book. Thanks to Tor Books and Macmillan Audio for the review copies! Highly recommend the audiobook, narrated by Xe Sands. This novel is out 7/19.

Content warnings: kidnapping, torture, murder, illness, child abuse (physical and emotional), gore/body horror