Very fast-paced book for those that loved R.L. Stine's Fear Street series as a kid. Suburban Hell is a total throwback, but written for adult women, specifically stay at home and working moms stuck in the suburbs. There's lots of wine, catty women, total BFFs - and curses, demons, and hauntings! I thought this was a really clever book and I enjoyed the hell out of it!

Suburban Hell
Maureen Kilmer

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you @net and @penguinputnam for my advanced copy of Subruan Hell. This one releases August 30th and you’re going to want to grab it!
Think Desperate Housewives but if Bree (Liz seems like a Bree to me) got possessed by a demon.
This was a light hearted, horror comedy with the right amount of spooky to keep you drawn in, and I loved every second of it!
Being a mom it was easy to relate to the talkings of schedules and making sure everything runs smoothly.. and avoiding the PTA 🤣
I love how far this group of women will go to save one of their friends, everybody needs friends like these women!
The only draw back like my friend @morbid said was that I feel like we were lacking some of Liz’s story since she is the one who becomes possessed. Overall though it was a great book and I definitely recommend it!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam publishing for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book in return for my honest review.

I originally chose this book to read just based from the cover, but Surburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer was a great read! The book is about four women, Amy, Liz, Jess and Melissa, living in a suburban neighborhood in Chicago who are wives and mothers. They enjoy getting together to drink wine and visit with each other but wanted a place of their own to gather so they thought about building a she shed. While digging the ground for the she shed, they release a funky smell. Soon afterwards the ladies start noticing changes in their friend Liz. The story follows the main character Amy's life and her friendships with Melissa and Jess while they try to help their friend Liz.
Surburban Hell is a campy horror type book that's a mix of Sweet Magnolias, Desperate Housewives and My Best Friend's Exorcism. It touches on some serious topics such as addiction, depression and animal death as well as the need for sincere friendship. It has some moments in the book that could be considered scary but not gorey.
Overall I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to future books by Maureen Kilmer. I would recommend this book to be added to your to be read list!
**This book is due to be released in Fall of 2022**

Suburban moms wearing Jimmy Buffet shirts team up to save the world (or at least the neighborhood) in Maureen Kilmer’s Suburban Hell.

After the christening of Amy, Melissa, Jess, and Liz’s She Shed goes horribly wrong, Amy sets out to figure out just what in the hell is going on with Liz. She looks different, acts funny, and GOD her house smells.

However, suburban mom duties call so between exorcism research and haunted vacuum battles, Amy and Co must also organize a neighborhood event so as not to let the children down.

This book started out strong for me with a fair amount of wit combined with instant horror! The characterizations are great and the dialogue is obviously humorous without being too cheesy. It’s a fun book!

However, I do feel that it could’ve been a biiiit shorter as it dragged on for me in the second half and the big confrontation was fairly anticlimactic. After all the hell they went through, I feel like the ending scenes could’ve given us more!

Still, I think the author did a great job with the writing and creating a horror comedy that many will enjoy! The laughs did make up a bit for the anticlimactic end.

Overall, while I did enjoy this book I just don’t think it delivered all that it could! My official rating is 3.5, rounded up to a 4 for NetGalley purposes.

This was fun! Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. It was a perfect blend of humor and scares, which would make this a great scary movie in my opinion. I loved the scene with the Roomba and it seriously made me side eye mine the next morning. I’m always worried with these suburban-Mom stories that I won’t connect with the characters, but each person in the friend group was relatable and original. I did rate it lower as the pacing was a little slow and I found the exorcism to be anti-climactic.

3.75⭐ I had high expectations for this book when I saw the description read "Bad Moms meets My Best Friend’s Exorcism", but it ultimately just left me wanting more. More hijinks, more intensity, more demonic possession.

It's a good read and definitely gave me Grady Hendrix vibes, but the pacing felt weird and like something was missing overall. There isn't a whole lot I feel like I can say without spoilers!

Ultimately, I did enjoy this book and would recommend!

Ok, can we please just talk about this cover for a minute?!! I originally requested Suburban Hell for the cover alone, and after reading the description, I knew this book would be right up my alley! The story was SO fun yet terrifying at the same time - the perfect mix of horror and humor.

Suburban Hell is described as Bad Moms meets My Best Friend’s Exorcism, and I also think there’s a bit of Desperate Housewives mixed in. Also, if you’re a fan of the Finlay Donovan books, you might also like this one, especially for the strong female protagonists/besties vibe.

Pub date for Suburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer is August 30, so I already know this will be a HUGE hit for spooky season! I can already see it all over the bookish world!

Moms and best friends, Liz, Amy, Jess, and Melissa all live in the typical Chicago suburb. Raising their kids, dodging snooty and intense PTA moms, and declaring themselves the “Mom Mafia”. During one of their monthly “movie” (aka wine) nights, the women christen the new She Shed being built in Liz’s yard. As soon as their beverages hit the soil a few of them notice an odd breeze and a shift in the general feeling around. Now there’s a nasty smell radiating from Liz’s backyard, and Liz herself appears to be acting strange. Discovering that their dear friend Liz has been possessed by a demonic force the women go on a crazy, and hilarious journey to right what is wrong!

—---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is such a fun book, it was a perfect switch up from my normal romance or fantasy romance books I seem to cycle through.. I had a good feeling about this one, the premise and the cover just told me I had to read it, and I’m so glad I got the opportunity to.. Debut “horror” author Maureen Kilmer writes an amusing story that has witty dialogue, an original premise, fun yet relatable characters, and a whole lotta heart!

I loved Amy and her friends, in a way they gave me Desperate Housewives and Bad Moms vibes, with a dash of demon based horror and humor on the side, so I guess a great title for these friends would be Demonic Housewives.. Their friendships were vital to this story, and what kept them held together during the chaos. Even when they all had things that drove them crazy about each other, which is natural in friendships, they still fought to keep each other together. Amy’s backstory was also vital to getting the friends through the whole ordeal, and it was great to get depth on one of the women driving the story.

I enjoy when there are supernatural elements in my reading from time to time,but as a whole I’ve usually left that to the movies since the visual element has always been needed for me to comprehend what is happening with the possession. Kilmer did an excellent job at creating a visual with her words that I almost forgot that I normally don’t read demonic possession in my horror reads because of the inability to get the full concept.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected to be released on: 9/27/22.

Suburban Hell was fresh and entertaining! Not too often moms are featured saving the world (even though they do it every.damn.day.). Imagine Buffy the Vampire Slayer all grown up (without the fight scenes) in a cul-de-sac. I enjoyed the authors wit and cultural references. The vivid writing painted a picture - I could totally see this as a movie or TV series. Would love to see more of Amy, Liz, Jess & Melissa kicking some demon ass.

A really fast little beach read! Amy and her three friends live normie mom lives in a suburb of Chicago until construction for a She Shed lands one of them possessed by a ghost (?)/demon.

I really liked how the horror aspects were interspersed with normal mom stuff - planning a school carnival, job interviews, and so on. It's like, yeah, one of your friends is possessed, but shit still has to get done.

With thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! My opinions are my own.

Interesting but not really my cup of tea. Well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

There is nothing quite like a thrilling tale of friendship, motherhood, and demonic possession. This was a book of contrasts and balance; A lighthearted caricature of life as a suburban mom (hangovers from cheap boxed wine, a Roomba named Darlene, the friend who never stops talking about Crossfit) provides a humorous backdrop to a terrifying look at what happens when something truly dark has taken over your life.

The constant switch between laughing and being terrified reminded me of Grady Hendrix. Because of the pop culture references, I think older millennials will appreciate the wit the most (especially women), but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to anyone. It is a great introductory horror book - nothing is gratuitous or extreme.

I do think the ending felt a bit rushed, but everything was wrapped up neatly so it wasn't wholly unsatisfying. Also, this book suffers from the common problem of stupid-husband-syndrome. All of the husbands were content to be uninvolved in their wives' lives, ranging from ignorant to dismissive. (This trope should have died with the old yogurt commercials where the husband thought his wife was really eating key lime pie, but it was yogurt).

Overall, I absolutely loved this story. The writing was engaging, the main characters were realistic and likeable, and I could have happily read another 300 pages.

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons and Netgally for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Amy is your average mom in the suburbs trying to avoid the PTA moms, the stop&chats in her local Target, and just trying to get through her busy weeks of tending to her kids and husband to make it to her coveted ladies nights with her besties Liz, Melissa, and Jess. All is well in their nosybody close knit community until Liz decides to create a “she shed” on her property for them to escape to (so like a man cave). The girls are all psyched to have some space to themselves until the night the hole in the ground is there ready for their she shed to be built, and they christen it with their drinks. From that moment forward their lives were never the same because poor Liz gets possessed by a demon! How will Amy prove to everyone that Liz isn’t just having a mid-life crisis and there’s an actual demon from hell inside of their best friend? How will they save her? 😱

Read this if you like:
💀spooky season;
💀creepy dolls/objects that come to life and attack;
💀sinister neighborhood histories;
💀ouija boards;
💀creepy drawings; and
💀eery demonic moments.

This book was described as “Bad Moms meets my Best Friend’s Exorcism” and it did not disappoint. It was funny, full of mom drama, and was super relatable even with such a seemingly bizarre premise. In this book it’s up to the moms to save the day and I loved the girl power/female relationships in this book.

Nothing felt gimmicky or overly done, and the speed at which everything happened was mostly at a good pace. It wasn’t a page turner for me but I very much enjoyed every moment of this book. There was a nice blend of seriousness and demonic moments/silliness. My only dislike was that the moms took too long to act, and I’m not sure how they could possibly sleep at night knowing there’s a crazy demon chick next door that wants them and their families dead?! 😳

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Maureen Leurck/Kilmer for this arc that was provided to me in exchange for my honest review.

First, the good news. The action and horror really ramp up as the reader gets closer to the end. As they say, the end of the book sells the next book and Suburban Hell is set up to have a sequel.

The book is kind of funny, but not Ha! Ha! funny. More like ironic funny. For instance, does the fact that the four main characters who think they're not average suburban moms still dress like all the other suburban moms make for irony? What do I make of Amy wearing a red, white, and blue tank top to an exorcism? Is she appealing to the demon's patriotism or was it the only clean thing she had? The color of every tank top is described. Is this because it's necessary to know or is this a comment on how blah suburbia is when there is no demon around to shake things up?

Actually, I like the characters because when push came to shove, they shove back. They consume so much alcohol that I don't know how they stood up much less fought back, but maybe liquid courage helps when fighting a thing that crawled out of hell. I'm needing a drink just thinking about it.

There was enough smirking and eyeball rolling to scare any demons off. If the characters just came after the spirit while smirking and rolling their eyeballs, it would have scared it off and saved a lot of pain and scar tissue, not to mention the price of a book on exorcisms. My smirk-o-meter and eyeball-roll-o-meters were shaking so hard I thought they were possessed. I hope Amy, and Jess, and Liz, and Melissa and the other characters get the smirking and eye rolling out of their systems before the sequel.

It's a fun and breezy book about evil stuff creeping out of the ground. It's time to move to an apartment building, maybe The Bramford.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an eARC of Suburban Hell.

...𝒂 𝒔𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒃𝒐𝒙 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒔𝒌𝒚𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑼-𝑯𝒂𝒖𝒍. 𝑰 𝒇𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅𝒔, 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒇 𝒃𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔. 𝑨𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒃𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒏, 𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝑰 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒕 𝒚𝒆𝒕.

If the movie The Craft and every comedic episode of Supernatural had a baby, SUBURBAN HELL would be its spawn. Despite her misgivings, Amy Foster acclimates quickly to suburbia. She finds a close group of friends and enjoys monthly wine nights. One night her friend Liz announces her grand plan for a She Shed that will be completely off-limits to kids and spouses. Soon after the ladies raise their glasses in a toast, things start to feel off, primarily with Liz. Being possessed by a demon is surely against the PTA by-laws.

This book has humorous moments that entail both a possessed Roomba and a piece of lawn equipment; there is also a rather disturbing event concerning a Barbie doll. And if little kids weren't already inherently creepy enough, Amy's daughter definitely senses something isn't right with her mom's friend...because "the lady" told her.

While this book had plenty of laugh out loud moments, there were also some sobering ones as well about the power of connection and friendship. When Amy finds out who is behind the possession, instead of fearing her, she feels compassion for her: 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦...𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵, 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥...𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘢, 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘰𝘥𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳.

I would love for this book to become a series, but if not, whatever this author comes up with next, I'm in! Publishes August 30, 2022, from Putnam.

Have you ever thought about building a She Shed for those Girls Nights? This book will have you second guessing that decision! Suburban moms meet My Best Friend’s Exorcism! This book flew by! I wish there was more! There were so many tense and creepy moments where I couldn’t wait to find out what happens next! This was very well-written and a page turner.

I did feel like the ending was almost handled too quickly but in the end I really enjoyed this read!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

“None of this would have happened if it weren’t for the She Shed…It was the She Shed that started it all, a blissfully ignorant idea that transformed our cheery suburban enclave into something demonic. The suburbs were hell…literally.”

The Basics: A group of neighborhood friends—who get together to blow off the stream from jobs, husbands, and kids—decide they need a She Shed. After christening the dirt of the chosen spot with a little booze, something awakens. A demon? Hell yeah! Soon, one of the ladies begins to act a little erratic and dangerous, so it’s up to the others to save the friend and their suburban homes.

Y’all! This book is more fun than that proverbial barrel of monkeys. The opening lines perfectly set the stage for the rollicking good time ahead. While never losing its whimsical lighthearted tone, it still manages to deliver some chills, some thrills, and some disturbing visuals. Its balance between a cozy tale of friendship and a horror-lite tale of demonic possession is flawless.

Whether it’s the middle of Spooky Season or any other time of the year, this book is a great choice. Grab it. Get comfortable. Enjoy your ride with some wonderful characters who you’ll wish you could hang out with in real-life. But be careful: sometimes things really do go bump in the night.

This isn’t necessarily the kind of book I read often but I’m really glad that I read this one. It was creepy yet funny as hell. I would definitely recommend it to people who enjoy horror comedies. I would be interested in reading other books by the author as well.

Suburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer

I had SO much fun with this ARC from @netgalley and want to thank Netgalley and the publisher @penguinrandomhouse for the opportunity to read and share my thoughts on this book! First off, I immediately found myself relating to the main character and her small group of mom-friends in the suburbs of Chicago. Born and raised in the suburbs of Dallas, TX right here! Anyway, this book has major Grady Hendrix vibes – think: My Best Friend’s Exorcism mixed with The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires! And I LOVED IT! Beneath all the supernatural forces and past gothic horror is the underlying theme of women gradually becoming less of themselves after marriage, kids, mortgage etc. Grown-ups have it rough, and Amy’s friend Liz is a shining example, albeit a bit of a gory example, of what can happen to young moms who are doing their dead-level best to keep up with all the demands of being a wife, mom, PTA sponsor, school bake sale coordinator…you get the gist. Enter Amy and her ragtag crew of mom-besties to save Liz from her eternal damnation…not to mention, saving the entire neighborhood, Exorcism-style!

Really enjoyed this fun read and would love to read more from this author!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2 out of 5 (Rounded up)

Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Suburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer is an original and exciting blend of horror and comedy. It will appeal to fans of The Stepford Wives or The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires. The story revolves around a group of moms who get together for wine every month. They're the best of friends, until one day, Liz, one of the moms, starts acting a bit weird. Is Liz going through a phase or has she been possessed by a demon? It's up to Amy, Jess, and Melissa to fight back before the whole neighborhood goes to hell.

Here is a slightly humorous, slightly horrifying excerpt from Chapter 1:

"NONE OF THIS would have happened if it weren’t for the She Shed. We thought it would be a place to have our ladies’ nights in peace—away from the children waking up at midnight, away from the husbands giving a cursory wave before heading upstairs to watch sports in the dark, away from the dirty dishes piled in the sink. All we wanted was a place to call our own. To have something that belonged to us. What we got was our lives and homes ripped into bloody shreds.
It was the She Shed that started it all, a blissfully ignorant idea that transformed our cheery suburban enclave into something demonic.
The suburbs were hell . . . literally."

Overall, Suburban Hell is a horror-comedy that you won't be able to put down. One highlight of this book is the exciting blend of funny moments and scary moments. I wouldn't say that this is straight horror or straight comedy. If you're looking for just one genre, then you might be disappointed. However, if you're looking for a blend of both genres a la Grady Hendrix's books, then this is the perfect book for you. If you're intrigued by the excerpt above, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in September!