“Bad Moms meets My Best Friend’s Exorcism”? Yes please!!

Four moms get together once a month for a movie (a.k.a wine) night to escape their kids, husbands, and general suburban life madness. One night, after discussing the building of their Instagram-worthy She Shed, they decide to go out into Liz’s backyard to christen the land. The next day as the construction workers break ground, a horrible smell is suddenly spreading out from the yard, and all hell breaks loose- literally! Liz seems to be possessed by a demon and something is wreaking havoc on their neighborhood, and Amy, Jess, and Melissa have to fight to try to save everyone.

I absolutely loved this book! I’m a big horror fan, and since becoming a mom last year I’ve developed a new love for books about being a mom. Suburban Hell is the perfect combination of a story about friendship between mothers, and spooky scary demonic possession, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a bit of horror with some lightheartedness built in.

This book did so many things well! The writing style was wonderful and held my attention. I loved the characters, and they felt like real people that I would want to be friends with. The weirdness and creepiness was *chef’s kiss*, the humor was funny but not obnoxious, and the ending was PERFECT.

My only real “complaint”, if you can count it as such, is that the climax felt like not enough pay off for all the buildup. It wasn’t bad, I didn’t dislike it at all, I just wished there had been more to it- it felt very quick and abrupt.

All in all I’m super glad to have read this book, I think it’s become a new favorite!

Wow! Hello Moms! Come one come all! Welcome to the suburbs of Chicago!
*Let me start with-This is totally not my typical genre whatsoever! But I will admit, I was drawn to the cover of this one! Hot pink with a group of moms with black nails! The inside cover talked about a group of moms who loved wine and one may be possessed! Yup! Sounds good! I requested a copy and was granted into the world of suburbia hell!
Amy-Liz-Melissa &Jess are bestie suburban wives who love mocking all PTA moms, gathering for cocktail nights/watching a movie, and having fun without getting disturbed by husbands and kids.
Liz decides to excavate her backyard and build a She-shed- (opposite of man cave) for the gals so during one particular summer wine night they go out back to christen the land!
The next morning the girls sense Liz is off and Amy believes after some really strange occurrences that Liz is demonically possessed!
Here in lies Suburban Hell and the steps they are taking to research and bring their foursome back together sans demons!
This book was funny, light, and bright. It also possessed the chic horror aspects that it promised. I enjoyed the tight friendships that were shown throughout the book. It was a much needed break from my normal thriller/suspense novels. While this book won’t debut until September 2022, I would definitely add to your list as I think this will be an absolute hit with back to school moms! The only thing I wished it had more of was a brief backstory of each of the moms. We knew about Amy loosing a sibling but we didn’t know much about Liz, Jess or Melissa.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A thoroughly enjoying read, I liked the premise of a prim, perfect neighborhood turned on its head because of something as terrifying and interesting as satanic possession. I do think one of the sub-plots introduced in the very beginning regarding the protagonist's sister could have fleshed out to a better culmination. It was a nice touch, but it did kind of remind me of Chekhov's gun. I did enjoy reading about the exploits of the four suburban wives and the main plot was a rollercoaster in a good way. I feel like most books I've seen about this age group are romance novels, so it was very nice to break that mold with something fresh. For the fellow animal lovers, there are several dogs mentioned in the novel, but to the author's sincere credit, they all emerge mostly unharmed and unaffected.

This was so much fun and also extra creepy, disturbing read reminds you of Desperate Housewives waltzes with Conjuring which earned my 3.5 stars to round up to bizarre, surprising, haunted suburban stars!

Amy-Liz-Melissa and Jess are close friends a.k. a suburban wives who love mocking PTA moms, waiting for the special day of the month to gather for drinking gasoline wine out of box, watching a movie, having fun without getting disturbed by husbands and kids.

Then they come out with She-Shed plan to build at Liz’s backyard and christening their special plan they raise their glasses to salute! They just think it will be a place to have their 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.

Eventually all they wanted was a place to call their own. To have something that
belonged to them. But what they got was their lives and homes ripped into bloody shreds.
It was the She Shed that started it all, a blissfully ignorant idea that transformed
their cheery suburban enclave into something demonic.

The suburbs were hell ... literally.

Now a disgusting small keeps spreading in the air coming out of Liz’s backyard as Liz’s possessed by demon. The burn marks and a roomba from hell are another signs that the entire village is conquered by evil spirits and this is the only beginning. Amy should team up with her friends to save her neighborhood and her loved ones!

Overall: gripping, interesting, moving read with great conclusion. Get your popcorn and wine bottles ( not boxed ones) and enjoy your reading! Cheers!

Special thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP PUTNAM/ G. P. Putnam’s Sons for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

First, I LOVE the cover for "Suburban Hell" and it immediately drew me to this book! And then once I started reading, it did not disappoint! It is the story of 4 women- Amy, Liz, Melissa, & Jess- in a suburban neighborhood in the Chicago suburbs. They are the type of moms who do not volunteer for PTA-run activities at their kids' school, and like to get together for girls' night to drink wine and hang out. While having their regular mom's night at Liz's house, she suggests they go out back to christen the area in her backyard where a "she shed" for the ladies to hang out (with no kids or husbands allowed!) is being built. However, something seems to go horribly wrong, and Liz starts acting strangely, so strangely that Amy comes to believe that Liz has been possessed by a demonic force. As strange things begin to happen within the neighborhood, Amy, Melissa, & Jess band together to fight back the demon possessing Liz and to save their friend (and their neighborhood).

This is by far my favorite read so far this year! Part comedy and part horror, it immediately drew me in! It was witty at times (the suburban mom stereotypes), chilling at times, and even touching seeing the strength of the group's friendship. And being from the Chicago suburbs myself, I loved the local references. This book will not disappoint!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. "Suburban Hell" is scheduled to be released on 9/27/22.

Wow! It ended way differently than I thought! I loved reading this. They really came together to help when they really needed to.

Suburban Hell by Maureen Kilmer is a great contemporary fiction that is so addictive, unique, and a blend of multiple genres to give us readers a perfect package. I loved it!

This book has it all: wit, humor, mystery, an excellent character cast, scifi/horror-light aspects, and what I like the best….strong female characters and loyal, well-developed female friendships.

I love how the author balanced the whip-smart personalities, dialogue, narrative, material, and character quirks with some of the darker aspects…um hello demonic possession… It works out perfectly so that nothing is taken too serious or too dismissive.

The female characters were unique, well-crafted, and their interpersonal relationships and friendships were a definite plus with this story. I think that it is that aspect that really sold this book for me.

Don’t get me wrong, I still loved the dark vibes mixed with the sunshine of the cul-de-sac. I love sarcasm and dark humor…that is what I grew up on. I have to say that I am glad I ventured a bit from my normal genres and read this gem. I was thoroughly entertained.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and G.P. Putnam’s Sons for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 9/27/22.

Hello my precious little Ghouls! Today is a very exciting one for me. Why, you may ask? Because I just finished my first book from NetGalley! I kept hearing everyone on Bookstagram mentioning this mysterious NetGalley and decided to check it out for myself. For those who you who don't know, it is a platform that writers, authors, and readers use to submit and request ARC (advance review copies) of books and audiobooks. This is to help writers and authors to build up reviews before the pub date of their books. In other words, as a reader, you get to read these novels before they are released to the public. Isn't that cool?! I decided to give it a shot and see if they had any interesting horror books on there. As I was scrolling, the cover of this book immediately drew me in, so when I read that description, I knew I had to request it. I about shit bricks when I got the email telling me that it was ready to be read! I immediately dove in and was pleasantly surprised with what I found on my Kindle. So, lets discuss shall we?

"Bad Moms meets My Best Friend’s Exorcism in this lite-horror-comedy about a group of women in the Chicago 'burbs, whose cul-de-sac gets a new neighbor: a demon."


Amy Foster is your typical mom living in the Chicago suburbs, and avoiding the PTA at all costs. In Whispering Farms subdivision, she and her 3 best friends Jess, Melissa, and Liza have monthly movie nights to escape their motherly duties to kick back and relax. At the beginning of summer the day before the construction of their She Shed, they christen the spot and pour one out and a chilling breeze sweeps over them. brushing it off, they continue their cheers and enjoy the rest of their movie night. The next day they break ground at Lizs' for the Shed and Liz begins to start acting strangely. While the three friends are waiting for Liz at the summer block party, they see her arrive looking unrecognizable, and the seemingly timid Liz is gone. Soon creepy occurrences begin happening to the friends and their family, and they realize that a demon has taken over their best friend. The group must soon figure out a way to get rid of the demon and save their friend, before it's too late and the whole neighborhood goes to literal hell.


First off, this is a super fun and lighthearted read. As a mom, I couldn't help but relate so much to all of the planning and running around and being the one keeping the household together. It was so much fun to read a horror novel where a group of moms did NOT need any men or husbands to take care of business. These badass women were able to take care of everything all on their own, while maintaining a home and family. I feel like moms are often not in the spotlight in horror, and in this book they were. Which was the highlight of this novel for me. They were all so relatable and couldn't help but picture myself in this book with my mom gang. This book had a nice little amount of creepiness to it and found a way to keep me entertained. My only drawback was that we didn't really see a lot of Liz in the story. I wish there was a little more involvement and scenes with her and her home since that's who is possessed by the demon. I feel that that could have given us a little more creepy substance. All in all, I really did love this book and I am so happy to have been able to receive an ARC of it.


Thank you so much to NetGalley, Putnam Books, and Maureen Kilmer for the opportunity to give my honest review. I look forward to more opportunities down the road!



Overall Rating: 9/10



Suburban Hell will be available on September 27th, 2022 for purchase.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a super fun and quick read.
This book has the perfect blend of humor and horror. The characters were likeable and well fleshed out. I really have nothing bad to say about this book! It was really fun!

What a fun tale of demons in the ‘burbs! Yes, it is as ridiculous as it sounds, and yes, the author is in on the joke. Kilmer’s writing is fantastic and she is truly funny. You’ll pick this up and all of the sudden it’ll be over; the story moves along that quickly. The pacing is perfection and I really felt like I knew these characters. Absolutely loved it!

This was such a fun book! It reminded me of My Best Friend’s Exorcism, if it involved housewives in the suburbs. There were a couple of scenes that freaked me out and I loved the ending. It was creepy, it was atmospheric and it was a book I could not put down. I will definitely be checking out this author’s next book.

Caution: there is mention of animal death.

Amy Foster is a mom living in the suburbs with her three best friends Liz, Melissa, and Jess. They love to get together every month make fun of the PTA moms and drink gasoline wine out of a box. One particular night they decide to make a plan to build a she-shed in Liz’s backyard. It would be a safe haven for them; no husbands and no kids. However, after they celebrate their amazing idea with a toast, things take a drastic turn.

Their she-shed plans unleash a demon that plans on destroying the group of friends and ultimately the entire neighborhood. It is up to Amy and her friend’s to save the day.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Suburban Hell.

I'll admit it; the cover caught my eye. I'm a sucker for a good cover, especially one horror-related.

But, that's not to say I wasn't intrigued by the premise; a trio of good friends finds a demon amongst them and the sacrifices they will have to make to get their friend back from hell.

First, I really enjoyed the rapport and friendship the women had; all too often, most of the books I read have the women sniping and/or backstabbing each other and it was great to see women supporting one another.

Second, the women were relatable and uniquely different; they each have their own personal backstories and how they found themselves a suburban mom.

Third, it was also great to see Amy's husband wasn't a typical d**k. He supported and comforted Amy, he listened to her and didn't denounce her as crazy, but acknowledged there was something wrong with Liz, even if he didn't believe it was due to a demonic possession.

The writing style was comfortable and easy to read.

My only caveat was that the story wasn't horrifying as I had hoped (imagined) it would be. But, I'm dark like that.

A possessed Roomba is creepy but not Exorcist scary. Suburban scary, perhaps.

I was expecting buckets of blood, demonic possession of the locals, bodies flying around, vomit spewing; you know, fun stuff like that.

This was still a good read, if only to see how the women come together to fight the demon and get their friend back and how Amy makes peace with the loss of her sister.

This book is advertised as bad mom meets my best friend’s exorcism um no! Bad moms was hilarious and Grady Hendrix is a genius author when it comes to horror mixed with comedy. This was none of those things! If it was a movie I would have changed the channel.

A group of four mom suburbanites get together monthly to drink and chat. They meet at Liz’s house where it’s decided that a Sheshed will be built as their special hangout spot!
Soon a horrible smell comes from the pit and Liz starts acting really strange! Actually, we find out she’s possessed by a demonic woman who brutally killed her whole family and who lived on Liz’s property all these years ago. And the way they find out is so anticlimactic.

I knew going into this that it wasn’t in any way reality. There were funny parts and even some mild creepy scenes. I skimmed through a lot of this book. It was mundane. Boring neighborhood things and characters that didn’t need to be in the story.

Eventually, an exorcism is performed: the power of friendship is the demon’s demise! What!? Really!?

This book is a could have been: could have been hilarious, could have been scary, and could have been meaningful. Unfortunately, it was not.
Two pluses: the awesome cover and the book was short.

Thanks to NetGalley and Putnam Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I picked up Suburban Hell and I did not set it down until I had read the entire thing. This was such an entertaining book that lived up to the expectations I had when I saw the comparisons to Bad Moms and books by Grady Hendrix.

The plot of this book is relatively straightforward: a group of suburban moms who are best friends have to deal with a sudden and terrifying situation when one of them appears to become possessed by a demon. This book stays pretty lightheaded because of the contrast between the scenes more directly related to demonic possession and the scenes about mundane tasks like making school lunches or attending PTA events. The way that it flips between tones creates a lot of unexpected humor. There are also several scenes that get more and more outrageous. I couldn't stop reading.

This is an extremely fast-paced book and it wastes no time getting started. It's silly, engaging, creepy, and at times touching. I loved my experience reading this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam Books for this ARC to read and review.

I loved loved loved this book! Maureen Kilmer does a fantastic job of keeping light yet spooky at the same time. Super fun and easy to read, and I really hope to see more from Maureen soon!

Suburban Hell was heaven! I loved this book! It was just the right balance of scary and exciting so I stayed up way too late reading it! It was even better than my best friend's exorcism and I can't wait to read more from Maureen Kilmer!

Being a mom in the suburbs has got to be tough. You’ve got temperamental children, minivans, the PTA…and now a demon on the loose?!

Amy and her best friends, Liz, Jess, and Melissa, all live in a Chicago suburb, in a mostly quiet and neighborly subdivision where everyone knows everyone and all of their kids play together. It’s always been safe, and the four women love their little neighborhood.

Getting together monthly for a movie (ahem, wine) night provides some relief from their duties as mothers, wives, etc. However, they’d still love a place to go where there are no interruptions from complaining children or husbands. So they decide to build a She Shed in Liz’s backyard.

The night before the construction begins on the She Shed, the four friends christen the area with a drink…and quickly feel a change in the air that they all brush off…that is, until it quickly becomes evident over the next few days that they have unwittingly unleashed a demon to wreak havoc on their once idyllic community.

Now, Amy and her friends are dealing with Liz being possessed by an evil force, a foul smell overpowering the neighborhood, terrible burn marks, and a roomba from hell…and that’s just the beginning. Can they fight back against the demon and save their neighborhood and Liz?

Living in the suburbs can be hell…literally!

This is such a fun book, and proved to be exactly what I needed after an extremely stressful week. I had a good feeling about this one, and I’m glad my intuition was spot on. Debut “horror” author Maureen Kilmer writes an amusing and occasionally LOL-inducing story that has witty dialogue, an original premise, fantabulous characters, and a whole lotta heart!

I loved Amy and her friends, and appreciated how level-headed they were while all of these demonic shenanigans were going on around them. This is described as a “lite-horror-comedy”, and I find that very fitting. It’s never really scary, but there are some ghoulish and creepy moments (I even got goosebumps at one point). Most of the darker scenes still contain a laugh or two.

I enjoy when there are supernatural elements in my reading from time to time, but have never been a fan of demons or bodily possession in my books or movies. However, this was an exception, as I truly enjoyed the story and couldn’t put it down. I also found parts surprisingly touching, as it becomes evident that the ties of friendship are very important to this group…and sometimes that means more than anyone can even imagine.

4.5 stars

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

Review also posted at: https://bonkersforthebooks.wordpress.com

Omg I loveddddd this book!! I’m so sad that it ended but I’m hoping there’s a sequel! I loved desperate housewives and this truly was the same vibes with a crazy horror twist to it. I loved the characters, I loved the authors style of writing, It’s the first book I’ve read in awhile that didn’t alternate narrators which was refreshing. I loved the spookiness of it. I really loved everything about it, Please make a second one!!

This was such a fun read! When I saw the comparison between My Best Friend’s Exorcism and Bad Moms I could not click download fast enough.

Amy and her friends are the “bad moms” of the neighborhood. They drink wine on school nights, don’t volunteer for things and generally stick to themselves. On the eve of their She-Shed groundbreaking, something goes horribly awry and something sinister is unleashed. It might just be coming for all of them and their children.

This book was a perfect blend of humor and horror. I loved how the author played up all of the suburban mom stereotypes (Heather’s kitchen reveal was hilarious) and as a fellow Chicago suburbanite I loved all of the local references. The possession moments were very creepy and the descriptions were positively grotesque. I loved it! Even with the horrific moments this was a great story of motherhood, female friendship, and the strength of those bonds.

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam for an advanced copy.

I can honestly say this is one of the most original books I’ve ever read. It’s like a cross between Stepford Wives and the Exorcist. At times creepy and it other time sardonic, I absolutely love this book. Absolutely recommend!!!