What a fun and thoughtful debut! I really enjoyed Peyote’s voice and pov as well as the Harrison family. My biggest complaint is that the two stories take almost the entire novel to come together and I had to re-read the last 30 pages to make sure I understood it all. Definitely a little rushed at the end after a long build. Great characterization though and I felt for many of the characters, mostly Peyote and Lily. A solid debut and voice.

I don’t think I was expecting Sign Here to have as much depth as it did, maybe because of how playful and cheeky the cover art was, though also as a result of the early comparisons. There are so many mentions of the comedic beats of the story, which are definitely present and exceptional, but comparatively little about the its emotional impact, which I found a be substantial by the end.

The book is split into several perspectives but two major storylines, the first in Hell following an agent from its Deals Department named Peyote Trip, who’s tasked with finding humans on earth that are willing to sign deals in exchange for their immortal souls. The second is a family he’s been tracking for generations, the Harrisons, who are spending the summer at their New Hampshire vacation home. While they have their own interpersonal conflicts to sort through, the Hell scenes are very separate from that story until they’re suddenly not. The early depictions of Hell reminded me a lot of another popular piece of media about the afterlife: The Good Place. The initial parallels are pretty evident—both feature a similar mundane misery in the day-to-day, in addition to the tedious corporate structure. The descriptions of ‘Downstairs’ and ‘The Bad Place’ are also comparable, though Sign Here’s characters seem to take its horrors more seriously, likely because they experienced that torture at one point in a prior millennia.

Then there’s the Harrisons’ family dynamic and arrival at the property, which is reminiscent of the Harmons in American Horror Story: Murder House. In some ways Lily takes on Ben Harmon’s role, though Silas slowly builds the case for himself as we learn more about his history and haunted family secrets. And Ruth’s influence over Mickey isn’t unlike Tate Langdon’s over Violet, though to be clear the paranormal aspects of the story are strictly limited to Hell and its agents when they visit Earth.

Though Peyote is arguably the main character, both the Hell and the Earth storylines center around the protection of young girls, with every major conflict rooted in the betrayal of a girl by a man in her life. The exploitations and manipulations echo one another across time and space, as Sign Here is nonlinear (if I haven’t mentioned that yet), and later forces those men to face the wreckage left in their wake, one way or another. Even with some bleak outcomes for a few characters, these confrontations strike an emotional and deeply satisfying chord. But despite the majority, if not all, of those betrayals being committed by men, the story’s women levy smaller, yet still vicious blows against one another; but they’re not given a clear narrative redemptive track to follow along. It could almost be harder to forgive those transgressions as a result, and if I had one critique for the author, it would be not giving some of her ‘imperfect girls’ that same chance. I would have loved for them to be granted space to correct their own failures, ideally by directly addressing the ways in which they were failed up until that point.

And I will not spoil either the book or shows in this review, but I have to mention how differently Sign Here and The Good Place differ in tone; instead of reckoning with larger moral questions and the idea of divine justice, the characters must make peace with decisions made within an inherently unjust system. It’s an ending that’s more befitting of a western than a traditional hero’s journey, focusing on the path to an individual’s redemption, often at the cost of their own happiness and/or ‘fixing’ the unfairness of the situation. There’s even an interruption of a scene that feels plucked straight from True Grit, instilled with themes of self-sacrifice for the sake of another but also as a way to balance the scales narratively.

The familiar, hokey elements present in this iteration of Hell could cause readers to expect characters like TGP’s Michael and Janet, or even someone like Crowley from Good Omens. But the story’s sincerity, mystery and emotional depth would be a departure from that format. It manages to be serious without becoming self-serious, accepting Hell as an inevitability instead of something to be vanquished. Any preliminary similarities noted between Sign Here and those works are eroded after its first sharp tonal switch; the flip between the lighter moments and its capacity for ruthless inhumanity. Basically it’s a lot, but in a good way. I’m not sure which of its moods you’ll finish with by the end, but there’s a good chance you’ll like it.

4.5 Rounded up.

This was such an original book! I liked the multiple points of view and trying to figure out how the stories intertwined. I liked all the twists and found the story to be a really entertaining and easy read! This was such a creative debut that I can't wait to see what the author does next!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy. I also got this as my Book of the Month pick so it was nice I enjoyed it so much! Opinions are my own.

Do you have time for one more spooky book this month? This has to be the most unique book I’ve read this year. A dual timeline with one being a family going to their summer home (yeah I know you read that all the time) and the second being in hell where its inhabitants are trying to get others to sign their souls over to the devil. While these timelines seemingly have nothing in common, but Peyote, from hell, is trying to sign one more and it happens to be the family’s daughter.

This is campy and fun when the story is in hell. The higher the floor you work on, the better the perks. The songs you hate are on repeat while in hell. Can you imagine?

The family is definitely dysfunctional and is harboring secrets from a mysterious death years ago.

I switched back and forth from the print and the audio and can’t decide which I liked more. The narrators were great and brought you into the story, while the book gave me moments to pause and think about things.

I can’t believe this is a debut. It was over the top at times, but that just added to the fun. While it will not be for everyone, you have to appreciate the unique, clever storyline and know it will be like nothing you have ever read.

Peyote Trip works on the Fifth Level of Hell, and while things aren't a picnic and could be worse (there's always Downstairs!), he's close to making a deal that could change everything for him. As someone who gets people to sign agreements for anything they want in exchange for a brief eternity spent in the pits of damnation, Peyote has been quietly working on getting one last member of a the Harrison family to make a deal with him. Doing so will mean he has managed to convince 5 generations of the family to damn themselves, and successfully accomplishing that will allegedly give Peyote the kind of promotion that it is dangerous to even dream about. Unfortunately for him, there's a new woman working in his department with designs of her own that threaten to throw his carefully laid plans to the wind, and up on Earth the Harrison family's own deepest held secrets are unraveling in a way that might mean disaster for our hellish hero's schemes.

A darkly humorous, twisted, somewhat absurdist and fun book that is a perfect read for October. Readers who like dark humor, family secrets, and immoral protagonists should find a lot to love with this story. Take note that this is a debut novel, which means that Claudia Lux is absolutely an author to watch going forward.

This was a well written, dark, humorous story. I wasn’t totally expecting the ending thatI got butI enjoyed the whole (somewhat disturbing ride). Our main narrator is Peyote Trip is in Hell, but the level is in is more like being stuck in your most annoying day. His role is to make deals with people on earth - granting wishes and taking their souls for Hell. His dry sense of humor as he describes life in Hell was great and I loved every chapter from his perspective. The other chapters are told from the perspective of various members of the Harrison family - Peyote’s current target. It’s really hard to talk about the plot of this book without giving everything away. What I can say it is that it was a unique story that is well worth the read so pick it up.

Dark humor and deep emotion are both part of Sign Here. Pulling the curtain back, the author reveals a complexly created Hell full of horrors.
I feel like the story is about what we will do for our family, the deals we would make, and how far we will go to fix our mistakes.

Peyote and Calamity work in the department responsible for deals. AKA making a deal with the devil. The story follows Peyote as he makes endless deals. The deeper story line revolves around the Harrison family. Peyote is personally invested in getting them to sign a deal with him. As the story progresses, we learn about both Peyote and Calamity's pasts and how the Harrison's fit in.

The story is very engaging but the story required me to really focus on the connections between characters. I liked the portrayal of Hell as an office setting on the 5th Floor and it added the dark comedy that this book needed.


Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC. This is my honest review.

3.5 stars rounded up. This book comes out October 25,2022.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with and ARC to review .

Sign Here is a quirky and witty book with a lot of charm to it. The setting reminded me a LOT of The Good Place (in a good way) and I really enjoyed that aspect of the book. I was very into Peyote's story and the Harrisons' as they intermingled.

That's about where it ends for me, though. The ending (will not spoil it here) was not justified to me, and I felt as though it was rushed last minute. I felt like Peyote did not earn what happened at the end, and that lots of loose ends were left untied or were rushed together quickly to tie the story up with a neat bow.

If you enjoy quirky reads with fun settings, this is a great book for you. However, I am not sure how to categorize it, as 'thriller' and 'horror' does not seem to be right in my opinion for this, though it has trace elements of both of those genres.

Overall, I enjoyed this book greatly, though I think it did not live up to my expectations.

Well, I might just be the luckiest girl in the world....

I have a copy of Sign Here and all I can say this is the perfect book for book lovers this "spooky season" .

Lets also give credit where credit is deserved. Claudia Lux, has hit the big leagues with this DEBUT novel.

When I first started Sign Here, I am not exactly sure what I had expected. After reading the synopsis, I had pictured Adam Sandler in "Little Nicky" . I was under the impression this would have some dark humor with a side of family drama. I was DEAD wrong. Although there are some comical innuendo's along the way, I would not consider this a comedy, per se. I also would not consider this to fall in sync with horror, either. What I can tell you is that this book was extremely well written and will have you engaged the entire time.

In hell, they have the songs you hate on repeat and the only shot they serve is Jager (ewww!!) but desperate times call for desperate measures. I suppose Jager is better than drinking bleach.

We follow along side our main character Peyote. Peyote is looking for redemption and has climbed the ranks by getting people to sign their souls over to the devil (twisted I know!!) Peyote is on a mission to have one last person from the Harrison family sign over their soul, but this will not come without challenges...

Sign Here, was a really fun book that had elements of many genres. Together, Lux was able to tie it all up and hand it to us with a big black bow. This book is out 10/25 and I can not wait to see what everyone thinks!

Big thank you to Berkley, Netgalley and of course Claudia Lux, for allowing me to read and review this banging debut before the big release in exchange for an honest review!

My first clue that this book about Hell would take me to weird places in my imagination? The MC’s name is Peyote Trip. Enough said. Sure there’s the heat, torture and misery, but this version of Hell reminded me more of an inescapable version of Office Space or The Office, just with a perpetually broken coffee machine, ‘every man for himself’ backstabbing, bucketloads of snark, and a boss from … well … Hell.

Peyote “Pey” Trip works in the Deals Department on the 5th floor of Hell. He does the whole “Sell your soul to me and I’ll give you something you want” thing, if you sign your name on his tablet. (Technology has made strides down below.) If he can sign 5 generations of souls in a particular family - a “complete set” - he gets a second shot at his own life, He’s got four in the Harrison family. He just needs one more: quiet, awkward 14-year old, Mickey. It’s a good thing he’s got a sweet new co-worker named Cal - short for Calamity Ganon - to assist his efforts … maybe. There’s more to her than meets the eye.

Silas and Lily Harrison and their kids: Mickey and her older brother, Sean, are heading to their family summer home in New Hampshire. The ghosts of an event sixteen years prior that led to the conviction and suicide of Silas’ brother, Phil, still haunt Silas and Lily’s marriage. Luckily, Mickey’s new friend, Ruth, has brought her infectious energy and charm along for the vacation this year to liven things up. One thing is certain: this is a vacation none of them will forget.

So, how do these two storylines go together? Well, the answer is not much! Though it’s mentioned early on that Pey has zeroed in on Mickey as his best chance for a complete set of Harrison souls, there’s precious little mention of her or her family in Peyote and Cal’s storyline until close to the end. Cal’s sad backstory and a plan pertaining to it dominate Pey and Cal’s thread. There’s also a lot of dark humor and snark involved in it, whereas the Harrison family thread plays more like a low-burn family drama mixed with a mystery/suspense plot.

Here’s the thing: It actually worked for me. It was like getting two stories in one book! I had fun with the humor and snark of the Hell storyline, even if Cal’s backstory was the weakest aspect of the book for me, and I really enjoyed the unfolding drama and mystery of the Harrison’s storyline. I thought all the characters were interesting, so bouncing back and forth between the plots didn’t bother me, and when the two stories finally came together and all was revealed, I thought it was really clever and satisfying.

As for complaints? Well they say the devil is in the details, and there are some details that needed to be fleshed out and others that didn’t always bear up under closer scrutiny, but these were minor issues for me.

I thought it was an entertaining story and a promising debut. I’ll definitely be watching for Claudia Lux’s next book!

★★★★

Thanks to Elisha Katz at Berkley Publishing Group, NetGalley, and author Claudia Lux for this digital ARC to honestly review. It’s due to be published October 25, 2022.

Partly told from the bureaucratic levels of hell and partly from the view points of the Harrison family, this book seems disparate but comes together and keeps you guessing with surprising twists. While it has moments of offbeat humor, it also tackles more serious topics of what does it mean to have no ethics or morality in an eternity with no end in sight, as well as dealing with past family traumas and the consequences of finding out what really happened. If nothing else, with each deal signed, it's a reminder not to agree to any terms without reading the fine print.

With much of this story taking place in Hell, there's clearly a dark side - but it also offers a touch of humor and intrigue as well as the not-so-secret revelation that life on earth can be just as bad on occasion if not worse. Much of the focus is on a guy called Peyote Trip, who has progressed through the truly awful "floors" to the Deals Department on the fifth floor. Torture at this level is far less Hell-like than the lower floors; there are bars, for instance, but the only thing served in them is Jagermeister.

Peyote's working hard to reel in one last member of the Harrison family back on Earth; if he gets that one to sign here - i.e., sell his soul - he'll get a "redo" on Earth by virtue of collecting a full set of deals from his own heirs. He'll do his best, but he could use some help, so even though he doesn't trust her for a second, he turns to coworker Calamity - who has an agenda all her own cultivated by a life on Earth that fits her name like a glove.

Her backstory, though, which is sprinkled in between what's happening with Peyote and the Harrison family down on Earth, just didn't click with me. There's a truly awful man called The General who seems to get his jollies from torturing young boys, but I never quite got the connection to Calamity (as in, who was he really?) Clearly, what happened to Cal back then made her who she is today (and where she ended up), but even by the end of the book I didn't fully understand what that was.

The Harrison family's story, on the other hand, starts with a father, two mostly grown children and a mother who is basically living a lie that's rooted in the past (plus another big one in her present). Gradually, all the secrets and relationships are peeled back like onions, revealing some pretty ugly stuff that could threaten Peyote's chances of signing up the last soul. Details, of course, I can't reveal, so I'll just say this is a very clever, entertaining book. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review a pre-release copy.

This book was not for me. I didn’t find much humorous about it. It was a dark, twisted, odd horror story more so than anything funny. The characters were not for me either. That doesn’t mean the author is a bad writer. It just means this book was not towards my taste. So many people liked this, so I know it’s just my preferences, but I just didn’t feel right even reading/listening to this.

Read/Listen If You Like:
👹 Stories about Hell
👹 The Good Place (TV Show)
👹 Multiple POV
👹 Short Chapters
👹 Morally Grey Characters
👹 Humor added into serious topics

Book Review:
THIS BOOK!!!! I can’t say enough good things about this book and I know it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it absolutely was one of my favorite cups so far this year. Honestly, I don’t know many books, especially debuts that I have loved as much as this one…

I loved the humor and zingers that the author wrote into this one and the clever writing style. I loved so much that even though I figured out some of the reveals that it didn’t ruin anything for my enjoyment and honestly made it more enjoyable because for everything I got right, I also got something wrong.

I honestly don’t know how to classify this one, much like The Good Place… it has humor, heavy topics, some thriller/mystery vibes, and some very subtle romance type vibes as well.

I really loved the POV from Pey and adored the humor and wise cracks that the peeps in Hell had. The writing was perfect and absolutely stunning. I will definitely be reading the next book by this author.

Thank you so so so much Berkley Pub for the advanced copy of this one! I am so grateful to have accessed this one in advance of its release in exchange for my honest review!

This was a wild ride that bordered on absurd, intense, kooky, and dark. I really liked it. I don't think it's an easy book to describe but it worked quite brilliantly and pulled off a heck of a story.

I see this novel is labeled horror, but I don't see it. While dark, it is absurdly weird take on Hell and how one feels the heat in the afterlife. The story is told through short chapters from multiple characters some in Hell and some living life not sure if they are going to Heaven or Hell yet.

Essentially you have two stories that intersect for a climatic conclusion at the end. Sign Here is a wild entertaining novel. Thank you Berkley Publishing Group for the advance reader copy.

I kept seeing all these reviews saying this was such a darkly comedic book and yes, it did have moments of dark humor that had me chuckling, but it was overall a much more serious book than I was expecting. Interestingly, the funny parts (and IMO, the best parts) were in Hell.
Peyote Trip (real name mostly forgotten in the eternity spent in Hell) has to snag one more member of the Harrison clan and he might get a re-do in the world above (or adjacent to, as it may be). He and the newest member of the Deals department, Calamity Ganon, are kept busy acquiring souls and meeting quotas, but not so busy that Peyote can’t keep an eye on the Harrison family.
And boy, what a family they are. A whole five generations of deal makers. Silas Harrison, his wife Lily, their two kids Noah and Mickey, and Mickey’s new best friend Ruth are all headed to the lake house for a long six-week vacation. While the kids might be having the time of their lives, Silas and Lily have been struggling with their relationship. Struggling might be an understatement, as Lily has been having an affair with the brother of the girl that Silas’s brother supposedly killed almost two decades ago. The lake house is also where that girl, Sarah, died. What should be a serene summer retreat is marred by secrets and not everything is as it seems. This tense holiday might just be the perfect conditions for Peyote to acquire the last Harrison soul he needs.
As I said, my favorite parts of this book were those starring Peyote and Calamity because what a terrible duo they are! Cal has the doe-eyed innocent look perfected and seems to have the whole Deals Department fooled, except for Pey who has soberly seen what she is capable of. Cal has a dark, dark past and I love that the plot threads of her past are so seamlessly woven into Pey’s and the Harrison's stories. Hell is, well, Hell. It’s a nightmare of a place outside of time and sometimes, ever so slowly people can advance to a higher circle that is infinitely less shit than the Downstairs. People get their own apartments on the Fifth Floor! They can occasionally get something other than Jagermeister! What joy! But it’s still a monstrous place on the lower floors where torture happens on an assembly line. The portion of the storyline with the Harrison’s was a solid family drama - wife having an affair, dark history, new girl who has slightly suspicious vibes, and family secrets (spooky!).
Overall, this was an excellent read that made me laugh on occasion but was also oddly unsettling. It deals with some dark themes but doesn’t make light of them, as the humor is only incidental and largely centered around the small deals made that don’t factor into the larger plot. This was a brilliant, complex debut and I can’t wait to see what Claudia Lux has in store for readers in the future!

This was an entertaining read that hooked me in early but ultimately disappointed on the execution. It alternates perspectives between Peyote who works in Hell and makes deals with people to sell their souls, and the Harrison family he is tracking on Earth.

The Hell side of the story tried to be humorous (like The Good Place) but felt repetitive and got confusing at times. Cal's inclusion felt random, the timelines didn't always add up, and in the end it was hard piecing all the connections together as the conclusion unfolded.

The Harrison storyline was more interesting as it's a bit of solving a mystery and unraveling family dysfunction. I wish it wove together nicer with Peyote's story in Hell because they felt a bit disjointed.

Thank you Berkley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Although this was a mostly good read for me, the tone is so off from what I was expecting that it ended up slightly disappointing me.

What I expected: demon who works in a Hell not dissimilar to the office of Dilbert must travel to the mortal realm and interact with an outrageous family in order to steal all their souls, but finds that his normal merry malice is no match for the unpredictable hijinks of the humans.

What I read: sad dead guy who works in a Hell not dissimilar to the office of Dilbert has a new dead girl co-worker who is not what she seems, but whom he gets to know and eventually realizes is also sad. Meanwhile, separately, a family of sad people goes on vacation with a new friend who is not what she seems, but they get to know her and realize she is also sad, and also how sad they all actually are. Sometimes I can deal with the “brokenness is the human condition” type of story but the problem is that, you know, half the cast is already dead or has sold their soul and will therefore go to Hell for all eternity, so combined, it’s definitely more of a downer than I thought it would be. I’d recommend it for fans of Matt Haig and The Good Place.

I've had this on my NetGalley shelf since mid-July waiting for closer to release date and Halloween to dive in.

I'm so horribly disappointed. With the book for it not being at all what I was hoping, and with myself for reading as much of it as I did before ultimately giving up.

If you're thinking that this is going to be in the same vein as Christopher Moore or Jason Pargin or Grady Hendrix, do yourself a big favor and just read or re-read one of those instead.