TW/CW: Language, toxic family relationships, dying parent, anxiety, toxic friendships, death of parent

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
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?
Release Date: July 19th, 2022
Genre: Horror
Pages: 344
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. Writing style
2. Characters are interesting
3. Creepy scenes
4. The ending was wonderful

What I Didn't Like:
1. Omg James he's absolutely terrible

Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}

I seriously couldn't stop rolling my eyes all the time that James was trying to tell her he communicate with the house she grew up in and he knew more and then nagging her to see why she never went and saw her murder her father in prison.

Why is Vera even staying when James and her mom are both treating her so horribly??

So this whole time Vera knew what her father was doing because she was watching through the hole in her floor under her bed...crazy!

There really is an "evil" and it's been living inside her mother.

Final Thoughts:
I'll be honest with you I was not the biggest fan of the Echo wife, but this book was fantastic. It was so creepy and had some scenes that kept me holding my breath. The ending of finding out the creature was living inside her mother & had actually killed the rest of her because Vera asked it to end it (without her knowledge) was so good.

I couldn't stand the parts with James but that's because the author did a great job at writing a man I wanted to stab over and over. I hated him so unbelievably. Oh her mother was also quite unbearable too. Horrible humans.

I love that the monster of the story wasn't the real monster but was James and her mother, but the one to save Vera was this thing she thought was out to hurt her. It was a good message that kind of says sometimes we aren't save from our own family.

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Thanks to Netgalley and Tor Publishing & Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
2 likes

I wanted to love this story but I think it just wasn’t for me. I had to stop and restart because I couldn’t get into the story. Maybe it was just too long. Idk it’s probably just me. Cool cover and narrator.

Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me a copy of this audiobook! I really look Sarah Gailey’s books so I was so excited to get to read this book! I loved this book, I think it has to be my favorite book that I have read by this author!

This was such an interesting story. It was a slow beginning but once it took off, I was hooked. Sometimes disturbing but captivating. I always love when books are told in dual timelines and they eventually come together. But this time, it felt a little anticlimactic. Thank you for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was an interesting read. The main character, Vera, is called home to assist her dying mother in her final days. The problem is, this is no ordinary family and no normal home. When Vera was a child, she lived with a very loving father. He also happened to be a serial killer. Their family home is the location of multiple crime scenes. I loved the first half of this book and then it kind of lost me. It was still worth the read, but I wish I had been able to maintain that same level of engagement with the story throughout the entire book.

I also need to congratulate Xe Sands on some amazing narration. I admit that I haven't always loved her as a romance or rom com narrator, but this was definitely her genre. Her spooky voices had me turning on the lights at night.

My first thought on finishing this book was a hot mess. I wanted to love it - oh that gorgeous cover, that tantalizing premise - but no, it was not to be. Told in two time-lines, Just Like Home is an odd and interesting book. It wasn't overly gory by any means but there were other substances let's just say that, that made it kind of gross.

Vera is called back to her childhood home by her dying mom. This is the house that her father, a serial killer, committed his crimes in.

This book definitely gave house on haunting hill vibes, but I wish I liked it more.

I think I’m starting to realize that some of the horror books I’ve read, I’d rather watch it made as a show that read it.

It was too hard for me to understand what was really going on with the “monsters” under the bed, and an artist living in the shed.

I definitely didn’t expect the ending, but with that said read this if you enjoy horror books.

This was such a creepy book I thoroughly enjoyed. I didn't realize I forgot to review this title but I listened to the audio version and I guess I missed it thanks NetGalley I enjoyed the audio and look forward to reading more by Sarah Gailey.

This is one of the best thriller authors I have ever read. Narration was great. I can not wait to read more by her.

3.5 stars

Parts of this were really weird and totally up my alley, parts of this 100% grossed me out. Overall, it was an interesting reading experience. Trying to figure out what actually went on in the house, and what the hell was going on in the basement. When things started to get a little supernatural and weird, I was hooked. I wanted to know, was the house haunted, possessed, was the creepy artist up to nefarious deeds. I needed answers, and I got them....

Finding out not only why the town hated not just her father but her was kind of a let down. The creepy I want to be just like dad thing was not disappointing but just not the reveal that I was hoping for. The having her mother upset over her husband going to jail to protect his daughter was just gross, plus the later revealed detail that her mother was the reason he was a serial killer in the first place gave me shivers.

Overall, I enjoyed this book but it left me wanting. I don't think slow or quiet horror is my jam. The parts of this book that I loved did not outweigh the slow parts where I was waiting for something to happen.

Another hit for Sarah Gailey -- they know how to frighten me and leave me thinking long after I've finished their books. I'm such a homebody that the thought of home being a frightening place is scary enough for me, but the sense of dread in their books is impressive and unsettling. Loved it.

For some reason I wasn't able to get into this book despite trying several times. There are many amazing reviews for this book so please do read those reviews and give this one a try. It just wasn't for me.

This wasn't my favorite book by Sarah Gailey, I started with the physical copy and had to transition to this audio book just to finish it. The narration was great!

How sweet home, but not all childhood homes are welcoming or have warm memories attached. Just like home examines the way a physical location can keep memories we want to hide and how even touch, smell and taste play into memories. The plot was a little slow moving for most of the book but did pick up near the end. I would have liked a more faster movement, the slower pace made some areas feel stagnant. But overall this was a creepy tail of childhood and the connection between a parent.

I love Sarah Gailey. I think they're an incredible writer. I have no idea how to review this book.
Without spoiling, I did not see the twist coming and, without trying to sound pretentious, I often see twists coming. All I knew is that I should keep going, even if at points I felt like I shouldn't - this was the correct choice.
To sum up: I am flabbergasted by this book.
Full review on YouTube.

To call this book a delight feels like a misnomer because it centers on such a heavy subject, but I mean delightful in the way that I couldn't put it down. I was so invested in the story and uncovering more about each character as the plot unfolded. It's spooky, thriller-y, supernatural-y, and who doesn't love a haunted house (no one I care do know)? Gailey strikes again with another amazing story that has heart, guts (some literal), and made me want to go buy the physical book just so I could experience the story again, sans audio. Additionally, the narrator is amazing and has such a dynamic way of using their voice, each character felt unique.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an intriguing read and I thought it was very well written. I had the joy of following along with the eBook copy as I listened to the audiobook. The book had many aspects that made it definitely worth the listen, and I really did enjoy the narrator, but I was disappointed by the ending and the way the storyline pans out. I didn’t exactly enjoy the supernatural parts to the story which makes me sad because I love the supernatural. I think it would have been far better if it had focused more upon the psychological thriller aspects. However as a thriller and potential supernatural horror it was an exciting read. I would recommend this for someone who enjoys creepy and surreal psychological thrillers.

3.5 rounded up.

This book was wild. Parts of the story I wanted a little more from, but the parts that were good, were so good. This went in a direction that I did not see coming. It definitely had that creepy/fucked up factor that will hold your interest, if that's what yiur into.

This is a hard one to review without giving away all that makes it good. I will say it wasn't one of my top reads. I gave it 3.5-4 stars, BUT it's one that stuck with me because of how weird it was. So it did make it to my Honorable Mentions. I have enjoyed other books from this author in the past, so I will continue to check out any joe works that come out.

This was a wild read with a ton of surprising turns! I would recommend for fans of Gillian Flynn, if gave me big Sharp Objects vibes.

The suspense of figuring out Vera’s early childhood and the supernatural elements tied into the true crime made this a really beautiful read. I was spooked the whole way through, and I loved the gothic feel to the writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I’m an avid reader of mystery and thrillers, but have only more recently started reading darker gothic thrillers/ horrors similar to JUST LIKE HOME.

It was a creepy, unsettling story, and the house with a mysterious past really upped the creep factor for me.

The narrator, Xe Sands was wonderful! Now I just need to turn all the lights on while reading.

*many thanks to Macmillan Audio/ Tor and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review