Vera is returning home to assist her dying mother and clean out her childhood home. But aside from her mother dying, returning home isn’t happy by any means. Vera and her mother, Daphne’s relationship is non-existent and while Vera loves the home her father built, the place is haunted by what her father did and the memories of being scared of something under her bed.

Her homecoming is pretty unwelcomed, the townspeople are disgusted with her or gawk at her, her childhood best friend wants absolutely nothing to do with her, her mother is as icy as ever, and there’s a leeching artist living in the shed that is determined to make a spectacle of everything just like his father did before, including her mother’s death.

The house is holding a secret of its own, but is Vera prepared?

This one was so weird. I felt so bad for Vera, but I’m still pretty conflicted with how I felt about the ending twist. In one way, I liked it but in another I was left wanting more. All in all, I enjoyed this enough to say I would recommend it and hope you enjoy it even more than I did. Just Like Home will be published 7/19, thanks to @torbooks, @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for my ALC!

Wow. This story was insane. It was creepy, unsettling, scary, gross and I haven't read something like this in a long time. I'd say definitely don't judge a book by its pink cover! It was definitely a great haunted house book that will make you want to never look under your bed again. It was also a story about Vera's complicated relationship with both of her parents, one of whom was a serial killer and the other who was an unloving and horrible mother. The combination of the ghost/horror/haunted house story and the relationships Vera had with her parents made this unique and worth the listen because it had complexities which I was not expecting. It was such a messed up family dynamic which obviously scarred Vera for life. The narrator was PERFECT for this story and made it even creepier at times. Great listen!

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for access to this Audiobook!

Vera has been summoned home when her mother is on her death bed. She is going to home to mother that hates her, a town that wants nothing to do with her. Vera's father was a serial killer. She comes home and there is a stranger living behind her house, who is using the house and her mother for everything he can. While cleaning the house, Vera starts finding notes written by her father and something weird is happening in her room. The readers learn the part Vera played in her father's crimes and eventual arrest. There is someone or something in the house with Vera and her mother. She is not sure who or what it is and when she finally finds out, she may never leave again. This story was a slow start, but the book picks up and just keeps rolling. Also, positive I never want to know what is going on under my bed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for the ARC (audiobook version)!

Just Like Home is what nightmares are made of, in the best way possible. Vera is called home by her dying mother, and reluctantly, she goes. Between the strange artist staying in the guest house to random notes from her father's journal showing up, Vera wonders if something deeper lingers in the Crowder House.

Xe Sands perfectly encapsulates the creepy, darkness that is this book. Her voice is slow and daunting, having the listener at the edge of their seat, waiting to hear what happens next.

The number of times my jaw dropped listening to this is more than a handful. Horror fans - buckle up, because this one is going to stay with you for a while.

4.5 Rounded Up

I wasn't sure about this one at first, but DANG! That was a BOOK! JUST LIKE HOME, just as the author says, is a story about loving people who do monstrous things, and how what we think about as a monster is not nearly as terrifying as the real monsters in the world. What I appreciated the most about this book is the depth and care the author takes when dealing with Vera's complicated relationship with her mother and her father, her mother who is detached and estranged from her, and her father, the serial killer. The way Gailey tackles this is so nuanced and reveals the complicated emotions involved for children who have difficult relationships with their parents and how these relationships leave the deepest marks on who we are. As someone who has a complicated relationship with an estranged parent, I appreciated Gailey in this regard. The Crowder House comes alive in a delightfully macabre way and it was brought to life to the author was so special. Honestly, this book was so good and powerful in so many ways I can't properly illustrate. It was the ending and the last quarter of the book that solidified my opinion of this book and it packed a punch that made me comfortable with pushing up my rating to 5 stars.

Vera's mother called her, asking her to come home. They have been estranged for a long time, but Vera comes back home anyway, the home of a serial killer, to face the love for her father and the bodies he buried there.
I read this in audio, in one sitting. It was creepy, eerie, weird, dark, disturbing and every other synonym you can think of... I liked it! The ending was great. It takes a while to get there, but it gets there, and it's worth it.
I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Sooooo.... this was a hard one for me. I tend to really like the plot line of "someone goes back to a place where something horrible happened, and their past comes back to haunt them." But I don't tend to like books that have an ending like this one (keeping it vague on purpose). BUT ALSO, I finished this book yesterday, and I cannot stop thinking about it... soooooo.......

I finally landed on 4 stars because I can't stop thinking about it, and I ultimately think that Sarah Gailey is a fantastic writer. She wrote a book that was creepy, ethereal, disturbing, kind of weirdly comforting, and also horrifying. There were so many times while I listened to this book that I felt a literal tingle go up my spine.

If you like creepy house books, you HAVE to pick this up. But don't let the pretty pink cover fool you, this book is SCARY.

Finally, I absolutely love the narrator of this book. I don't tend to listen to fiction audiobooks, but she was such a great, immersive narrator for this book!! She really helped add to the creepy, slightly ethereal atmosphere of the whole book.

I received a free Advanced Reading Copy via NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review.

Listened to the audiobook.

One of the best books I've read in a long while.

Just Like Home was an unexpected joy to listen to! Sarah Gailey was very graphic and detailed in her descriptions, so it was easy to visualize the environment and what was happening. However, there were times that I found myself zoning out because the details were so drawn out and I just wanted to move on with the story.

Xe Sands was easy to listen to. While there wasn't much difference between most of the characters, it was still easy to differentiate between them. Xe did talk a tad slow for my pace, but when I sped it up it was too fast to fully grasp. Their talking speed may be part of the reason I felt like the book dragged on.

While I know not everyone does, I LOVE books that have dual timelines. This one was especially easy to understand because it was made clear at the beginning of the chapter if was the second timeline. My favorite parts of the story were the unveiling of the relationship between Vera and Daphne and their interactions; the complexities of their relationship are gripping. My least favorite part was the redundancy of hearing Vera say or reference "the house my father built". After finishing the book, I understood the reason why it was stated so often, but I still feel like it was excessive.

I really wish the summary for this book that is on all the websites would be revised. We aren't given an actual clue about what Francis was doing until 51%. But because I knew what to expect, the slow reveal within the book was underwhelming. I was also able to figure out most twists because of this knowledge, so they weren't as shocking as they could have been, which was disappointing. Also, Vera never asked Duvall if he was leaving the notes and he never insisted he wasn't leaving them, as the summary also stated.

Overall, I give this book a solid 4 stars. Had the summary not revealed so much and there been a tad bit more editing to shorten all the descriptions, Just Like Home could have easily been a 5-star book.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing me with an ARC.

When I first started listening to this story I thought this might be a story about a young women trying to put her past behind her and move on. Oh was I so wrong about this even though it hints at this as the story unfolds. This is a dark creepy story that can at times gross you out. It's a story about family a very dysfunctional one nether parent are worth a lick of salt. Vera is returning home after her mother asks her to come home. Vera is learning things about her past especially her father. Vera loves her father dearly even though he is a very sick man who is charged as a serial killer.

I love lemonade but after this book I am not sure anymore if I could even drink it without remembering this book. Anyways not one character is likable but that I think is what makes the creep factor better about this book. Everything is so eerily dark but things come together near the end where the twist is revealed and it is unexpected how the story unfolds.

I was wondering about Vera throughout the book if I even liked the girl at all the story went back and forth between Vera as a young girl her relationship with her father and current time with her mother. Vera was watching her dad all the time and the way the house was built just wow. The artist that is staying is also not likeable the ick factor I felt coming from him was as bad as I thought of Vera's dad.

Sarah Gailey could give Stephen King a run for his money how creepy this story is and the lingering effects after reading the book will stay with me. I don't know if I would ever look under my bed again.

Xe Sands did a fantastic job narrating this eerily creepy story bringing everything to life through the characters in the story.

Thank You to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for a free audio version of this book for an honest review.

This haunted house story is such a good counterpoint to my last Gailey novel: Upright Women Wanted, that I think a contrast would be helpful, as it's likely fans of the author will be familiar with it. The audiobook narration was terrible for the UWW, this one was phenomenal; she sounds like Jean Stewart. This story also centers on a queer woman, with first-person narration. Mired in a tabloid tragedy that has haunted her throughout life; costing her work and friends and a normal upbringing. Vera is called back home by her mother, who is dying, ostensibly to take care of the house and possibly take possession after she passes. But things are a lot more complicated than that. Old nightmares resurface. Past friends come calling. And there is a slow unraveling of her memories, revealing why the house might be haunted, where her father is, just what happened to the house, her relationship with her mother, and the other small mysteries placed as easter eggs throughout the narrative.

I think an obvious comparison is Gillian Flynn. And, like Flynn, Gailey's prose has adapted to this particular genre very well. It's the strongest writing I've noticed, again a stark contrast to UWW--and prose work is generally watered down on audio, so the fact that the atmosphere is so present and the thoughts gripping is a testament to how well crafted this was. I think it could have been a hair shorter but the whole thing is wonderfully tense. I don't read in horror, occult-type intersections often, so I had a very fun time not knowing who to trust. Loyalties shifting from character to character. It is every bit the unhinged woman--and book--I was hoping it would be, and then some.

Great thriller. Never heard of the author but gave the story a try and really enjoyed it, the plot, characters, all of it. Highly recommend! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC

Just Like Home felt like a childhood fever dream. In some
ways, it was horrifying and unforgettable. It left you clutching your chest and knowing that what you just witnessed was just a dream. In other ways, it left you wondering what the hell just happened and enough plot holes to leave you gripping to put the loose ends together.

The writing? Incredible. The storyline? Held promise. The final product? Had potential, but didn’t quite reach the finish line. Personally, I enjoyed the consistent creepy metaphors and the Stephen King style writing. I felt this book could have been so much better if some of the running events had more context and conclusions.

I. Loved. This. Audiobook!
Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this in advance.
I love gothic thrillers and most all good gothic books.
This book did not disappoint. It kept me hooked from the moment I pressed play. I loved the narrators voice. I loved how well the story was written. It was creepy. There were surprised. There was suspense.
I don’t understand why other reviews aren’t raving about this audiobook. You have to check this one out!

This novel didn’t go where I was expecting. Vera returns to her childhood home because her mother Daphne is dying. From the beginning it’s clear that Daphne doesn’t like her daughter very much, but we don’t know why. Not that Vera is happy to be back. The house, which was built by her father, is full of dark memories and may be haunted. Also, if her mom is not mother of the year, her dad was worse, he was a serial killer. The twisted part is that dad sounds like the nice, stable parent, until you hear what he did to his victims. Vera’s memories are brought to life, and they are at times heartbreaking, creepy and very explicit. The story goes back and forth slowly revealing what happened in the past and why and how Vera’s serial killer dad was eventually discovered. The reason why I was interested in the audiobook version is that Xe Sands narrates it. She’s a wonderful performer and aces this story. I especially enjoyed the spooky parts when Vera is being haunted because Sands sounds like she’s whispering in your ear and you just know there’s a big scare coming, but you don’t know when. It was not what I was expecting but I enjoyed the twists.
I chose to listen to this audiobook and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#Macmillan Audio!

I was so excited to get approved for this one! I really enjoyed the audiobook for sure. It hooked me in and kept me hooked until the very end!

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan audio for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

Not a fan of this audiobook. For full disclosure, I did toggle back and forth between the print and audio versions of this book. This review is solely of the audio quality. I will quote my full review at the bottom. I found the narrator to be okay. She nailed it for some voices, but her voice for the artist was awful.

My book 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."

First, thanks to NetGalley, I got an audiobook copy of this one. On that topic, the narrator wasn’t my favorite. I almost felt like the narrator was bored which really colored my enjoyment of this in that light.

This is an incredibly promising storyline. Serial killer house - and the serial killer in question is the MCs dad?! Yes please. I have an unhealthy obsession with serial killers (like many other millennial women) and I always wonder about the families of these killers after everything goes down. This book presents the aftermath in a horror-esque sort of way. There’s twists and turns and a relatively unexpected ending.

I definitely believe this would have been better with a different narrator - but I’m still gonna give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Great tension, characters you don't 100% love, and slow, spooky writing. This book has it all! Vera has to come home to face her past and her father- a serial killer's- past. It was a great example of a slow horror burn.

Despite her promise to herself never to return, Vera has returned home at the request of her dying mother. Vera’s father was a serial killer and he disposed of the bodies in the cellar when Vera was a child. Now she’s back and discovers her mother has a hanger on living in their guest house, all as he takes items from the home to sell for their macabre value to serial killer fans and ghouls. Vera also finds strange notes all over the house, notes that must be from the boarder – who else could be leaving them? The thought is too disturbing to bear. Disturbing is a good word to describe this book and I’d be lying if I said that aspects of this book shocked me and left me shaken.