I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one. I may try the physical book to see if it works better for me.

First I have to say I grew up on horror and supernatural and not romance. I have read all of John Saul, Dean Koontz and much of Bentley Little, and Just Like Home felt very much like it could have been written by one of these seasoned authors. It is a book which requires a suspension of reality, but fiction is a great place to do that so this is not a big ask.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Xe Sands and she is one of my favorite voices. She has a deep tenor which draws in the listener and she successfully brought Sarah Gailey's characters to life. I began this audio book at bedtime (BIG mistake) and it was both scary enough to make me question my decision making and kept me up long past my normal hour for sleep.

The basic premise is the return home of long absent daughter Vera to the bedside of her dying and cruel mother. Dad has been gone a long time and his reputation is destroyed by the bad things you'll see as the story unfolds. Add in a creepy stranger now living with mom and off we go. I cannot give away more or I'll ruin your journey, but it had vibes of Stephen King's Rose Red and is a solid read.


There are trigger warnings, so take heed if these are taboo subjects for you: blood, gore, murder, abuse.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen in advance of the July 19, 2022 release.

2.5 stars rounded up

I must confess that I was expecting it to be different than it ended up being and the difference did not have a positive impact on me. It is somehow memorable and interesting, but i felt the book was too long and I was not a fan of the narrator (which in this case made the book feel way longer).


Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to read this book!

“It’s a well-built house they live in. It absorbs noise, hides light, keeps secrets. It wouldn’t betray her. Not ever.”

What if the monsters under your bed that you worried about as a child turned out to be real? JUST LIKE HOME is an intensely creepy horror novel that brings that question to life in all its fleshy, terrifying glory. After over a decade away, Vera is called home by her dying mother to help her prepare their family house for sale after her death. As she sorts through old belongings, she’s visited by memories of her father, a serial killer who died in prison, and haunted by the nightmares that plagued her childhood. The people of the small town she was raised in continue to abhor her and an artist with something foul lurking beneath his charismatic surface now occupies the shed out back. But soon her mother will be dead, and she can finally escape the bloody legacy that has chased her for years - or can she?

I’m a huge Sarah Gailey fan, and I love how each book of theirs does something different but in an equally masterful way. This book is utterly chilling from page one, the kind of story that you absolutely do not want to read in bed with the lights out. The writing is terrifyingly evocative, revolting and engrossing all at once. I was gripped by the plot throughout, unable to turn away as the mysteries unraveled and the horror escalated. I also found it to be a deeply insightful book. It’s about the inherent vulnerability and isolation of childhood, how that can be twisted into something terrible; it’s about the early messages we receive about sexuality and gender, how those continue to shape us as adults; it’s about parents, how they inevitably fail us intentionally or by accident; and it’s about our childhood homes, how their shelter and safety become something more. There’s so many blurred lines in this story, between love and hate, safety and danger, fear and hunger. A dark, claustrophobic, and completely riveting book. Thanks to Tor Books and Macmillan Audio for the review copies! Highly recommend the audiobook, narrated by Xe Sands. This novel is out 7/19.

Content warnings: kidnapping, torture, murder, illness, child abuse (physical and emotional), gore/body horror

DNF at 40%

This book is just far too slow. The author is really taking their time setting up the mysterious relationship that Vera has with her parents and the house she was raised in, but at the expense of really moving the plot forward. I feel like too much time is being spent on details from Vera’s past POV that I’m left with more questions than any sort of answer.

This book isn't dark, per say.

It is visceral and highly disturbing. Something about the writing is so brilliantly ...visceral (sorry but that is all I've got). Not even just in a violent way... in describing how a woman dies (not a violent death of aggression but eaten away from disease and age) to more violent and yes dark ways.

But it is almost turning my stomach.

This is both impressive and... disturbing.

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To add on, I just think it depends on what kinds of disturbing you can and are willing to endure for entertainment. It is really just going to come down to preferences.

The only other thing is that I wish there hadn't been so much given away in the summary. There is still a lot of intrigue around Vera's childhood, the details of her dad's murders and the fallout that are very intriguing. But a lot is already given away.

The last few, real unanswered questions (which I won't specificy here) are kinda on the meh side. And while I enjoyed the supernatural side, it seemed a little ... not juvenile.. nothing about this book is juvenile. But I guess it felt very saccharine rather than sinister. I imagine the aim was towards the latter.