I really wanted to love this book. But the element of trying everything together was really missing.

The element of things that go bump in the night was there, but felt like the ending was rushed and while it was tied together took away from some of the other suspense that had been built.

Xe Sands was phenomenal and really brought a lot of suspense and creep to the reading.

Just Like Home
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Thriller
Format: Audiobook
Date Published: 7/19/22
Author: Sarah Gailey
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Narrator: Xe Sands
Goodreads Rating: 3.57

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: 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? There are secrets yet undiscovered in the foundations of the notorious Crowder House. Vera must face them and find out for herself just how deep the rot goes.

My Thoughts: This is a bizarre, dark, and disturbing listen into the world of a serial killer. The story is narrated in both present and past tense. This is a bit of a slower burn story, if you can hang in there, it will pay off in twists. The narrator does a fantastic job of interweaving life into the various characters, making you feel present in this creepy, haunted house. The characters are well developed with depth, mystery, creative, and in a sense, creepy. The author’s writing style was complex, suspenseful, twisty, and keeps you engaged throughout the book, even during the slower parts. This book starts with the slow building of the characters, from the bodies at Crowder House to the present with Vera’s mother dying and Vera finally wanting to close the door on that chapter, then the plot is layered with twists, some were predictable but some were not, and then finally the ending with another series of twists. This story was a dark psychological thriller with layers of horror and shock. This book will not appeal to everyone, but if you like it, then you really like it. I would read other works by Gailey as I loved how she did this story. This book is already published and I would recommend to anyone who likes psychological thrillers, to give it a chance!

A well produced audiobook is a great thing, and this is no exception. Sometimes I wonder at the pacing of audiobooks, the narration can seem too slow. But in this case the narrator did a great job without sounding like they were stuck in molasses. The creepiness factor is high.

First time reading Sarah Gailey and it won’t be my last!

We’re following Vera, a young woman who has come back to her childhood home tasked with taking care of her dying mother. In this we discover the mystery of the house and why she has been away for over a decade.

The book was really great! I listened to this as an audiobook and I would definitely recommend. The author did a great job of building the suspense!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with this arc.

This book is creepy, suspenseful, edge of your seat what is even happening. I enjoyed reading it. If you like weird houses and serial killers and familial trauma and “inspired” artists, this book is for you.

I absolutely love Xe Sands as a narrator! Her voice was perfect for this creepy, thriller. I went into this book blind. I read Echo Wife and loved it, so I thought this book would be another great choice. While this book is nothing like Echo Wife, I did really enjoy it. Vera comes home to take care of her mother and her family home. Her father was a convicted serial killer and Vera loved him dearly. As she’s there she has to relive the past and find out if she is just like her dad or if their is something sinister happening in the home.

Thank you MacMillan Audio and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to an advanced copy of Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey. While this particular book was not to my personal taste - it was well written and I do think that there is an audience who will love this book. It is a bit of a slow burn haunted house story about a woman who returns to her childhood home - the home she grew up in -with a serial killer father. I was surprised with the relationship between Vera and her father when she was younger. The audiobook was narrated by XE Sands and her voice is somewhat monotone but I do think it kind of fit the story and she did well differentiating the characters voices.

This was a perfect scary story for the fall!
This was a gruesome and chilling haunted house tale. A women returns to her childhood home to help clean out as her mother is dying in the master bedroom.
Through the course of the story we come to learn what horrible things Vera's father did in the basement while she was a child.
The ending got very weird, but in a good way. This was the perfect story to get me in the mood for some fall/winter spooky tales!

While this book was not for me personally because I just could not vibe with the storyline, I can see many who enjoy mystery/thrillers with a lot of plot twists.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. The narration was so dull and slow moving I never got hooked to keep listening.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Gailey and Macmillan Audio for the advanced listen copy.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

I had chills pretty must the entire time I was listening to this! Very well written, and some good twists. The narrator did a great job as well.

This audiobook is well narrated and also got too scary for me! I wanted to believe I could handle it, but there was something about the turn it was about to take with the too real notion of a father controlling his daughter's sexuality type situation that had me having to take an abrupt stop because I am not in the right headspace.

I went back and forth with this one which is why I am landing on a three star rating. The parts that I really enjoyed were:
1. POV from the daughter of a serial killer
2. Alternating chapters of then and now (Vera as a child vs. adult)
Things I just couldn't wrap my head around:
1. The revelation at the end that make this book horror vs. thriller
2. Vera's mother

I was listening to this book and felt that the narrator did a fantastic job. Each chapter was titled so you knew when you were in present vs. past. Great voice fluctuation that made it easy to follow. Narrator gets 5 stars from me!

Just Like Home is a gothic tale for fans of The Haunting of Hill House. I would recommend this to fans of Lisa Jewell who want something a bit darker.

I very much enjoyed this audiobook. Listening to a story like this really creates a creepy atmosphere and this story kept me guessing the whole way through.

“It was as familiar as her own skin.”

The first chunk of this book was so beautiful, so able to pinpoint the love I had for my childhood home. For the way my body fit into the places I had known for such a long part of my life. I could feel the love and attachment, and also how the hair on the back of your neck would stand on end when you felt eyes on the back of your head. So slowly, this book went from a love poem to a creeping horror story. The way it was done was genius. I absolutely loved it. This is one of the best horror books I’ve read in a really long time.

I definitely enjoyed this one! It was a little more graphic than what I normally read but honestly I have a weak stomach so I think the average person wouldn’t even notice! I really loved the main character and was invested in her family and the connection to the house from the beginning. The book did a good job of making you suspicious of everything so that when the twist came, I had no idea what to expect. I’ve never read this author and went into the story blind but I think both of those things helped to build the suspense for me and made me enjoy it even more!

This review has been posted to my goodreads, Barnes & Noble, Amazon and will be posted to my instagram (@busywithmybooks_) within the week!

I went into Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey purposefully blind. I didn't read the description, I just knew it was a Gailey book and it would be dark based on the cover. I'm glad I went in blind even if it meant being a tiny bit confused at the beginning. This book unfolds slowly but with so much purpose and care that it's hard to stop reading. Just Like Home is unsettling, creepy, and should absolutely find its way into your spooky season TBR if you haven't read it yet! You can look up the book description, but going in blind was a lot of fun! There aren't any trigger warnings I can think of that wouldn't fall under the scope of many horror novels: violence, blood, and creepy happenings. There were no likeable characters in this book, but it's still utterly compelling and readable. I listened to the audiobook and the narration was very good!!

This book was really creepy, but somewhat predictable. I really enjoyed Vera’s character. She was likable and relatable.

I was not prepared for for the intensity and darkness of Just Like Home but loved every single moment of it 👏

I was a huge fan of The Echo Wife and expected something a long the same lines here. Boy was I wrong. The easiest way to describe this is with the words you’ll find within its pages or whispered in your ears: raw, selfish, yawning pit of need. That last one may have been worded differently within the book, but you get the point.

I feel like this one is a hard one to review without giving things away. So prepare for general feelings -

This was a unique haunted house story in that it’s not just the house that’s haunted. Vera herself is haunted by the events of her childhood and how they’ve followed her throughout her life. Everything the Crowder name touches is haunted and probably forever will be.

The ending was heartbreaking. One of the twists did take me by surprise and what it represented was incredibly sad. But also beautiful in its own way. And the last page 🤌🏻 Talk about unique character development.

Just Like Home will make the perfect addition to your spooky season tbr and I highly recommend getting the audio. If you did the audiobook for The Echo Wife, I believe it’s the same narrator and they are AMAZING. Prepare to give this book the time and attention it deserves to really soak in all the raw, gory glory you’ll find within. And be prepared to have every future haunted house novel ruined for you because it doesn’t live up to this.