I read the synopsis and immediately started it because it just sounded too good to be true! I mean, a comparison to House of Salt and Sorrows? Heck yeah. Gothic is my favorite sub-genre of horror so I had some high expectations. While I absolutely loved the atmospheric setting and sapphic romance, some parts of this fell flat for me. I found the writing to be full of cliches, flowery statements, and, quite possibly my biggest book pet peeve, no one spoke like they were from this century. I probably could’ve excused this from the residents of Lovelace house but not from the main character, Marin. I think modern day was not the right move for this one, it would’ve been a much better read for me if it took place in the early 1900s. Overall, I think this will still be popular amongst the YA crowd.

A decent YA gothic book with a side romance. You can def tell where the influences came from. The chapters are short but Marin isn't the greatest MC. Evie was far more likeable. It doesn't add much to the genre; one of my least favorite tropes is the parent loving their partner more than anything else (including their own children) and what they'll sacrifice for the relationship. I'll allow for it here due to special circumstances but still.

2.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC!

Firstly, I appreciate how the chapters all have titles, we don't have enough of that anymore. Secondly, Thea and Wren are absolutely creepy and gave me chills the minute they were introduced. This gave me strong Haunting of Bly Manor vibes which is perfectly okay with me because I actually loved Bly. This story was just so eerie and creepy and perfectly paced that it gave me the ick. It was wonderful and is definitely worth the read.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Marin, after a recent tragedy, turns to Lovelace House to take up a nanny position for a peculiar family.

I was intrigued when I saw the novel being compared to The Haunting of Bly Manor, but felt it really did recycle some plot points from The Haunting of Hill House (the adapted tv version) as well as Bly. Not sure how I felt overall because of the similar storylines.

Otherwise decent.

I absolutely loved this book. I couldn’t put it down and felt completely creeped out throughout the whole book (but loved every second of it). I felt like I was experiencing the same things the main character was experiencing. This was such a perfect gothic YA read and I can’t wait to read this again during spooky season

Haunting by Bly Manor meets Shining with “the return of living dead” vibes: this brilliant and extra creepy gothic horror novel scared the living daylights out of me!

I loved the claustrophobic house theme! I loved the creepy sisters who are pulling the meanest and most terrifying pranks on their nanny ! I loved the dysfunctional family theme! And I loved each character’s unique way to deal with their own grief! Everything about this book makes your hair on your neck stand up, keeping you on your toes! At some chapters, I honestly wanted to crawl under my bed or hide inside my closet! It’s darker and more frightening wild ride than I expected!

Big twists and revelations in the end are also scream worthy and shocking!

Only thing held me back to give me five stars was instant love story between Marin and Evie. Don’t get me wrong; I never say no to good romance blended in gothic horror but it seems like romantic scenes abruptly inserted between high tension thriller chapters and even though they helped us take a peaceful breath after getting extra disturbed from the dark scenes, they also affected the dramatic impact just a little.

Overall: the conclusion was still good. Some twists were unforeseeable and shocking! Giving my four darkest, queer, gothic, living dead stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Children’s Books/ Katherine Tegen Books for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

The beginning of this book had total turn of the screw vibes and went on to be pretty original. If you like a gothic style horror that will keep you guessing then this is the book for you. You won't predict the ending. Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

All The Dead Lie Down by Kyrie McCauley review. Marin just lost her mother in a horrible accident. Afterward, she receives a letter from Alice Lovelace, inviting Marin to her secluded home to nanny her children. Marin feels things are not what they appear, but can’t place what’s wrong. Marin forms a bond and romantic attachment to Alice’s daughter Evie. Evie has a strange gift that leads to a lot horrors and a fight to the death. What happens next is nothing but thrills, major creep factor, and dark secrets. This book felt a little familiar in the beginning, with the new nanny for the children trope. The first quarter of the book started a little slow but picked up pace continuously throughout the rest of the book. The romance gets to be a little repetitive, but it adds to the story and character development. I didn’t predict how this story would unfold, which is good because I can usually figure out things on my own. This book is an unedited ARC and will be published May 2023. Overall I’d give 4.7 chocolate bars 🍫 #allthedeadliedown #kyriemccauley #arc #marin #evie #alice #netgalley #thriller #romance #kindle #chocolatebars #greatread

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I always start by saying if I loved the cover or not. I didn’t even notice till I finished the book that it had two girls as part of a tree on the cover. I love it!

This was a very interesting story that had a lot of roots in the gothic genre. I thought this was going to be a stereotypical “girl goes to haunted house with creepy family and creepy little girls and gets scared by ghosts” story and was pleasantly surprised.

After her mother is killed in a tragic accident, orphaned teenager Marin is called upon by her mother’s old childhood friend who happens to be her favorite horror author. Marin is invited to live with Alice Hallowel and her two children as a nanny for the summer while her oldest daughter is at school. The people in town say strange things happen at Lovelace House. One of the children she’s hired to nanny is cold to her and wants her gone. Alice barely acknowledges her. Creepy and unexplainable things are happening all around Marin. After Alice’s oldest daughter Evie returns from boarding school out of the blue, things become even stranger.

The beginning of this book felt like it was trying to gaslit me. Were creepy things actually going on or did everyone have a secret? Were they all apart of the mean pranks that Wren was pulling to get Marin to leave? The characters were very well done and I loved the two little sisters Thea and Wren. They had a lot of personality and actually felt like mischievous children. I was sort of confused by the time period a few times. It felt like it was going for a gothic old time setting but then it had felt modern.

The romance between Marin and Evie was so cute. I could tell that Marin really liked Evie from the beginning and had wanted to feel like she could belong in Lovelace House with her. I also learned a lot about plants from Evie that I did my know before so I always give extra points for knowledge.

The twists here actually blew my mind a few times. I didn’t see some things coming. Near the end I was racing to finish because I was so invested. The last few chapters in part 3 are wild. If you’re interested in gothic horror or just horror in general? I recommend. This wasn’t very scary at all so it’s good for folks who want to dip their toes in but don’t know where to start!

This novel has a classic horror setting—an ominous house in Maine owned by a renowned horror writer (Alice). The writer invites the daughter (Marin) of a recently deceased childhood friend (Cordelia) to come play nanny for the summer to two daughters (Thea and Wren), just before her elder daughter, Evie, unexpectedly comes home. The girls at Lovelace are also grieving their father, who died the year prior. However, it quickly becomes clear to Marin this place has secrets. Sure, she could leave, but she has nowhere else to go.

This is a third-person close POV from Marin’s perspective, which seems typical of horror novels. She was totally relatable as a grieving, sapphic girl with intense anxiety and deep loyalty.

The character development and plot was extremely well done. I did see a few plot points coming, but I’m a writer in her 40s reading YA, so that’s expected.

Some of the descriptions of Maine are so lovey to offset the creepiness, and I’d definitely say this is for you if you like creepy better than gory.

Some of the comps that came to mind for me are The Others, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, and What Big Teeth.

This book delivers on the queer romance and gothic vibes! I appreciated some of the little shout-outs to other works of gothic lit, like the Haunting of Hill House (hi, Theo/Theadora), I found them cute. All in all it was suitably atmospheric, and appropriately spooky, especially for a book aimed at teens/younger readers - I liked that the "scares" tended to lean more towards terror rather than horror, which definitely ramped up the gothic vibes, instead of making things feel in-your-face.

That said, the biggest flaw I had was the pacing. Perhaps this is just a convention of YA lit that I've become unaccustomed to, but I felt like the novel was so focused on getting through the plot there wasn't a lot of time left over for deeper characterization - Marin, in particular, suffers from this, as does Alice. Some of the subplots, like Marin's experience of the train derailing, could have been far more plot-relevant than just providing a reason for her mother to be dead.

None of it was bad--it was a solid, decent, atmospheric showing, but at times it felt very shallow, and I wanted to see more of the characters interiority. Still worth checking out, though! I did enjoy it.

I knew I was tired when I started this because somehow I completely skipped over the telling description (The Haunting of Bly Manor meets House of Salt and Sorrows) and was already few chapters in when I thought, 'hmmm, this might be queer.' 😂

Reader, it was, in fact, very queer and very good. The forest surrounding the house, the house itself and the secrets it holds are raw with grief and horror. The descriptions are hauntingly gruesome, yet fascinating. One of the best YA books I've read in a long time. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on future works by Kyrie McCauley.

I don't read a whole lot of YA, unless it can catch my attention right away, and this one did. It was a fun, creepy, gothic that was enjoyable to read.

This was beautiful. I would love to read more about our girls. Maybe they can go into the hospital and cause chaos down in the basement. Oops.
Anyway, this was lovely and sad. I loved it.
The dogs though. I felt so bad for the giant dogs.

This was such a deliciously sapphic gothic read. There were times when I thought it was getting too cliche and then there would be a twist or switch up that was just such fun writing. This reminded me of like a horror version of The Goonies (can’t explain why haha), House of Blythe, and just like gothic Jane Eyre vibes. Loved the little sisters in this and man the atmospheric vibes of an old manor always get me.

Very entertaining and exactly the type of atmosphere I love! This particular flavor of dark and creepy was perfect, I was immersed in the novel and wanted to keep reading at all times. I'm interested in more books from this author now.

Thank you @netgalley for the ARC of All the Dead Lie Down. Kyrie McCauley created such a spooky and unsettling atmosphere. As a reader, you don't know what to expect. The book takes a dark turn, which is done so well and in an unexpected way.

Marin takes a job as a nanny for the children of a friend of her mother's who is recently widowed. The job proves difficult as the children play pranks on Marin. Some are innocent and others are dangerous. Marin has no idea if she is safe as she keeps uncovering secrets.
All the Dead Lie Down is available in May 2023.

This novel was so creepy, and I mean that in a good way. Kyrie McCauley does a wonderful job of displaying a spooky setting for the readers to dive into. While this book was creepy and satisfyingly so, I also found myself being humored a couple of times to lighten the mood on this eerie tale. For once in a long time, I finished a book without having any questions left unanswered, and I really appreciate that. I give this a solid 4.5 ⭐️

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but I was really interested going into it, and I wasn't disappointed! Kyrie McCauley's writing style is smooth and attention-grabbing, and I loved all of the lush details of the manor. The book started off a little slow, with most of the conflicts being centered around Marin's young charges being rude to her and playing pranks (mostly Wren), as well as Marin wondering what connection her deceased mother had to the house and flirting with Evie. For a while I was thinking this was going to be less of a horror book and more of a paranormal thriller. However, things got really disturbing, really fast. The interactions Marin has with the things Evie brings back to life are horrifying, and I couldn't bring myself to put the book down. I really like the books I read to disturb me, and this book really hit the mark.

A well rounded book that kept me flipping pages if you like creepy this book is for you! I took off a star because I felt like the characters were one demential. I would recommend this book. Thank you HarperCollins Children for my copy