The atmosphere of this book started out really great. I liked the setting, premise, and the creepiness of the characters. The story ended up not making any sense though, and I didn't feel attached to any of the characters. I found the story dull and confusing.

After the death of her mother in a horrific train wreck, Marin receives an employment opportunity at Lovelace House to nanny two girls. Alice Lovelace is a renowned horror writer and her mother’s childhood best friend, and Marin is eager to learn more about her past. However, it’s immediately clear that her two charges, Wren and Thea, don’t want her there and are willing to resort to dangerous pranks to get her to leave. When their oldest sister, Evie, returns early from school, Marin finds herself attracted in spite of all of Evie’s secrets. But the longer she stays at Lovelace, the more secrets she uncovers and the clearer it becomes that something sinister is happening. I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books. Trigger warnings: parent death, animal death (a lot of minor animal deaths on-page, particularly birds, and a subplot involving an already-dead dog), emotional abuse, poison, body horror, severe injury, blood/gore, mental illness, grief, guilt.

All the Dead Lie Down is a haunting, atmospheric treat with a central wlw romance. I’m not the biggest fan of The Turn of the Screw, but there are definite Bly Manor vibes in Lovelace and its two slightly sinister children. It also reminded me a lot of The Bone Houses in its waking dead and quiet sense of horror paired with moments of contrasting loveliness. You wouldn’t think books about dead things could be lovely, but here we are. There’s more character and atmosphere than plot, which is rather slow-moving, but it all comes together well for a quiet, spooky little novel that’s as much about grief as it is about dead things, although there’s plenty of both.

Marin is a strong main character, and as an anxious, careful person myself, I found it easy to relate to her. She’s not a risk-taker, but she’s got a loyal, motherly protective streak for Wren and Thea (despite their tricks) that I really enjoyed. The relationships between all four of the girls are given plenty of attention, and I like the dynamics among all of them and the way they develop. There’s a bit of a found family element in it as well, as Marin comes to find her place at Lovelace despite its horrors. I always love a wlw relationship, and Marin and Evie are a fun complement. (The kissing is a bit much at times, but I tend to let queer romances have that one. We deserve the happy rep.) I loved the central plot twists and the secrets once they started coming out, and there are plenty of creeps especially in the second half. I’ll be looking for a copy for my shelf when it comes out.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

Thank you Frenzy Books for the eARC! I loved this book! Couldn’t put it down. I was binging this at work because the plot and characters were just so captivating. This book has such an eerie and gothic vibe, which I absolutely live for. I don’t usually enjoy reading books with the undead trope, but this trope was so well written in this story! The children gave me the creeps, but I loved how their relationship with Marin evolved throughout the story. I loved Evie and Marin’s relationship, and immediately thought they gave off pride vibes when they first met 😂 OMG the plot reveals, though! I can’t even. There were so many plot reveals in the second half of the book, and I thought every single one worked really well with the story. The pace was really well done in this story, and the ending was satisfying too. I really recommend this if you like gothic reads about the undead.

I was freaked out by this book. I am not easily skiddish, but this book had me creeped out. The first few chapters were a little confusing, but as we started to get more information, I just got more and more creeped out. If you are looking for a haunting book, this one is for you!

Though at the beginning the similarities to Haunting of Bly Manor upset me a little, All the Dead Lie Down shine through as a great story. The necromancy reveal was when everything began to feel right to me. Everything else unfolded and I was on edge. I cared about the characters and the ending was just what I needed for this amazing story. The writing was also super enjoyable, and you bet I'm going to pick up Kyrie McCauley's next book!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this title.

Lesbians and haunted houses.

<i>All The Dead Lie Down</i> follows a anxiety-ridden, main character, who, after the worst thing imagine what happens she goes to live with her mothers, old friend. There she becomes a caretaker for young girls in grade school. However, the house seems to be hiding stuff or maybe the people inside the house are the ones hiding stuff.

Although this may be categorized, as young adult horror novel, the horror was a little lacking in the beginning. The novel takes some time to develop both the scenery and the perplexing characters. Although the book never got boring, I wish there had been more Gothic horror in the beginning. The main character has moments where the house seems to be playing tricks on her and she’s not sure if maybe it is one of the girls. This adds a somewhat spooky element, but for me, I wanted more. The setting felt atmospheric, but I wish there have been a few more spooky elements and more descriptions of some of the more grotesque moments. The romance wasn’t the main focus in the beginning, and did not develop really at all until the back half of the book. It seemed like to me that it was a bit Insta – love to me, but considering at that point, the two characters had known each other, and had been living in close proximity with each other for a period of time it’s still felt somewhat natural. If you’re not a big fan of romance, I don’t think this would bother you too much. The the romance is not overly done in anyway, and neither is the description of the physical Romance.

The ending was easily, the strongest part of the book as the action and the strength of the main characters’ relationship at that point was the most developed. Although part of it felt a little rushed, I was satisfied with the ending result in the build up to the ending.

Overall, I felt this book was fun to read, and had an interesting play on the somewhat magical and whore elements. At this time I can’t think of any comparisons in the young adult genre, but for adult whore, I think it is most similar to either T Kingfishers <i>What Moves the Dead</i>, and maybe a little bit of <i>Mexican Gothic</i>. If you are a fan of Gothic Horror and aren’t too squeamish then this book could be for you.

🔮🔮🔮🔮🔮/5

Take The Haunting of Bly Manor and make it modern. I really enjoyed All the Dead Lie Down. It's a haunting, mysterious tale of a new live-in nanny who questions the bizarre behavior of her two wards. Things aren't quite what they seem at her new job. The children's mother is a famous author who locks herself away while she writes her next novel. The nanny is left to the children's devices while she tries to keep everyone happy and safe. It's not such an easy job though as the dead start coming back to life. What's really going on at this seemingly haunted estate?

I had to force myself to finish this book and by the end I was barely paying attention and skimming just so I could finish it. In the middle I was interested in what was going on but after the “big reveal” happened 50% into the book, it just went downhill for me. I didn’t care about the characters, the relationship, the ending, anything. This book just did not do it for me in anyway and I don’t know if I will pick up anything from this author in the future.

I am drawn to stories about haunted houses, and their haunted occupants, with dark forests holding dark secrets in the background, family mysteries, deaths, and more than a hint of the supernatural at play – so this novel, McCauley’s début title with Magpie Books, ticked all those boxes and more than delivered.

Up front: I absolutely devoured this book with relish and loved the characters. It’s not often I can say I was swept up into the silky-smooth narrative and was walking alongside the mainly female cast of characters.

Marin Blythe has been orphaned after a horrific accident. Aged seventeen she is alone in the world – or so she thinks – until an old friend of her late mother, the famous and wealthy horror writer, Alice Lovelace, offers her a job and a lifeline as nanny to Alice’s young daughters, Wren and Thea.

So far, so wonderful and Marin is delighted to accept the offer.

However, the girls are not welcoming nor easy to like. The youngest, Thea, (an affectionate little girl) has the odd habit of burying her dolls in the nearby woods; the oldest, Wren, plots horrible pranks aimed to get rid of their new nanny; Alice is an absent and distracted parent; only the cook/housekeeper Neera has a kind word for Marin.

Hovering over the entire family is the spectre of the recent death of Charles Hallowell, father and husband and anchor to normality. The women are wrecked on the rocks of grief, and rudderless.

Meanwhile in the (dark, dark) woods, something is waking and stalks the shadows scaring the girls and Marin.

Marin however is desperate to fit in, to belong and find a second home with the Lovelaces, her only tie to her mother. Yet how can she, when the girls seem to want her gone? She can feel the web of lies and deceit around her.

Into this heady, bizarre atmosphere Evie, the eldest of the trio of Lovelace daughters, arrives home from college, unexpectedly. Who summoned her back? And why?

Evie is unlike anyone Marin has ever met. She has secrets which will turn Marin’s life, emotions, and world upside down. Evie also holds the answers to: The horror in the woods, the forest cemetery, the secrets the House hides, her father’s tragic drowning, Alice’s increasingly destructive behaviour, why death seems to stalk the family.

I don’t want to give anything away in this review, for there are several delicious twists and reveals to enjoy in the latter half of the novel – one of which was a real shocker, at least to this reader.

The finale in the flooded basement and underground crypt (I do love a spooky crypt – happy sigh), is excitingly written, powerfully dramatic, and very creepy.

However, there is also a tender and rather wonderful love story threaded through the supernatural goings on – the one between Evie and Marin. McCauley paints the young women’s burgeoning romantic feelings with a delicate brush. Both girls have lost so much, both are at sea in grief, both have secrets (some bigger than others), and both want to belong to someone. You can’t help but root for them.

McCauley has created a magical, dark, fascinating world filled with strong, bewitching women, who must carve their destinies from the diabolic hand they’ve been dealt.

Don’t hesitate; step into that world and be enchanted.

I have mixed feelings. The gothic aspect of this book is well done and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I however, didn't love the romance/fantasy elements. I do wish there would have been more of a horror focus. Still a great read, especially for the autumn time!

A great way to start off spooky season early! (If I'm being honest, I've been in a spooky mood all year, but let's say that this is my official entryway into Halloween-time).

The two best things about this book are its setting and its characters. I hate cold, muddy, windy, rainy environments, and yet, more than anything, I want to spend some time at Lovelace House. Something about McCauley's writing made this objectively horrible home seem enticing and cozy. I also want to fall in love with the eldest daughter of some odd, eerie family whose children I'm babysitting, as the two of us run around the dark hallways of this terrifying mansion, while we steal kisses in the shadows of the night: is that really too much to ask?

All the characters are great: the two children are definitely a fun addition to the story (and this is coming from someone who cannot stand kids). Evie was wonderful, and I really did believe the romance that developed between her and Marin. But Marin, the main character, is really the one who stole the show for me. I mean, come on: a young girl riddled with constant dread and anxiety, always anticipating the worst-case scenarios, finding an odd comfort in horror stories, and slowly discovering that she's sapphic as hell? Did I meet McCauley at age 17 and then promptly forget about that encounter while she went off and wrote an entire novel about me? I related to Marin so much, and it made it really easy for me to become deeply invested in the story from the very beginning. I loved following her on her journey and watching her grow as a person.

The biggest downside to this novel is sort of a byproduct of my own relationship with horror: I read a lot of horror books and watch a lot of horror movies, and I mentioned this in a previous review, but grief is a very common theme to explore within the genre. It's usually done well, but because I've seen so many different iterations of it, an author has to do something really unique for a book about grief to truly win me over. Sometimes grief is only a small part of a book, and there are other elements that build the story, which allows it to be an exceptional reading experience regardless. But All the Dead Lie Down really is all about grief and death, so I needed it to do something I've never seen before. And sadly, I don't think it hit the mark. This in no way makes it a bad book; it just makes a little less memorable in the long haul.

If you liked The Haunting of Bly Manor, you will love this story. There are a lot of similarities and parallels between the two, from the setting to the characters to the family dynamics to the super sweet and loving sapphic relationship at the core of the story. Overall, I had a good time with it, and it was a very quick read, a testament to its quality and my general enjoyment of the book.

I gave this a four out of five stars. I really liked this book, I want to get the physical copy to add to my library. I enjoyed the characters it was a little spooky but I wasn’t scared while reading it. It’s a good read though.

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- a solid story of grief and the exploration of ghosts, literal and figurative. McCauley's writing style is fluent and direct, hitting like a punch in the gut when the scene demands it to. the characters felt alive, yet haunted, and the exploration of love was well done. if you love gothic stories, haunted houses, and songs off of Taylor Swift's Evermore, then you'll love this book!

Though I don't think I'm necessarily the target audience for this book (since it's a YA and I'm almost in my 40's) I still found it to be good. The creepy, Gothic feel to it would do well for someone looking for a book to read during spooky season. It was a decent read and I would recommend it.

Alice Lovelace is a horror writer and childhood friend of Marin Blythe’s mother, and after a tragedy she invites Marin to be a nanny of her peculiar daughters, Thea and Wren. While Wren tries to drive Marin away in new and creative ways, Thea buries her dolls and holds funerals for them. When the eldest daughter, Evie, returns home, Marin finds herself captivated. Something’s in the woods, and as Wrens;s pranks escalate and dead birds end up in Marin’s room, her anxiety levels rise and she knows she has to find out what’s really going on.

I enjoyed this book even more than I thought I would. I enjoyed the twisty turns and the characters. Each character is weird and interesting in their own way, and I didn’t see some of the twists coming, the best kind of mystery. I didn’t realize the audiobook copy was a galley, so I did wait until the fully-produced audio was released to listen, and the narration was great. If you like YA with a bit of horror and mystery, definitely check it out.

Personally not for me, but this is a great gothic young adult book. I can think of many of my young adult readers at my library that I would recommend this book to during reader's advisory. I did really enjoy the development of the characters. I really enjoy the haunting and eerie setting that the author developed and loved how they described the home. This is strong haunting, gothic young adult book.

4.5 F**** Them Creepy Kids Stars!

After tragedy strikes, Marin is invited to be the nanny for her mother’s childhood friend, who just happens to also be her favorite author. With nowhere else to go, Marin accepts and travels to Lovelace House, the creepy family estate. Once there she meets her new charges, Thea and Wren, who give the Shining twins a run for their money. It’s all doll burial/funerals, and terrifying pranks until Evie, the eldest daughter, returns home out of the blue. Now there is a potential summer fling to go with the creepy kids and dead animals that keep randomly showing up around the house.

Who doesn’t love a story with creepy kids in a creepy house where creepy stuff happens?
I can 100% understand the Bly Manor comparisons. This has the same vibe and similar aspects in the story itself. This was very well done, the tense atmosphere, sense of dread, the dynamic characters, and the plot twists.

That being said, if you don’t like gore and are upset by animal death, you might want to skip this, seeing as it is chalk full of it. Clearly not a problem for my dark and twisty a**.

The only complaint would be that the romance between Marin and Evie seemed a bit insta-lovey and some of their romantical scenes were placed in odd spots and threw the pacing off a bit. I would’ve liked a bit more build up to their romance.

Overall this was a twisted ride and I would 10/10 recommend!

Check it out now!
A big thanks to the Publisher & NetGalley for gifting me a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Tragedy is its own curse.

I truly believed I would adore this book but couldn't get into it.
It may have fallen down to the fact that I kept starting it & restarting it due to reading slumps. However, in my opinion, the slow pacing, the odd switch from mature to mature tones with the kids & the rushed romance did not help.

The saving grace of this book for me was the bread crumbs of clues we were left with right up to the reveal, the horror & twists of the story, and the portrayal that what returns can only return differently, aka don't mess with life & death!

Oh, this was DELICIOUS. Creepy, thoughtful, romantic, and beautifully written; I couldn't stop reading. I always love McCauley's writing and this was no exception, and kept thinking about the story even when I was away from the book. It's absolutely for fans of Bly Manor, but anyone could be drawn in by this gothic world filled with trauma, secrets, and finally hope.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this work.

This leans more into dark fantasy over gothic or horror, but that doesn't change how slow this work was for me. SO much work to get to the meat of the story makes me believe more editing was necessary.

Other readers may enjoy that aspect of the work.