Rating: 3.5

I liked the plot and the creepy atmosphere of the story, but the characters felt one-dimensional and I didn't really care about them or the relationship between Marin and Evie.

This was so twisted and haunting... but sooo good at the same time! I'm a huge horror movie lover and new to reading the genre but this was so much fun. It had me thinking about it way after I had finished it. I didn't want to put it down because it made me so anxious to know what happened next and how it was going to end. I will definitely be reading this again in the fall on a rainy day because I think it would be perfect! It's definitely the perfect gothic horror book for fall time!

I definitely will be recommending this to anyone who loves gothic novels, horror, LGBTQIA+!

"The Haunting of Bly Manor meets House of Salt and Sorrows in award-winning author Kyrie McCauley's contemporary YA Gothic romance about a dark family lineage, the ghosts of grief, and the lines we'll cross for love.

The Sleeping House was very much awake...

Days after a tragedy leaves Marin Blythe alone in the world, she receives a surprising invitation from Alice Lovelace - an acclaimed horror writer and childhood friend of Marin's mother. Alice offers her a nanny position at Lovelace House, the family's coastal Maine estate.

Marin accepts and soon finds herself minding Alice's peculiar girls. Thea buries her dolls one by one, hosting a series of funerals, while Wren does everything in her power to drive Marin away. Then Alice's eldest daughter returns home unexpectedly. Evie Hallowell is every bit as strange as her younger sisters, and yet Marin is quickly drawn in by Evie's compelling behavior and ethereal grace.

But as Marin settles in, she can't escape the anxiety that follows her like a shadow. Dead birds appear in Marin's room. The children's pranks escalate. Something dangerous lurks in the woods, leaving mutilated animals in its wake. All is not well at Lovelace House, and Marin must unravel its secrets before they consume her."

Oh yes, definite The Haunting of Bly Manor vibes, I love me a dark Gothic nanny tale!

This was haunting. A true story that keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting to know more with each page.

I really enjoy the authors writing style as well as the overall “vibe” of this book.

This book immediately made me think of crimson peak. The cover itself is beautiful and haunting, I will be honest and say at first I had a hard time getting into the book. I love the gothic vibes the book brings with an old house on the seaside surrounded by woods. I did enjoy Marin and Evie's romance but overall I felt this book fell a bit flat.

This book was great. It’s a gothic zombie story with Haunting of Bly Manor vibes. The creepy children spend their time hazing the new nanny who just lost her mother. The romance between Evie and Marin was sweet and very PG-13. The author did a good job of making the house feel creepy and inhabitants, like the mom, even creepier. The only thing I would say didn’t feel right with me was the way Marin’s grief was addressed. It felt like the death of her mother and the accident had very little impact on Marin. She mentions her mother’s death several times, and that is whole reason she is there at the manor, but the feelings weren’t there. It was like Marin was estranged from her mother and wasn’t even present when she died. Sad but not impactful.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this and will recommend it to teens looking for a great horror book!

Thank you so very much for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

The writing was beautiful, but the book itself was dreadfully boring. And just when I thought it would get spooky... it fell flat.

Loved the LGBTQ+ rep

A queer gothic horror novel that explores grief and trauma set in (what is essentially) a haunted house? This book sounded exactly my speed.

The first half begins with creepy or unsettling occurances around the house but after we find out the cause in the second half—that's when the true horror begins (and where the story really hooked me). The relationship that blooms between Marin and Evie is touching and you really understand how deeply they care for each other. The writing is a little boring and clunky at times (not unexpected given that it's YA), but then you also get lines like:

"The way Marin's arms formed parenthesis around her. When Evier sighed against her neck, it was an apostrophe—in the possessive. And Marin knew all the words. She had been memorizing them for months."

Which is just *chef's kiss* the kind of romance perfect for the gothic horror genre. Aside from some pacing issues, I found the story compelling—it had me, in equal parts, on the edge of my seat and sighing forlornly, wishing that I too lived in a giant weird house full of dead things.

CW for graphic body horror, lots of death (including animal death, death of a parent, and brief description of death of a child/baby), gore, stalking, kidnapping, violence, and panic attacks.

Thanks to HarperCollins Children's Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC!

Young girl takes a job as a live in nanny for a reclusive author's children. Everything is not as it seems and every character has an aura of creepiness. A quick read.

Creepy, creepy, creepy! This is a YA horror novel that uses atmosphere and mystery to keep you hooked all the way through the book.

This is a much darker YA horror book, it contains a lot of death. The title pretty much says it all. This book certainly has some gothic horror undertones to it, past family secrets, graveyards, an ancient house...it has all those pieces. It reminded me very much like the Netflix show the Haunting of Hill House. So if you liked that, you'll probably enjoy this as well!

Marin was a great character, she was thrown into the middle of a mysterious family, and is a nanny for two children of an eccentric writer. It gets more convoluted from there, and I don't want to spoil too much of the book. Suffice to say it was good!

I really liked the plot of this book and how it played out. I couldn't put the book down; and there were moments I was going "WHAT?!" at the book.

There was also a sapphic relationship that was really sweet admist all the horror in this book.

All the Dead Lie Down is a twisty, mysterious, and thrilling horror book for all older audiences.

I knew I needed to read this as soon as I saw the comparison to The Haunting of Bly Manor. I have not yet read House of Salt and Sorrow, but I added that to my list about a quarter of the way through this book based solely on its apparent similarity to this book. Needless to say, I enjoyed this a lot.

This is a gothic love story that manages some truly disturbing moments of horror. Reader beware: dead, dying, and injured animals are a major theme throughout. That said, I'm highly sensitive to that myself, and it never felt gratuitous and always added to and advanced the story.

This is also a queer love story. Marin and Evie's romance had me swooning. I will literally never smell cinnamon again without thinking of this book. For the most part, I loved that their relationship was treated as normal and nothing to be commented on. I just wish that there had been some acknowledgement of the very real possibility of homophobia/anti-lgbtqia+ sentiment. Even just an offhand thought could have covered that and made the books' queer readers that much more comfortable.

All that aside, this has been one of the most enjoyable books I've read recently. The writing is beautifully lyrical. I honestly want to listen to the audiobook when I get the chance, just to hear some of my favorite parts being read aloud. The romance is sweet and flows believably with the rest of the story, and the overall story is enthralling. I could hardly put it down, actually hated having to, and literally couldn't wait to see what happened next. I will admit to seeing some of the twists prior to their reveal, but it did not detract from my enjoyment at all. I absolutely plan to revisit Marin and Evie, and the dark heart of this book that is the Lovelace Estate.

My rating for this is 5 out of 5 stars and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys gothic fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and HarperCollins for the early copy. This has been my honest review.

My review will be posted on my blog and Goodreads within a week of the books' publication date. I will provide links once they are posted.

Thank you to Netgalley for the review!

Unfortunate DNF, I should have expected a creepy twin stereotype when they said it was similar to bly manor, but this just felt very one note.

So apparently Gothic Horror is a genre I am really into. I never really thought of myself as a horror person, especially when it comes to movies because my over active imagination keeps me awake and gives me nightmares, or maybe I am just maturing in my taste in books. But When I read Erin A. Craigs House of Salt and Sorrow I loved it thought maybe it was a one off, nope I really liked Horrid too. All the Dead Lie Down has been described as The Haunting of Bly Manor meets House of Salt and Sorrows. Hence why I brought the later up. I was amazed at the creepy vibe and was totally derailed by the story. Just when you think you got something figured out, like I thought maybe Alice Lovelace was a werewolf at some point (she’s not btw😉), the narrative takes a turn.


All the Dead Lie Down is Kyrie McCauley’s contemporary YA gothic romance about a dark family lineage, the ghosts of grief, and the lines we’ll cross for love. I recieved an arc from NetGally for a fair review. The book will be released on May 16, 2023 and if you are a fan of gothic horror or Erin A Craig’s I know you will love it so mark your calendars. Now I have to go read some of Kyrie’s other books!


So the synopsis :

Days after a tragedy leaves Marin Blythe alone in the world, she receives a surprising invitation from Alice Lovelace—an acclaimed horror writer and childhood friend of Marin’s mother. Alice offers her a nanny position at Lovelace House, the family’s coastal Maine estate.


Marin accepts and soon finds herself minding Alice’s peculiar girls. Thea buries her dolls one by one, hosting a series of funerals, while Wren does everything in her power to drive Marin away. Then Alice’s eldest daughter returns home unexpectedly. Evie Hallowell is every bit as strange as her younger sisters, and yet Marin is quickly drawn in by Evie’s compelling behavior and ethereal grace.


But as Marin settles in, she can’t escape the anxiety that follows her like a shadow. Dead birds appear in Marin’s room. The children’s pranks escalate. Something dangerous lurks in the woods, leaving mutilated animals in its wake. All is not well at Lovelace House, and Marin must unravel its secrets before they consume her.


I literally stopped reading this story for 2 days with only 10% of the story left because I didn’t want it to end. In that time my mind was reeling on all that had happened and what would happen in the end because as you imagine at 10% left you are smack in the middle of the climax. I stayed up until 2 am when my eyes were so bleary I couldn’t focus anymore reading this book.


Mourning Dove, Cabin Lake Viewing Blinds, Deschutes National Forest, Near Fort Rock, Oregon
All the Dead Lie Down is enthralling , masterful and top notch creepy! I loved every word of it. Definitely rating this one a 5 out of 5 stars from the first chapter to the bittersweet finale.

This book was one of my most anticipated releases. I have always loved horror more than any other genre, but in recent years I haven't found the same spine tingling scares I found in my youth. I don't mind gore or slasher horror, but it isn't what I go looking for... so hearing this book was a creepy gothic horror had my heart fluttering. I am happy to say I was NOT disappointed.

I really do not want to give anything away in this book because it is one which reveals itself and builds so organically that to have someone rip away any piece from the reader feels like a big book lover betrayal, so I'll keep this overview simple and leave you to discover the secrets and scares on your own. A young woman, Marin, takes on the position of babysitting two young sisters. The children in her care are sassy to say the very least, little monsters seems a bit more true. As a woman with two small boys, I can't imagine trying to handle the pranks of these children and still keeping myself collected. Some of these pranks seem rather innocent and some made my body shiver. The mother of these children are also connected to Marin, The children's mother is an author Marin adores (can you even begin to put yourself in those shoes... wondering around the estate of your most beloved author) and a friend of her own mother. The location is the perfect setting for a gothic feeling horror novel, a large estate with a seaside backdrop. During the entire novel, you know the scents of dust and salt water and old paper is just everywhere. I personally want there to be a genre just for this type of setting because it is a personal favorite.

As the reader, we stick with Marin. We discover the skeletons in the closets right along with her. We only know as much as she knows and we become just as desperate for answers and solutions as our main character. For anyone wondering, Marin is a strong person who you will not be screaming at to try and make the right decision like in so many horror books. She is not the first to run to a creaking with no weapons in the dark, but she does find herself in some bad situations even though she tries her very best to think things through.
This book is more than horror and I loved it so much more for it. We get horror and chills, but we also get a touch of romance and yearning. The author did a wonderful job taking us from chilling moments to heated moments without it ever feeling jarring. It felt like the author knew the reader may need a moment to warm themselves and give us something to focus on or root for in the darkest of times.

This book has been compared to so many other horror novels or television series or movies, but while I can see how it relates to other materials, I think this book stands on its own. Plus, in most of the comparisons I hated how many lose ends those other books and things had. I am a reader who NEEDS answers. I do NOT enjoy vague open endings and this book rewards the reader with answers to all their questions and I love it.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys horror. If you're just falling into the genre, I also think this is an outstanding book to start your journey into the spooky since it isn't as dark as some of the other entries I've read recently. I would also recommend this to any reader who just enjoys a dark atmosphere because this book puts you into the gloomy estate and keeps you there. I plan to recommend this book to my library group and hope to have a read-a-long as soon as its released. Do I think it would be a wonderful Autumn read? Definitely. This book screams for a blanket, cup of honey filled tea, and a roaring fire, but I wouldn't tell a single reader to wait on this book. It is a book meant to be read as soon as you can get your hands on it.

It pains me to write a not-so-fabulous review for Kyrie McCauley, because I really loved her other two books, "If These Wings Could Fly" and "We Could Be Heroes." Her first foray into horror, "All the Dead Lie Down," just didn't have the sustained suspense to keep me hooked.
There are some fantastically creepy moments in the first 10%- the braids and the dog's grave come to mind. But after that, the strangeness appeal flatlines. Especially when Evie arrives, we just get these tense scenes of familial interactions, but that does not a horror novel make.
And therein lies the rub (or the dead, pun intended)- McCauley is a phenomenal writer. Her prose are beautiful, and the remote Maine setting comes to misty life. But this is a horror novel- I need to be horrified. That just wasn't happening here. It also dabbles a bit into magical realism, which works well in McCauley's other novels, just not here.
Alas, I was hoping to love this. Still willing to read McCauley's next novel, whenever that is!

**2.5 STARS**

I never read The Haunting of Bly Manor (but now I’m intrigued) but I did read House of Salt and Sorrows and loved it. This book was not what I expected. Here is what I thought:

+ Right away the cover gives off that this will be a creepy book and I’m here for it. Marin moves into the house of her mom’s friend, Alice, an author with three daughters. Marin’s mom died so she’s alone and so she is now the nanny to Thea and Wren. The girls, especially Wren – are creepy. The writing is atmospheric and I got the gothic vibes for sure.

+ I was definitely kept guessing throughout the book. And there were weird and gross things like finding teeth in clams, or the girls cutting their hair and saving it in a chest and of course the dead animals around the property. If I was Marin, I would have left the moment Wren tried to feed me poisonous berries as a test lol.

+~ The lgbt+ romance was a sweet one – Marin and Evie complimented one another and they bonded through their grief. Marin lost her mother and Evie, her father. But I also felt like it didn’t work for me. I was caught up in trying to figure out what was going on at the Lovelace estate instead of wanting to read a romance happening.

~ The main reason this story didn’t work for me was to slow in the first half and it just lost my attention. I also failed to connect to any of the characters.

~ I’m probably not the right audience for this book or it was due to me not being in the mood to read it that I didn’t really enjoy it.

Tropes: creepy secluded house

Why you should read it:
*you like gothic mystery and horror
*the theme of grief

Why you might not want to read it:
*too slow for me

My Thoughts:

The beginning was too slow for me to get invested into the story but I did think the writing was atmospheric and brought the creepy vibes. This one didn’t work out for me but I think if you like gothic horror and mystery, you will enjoy this one a lot especially in the second half of the book.

I was so excited to receive this ARC from Netgalley and it did not disappoint!!! I couldn’t put it down!!! So creepy and so good!

This is definitely a slow burn for the first half, and I was really worried I wasn't going to like it, even though it was one of my most anticipates. While it was not quite a five star for me, the second half of the book was so unsettling, fast paced, and just a good spooky time that I ended up loving the book.

I have not read any of McCauley's other books, but I do know that this is a new genre for her. She truly excels in it, and I would pick up a second horror book from her without question.

The exploration of grief in this as well as the anxiety representation were really great.

I am typically not one for horror based books but I LOVED this one. I started just before I went to bed and I had to make myself go to bed to finish it when I woke up. There are so many different little events that pop up throughout the book that truly surprised me.

Marin accepts an offer to look over 2 children after her own mother passed in exchange for room and board. The children's mother, Alice, had known Marin's mother when they were younger and Marin needed a place to live. Alice was also a well known author and she needed the children taken care of so she could focus on her novels. Marin accepts as she is a teenager herself with little to no money. The girls try to scare Marin by pranking her by doing creepy things in efforts to get her to leave. Eventually their older sister, the same age as Marin, Evie returns. Instead of making her leave their mom insists that she stays and share the responsibility with Evie and to help Evie with her studies. As Marin adjusts to life at Lovelace her anxiety bolsters with each passing day as curious events occur. From dead birds in her room to mutilated animals in the woods, things are off about Lovelace House and it's residents.

Grief is a huge theme in this book as both Marin and the girls had recently lost someone.

If you are looking for a spooky story then this one fits the bill. I loved how this was dark and creepy and I think that readers are going to fall for this one hard. The sapphic romance was perfect for this plot, it built up a lot of tension as the story unfolded and I loved every page.