Enjoyed this one very much, another great horror suspense from author Josh Malerman. Never disappoints, highly recommend.

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QOTD- What was the last book or movie that scared you?

"To eight-year-old Bela, her family is her world. There’s Mommy, Daddo, and Grandma Ruth. But there is also Other Mommy, a malevolent entity who asks her every day: “Can I go inside your heart?”
When horrifying incidents around the house signal that Other Mommy is growing tired of asking Bela the same question, over and over . . . Bela understands that unless she says yes, soon her family must pay.
Other Mommy is getting restless, stronger, bolder. Only the bonds of family can keep Bela safe but other incidents show cracks in her parents' marriage. The safety Bela relies on is on the brink of unraveling.
But Other Mommy needs an answer.
Incidents Around the House is a chilling, wholly unique tale of true horror told by the child Bela. A story about a family as haunted as their home." -Goodreads

Well that was terrifying. A more intense and creepy version of Coraline is a good description for this one! An absolute must read for any horror lover. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I have mixed feelings about this one. It kind of gave off similar vibes to that movie MAMA, but instead of the parents being dead and the girls readopted, it's a single child that has a ghost that wants to take over her body and parents that slowly realize the horrors their daughter is facing. The ghost was pretty scary, I found myself a little on edge while reading it as if I just finished watching a scary movie. Some of the characters were unlikeable, but the plot twist at the end was excellent. I audibly shouted "No way!" at the end. I think one of the things that kind of dampened it for me was the daughter's name for her dad. Something about it just disrupted the story's flow. Otherwise I highly recommend this one. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC opportunity!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to be able to read this book!

One of my favourite books of the year. Josh Malerman did it again! 5/5

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I’m a Josh Malerman superfan. I’ve read just about everything of his. See my reviews for Spin a Black Yarn, Daphne, Pearl, Goblin, Malorie, Inspection, A House at the Bottom of the Lake, Unbury Carol, Black Mad Wheel, and Bird Box. And I’m pleased to say this one is his finest work since Bird Box. I absolutely loved this one.

Bela lives at home with her Mommy, Daddo, and Other Mommy, who lives in her closet and wants Bela to let her into her heart. When Mommy and Daddo finally believe Bela that Other Mommy is real, they attempt to get OM to leave Bela alone. They try leaving the house, trying to get an exorcism, and driving far away, but nothing works. OM seems to be able to follow Bela everywhere.

This book is terrifying. There’s nothing gross or gory about it. But it’s so suspenseful from beginning to end. OM is so scary in how Bela describes her. The parents trying to protect Bela but continually failing is heartbreaking. But this book will stay with me for a long time.

I loved this!! I love when the main character of a thriller or horror book is a child but I feel like it’s difficult to do it well. Josh Malerman did an amazing job at making the main character’s inner dialogue realistic, just adding to the tension and creepy aspect of the story.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A terrifying story, with a cast of relatable complex characters, that will equally scare you and warm your heart. Definitely recommend!

Bella, like a lot of kids, just wants a happy family and some good friends. So when she notices someone peeking out of her closet at night, who eventually coming out to talk & laugh with her, of course she believes them to be friends. This new friend asks Bella to call her Other Mommy but Bella doesn’t exactly know what it means when Other Mommy asks if she will let her inside her heart. The more Bella says no to Other Mommy, the more present Other Mommy becomes in Bella’s world. And it’s not long before it’s more than Bella who witnesses Other Mommy’s presence and the chaos she unloads.

Malerman did a phenomenal job of painting not only a harrowing tale of a paranormal presence but also of a relatable little girl with a family whose secrets threaten to become their ultimate downfall in the fight against Other Mommy.

4 stars

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the arc.

Josh Malerman is an expert at creating relatable suspense and horror. His books are readable, scary, and fully engrossing.

There were so many genuinely creep moments that gave me goosebumps! The mother in this book was absolutely horrible. I unfortunately did not love the ending. Excited to read more from this author m!

8 year old Bella lives with her mommy and daddo and they are her world. She however also has “other mommy “ an entity that lives in her closet and asks Bella every day if she can go into her heart. When her parents realize other mommy isn’t an imaginary friend and is in fact a real threat to their daughter they must take action to protect her.
Pros: This book is very atmospheric and I like how it tackles the challenges of motherhood, especially when you’re not sure you’re doing a good job. It was a fast easy read.
Cons: Bella is suppose to be 8, but she comes across as a much younger child ( maybe 5). The entire book is from her point of view and although that’s a novelty that works with some books I think this one could have benefited from alternative chapters from her mom Ursula. The style of writing was also very off. Every other sentence was mommy said or daddo said. I also felt the ending was very rushed and honestly confusing. I’m still not sure what happened. This is a solid 3 star, interesting but nothing terribly special. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the E galley. #netgalley #incidentsaroundthehouse #othermommy

This was genuinely creepy af! I loved how bingeable this was, and though I think this 8 year old's narration read a little young, I really enjoyed how accessible it felt and how un-intimidating it was to read because I knew a child was narrating. But man oh man the last 3rd of this book felt completely off for me. Obviously less scary moments and more focus on the family drama. But the family drama? Maybe I'm jaded so my apologies but so what? Lol the "twist" was kind of lame and so overdramatic. At this point in the book a couple of the characters responded in ways that were completely different, including their speech, to how they were set up initially. I thought this would be a cool twist, and one character does have this surprise. But the other ones? Just seemed like last minute frenzied writing which omg sounds so mean so let's move on. LOVED the very end. Perfect ending for this story. And though the mom in here SUCKED SO BAD, it was one of those unlikeable characters I loved reading. I think the author did a great job with that. I wish Lois had slapped her back though lol. One more not-my-fav-thing [sorry] was how many times they tried and failed, tried and failed. Like I get it. And that makes it more "realistic" haha but it did feel a bit too long because of that. But omg loved Kami and Kamael. Over all [overall?] GREAT JOB! *clap emoji*

[My review will be included in my monthly wrap up early November on my YouTube channel. Will link when video posts]

It took quite a while for me to settle into this one and I found the ending rather dissatisfying.

Sometimes the no quotation marks trend works for me. Here it was a miss and I suspect an audiobook might deliver better on the style of writing.

The book is entirely voiced by a protagonist of a discomfortingly indeterminate age, at least as far as the narration goes. Is she four? Is she nine? I had a lot of trouble getting my bearings on this point. The synopsis apparently identifies her as eight, and better upfront context at the start of the book itself would have helped me here.

Some of this ambiguity may very well be purposeful - a child who is perhaps a little immature and sheltered for her age could be useful as a character... but how sheltered is she when she's evidently encouraged to attend frequent house parties surrounded by drunk and stoned adults? I really had to side eye the number of times one of her parents passed out drunk around her or delivered a "man I'm so high" monologue to her supposedly-sleeping form. Is this supposed to be a normal thing parents do? Monologue to their sleeping children about philosophy, regret, life and death, and adult mistakes? I had more difficultly suspending my disbelief on this dynamic than I did for any paranormal creature in the closet.

Speaking of said creature... there are a few decently frightening scenes. But the scare factor was dishearteningly low for much of the book. There were many points in the first half to two-thirds of the story where I felt I was being told "this is so scary" but the feeling was not being successfully evoked.

Maybe I'm missing something. Maybe I've numbed myself with too many other quick horror novels this spooky season. But this hit a very mid note for me.

I worried that a book being narrated by an 8 year old would be too annoying and juvenile but I was so wrong. Bela gave this story authenticity and it was so effective in frightening me to see things through her eyes. Other Mommy is straight out of a nightmare. To see her parents fumble time and time again through this hellscape they now found themselves in really got under my skin. I wanted so badly for them to have a happy ending.

🚪👩‍👧Book Review:
Title: Incidents Around The House
Author: Josh Malerman
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/4 stars

I loved this book!!! Perfect for spooky season! I've read a lot of mixed reviews, but I'm 100% an unashamedly a fan of this creepy, eerie, goosebumped horror novel! Although it was written as an 8 year old child, Bela, it only added to the suspense.

Throughout Bela's childhood, she has made a friend in her closet who has asked to be called, "Other Mother." Eep 🫣! Her parents, Ursula and Russ, have always just blown it off as a typical child's imagination. But Other Mother is as well as they come and she's not a human. She wants to go into Bela's heart (reincarnation) and consume her.

Bela has always denied Other Mother but, things are starting to happen that Ursula and Russ are now noticing. I can't remember which parent was the first to see Other Mother but, eventually, they both do as well as Rose's grandmother. Multiple times, the family tries to flee their home for safety, but Other Mother always finds them.

The bathroom scene gave me huge goosebumps!!!

Published: June 25th, 2024

Thank you, @netgalley and @randomhouse, for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Anyone who believed there were monsters in their closets or under their beds when they were children will relate to this book. Here we meet six year old Bela and her Mommy and Daddo. There is a monster in Bela's closet that only she knows about, at first.
The book is written in Bela's point of view. She speaks of "Other Mommy" as a friend who talks with her at night. Things begin to go South before long and the horror builds to a deafening crescendo. The book gave me the creeps, in all honesty. Malerman plumbs the depths of our deepest nightmares and dredged up a winner of a novel.

3.5 rounding up, more for concept than execution. I found the premise extremely promising and the first half of this really creeped me out. There is imagery from one scene in particular that made me actively shudder. Ultimately, there just wasn't enough of the creepy stuff to keep me engaged, and the book spent way too much time with the "figuring out/planning" of it all. While I like the impulse of having this from the POV of a child, I didn't realize how limiting that is when you're trying to communicate to the reader what is going on. Some of the conversations Bela has with her parents were really repetitive and I think this book could have benefitted from another round of edits. After all the build up the ending feels like a bit of a letdown.

My recent buddy read with @fashionably.late.books confirmed what really scares me. I find the idea of possession terrifying . That is probably why Josh Malerman’s Incidents Around the House is at the top of the list for creepy books that I read this year.

The story is told through the eyes of Bela, an eight year old girl who has a friend who lives in her closet that she calls Other Mommy. Other Mommy has been there for about a year. At first Bela liked her, but she is becoming more insistent and scarier because Bela won’t answer her question. Can she come into Bela’s heart?

This book worked for me on every level. I loved that it was told through Bela’s voice. Her young voice vividly portrays the innocence that is at risk and is the perfect contrast to the diabolical intentions of Other Mommy. Bela doesn’t really understand what Other Mommy is asking but she knows it makes her feel weird. There is something about the preying on a pristine soul that I find terrifying.

This book starts off with a bang that never lets up. The parents here aren’t the stupid people that you so often find in horror films and books. Their behavior seems reasonable as they do everything they can to protect their family. The book moves at a breakneck pace as the terror builds with each scene more frightening than the last. The terror here is visceral and there is one scene involving a dog on the beach that I imagine will haunt me for a long time. And the ending…. It is abrupt and a bit vague and hard to take in, but it gradually dawns on you what has happened and it evokes a quiet and complete terror. Well done Mr. Malerman! Thank you to @netgalley and @delreybooks for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was such a fun read. I felt bad no one believed the kid at all in this book. The haunted house part did freak me out a bit. Don't I would have kids anytime soon after reading book. It was overall good read I could read over and over again.

Stunning horror. I read this in one sitting and was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

I have never been interested in reading Bird Box but now I want to give it a shot. If Malerman's other works resemble this, I know I will be in for a treat.

QUOTE: "You'll notice, the older you get, that it's the topics people say you shouldn't talk about that get all messed up beyond repair."

Loved the idea of the child POV as it offered a different perspective to a possession story.. Buddy read with a friend and had a good time. Will be recommending to others..