“Can I go inside your heart?” 👻

YALLLLL!! I devoured this book! I haven’t read a book this fast in a while. Something about the POV being from an 8 year old just made everything a lot creepier. “Other mommy” was also quite terrifying. I thought this was well written and fast-paced with so much suspense and eeriness throughout the entire book. I absolutely LOVED this book and highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. Incidents Around the House follows Bela and her family as they navigate Bela’s friend, Other Mommy. I had a tough time getting into this book. I believe it may have been the format. It is told from the perspective of Bela.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book officially publishes on 6/25/24!

This book has a unique POV that I don’t believe I have ever seen before. Given the fact that this is classified as a horror book, the POV makes it that much more “creepy”. The pacing in this one felt on par with thrillers, with the first chapter immediately having a “hook” to draw readers in. Giving this one 3 stars overall because the ending did fall a bit flat for me and, although I know what the author was trying to do with trial and error in the context of the plot, it did seem a little redundant at times. This is a fun read though, even if for the POV alone, and would be a good October read.

With Incidents Around the House, Malerman delivers a story as equally heartbreaking as it is horrifying. When you pick up a story this gripping, it becomes nearly impossible to put it down. I devoured this book in 24 hours, and I found myself sad that it was over. I am desensitized when it comes to horror, but Malerman writes scenes in a way that really gets my heart racing and my eyes glancing to the corners of the room. I’m eager to read what he writes next!

Bela lives with her Mommy and Daddo, and even though they fight sometimes, they live a pretty normal life. Except when everyone goes to sleep, Other Mommy comes out of the closet. At first she was kind, but now she won't stop asking Bela if she can go into her heart. Bela keeps saying no- but Other Mommy is persistent, and getting angry.

Ok WHEW this book was something. I'm terrified of Other Mommy and I'm an adult- I can't imagine being a child and seeing her. This book was written from Bela's point of view, so all we have is her understanding and perception of the world. It was VERY easy to binge- except at nighttime when I turned off the light and was worried about Other Mommy being in my bedroom. Still- it read like a movie and I needed to know what was going to happen next- I can definitely see it being made into a movie.

I anticipated a twist that didn't end up happening, but the ending.... I won't give anything away. So that's where I'll end it. But GAH the tension I felt while reading.


I highly recommend this one for anyone looking for scary... it definitely hit the mark.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC! This deeply creepy tale is my introduction to Josh Malerman's work, but it won't be the last book I read by this author. In it, eight-year-old Bela senses that all is not right between her Mommy and Daddo. To make matters worse, she is visited at night by an entity called "Other Mommy" who emerges from the dark of her closet. Other Mommy says they are friends, that she is there to help Bela, but each night, she asks Bela, "can I go into your heart?" As Bela's uneasiness with this question grows, Other Mommy escalates her otherworldly hauntings, bleeding into Bela's daytime world and threatening to tear her life and her fragile family apart.

As a lover of horror, it takes a lot to scare me in such a variety of ways, but this book did that effectively. Other Mommy's ability to imitate others and make Bela and her parents question their safety and sense of reality at every turn was both surreal and cinematic-I could easily imagine this as an A24 film. There were times in which Bela's personhood became obscured by the marital troubles between her parents, especially her mother, and because of the way the text is formatted, it was not always attributable to a particular character, However, there was something interesting about having so much of the book take place in Bela's interior world, which is under threat, and everything external, like her parent's frequent monologues, are encroaching until it is hard to tell what is real for Bela.

Be warned, this is a very unsettling book that won't leave you feeling good, but it will have you checking all the dark corners of your home in case something is lurking where you can't see.

Here's my honest review of #IncidentsAroundTheHouse by Josh Malerman

I keep reading how unique this book is & how it NEEDS to be made into a movie ...
Ummm has anyone seen Mama from 2013 with Jaime Lannister ??? It's basically the same thing. I'm pretty sure Josh Malerman watched the same movie & tweaked a few things here & there to make this book.
That said it wasn't totally bad but I felt this could have been a YA thriller ?? Not horror ... I was never once scared or even a bit creeped out by this book & I was really hoping to be.
I guess all in all this wasn't my cup of tea 🤷‍♀️


#HonestReview #NetGalley 👻

The only incident around here is that I read this whole book. This is a very short read, and it took me forever to get through this. The choppy short sentences from eight year old Bela were painful to read, and this story was not creepy or scary to me at all! I kept waiting for something to happen, but it never did. I guess the ending is good, but if you can suffer through this to get there, then more power to you. This book is labeled as a horror novel, but I would label it as a children’s book.

Bela, Daddo, and Mommy all live together. Bela sees “Other Mommy”. “Other Mommy” lives in her closet. Now “other mommy” comes out of the closet. (Do you like my second grade sentences? Because this is what you’ll get throughout the whole book). Other Mommy comes to Bela everyday and asks to go inside her heart. Oh no, what should Bela do?

At first, only Bela could see “other mommy”, but now others can see her too. What is happening? How will we ever get rid of “other mommy”? If you’re curious, please read this book to find out.

There are many five star reviews for this book, and others are loving it. However, this book just didn’t work for me. I wanted to be scared, and I wasn’t at all. I would also read a few pages and doze off (which is not a good sign).

Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine, and the author for an ARC of this book in which I am leaving an honest review.
Publication date: June 25, 2024.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Other Mommy is the monster in the closet, and everything nightmares are made of. She's been around as long as eight year old Bela can remember, but lately, she keeps asking Bela if she can get in her heart. Bela knows saying no is making Other Mommy mad, and she's starting to wonder if Other Mommy is really a friend. After an incident that proves to Bela that she isn't the only one who can see Other Mommy in the house, Bela is terrified for her family.

Josh Malerman really breathes life into the monster that is Other Mommy. I'm not generally scared by horror, but this one made me jumpy! I think it was a combination of the vividly descriptive writing, the story being told from a child's perspective, along with the adult perspectives that were incorporated throughout the book. There were no quotation marks, and I think that added more anxiety and dread without making it difficult to read. There are so many different layers to this book, all coming together perfectly to make Other Mommy my favorite Malerman monster to be haunted by yet! I did predict the ending to some degree, but it didn't make me enjoy this wild and terrifying ride any less. Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Josh Malerman for the opportunity to read an review an early copy of Incidents Around the House.

I enjoyed this one, but it did miss the mark a little for me. I was hoping to be more creeped out that I was, but I feel like this one never really found it's footing. It is definitely unique being written from the POV of an 8 year old and is a super bingeable read, but the characters and the plot just never fully sunk it's teeth into me. I wanted more tension and build up and feel like things moved a bit too fast, but then once we got about half way, things seemed to drag. Overall enjoyable, but likely won't stick with me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of "Incidents Around the House" by Josh Malerman.
Reading a book written from a little kid's perspective was a novel concept for me and definitely enhanced the creepiness factor.
The first 60% of the book are fresh, dynamic, and engaging, thanks to its unique writing style. It feels like the book is being propped up to be a horror movie script, with its short and precise scenes and choppy dialogs. The scene is masterfully set, and the descriptions of the entity are vivid and bone-chilling. I could not wait to see how the book ended.
I am sorry to say that the last third of the book fell apart for me, and the ending did not live up to the expectations. I was left somewhat confused and disappointed.
That being said, it is definitely a good base for an engaging horror thriller, and I would be curious to see a movie based on this book.

THIS WAS SO SCARY! I loved every minute of this and truly was scared to get out of bed to go pee at one point. If I wasn't so scared I would have stayed up all night to finish it in one sitting lol.

I enjoyed this book! Fast-paced, creepy premise, great monster. The second act didn't quite hit, but the ending more than made up for it. I can see this becoming a movie really easily!

"Who is good and who is bad? What is right and what is wrong? You ever think, Bela, how people say that light shows what things really look like, but they also say that light and dark are equal and need each other and you can’t have one without the other and so . . . is it so crazy to say that maybe what we see in the dark is the truth too?"

This is a really creepy novel told from the perspective of a child named Bela. Bela like a lot of children has an imaginary friend. But hers lives in the closet, and tells Bella she's her other Mommy. Other Mommy is constantly asking Bela to let her into her heart, to reincarnate her and bring her to life. And then Other Mommy starts appearing outside the closet, haunting Bela wherever she goes.

This was entertaining and scary..thank you Random House Ballantine for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Incidents Around the House” by Josh Malerman is a pretty unique horror book. It’s told from the perspective of an eight-year-old girl named Bela, which takes a bit of getting used to, but once you do, it really pulls you in. Bela's voice feels authentic, and you get drawn into her world and the creepy stuff happening around her.

The plot centers on Bela and her encounters with 'Other Mommy,' a sinister entity that comes out of her closet and wants to "go inside her heart." Things get more intense and scary as 'Other Mommy' starts affecting Bela’s family. The tension builds up well, and there are definitely some moments that will freak you out. I wouldn’t recommend reading this before bed unless you enjoy nightmares.

Bela’s relationship with her family, especially with her dad, who she calls Daddo, is heartwarming, though the constant use of 'Daddo' can get a bit annoying. The story gets pretty intense when 'Other Mommy' shows up at a party her parents are having, and everything starts going downhill from there. Malerman does a great job of making you feel the fear and anxiety of the characters.

One thing I liked is that Bela's parents actually believe her about 'Other Mommy' and try to help, even if they don't always get it right. The book also touches on some family drama, which adds another layer to the story. However, sometimes Bela seems a bit too understanding for her age, and the way her parents talk about adult stuff in front of her feels off.

Overall, this book is a quick, creepy read that’s perfect for spooky season. It’s different from your usual horror story, and that makes it stand out. I'd give it 3.75 stars for being such a unique and unsettling read. If you’re looking for something to give you chills, this is worth picking up.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Josh Malerman for allowing me to read your book.

Thank you to Random House for the advanced readers copy!

To me, this book was written to be made into a movie. It was so vivid, even though it was told from the point of view of an eight year old. I was so hooked, I cannot remember the last time I finished a book so fast! I did not want to put it down. And the way Other Mommy was described... I'm gonna need someone to do some fan art of her because I definitely need a visual! Really great scary story, and it's one that will age well too.

Incidents Around the House is a horror story told through the perspective of eight year old Bela. Bela has been having visits from a strange entity that seems to live in the closet, known only as 'Other Mommy.' Bela tries to keep Other Mommy hidden from her parents but the longer the entity goes without getting what it wants, the more the activity increases, and soon Other Mommy is no longer confined to Bela's room, or Bela's eyes. Now, Bela and her parents are faced with the dangerous task of destroying Other Mommy before it ruins their family.

Though having a young child as the narrator for a story is not a new idea, and I do think it made sense for the story to be told this way, I think it ended up taking away more than it added for this one. I felt like I was kept at arms length and never fully pulled into the story. In addition, being in the simple working mind of Bela led to strange sounding dialogue and way too much repetition. Plot wise, it felt like a lot seemed to happen while simultaneously, nothing happened - because every plot point happened so quickly that we didn't get time to sit with each different scenario the family was faced with.

Despite this, something the book does get right is the horrific descriptions of 'Other Mommy' which lead to some terrifying imagery. The scare factor is high in terms of the number of scary scenes throughout, but again, the feeling of not being fully drawn in to the story made these scenes lack the feeling of terror I was looking for. The upside to reading from Bela's perspective means that this is an extremely quick read and very binge-able - this could definitely be completed in a day despite the length of it!

Overall, there was some things I enjoyed in this book but at the end, I was still left wanting *more* from the story, *more* from the scary scenes, and *more* from the ending itself.

As someone who loves horror, I have read a lot of different books in the horror genre. This is the first book that truly scared me. The atmosphere was tense and made me feel like there was something constantly sneaking up behind me. The writing done in the POV of the child main character was richly developed and felt like I was being told a story by her without being too infantilizing. The relationships were well built and each character was realistic and interesting. I also loved the nod to Malerman's novel Goblin and bringing us back to that world for a moment. The ending was not what I saw coming and made the entire lead up even scarier on reflection. This is one of my favorite horror books I have ever read and the only one to give me actual nightmares.

A chilling tale that will keep you up at night reading. Other Mother is sinister and you won’t soon forget her.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley exchange for my honest opinion.

I'd heard how scary this was, and my "fear threshold" has gotten pretty high in recent years, but this was absolutely terrifying. Brave stylistic choices paid off here, big time. Malerman's best yet.