We Used to Live Here is an intriguing premise. After the strangers encountered in this book, Stranger Danger takes on its own meaning. Eve and Charlie have recently moved into this middle of nowhere house. The deal was a steal and offered them hope to make some quick money by fixing and reselling. What they didn’t expect was this family of five to show up at their door. Charlie was not home at that time and Eve, unable to exercise the power of no, let herself be convinced by the bad weather and Thomas, the father in the family, to let them come in for a harmless visit. Thomas grew up in the house and wants to show his kids around. The family is moving to another part of America and it may be a long time before they are back in the area.

We Used to Live Here reads like an eerie gothic tale. The story is mostly told from Eve’s perspective in third person. I wanted to like Eve but from the very start, she is set up to be someone who isn’t confident and constantly relies on Charlie to make simple decisions for her. It is hard to trust her judgement and root for her. As Eve interacts with Thomas and his family and later the neighbor, Heather, she starts to notice the many contradictory details like those around Thomas’s sister, the neighborhood being called Stray Dog Summit, and so on.

I love a good horror story and I find the most convincing horror is one where experiences are shared between multiple people (see HEX, Bad Cree). For a little bit in this book, when Charlie and Eve were together and their accounts corroborated on what they had seen at the house vs what was there now, I found some hope. But once Eve was by herself again, the story fell apart for me. She put herself in dangerous situations and maybe this was never in her control and things were going to work out this way once she let Thomas and his family in. Of course, it is a terrifying scenario to be erased as you know yourself and suddenly find yourself in another person’s life.

Attempts are definitely made to make this all believable. Scattered in between Eve’s story are notes by an unknown person, or people, it is hard to say, talking about a community of people who believe in haunted houses and the strange occurrences that have happened there. Houses that are bigger than they seem. Doors that appear and disappear. Transcriptions of interviews with people who don’t exist and events that never happened give a spooky feel. I was reminded of House of Leaves. Eve’s childhood toy monkey features in both these snippets and her narrative.

There is an uncanniness here because it feels like I was reading about the house and the events that were happening with Eve and what she uncovered about Thomas’s family but it’s all cryptic and I think most of We Used to Live Here is a mind game one plays with oneself.

The writing is descriptive and succeeds in creating a sense of unease. There are some jumpy scenes and maybe some people will find it hard to go into the basements and attics after reading this (where are the lights in horror books and why does the flashlight always die?!), but overall, We Used to Live Here isn’t the scariest book I have read. At the same time, early reviewers have loved this book so if you are a fan of horror and the premise sounds intriguing to you, you might enjoy it.

Many thanks to the publisher for a digital review copy of this book for an honest review.

This book had every “scary movie” trope down pat. I cannot wait to see the ACTUAL movie.

You will be screaming at the main characters to do the SMART thing, the RIGHT thing. But Eve’s neuroses cloud her judgement.

Things get weird. like really weird. Interspersed with excerpts from message boards and transcripts from interviews, we still don’t fully grasp the evil that lurks underneath the house.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like this one - I felt uneasy and unsure about everything and everyone.

I personally LOVED the ending, but I can see how it may leave people wanting more.

In his debut novel Marcus Kliewer shows why you should never have strangers in your home:

Charlie and Eve cannot believe the killer deal they got on an old house on a great piece of land, its like a piece of country in the city. Only problem is one road in one road out. Eve is working on the house alone when a stranger knocks on her door. It turns out not just one person but a whole family with a father who used to live there and wants to show them where he grew up. Eve is apprehensive but ends up letting them in. As soon as they are inside unexplained things start happening, starting with the youngest child going missing in the basement. New sounds, creaks and moans start to enter the house and the family cannot take the hint to leave and Eve now knows, she never should have let them in.

I love reading debut novels, I like discovering up and coming authors and when I saw this book was Kliewer's debut plus it was a horror book i was really excited to read it. I will say that Kliewer crafted a story that kept me guessing as what was occurring and I think that he was on point with the creepy atmosphere that he created in this book. You can tell there is something wrong with the house and family pretty quickly. The family just gives off those vibes of trying to appear normal, but they are not. I suggest reading this one in the dark if you are looking for a scare, or maybe a house/cabin far away from other people just to heighten it a bit.

But OMG, what the actual F happened here? Like I honestly have so many questions after finishing this book that I don’t know if that was Kliewer's intention or not. But i am so confused and I feel dissatisfied with that ending, I wanted a little more, maybe a little less of a cliff hanger as I do not know if this is going to have a sequel or not.

There are a few aspect in this book that caused me to struggle as I was reading it. I found that many of the chapters were overly long and I wish that Kliewer could have found a way to break them up a bit. Also, while reading it I felt like there were too many extra documents that were not part of the story. As to why they are there makes sense at the end but while reading them I felt it took away from the story quite a bit and made me feel less invested at times.

I will say that the book is much more of a slow burn book and it really picks up in many aspects around the 75% area. I was okay with the slow burn in the actual chapters of the story but man those extra documents really hindered it.

I don’t know whether to recommend this book or not. I mean when I was in it I was in it, but that ending, I just don’t know. I guess read this one if you are okay with something that feels incomplete and will have questions in the end. Best parallel example i can come up with is the ending to inception with the quarter at the end.

Enjoy!!!! (I think, I honestly dont know)

Thank you to @simonschusterca and @netgalley for gifting me an Advanved Reader E-copy in exchange for my honest review.

“As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.

As soon as the strangers enter their home, uncanny and inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family—or is Eve just imagining things?”

This debut novel by Marcus Kliewer was 🤯 I could not put it down. This book was a fast paced horror/thriller that I devoured in one day. It was creepy, frightening and unsettling. It will keep you guessing the entire time. I literally said out loud “what the hell is going on???”

Looking forward to the #netflix original movie starring @blakelively. If you’re looking for a fast paced horror, this one’s for you!

I really enjoyed this book! I read it in a day—couldn’t put it down! It was super scary at times! 🫢

Eve was such a great main character, but I just didn’t vibe with Charlie. She felt really off the whole time. 😬 And Thomas? Wow, he was terrifying! I kind of wish we got to see more of his “bad” side, though. I'm still trying to figure out what he really is. 🙃

I loved those mixed-media chapters! They offered little bits of info that felt a bit confusing at first, but the more I read, the more it all clicked together.

And the ending? Perfect for the story!

I'll be posting this on instagram shortly!

4.25 stars

We Used to Live Here freaked me right out. It makes sense that this is going to be made into a movie because I couldn’t stop playing it as a movie in my head, which made it SO MUCH CREEPIER!!! I could not pick this one up after like.. 6 pm or else I’d be way too scared before bed HOURS later lol

This was a really fun and engaging read for me! I felt like the characters were really nicely developed and fleshed out and the descriptions of the house were amazing. There were a few plot points that weren’t explored by the end so they threw me for a bit of a loop, but otherwise I really enjoyed this!

Thank you Atria Books & Simon and Schuster Canada for my copy of this!

"𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐭, 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐭 - 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐠𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐬."

After hearing my friend Dennis (@ScaredStraightReads) rave about this debut horror novel from Marcus Kliewer, I knew I had to read it.

The less that is known about the plot going in, the better. Kliewer nailed the feeling of unease right away, between the isolated setting of a depilated house in the middle of no where, to a family randomly showing up to tour the house and not being able to leave, due to various strange circumstances. The use of chapter titles, rather than numbers, helped invoke a growing sense of dread and claustrophobia. The house is a character itself, seemingly playing tricks by forever shifting and changing. It seemed to be trying to conceal its secrets as much as the people inside of it. I was reminded of Luke Dumas’ A History of Fear (a 2022 favourite), with the inclusion of different types of media texts (transcriptions of websites, forums, and personal recollections of videos that seem to have disappeared), with a main character that seems to be losing grip on reality… or is she? Kliewer’s story is genuinely scary in places, unnerving both psychologically and supernaturally.

We Used To Live Here is a story of strangers, invasion, paranoia and memory. It is one of the creepiest books I have read in a while, that while having a shocking ending also has unanswered questions - perhaps leading to a sequel? It is being adapted for Netflix, and I can’t wait to see how they approach this story. Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for the ARC!

I had the pleasure of reading an eARC of We Used To Live Here and I absolutley loved it! I don't alway like thrillers because I find them very hit or miss, especially when they are predictable, but this one kept me on my toes until the very end! Honestly, I'm still not sure what is going on, and I mean that in THE BEST way.

I don't typically read thrillers (I am a baby and will have nightmares if I read them at night, especially since I sleep in a basement and this has a creepy basement), but I have read some YA horror/thrillers and some of the elements have reminded me of those. The found files and the eerie vibes reminded me a lot of Rules for Vanishing by Kate Alice Marshall and The Dead House by Dawn Kurtagich. Whereas the hidden messages within the story that were left for the reader to find reminded me a lot of the Touch series by Laurie  Faria Stolarz that I read when I was in middle school. Although these comparisons are  YA , this is an adult book.

This book follows Eve and her girlfriend Charlie after they buy an old home in the middle of nowhere for them to flip. Only things take a turn when a man, his wife,  and his three children show up to the home while Eve is alone alleging that he used to live there and asking if he could give his family a tour of the place. He assures Eve that it will only take 15 minutes. After much debate, she let's him in, because surely the anxiety about letting strangers into her home is all in her head and it will only be 15 minutes, right? WRONG. Weird circumstances keep arising that make the family need to continue to stay in the house and as time passes, things begin to become increasingly distressing for Eve and the lines between reality and delusion begin to blur.

I am still reeling from finishing this book and I have so many unanswered questions. I need someone who has read this book to discuss all the little secret clues with me, cause I am sure I missed some. Like I need a YouTube deep dive video ASAP. I don't think that I have ever been so unsure of what was ACTUALLY going on in a story before. And not because the writting was bad, but because it was so intentional. I felt as if I was put in Eve's shoes and was questioning MY OWN SANITY along with her. This is probably the best book I have read this year. If you are in the mood for spooky, this is the book for you!
.

P.s. I just got my physical published copy in the mail and there is a super cool map in the front?!. I feel like I need to read it again just to see everything I missed and if anything else is added or changed from the eARC I read.

We Used to Live Here is haunting, claustrophobic, deeply atmospheric thriller/horror that without question, keeps you glued to the pages while you desperately await how this nightmare all plays out.

I love a good burn of a book and this one takes the elements of psychological thriller and horror and brings the best of those genres together for such a crazy ride of a read. From the very first pages you know bad, bad things are about to go down, and each chapter delivers in a big way.

There is action, there is intensity, there is tension that makes you want to scream at the characters to run away while also wanting to see what happens if they don't. This is truly a book you should know nothing about going in, but rest assured.....you won't be disappointed.

Many thanks to the publisher for my copy.

Eerie, creepy and unsettling. This had my heart pounding and my brain wondering what the hell was going on.
This is the best kind of debut novel and I cannot wait to see what else this author comes out with.

WE USED TO LIVE HERE by Marcus Kliewer is a psychological thriller/ horror that scared the crap out of me. It is creepy, hauntingly atmospheric and terrifying.

Plot:
There is a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around - “15 minutes, tops!”. Would you let them in? Eve lets them into the house that she and her partner just bought. Strange things begin to happen around the house. Is something wrong with the house, the strange family or is Eve losing her grip on reality?

Thoughts & feelings:
I wanted it immediately after reading the blurb, which lied to me - it said “Parasite meets Get Out”? Maybe if I squint. Despite the lie, I enjoyed the ride much more than I anticipated. I don’t read horror; did not realize that this was a horror; but will read another horror if written by Marcus Kliewer. It gripped me from the beginning and never let me go. I especially loved the inclusion of mixed media throughout which heightened the experience and frightened me even more than I already was.

5 stars for scaring me so bad and making me second guess every creak in my house that I had to watch funny tik toks before going to bed.
4/5 overall, because of some unanswered questions.

Recommend to a friend? Yup - for all my horror-loving friends. Read in the dark at your own peril.

Originally a Reddit thread and soon to be a Netflix movie starring Blake Lively.

Delighted to include this title in the June edition of Novel Encounters, my column highlighting the month’s most anticipated fiction for the Books section of Zoomer, Canada’s national lifestyle and culture magazine. (see column and mini-review at link).
Also feature interview with the author.

uɐɔ noʎ ǝlıɥʍ ʇno ʇǝ⅁

This book gave off major vibes of The Strangers mixed with Get Out mixed with Leave The World Behind… and for a debut novel, this was a good one. If you’re a fan of contemporary horror that explores tropes that are outside the box, this one is for you!

•Psychological horror 🚩
•Paychological haunting 🚩
•Children heightening the stakes 🚩
•No (cell) phone 🚩
•Liminal spaces 🚩

A young, queer, house-flipping couple - Eve and Charlie (and their dog Shylo) - move into a massive house in the middle of nowhere. One day while working on the house, and a knock at the door later, a man is standing there with his family (including his very religious, anti-queer wife) and is claiming to have lived there years before, wanting to show them around. Eva (who can’t say no to anything apparently), lets them in for a short visit… except short turns into never ending, and suddenly they’re staying the night. The family’s one kid goes missing in the basement “playing” hide and seek, there’s a paranormal presence that won’t go away, Charlie goes missing, Eve is trying to escape but is trapped in a loop (this is where the Get Out vibes come in), and then a loop of weirdly creepy things happen that will literally make you question reality.

I truthfully finished this not quite knowing what actually happened in the last third of the book, because every chapter had me second guessing myself. I have a love-hate relationship with novels that end this way, since it leaves me with so many unanswered questions, but with this genre, it adds to the excitement of the book. So, please don’t ask me how I *think* this ended because I’m going to down a rabbit hole of theories of what was real and what was not, which is why I rated this as 4⭐️ instead of 5⭐️, because the ending was a bit TOO confusing and difficult to keep track of.

(I am however equally excited to see this turn into a Netflix movie soon with Blake Lively!)

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝑵𝒆𝒕𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒊𝒎𝒐𝒏 & 𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑪𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒅𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝑨𝑹𝑪 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘!

I think this book will be a genre re-definer in the same way that Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak was. It is unnerving and scary in a way that creeps up on you, starting off feeling like a domestic thriller and ending up as a sort of horror that is not gore-y but unsettling in such a different, visceral way. It is unlike anything I've read before.

We start this story with Charlie and Eve, who have just bought an old house and are in the process of getting settled in. When a man and his family show up on their doorstep, asking to take a quick tour ("we used to live here"), things start off uneasy in a socially awkward way, but the tension and eerieness ratchet up gradually until the plot is at a rolling boil and you aren't sure when exactly that happened.

Absolutely gripping novel. Marcus Kliewer knows what he is doing.

We Used To Live Here is one of those books you NEED to read to understand why it’s so good and worthy of discussions! Does it have its flaws? Oh yes! Did I still love it? Hell yes!

Eve and Charlie, a queer couple and house flippers, buy an old, isolated house. The story begins when, one night, a strange family knocks on the door and Eve opens the door to them, changing her life forever.

This book has major haunted house vibes and it reminded me of so many horror movies I’ve seen. While some tropes may seem heavily inspired from the big screen, they manage to have the desired effect on you, nonetheless. The writing’s gripping and keeps you turning pages. Being a horror fan, I thoroughly enjoyed reading We Used To Live Here. It’s scary, creepy and makes you want to look over your shoulders.

There are also some interesting “docs” of different formats thrown into the mix, which, I felt, does enough to complicate the plot further while also making you think it makes sense. I don’t know if that made any sense, but that’s how it felt!

This book’s extremely confusing with mind-bending twists. So, be prepared to not have answers to all your questions, which I felt is a fun highlight but also a drawback. It’s great for discussions, though.


Overall, a wonderful debut and a thrilling read that I’d recommend if you like twisty nightmareish books.

4/5

ᴡᴇ ᴜꜱᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʟɪᴠᴇ ʜᴇʀᴇ
5 ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ✰ ♾️

ᴀ ꜱᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟ ᴛʜᴀɴᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ♥️ ᴛᴏ @simonschusterca & author @marcus_kliewer ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ #ꜰʀᴇᴇ ᴄᴏᴘʏ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴀᴍᴀᴢɪɴɢ ʙᴏᴏᴋ!

Written by: Marcus Kliewer
Publication 🎉 Day: Today!
Format: Physical (308 pgs.)

ˀ𝗾𝗼𝘁𝗱: 𝗪𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 (𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀) 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 “𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱”?

⤷ ꜱᴡɪᴘᴇ ᴛᴏ ꜱᴇᴇ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴅᴇꜱᴄʀɪᴘᴛɪᴏɴ!

𝗧𝘄𝗼 2️⃣ 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱-𝗯𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴

𝗘𝗺𝗼𝗷𝗶 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄: 🏠❄️🐜👻👫🐕💻 🤯❓

“𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲’𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞…”

Wow! Where do I even start? 😅

I had no idea what to expect when I started this book, and it threw me for a total loop, but the best kind!

It was atmospheric, claustrophobic at times, and definitely thought-provoking.

We Used to Live Here starts with Evelyn (Eve) opening her front door to a family of 5 standing on her porch.

The family appears to be harmless. The father claims her house is his childhood home, and asks if they could have a few minutes inside.

Eve’s partner, Charlie, isn’t home and as uncomfortable as she is to be alone with these strangers, and despite Her inner voice’s (Mo) warnings, she reluctantly lets them come in, agreeing to no more than 15 minutes inside.

To avoid spoilers, I will stop here and say this is a “must read”! The book was chef’s kiss 💋 The writing, the plot/premise, and the obvious creativity had me up late flipping 📑 through the pages.

I really enjoyed the level of detail the author put into his writing. The Reddit threads, police reports, and news articles included all enhanced this story.

The ending made my poor little brain hurt (in the best way), but I think that was the idea. It left me questioning so much haha!

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ:

-ᴀᴛᴍᴏꜱᴘʜᴇʀɪᴄ & ʜᴀᴜɴᴛɪɴɢ ʀᴇᴀᴅꜱ
-ᴛʜʀɪʟʟɪɴɢ ʙᴏᴏᴋꜱ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴅᴇᴘᴛʜ
-ɢʀᴇᴀᴛ & ɪᴍᴍᴇʀꜱɪᴠᴇ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ
-ᴘꜱʏᴄʜᴏʟᴏɢɪᴄᴀʟ + ꜱᴜꜱᴘᴇɴꜱᴇꜰᴜʟ ʀᴇᴀᴅꜱ

First, let’s just say wow, slow clap for the absolutely masterful work of tension in the first half. The way this book works to grate against your idea of social interaction and cues to build such an intense sense of uncanny dread?! Brilliant.

Queer couple Eve and Charlie have just bought a weird old house in the woods to flip when a family that purports to have lived there before shows up out of the blue and asks to be let in for a nostalgia tour. People pleaser that she is, Eve allows it but one thing after another and they’re still there. Then, things start to get really fucking weird.

I don’t want to say too much because it’s fun to experience this wackadoo plot for yourself but, it did feel to me almost like two different books—one gripping psychological horror and the other more of a speculative fiction/fantasy/horror-feeling mashup that introduces a lot of fascinating ideas, and gives us mountains of questions it never really answers.

I #buddyread this with my faves @readingwiththechoob and @roshlite and it was so fun to read with them because none of us knew wtf was going on and our theories still keep changing. You will need a friend or two to work through this one with. You may be like me and never fully get it. The plot holes were gaping and the sense wasn’t sensing but in the end that didn’t matter that much because the experience of reading it was so damn fun. Who cares if it truly comes together in the end? I don’t… kind of, I don’t. Ok, actually it is bothering me the longer I think about it lol.

I’m not sure if the author even knew where he was going with all this (I read the ARC so maybe the finished copy changes?) but the ride was super fun (it even includes Morse code and other secrets in the documents between chapters for you to uncover). I wish everything tied up in a neater bow by the end but even as is it’s well worth reading. And this might be one of the instances where the movie (Netflix adaptation with Blake Lively!) ends up being better than the book if the screenplay can make it make sense.

DM if you have theories.

Thanks to @netgalley and @atriabooks @atriathrillers for the eArC in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to read this spooky thriller, and it started out so great: Eve and Charlie recently moved into an old house in a secluded area. One night Eve answers the door and finds a family of 5 who claim they used to live in the house and want to just have a quick look around. Eve, a bit of a worry wart, feels nervous about it but lets them in.

But then, the family won’t leave. First it’s because of a snowstorm… then it all becomes rather inexplicable from there.

About halfway through, this book really went off the rails for me. It kept toggling back and forth between paranormal vibes and an unreliable narrator, and I just didn’t really like where the story went.

For me the writing was not strong enough to carry the story - it did read a lot like a script and it would probably make a better tv series than a book. (Although I think it would be too scary for me to watch 😂)

I do know a lot of people who really enjoyed this, so if you’re a fan of scary books definitely give it a try, it comes out today!

Thank you @netgalley @simonschusterca for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

This book is essentially Leave the World Behind if you take out the apocalyptic aspect and replace it with shifting realities and a bit of horror. When new homeowner, Eve, answers the door to a mysterious family that wants to tour her home because they used to live there, everything in her life gets turned upside down. Once Eve lets the family into her home, they infiltrate her life and strange events start to occur, eerie images appear and nothing is what it seems.

I really enjoyed reading this book and I especially liked the page-turning key moments in the plot. However, for me this book fell flat in the end. I don’t want to give anything away but I was not satisfied with how things wrapped up.

This book is being turned into a Netflix move starring Blake Lively and I wonder how they will alter the plot for the screen. Though, I am not sure I will actually watch the movie as it is one thing to read what happens in this story but another to see some of the haunting images described (I don’t think I can handle it).

Thanks to @simonandschusterca for an advance copy of this book out today!

okay, but what did I just read?
this book held my attention from the very beginning. It’s definitely not a slow intro to the book, it dives right in and I loved it.
everything about this book is creepy; the setting, atmosphere, creepy people visiting and not leaving, the paranormal aspect of it all.
it’s considered a horror. But I was still okay with lying in bed at night reading it.
I enjoyed how there were transcripts throughout the book; newspaper articles, footage descriptions, explanations of different parts.
as a debut, it was extremely good. even as some parts throughout the story had me going “uhm, what is happening?”
this book also left me with a lot of questions unanswered 🤷🏼‍♀️