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 🤷🏼‍♀️

What an absolutely creepy AF thriller debut by a new Canadian author! When a family of four shows up on Eve's doorstep claiming to be the former residents and wanting to take a look around, Eve is hesitant, especially without her house flipper girlfriend, Charlie being home, but she does let them in only to later regret it deeply. Full of twists and supernatural elements (voices, doppelgangers, weird family secrets and more), this book kept me on my toes from start to finish and was great on audio. I can't for the movie adaptation with Blake Lively! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review! Highly recommended for fans of authors like Riley Sager, Simone St. James or Jennifer McMahon.

Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

This book messed with my mind and I loved it.
A psychological thriller at its finest

O.M.G!!!! I can see why this book is going to be made into a movie.

Marcus Kliewer wrote a story based on his own childhood memory of seeing the house where his father grew up and the new owner asking him if he remembered anything strange about the house.

We have a queer couple, Eve and Charlie who have recently purchased a house to flip out in the middle of nowhere in Oregon. Eve is home while Charlie is out when there is a knock on the door. Outside is a family, the father saying that he grew up in the house and would love to show his family around. An old, isolated house and inviting a group of strangers inside? What could possibly go wrong.

This book is so incredibly well written. We have documents interspersed in the pages that are their own hidden puzzle pieces that tie into the story, and I can’t go into much detail without spoiling anything but I will say that I dreamed about this book and was delightfully creeped right out.

We Used to Live Here begins with a knock on the door, as a family wants to come in and look around Eve’s home. The father, Thomas, grew up there and wants to see how it has changed. Eve is deeply uncomfortable but with her anxiety struggles to let them down, so she lets them in, and struggles to get them to leave.

I had no idea what to expect with this book, was drawn in by other reviews and the fact that it will soon be a movie. However, I could not put it down!!!
It is eerie, and uncomfortably confusing in its wielding of horror elements, yet it comes together so well in the end. Chapters are punctuated with news clippings of similar events that lead you to ask constantly, what is going on!?

Thank you to NetGalley for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I highly recommend for any fan of thrillers or horror! I cannot wait to watch the movie, and see how they adapt this story.

I loved this unique and creative take on one of my favorite tropes—haunted houses. There's nothing like a creepy house and this one lives up to my expectations as a massive horror fan. The main character Eve was intriguing. She wasn't exactly brave but then she wasn't terrified and timid either, and she's smart. The cast of secondary characters, including a strange family, also added to the intrigue. I enjoyed how the plot unravelled with fun research snippets from an outside investigator scattered between scenes, giving hints of what might be happening. I think fans of horror and paranormal thrillers will love this one.

The premise of this book and the amazing reviews are what made me pick it up. The beginning of the book was so intriguing, so chilling and eerie. The storyline was great, the writing was great, but there were so many plot holes and unanswered questions that I could not get past. There are so many loose threads that just never connect. Also the FMC is truly annoying, making the worst decisions. The middle of the book is very slow and I did think of not finishing it, thank god for the audio version. The ending was anticlimactic and left me wanting more..

I would first like to thank the publisher and author for the arc i received of this book. We Used to Live Here is a psychological thriller that follows Eve and Charlie. This 30ish couple have just bought an older home in the middle of nowhere and are planning on fixing it up. One day a family stops by and asks to tour the home as, you guessed it, they used to live there. This leads to a series of unfortunate events and twists that they certainly did not anticipate.
This book was SPOOKY!! I very much regret finishing it at 12:30am lol. The twists and turns were so unexpected and the whole premise was just so unsettling. I did finish this in a day so that speaks to its pacing and level of interest. I hadn't read a thriller in some time so this was a refreshing read! Definitely going to need a lighthearted one as a follow up though.
Overall I really enjoyed this book!! I saw it compared to Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware and I will say it gave me similar levels of unease. Would make for a really good read in October for spooky season!

“We Used to Live Here” is an ominous novel of the psychological thriller/supernatural/horror variety with all the creepy vibes from start to finish. To me everything about the first half of this book is a lesson in learning to trust your gut about people, places, and situations that are off. If your spidey sense is tingling constantly to warn you that something is off, then for goodness sakes listen to it and hightail it the other way. I mean, seriously. Also, full disclosure, I am not a fan of horror movies or the horror genre yet I did request this book, which, incidentally is being made into a movie starring Blake Lively (I saw the trailer and was intrigued so requested the book).

With a tense, dark atmosphere, an unsettling, unknown evil at work, and a cast of characters that are not at all trustworthy, reliable, or even all that likeable, this is a book that demands you suspend your disbelief about all the crazy and read on despite the palpable dread and creepiness dripping from every page. There’s no way I would let anyone into my house for a tour let alone feed them a meal, especially after the creepy events that transpire within the first few minutes! I actually put this book down multiple times and walked away from it for several days because of the way it made me feel, which I think is more of a me thing,a reflection of my tastes rather than a reflection of the story or the writing. The last 40% of the book I read in a day and found I really wanted to know what was going to happen.

You’ll enjoy #weusedtolivehere by #marcuskliewer if you’re into sinister, horror-esq books. Thank you to #simonandschustercanada #atria #emilybestlerbooks and #netgalley for the digital advance copy of this book. Available now for preorder and on shelves everywhere June 18, 2024.

#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #horrorbooks #psychologicalthrillerbook #bookrecommendations #bookreview #creepybooks #supernaturalbooks #bookgeek #booknerd #booksbooksbooks #reader #trustyourgut #whydotheyneverlearn

I really loved the pieces of "evidence" that were between the chapters and I was really wondering how they were going to tie all in together at the end of the book.

However, by about 80%, I just could not keep reading this book. There were way too many loose pieces. And the paranormal aspect was way too far-fetched for me. I could not finish it. The beginning of the book showed a lot of promise, but it did not pull through for me.

I am sure this book will appeal to certain people, but I was not one of them.

Have you ever found yourself reading a book at a most inappropriate time?
Me - I was making my way through Marcus Kliewer's We Used To Live Here one fine night. By night, I mean the actual pitch dark of very early a.m. With no one else home but the dog. I rather freaked myself out.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and Netgalley for my copy for review!
You see, some of those associated with a house in the woods - 3709 Heritage Lane, specifically - see things that may not be rooted in reality. Previous inhabitants. And current homeowner Eve Palmer.
Eve reluctantly allows the Faust family, headed by patriarch Thomas, into the house she and partner Charlie just purchased to reno and flip.
Thomas used to live in the house. Wants to show it to his wife and kids. Fifteen minutes, tops. (The introverted extrovert in me, meanwhile, inwardly screeching "noooo!")
We Used To Live Here isn't overly gorey or violent - it's fantastic descriptive imagery of our MC's experience, and of the house. Basements with creepy hallways, attics with shadowy figures, mysterious housing contents, unsubstantiated family histories and memories.
And one of my favourite devices, the inclusion of "real documentation" relating to the unfolding plot. (Think book excerpts in Carrie.)
Supernatural, psychiatric, conspiracy, or something else?
Easy five star debut right here - highly recommended!
For release on June 18.

I absolutely loved this book!! I couldn’t put it down.
I just loved all the characters. I highly recommend this book.

I requested We Used to Live Here after seeing the glowing early reviews and I’m glad that I did! This book was a massive head trip, in the best way possible. I don’t think that I’ve ever said “what’s going on here?” as many times as I did while reading this story😅. This was a highly immersive, creepy read that really got under my skin. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough, desperate to uncover the truth.

Read if you like:

✨Creepy old houses
✨Secluded settings
✨Unreliable narrators
✨Twisted storylines

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this ARC!

We Used to Live Here is a haunted house story that has an exciting premise but is not for the reader that wants all the answers. Eve has recently moved into an old secluded house with her partner Charlie, with the hopes to fix it up and flip it for a profit. The house has unsettling energy, or is it just Eve's looming anxiety and Mo, her beloved childhood monkey, residing in her mind to feed her the worst case scenario? When Thomas and his family show up at the door one night, asking for a quick look around, despite her better judgement, Eve lets them in, and her life is never the same.

I struggle to rate this book because I liked so much about it and also felt unsatisfied with a bunch of it too. I think Kliewer did a great job in the more twisted, surreal moments of the book - I found myself glued to my Kobo, desperate to know what would happen next. However, I think the lore of the world, and the history of the house left me wanting. The inclusion of documents surrounding odd events at the house was a nice touch, but didn't do the heavy lifting of making us understand the "why" of the house to a degree that made sense. I don't mind being left without the "why" of the house, but then I at least need to understand the why of our main character. Eve felt a bit flat to me, and though her anxious thoughts felt familiar, her choices sometimes felt disjointed because she did not feel fleshed out. Still, I would recommend this book to someone who wants a horror novel that makes you lock your door and search for tethers of reality in their own home.

This book dives right into the thick of it, but I think that hurt this story. I knew nothing of Eve or Charlie. Which means I didn’t care about them.

The dog lives, that’s all that matters.

This book was horror with mystery built in. The pacing is fast, the tension is thick, and the creepiness is real. I was creeped out a couple of times reading this. I too run up the basement stairs like a bat out of Hell, and I will continue to do so.

There was also a lot of telling in this book rather than showing. Eves whole personality was told to us and then shown to us after.

There were also things mentioned in this book that were never touched upon or brought up again? Like where was Charlie that morning? What did these two do for work? There was just some things that felt unfinished.

Furthermore the ending of the book is VERY open ended. Nothing is really wrapped up in a nice bow. I just wanted more….

Don’t get me wrong I liked it, but it wasn’t perfect.

EARC provided by Simon and Schuster Canada.

What would you do if you were home all alone and heard a knock at the door, would you answer it??

If you then answered it and saw a family standing on your doorstep, asking to come inside and tour what they claim is the father’s childhood home, would you let them in??

This is the eerie and compelling premise of author Marcus Kliewer’s debut novel We Used To Live Here.

Eve and Charlie have recently bought an old house situated in the middle of nowhere, with plans to renovate and flip it. One evening while Eve is waiting for Charlie to come home she hears a knock at the door. She opens it to find Thomas and his family, who oh so innocently ask to come in for 15 minutes to tour what used to be his childhood home. Eve hesitates and isn’t sure what to do, but ever the people pleaser she decides to let this unassuming family into her home. What follows next is one bizarre and haunting event after event.

I won’t spoil the chills but I will say that this contemporary horror creeps up on you, and I quickly learned not to read it at night, as I was utterly spooked and yet couldn’t put it down. I loved how the author draws you in and keeps the tension strung tight the whole way through. The addition of historical documents and artifacts relating to what is happening to Eve, peppered throughout the book, really had me intrigued and trying to figure out what was real and what wasn’t. This was an incredible debut novel, and I definitely recommend it if you are a fan of horror/psychological thriller’s. It was so close to a 5 star read for me but the ending left me craving a bit more.

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Tension 😬😬😬😬

✨For those who like film/tv adaptations this book has already been picked up by Netflix and the original movie will star Blake Lively.✨