Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group as well as the author for this ARC.
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Title: Haunt Sweet Home
Author: Sarah Pinsker
Format: Both eBook and audiobook
Narrators of audiobook: Jennifer Blom, Jess Nahikian, Matt Godfrey, Robb Moreira
Publisher: Tor Publishing Group and Macmillan Audio
Publication Date: September 3, 2024
Themes: paranormal, ghosts, reality tv, family relations, mental health
Trigger Warnings: family drama, depression, ghosts

This book is a quick read that tells the story of Mara and her family. Mara is a little light on ambition. She keeps dropping out of college and re-enrolling. She doesn’t have a job until her cousin, Jeremy, offers her a job as a production assistant on the reality TV show that he hosts. The job has Mara working the graveyard shift on “Haunt Sweet Home”, a reality show that stages hauntings on newly-purchased houses. It's a tough job that requires some getting used to until she meets Jo, a floater from the day crew who says she’s been sent to help. Jo proves to really have some skills when it comes to scaring people. As Mara and Jo get to know each other, Mara discovers some things about herself that she doesn’t like. With Jo’s unusual help, she begins to find her way. Is it a good way?

Starting with the positive, this was a really unique story idea. It was a quick and interesting read that took me less than a day to both read and listen to. While stories about reality shows about ghosts are nothing we haven’t seen before, but this one stands out for its characters. Mara is a relatable character. Most of us know what it’s like to be stuck in a rut in our lives. Most of us have issues with our families. This provided a decent hook for the story.

The narrator for the audiobook edition was perfect. She provided the perfect amount of apathy needed for this introverted yet lonely character. I read the book before I listened to it and Ms. Blom’s voice was very close to how I imagined Mara’s voice in my head. The narrator did an excellent job of differentiating the different voices of each character as well. I only wish she could have worked in some of the sound effects from the narrative. I did enjoy imagining those though.

While the premise and characters were fun, the book moved a little too slowly. I also wanted a more fleshed out and established haunted house plotline. The twists were a little too obvious for me as well. I would have liked to know more about some of the characters and I definitely wanted more hauntings.

All in all, the author is a good writer with excellent command of her words, but the story was mostly flat to me. I enjoyed both eBook and audiobook for different reasons, but, as a whole, this wasn’t my favorite book of all time. I will, however, be on a lookout for more from the author.

Haunt Sweet Home was a bit different than I expected. It was less horror/thriller, more... character exploration? Folksy-ghost-reality show tale? I don't know. That doesn't mean I didn't like it, it just was different. I liked Mara, our main character. She's in a rut, and her cousin offers her a crappy job on his haunted houses show. It's supposed to be like House Hunters, but with ghosts, or something. Either way, it gets Mara out of her rut, as she has to navigate a bunch of new coworkers, and the demands of the job.

And that is kind of the story, right? It's less action and adventure, more Mara trying to figure out her crap and also maybe there will be ghosts or maybe Mara and the crew will have to make them up, who can tell? So I liked it for what it was- a short, fast look into Mara trying to figure out how to find her way. And haunted house shows. Also, the cover is really pretty, which doesn't have anything to do with anything, but there we are.

Bottom Line: If you're looking for thrills, this isn't it, but if you're looking for thoughtful character exploration mixed with reality ghost shows, then it sure is!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy.

This is a story about Mara, a lost woman in her 20s, who gets an opportunity to work on a reality TV show where by day they refurbish old homes with new owners, and by night they try to see if the same old homes have any ghosts popping out of the woodwork. Along the way there are some interesting family dynamics, and an endearing story about finding oneself.

Ultimately I have mixed feelings about this book. It was well written, and it was an enjoyable read. However, I expected a spooky story, probably with a happy ending. If I had realized going in to this book that it's meant to be more endearing than scary I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more. I was expecting a lot more ghosty elements, or at least more than a few little crumbs to support this being classified as "sci fi fantasy."

Had I understood what this was, and read it with that mindset, I probably would have loved it, as such, it was pretty meh, but I don't think that's Pinsker's fault. Alas, what's a rater to do?

This horror novella grabs you right from the start. It's a wonderful blend of campy fun, realistic coming-of-age and family drama, and a dose of spooky stuff. I was hooked from the start. Who doesn't love a quirky family? We follow a young adult as she struggles to find her place in her family and the world. She takes a job as a PA on her cousin's spooky ghost-hunting home improvement reality show and in between the fake spooky sounds and haunting she gets a little bonus. This book blends tenderness with chills and I enjoyed it. It's a quiet and slow burn, and isn't a brash and loud slasher, but there is power in the quiet. It was a quick read and I wanted to keep reading until I was done.

Have you ever felt invisible, people noticing you only when you’re a problem? Have you ever felt like a ghost, floating around, haunting yourself, trying to figure out just what is your unfinished business?

I would call Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker cozy horror. Nothing truly scary happens, and we don't delve too deep into Mara’s distress or how it’s resolved. But I still enjoyed the book. It was super short and fun, and I could relate to some of Mara’s problems. You can definitely feel how lonely Mara is and empathize with her.

I LOVE the idea of a reality show that renovates haunted houses. These scenes were my favorite parts of the book. There were transcripts from the show, and I could see it in my mind just as if I was watching it on TV. One house even had a Beauty and the Beast styled library. And it was funny. We need this as an actual TV series RIGHT NOW.

Overall, not a bad book, and I would definitely read more by this author.

Thank you Tor for the copy to read and review.

What a fun, entertaining little read! I love ghost-hunting shows (even when I suspect they’re fake!) and love home renovation shows, too, so this was such a great mix of the two! I wish there was actual show like this one (but, you know, real! Lol)

This is a really quick read or listen, but I still did an immersive read because I was just eating this up. I won’t say much more to give any spoilers, but if this sounds interesting to you, you should definitely pick it up.

I did not care for the format of this book being in script form. It made it quicker to read but was not my favorite way to read this book.

I love a good novella and it’s been so long since I’ve picked one up. Immediately I was drawn to the premise of Haunt Sweet Home. I mean who doesn’t enjoy the idea of getting behind the scenes of a reality TV show about paranormal activity in houses??

Pinsker gives readers a lot of background and insight into the life of Mara from the start of the story. This allows readers to truly understand what drives Mara and how her family interactions have driven her to where she is now. That fear of not living up to other people's expectations is present throughout the story and truly made Mara a very relatable character for me.

Now let’s talk about the haunting and the horror. This one is pretty mild in my opinion, so I think it would be a perfect starting point for people dipping their toes into the genre or for those that think horror is too scary for them. This story had elements of the horror genre, but really dives into self exploration, which I think creates a nice balance for those unsure about reading a book found in the horror section of a bookstore.

Make sure you check out the author’s note at the end as Sarah explains the inspiration behind this story, which as a fellow Marylander made my heart very full!

Sarah Pinsker's "Haunt Sweet Home" offers an entertaining blend of reality TV antics and fun supernatural elements. The story follows Mara, a directionless twenty-something who lands a night-shift job on her cousin's ghost hunting/home renovation show. As Mara stages scares for the cameras, she grapples with her own sense of belonging and purpose. While I've found Pinsker's other works to carry more weight or profundity, this story has a lighter, almost cutesy touch. The behind-the-scenes glimpse into reality TV production adds an amusing layer to this ghostly tale, which maintains a steady, engaging pace throughout. "Haunt Sweet Home" offers an intriguing exploration of self-discovery with a spooky twist. If you like your supernatural stories on the less scary side, this novella is a good pick for you.

Give me more reality TV horror *Hulk smash*! I love this concept so much it's beginning to haunt me. I wish this had been longer because I just want more of this concept. This definitely leaned more into the coming of age aspect than I was anticipating--I was envisioning more straight horror since the setting could just breed something insidious and great, but I still enjoyed this, especially because it's short. I enjoyed this from start to finish and I would like some more, thank you.

Haunt Sweet Home
By: Sarah Pinsker

Publish Date: September 3,2024

Publisher: Tor Publishing Group/Tordotcom

General Fiction (Adult)/ Sci Fi and Fantasy

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I would like to thank both NetGalley and Tor Publishing for allowing me to read and review this book.

Book Review:

I really enjoyed this book. I gave it 4 stars. I didn't realize that this book was a horror novel. I guess I should have with the title. I really wasn't scared which is a good thing. At about 65% I figured out what was going on but it didn't stop my enjoyment. This is a short book with about 176 pages.

This book is about a TV reality show. It is about haunted house, and a team of people come in and interview the owners of the new to them homes. There are several mentioned in the book. There is a day crew and a night crew. The night crew are the ones who really do the filming. The star of show isn't around much so the crews are the ones who deal with the owners the most. The star is Jeremy and one of the night crew is his cousin Mara.

Mara is a mess. She is the youngest in a big family and she doesn't know what to do with her life. She is in her late twenty's and still hasn't figured it out. She has been back and forth with college and odd jobs. Her cousin offers her a job on his show. She takes him up on it. She isn't sure at first what to do but she learns quickly. On her first job she is in an apple orchard doing her job when she stumbles over a dead apple tree. She decides to start carving on it to help pass her time. When the job is finished, she chops down the part she is still working on and takes it with her so she can work on it during the weekend.

On the next job she is sent outside to do something for the show, and she meets Jo who is a float for the day crew. They start to become friends. One day the owners of this show decide they don't want to finish the project, so they back out of the show, and this gives the crew a long weekend. Mara decides to head home and ask Jo to come along. Jo agrees but during this weekend they end up having a fight.

After the long weekend they go onto the next job which is a small castle like home. It has a beautiful library. Mara is told to work in the library and Jo is there to help again. They kind of makeup but Mara isn't sure who Jo really is and starts asking the other crewmembers about her.

Things go on from there, but I really can't talk about them because it would give it away. I had fun reading it and seeing the growth that Mara makes is worth it.

I feel like the only way to describe this book is as a "cozy haunting"?

I went back and forth on how to really feel about this, but let's get into a few reasons why I am giving this 4 stars:

- I have a passion for filmmaking and so the plot of being a PA for a "reality" show is so intriguing to me
- Mara is a very... complicated character? We are introduced to her family dynamic very early on and she clearly does not get on well with her relatives and doesn't feel valued, which then impacts the way she sees herself and carries herself through her life.
- Mara's new job involves faking the hauntings featured in their tv show, and these were so fun to hear how they planned these things, while still being very cozy and not too intense
- The layout of including short tv show transcripts of the one property was a great feature - it breaks up the flow a little which works well for this kind of story
- The chapters felt very long, even though this book was not very long overall
- At first I thought about giving this 3 stars, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the slower pace of the book is kind of the point as Mara journeys through self-discovery
- I would have liked more hauntings. A little more excitement and drama. But I also get why everything felt more toned down.
- The ending was not as exciting as I expected. It took me a minute to really wrap my mind around what was being uncovered, but I don't dislike the trajectory of the hauntings...

For my money, Sarah Pinsker may be the best out there right now writing short-but-not-that-short sci-fi and dark fantasy. So when I saw she had a new haunted house novel coming out in 2024, it immediately became one of my most anticipated books of the year. So how does Haunt Sweet Home stack up to her extremely impressive catalog? Well, that’s a high bar to clear, but I certainly enjoyed myself. 

Haunt Sweet Home follows an aimless member of a mostly-successful family, bouncing from job to job and hobby to hobby, never finishing a degree or truly starting a career. When a celebrity cousin who hosts a reality show—a combination of home renovation and haunted house—offers her a low-level role in the production, she thinks it may be an opportunity to break out of familiar patterns. But it’s not long before her made-for-TV pretend hauntings give way to one that’s all too real.

I’ve read enough haunting stories from Pinsker—“Two Truths and a Lie” especially, but “Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather,” “Science Facts!,” “Signs of Life,” and “The Blur in the Corner of Your Eye” also come to mind—to have a pretty good idea of what kind of atmosphere to expect from Pinsker writing a ghost story. So I was surprised to find that atmosphere largely absent in Haunt Sweet Home. The voice is still the same, and it made for a gripping setup that was truly difficult to put down. But the setup had no sense of creeping dread or mystery. It was just the lead starting a new job, interesting because the character was skillfully drawn and the reality TV setting was entertaining, not because it was especially atmospheric. 

Unfortunately, the introduction of the fantastical elements saw the story caught between two minds. In a traditional horror story, I'd expect a slow and ambiguous introduction, gradually building tension and atmosphere as the layers unfolded. But it could have also introduced the supernatural as a given and proceeded in telling a different, less scary story—something like John Wiswell does in “Open House on Haunted Hill.” Either could’ve worked wonderfully, but Haunt Sweet Home chooses neither, and is the worse for it. The introduction of the ghost plays out so slowly that genre-aware readers are just waiting for the lead to catch on. But that slow introduction doesn’t have much sense of the uncanny, and so it lacks the tension that keeps the reader anticipating the next move. Instead, the third quarter of the story just feels a bit muddled and poorly paced. 

That last paragraph was a bit negative, but don’t get me wrong, I liked the story. The introduction of the ghost felt like a misstep that threw off the pacing, but Haunt Sweet Home is a short book that reads easily, and 45 minutes or so of waiting for the other shoe to drop doesn’t turn an otherwise good book into a chore to read. It still comes together for a resolution that’s engaging and caps off a satisfying character arc. The setting remains excellent. The entire main family—even though we mostly see just one member—comes to life wonderfully. Pinsker knows her work, and even with an element that didn't really work for me, this was a good read.

Overall, Haunt Sweet Home is both accessible and enjoyable, reading quickly and easily and delivering a delightful setting and an engaging main character arc. The supernatural elements don’t quite come together, and that will keep it off my annual favorites list, but it’s hard to find a Pinsker story that isn’t worth a long look, and this is no exception. 

Recommended if you like: Pinsker's storytelling, horror tropes turned in a less scary direction.

Overall rating: 15 of Tar Vol's 20. Four stars on Goodreads.

Haunt Sweet Home is a unique blend of horror and self-discovery set against the backdrop of a ghost hunting/home makeover reality TV show. The story follows Mara, an aimless twenty-something who takes a job as a night-shift production assistant on her cousin’s show, Haunt Sweet Home. As Mara quickly learns, her new role is steeped in duplicity—hiding fog machines in the woods and orchestrating scares to entertain the audience and spook the homeowners.

But not all the eerie occurrences on set can be chalked up to clever camera work and smoke machines. As strange incidents begin to pile up, Mara starts to suspect that something genuinely supernatural may be at play, forcing her to confront not just the ghostly happenings around her, but her own haunted past and uncertain future.

I found Haunt Sweet Home to be a quick and entertaining read, perfect for fans of light horror or those looking for a spooky read during Halloween season. Pinsker cleverly uses the setting of a reality TV show to explore deeper themes of identity and self-deception. While most of the scares are knowingly staged by the crew, there’s a creeping unease that suggests something more sinister might be lurking in the shadows.

Mara’s journey is relatable, capturing the confusion and uncertainty many young adults feel as they navigate the murky waters of adulthood. Pinsker’s writing is both eerie and empathetic, skillfully balancing the supernatural elements with a heartfelt exploration of Mara’s internal struggles.

Overall, Haunt Sweet Home is a fun, atmospheric read with a clever premise and a lot of heart. It’s perfect for anyone looking for a lighter horror story with depth and character development.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

By now, we're pretty aware that "reality TV" is much more weighted on the latter than the former. But what it takes to make the unreal look real, and good enough for the small screen, is an art—or, maybe, just a lot of effort from overworked and underpaid production assistants. That's the case in Sarah Pinsker's latest book, Haunt Sweet Home.

Mara is still drifting about between community college and dead-end jobs a few years after it's socially acceptable to be so directionless. An unexpected offer to work as a production assistant on her cousin Jeremy's reality TV show, then, is, if not a godsend, at least something steady to do for a while. Jeremy isn't a regular visitor on his own show, but Mara's other coworkers are nice enough, and despite working exclusively nights, the work itself is fine. For the titular Haunt Sweet Home, Jeremy and a crew come to old homes or properties owners suspect are haunted—and Mara and her coworkers make sure those suspicions are proven true. Most of the incidents Mara's in charge of causing are small: setting up a fog machine in an orchard, for example, or occasionally making a ghostly cow noise in an empty pasture.

She may not see Jeremy very much on the set of his own show, but Mara is getting the hang of this new direction in her life. Still, having a stable job doesn't take away from how directionless she feels in the rest of her life. That sense of not fitting correctly in her own skin lingers no matter how well she's doing at work, almost like she's haunting her own life. As Mara gets closer to Jo, a new friend from the daytime shift, the cracks in her facade become more and more obvious. Her demands at work are increasing, too, as is the apathy just beneath the friendly surface of most of her colleagues. Increasingly, the only solace Mara finds is in whittling on a hunk of wood from an early shoot—a creation that almost seems to have a mind of its own.

Hauntings and ghosts are more a setting for much of Haunt Sweet Home than the page-to-page material; it's categorized as a paranormal fantasy, and that rings far truer than sticking this with the angry ghosts and blood-spattered pages of the horror genre. There's something almost cozy about Mara crouching out of sight of the cameras, moaning spookily into the darkness. Far more present are the metaphorical ghosts of what could have been if Mara were just a little more this or tried a little harder at that—the familiar kinds of loneliness and uncertainty and regret most of us experience in our twenties, heightened in the arc of the story. Even the job Mara takes, working nights and living in a motel and her car, is the kind of thing most people would only take before putting down roots into anyplace, anything, or anyone. Pinsker renders this kind of listless and desperate discovery, as well as the refusal to acknowledge said listlessness and desperation, perfectly in Mara.

This is not to say there are no literal ghosts here—though any details of how they factor in would constitute a spoiler, and Haunt is too fun to ruin its surprises about what's real and to what degree. I can, however, safely say that there's just as much heart in Haunt as in any of Pinsker's steady stream of excellent short fiction. The speculative elements are not window dressing for character and story, but they are the scaffolding upon which the rest of the story is built—and the pressure that brings it all to a head. I'd watch Haunt Sweet Home, but I liked reading about it even better.

(This review will also be posted 10 September 2024 at 3:00 p.m. MDT at https://ringreads.com/2024/09/10/home-more-heart-than-haunted-in-a-good-way/, as well as social posts linked to that review)

Haunt Sweet Home is about the behind the scenes of a reality tv show that involves home reno and ghost hunting. We follow 20-something directionless Mara, who starts working there as a night shift production assistant. She’s in charge of helping to stage the hauntings, but soon discovers that not all of the hauntings are fake…

This book went in a different direction than what I expected, but I breezed through it. The writing and pacing made for a quick read. I was expecting this to be more of a horror novella, and there are scary aspects, but overall I felt like we were really focused on Mara and her journey to find herself. I loved Mara as a character, and I did enjoy watching her grow more confident. The reality tv show behind the scenes was very fun as well. I would definitely read more from this author!


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker was a phenomenal short horror story!
A compelling and intriguing coming of age story that hooked me immediately.
Taut and tantalizing… Wow, this author has done a fabulous job. I loved every twist. I finished it in a few hours.

A ghostly haunting home makeover show haunt sweet home welcomes new employee Mara, as the new night shift production. The intro grabbed my attention- I mean, what reader wouldn’t love the idea of a ghost that wants to help organize your library?

Our main character feels same old story, new setting, as lost and unable to focus Mara accepts a job from relative Jeremy and falls into the world of is it true or is it all just a hoax. FYI, it’s mostly just a hoax. The novella not only picks on the set up and fake feeling of ghostly reality but that of makeover/house hunting type of shows as well. That reality tv is never reality and the story does it well. A small haunting reference but overall just a story of a lost 20 something trying to figure out next steps.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for the review copy.

This book started out strong. I loved that it was about a ghost reality show and that transcripts of the show were included. It was a very quick, easy read as will. Mara's character was kind of a mess who agrees to work on her cousin's show, and that ended up playing into her story. I do wish Mara had more back story, other than telling about her Oma. I feel like her family was important to her, but that wasn't really explored.

I didn't find this scary at all and I would consider it horror-lite, if not cozy horror. It was also very predictable and it honestly felt a little YA to me. I did love the scene with the description of the library in one of the haunted homes. I thought this was a fun read, and it was a good kick-off to my spooky season reading.

I would recommend this if you like Rachel Harrison and Simone St. James or that type of horror.

Look for this one on September 3!

In Haunt Sweet Home, Sarah Pinsker has created a truly unique ghost story, using ghost hunting reality show gimmicks to bring together a story that reflects on identity. From the very first, when we meet Mara, we see how the past impacts Mara, both in her family and how she views others. But as the narrative develops, we see how much that perception is warped by her own ideas.
What I love best is how the strange events in the story build tension and as more happens, how Mara has to figure out her new coworker Jo. The reality show aspects will resonate with any reader who has watched any of these types of shows and I absolutely love the moments in the narrative where it skips to transcript style. Not only does that help with the strangeness and the tension but it kept me involved in the story. I also love how art reflects truth and identity in this story, showing us the truth of ourselves by what we create.
If you love an- original and unique ghost story, I highly recommend Haunt Sweet Home. Mara is an incredibly compelling character and the story is well written and engaging. It is truly different and creative.