This is a gorgeous cover and not a terrible book, just a bit slow for me. I just wasn’t super interested.

I received an advance copy from netgalley in exchange for a review and opinions are my own.

Rather dull and inflated with trivial, lifeless descriptions. I did not like the main character, or any character at all for that matter. The topic was interesting, sure, and there were some moments where I read the book with slight interest. However, this should have been a short story, not a whole novella.

First of all, I liked that this book was appropriately short- to lengthen it, without including more "haunting" episodes, would make it unnecessarily wordy. Secondly, if you're looking for a scary, horror type haunted house book, look elsewhere. This turned out to be more of a haunted person story, one asking where the narrator ends and her ghost begins. I had no expectations about what this "should be", therefore I enjoyed it greatly. I read the entire book in a single Saturday, and was thinking about it for hours after finishing. I liked the author's writing style and storytelling prowess, and will look for her future titles. This may not be for everyone, but if you're looking for an introspective, quick, relatable book- it's definitely one to check out.

It's a cute novella that had an interesting premise. It just didn't totally dig into the story quite as much as I would have liked

This book was 176 pages of pure enjoyment! It was witty, entertaining, and unique. I'm a bit embarrassed to say I related to the MC, Mara, a bit more than I care to admite Overall, this is the perfect quick read to get you out of that reading slump !

Thanks to Macmillan Publishers + Sarah Pinsker for this Advanced Copy in exchange for an honest review. Here it is:

This novella is an engaging read, giving readers a peek into the world of a fictional reality show and Mara's encounters with the unknown. Mara's character is relatable and well-developed, but the story falls short in delivering the suspense and atmosphere typical of haunted house tales. The characters and transcripts feel a bit flat, lacking depth. However, there's still a subtle chill that keeps you hooked till the end, making it a quick and enjoyable read despite its shortcomings.

[arc review]
Thank you to Tor Publishing for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Haunt Sweet Home releases September 3, 2024

Mara, a college dropout, is now a production assistant on the set of a tv show that her cousin, Jeremy, hosts.
Haunt Sweet Home (the tv show) documents new homeowners and their haunted houses, though everything the production team shoots is fabricated.
This lacked suspense, atmosphere, and pretty much anything you’d want from a story that’s primarily about haunted houses.
The characters and transcripts were all so one-dimensional.

Thankfully, this quick read intrigued me as a part of the motion picture industry, diving into the production process of a reality TV show based on haunted houses.

I've previously enjoyed two sci-fi fictions by the author, so when I had the chance to read a quick novella themed around haunted houses, I went for it!

First, let's focus on the positive aspects of this book, aside from its short length that makes it easily finishable in one sitting.

The characterization of Mara is well done. She's a relatable character, trying to find her place in the world. She changes her major several times in community college, takes too many gap years, and finally decides on meteorology. She's the mockery of her own crowded family, especially her cousin Jeremy, who hosts a haunted house reality show and has become the shining star everyone admires.

The story opens with Jeremy offering Mara a job as a production assistant, but after a few failed attempts, Mara finally finds a spot on the night crew. She shares a motel room with another daytime production assistant, who snores and kicks her out on weekends, causing a fire in the room with a forgotten hot plate in the microwave. Additionally, her TV star cousin acts like he doesn't know her and ignores her DMs on social media. Despite this, Mara's job is relatively easy, giving cheap thrills to the house inhabitants. However, things take a turn when she meets another production assistant, Jo, who insists on helping her but ends up making Mara question her entire existence with blunt, mean comments about her life choices. With Jo's help, Mara starts to gain attention from the crew and receives high praises, but she also realizes that her life is slipping out of her grasp as Jo becomes more intimidating. What if she made a terrible mistake by choosing to work on this production?

Overall, it was an easy, quick read that started strong but became repetitive in the last third. Mara's repetitive cycle of scaring the house inhabitants at night, returning to her motel, and eating with the crew turned into a Groundhog Day-like loop that bored me. The twisty part of the mystery was a little too obvious, and the middle parts dragged with no intriguing incidents. While the concept was interesting and the characterization was well-rounded, it was just an okay read for me. I didn't enjoy it as much as I expected, so I'm giving it a neutral three stars.

I'm still looking forward to reading more works by the author in the near future!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group/Tordotcom for sharing this intriguing book's digital review copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This was a super fast read and I really enjoyed it! Mara’s cousin hires her to create fake hauntings for his reality tv show. But, it doesn’t turn out to be that easy! This book would be great for readers who want to try some spooky books, but nothing too frightening. Thanks so much for the opportunity to read!

Thank you so much for the arc of this book! Anything relating to spooky or haunted books sign me up! However I feel this book started really good it was quite meh throughout. I was hoping for more junp scares and actual hauntings. I will say I’m glad it was a quick short read. But overall I didn’t really enjoy this one.