Haunt Sweet Home is a short literally horror that follows aimless Mara as a night shift production assistant on her cousins ghost hunting / home makeover reality TV show, think Ghost Hunters mixed with Fixer Upper, as she finds herself.

This book reminded me a lot of a young adult coming of age story, in that the MC is already an adult but she is finding who she is along the way. There are some good scares written in, but the story focuses much more on Mara finding out who she wants to be and how she feels about herself.

I listened to the audiobook and it was a quick listen and I didn’t get bored- I actually very much enjoyed the story! I rated this 3.75 🌟🌟🌟✨ because while I enjoyed it, I’m not sure it should technically be classified in the horror genre. However, I would definitely recommend if you like Ghost Hunter and similar shows!

This book publishes on September 3, 2024.

Thank you to @netgalley, @macmillan.audio, and @tordotcompub for an advanced copy!

This is my first Sarah Pinsker read and I really enjoyed it. I’ll be adding more of her books to my to be read list:)

The story itself is unique although the a tad predictable. It is main character centric with ‘is she crazy or not’ vibes.

My only concern was the narrator - I just didn’t feel she matched the mc well.

I will definitely post on my socials (tbr) and recommend to horror fans.

I listened to an advanced audiobook cop I don’t usually read short stories or novellas. However, I really enjoyed this one. Narrator was great. And sometimes they had other voices.

Haunt Sweet Home
Sarah Pinsker
MacMillan Audio 

4.25 / 5 Stars

Renovating the traditional haunted house/ghost story, Sarah Pinsker's Haunt Sweet Home is a cozy, creepy little tale that's told with a ton of heart. I thoroughly enjoyed this uniquely designed little novella. 

The narration really added richness to the story. 
The narrator's voice gave me Vera Farmega vibes, which I loved. 

What kept it from being a 5 star, for me, was the direction it took near the end; and the very end was confusing to me personally, but maybe I've got to sit with it all a while longer. 

Cuz this book, while "cozy" and short, has real depth. So some things might have just gone over my head while listening. I'll be eager to get a physical copy, to see how it reads.

Thanks to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. 

Available September 3, 2024

I listened to this story via NetGalley and my immediate thought was, “oh great, a short story with a lousy monotoned voice that’s going to put me to sleep”. I’m glad I decided to give it a try anyway. Mara’s voice was absolutely perfect! Her monotoned, lackluster, unexcitable voice was everything this character needed to feel real (and relatable!). The voice narrator brought this character to life!!

This story follows Mara, working a summer job helping her TV reality host cousin, who works to make “haunted houses” believable. Mara, who is the black sheep of her family, narrates in present time while also incorporating past memories and stories. Throughout her time working this job, she re-evaluates her life and how she ended up here. She meets what she thinks is a traveling worker like her, but what’s real and what’s haunted!?

This story was so well done. I was captivated from the start, so much so that I didn’t even speed up the audio. I loved every listening minute!!! Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan audio for this ALC!

Haunted Sweet Home was like, everything I needed for that cozy fall vibe, but with just a hint of spook! 🎃 I seriously flew through it—it’s such a quick listen, and I was totally obsessed with the way it was written. It had this super cool, almost screenplay-like narrative that just drew me in right from the start, and it kept that vibe going the whole time.

And can we talk about Marra (Maura?) Like, I felt this instant connection with her—she’s just so relatable and real. I loved following her journey, and while the ending did catch me off guard a little, it wasn’t, like, shock-to-your-core level. Just the right amount of twist!

And I have to mention, the whole HGTV vibe throughout the story was such a delightful touch! It totally gave me those cozy, home-renovation feels that I adore. It even reminded me of my husband because he's obsessed with all those home makeover shows—like, we binge them together. It made the book feel even more personal and fun, like I was right there with Marra, planning out our next big project!

Honestly, I’d say this is more of a cute, comfy fall thriller rather than a straight-up horror book. Perfect if you’re dipping your toes into the genre and don’t want to dive straight into anything too gory or creepy. It was just such a fun, cozy listen, perfect for curling up with a PSL and letting those autumn vibes roll in.

3.5/5 ⭐️ rounded to a 4 on this system

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor publishing for the Advanced Copy of this book.

If you are looking for something a little spooky to get you into the Spooky Season Holiday spirit, this quick little read may be considered a nice little appetizer. There's a decent amount of spookiness and mystery. Unfortunately the twist was predictable for me (there have been very few twists that I haven't seen coming ). There was a line that had me laugh out loud at a grocery store checkstand which earns the title the additional ½ star rating.

I know books in the horror genre are hard to end well... So often, they are short so can be really tense and terrifying with an unsettling ending. This was short, but nothing else. The main character was SO extremely unlikable (which, I think, was part of the point), and the "twist" was............. Expected? Unsurprising? I knew it was coming from literally the first moment she was introduced? OK, OK, maybe not the apple tree. But I just cared not at all about anything in this book.

Thank you to Sarah Pinsker, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting story, but I'm rather baffled by it. The TV show really has nothing to do with the ghost who ends up haunting Mara. There's no need for the transcript devices because how the episodes turn out really doesn't matter. Also, I'm confused---the ghost appeared as an actual person? To everyone? And will continue as one? Would that not have complicated consequences? I'm also not sure Mara had much of a character arc; sure she had her carving and her grandma liked it, but Mara didn't decide on a direction for her life. I don't think she planned to take the position. I guess my overall problem with the narrative is that it was all kinda pointless.

I'm not sure if the main narrator is Jessica Blom or Jess Nahikian, but whoever it was read like her voice was coming from the very back of her throat and like she never quite had a full breath. Low and gutteral. Kind of sounded like a really bored teenage girl. I didn't hate it but didn't like it either.

When Mara starts working as a night shift PA on her cousin's tv show, she' knows she's part of the magic, but when spooky things start to happen that are definitely not scripted, she starts to wonder if the show is more authentic than she thought.

I absolutely loved the premise of this one! This book attempts to combine two things I really enjoy-- home renovation and ghost stories. This one had so much potential to combine the hokey put-on charm of HGTV with the creepy vibes of Haunting of Hill House. The contract of those two things could have made for a jarring back and forth and while it hit pretty hard with the HGTV part of it, it never really got creepy for me. I also initially enjoyed the relatable side of the post-college job funk and the quirky family, the main character was pretty boring and didn't really move her own story forward at all. With no other characters given enough time to grow on you, the main character being dull was a pretty big buzz kill. The twist was good and the story was pretty well paced and got a lot into a short book, but I just wish it had been more exciting or that the character had been more likeable.

I also struggled with the narration because the narrator was very monotone and sounded pretty masculine, so I often felt like the main character was a man. It didn't matter to the story the gender was totally inconsequential, but I don't think it helped make the character any more likeable to be that flat.

I really loved this idea so much I just wish it would have leaned on the contrast and the creepiness more.

Short and sweet! A fun story about the behind the scenes of a tv show with a few ghosts. it was easy to get through and never dull.

This book was more melodramatic than spooky. Even the haunting fell flat. It was too quick and still filled with the same self-pitying themes that permeated the entirety of the book. Overall, it was a great concept that didn't go as far as I'd like.

I would still be intrigued to read other books by this author but I wouldn't expect to be scared.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I enjoyed this short audiobook. Good mix of suspense and supernatural along with some comical times as well. Narrated well and I liked the concept of the transcripts being mixed in with the story as well.
Good and creative job by the author.

First off, many thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book as an audio ARC! I greatly appreciate it!

In the beginning, I really loved this story. I couldn't put it down! The concept is so cool, and I loved the use of transcripts from the show! Up until the last third, I was having tons of fun watching Mara muddle through such a fun, unique job! My only complaint was that the whole woodcarving thing seemed weirdly shoehorned in and super out of place.

And then we get to the last third and Mara suddenly going from slightly surly and annoying to a jealous, obnoxious little brat. This is where we meet Jo, and the woodcarving makes as much sense as it's going to, which still isn't much. Also wow, the family can make music but you can't. Girl, take a lesson and stick to it, like they're telling you to. No wonder Mara's an outcast.

I enjoyed the story overall, but I really wish it would've gone in a different direction for the last third. Oh, well. It was still pretty fun and I don't regret picking it up. Also I loved how short it was! More short books, please!

Three and a half stars out of five for Haunt Sweet Home!

This was a fun horror novella on the lighter side! It follows Mara, a drifting young woman who gets a job as a production assistant on the set of a haunted house reality show. She's not sure who she is or what she wants out of life, but she begins working the night shift, helping to scare the owners of these houses. But maybe the scares aren't all pretend after all...

Haunt Sweet Home feels like a story about the ennui of a quarter life crisis and the push and pull families have on us during that stage in life. But it's also an entertaining story about reality television. The audio narration is good. You get a performance of the main character that effuses her lack of interest in most things as the story begins and a dry sense of humor. I received an audio review copy via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this, I like Mara’s character and felt sorry for her.
I enjoyed Jo coming to help her and her supernatural abilities to be there

This is a spooky novella that I had the pleasure of listening to on audio. The narrator did amazing work and kept me connected as I listened. I will be sure to read other book by this author. Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the ALC
4/5 star

I wasn't quite sure where I stood with this for the first bit, as it started with a bang, then took a while to build back up to it, but HAUNT SWEET HOME really won me over by the end. It falls perfectly into the category of melancholy horror, where the ghosts are as much within ourselves as they are outside, and we must learn to live with them and let them walk alongside us at times. Thoroughly won me over by the end, and the short novella format lent itself perfectly to make this story work.

Thanks to NetGalley & Macmillan audio for the ALC.

I won’t lie, I thought this was going to be a horror story, so that’s on me and with all the narrators I was hoping it would be more of a full cast production…. But it was just little bits that had multiple narrators.

This book just felt really slow to me. Nothing really happened until 60% of the way through. I understand that we needed to understand the FMC and how she thinks and acts, but I think it could have been accomplished in a shorter amount of time. I’d have liked to see more between Mara & Jo. The premise there was really interesting and I wish that had been explored more. Instead it felt a little too rushed and resolved too quickly.

I'm in my "I had fun. Five stars." era.

Haunt Sweet Home follows Mara, a down-on-her-luck twenty-something who's looking for a direction in life. Her famous cousin throws her a bone by giving her a space on his hyper-successful reality show Haunt Sweet Home, which combines the real-world shows Fixer Upper and Ghost Hunters. Though she's at the lowest position possible, Mara begins to enjoy her role - until she realizes the show's next haunting might be her.

Mara is a fun character. She's mopey and lost in a way I think a lot of people can relate to, but she's still young and plucky and fun at the same time. Her family history could have been fleshed out a little more I think, but her interactions with other characters are top-notch (especially her grumpy roommate). I would have loved to see her relationship with her grandmother a little more, because we get a lot of telling instead of showing there. But Oma gets her own fun scenes to explain her quirkiness, so she gets points for being adorable.

This story is almost entirely plot-driven and is really fast-paced. If you're looking for something with deep character development or strong themes, you won't find it here. But this has something that I think a lot of modern literature is missing - it's fun . I loved the ghost hunting show story and the reveal of the "twist" Did I see that twist coming a mile away? Yeah. But I liked the story anyway, and I think that counts for something.

For the audiobook specifically, I feel that the narrator did an excellent job bringing our small cast of characters to life. A big part of the way I pictured Mara in my mind came from the way that the narration depicted her - this voice was unique from other books I've heard with a similar tonality and I felt that the narrator diversified her voice enough when portraying other characters to make it clear who was talking every time. The narrators that came in for the podcast portions also perfectly embodied their character, with Maggie ("Beauty" in the "Beauty and the Beast" pairing) as a clear standout.

If you want a quick, entertaining, and totally satisfying story, I definitely recommend this one be at the top of your TBR.