This was a true horror story with tension, vulnerability, and fear of the unknown.
The characters made me mad at times, but I was rooting for them like crazy.
At one point I yelled no, put the book down, and rested my head in my hands for a minute.
It left me feeling unsettled, creeped out, and uncomfortable. I thought the ending was perfect.
It was a 5⭐️ nightmare for me, I really enjoyed it!

-childhood friend group reunited
-claustrophobic
-gory horror

*There are many heavy topics in this book. Check the trigger warnings before reading.

Thank you NetGalley and Del Rey for my eARC in exchange for my review!

I think more books should have vague blurbs like this one, because it allows for one of my favorite experiences, going into something almost completely blind to what it is about. I did not expect this book to go in the direction it does and let me tell you it’s a wild, dark, and crazy horrifying journey. This tense read is filled with twists and turns and the setting is dazzlingly labyrinthian. If you like a good and dark horror story, this might be a good one for you!

I like this genre, but this book was not a fit for me:

Pros:
- Fun and spooky concept. I'm a big fan of "stairs in the woods" stories and creepypasta, so the title and premise caught my eye.

- Without spoiling this detail, I liked the characters' method of navigating the house via a "safe space" (although I've seen this concept in another recent horror novel).

Cons:
- None of the characters was (to me) likeable. I think I'm about the same age as the characters would be, based on details in their flashbacks, but if I saw all of these people in my high school, it's very unlikely that they'd be hanging out together. Their relationship seems to be mostly made up of inflicting trauma upon each other..or distracting each other from their own Stuff. Trauma bonding is a thing, sure, but why would they want to make a damned agreement to protect each other when their relationship is based on triggering each other?

- I can't take calling their agreement "The Covenant"; it sounds too contrived. Why not just come up with a nerdy/cheesy/sarcastic name that better fits their group vibe? Like... I don't know, "Rolling Ones" or "Edgelords" or--wait for it--"The Insiders"?

- This book could have been a nice email novella, but instead uses repeats of the same action as a vehicle for attempts to flesh out the characters. It ends up being tedious and jarring, especially when the story bounces between past and present.

- The book stumbles over several politics-based interjections (as part of characters' introspection). This is very distracting, and annoying for me personally, since I often pick up a book to take a break from what media tries to shove in my face at every opportunity.

- This book contains a lot of gore and disturbing commentary... And it's horror, yes, but it feels forced and as if a bunch of middle schoolers sat around trying to gross each other out. There's not much suspense to be had here, which is a shame; building it up as more of a thriller would probably have made these elements actually scary.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

This book surprised me! It reminded me a little of the show stranger things. It was packed with suspense and kept me on the edge of my seat most of the way through. A little exorcism mentioned. Some Stephen King vibes. This is not my normal genre of book to read but I did enjoy it. Loved learning about each characters point of view and family struggles and also loved that the ending left it open for more to be written. All in all great book! 3.5 stars for me!

Thank you so much random house for the review copy. First, I think the cover is top notch. The story itself was ok. I felt like I was reading some old r/nosleep copy pasta from the early days of Reddit, I thought the story was a little slow and overly descriptive at times. The characters all had flaws which made them interesting. I will recommend this book for some of my friends that enjoy this type of story,

Thanks to netgalley and Chuck Wendig for sharing this as an ARC.

I found this really interesting and there were a lot of horrors/sci-fi type books and movies that popped into mind as I went through.

I love Stephen King's IT and to some extent The Covenant reminded me of the losers club. However, the dynamics were different and Lore is definitely not like Beverley. The characters in this do have their demons and the house exploits it in a way similar to Pennywise. I did want to unpick Matty and Owen's friendship more as I did find it odd that they'd be so close and yet so far where Lore was concerned. I'm not sure their friendship was as good as they'd perhaps believed at the time although everything is intense during childhood and adolescence.

I did feel at times that there'd be a Stranger Things occurrence but we never get there and that's fine, I enjoyed the way things progressed. The 'House' and 'Cube' vibe that it gave off also helped make this a fun and quirky read!!

I wasn't surprised by the end but did want a bit more. Hopefully it's leaving us to ponder and maybe a sequel might follow...

Thank you NetGalley, for this uncorrected ebook ARC of 'The Staircase In The Woods' by Chuck Wendig - expected release date 04/29/2025

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 

This was an extremely disturbing, highly descriptive horror/supernatural type book. I don't know if this is normal for Wendig, I've never read anything by him before. I kinda expected this book to be suspenseful, maybe thriller-esque but whoa, Wendig really went there in the trauma, gore and devastation department. While I felt terrible for all the characters (intense, unhealed childhood trauma for all), I didn't like any of them, not as teens in the flashbacks or adults in the present. This wasn't my cup of tea, but, I've gotta hand it to the author, the creativity and depth in his writing was impressive. I don't know how he came up with so much horror and disgusting things throughout. At 400 pages it definitely played out slow, didn't need to go that long. I felt like it especially dragged thru the second half. And then, it just ends. No answers or info about Matty and his present life. Thanks.

I'm not a huge horror lover, and for sure there were times in this book where I just wanted to make all of the scary stuff stop. But what I liked was the depth of the characters. They were all broken in their own ways, and getting to know each of them made the story interesting.

Wow, I ended up LOVING this book. I went in pretty blind aside from knowing that a staircase in the woods would factor in and it was a horror book. My only issue was, it took about 25% in to really get going into the page-turner that it is. While a lot of plot points happen that need to be there, the beginning did drag a little bit and didn’t seem to match the exceptional writing of the next 75% of the book. Once things start going and we get past meeting the friend group this book revolves around and the traumatic events that united their past, and get to the actual “staircase”, this was unputdownable. I rarely get so frightened and yet can’t stop reading as much as I did with this read. This was a “stay up into the morning” to finish and I’d recommend it to any horror fan. Great pacing and storyline wrapped together with an interesting conclusion I didn’t see coming.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for access to this fabulous read! 4.5 stars but rounding up :)

Thank you Netgalley and random House worlds for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

The staircase in the woods was an unexpected read. It's fleshed out well. It has creepy and horror element which was there from start till the end. I loved the ending and it was what probably saved the book for me.

It is too slow paced, from about 30 % till about 70-75% I was bored to death. Nothing exciting was really happening in the book and I was pushing myself and hoping that it is all worth it. It was kind of. Although I would have preferred something even better but the ending was still good.

The mystery of Matty was kept dubious till the end, one couldn't figure out if he was dead or alive. If alive , then was he okay? Till the end I was praying that he is well. Even though you end up hating every character coz they are hateful but you start rooting for them too. I definitely did.

There were few things like sex, or politics or drugs which made me cringe. Some can be triggers for some readers.

Overall it was good read. Could have been better if had been shorter.

Star rating : 3.5 stars

This was a phenomenal book! It was scary yet intriguing. All of the characters were so different from each other but they all had secrets. The house was a never ending nightmare and I truly felt like I was lost with them. I liked the overall premise of the book and I think the author did a great job of touching on heavy topics such as suicide, death, and abuse. I also enjoyed the video game references! Overall, I liked the story and wish I knew what happened at the very end; I am ready for a sequel!

Chuck Wendig is an author that can do no wrong in my eyes. And this book is no exception. A journey through a mysterious creepypasta, but with some answers this myth doesn't usually have, Wendig does it again.

A non-stop creeptfest, filled with horrific visuals, the story never lets up. It's as scary as it is fun. Lore, formerly Lauren, is one of four that make the plot interesting as you experience the story through the eyes of all four of the main characters. The mystery of what happens to Matty hangs in the air throughout and is tense as it is horrific.

Be sure to check out the novel when it is released in April 2025 and always, give Wendig a chance.

What a strange, strange book. It involves a group of friends that had gone their own separate ways after the night their friend disappeared. One brings them all together to try and figure out what happened that night many years ago. What happens are so many twists and turns. The characters all have very unique personalities and they are drawn out well throughout the book. The only thing I struggled with was some of the slang that was used in the book, but it was very enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Worlds for gifting me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was ok. I had higher hopes for it and found myself eager to just finish it so there were parts of the text I skimmed through. At times it was overly descriptive and adjectives were in patterns of three which I found irritating.

Storyline wise, it was the best part. Whilst I didn’t enjoy the jumping back and first through time, I did enjoy each character development and understanding their thought processes. The ending was kind of abrupt but it did leave me wanting to know more.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!

Five best friends, all with difficult lives, go camping in their hometown woods. They see a staircase that seemingly leads to nowhere, when one goes up and never comes back down, they realize they’ve encountered something dangerous, possibly supernatural, and no one will believe them…they become the town outcasts, weirdo, murderers.

Nick, hardass and kind of an asshole, has a secret he hasn’t shared with a soul, but his friends are his reprieve. Being with them makes him laugh, allows him to enjoy life. Hamish, the clown, the chunky one, the stoner, always down for anything, even if anything means smashing his face into a tree, but “whatever dude.” Owen, the emo one. His life sucks and his parents are horrendous, he’s secretly (so he thinks) in love with Lauren, the only girl in the group, and heavily leans on her for support. Laur (later Lore), is the smart one, the edgy one, the girl who’s constantly alone at home due to her moms numerous men, therefore finds comfort in being with the group, all together, all the time. She knows Owen is in love with her but what no one knows is she’s in love with the last member of our group, Matty. Matty is the odd one of the group, he has a seemingly great home life, he’s the golden boy, good at all he does, the star of anything he commits to. This forms “The Covenant.” When those words are spoken, you drop everything and help your friends. You come together. They’ve all used the phrase, all except Matty.

“They were each the other’s respite. A safe space, a found family, a real home, existing wherever they each were at any time—they could always shelter in place with one another. They were more than just a clique, more than just fellow wanderers. They were the crew, bound by their Covenant.”

So when Matty and Laur get into an argument during their camping trip, Matty decides to goes up those stairs they stumbled upon, he calls covenant but no one follows. And so begins the end of their friendships as they knew them. But Nick…he never gave up the search. While everyone else went off to college and started their new lives sans Matty, doing anything they could, even if damaging to themselves and others, to move on from Matty’s disappearance and the trauma of the weeks after, Nick searched. He researched every random door and staircase appearance. When he gets sick and calls the covenant home…they come home to another staircase. And so they enter a world more horrifying then they ever expected. They go in together but may come out solo…or never again.

“Home becomes another name for that place where monsters go to hide and do their terrible work.”

Leaving you with the first passage in the book, the moment I knew this was for me, that made me gasp at its beauty…

“Friendship is like a house,” she said to him, his head cradled in her lap. “You move into this place together. You find your own room there, and they find theirs, but there’s all this common space, all these shared places. And you each put into it all the things you love, all the things you are. Your air becomes their air. You put your hearts on the coffee table, next to the remote control, vulnerable and beautiful and bloody. And this friendship, this house, it’s a place of laughter and fun and togetherness too. But there’s frustration sometimes. Agitation. Sometimes that gets big, too big, all the awful feelings, all that resentment, building up like carbon monoxide. Friendship, like a house, can go bad, too. That air you share? Goes sour. Dry rot here, black mold there, and if you don’t remediate, it just grows and grows. Gets bad enough, one or all of you have to move out. And then the place just fucking sits there, abandoned. Empty and gutted. Another ruin left to that force in the world that wants everything to fall apart. You can move back into a place like that, sometimes. But only if you tear it all down and start again.”

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Del Rey, for providing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest opinion. This was the BEST book I’ve read this year.

To start I would like to thank Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group, and Chuck Wendig for the opportunity of being able to read this book as an ARC.

Overall I enjoyed this book.. I was so excited to read this due to my past love of CreepyPasta stories and NoSleep stories on Reddit. The creepiness of this book was great, I loved the idea of all the different rooms and their stories. Honestly I wish I could have got the background story on all the rooms. I was okay with the ending as well, this is the kind of book that I would LOVE to see adapted into a movie. Now, the reason this was only a 3.5 star book. The characters were really hard to actually like, they were each supposed to have their own messed up pasts and trauma but they all seemed so 2D and just bland. I also was not much of a fan of the random political fights and how hard the author tried to put all these “woke” thoughts into it. It did absolutely nothing for the story, not to mention annoying since you read books like this to stay away from reality. I also felt like at some points nothing was happening, like the book was at a standstill and there was really nothing left for them to do. It was a decent book, I wouldn’t read it again but I’d probably recommend it to certain people.

I love how the reconnection of friends feels fresh in a sea of books written within this genre with these familiar themes. I would read this again.

Absolutely brilliant book!
I am a big fan of this author and love the writing style!
I cant wait to read more!

This book was a wild ride—dark, unsettling, and totally gripping. The book takes nostalgia and mixes it with the grotesque in a way that’s both beautiful and horrifying. So much of it is rooted in the 90s, which made for a nostalgic backdrop I really enjoyed.

One of the standout strengths of this novel is the way it handles sensitive topics like self-harm and healing from abuse and trauma. The representation feels genuine—thoughtful, gentle, and never overdone. Wendig writes with a clarity that brings deep understanding to these subjects without sensationalizing them.

The scenes themselves? Incredible. The one with the girl in the bedroom had me glued to the page, and the electrocution scene? Absolutely unforgettable. This book is packed with moments that made me want to shout “What just happened?!” but in the best way possible. The descriptions of the beings and what the characters encounter are disgusting in the most perfect way—vivid, vile, and disturbingly real.

The characters are also a highlight. I loved and hated each of them equally, which made for such an interesting reading experience. Owen’s unhinged panic and desperation over Nick? Absolutely unrelenting. And Lore’s character, as someone who is poly, pan, and essentially nonbinary, is such a refreshing piece of LGBTQ representation.

The imagery is another win—grotesque yet stunningly written. And the book’s political undertones add a sharp layer of commentary without overwhelming the story. It’s clear Wendig put a lot of thought into every element.

My only real critique is the formatting. The italics and extra embellishments felt overdone at times and distracted from the flow. But honestly, it’s a small thing in the grand scheme of an otherwise amazing book.

If you love Stranger Things vibes, grotesque horror, and layered storytelling, this is a must-read. Oh, and don’t skip the author’s notes at the end—they really tie everything together.

*Full review to be added closer to publication!*

Chuck Wendig truly never fails to tell a horror story that is imaginative, terrifying, and will stay with you. I always think I might know what to expect from a Wendig book, but I'm never quite right and am instead always surprised--in the best ways, though! A group of teenagers were once surprised to find a mysterious staircase appear in the woods-and shocked when one of their friends disappears as a result. Later, when they are adults, the friends are brought together again when the staircase reappears and they want to find out what happened to their friend. This was everything I love in an eerie story and I was so hooked on this entire premise and what happens as this group begins to explore. There's plenty of horror and suspense, of course, but also a lot in the way of character development and an exploration of friendships and relationship dynamics that are explored as well, both of which are things that Wendig excels at. I cannot wait for this book to be released and I am so grateful for the opportunity to read this one. I had a blast!