This one was quite original and for a debut I think it was pretty good. The story itself was incredibly interesting and I liked all of our main characters for different reasons, they felt so real. The beginning was a bit slow for me and I found myself so lost at times. Once I wrapped my brain around everything, it started to make sense, but I definitely spent a good bit of time confused in like the last 2/3 of the book. 😅 That’s on me though. While I couldn’t relate to much of the siblings’ issues, I could definitely feel sympathy for them. I did enjoy the ending and will read more from Neena Viel. It’s dark, and depressing and while it’s so unnatural, it’s also real in the sense that it touches on some of the racial injustices Black people face in our society today.

I listened to this on audio and ended up switching over to the ebook because one of the narrators just didn’t match the character in my head and that bothered me - I’m kind of OCD so don’t let that deter you. Thanks to St.Martins Press for my eARC and advanced audiobook!

If you are interested in some weird ass horror. Look no further. This wild ride is a blend of horror and family drama with a big fever dream vibe.

Calla took custody of her little brother, Jamie, when their father died and their mom peaced out. Ever since Calla has taken responsibility for her brothers she gets dreams where she will know if they are in danger. As Jamie has gotten older and started getting into activism the dreams are more frequent and more terrifying. When Jamie’s choices at a protest cause them to go on the run, they face a new threat that will have them fighting for their lives and their reality. Perhaps they ought to have heeded Callas warnings.

This was wild. I have scary dreams pretty regularly but thankfully nothing like Calla’s.
Unsettling
Nail biter
Fast paced.
Also this is a debut novel and I am excited to see what this author puts out in the future.

This came out today
thanks to netgalley and st martins press for an eARC

I enjoyed this book. I liked the twists and turns and really enjoyed the characters. I felt empathy for Calla, frustration with Dre and annoyance with Jamie. But when you hear their backstory, you realize all they have been through and why they have felt with things like they have. I did find myself wanting to know where Jamie ends up in a few years and if he gets his life together.

What a great debut novel this is! Viel has created a unique and terrifying family drama like no other. Siblings Calla, Dre and Jamie are mourning the loss of their father and struggling just to get by, basically raising themselves as their mother is unable to care for them. Calla is the oldest and takes on more than her fair share, which inflicts her with awful anxiety including bizarre night terrors, that start off as creepy and confusing but soon become dark unexplainable premonitions. The paranormal-fever-dream-horror that this family endures is nothing short of cray-cray!!

The three narrator’s are what made this such a fun experience for me. Not only is the humour between the siblings laugh-out-loud funny, the eerie bits are made 10x as good because of the effort of the narrators.

I will say that it had a YA feel to it, even though it’s clearly an adult novel. I’m already looking forward to seeing more from Neena Viel.

This book was not for me unfortunately. I can see the potential, so I still recommend people give it a shot. I felt very confused as to what was real and what was a dream. That sounds like it can be a good thing but not in this case. I found it very difficult to follow and it just left me confused, like I was missing pieces of the story. The audiobook itself was done very well. The narrators did a great job!

I DNF'd this one around 20%. That might be premature, but I wanted to be able to offer some positives and I felt the longer that I listened, the less I would have. I won't be posting this review anywhere else as I do not want to deter anyone from reading this, as I think there is an audience for it - it's just not me.

While I understand the comparison to Jordan Peele...this is a very poor comparison. Jordan's commentary is either so subtle that you feel as though you imagined it OR so in your face that it almost appears as satire. The commentary in this one basically just left me feeling like I was being yelled at. I've had this criticism with other books that have come out in a post-BLM world and while I understand the anger and the need for books that call to this cause...it needs to be handled more delicately than this. People read to escape, and I personally love when I can escape but also find bits of commentary that make me feel 'OHHHH' and connect it to the real world, but this was just overkill and not executed well.

I also found the FMC's comments about her brothers' appearances odd and uncomfortable...and (probably) irrelevant to the rest of the story. Some of the fixations with things struck me as odd too (the bra?).

I wish I could comment on the actual horror/social horror aspect of it, but I wasn't even able to get that far.

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the multiple narrators. I did not like the book’s format with different timelines and realities. I found myself getting lost and this wasn’t the book for me.

A mix between thriller and horror - Neena Veil does a great job of developing her characters but for some reason I just couldn't get into it. No particular reason other than personal taste - I would still recommend to others who enjoy this genre.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for the opportunity to read this aurdio ARC. (Publication date: February 4, 2025)

This book wasn't my favorite if I'm being honest. The multiple points of view were hard to follow and it felt like it skipped back and forth a lot.

LISTEN TO YOUR SISTER is a book that feels like it should be over when you're only halfway through. The upsides were the characters. As a main character, Calla is incredibly relatable. If you've ever been the oldest sibling ... you know. I loved how much she cared for and fought for her brothers.

Jordan Peele, Stranger Things , The Other Black Girl, laugh out loud - with a summary like that, how can you not want to read this book? I was skeptical but most of the low/negative reviews weren’t deal breakers and wasn’t things that bother me.

I love how the book used horror to explain trauma - parentification, neglect, ect. That’s where the Jordan Peele reference comes from. The story does kind of go off the rails in the later half that kind of got confusing at time. But it helps bring in the sci-fi/horror elements.

This was an unexpected but interesting read! This debut novel is character driven, and hits on some very heavy topics including childhood trauma, abandonment, racism, protests, murder, guns, drugs and alcohol with a side of supernatural activity.

Calla, the FMC, is a 25 year old guardian of her rebellious 16 year old brother and is frustrated with the lack of help from her adult brother. She does everything she can to keep her brothers safe and out of trouble, but they don’t make it easy for her. Calla has very vivid, terrifying, recurring nightmares watching her brothers die…like a premonition. Calla fears that her nightmares are coming to life and decides to take her brothers and hide out in an isolated creepy rundown cabin to keep them all safe. From there, buckle up because the plot takes a crazy turn and becomes a wild ride. I found the unexpected humor to be a great addition to this horrific family drama. I thought this was going to be more ‘scary cabin in the woods’ type of story but it definitely wasn’t that. I am still not 100% sure what I read, but not necessarily bad, just crazy! However, the pacing and execution of the story were a little off…I found myself rereading thinking I had missed something but I hadn't, which was a little confusing. I also didn’t think that the synopsis matched the story but it turned out to be quite an eye opening experience. You may think you can run from the monsters of the world, but sometimes those monsters may live inside of you and those are the most terrifying.

The audiobook narration was incredible! The narrators were energetic, with great inflection and dialect. They gave each character their own voice voice really helped me envision each character and the setting, bringing the story to life…at times, maybe too much to life. I honestly think I would have DNFed this book if it hadn’t been for the audiobook.

I wanted to love this book, and I think I could have. I loved the setting and plot and the theme of sibling love abandonment, racism, trauma and I think this is a very important book to read. I loved how odd it was, it takes place in a cabin in the woods but the whole story feels like you're trapped in a nightmare with Calla and her brothers. It's dreamy, but a very gory, bloody dream, where you wanna wake up but you can't.

I would have devoured it if I was reading it rather than listening to it, even though the the cast was excellent, there was just something stopping me from paying attention and there were scenes I where I found myself thinking about other things and missing a huge chunks of the story. I wish I had been able to read it instead because I could tell I would've really liked the authors writing style.

Thank you to NetGally for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was not the book for me. Very hard to follow, jumping back and forth between dream and reality, and timelines and characters. Tried really hard to get into it, and I could not. :(

A questionable, somewhat disjointed start turned into a redemptive romp through childhood trauma and a discovery of self.

This book opens with a lighthearted and humorous tone. Our main protagonist is forced to deal school administrators due to her 15 year old brother’s shenanigans… and she is NOT happy. Her situation seems mostly funny, but with a slight undercurrent of tragedy. It doesn’t take long for the story to take a turn towards the bizarre. Once our protagonist’s two younger brothers enter the story, things go from bizarre to downright gruesome, but with no understanding as to why. The reader is led down this hideous yet murky path for almost half of the book. This is body horror, extreme fear, dismemberment and death, but with no clear cause or purpose.

Keep reading and second half of the book offers answers and expands to explore the effects of childhood trauma, the dangers of saving everyone at the expense one’s own wellbeing, the futility of living with and nursing resentment. It highlights the freedom that can come from facing your past and reconnecting with your truest self. Please do not be mistaken, the second half of this book offers just as must mayhem and gore as the first half.

If you are a fan of shows like Prime’s THEM, or movies like Jordan Peele’s US; I encourage you to give this book a chance.

"Listen to Your Sister" enters the minds and explores the fears of the three Williams siblings: Calla, Dre, and Jamie. After becoming the guardian of teenage Jamie, Calla finds herself playing mom in her mid-twenties and struggling to keep her head above water. Dre is just a couple of years younger than Calla, and instead of participating in raising their little brother, he's off in his own world, living a carefree life she should also be living. On top of that, Jamie is a mouthy, angsty teen refusing to make any of it easier.

Calla pendulates between struggling and bitter-struggling to take on this role she never asked for, and bitter that she is the only one upending her life for the family. Regardless of where she's at on the pendulum, she's terrified every second for the lives of her two young black brothers. She suffers from constant nightmares of them being killed, recurring images of their deaths, knowing she's unable to stop it.

The novel is a slow start, wading through the mundane waters of being a guardian, and quickly escalates when a situation at a protest goes all wrong for Jamie. The trio escapes to a dilapidated AirBnB cabin, and that's where the real nightmare begins.

The story hops into a space shuttle and launches into another galaxy, exploring their innermost fears and traumas. It's a tortuous dream at the gates of hell.

This nightmare cracked the book wide open taking the reader on a dizzying adventure and I won't lie, I wanted to wake up. For me, the read was an avant-garde schizophrenic experience that gave me car sickness, and I needed to pull over and throw up.

With the exception of my personal take on the nightmare sequencing, the core message is crucial and gives a sneak peek into the minds of humans dealing with racism and prejudice every single day. Life is the real nightmare, especially for black and brown people, where safety and freedom are not guaranteed and danger is present and common.

Although I wasn't ready for the frenetic experience, the story is a cool concept and is executed in a unique way. With that being said, the back half of the book lost me, unfortunately.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Griffin, & Neena Viel for the ARC in exchange for my authentic review.

OK…. So I just finished this one. I’m honestly not sure what I just read!?!

Yes, it’s off the wall crazy gangster stuff.
BUT….it’s also family drama…. Stepping up…. Straightening your kids (or siblings, out, when needed)…. Trying to get your head on straight. Trying to turn into a grown up adult…IN A MINUTE! …. Fighting with every fiber of your being to keep your loved ones safe… and having continuous nightmares about failing! 😮

This. Was. A. Lot!

I will warn you right now,if you’re NOT in a good mental space right now… you may want to press PAUSE on this one for now…and revisit it later… It’s a lot!

Now, that being said….THIS is a DEBUT novel for this author! And yes, I am looking forward to seeing what she’s got up her sleeve next!!

As you can guess from my description,this one revolves around a sister who’s TRYING to raise her two brothers to be good men…. But seems to find obstacles (and flat out ROADBLOCKS!)…. along every step of the way!

And then her dreams start turning into nightmares….

#ListenToYourSister by #NeenaViel and narrated nicely by #ErinLockley, #KristolynLloyd and #ZenoRobinson.

3 1/2 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 for me, rounded up to 4!

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Macmillan Audio for an ARC of the audiobook.

This*** is****due **to ** be** released****TOMORROW!! 2/4/25, so look 👀 for it then!

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Thanks so much for reading! And if you ‘liked’ my review, please share with your friends, & click ‘LIKE’ below… And, let me know YOUR thoughts if you read it!! 📚⭐️

This is tough. The premise (especially once you figure out what’s going on) is wildly interesting. The execution needed a stronger editor... especially with regard to pacing. I am VERY good with slow... some of my favorite books of all time are slow. But that’s when the characterization work is good or the writing itself is special. This was just slow. I kept watching my progress bar and waiting to be enthralled. The pace finally picked up around the 50% mark, but at 65%, I knew more of what to expect, but didn’t care and was just waiting for the end. The concept is really good, but this needed better plotting/pacing. I think it would be better on film. I will say the audio helped me through.

Some “If you liked” style comparisons: Jordan Peele inspo for sure

Warning: Lots of content warnings here. Look them up if that’s something you need.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan for this ARC.

Concept was okay. I just wasn’t really into the book- here’s why.
Characters seemed very one note to me which was too bad. Jamie and Dre were essentially just selfish the whole time that it actually became a bit irritating.
I found it became hard for me to want to finish this book. The writing style was just a bit disconnected for my liking. The imagery however, was really well done- if you are good with gore and bloodshed, it was written very graphically/well.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this ARC.

I’m pretty sure this is a case of it’s not you, it’s me, but I couldn’t develop a connection with Listen to Your Sister. It’s entirely possible that it’s my current mindset, but I gave up at the BLM protest. The violence involving a child was just more than I can do right now.