Thank you for the opportunity to read and review The Farmhouse by Chelsea Conradt.
The cover of this book is GORGEOUS and the synopsis had me wanting to read it immediately.
However, i had to put this read down.
I did not enjoy the writing style here. i had to reread sentences multiple times before they made sense to me and by 30% i decided to DNF.

i will not be posting a review of this read on any of my platforms.

Thank you again, Chelsea Condradt, Poisoned Pen Press, & Netgalley for the opportunity to read this digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 rounded up. Was this bad? Not by any means, the premise was actually quite interesting and I love a good mysterious backstory in my mysteries and thrillers. This was VERY atmospheric, which can be great, but for me, it was almost too much atmosphere and not enough everything else. It moved a bit slow. It was almost all psychological, and I was really scared there was going to be a cop out near the end, which thankfully there wasn’t. I just wasn’t shocked by this, and that’s what defines a good thriller for me. It was fun and twisted and creepy, but I feel as though too much was given away early on and it made all of the things revealed later on just…expected. Would I recommend it? If you’re looking for atmosphere and creepy vibes, 100%. If you want to be jaw-dropping shocked, maybe hold off

‘Man of clear logic deals with wayward hysterical wife’

Josh was an utter bore and very patronising, which frustrated me, but didn’t stop me from really enjoying this book. The idea of the barn moving intrigued me and I loved how practical Emily was in response to her situation. This book was slow placed and quiet at times, especially with the theme of grief, but it was also eerie and sinister when it needed to be. It also had a satisfying conclusion which I was pleased about.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Farmhouse is a horror/thriller where a woman buys a farmhouse in Nebraska to attempt to escape the grief of her mother's passing. Soon after moving in, Emily begins to notice bizarre occurrences with the barn like lights flickering, screams, and the barn somehow moving around the property. If Emily is to finally call the farmhouse her new home, she must uncover the dark secrets of the house and farm otherwise whatever is out there could target her next...

Right off the bat, this book is heavy with the main character, Emily, deeply affected by her mother's passing. She is so overwhelmed with the memories that she buys a farmhouse in Nebraska to try to leave behind her grief in San Francisco. The author really brings this grief to life and made the anecdotes between Emily and her mother very real and full of raw emotion. I have not lost a parent so I don't fully know what that is like, but my heart still hurt for Emily as she tries to not let the grief completely overwhelm her.

Unfortunately, this book falls heavy into the "husband doesn't believe wife" trope. Seriously, I am so sick of men never believing their wives. Why is this so common in horror? This literally starts to negatively impact their relationship because of how big of an issue this became throughout the novel. Ugh! It almost felt like Emily was just trying to get her husband to believe her more than actually trying to uncover the truth behind the dead wife of the previous farmhouse owner and his missing daughter. Emily also suffers from insomnia and drinks a decent amount so is this all real or happening in her head? Another very overused trope. Yay!

Not to mention, I felt this was very predictable. I guessed what would happen very early on. If this wasn't sent to me as an e-arc, I most likely would not have finished this. Or I would have skipped to the end to see if I was right or not.

The author also has some... odd word choices throughout. They aren't used incorrectly, but they certainly aren't used often so it kind of caught me off guard every time I'd come across it. Very minor annoyance of mine.

Overall, if you're looking for a horror/thriller that is a bit slow-paced and is full of "is this real" and "no one believes me" then give this a shot. It didn't work for me, but I am sure this would be a great book for someone else who likes slow-paced horror with elements of grief sprinkled in.

I give this a 2/5 stars. I didn't despise it and even found the ending satisfying, but not something I would ever read again.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

I am a huge fan of "farm horror" and any type of spooky story with isolated vibes, so when I found Chelsea Conradt's The Farmhouse, I scrambled to get an ARC.
After the death of Emily's mother, she and her husband move to a large farm in Nebraska. While the endless cornfields, sunny skies, and quiet country life seems idyllic, Emily soon starts to see odd lights and hears music at night. Her barn also seems to change distance from the house. She quickly uncovers a cold case with her farm at its center.
I enjoyed this novel a lot. As someone who lives on a farm, I loved the setting, and as a runner, I was a huge fan of Emily's obsession with running (and coffee). The sense of isolation and its challenges was well-captured, and the eerie elements of the story were well written. This is definitely a slow burn paranormal thriller, and I did find the middle section to slow a bit more than I would have liked, but the plots speeds back up for its conclusion. I highly recommend this to fans of Simone St. James.
Thank you to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a digital ARC in exchange for review. I look forward to reading more by Conradt!

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a complimentary early release copy of The Farmhouse by Chelsea Conradt.

The Farmhouse is a slow paced but overall intriguing thriller novel. I liked the writing style, Chelsea Conradt does a really good job of keeping the story suspenseful and the tension at times was crazy. I liked Emily as a main character and the relationship dynamics between her and Josh were enjoyable to follow. The story itself constantly had me on edge and it was downright hard to put this book down sometimes because I wanted to know what was going on immediately! The eerie vibes of the story are written absolutely perfectly, I felt throughly creeped out and on edge during my time reading The Farmhouse.

I’m giving The Farmhouse a rating of 4.5 stars, overall this was an enjoyable story with lots of suspenseful moments and the creepy vibes are on point. I’m happy with the direction that the story went in. The vibes of the story is what carried this book for me, I enjoyed The Farmhouse and I think many will. This would be a good book to go completely blind into!

This book was such an immersive read , I couldn’t put it down . Once it got past its slow beginning and pace, it was so creepy and anxiety inducing in the best way possible. As frustrating as the gaslighting and dismissal was , I think the way the characters were written and portrayed was fitting . It had a classic— albeit predictable —horror movie vibe to it that I really enjoyed:) I didn’t expect how full fleshed Emily would be written and how real she was which I feel like I don’t see in most horror/thrillers . I usually stray away from the ones that take place and are centered in houses but I didn’t mind it in this one . So glad I picked it up❤️

Emily left California & came to Nebraska to get away from a death, but it turns out her new property has some lingering residents….

I really enjoyed the paranormal aspects of this spooky story! Emily gets put through ALL of the emotions as she embraces farm life while simultaneously being haunted by what had previously happened in San Francisco & on the ground she now calls home (on top of also trying to balance her relationship with her disbelieving husband, who hasn’t had anything strange happen to him at their new house & thus decides she’s just imagining things). I appreciated the way the Midwest landscape was shown, and though I would have liked a little more detail at the end I’m definitely going to read this author again!

Thank you to NetGalley & Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Farmhouse by Chelsea Conradt is a chilling psychological thriller that blends mystery and supernatural suspense with gripping tension. Emily Hauk and her husband, Josh, move to a remote farm in rural Nebraska, hoping for a fresh start after her mother's death. What seems like an idyllic escape soon unravels as Emily discovers disturbing connections between the farm and a series of women who met dark, tragic ends. A missing teenage girl, a mysterious death, and strange occurrences—such as the barn seeming to move and eerie music drifting across the land—make Emily question the farm's sinister history. As she uncovers unsettling secrets, Emily must fight to uncover the truth before the darkness that haunts the property claims her as well. With its eerie atmosphere, well-paced suspense, and a protagonist battling both external and internal demons, The Farmhouse is a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers and supernatural mysteries.

I truly hate to do this. I never like to be the person to give a critical review, especially for a debut. But for whatever reason, I couldn't connect with the authors style of writing. I also found the running updates to be jarring, and I couldn't invest in the relationship. I wish this book had been trimmed back just a little bit, to maintain the eerie vibe the entire way through. Overall, it wasn't bad, but it also wasn't my favorite. I love the premise, I feel like there's just a little something missing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy of The Farmhouse by Chelsea Conradt.
This one sounded like an amazing supernatural thriller, but seemed to fall flat. I did not find anything about it eerie or creepy and was a bit bored with it. This one starts out slow, but does pick up later on. I just really did not like any of the characters so I wasn’t too invested in this one.

Thank you Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Chelsea Conradt’s “The Farmhouse” is an eerie, slow-burn paranormal thriller that blends rural gothic horror with an intimate exploration of isolation and gaslighting. Set against the haunting backdrop of a Nebraska farmstead, the book simmers with creeping dread, leading to an unsettling and chilling climax.

The story follows Emily and her husband Josh as they trade the bustle of San Francisco for the supposed tranquility of rural life after the death of Emily’s beloved mother. Their dream of a fresh start quickly devolves into a nightmare. Strange occurrences plague their new home: lights flickering in the decrepit barn, ghostly voices, and — most bizarrely — the barn itself mysteriously shifting locations. As Emily’s experiences intensify, she is left questioning whether she's losing her mind to grief and sleepless nights, or if something truly sinister is at play.

Conradt masterfully sustains a lingering, oppressive atmosphere throughout the story. Early chapters move at a leisurely pace, which made it a bit difficult for me to get invested in the story. The first half of the book focuses heavily on Emily's daily routines and strained relationship with Josh, who dismisses her fears as grief-fueled imagination. While the tension builds slowly (a bit too slowly), you are rewarded when the story hits its stride around the 70% mark, delivering chilling revelations and a finale that’s difficult to tear away from.

Emily is a compelling protagonist: flawed, resilient, and deeply relatable in her portrayal of someone battling loss and disbelief from those closest to her. Her voice, playful and humorous at the start, darkens as the horrors around her mount, highlighting the emotional toll of grief and isolation. Conradt’s depiction of a woman gaslit by a well-meaning but skeptical partner is handled with nuance, adding depth to the supernatural tension.

The haunted barn mystery, featuring local legends and dark family secrets, is genuinely unsettling. Conradt taps into familiar gothic tropes—creepy small towns, ghostly warnings, tragic histories—while offering fresh twists, particularly through the farm's sinister connection to the women who lived there before Emily. The influence of Emily’s late mother, both emotionally and through eerie musical callbacks, adds a poignant layer that enriches the overall experience.

Overall, “The Farmhouse” is a chilling, atmospheric debut perfect for readers who appreciate slow-burn horror with strong emotional undercurrents. It's a story that lingers in the mind, blending supernatural terror with very real human fears about loss, change, and being unheard. Fans of haunted house stories, gothic thrillers, and psychological suspense will find much to savor here—and Chelsea Conradt is definitely an author to watch.

Emily & Josh moved from San Franscisco to rural Nebraska for peace and quiet and their own slice of Americana. It was a move that was supposed to free them from stress and worry..... but the Farmhouse, and the barn, specifically, have a history that makes itself known, but only to Emily. As her observations become more concerning, Josh continues to brush them off, but when physical evidence shows up Josh is faced to confront the possibility that there might be something nefarious on their property.

I really enjoyed this one. There were one or two things I noticed that really gave off vibes like The Shining, which I loved. For example, in the beginning it seems like Emily has a bit of a caffeine problem and tracks her caffeine intake carefully to avoid getting too amped up and messing with her sleep. As the story goes on and her sleepless nights get worse, her caffeine intake seems to be less under control, and it appears to correlate directly with how scared she is or how unhinged her experiences become. It was really well done. The comments about the caffeine were often followed by her journaling about how long it takes her each day to jog to the barn and how many steps her fitness watch records for the path. As the story goes on, the situation with the barn and the timing and the steps change by leaps and bounds, and the story becomes crazier and crazier. The entire time I kept thinking about Jack Torrance in The Shining and how at the beginning of the book he is meticulously monitoring the boiler and letting steam off as instructed but the more he becomes effected by his isolation, the more often he lets the boiler go, much like Emily lets her caffeine control go. In The Shining, Jack's writing also becomes crazier and crazier as the isolation hits him, much like how Emily's experiences do, which made such creepier. I just really loved the way The Farmhouse did a similarly good job creating a very isolated feeling and demonstrating the way that effects people's mental states.

In addition to the isolation situation, I really enjoyed how this book did enough work on both sides that you aren't really sure until the end if crazy things are happening, or if Emily is just crazy. It's hard to find books that really build enough of a case on both sides that you can't tell until the end and this one did it really well, especially for a debut novel. I did sometimes find that Josh's character was a little all over the place; in one breath telling her she's hearing things and the next saying he believes her or totally supports her or whatever, it made him seem a little phony.

The only criticism I have is that the book is definitely too long. It felt a little long at certain points even for me as someone who pretty consistently enjoyed reading it. Somewhere around 70% through I ended up looking up the actual number of pages (my kindle app only shows me %) and I saw it was like 425 pages or something. That's just really, really long for a mystery/thriller and to be honest if I wasn't such a sucker for a good isolation story, I probably wouldn't pick up a 400+ page debut novel. To be fair, it's not like you can go through and say 'Oh you could have cut out this whole storyline' or 'there's too many descriptions of the fields' or something, but there HAS to be some way to cut it down at least a little because if I'm enjoying it and it still feels long I imagine some people might DNF.

Overall, I really, really enjoyed this book! I definitely look forward to more from this author!

Chelsea Conradt’s debut novel, The Farmhouse, is a slowburning paranormal thriller that delves into the eerie and unsettling. Set in rural Nebraska, the story follows Emily and her husband, Josh, as they seek a fresh start on a seemingly idyllic farm. However, the farm hides a dark history: every woman who has lived there has died.

The author crafts a chilling atmosphere, with the farmhouse’s barn inexplicably shifting locations and ghostly voices haunting the cornfields. Emily’s descent into paranoia is compelling, as she uncovers the farm’s sinister past. The story contains themes of grief, isolation, and the struggle to be believed, especially when Emily’s concerns are dismissed by those around her.

The writing is excellent and I loved the storyline, but here and there it just felt too long and because of that the story couldn’t keep my focus all of the time.

Overall, The Farmhouse offers a haunting tale that will appeal fans of atmospheric horror, psychological thrillers and slowburn thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.

After the death of her mother, Emily Hauk and her husband leave San Francisco for a fresh start on a Nebraska farm—but their new home has a dark past. A missing girl, a mysterious death, and a string of tragedies tied to the property begin to unravel Emily’s sense of safety.

While the story had a very slow start and took a while to grab my attention, the suspense built nicely toward the end. Creepy details and unsettling moments definitely made the final stretch worth the wait.

Unfortunately, I am DNFing this book. This is 90% fluff and about 10% actual plot. There are entire chapters that are pointless. If this had been about 150 pages shorter, it probably would have been a quality read. I will not leave a negative review on goodreads, as this book is not released yet.

3.5 stars (the half does matter!)

I love a good thriller and this was a decent one. The story of finding yourself in someplace new is relatable. The thrill of mysterious lights and music, voices and ghosts, it keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting to know more. This book was all that BUT it felt a little slow in the middle, lasted little too long and the ending was just that, an ending. It wasn’t a huge surprise and just felt meh.

The cover screamed "This is a thriller worth reading!" It was not lying! Not only did I truly enjoy the storyline I was stoked to find it is set right here in Nebraska. Having a book store in Hastings, I could completely see the entire landscape and understand the small community culture. The patriarchal undertones in agriculture are taken to horrific extremes and it is a thrilling ride (or run in this case) down the Nebraska gravel roads.

This one was not my favourite. I found the characters to be bland. I didn’t feel much suspense being built as it felt like the same thing over and over. It felt like the main character was just having a panic attack over and over and that was the plot.

Emily and her husband decide to moving from San Francisco to a farm in Nebraska, but is the farm hiding a terrible secret? Or waiting for the right person to reveal the darkness that is lurking on the property? This is a haunting mystery that slowly unfolds. At times so frustrating in how the men deal with the women in their lives and the steps they take while ignoring what is happening. Although the reveal was not at all shocking, I enjoyed the story and how it was written with each small piece falling into place. Thank you NetGalley and poisoned Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC!