The concept of The Farmhouse was so intriguing to me: A couple, Emily and Jason, moves into a remote farmhouse in Nebraska from California following the passing of Emily's mother. After moving into what seems like a picturesque and quaint home, Emily starts to learn things about the family that lived there before them and how women of the farm kept mysteriously going missing. In the meantime, Emily becomes increasingly suspicious as the barn outside seems to be taunting her, appearing closer and farther away each day and creepy screams are waking her in the night, luring her to the decrepit building. Sounds interesting, right?

I desperately wanted it to be. Unfortunately, for me, this book just fell flat. It seemed overly repetitive, with Emily being paranoid in both sleeping and wakeful states. She was also overly dependent on coffee (and sometimes wine), with a husband, who despite her constant reassurance to the reader that he loves her, seemed to doubt her endlessly. Their dynamic felt a off and all the men in the story were awful, spiteful characters with no respect for women. Overall, the concept was a 10, but the execution wasn't for me.

The Farmhouse by Chelsea Conradt is an eerie, emotionally charged thriller that had me hooked from the first haunting page. Set against the backdrop of a crumbling farmhouse full of secrets, this novel masterfully blends suspense, psychological tension, and the quiet horror of confronting the past.

Conradt’s writing is sharp and immersive, pulling you deep into a world where every creak of the floorboards feels like a warning. The story unravels with perfect pacing—drip-feeding dread and doubt until you’re questioning everything alongside the protagonist. And the farmhouse itself? Practically a character on its own. Isolated, ominous, and dripping with unease.

What I loved most, though, was the emotional depth. This isn’t just a twisty thriller (though it delivers plenty of those!); it’s a story about grief, trauma, and the tangled web of family legacy.

A huge thank-you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. The Farmhouse is the perfect blend of atmospheric suspense and emotional storytelling—I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

Thank you to Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Emily and Josh, a young couple searching for release from urban chaos, as well as Emily’s anxieties brought on by the death of her mother, buy a farm in Nebraska. The farmhouse is renovated and cozy but the barn is rundown and sinister. Finding out what secrets the farm holds kept me reading to the end, but I found some passages repetitious and felt the story could have been tighter. Early on, when Emily sees a strange light in the barn, and hears music, no one believes her. I wondered why she didn’t take a video with her phone as proof. Turns out there are several young women missing in this small community but obvious suspects are never questioned until Emily intervenes. I do love the cover and description of this book.

There was so much promise in the book. I felt like the synopsis was so intriguing that I just couldn’t pass this up. But, I have to say, that I feel like I was disappointed. I feel like the synopsis didn’t really fit the book at all, and was a bit misleading. The writing in this book was excellent, and Conradt did a wonderful job with infusing the book was an insidious, foreboding feeling. She rocked the creepy, small town vibes and the haunted home aspect was perfect. But, I felt that this book was just too long and rambling. The bits that focused in on the haunting and the storyline were excellent, but there was just too much between these scenes to really keep the suspense of the book up. I feel like if there had been some editing and the story had been slimmed down it would have been much better. I also feel like Conradt leaned heavily into the stereotypical husband not believing his wife trope and it just felt very overdone. Overall, this was a somewhat engaging read and the ending was satisfying.

Unfortunately, by the time this one got to the meaty stuff- it was too late. I enjoyed the wit displayed by our main character, but it became grating the more her personality didn't change, if that makes sense? The "relationship" was quite annoying from the beginning. I think the idea of the farmhouse being haunted and that tying into our main character suffering from grief of losing her beloved mother was so cool, and I really did assume that sadness displayed would culminate into something more horrifying. Sadly, I just found myself let down from what I expected to be a much more thrilling premise. The pacing also didn't work for me. I will check out more by this author, and truly do hope her debut does well- I am very sad this one didn't work for me the way I hoped it would. Thanks so much to the publisher and the author for the chance to read an early eARC and give my thoughts!

The FarmHouse by Chelsea Conradt tells the story of Emily and Josh, thirty somethings from San Francisco who purchase a farm in Nebraska to escape the city as well as memories of Emily’s mother’s death. After they arrive, Emily begins to hear voices, find strange items on the farm and sense that the barn itself is moving on a daily basis. Is the farm haunted or is Emily losing her mind? Will her marriage survive this move? Conradt has written an engaging novel with mystery and supernatural elements that keeps you reading until the end! Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced reader’s copy!

The story didn't take off for me like I would have liked it too. It was very slow and I couldn't stay engaged, plus the husband rubbed me the wrong way. I would have also like more back story on the house.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to review!
Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 4
Pace: 2
Plot development: 3
Characters: 2
Enjoyability: 3
Ease of Reading: 3

Overall rating: 3 out of 5

The Farmhouse is a somewhat slow read, but it is no less captivating than the next best thriller. I particularly enjoyed the double entendre-cum-plot twist. I would have liked the plot twist to happen somewhat earlier in the book in order to see more of the fall out of it.
The writing was fairly easy to follow and enjoyable to get through.

Good book! Keep me wanting to keep reading! My first by this author and i will read more !! Highly recommend this author !!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this novel! All opinions are my own.

This book had so much potential and I was really excited to see where it would go. From the start, I felt a strong dislike toward the husband, which kept me hooked, but I kept waiting for a big twist or revelation that would elevate the story. One thing I did appreciate was how the FMC kept me on my toes, constantly making me question whether or not I should trust her. However, the ending ultimately left me feeling underwhelmed. It seemed rushed, and I was hoping for a more impactful conclusion. While it wasn’t a bad read, I do think there was room for improvement in terms of pacing and delivering a stronger payoff.

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Zero on-page spice)

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the eARC copy of The Farmhouse by Chelsea Conradt.

I will honestly say, I am always down for a debut novel from an author and the plot is just right. The Farmhouse follows Emily and Josh as they move from San Francisco, CA to the middle of nowhere Nebraska after the death of Emily's rather eccentric mother for a fresh start. Side note, it still amazes me that they ended up on a farm in the middle of Nebraska as their fresh start..but that's someone who did the opposite. But when she starts to notice that things are just off, Emily starts to realize that this fresh start may not be what it seems and of course, she is told that she is being paranoid and everything is fine. Which, made me kind of huff because of course the woman isn't going to be believed and of course she is going to be right. It was at that point that while The Farmhouse has so much potential, it is also rather predictable in its course and the thrill and underlying fear isn't there any more which made it fall flat for me.

The Farmhouse by Chelsea Conrad is a truly creepy haunted house tale. Emily and Josh Hawke moved from Haight Ashbury in California to a farmhouse in Nebraska. it’s been six months since her mom Penelope died but she is still severely mourning her loss. The move is supposed to be a fresh start and they couldn’t be more excited. unfortunately soon after moving in strange things start happening. From the light coming on in the barn to the barn itself moving from one location to another but none of this prepares Emily for what else the house has in store for her. It has a story to tell and will not be quiet until the story is told. she finds out every female who lived there previously has either died in a strange way or like the teenager before is missing. it doesn’t help matters when the people renting out her land to grow crops visit the barn way more than she thinks they should she gets woken up by her mom‘s favorite artist Dolly Parton singing, but the house isn’t the only place she hears her mom‘s playlist. this was such a creepy story and despite the fact I did not like the way it ended I still absolutely recommend the story. I thought Emily being that upset because Josh found what she was saying hard to believe and as a matter of a fact didn’t believe her was ridiculous I mean even though what she said was true she should’ve given Josh a break I mean it was a fantastical story. I guess in the error of hating the patriarchy that it was status quo I just don’t like this new theme where all men are bad and gas lighters because they all are not. Either way forget my soap box speech this is a great book with creepy vibes in an even creep your tail if you think small towns treat outsiders with distain wait till you see how Nebraskan’s treat their own.#NetGalley,#PoisonPenPublishers, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #ChelseaConrad, #TheFarmhouse,

I’m a sucker for an Authors debut and a chance to find a new author I love so I had to snatch this up especially after reading the ominous synopsis! “the farmhouse” definitely has potential to be great. The plot follows our FMC Emily who has recently moved from a big city to a small town in Nebraska following the passing of her mother. She is definitely searching for a fresh start and instead she finds that her new home is harbouring the ghosts of the Past in more ways than one.

What I enjoyed:
The creepy atmosphere
The sense of a haunted home
Eery isolated small town vibes

What didn’t work for me:
At some points the plot felt a little too slowburn and I was eager to get to the point, from a debut perspective the book could have benefited from a little more editing however I enjoyed the read as a whole. I think the author definitely has potential and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next!

Thank you for the gifted copy!

Publish date - June 17th 2025

Such a great book. Thank you for letting me read this in advance.I couldn't stop reading it. Looking up this author for more reads now.

Thank you to Netgalley for supplying this e-arc. This book definitely had potential for me, but unfortunately it was just too slow-moving and too slow burning. I also felt like there were a lot of repetitive scenes and characters.

Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy and ability to share my thoughts before publication.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

Still reeling from the loss of her mother, Emily and her husband leave California to buy a farm in Nebraska. But once they move in, things get weird. The barn seemingly moves and the farmers they leased the land to are acting strange. And there's the whole business of girls going missing and women dying on the farm.

Overall I enjoyed this, I liked Emily and cared about what happened to her. I'm a sucker for a story about women speaking for girls whose voices were stolen. I thought the pacing was good and I stayed interested in the story — would definitely recommend this to others.

There is just one thing I kept hyper fixating on and expected to play a bigger role in the overall story.

Spoilers below!
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Emily, your husband SUCKS.

I got the ick immediately (I yelled EW over and over) and had a feeling this was all building up to something major involving him, but it didn't and ended with a pffft instead of a bang. With all the gaslighting and love bombing, I truly thought there was going to be some big twist that he knew this family all along and had been involved in the girls' deaths. I'm disappointed it didn't end that way! But pleased she still dumped his sorry behind.

I love a spooky farmhouse atmosphere! I was very much hooked in the beginning of the novel, I really enjoyed Emily's voice and the build of the plot. Where I struggled was about midway through, I very much lost steam and felt like I was a little bogged down by details, losing momentum. Overall a worthy read but not one that I would return to. I would, however, recommend to a patient reader who appreciates atmosphere and psychological elements!

This book had so much potential. But I could just not get myself to care. I wish the author had developed the lore and history of the house first BEFORE the "creepy" stuff started happening because I was not invested enough to be freaked out by the barn with Emily. And girl, are you serious? I was constantly rolling my eyes at her. She came across as a teenager sneaking about rather than an adult. Ignoring adult duties, lying to her husband about stupid stuff. I almost DNF'd it at 37%. But I pushed through and while I did enjoy how the story ended, I didn't care for how we got there.

Women on this farm never made it out alive. Emily was always dismissed and put off as crazy. Could she be the difference?