3.5 ⭐️ This was a fun thriller/mystery to listen to on audio 🎧 my only complaint was that the towns ‘attractive hot guy’s’ voice did not match the voice the narrator was giving 😅

If you want a thriller with creepy culty town vibes then this is it 👏🏼

2 ⭐️ 4🎧

DNF @54%

This book had everything it needed to be a great horror read. A deal too good to be true, a mysterious town with a deadly past, terrifying dreams and a FMC stop stupid and selfish to realize there is anything amiss.

I don’t expect to love or relate to MCs in a a psychological thriller but Billie was entirely unlikeable and I found it very hard to find any sympathy for her. Her mommy issues were staggering, especially since she was married to a psychiatrist or was it a psychologist? Either way. She just made one bad decision after another. Poor Peter and Mer were the only characters I felt bad for and wanted better for them.

I ultimately DNF because I found myself struggling to pick it up after setting it down. I did skip ahead to see how it ended because I was hoping for one outcome but was disappointed.

Cassandra Campbell did a great job narrating. I’m not sure I would have made it as far as I did if not for the great job she did.

Gothic town

Juliana, Georgia is an ancient town with a dark, yet unknown to the public, history. Starting with a history of what makes the town special then flipping to the future in a post-pandemic world. Billie receives an email that feels too good to be true. For a small cost, through the Juliana initiative, she can get a new house in a Victorian like city and start up grant funds for a business. While it felt too good to be true, it also was typical for towns to rebuild their population and economy post- COVID.

She decides to take the bait and moves to the small town with her husband and daughter. Their welcoming is whimsical and has the family feeling like this is the best choice they’ve ever made. Shortly after arrival though, things start to feel off. The citizens of the town, the nightmares they start getting, creepy house sounds, and weird violent behavior coming from Peter, her husband.

Creepy small town vibes ! Love these kind of books that make you think, are they crazy? Is something paranormal going on? Am I going crazy and even connecting the right dots here?

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 3/25/25.

Ugh this concept had so much potential. If you want to know what is going on read the start of the book until the protagonist starts narrating. For some odd reason everything is explained before we even met her. It made reading the book a real slog since I already knew what had happened and there was no suspense. It keeps everything that could be a mystery from being mysterious, even the inevitable deaths (it's horror, don't tell me deaths are a spoiler. Also, again, the 'why is this happening' is all explained before we even meet the protagonist. So this book spoils itself for some reason.)

Also there are romance novel style scenes which were just dull. Could not get through those fast enough, and when they get together a second time I literally said "ugh this again?" out loud.

Finally: The title made me actively turn down a number of opportunities to read arcs of this book before this opportunity arose. It's not an interesting title at all. I only read it because somebody whose taste I trust talked me into it. Then I spent the entire book thinking "Why isn't the title 'Gentle Juliana'?" It's a more intriguing title, and fits the vibe of the town. The town wasn't gothic at all, everybody was super friendly in an obnoxiously small town resident who feels entitled to your personal information kind of way. That's not gothic. Creepy, sure, but not Gothic.

An eerie, mysterious southern gothic story set in the modern town of Juliana, Georgia post-pandemic of 2020 tells the tale of a family looking for a fresh start. Lured in by the ideology of a new restaurant to run, open space for their daughter, to ignore her own internal problems, own a house and join a community Billie Hope all but twists her husbands arm into packing up and leaving the cramped and changed city of New York for lush, spacious, and unsettling Juliana, Georgia. Gentle Juliana as the locals call it.

Once moved in to a beautiful mansion set on 12 acres of land with a restaurant freshly up and running her cat and her husband start taking on a whole new personality. With these changes comes misunderstanding, fear, mistakes and pain Billie never knew her life could evolve into.

The storyline is so eerie and off-putting and the situations Billie finds herself in are as well. For someone who has a mother in what she has deemed a cult or whatever Billie can't seem to help being the pot calling the kettle black unbeknownst to herself. What transpires in this novel is quite simply the perfect example of "If it's too goo to be true, it probably is." and we see just how much that rings true in this small, tight-knit town. For my negative gripes on the storyline while trying to avoid spoilers: I think at some points there's some unnecessary filler; it doesn't harm anything just drags a little for little to no reason. There's also a loose end or two I didn't see tied up that i desperately wanted it to be. Also not a negative gripe just a statement: Peter is the real MVP of the story and inherently my favorite character, I love him so much and I deeply empathize him and his storyline.
In the story there are jumps from past to present that directly explain a lot of what is going on here and I both like it and don't like it. I like it because it helps me better understand the full extent of what's going on; and I don't because there's no big twist for me. I already know who is public enemy #1 and that takes a bit of the fun out of it for me. I already realize how deep into the rift that Billie and her family is based on the obvious signs of cultish behavior, BUT I feel like keeping the "why" of it all until the end would have been significantly better for the reader experience.

The characters are second favorite part of this story. The introduction of Billie, her husband Peter and her daughter, Meredith, was already such a sweet and endearing moment. Special mention to Ramsey the cat, love you down buddy. The explanation of the pandemic causing such hard and painful changes and how that related to my life in a way already made me feel so attached and close to them. The movement to this new town and trying to get their bearings and meeting all these new eccentric characters was also done so well. Like I said before, Peter you're a real one and I send my hugs and tears in a non-spoilery way. I really wanted some lose ends tied up and one of those came in the form of a certain supporting character and to avoid spoilers I won't elaborate on that.
Billie's characterization of a middle-aged woman still trying to figure herself out, loving her husband and being unloving towards him, struggling with her mom and their relationship and trying to be a better mom than the one she currently has was perfect. She ignored problems, made mistakes, misunderstood things, directly got herself involved in a religious based cult just you know was a solid example of a human in a lived experience. A very multi-faceted and morally grey imperfect character, a human. She wasn't the best at anything except cooking because that's her job and I find it really refreshing to see a character with personality.

All in all, a fantastic story, a gripping premise with a great execution and flawed characters. In very specific ways I could relate this to The Lottery by Shirley Jackson so I definitely think if you enjoyed certain executions and topics in that story you may enjoy this.

Thank you to RBmedia and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to listen to this ARC in exchange for a honest review.
Originally Published: March 25th, 2025.

Well-named book about a town that seems too perfect and welcoming on the surface, hiding a secret past that influences the decisions made by the town’s elders or founding families. A NYC family accepts the opportunity to move to Juliana, GA where their daughter will have land to roam and the MFC can reopen her restaurant (the original shuttered during COVID). The residents are very welcoming and all goes smoothly until the insomnia and nightmares start…. We know from the prologue what originally occurred here, but it’s interesting to see how that long-ago horrifying decision played out to the town of today, and what our MFC can do about it.
My thanks to the author, publisher, producer, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook of #Gothictown for review purposes. Publication date: 25 March 2025.

One of NetGalley's best features is the addition of audiobooks for review. I often have more time to listen to books than to read, so getting Gothictown by Emily Carpenter, narrated by the brilliant Cassandra Campbell (one of my favorite narrators), was like receiving an early Christmas present.

I've read several books by Emily Carpenter; my favorite ones are Burying the Honeysuckle Girls and Reviving the Hawthorn Sisters. However, she has written several other good books. As for Gothictown, I found the story not to be as intriguing as the titles I've mentioned. It's a good book; I just found myself not completely enamored with the story.

There were several things I liked about the story: the beginning of the book, when we get to know more about the history of the town; Billie arriving with her husband and daughter in the town and their new future. However, I felt detached from the characters; I never really warmed up to any of them, and that made me feel that the story never really got under my skin. I did like the ending of the book; it felt very satisfying.

It's a good book, just not up there with the top Emily Carpenter books.

Loved the vibe of this southern gothic horror. I felt this book could have been more concise as I felt the pacing tapered out towards the end. The narrator did an amazing job, especially with the accents! The cover really caught my eye as I love gothic literature, but I think it gives off more Victorian/traditional gothic connotations. I think if the cover were truer to the story it would look a lot like an Ethel Cain album cover. 3.5/5 - enjoyed it and could see myself recommending it to someone looking for something within the specific southern gothic sub genre.

I really enjoyed this southern gothic but the MC was so unlikable and her decisions were so baffling, I found it hard to root for her. Narrator Casandra Campbell did an AMAZING job in bringing this story to life. Though the characters were questionable I enjoyed the plot.

Unfortunately, Gothictown didn’t work for me. While Carpenter’s writing is undeniably atmospheric—her descriptions of the town were eerie and immersive—the story itself fell flat. The main character was especially frustrating; at times, I wondered if we were meant to dislike her. She sees herself as a strong, protective mother, yet she repeatedly makes baffling decisions, essentially abandoning her daughter (and her job?) for days without much thought. It was hard to stay invested when her actions felt so inconsistent. The gothic vibes were there, but the narrative and character choices left me more irritated than intrigued.

GOTHICTOWN by Emily Carpenter

The narration by, Cassandra Campbell, was spot on. She is a favorite of mine and has won numerous awards for her audio reads.

When things seem too good to be true, they usually are

A southern gothic thriller filled with folk horror, set in the creepy small town of Juliana, Georgia. Post pandemic Billie receives, a too good to be true, incentive for purchasing a home in Juliana; along with her husband, Peter, and their daughter, Mere, they make the decision to move. Things quickly take a turn for the worst shortly thereafter when strange things occur in the home and with the townspeople. So, suspend your disbelief and escape into the strange town of Julianna with Billie Hope and her family. You’ll be glad you did.

This is my second read by the author and I enjoy her writing style along with her storytelling. I look forward to what this author will bring to us in the future

Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia for the audiobook.

If something seems too good to be true … well you know.
Story was intriguing yet uneventful and slow. Was hoping for more from it but was still a decently fun concept.

I’m rating this audiobook 4 stars! You can depend on the narrator, Cassandra Campbell, to deliver everytime! I love her different voices for all the different characters in this story.

This creepy little audiobook would be a good story to listen to if you’re in a reading slump. Every chapter has you questioning what the heck going on in this creepy little town? The reveal at the end was everything!!!! Oh and btw…if you ever get an email from a ghost town offering you a mansion for $100…DELETE AND BLOCK!!!

Thank you to NetGalley for this audio arc!

DNF @ 35%

I really was trying to give this a chance but I am so incredibly bored and I do not like the main character at all. I also was not sufficiently creeped out. It just felt like the story was kinda bragging along so far and I can't deal without knowing the direction any longer. Also, even though this isn't a romance book, I can't sympathize with a main character who cheats!! She's a married woman but kisses a man at the 35% mark and is basically having an emotional affair with him even early, like wth why?? You have a very nice man at home who decided to leave New York City and come to some no place small town and you can't even be faithful? Just disgraceful if you ask me

As I listened to this audiobook, I found myself thinking about Stephen King books I read. The style reminded me of some of his books. The story was a bit slow at times but overall it was a wonderful book to listen to while doing my daily activities.

2.5 rounded down.

Oh boy. I love a good Gothic horror read, and I wanted to like this one so much, but I struggled to even finish it. The MC ignores red flags left and right and seems to complete forget about her daughter for a good couple of days. Someone dies that should be a pretty big deal to the MC and it seemed like her response was "Well that's a downer. On with my day!" It was slow and I thought it was going to take an interesting twist about 80%, nope. She was dreaming. Didn't seem like a horror or really even like a thriller. I felt like I was listening to a cozy mystery with a MC that is kind of an air head. Such a bummer.

Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook for review.

What WAS THAT?

I honestly don't know if I can write a comprehensive review, I was left just starting at the wall after finishing this. It had everything I love in a horror novel, small town drama, a psychological aspect, etc. I loved the unreliable narrator as well.

Honestly, I need to reread this again because seriously. WHAT WAS THAT?

Oh I really loved this audiobook. I couldn’t put it down. Interesting idea and also a great setting. Some crazy small town characters and a totally unexpected last 1/4 of the book. So much I wasn’t expecting. Also great narration.

"A restaurateur lured by pandemic-era incentives moves her family to a seemingly idyllic town in Georgia."
This novel had a great premise, that since the Civil War era, if you make a sacrifice, the town will thrive. Fast forward to the present, Billie Hope and her husband and child move to the town after given the incentive that it only costs $100 for a house. given her restaurant in NYC had to close after the pandemic, she felt this would be the perfect place to settle down and try to open another restaurant. Weird things begin to happen, sleepless nights turned into nights ridden with nightmares and exhaustion. The is something not quite right with the town.
I have to say that with a beginning like that, I thought this book would be super creepy. In my opinion it was a slow burn that only suggested some paranormal activity. Most of the corruption was from the original families. I wish there had been a bit more of a lean toward the paranormal aspect, but the book was still good.

3.5 Stars (rounded up to 4)– Intriguing Premise, But Loses Steam at the End

Gothictown pulled me in right away with its eerie atmosphere and unique premise—a strange, too-perfect town hiding a dark secret. It’s like The Stepford Wives meets Get Out, blending psychological horror with social commentary in a way that feels fresh and unsettling. The buildup was fantastic, with tension and suspense growing at just the right pace.

However, the ending dragged on much longer than necessary. What could’ve been a tight, impactful conclusion ended up feeling bloated, as if the story didn’t quite know when—or how—to stop. It took away some of the punch that the earlier chapters had built up. Still, it’s an engaging read with a lot of originality, and I’d recommend it to fans of weird fiction who don’t mind a slower finish.