This book gave me chills! The eerie Southern Gothic vibes, the unsettling small-town secrets, and the creeping sense of doom had me hooked from the start. Billie’s move to Juliana feels like a fresh start, but the deeper she digs, the more the town’s charm turns suffocating. The slow unraveling of its dark past is deliciously haunting.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and RBmedia for the ARC!

“We take care of each other, we live, we bleed, we die for each other.”

Welcome to Juliana, Georgia. Juliana surely welcomes Billie Hope and her family with everything they could want. But this idyllic town has a secret hiding deep beneath the veneer of southern Stepford perfection. It’s up to Billie to discover the secret and serve justice for the ghosts of Juliana.

I really enjoyed this audiobook, the performance is fantastic. The story is so well paced and, just when I thought I had it figured out, it would take a turn and I’d be trying to work it out all over again.

Thank you NetGalley and RB media for the audio arc of this book.

Times are hard for small businesses after the pandemic. So when Billie Hope receives an email to be a part of the Juliana Initiative—a small town’s plan to boost the economy—for a meager $100, she can’t pass it up. She gets a beautiful, old Victorian home and business grant to re-open her restaurant in the quaint town of Juliana, Georgia. When Billie arrives, everything seems perfect but nothing can stay that way forever.

Friends, what have books taught us about buying houses in small towns at an unreasonably low price? We know it’s going to end bad, ok! This was a really interesting book for me to read at this time in my life; venturing from a big city to a small, Southern town like our MC here. Everyone appears so sweet and friendly on the surface but it’s clear that they’re all hiding something. Wait, am I being cynical again? Ok, back on track…

I grew impatient with Billie and her choices; often times it seemed to me that she deserved any consequences that came her way. Even though I didn’t always side with or enjoy our MC, I was still interested in the way that the story would play out which, I believe, speaks to the quality of the writing and the storytelling ability.

It’s no The Lottery like the publisher wants to compare it to but the tone is foreboding and things are clearly not right in this tow and as it stands, I love small town stories and I love the whole “let’s buy this stupidly cheap house, what could go wrong!” trope and Gothictown delivered on both. Still, this didn’t satiate me the way that I had hoped. It was too… Neat? Too cleanly wrapped up in a bow? It’s one of those stories that is well worth the read if you’re looking for a lighter fare; a slight chills and thrills tale rather than terror.

I was worried that the narration by Cassandra Campbell wouldn’t be my cup of tea at first as the narrative voice seemed a little robotic but that faded away and I ended up really enjoying it.

Thank you RBmedia for the early copy in exchange for an honest review. Available March 25 2025

There’s something about Gothictown that creeps under your skin in the best way possible! Imagine moving to what seems like the perfect little town, big house, fresh start, friendly neighbors but then things start getting weird. Like, really weird. Billie, the main character, is just trying to rebuild her life after the pandemic wrecked her restaurant, but Juliana, Georgia, is not the fresh start she hoped for. The town gives major Stepford vibes that feels more sinister than sweet, and let’s just say the town elders are way too involved in everyone’s business.

The audiobook only amplifies that eerie, unsettling feeling, and the slow build of tension had me on edge the entire time, I loved it! It’s one of those stories where you know something is wrong, but you’re not sure what, until things start unraveling in the creepiest ways. The sense of unease just keeps growing, and by the time you start piecing things together, you realize this town is way more messed up than you ever expected.

The narrator captured the Southern charm and did a great job bringing the story to life. The voice work for the different characters, especially the eerie town elders and there were moments where I had chills just from the way certain lines were delivered.

If you like books that feel like a mix of The Stepford Wives, Sharp Objects, and a little bit of Midsommar, this one’s for you.

Audio ARC provided by NetGalley

This story was quick to grab my attention and locked it in. The vocal performance was delightful as long as there was only one male character. Multiple males and I lost track of who was who.

The pacing was overall well done and the central mystery was mostly well explained with a few parts left for you to draw your own conclusions, which I really appreciated.

4 stars, will recommend.