This book is a captivating read that effortlessly draws you in from the first page. The story flows smoothly, with intriguing characters and an unpredictable plot that keeps you hooked. It's the kind of book that makes it hard to put down, with just the right balance of depth and entertainment. A thoroughly enjoyable experience that will keep you engaged until the very end.

I had this book on my NetGalley TBR forever. I don’t know why it took me so long to start reading it because I thought the premise sounded interesting. I ended up listening to the audiobook version, and I probably should’ve physically read the book, since the narrator’s voice was putting me to sleep.

This was a strange read. It is a sci-fi involving alternate universes and doppelgängers. Doppelgängers who want to take over your life. That is creepy, but I just got bored with how the story was told. I wanted more. I thought the pacing was too slow and it took forever for anything interesting to happen. Certain parts got to be confusing and the ending was just okay.

If you’re into slower paced sci-fi mysteries, you might enjoy this one.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, St. Martin's Press for the copy of this eArc. I read this book way back in October 2023. Sometimes life gets in the way of reviews despite the reviewers best intentions. This is this reviewer's attempt to make up for past regressions. Last to Leave the Room is an interesting title considering Tamsin and copy...leave the room. What I liked about the book is the back drop of San Siroco and the research company where Tamsin works. I also liked the various ways Tamsin tracks her own (or not her own movements) or traps herself (or not herself). What doesn't work for me is Tamsin. She is so unlikable. No redeeming qualities. I know that may part of the script of the book but the book dragged for me because of it. I'll always read Caitlin Starling. I enjoyed her other books.

Caitlin Starling’s new novel makes the best new books of October list because its a genre-bending horror novel perfect for getting thrills and chills this spooky season.

I love a slow build thriller and this did not disappoint me in the least. I thought the tension was good, the characters were brilliant, and the writing was spot on. Like I said, I did not mind the pacing that happened in the first bit of the book because sometimes that is what you need in a thriller. I'm less likely to like thrillers that take you at a break your neck speed so this was perfect for me. I also liked the present tense as not a lot of authors are doing it now a days so that was great.

All in all, an enjoyable read.

I have this one thing where if I do not like the main mc of a story, I really cannot get into it. I know this may be a me thing, but man, I did not like Tamsin.

Even after the realizing and change near the end of the book, I still did not like her. So I couldn't root for her to make it to the end of the story.

Outside of that, this scifi/horror mashup was written well, had some cool body horror elements, and did get me into the story enough to make it to the end.

For years now when anyone asks me what my favorite book is, I always tell them that it's The Luminous Dead by this author. This one might be a close second. It's a book that you can't stop thinking about even once you've finished it. We love the lesbian representation as well. It was full of unexpected, unexplainable things and it gave me anxiety in the best possible way. What I love most about Starling's books, is that they're so hard to put down, and even when you finally manage it it's all you can think about and all you want to get back to. Her books will always be five star reads for me.

this was a dnf for me unfortunately :/ i just dont think this story was my cup of tea. there was a disconnect between myself and the narrative and i couldn't move past it.

I am giving this one four stars. I didn’t get to it in time to give a full review and I apologize for that

4⭐️

<b>The woman with the sinking basement, the woman with a door she can’t remember and can’t open.</b>

Tamsin works for Myrica Dynamics conducting research, and they’ve discovered that the city is progressively sinking, which could cause catastrophic damage to the city’s infrastructure. Tamsin has begun to notice the sinking and stretching within her own basement and becomes consumed with studying it. A strange door that was not previously there appears, but cannot be opened by Tamsin. Tamsin’s curiosity is all consuming and she sets up cameras and keeps an eye on the door at all times until one night, the door finally opens and a woman resembling Tamsin steps through.

This was more science fiction horror than I’ve read before, and I really enjoyed it. This book makes you feel like you’re going a little crazy along with Tamsin. Each character was complex and interesting to read. The scientific parts of it were difficult to fully grasp - like the reason for Tamsin’s basement stretching and a new door emerging, but it’s still enjoyable even without daily understanding that aspect of it.

<b>The siren call of the subsidence, the distortion of her home and the accompanying distortion of her mind.</b>

Listen to me. LISTEN TO ME!!! I really didn't know how to feel about this one at first. I picked it up initially a while ago and flew through the first 30% but put the book down for quite a while because I felt like nothing was happening yet. I picked it up again on audio and stayed up until 3am to finish it lmaooo. The action basically started right after the mark of when I set it down.

This book is about a ruthless scientist, Dr. Tamsin Rivers, the experiment she's doing, and how the city she lives in starts sinking. Along with that, the basement in her house starts sinking and a door appears. Out of that door stumbles Dr. River's doppelganger.

The second half of this book was SO good. The horror had such a creeping sensation and I love an unreliable narrator. Not knowing how things will progress and then seeing the MC lose her reality was done so well. I would jump back a paragraph or page sometimes to make sure I hadn't missed something while Dr. Rivers descended into confusion and fear. I loved the self-reflection and the explanation of doppelganger mythos.

I think I would have enjoyed a little more or less of the other scientific elements in this book. The plot left them to hang for a while and they felt really unnecessary until they suddenly didn't. AND I would have liked more explanation on what we find out about how everything starts. Did Dr. Rivers just forget everything like she slowly forgets herself?

I did like the note of hope at the end that also read like it could have been Dr. Rivers entertaining returning to her previous self.

This reminded me in ways of The Haunting of Hill House so I would maybe recommend to people that enjoy that kind of horror!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC!

I will literally read anything that Caitlin Starling puts out so, even though this was my normal genre of choice, I gave it a shot. This novel was a bit confusing at times and just when you think you have it figured out, everything switches. It probably won’t be as widely well received as some of her other works, but it will be well loved by the right audience. If you love art house horror or psychological thrillers then you’ll enjoy this - especially if you don’t mind being a bit confused at times. I enjoy books where I don’t always have all the details because it creates an atmosphere similar to what the character is going through & makes the book feel more immersive. Starling is a master of suspense & odd stories and she absolutely knocked it out of the park with this one.

I will, unfortunately, be abstaining from sharing my thoughts about this title until St. Martin's Press adequately addresses the current boycott and its claims and questions.

Actual Rating 4.5

I honestly wasn’t expecting to enjoy this sci-fi as much as I did, but what a ride. The author did an excellent job with the characters. They had unique personalities, goals, and motivations, and this brought them all to life in a meaningful way. I enjoyed how my perspective/feelings about the main characters changed throughout the book as I got to know more about their motivations and past. There was also a secondary character that I hope gets her own book – she was wonderful.

There’s a lot going on in this one while at the same time feeling like not much is happening, especially in the first portion. It makes for an odd reading experience. I think the first quarter of the book was a bit slow, but there was a lot of setup necessary for the rest of the book. The horror is also quite slow in its buildup, and I’d almost call this more of a psychological thriller than horror.

I highly recommend this read, though I know it won’t be for everyone. If you pick it up, push through the first 25% - I promise it’s worth the wait.

Tried revisiting this one after my original DNF of it and still couldn't get into it. The writing was just too clunky for me, and what started as a really cool concept ended up not making for a very riveting book. Thank you to the publisher for letting me give this one a shot!

DNF @ 20 pages

This might be very early to DNF a book by an author who's written a book I've given 5 stars to (The Luminous Dead), but this book starts so slow and I felt like it took forever for me to even read these 20 pages. And since I didn't enjoy this author's previous book (The Death of Jane Lawrence), I don't want to force myself to slog through a book I'm unfortunately not enjoying.

When you read a Caitlin Starling book, you're guaranteed to read something you've never read before. Her work is so unique and unpredictable! This might be her most unusual yet.

The first quarter of the book is an explanation of what the main character, a scientist, is doing. I didn't get it. It went over my head. The important thing to know is that the experiments or research the main character is in charge of conducting are causing the entire city to begin sinking, which will cause pipes to burst and buildings to collapse if something isn't done to stabilize the situation. What bothered me is that for the rest of the book, I couldn't remember what the science part was in the beginning that caused all this to happen, and it's never mentioned again because the focus is all on the sinking city. It just started to bother me that a full quarter of the book was devoted to this complicated science thing and by the end of the book I can't even remember what that was.

This is not a long book but it feels like the bulk of the story is carried in the last 20% of the thing. It could have been a novella. Like, all that science stuff in the beginning was just a waste of time cause I didn't understand it and once I was past it, I couldn't remember anything. lol If you're reading the book and struggling with it, cause I do feel it's a slow-burner, just hang in there cause the last chunk is the real meat and the most interesting stuff. And there's always a dash of sapphic romance in the author's books, so that was a sweet piece of payoff, too.

I loved it but I don't know if I'd read it again. The first quarter was just a bitter pill to swallow and there is a lot of science talk throughout that I didn't always care about. But the characters and the weird things happening between them carry the story and it really is unlike anything I've seen before. What I really, really want when I read is a new, unique, original experience, and this book delivered it.

I really wanted to enjoy this, but it just didn't grab me. I enjoy books who focus on character and story, and I felt like there were a lot of passages in this book that didn't drive the plot forward, and alienated me as a reader.

What would you do if you discovered a doppelgänger of yourself?

Dr. Tamsin Rivers experiences just this when a mysterious door that didn’t exist before appears in her basement lab. But the longer her replica stays, the more detached Tamsin starts to feel from her reality.

This speculative sci-fi horror was incredibly mysterious and intriguing. In it we have a research team whose experiments are somehow causing their town to sink. We have rooms that are gradually changing their dimensions. We also have a mysterious door and doppelgängers.

Unfortunately what we don’t have is answers. I love when a book can be strange and mysterious but it’s incredibly unsatisfying to be left with so many unanswered questions!

Overall the writing was good, if not a bit slowly paced, and I would say I mostly enjoyed my time with the story.

Sometimes I feel like Caitlin Starling is writing books for me personally? So, thanks Caitlin!

The building dread was absolutely perfect and like with Jane Lawrence, you're often wondering what the hell is happening and what is even real and what a ride it is. I loved it.