Sometimes things seem better in theory than they actually are in practice.

It Will Just Be Us is one of those things. When I originally read the synopsis of this book I thought it sounded amazing. I love ghost stories and scary movies and haunted houses and I really thought this would be my kind of book. Add to the fact that it has over 4 stars on Goodreads and I figured it would be a slam dunk.

I feel bad because the last book I was was amazing and I feel like anything I read after that one was destined to be disliked by me. Unfortunately this book just did not do it for me at all. I hated the main character, Sam. She's whiny and she pretty much annoyed me through the entire book. Add to the fact that the author is WAY too descriptive and nothing happens for a long time and I just couldn't handle it.

I'm sorry to say that I skimmed this book. It was utterly put-downable and I just wanted it to be over with. I did manage to finish it, which is why it gets two stars instead of one, but that's about the only thing it has going for it.

Okay so, phew it was scary and that means author did a fantastic job, I never expected I will like a gothic horror story but here I'm ranting about how much I loved it. It was spine-chilling. One thing that I would like to mention is that I found it a bit hard to get into the book at first but then I couldn't stop. Stunning.

Oh this book was terrifying. Scary and chilling. Written like a classic horror story. Amazing and highly recommended for horrr fans x

It Will Just Be Us by Jo Kaplan is a chilling gothic horror story that focuses on a family living in a haunted house. Our main character, Sam, has returned to her childhood home to live with her mom after a vicious robbery that left her struggling with PTSD. Sam's childhood home is not your average haunted house. It's a decaying mansion on the edge of a mysterious swamp that has the ability to show Sam and her family echoes of the past and the ghosts of their ancestors. Sam and her family cannot interact with the past or the ghosts, but when her pregnant sister, Elizabeth, moves in after a fight with her husband, something in the house shifts. Suddenly, Sam starts seeing a new ghost - a faceless boy who takes pleasure in killing animals and even has the ability to interact with the past, killing one of her ancestors and following her around the house with a knife. When he calls her auntie, she knows immediately that the boy is Julian, the son Elizabeth is about to give birth to. Sam is horrified by her nephew's actions and will do whatever it takes to change the future.

This atmospheric read will keep you guessing until the twisted ending. The author's writing style is captivating and works perfectly for a ghost story. The rich descriptions really made the haunted house come alive, and it felt like I was right there, experiencing the creepy and terrifying events occurring at Sam's home. There's a sense of uncertainty throughout the story about whether the house is actually haunted, or is Sam mentally unstable. I enjoyed watching this dark mystery unravel. This is not one of those stories where the main character gets a happy ending. The ending of this book was heartbreaking and very disturbing. If you're a fan of Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House, then I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Great story of a family dealing with a haunting through the generations.

I'll be honest, this was a slow-burn start for me. At first, I had a tough time getting into the story and was a bit concerned about reviewing it. But when the story kicks in, it hooks you, and you are eager to take the journey along with the characters.

The story focuses on a mother and her two adult daughters living in the ancestral home, which is disturbingly haunted. The apparitions are almost stuck in a time loop and the family has to endure them repeating behaviors and going through motions over and over in every room of the house. Things get tricky as the pregnancy of one of the daughters is endangered and further complicated by adding in an abusive husband.

The book not only follows this family, but also goes back to a generation of slaves who also lived on the property, and we follow the fates of all as we see they are intertwined from beginning to end.

Wonderful sense of creepy dread throughout and it keeps you hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

I won't reveal any secrets, so you will have to read for yourself.

Interesting premise and I didn't mind Kaplan's writing style; I found that I couldn't get plugged into this story, though. Found my mind wandering quite a bit while reading this one.

Creepy and a bit weird but also engrossing. The author does a fine job of building suspense and having you afraid to look around each corner with the turn of a page. Horror fans will not be disappointed.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read It Will Just Be Us by Jo Kaplan, and thanks to Crooked Lane Books also.
I really enjoyed this book, it was very different from the novels I normally read with the other world component of ghosts
Once I got into the book, it took me a few chapters only because it's not what i''m used to reading, and the story line I enjoyed this book, much different from books I usually read but that's why I love NetGalley so much variety and new books to try
This book is about two sisters, their mom and the haunted house they live in. Don't believe in ghosts? Let go of reality and read this...
The house is built right beside a swamp, and the house holds onto all memories that whoever lives or steps into this house can see. Samantha and Elizabeth are sisters, Elizabeth is married to Don and live in their own home, Samantha is a teacher and lives with her mother in a three story old run down home built in the 1800's. Elizabeth becomes pregnant and shows up one day no longer wanting to be with her husband, she moves back home with the intent of giving birth and raising her child in her family home.
Samantha narrates us through the novel and explains events that happen during her childhood interwoven with present day life.
Really a very good read. Allows you to think outside the box. Would love to read more by this author

Samantha and her mother live in a house that plays echoes of the past, more like memories than ghosts. When her pregnant sister comes to live with them, Sam starts seeing her future nephew as a child and young man, torturing animals and other children from past echoes, and terrorizing Sam herself. She realizes it is somehow tied to the locked room in the house that no one ever enters. This is really outside what I would normally read, but it was good for a horror story. It took some time to get into it, but the ending was a bit of a punch in the gut. 3 stars.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this classic Gothic horror story about a haunted house passed down by generations to the Wakefield family. It reminded me a lot of the Netflix series Haunting of Hill House. It was creepy and perfect reading for a rainy afternoon. The writing was a little much for me at first - it was so flowery and old-fashioned that I thought when I started reading it was set in a different time period - but I got used to it quickly. Don’t read this if you’re looking for a happy or uplifting ending!

It Will Just Be Us By Jo Kaplan was an enjoyable read with plenty of twists and turns i wasn't expecting. When I first read the synopsis i had no idea what mysteries were to come. All of which were tied up in a lovely neat bow.

It was a strong 4 star read.

This has a great mix of creepy atmosphere, ghost stories, and the impending doom of motherhood. I especially enjoyed the relationship between the sisters. I would suggest this book to my students who enjoy ghost stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC of It Will Just Be Us by Jo Kaplan. I love Gothic novels and this is one of the best!

Sam moves back home to live with her mother, Agnes, after being mugged at gunpoint. Home is a creepy mansion, full of ghosts, spirits and memories. She begins seeing a mysterious faceless boy, who is full of disturbing mischief when her pregnant sister, Elizabeth, returns home as well. Her husband, Donovan, has been violent with her and she must leave to protect her unborn child. Who is this boy and why is he so violent? How is he connected to the one locked room in the mansion? Sam must unravel the mystery before it is too late.

Wow. This book blew me away! I am a huge fan of Gothic literature and It Will Just Be Us should be considered among the classics. It was that good! It reminds me of Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle. The biggest character in this story is the house, as typical in great gothic horror. It has a hold on the characters, preventing them from leaving by physically making them ill. The setting is creepy and unsettling and haunts this story in all of its swampy imagery. Kaplan expertly weaves between the present story and the tale of the past. And that ending! I cannot recommend this book more to fans of the Gothic genre.

5/5 stars

I'm a sucker for a ghost story, and sometimes they're good, while other times, not as much. I thoroughly enjoyed this. The "creep factor" was strong (loved the atmospheric tension), I remained interested, and it was just genuinely spooky.

I felt at times that it was a bit drawn out, but the positives outweighed the negatives here and it was great entertainment while stuck in the house!

It Will Be Just Us is the story of Samantha Wakefield, a young woman who returns to her childhood home after being violently mugged. The house is a crumbling mansion on the edge of a Virginia swamp currently occupied by her constantly imbibing mother who shares the space with the ghosts of generations of Wakefields. Sam has always had the gift to see the ghosts who haunt the house and surrounding swampland playing out memories of the past as if no time has elapsed.

When Sam’s sister Elizabeth returns home very pregnant seeking solace after having left her husband, the energy of the house begins to shift, and Sam is haunted by a new figure wandering the halls- one that she believes is a malevolent manifestation of the future and not from the past.

Locked doors, impossible spaces, and a swamp witch all contribute to the dizzying fever pitch of this well written novel. Kaplan elevates the haunted house genre and gives readers a perfectly creepy family drama that had me hooked from the opening pages and that horror fans will really enjoy. This is a book that needs to be read with the lights on!

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review - thank you NetGalley.

I enjoyed this book a lot.
It did have a very unique take on a classic ''haunted house'' story, and it was intriguing and interesting pretty much from the beginning. I do wish the book had been scarier and I must admit that it was a bit predictable.
But in the end, the book was a good read, and especially the ending was hard to put down.
It is recommendable for anyone looking for a original horror book.
I would give the book a big 3½ star, but since it isn't possible, I will go with 4.

You've got your shape-shifting house, crazy dead relatives, dead ghosts, live ghosts, future ghosts, ex-slave ghosts and a swamp witch — you get a ghost and you get a ghost and, well, it’s tiresome. Silly, confusing layers of interacting time periods, an unreliable narrator, a distracting backstory — disappointing.

Solid four star read. Great atmospheric ghost story with a slow and building sense of dread.

When I started the book I felt the narrator was a little too formal, and the story a bit too gothic for my tastes. I love Shirley Jackson and Richard Matheson, but usually when contemporary authors try to match their tone it falls flat for me (with a few exceptions, like John Saul). I am also not much into historical or period piece ghost stories.

This book, though, has its own authentic voice and a great premise: a faceless “ghost” of a child who has not yet been born. Though it started somewhat slow and formal, I came to really like the narrator and could really visualize the house. Stick with it until part three, when things really get cracking. Though well written and very scary, it got a little busy with ghosts and history and ancestral drama for me, but if that’s your thing, this author writes it really well.

I could not figure out how this novel could possibly end - if you know for certain an evil child is about to come into the world, what would you do? The ending is not something you will predict, but it is great.

Thanks to NetGalley, Jo Kaplan and Crooked Lane Books for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Completely out of my realm by reading a horror story, this novel captivated me and had me sh*ting my pants as I continued to read! If you like the series on Netflix "the Haunting of Hill House" this is definitely the book for you. Creatively written, keeping you guessing and terrified, all the while the writing style was magnificent in describing each scene, event and disturbing detail. Well done and thank you for never letting me close the lights at night anymore! haha

Thanks NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.

If you haven't picked this one up yet, what are you waiting for?! I still have chills and I read the last page over an hour ago.

The mansion is old, creepy, and perfect. The ghosts are so original and even though they don't haunt like normal ghosts, I think they're even more terrifying.

I won't go into details to avoid spoilers, but I recommend it for literally anyone over the age of 15. Just be ready to be scared.