Are you ready to enter Wakefield House? If you are, then turn on the lights NOW!

First off i wanted to thank both NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC to read and review with my honest opinion and thoughts.

So, when I first started this book, I immediately thought of the Winchester Mansion here in Northern California. Wakefield House was built on the edge of a swamp, and it was built by a strange woman who had her crew build non stop 7 days a week, the mansion had 3 stories and the hallways and rooms went all over hell's half acre, with no ends in sight. Sam and Elizabeth are both coming home to Wakefield house to live and visit their mother. Sam after being violently robbed in her home, and Elizabeth who is pregnant, is leaving after a fight with her husband who never wanted kids. What they both do not know......the house is horribly haunted! Haunted by ghosts of the past, of its creator the Wakefield family, and ghosts of their own that they did not even know that they have.

Before Elizabeth even arrives, Sam starts seeing weird things happening in the house, she is hearing voices, breathing, people laughing, and someone coughing. She discovers a room with a locked very securely (her mother tells her it is because they never have had the key) and has no idea why it is locked or what the room has inside it, and her Mother helps none on this subject as she tells her it 'is too hard to talk about'.

Then, she sees her first ghost of a young boy, a ghostly and gray looking waif of a boy but a boy without a face! She starts seeing him now on a daily basis, and then he starts to follow her around carrying a large butchers knife. As she becomes more afraid of him, she asks him why he is there and why he is following her, and that she wants just to be left alone, and suddenly one day he calls her 'Auntie'!!! Sam realizes that now she believes this ghost is the ghost of her soon to be born nephew, being carried by Elizabeth, which is what she plans on naming the baby upon his arrival.

Now Wakefield House is a house that can change upon its own will whenever it feels like Mrs. Wakefield presence is around or just when it wants to make its occupants crazy. When Elizabeth arrives the entire estate turns into a horrifying maze of ghosts and darkness that will either drive that family to suicide or drive them crazy. The swamp was always legendary for it harboring an evil Swamp Witch's spirit, and Sam believes that she is behind all this mess, but when she finds her fathers journal, explaining things to Sam that she always thought were lies while growing up, she realizes something dark and evil is here with them.

Actually I almost did not finish this book, it took getting past the first 3rd of it's pages to even get interesting or made we want to read on to see where it was going.......and man I am glad i did! This gook is Southern Gothic horror at it's finest, and Kaplan's writing is some that i will look forward to reading more of. Once the story gets going, and Sam finds out what is behind the locked door on the 3rd floor, hold on because you are in for a ride, and the end will knock your socks off! I never saw this coming, and this really impressed me because it started out as so formulaic that I thought i knew what was going on. Complete surprise and satisfied with this one.

Can a house keep memories? This is a thought provoking gothic tale. Atmospheric, eerie and full of dread, with great characters, including the house. There is a sense of uncertainty throughout the story with our lead - is she losing her mind? This is not one of those happily ever after stories but you will enjoy experiencing the creepy events that are happening. Creep factor = 5 Stars!

**Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley in exchange of an honest review.**

Received this through Net Gallery and I thank you so very much. "It Will Just Be Us" by "Jo Kaplan",this story had me only reading this in the daytime. As I was reading,I did some at night and when I woke to bad dreams about this book,is it time to either quit reading or do it in the daytime. So glad I didn't quit,as you can see Jo Kaplan's writing is kind of mind blowing and real cause it made me have such dreams.Not only that,it is the way she writes to really have you believe,her characters are real themselves. You have everything you need to have a really great ghost story,you even have the house,the mansion where hauntings and dreams and ghosts live. Her writing makes everything come alive and this is the best story I have come across in a very long time! If you don't believe in all of this,you will when you finish that's how good her description of what is going on is. Fantastic all the way around on the plot,the characters and her never ending believable writings that draws you in! this through Net Gallery and I thank you so very much. "It Will Just Be Us" by "Jo Kaplan",this story had me only reading this in the daytime. As I was reading,I dud some at night and when I woke to bad dreams about this book,it as time to either quit reading of do it in the daytime. So glad I didn't quit,as you can see Jo Kaplan's writing is kind of mind blowing and real cause it made me have such dreams.Not only that,it is the way she writes to really have you believe,her characters are real themselves. You have everything you need to have a really great ghost story,you even have the house,the mansion where hauntings and dreams and ghosts !ive. Her writing makes everything come alive and this is the best story I have come across in a very long time! If you don't believe in all of this,you will when you finish that's how good her description of what is going on is. Fantastic all the way around on the plot,the characters and her never ending believable writings that draws you in!

"It Will Just Be Us” is a perfect ghost story. The story follows three women, the mother and the two sisters, who live in Wakefield Manor, a slightly dilapidated mansion that sits on the edge of a swamp. Wakefield Manor is unique because it shows the inhabitants memories. A scene from another time of people who used to live in the house will randomly play out in the kitchen or in the parlour, for everyone to see. The story truly begins when a pregnant Elizabeth Wakefield, the eldest sister, comes back to the manor to get away from her husband.

Sam, the main character and also the younger sister of the two, seems to be the most susceptible to the memories that the house shows. The house shows Sam a vision of what could be, and it doesn’t show anyone else. This vision comes in the form of a faceless child who begins to terrorize Sam for an unknown reason. This story was incredibly creepy and it is because of this little boy. Every scene in which we see him evokes chills in the reader because there is something so wrong about a little boy doing the awful things that we see him do. I won’t go into too much detail about the boy’s actions because I feel it is something you will have to experience for yourself.

The story also introduces other characters who all have tragic stories to show and tell us. They are shown through memories that Sam, and the reader, experience firsthand. There is a nice element of mystery to this story as we get to figure out who these people are and how their stories ended. There is also a bit of historical fiction thrown in which mainly focuses on slavery and how slaves lived once they were “free.” I thought this was a unique addition to the story. I also really admire how Kaplan incorporates time into the overall story. Each woman emulates their own aspect of time which I thought was very interesting. The mother, Agnes, still lives in and grieves for the past. Elizabeth, the older sister, lives in the present, worrying about her impending birth and her worsening marriage. Sam, the younger sister and main character, represents all aspects of past, present, and future, but mostly the future as she is the only person that can see what the house shows her of what is to come. Each character is unique in their own way and they all serve a purpose towards the overall plot. I loved to hate Elizabeth and Agnes as they were written perfectly as the moody sister and checked-out mother, respectively.

Overall, I loved how suspenseful, atmospheric, and creepy this story was. It definitely has an air of southern gothic to it which I absolutely loved! I couldn’t put it down as I had to know what would happen, especially towards the end of the book. This was definitely a five-star read for me and it satisfied my craving for a good ghost story. If you’re looking for a traditional and very creepy gothic horror novel, then I would highly recommend It Will Just Be Us.

This is a haunting and twisty version of a ghost story. Samantha and her mother live in their ancestral home which has a secret. The past lives over and over as ghost versions of their ancestors and themselves replay memories. Samantha’s pregnant sister Lizzie leaves her husband and comes home. After Lizzie’s arrival Samantha starts to see a faceless boy who is not from the past at all. This story had me glued to my tablet and left me feeling haunted when it finished.

WOW! I knew from the very first paragraph this book was going to be very good and special. Jo's writing is so beautiful, I really, really liked it. The characters are good. The setting is bewitching. An old mansion that may or may not change the layout whenever it pleases, with a big old haunted swamp in the backyard. The interactions between living characters are ghost of the past creates a dream like atmosphere. Sam reminded me a lot of Merricat in We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Both have little rituals they do for good luck, protection and so on. Both may or may not be unreliable and they float around in a dreamy existence. I would say fans of that book would love this one. I am adding this to my "best reads of 2020 shelf. This is the first thing I've read by Jo Kaplan but I can not wait to see what is next for her!

Thank you so much NetGalley for the opportunity to read this amazing book early.

I love a good gothic tale and this is a good gothic tale. In fact, this is great gothic tale. Right from the start you get a classic haunted vibe, think Shirley Jackson. Add to that a touch of Winchester style mansion, set it in a swamp, mix in a long family history, filled with mystery and supernatural gifts and you start to get the idea. I adored the way the house holds memories, it was used to both add warmth in places and terror in others, brilliantly juxtaposing on itself.

Imagery was a strength, wrapping you in dread, making both the house and swamp come to life, the floorboards and the air itself are written in such a way that you can hear the creaking and feel the heavy air invade your nose. Sam is a truly unique narrative voice, both brave and vulnerable. You feel a mental fragility while at the same time an inner strength, again the duality grounding and real, raw. The comfort in house, the discomfort in the house, the time outside of the house, everything you experience with her reaches inside of your soul and touches you.

And that end! Holy wow.

This is a modern gothic that could sit proudly beside the classics.

Thank you Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

Sam has once again found herself living in her childhood home. A home that isn’t quite like other children’s home. Here at the Wakefield Manor, rooms change by themselves. They condense and elongate. They change their location as they please. Not only do the rooms move, but so do the previous inhabitants of the house. Ancestors of the Wakefield line still roam the house, however, instead of wandering aimlessly, they replay memories from the past. Events that have happened in the house that shape the house for what it is. Sam lives there with her reclusive mother, and as of recently her pregnant sister, Elizabeth. Elizabeth decided to join them to get away from her husband after one of their many blowouts. When Elizabeth enters the house, Sam starts to see a boy do grotesque things. The boy starts to pull feathers from an injured bird, stomp on frogs and threatens Sam that she will be next. The more Sam studies the boy, she realizes that this is her nephew about to be born and she must find someway to save him, and also them, from this fate. All of this connects to a locked, abandoned room upstairs that nobody has opened since her father was alive. Will it hold the answer to save her family?

This was a perfect ghost story. It has suspense, horror, mystery and a well thought out plot. I was so satisfied with the ending, and so thankful it didn’t ruin the story. I hate how thrillers are always ending now with some huge psychological twist that you can now see a mile away. That the whole time is was actually the main character who was insane and there are no ghosts. This definitely didn’t end that way, and I think that really makes this book a home run. While reading this I was so engrossed by the language the author uses. It’s eloquent and advanced without being cumbersome or hard to read. This novel also gets you in the Halloween spirit! I think this would make a wonderful movie, and I am excited for anything else this author might right in the future!

Rate: 5/5
Fiction: Thriller, Suspense, Paranormal
Author: Jo Kaplan

Got a lot of good reviews on Amazon, so it seemed like it would be interesting, but not to me.I really wanted to read a good haunted house story, but I think they just wanted to show off their vocabulary. Could have been much better, but boring beginning. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I absolutely love ghost stories and loved everything about this book. It was creepy and had a great sense of feeling to it. The author was very descriptive in her wording and while reading it, I found myself getting freaked out. The ending was complete and I didn’t,t feel the book was drawn out at all.
I would say that this book was truly haunting all the way through.

A solid 4 star ghost story that I seem to be reading more and more of lately and loving. The book started a bit slow but I loved the visual I had of the house so I stuck it out and I'm glad I did. Things really picked up and got a bit scary but scary good with ghosts and drama and everything like that you want in a ghost story.
I couldn't even guess the ending which is always a plus and it turned out to be a great ending!

Thanks to Netgalley for my advanced ebook copy.

I am not someone who is well versed in all of the horror tropes that exist. When it comes to the genre I'd consider myself a novice-intermediate. When it comes to literature I am much more of a fantasy reader even though I branch out quite often especially into various degrees of nonfiction. With movies, I know the different characters in all the slasher films and the general premise for many others but I was never the person who had friends over late at night to eat popcorn and watch B movies.

Despite that, I could still see the influence other works, namely those of Shirley Jackson, had on It Will Just Be Us. I like books where they do reference and do a nod to what came before them but also come up with a story that feels fresh. As for someone who admittedly doesn't always read horror, this felt fresh. To take a step farther I am willing to bet that the idea for the house came from the real-life mansion belonging to Sarah Winchester.

What appealed to me outright was that in all occurrences of Ghost Stories I'm familiar with there has been a lead up to the reveal. An easy comparison would be The Haunting of Hill House show on Netflix. The ghosts were there the whole time but you never realized how many until the last few episodes. Here, we are faced with the opposite. Not only do we know the house is full of ghosts but that the family that lives there is alright with it. The ghosts aren't specifically ghosts either. I would say that this is another clever difference the author put in. It reminded me of The Invention of Morel. The house has the ability to record certain events, and the ghosts are the events replaying themselves over and over again. It appears that on occasion the house also can play specific memories on command. The mother, Agnes, has a connection to the house and sometimes it plays scenes specifically for her. Usually, it's of her daughter's playing when they were children but there's a comical scene involving a blogger and one ancestor who died of a seizure. The blogger lies his way into the house but is then tortured by Agnes and the house while the woman comes into the room, adjust some pictures, sits on the couch next to him, and then dies.

These ancestral recordings are not interactive. Their descendants who live in the house can't interact with them. They see their relatives as they lived and died there. But that's okay. This is not a generic ghost story. There are multiple layers that add up to something quite original.

We have a story about a family. Agnes who rarely leaves the house and spends most of her time drinking. Samantha who works as a teacher of archeology but also observes and studies the ghost of her ancestors. Pregnant Elizabeth who is fleeing from her abusive husband Donovan and who wants to have a normal life. Their father committed suicide in the house.

We have a story about atonement. The family history involved madness and murder. They helped slaves escape the clutches of evil plantation owners just to force some of them into working for them. Some mistakes have been made in the past, and vengeance is coming in the form of a slave who died in the swamps.

We have a story about a swamp witch who promises to make things right and protect those who choose to come to her. Clementine, a former slave, is the first who falls into her grasp. She cannot save her daughter from ending up in the Wakefield house and seeks retribution for what will befall her.

We have a story about the unborn child of Elizabeth who manifests himself as a dark entity in the house. His presence tortures Samantha who believes she must put an end to this before he is born. She witnesses him torture and kill animals and people. He is wicked and cruel as his father.

What I loved was that I could not predict where the story was going to take me. The real horror of the story comes in the form of Donovan who tracks Elizabeth down to the house in an effort to lay claim to his child. With Samantha to guide us, we are on the fence with killing the child before he is born or allowing him to live and keep him away from his father. We are left wondering why Julian, the child, is manifesting despite not being dead and appearing at different ages. He drifts into different time periods and interacts with the ancestors. The rules of the makeup of the house do not apply to him. It was truly thrilling to follow Samantha along as the madness around her grew and took hold. The story leads us to a grand finale with a riveting chase through a house changing forms and switching rooms followed by a life or death struggle in the swamp overtaken by snow.

Then the ending! Oh, the ending was good. That epilogue where you almost feel satisfied with how things turned out. I can live with that last death. It didn't bother me. The hopelessness that follows was fine dining. It was a bit of the twist from The Haunting of Hill House TV show but not quite. Still fresh. Samantha's fate still creeps me out. I'm in my living room, It's 2:11 AM, I have every light on, and I have goosebumps. Now I'm shivering a little. That's the effect this book had on me. This is a remarkable piece of fiction.

I really liked this one. Quite dark and creepy but with a storyline that was easy to follow. Twists and turns made it a book that I had to finish to see what happens in the end

It Will Just Be Us by Jo Kaplan is a terrifying haunted house story that will keep you turning pages until the very end.


I love horror, but to be honest, it's pretty rare to find a book that scares me. This book did that exact thing. The intense writing, the eerie setting, the great characterizations...all of that combined into a freaky, awesome experience that I loved.

My favorite parts about this book were the swamp and the house. Both of them were so well described that they acted more like characters than settings. They added a brooding, edgy feeling to the rest of the book and made the book creepy and compelling.

It Will Just Be Us is a really topnotch horror story. I'm a huge fan of Gothic horror (no gore for me, thank you very much), and this moody, gloomy novel was just the ticket. I highly recommend it, and look forward to reading other of Kaplan's work.


Five out of five stars. Thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the review copy.

I really wanted to enjoy this. The concept was intriguing, and there were genuinely scary moments, but I didn’t like the narrative voice. I appreciate the narrating, academic character, would speak in a certain way (perhaps stilted, and somewhat officious), but I found it a chore to read. The language did not flow well, and a lot of the content seemed superfluous. It felt more like a schlocky thriller, than the gorgeous Shirley Jackson novel, with which the book has drawn comparisons. Disappointing, unfortunately.

I have a difficult time rating this book because, though I did finish it, I didn’t feel an immersion like I think I should have in a haunted house book. I found myself not really emotionally invested in any one character, just mildly annoyed at various character’s behaviors and actions. We never get beyond skin-deep with Sam, and I’m still not sure why she’s returned home or why she is just teaching one class. I understand she went through a trauma years ago, but the interactions with her sister and mother are tentative and cautious as best, and almost stranger-like and dismissive/tolerant at worst. The house itself is interesting, but there’s so much other distracting storyline jumping all over that it feels like an afterthought. For me, it never takes on the level of character that I think it should have become and just ends up being a derivative Winchester House/ Hill House. The idea of seeing memories play out is interesting, but doesn’t really go beyond that for me. I thought it was also tediously slow. I kept marveling that it felt like I had been reading for hours but I only got one or two percentage points along in the whole of the book. I also don’t understand this referral to “gothic” as a descriptor. The book never takes place in Victorian times, the oldest is a time 400 years ago or so when the house was owned by slave owners. Gothic it was not. Just because the house is haunted, doesn’t make it gothic.

Well, this book has all the trappings of a good gothic horror story: a creepy house, unsettled spirits, the ability to prophesize, and a madwoman (or is it mad women? You decide).
Besides being creepy and downright unsettling, it also is a story about nature vs. nurture forcing us to ask ourselves “are we a product of our environment and learn evil, or are we born evil”? This was a quick and easy read that left me with just the right amount of unsettledness to keep a light on at night.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the tone of the writing really played with the story of the sisters and mother. I read it late one night as there was a storm and it played into the creepy supernatural theme. I could not sleep after reading it. Some of the ghosts that were talked about really made me have to turn a light on. I loved where the story went. It was a short read. Will pick up whatever the author writes next.

This book was CREPPY. I equal parts did not want to keep going and could not put it down. Gave me serious Shining vibes but creepier if that’s even possible. Super well written. Strongly encourage if you like a good creepy read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was a true Gothic novel that really had me from the beginning! Of course, this is definitely a niche book for people who really enjoy this genre-- but I ended up liking it more than I thought I was going to!

The book centers around sisters, Elizabeth and Sam. One sister, Lizzie, moves back in with her sister, Sam, and her mother, Agnes, after an altercation with her husband. Lizzie is pregnant, due soon with a baby boy. Agnes doesn't leave the premise of the house; she never wants to leave and hasn't left for even the most important occasions. There are much more sinister things going on than meets the eye, and Kaplan really made the readers see that from the beginning of the novel.

I really enjoyed this book, I thought it was a fun read! The writing was so fluid and beautiful, and I found entranced by it. I felt that the "old meets new" Gothic meets Modern was such an interesting writing point.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read this ARC!