I'm generally a fan of Gailey's work, but there were several aspects of this book that just weren't for me. I had an especially difficult time getting into it - the first 100 pages or so felt like a slog. Still, there were a couple of moments that fully knocked me on my ass, which I always appreciate. I can see fans of a certain type of dark fiction really digging into this.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Just Like Home tells the tale of the family of the notorious serial killer Francis Crowder, after he is dead and when estranged daughter and dying wife have to deal with what is left of the house. The house that he built with his own two hands. What else could he have conjured in the house that protected so much evil? As much as the story had going for it, it was pretty slow, but great cover.

I freaking loved this book. It was so creepy, bizarre, gross, scary and absolutely my cup of tea. It brought out all the childhood fears in me of "don't look under the bed" and "is the closet door open after I swear I shut it"...ahhh it was PERFECT. This has made me want to read everything Sarah Gailey has written. Definitely will be picking up more from them so soon.

There’s no place like this *terrifying* home. Vera should not have taken a memo from Dorothy. Do not go back to your childhood home… do not follow the yellow brick road. Run yourself right into the tornado because that would be a safer space. I’m telling you. Have you ever had that moment as a child, where you don’t want to stand beside your bed because you’re afraid something will be there to grab you by the ankles and pull you under? That’s what reading this book is like. This may have been the most terrifying book I have ever read. The visuals, the sounds, the descriptions… the lemonade. Yeah I’m not even looking at lemonade the same way again. This is horror at its finest folks.

Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey.

I read almost 70% of this and then had to stop. Listen, if you're one of the ten people who read my reviews, you know that I'm down for just about anything. I love me some murder, bring it on, but I have LIMITS people. This cover is way too pink for such grotesquery. So, that's my review, plan to be creeped out to the very back of your throat. I'm done.

I love a good atmospheric ghost story. Just Like Home had a lot of the elements that I adore. It reads a lot like a gothic horror book in it's imagery and even pacing. There is a lot of symbolism involved in the book, which can be a bit frustrating for some readers. If you are looking for a fast paced creepy grab you by the gut and pull you along type of book, this title probably won't do it for you. I did like the atmosphere of the book and even to some degree the weird creepy nature of the ending. I think this would be a good spooky season read. For me, I'm a bit on the fence, but I know readers that would absolutely adore the book.

Such a dark and twisted horror novel! I loved every minute of it! I couldn’t stop reading. I read it in one sitting. Highly recommend!

I absolutely adored the writing style of Just Like Home. The author really sucked me into the complicated world of Vera, Daphne and Francis and the Crowder house. As Vera returns to take care of her dying mother, she becomes haunted by the past. Part family saga and part horror, I really enjoyed Just Like Home. The characters were interesting and the setting was carefully detailed. The book felt a bit slow at times, maybe even overly detailed about some things not related to the plot. The author only offers reveals a bit at a time. Yet, I still loved the gothic feel.

Real Rating: 3.5 / 5 Stars

Almost everyone I’ve encountered who’s read this book seems to have loved it, and I think this is a case of what you consider to be a horror novel, how you like your horror novels to move/present themselves, and if you find getting bored while reading a horror novel to be an untenable sin.

Here’s my issue: This book bored me to tears. Was it predictable? Nope. It wasn’t. It was mostly unpredictable, in fact. It was just too bloody long! It was repetitive!

Did I consider it horror? Yes, but the parts most people would consider horror weren’t the most horrific parts to me. There were only a few small and short parts that felt truly terrifying to me, and they were spaced far apart and there weren’t a lot of them. They had nothing to do with Vera (our protagonist’s) father, nor the “artist-in-residence”, or the “haunted house” aspect of the story, either.

The reason this book got rated 3.5 stars was because Gailey does have a truly remarkable talent at crafting truly creepy and evocative scenes that, when taken away from the story as a whole, are truly beautiful to examine under a microscope like a short horror story before set back into the misshapen and uneven whole book.

I hope to see more from Gailey in the future, and that somehow a content editor helps her tighten up her material. It’s a book worth reading just for some of the truly horrific scenes you can find inside, but as a cohesive book it doesn’t stand out.

Lastly, I’d like to give a shout-out to the cover designer, who decided to go with pink for the main color on the cover, but made it the pink of flesh and of pink bismuth. It was a ingenious idea.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Books for granting me access to read this title in exchange for fair and honest review.

Just the right amount of creepy - this title kept me up turning pages past my bedtime, but didn't give me nightmares. As usual, Gailey absolutely nails the everyday horror of existing in this world as a woman, and then turns it a little bit sideways.

Vera has gone back to her childhood home to take care of her dying mother, who has summoned her back to the very place she kicked her out of. And this is no normal home-this is the home a serial killer built with their bare hands. There are forces at play Vera is just beginning to understand, including an artist who insists he is using the energy of the home as his muse.

This is not a book for the faint of heart. I actually struggled making my way through it because of some of the gruesomeness, but found it compelling enough to keep going. There were some really shocking moments I never saw coming. However, the ending really let me down. This is a personal reaction, and I cannot speak for others, but the ending just plain did not work for me. I wanted something more, something different, after all the build up.

Just Like Home is a creepy, claustrophobic horror novel about coming home at the insistence of your mother and dealing with the horror and trauma of your father. It’s weird and twisted and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it. But the writing is terrific and draws you in from the first page.

This one is out now but I bet it’s a perfect read for the fall/ Halloween time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for this eARC.

JUST LIKE HOME is the chilling, twisty, eyebrow-raising horror/mystery novel I've been looking for. Gailey intricately weaves multiple of the main characters' relationships throughout a disturbing tale of murder and gore. The final twist is as shocking as it is satisfying. Simply put, Amy Dunne would've loved this novel.

The atmosphere created in this book is incredible. The ride that this book took me on was wild, and once the reveal happened at the end, I couldn't stop replaying things that happened earlier in the book and how all of the pieces fit together. What a time.

This book may be even better than "The Echo Wife" and I'm all for it!!! Sara Gailey has yet to disappoint me.

This one is a wild ride! So many moments I was like “what the actual fuck is going on??” So creepy. Such an eery atmosphere throughout. There are moments that feel really dark and feel like they’re on the edge moving towards extreme horror, but it pulls back enough that it remains only creepy and not horrific.

If you like haunted houses and books that mix this sort of horror/fantasy vibe, this one’s for you!

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The cover drew me into Just Like Home at first. This was such a quick read, I couldn't put it down. I went into it not knowing much about it at al which I think is the perfect way to ready this YA book! I am looking forward to reading more books by Sarah Gailey.

Slooooooooow to get moving. More family drama than horror for more than half the book. Then it becomes a whole lot of HUH? mixed with creepy goodness, but then more HUH?! that ultimately left me wondering why I stuck it out.

Horror fans will find the content rather mild, but those who don't read the genre might find some of the content quite shocking. Ultimately more creepy than scary.

Gailey does a fantastic job of creating a gothic atmosphere, and the writing in the opening chapters, establishing mood and scene are STUNNING! I will admit that Gailey's writing, alone, kept me reading -- both out of admiration of craft and because I'm a curious little cat.

I know many readers who really loved this title, but it just left me scratching my head and wishing Gailey had done more with this story and the creepy atmospheric foundation they created. SO much potential. Sadly, the final execution (pun definitely intended) just felt rushed and unsatisfying for this reader.

Thank you to Macmillan-Tor/Forge for providing me the opportunity to read an ARC of Just Like Home via Netgalley in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Just Like Home follows Vera as she returns to her childhood home to take care of final business before her mother dies. Vera hasn't been home in over 12 years and she is estranged from her mother, but filial duty has her returning home on her mother's request. When Vera returns home some things haven't changed at all, in fact they're preserved under plexiglass sheeting, but some things have changed too much and there is something sinister lurking in every dark corner.

This is a book full of tension, with an unreliable narrator whose POV skips back and forth between the past and present, slowly painting a darker and darker picture as the story unfolds.

I really really enjoyed this one. It's got classic gothic horror pacing with slowly growing tension that ramps up as things take a turn from the scary, but mundane, to the unexplainable. I liked Vera, who starts off like a bit of a blank canvas, but each new piece of information about her past sets the tone for what's to come. It was a quick read, but it's not a fast-paced book...by any means. It's slow and winding, but that's what made it so good. The vibes are *chef's kiss*

It made me move straight onto The Echo Wife as soon as I was finished because I immediately needed more of Sarah Gailey's writing...so I feel like that's a good indication of how much I enjoyed it.

Definitely recommend checking this one out, especially if you like the slower pace, but high tension of gothic horror!

An incredible tale of realization. This felt fresh, yet comforting like a childhood sweater. I was blown away from the slow burn this novel provided. I would be interested in reading it again to see what new information I would be able to see now that I have read it in it’s entirety. It’s coming from inside the house!