edited review: I actually ended up really enjoying this one when I picked it up again! A few things didn't quite come together for me plot-wise, but overall it was a fun, fast read. I look forward to the author's next book.

original review: DNF because I was just not in the right headspace for this one. All my bookseller friends are absolutely raving about it and I'd definitely recommend it to people based on what they've told me, so I did buy a physical copy now that it's on sale and plan to revisit it at another time. Thanks so much for the opportunity to read an early copy!

This is definitely a different take on horror. It is quirky and not exactly "scary", but I do appreciate the uniqueness of it. It had fun characters and a thought provoking plot. I'm glad I read it

Sign Here takes us to Hell with a distinct flavor of The Bad Place. Peyote Trip, so renamed like all employees of Hell to distance them from their once-living personas, works on the fifth level making deals with desperate mortals in exchange for their souls. He's also the guide explaining the ins and outs of Hell to the reader. The Harrisons are Pey's most important project-- it's a long game where he tries to make deals with five generations of the family, and he's closing in on the last one he needs. We get to hear from the POV of three potential targets among the Harrisons as they head off on their annual pilgrimage to the family lake house. There are many secrets and tension points among the seemingly fortunate, picture-perfect family. And the presence of teenager Ruth as a guest at the house only seems to exacerbate things, drawing out traumatic family history and stirring the pot of current drama. While we watch the Harrisons slowly implode, prime targets for an ill-advised deal, Pey has his own problems in Hell. Or at least, more than the usual sort.

I'm a great believer in dark humor, but this brand just didn't mesh with mine. In Peyote's world, it's a sitcom quality of workplace humor alongside the cutthroat, twisted games of those with no morals. We see Pey's co-workers and boss give him headaches and complications while he tries to keep his head down and enact his plan with none the wiser. Up top among the living, the humor evaporates. The memories and mindsets of the Harrisons are no laughing matter.

It's hard to say much about the book because some great plot twists take everything in new directions. The first at the end of part one is particularly a showstopper and taught me to stay on my toes for the rest of the book. The narrators are untrustworthy all around, adding to the element of surprise when reveals reframe the reader's perspective. Don't trust your first impressions.

Where I went wrong with this book was expecting the emphasis to be on the "humor" in dark humor when I found it to be more on the side of "dark." For readers who are interested in a family drama with bits of fantasy and an irreverent but still thoughtful take on damnation, this will be a great fit for you. I'd also say that while it didn't strike me particularly as a thriller in mood, the twists and turns add an intriguing psychological element. Thanks to Berkley for my copy to read and review!

Well holy smokes, this one was fun. Looking forward to more from this author. Definitely one to keep an eye on.

I wanted to love SIGN HERE, but I couldn't. I tried listening and reading the book, but Lux's writing didn't pull me in. Unfortunately, I was only able to read about half of the book before putting it down.

Nothing like having an “advanced” copy of a book that you don’t read until a year after publication! I was lucky enough to get this from Berkley but never read it and then it was announced back in January my newest obsession Phoebe Waller-Bridge had come to an agreement with Amazon to adapt it into a series and I still didn’t read it. What can I say? I’m a mood reader and never quite found myself in the mood. But now it’s spoooooky season and I figured a book about Hell had to at least sort of fit in with Halloween so I decided to give it a whirl.

Boy was I surprised with what this ended up being! I knew the bare bones before going in: Peyote Trip (horrible new name assignments are one of Hell’s never ending punishments – just like only the FIFTH pen you try to write with will actually produce ink, Jägermeister is the only alcoholic beverage that can be relied on being served at the local watering hole and there’s ALWAYS a car alarm going off somewhere on the street, but you can’t ever seem to locate it just to name a few others) works on the 5th Floor of Hell (a pretty decent gig, compared to the lower levels) and has set his sights on a “hat trick” of sorts where he’ll get the entire Harrison family to agree to sell their souls. He believes if he can pull this off, he just might get himself out of hell.

But then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But then you have ANOTHER narrative. This one is with the aforementioned Harrison family themselves back on Earth and oh it is juuuuuuuuuuuicy family drama with a twist I did not see coming.

What a genre bender and an unexpected surprise. Highly recommended.

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Unlike anything I have ever read before!!

Sign Here is the debut novel of Claudia Lux and it is exceptional! A story about choices made by generations of one family, the demon in Hell helping them, and what does morality even mean. Lux creates a novel that is funny and relatable as well as intriguing and confronting. You spend the entire novel unsure who to root for but laughing and cringing with each character every step of the way. Not only does Lux paint a fascinating and hilarious view of Hell, but she grips you with how she creates characters you feel so much for. The theme of the novel, the battle of what is right and what is wrong is written so beautifully.

This is a novel that is great for an October read on the surface, but the deepness of the novel will stay with you all year long.

3.5/5 — Sign Here felt like several different stories that finally converged at the end. It started out as pure dark comedy and I initially thought it was going to be too silly for me, but it slowly transformed into a captivating family drama that I couldn’t put down. I stayed up very late to finish it last night. My eyes were burning when I was finally done.

I didn’t expect to like it, if I’m being honest: books about Hell usually freak me out completely. I think that’s why I avoided reading it for so long. But I did enjoy it and I’m delighted by that.

This book hooked me from the beginning. Like Office Space in Hell, it has dark humor, back-stabbing coworkers, and nothing but grind as they keep trying to get more souls. The world building was very good and I felt like I could get into this story.

And then the author goes and gives us a couple of completely different storylines that don't really have the same feeling as the first part of the book. There's family drama and a mystery where Peyote has gone to claim a soul and some unknown cult-like past of Cal, along with the returns to Hell that gave me whiplash.

I didn't dislilke it, but I wish it had felt more cohesive and less like a few stories swirling around in a stew. It's a debut, and I'll give the author's next book a try.

My thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was sent this galley automatically, and while I did enjoy it, I was not able to fully invest myself in the book because my podcast reading schedule was too full and she was not on my roster. What I did read, however, was clever and I will make it a point to include Claudia in a future line up.

such a great spooky season read! I can see why this one was such a hit when it came out and I'm bummed I didn't pick it up sooner!

Although this is a Metaphysical/Supernatural Psychological Thriller, be cautioned that on several instances there is unpleasantness, gore, torment and torture [the story focuses on Hell, after all, and multiple instances of Hell on Earth], which make for difficult reading. The main protagonist, "Peyote Trip," [don't laugh, this is Hell], is "employed" on the Fifth Floor as a sort of soul-catcher, persuading living humans to forfeit their eternal souls for the fulfillment of their desires or goals (or revenge).

The plots [yes, multiple] are very complicated, so the reader has to really be alert not to lose track of the trail(s). Not helping is the fact that almost every single character in the story is irredeemable or almost so. I did like Mickey, but at thirteen, she still has time to become unlikable. About all the rest were, except for Mickey's offstage Uncle, prior to the collapse of his life; and maybe her paternal grandparents (again, primarily offstage). Definitely not a lot of joy here--and no hope.

Peyote works in Hell and is trying to work his way out. He gets souls from humans by trading for what they want at the time he encounters them. He's almost got a full set of souls from multiple generations of the same family. That might be his ticket out of Hell.

Sign Here is a dark comedy about family, tragedy, and loyalty. An entertaining novel that is dark, clever, and witty.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

sadly, I think this book was totally mismarketed. it claims in its synopsis to be "darkly humorous, surprisingly poignant, and utterly gripping", but I found this 100% disturbing, with very little humor after the first few pages, and never really involving. these two plotlines are set up like they're related, but they really aren't, and what the story chooses to spend time on never makes sense. especially when you consider what the synopsis says will happen.

I think this is a good curveball for most book discussion groups. By no means is this an exceptionally well written book, but there's lots of room for discussion points.

There's a corporate structure to working in Hell, and Peyote Trip knows this better than most. He is a dealmaker, currently working on the fifth level where the basic utilities don't work and haven't for centuries and the only thing to drink is Jägermeister. Another dealmaker is Cal. They share some of their work and frustrations, but since they both want to move up they keeps their tips and tricks to themselves. Fortunately, Peyote sees a way to move up the corporate ladder and there couldn't be a better time for that chance.

Peyote needs one more member of the Harrison family to sell their soul, which should have been easier than it's been. But with their heading off to their lake house, with Ruth, the best friend of the daughter Mickey, going along, the family dysfunction will be at its peak - a great time for making a deal with the devil!

All is not fair on earth or in hell and things are not always as they seem on the surface.

This is such a promising story. The concept gets an A+. But the execution leaves much to be desired.

Peyote seems to be the focus of the book but his story is slightly less interesting than that of the Harrison's. Slightly. Neither is particularly engaging. And this is the biggest problem with the book.

The story of Peyote and that of the Harrison's would appear to be tightly linked but the reader really has to force this connection throughout the reading. We alternate back and forth and we know there's supposed to be a connection - this is what the book is leading us to. But it takes much too long to get us there and in the meantime we're spending more and more time for setup that doesn't pay off.

Peyote tries too hard to come off as the suave, sassy underworld hipster. He wants to be Mr. Applegate from Damn Yankees, or Crowley from Good Omens but he's not. And without that charisma or appeal he really is just a low level hell worker.

I really wanted to like this but at its best this just incredibly average.

Looking for a good book? Sign Here by Claudia Lux is dark fantasy masquerading as a comedy that doesn't quite work.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

For a debut novel, this was pretty good. I will say I felt there was a lot to be desired in delving into the characters and some of their backstories. I would have loved to see more insight into the landscape of Hell, because the Hell imagined here was very interesting. I wasn't as connected to the characters as I had wished, aside from the main character, but still felt there was something missing.

Sign Here is the book I didn’t know I needed in my life! My 2023 reading list just found it’s number one read of the year so far! I know it’s only April, but this one is going to be hard to top.

Am I kicking myself for waiting so many months to read it? Definitely! Will I now be forcing it on everyone I know? Duh!

The story kicks off introducing the reader to one of several narrators, Peyote, who just so happens to work in Hell. Yep, that Hell. I loved Pey from the start! Lux gives him a great humorous streak that won me over, but what sold me completely was his true depth of character. I promise, you’ll understand what I mean when you read this one and find out all the details about Hell. Our other narrators are from the Harrison family and let me just say it now…they’ve got some secrets! I loved that Lux let the reader meet several members of the family, allowing you to get to know them all through each other's eyes, along with their own opinions of themselves.

The story alternates between Pey and the Harrison family’s adventures, which are connected, but also stand alone as two great stories. Even though you know the storylines are connected, they don’t overly rely on one another to progress, which I thought was genius. I was truly able to immerse myself in both without constantly guessing when the connection would be revealed. Lux smartly brings the two back together at the end with a finale that kept me on my toes.

I’m still in awe that this is Lux’s debut novel. The writing and story development felt like they came from an author who has been publishing for quite a while. I’m very eager to see what Lux comes up with next!

DNF at 35% - it's not that the book is bad, but I just didn't care about it and the constant sexualization of teenagers was making me uncomfortable.

SIGN HERE by Claudia Lux (debut novel? Wow!)

Release Date: October 25, 2022 (this one totally slipped past me)
General Genre: Supernatural, Murder Mystery, Thriller
Subgenre/Themes: Small Town, Reads Like a Thriller, Coming-of-Age, Human Monsters, Mystery, Psychological

Writing Style: Dual Timeline, Multiple POV, Brisk Pacing, Character-Driven, Intricately Plotted

What You Need to Know: This was marketed to me as horror and BISAC Categories list it as "horror and supernatural". It's not a horror novel but it does have supernatural elements since one of the dual narratives is set in Hell. I would go into this expecting a dark, compelling, salacious, domestic drama/small town/murder mystery, and that will more than take care of your expectations.

My Reading Experience: I have had this book on my NetGalley TBR forever. I think I got approved to read it in June of 2022 and it was released in October of that year. Sometimes you just can't get to them all in a reasonable time, you know? I missed a lot of new releases last year while I was working on my book.
I am so glad I finally picked it up on a whim. This book has two storylines going at the same time. One story involving entities (not human now but used to be) that work in Hell. Their job is to recognize people on earth who would be willing to sign away their eternal souls in order to have a temporal exchange; typically to save someone's life or bring someone back from the dead. If they get enough souls, they're promoted and if they are able to exchange all the souls of a certain marked family or group of people, they get another shot at life on earth. There are a lot of rules.
But I wasn't really interested in this storyline to be totally honest with you.
I was invested in the Harrington family drama.
This whole other storyline involves a domestic drama surrounding this family in a small town. The husband and wife have been together since high school, they have two teenage children now. The husband, Silas has a pretty complicated past. His brother was found guilty of murdering his girlfriend at their vacation house and then he took his own life in prison. Silas and his wife have an unstable marriage but still decide to go on their annual family trip to the vacation house (the scene of the decades-old crime). The junior-high age daughter brings her new best friend. Lily, Silas's wife, is having an affair. The chapters are short and binge-worthy. I felt like I rushed through the chapters that take place in Hell in order to get back to the family drama. Claudia Lux knows how to keep readers invested in the salacious lives of fictional characters. The pages FLY! I felt like I was speeding through seasons 1-3 of a delicious TV drama where every finale drops a huge bomb on the audience. Seriously, I couldn't get enough.
I didn't really get into the other narrative in Hell until the end when the two stories become more interconnected. But I didn't care, it didn't have an effect on my enjoyment.

Final Recommendation: If you enjoy scandalous domestic drama and a good murder mystery, you will love this. I will totally line up for more from this author.

Comps: Mare of Easttown (Kate Winslet) vibes where the whole town knows each other and something bad happens