Creepy haunted house, terrifying gothic horror mixed in with a bit of romance! What's not to love? I'm not big on romance in my horror stories but this was so well done I couldn't complain. The twists and revelations at the end made for a really satisfying read. Great book!

All the Dead Lie Down Review!

Big thank you to Harpercollins Children’s Books and Netgalley for this gifted arc, in exchange for an honest review! All the Dead Lie Down comes out May 16, 2023!

I briefly read the synopsis and immediately requested it when I found out it was about a nanny watching some creepy kids. All the Dead Lie Down was a 4.25/5 ⭐️ for me! I didn’t know much else about this book and the paranormal aspect was a pleasant surprise. It made the book that much more eerie and creepy. I did think that the romance was a bit unnecessary. I’ve been working with kiddos for 12+ years and never have I chose to make out instead of do my job and watch the children. 😅 This one reminded me of The Turn of the Screw and The Turn of the Key in ways. I loved the isolated gothic mansion setting and it was super dark and pretty graphic at the end! This one was fun and I’ll be looking for more of McCauley’s work in the future!

Hauntingly beautiful.
I did not know what to expect going into this book but I was very pleased with the storyline and characters.
It can feel slow at first but it picks up quickly.

DNF @26%. I like YA horror/thrillers but this didn’t have any of the aspects I look forward to in this genre of books. The atmosphere is severely lacking which is pretty critical in gothic books that tend to be low in plot. The two little girls were so annoying and I got tired of reading about them. Felt like I was reading a book about a girl babysitting two troublesome girls rather than a gothic/horror book. The f/f relationship so far is fine. No seeds of interest were planted early on in the book to intrigue me enough to see how things pan out. Out of all the YA sapphic horror books getting published right now, I think this one is skippable.

I don't have a real review for the book yet, as the Harpercollins Union is still on strike. Pay a fair wage and listen to negotiations and I will gladly review the book. Until then, I will not. Sorry not sorry. I'm not crossing the picket line.

This was such a great read. The author does a great job of establishing this creepy house in the middle of nowhere where creepy things happen and there are creepy children trying to chase the main character away. It reminded me a little more of Turn of the Key instead of Turn of the Screw/Haunting of Bly Manor but since Key was inspired by Screw, close enough. The author did such a great job of establishing the gothic setting and immersing the reader in the world.

Our main character Marin is invited to live at Lovelace House by the owner, Alice Lovelace, who is a famous horror writer. Marin shows up without a penny to her name and tries to be nanny to the 2 Lovelace children - who of course play creepy pranks on her and are generally creepy ("creepy" is the word of the day for this review). She finds dead birds in her room and learns about creepy Lovelace traditions like how when you cut your hair, you keep it in the house forever. Marin is determined to understand what is actually happening at Lovelace House and get to the bottom of what everyone is hiding. The story unfolds and gets weirder (in a great way) as time goes on. I had a few guesses for what the reveal was going to be and none were right.

Marin meets the older daughter, Evie, who returns from school because one of her sisters wrote her to come home. I enjoyed the romance between the 2 of them and it felt very authentic. Evie was probably my favorite character in the book - you get an idea of her in the beginning but then she develops throughout and you learn more about how she actually is vs what she presents to the world.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this advance review copy.

ARC by NetGalley and the publisher.
This novel reminded me of The Turn of the Screw with the plot while also still being its own which I enjoyed as it wasn’t just a carbon copy. I felt the book had a good balance of horror, with it still being in the YA genre making it not too terribly terrifying for a younger reader audience. I always find creepy houses with children as occupants to be even more unnerving and this book was no different. The setting of the Lovelace Estate was both intriguing and spooky with it’s haunted grounds and long family history. The romance in this book was cute and served as a nice break from all the twisty happenings. There was a nice build to the plot and all the questions that arose in this novel were answered which I found refreshing as many books I have read lately leave plot holes or cliff hangers. I did however feel as if the actual ending felt rushed, while it was still shocking and unexpected it wasn’t as creepy as I was anticipating it to be.

All the Dead Lie Down comes out May 16, 2023.

Thank you again NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was super excited to read this, given it was supposed to be similar to Bly Manor, so was so ready for a spooky house and wild characters. Upon beginning this though, I was sad to discover a lot of the major similarities between the tv series Bly Manor, that it was disappointing to me :( There are few things the author could have easily switched up to make this a more original story and I would have enjoyed it a lot more if she had taken these extra steps.

All the Dead Lie Down was such a creepy and chilling read. The writing was hauntingly beautiful and kept me on edge until the very end.

This story follows Marin, who just lost her mother in a horrific accident. Marin’s favorite horror author and mother’s childhood best friend offers her a nanny position after the accident. However, Lovelace House is rumored to be haunted or cursed by the townspeople. The children Marin is asked to care for are mischievous and quite creepy. One child is cold towards Marin and wants her gone. As Alice’s oldest daughter, Evie, returns home unexpectedly, darker and twisted things begin happening.

These characters are all well developed. Each one has a personality of their own without it feeling like it’s too much. To me, this story was equally character driven and plot focused. It was executed extremely well.

This was my first sapphic horror and it is definitely not my last. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Perfect for fans of House of Hollow.

After her mom dies, Marin's grateful for an offer from her mother's long-lost friend to move to an isolated estate to serve as a nanny for her children. Alice - a horror writer - seems haunted and distant - while the children run wild with a series of escalating pranks. Things come to head when the children summon older sister Evie back from boarding school. Marin can no longer ignore the weirdness of the house and the family, even as she finds herself drawn to beautiful, perfect Evie.

The isolated house provides the perfect slate for a Gothic horror for the ages. The dread builds slowly - starting with an uneasy feeling, a few dead birds and a family of eccentrics - then escalates to a horrifying conclusion. The sapphic romance between Marin and Evie is well done, and the characters alternate between being appealingly vulnerable and sinisterly dark.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4/5 stars. To be released May 2023.

If you are someone who is squeamish about animal deaths, this may not be the book for you. I did have to skim over one scene because it was too much for me. That aside, All The Dead Lie Down is a dark and creepy tale that sucks you in. There are plenty of twists, some you’ll see coming but others that will surprise you, and the author creates organic feeling relationships between all the characters.

I feel like I would have enjoyed this more if I'd read it as a teenager, but I still liked it.
It took me a while to puzzle out what exactly was going on, which I liked -- it wasn't predictable at all. I think the strongest part of this book was the atmosphere -- Kyrie McCauley wrote about a spooky place that made me feel spooked while reading it. And what I thought was going to be a story about a haunted house wasn't at all, but the descriptions of the house and grounds got under my skin.
Solid 3 stars, would definitely recommend.

All the Dead Lie Down by Kylie McCauley the perfect combination of The Haunting of Bly Manner sprinkled with a touch of Disney magic turned dark. Marin Blythe is a recent orphan and all alone in the world with no job or place to live. Until she receives an invitation from Alice Lovelace - a well acclaimed horror writer and childhood friend of Marin’s recently deceased mother. Marin is offered a babysitter position at Lovelace House at the family’s coastal Maine estate. With no other options, Marin accepts the position to watch Alice’s young and peculiar girls. As Marin begins to babysitter the girls she discovers some very peculiar habits - Thea buries her dolls in their own little graveyard with very realistic funerals. While on the other hand, Wren attempts to drive Marin away from the Lovelace grounds. Soon after Alice’s eldest daughter returns home from school - Evie Hallowell who does not disappoint as she is just as strange as her siblings - however Evie quickly captures the interest of Marin with her behavior and ethereal grace that her presence brings. While Marin begins to find her place at Lovelace, she can help but feel that she will never be able to escape the anxiety that continues to follow her everywhere. With the addition of dead birds that have been showing up in her room and the two youngest Hallowell’s pranks escalating; something dangerous is lurking in the woods leaving mutilated animals in its path. Nothing is as it seems at Lovelace House, and Marin must unravel the secrets before they themselves consume her.
I absolutely loved reading this book right from the beginning! Kyrie McCauley had my attention right from when Marin arrived at Lovelace House with the descriptions of the Lovelace property all up to the rumors that surrounded Alice’s family. All the characters were very logical and fit right into the eerie gothic setting or in Marin’s case stood out. Each character brought a new sense of mystery to the plot that made me want to keep turning the page. McCauley did an exceptional job and making the characters related to the overall plot she also gave each individual character their own reasons and motives. The descriptions were very well done where I was able to see the entire Lovelace property, but at the same time not overwhelming. This was exceptionally done, as I did not find myself becoming uninteresting in the plot due to the descriptions. While there were few other places that the girls went to the various areas of Lovelace like the woods and the graveyard were just the Lovelace grounds. After reading the summary of All the Dead Lie Down by Kyrie McCauley, I was very intrigued as I have seen The Haunting of Bly Manor and knew this book would have plot twists. However, McCauley’s plot twists I could not have seen coming or even imagined what happened! If I had the chance, I would love to read this book again without knowing what happens. This book also had romance between Evie and Marin which was hinted out in very obscure ways which I loved. While this did seem a little fast throughout the entire book, it was very reasonable for the ages of Evie and Marin.
This book would be a perfect match for fans of The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor! I would love to read this book again in the future. All the Dead Lie Down is one of my all-time favorite young adult horror books! I would like to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books/Katherine Tegen Books for an Advanced Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars- I LOVED this book! I haven’t read a good sapphic horror book in a while, and I’m once again reminded that it’s my favorite genre with this book!
I loved the way this book was written in that for most of the book, you were never sure if it was the girls making up little tricks or if the creepy things were actually happening, which I think is really good for a horror book.
I also really liked the characters, and specifically Wren and Marin’s relationship. Thea was super cute, but I really enjoyed reading Wren slowly find it harder and harder to dislike Marin. I think Evie and Marin are also adorable, and all the little things Marin said about Evie were so romantic.
SPOILERS- I have to say that I think the ending, or the climax I suppose, was unexpected, but at the same time, with the level of writing from the rest of the book being so good, I was expecting it to be a bit more creepy, and less rushed. That’s the only complaint I have about this book, though.

I have never read horror before. I mean am not a horror fan. However, when I read the synopsis of the book which compared it to The Haunting of Bly Manor, I was intrigued. Bly Manor is the horror series that made all Sapphics overcome their fear of horror so to compare the book to it was a huge step. Thus, I was skeptical when I requested it and it got accepted. However, the moment I started reading it, I was hooked. I really enjoyed the weird, eerie vibes. I love the twins at the beginning of the book, I really did. They weren't anything but interesting to me. With all their scary actions, they were still pretty hard to dislike. To sum it up and without any spoilers, this is a very good book. I really enjoyed it and I do think it is a 4.75/5 stars read. Perfect for fans of thrillers and Bly Manor.

All the Dead Lie Down by Kyrie McCauley is a phenomenal book!
Kyrie McCauley created the most wonderful atmosphere.
With most intriguing characters!
I couldn't have loved this story more than I did.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's/Katherine Tegen Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A new nanny finds herself in a place full of strange happenings and secrets. If you are a fan of the Netflix show Bly Major, I think you will really enjoy this book!

This book was a fast read for me! The twist and turns were magnificent. Just when I thought I knew what was happening, I was pleased to learn I was very much wrong. This was my first time reading a book by this author, and I plan to read more.

this was a great 5/5 read. I was initially attracted to it because of the cover and was immediately drawed in. The essence of it reminded me a lot of “Sawkill Girls” which I LOVED! I felt like the story really picked up during the middle and I did not expect any of the plot twists at the end!

I had mixed feeling about this book so I wanted to simply split it into "good" and "bad" things.

GOOD:

The atmosphere was dreamy and beautiful, with a cool creepy backstory that kept you guessing. The author blended sinister with homey really well, often tricking you into feeling "Safe". I see why Bly Manor was a comp for this book because it maintained those vibes well

NOT AS GOOD.

The romance took off immediately and was too fast for me. Actually in general, that was an issue with the book, the pacing would go from breakneck speed to crawlingly slow without any middle ground whatsoever.