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.

I read the synopsis and immediately started it because it just sounded too good to be true! I mean, a comparison to House of Salt and Sorrows? Heck yeah. Gothic is my favorite sub-genre of horror so I had some high expectations. While I absolutely loved the atmospheric setting and sapphic romance, some parts of this fell flat for me. I found the writing to be full of cliches, flowery statements, and, quite possibly my biggest book pet peeve, no one spoke like they were from this century. I probably could’ve excused this from the residents of Lovelace house but not from the main character, Marin. I think modern day was not the right move for this one, it would’ve been a much better read for me if it took place in the early 1900s. Overall, I think this will still be popular amongst the YA crowd.

A decent YA gothic book with a side romance. You can def tell where the influences came from. The chapters are short but Marin isn't the greatest MC. Evie was far more likeable. It doesn't add much to the genre; one of my least favorite tropes is the parent loving their partner more than anything else (including their own children) and what they'll sacrifice for the relationship. I'll allow for it here due to special circumstances but still.

2.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this eARC!

Firstly, I appreciate how the chapters all have titles, we don't have enough of that anymore. Secondly, Thea and Wren are absolutely creepy and gave me chills the minute they were introduced. This gave me strong Haunting of Bly Manor vibes which is perfectly okay with me because I actually loved Bly. This story was just so eerie and creepy and perfectly paced that it gave me the ick. It was wonderful and is definitely worth the read.

Reviewed for NetGalley:

Marin, after a recent tragedy, turns to Lovelace House to take up a nanny position for a peculiar family.

I was intrigued when I saw the novel being compared to The Haunting of Bly Manor, but felt it really did recycle some plot points from The Haunting of Hill House (the adapted tv version) as well as Bly. Not sure how I felt overall because of the similar storylines.

Otherwise decent.

I absolutely loved this book. I couldn’t put it down and felt completely creeped out throughout the whole book (but loved every second of it). I felt like I was experiencing the same things the main character was experiencing. This was such a perfect gothic YA read and I can’t wait to read this again during spooky season

Haunting by Bly Manor meets Shining with “the return of living dead” vibes: this brilliant and extra creepy gothic horror novel scared the living daylights out of me!

I loved the claustrophobic house theme! I loved the creepy sisters who are pulling the meanest and most terrifying pranks on their nanny ! I loved the dysfunctional family theme! And I loved each character’s unique way to deal with their own grief! Everything about this book makes your hair on your neck stand up, keeping you on your toes! At some chapters, I honestly wanted to crawl under my bed or hide inside my closet! It’s darker and more frightening wild ride than I expected!

Big twists and revelations in the end are also scream worthy and shocking!

Only thing held me back to give me five stars was instant love story between Marin and Evie. Don’t get me wrong; I never say no to good romance blended in gothic horror but it seems like romantic scenes abruptly inserted between high tension thriller chapters and even though they helped us take a peaceful breath after getting extra disturbed from the dark scenes, they also affected the dramatic impact just a little.

Overall: the conclusion was still good. Some twists were unforeseeable and shocking! Giving my four darkest, queer, gothic, living dead stars!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Children’s Books/ Katherine Tegen Books for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

The beginning of this book had total turn of the screw vibes and went on to be pretty original. If you like a gothic style horror that will keep you guessing then this is the book for you. You won't predict the ending. Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

All The Dead Lie Down by Kyrie McCauley review. Marin just lost her mother in a horrible accident. Afterward, she receives a letter from Alice Lovelace, inviting Marin to her secluded home to nanny her children. Marin feels things are not what they appear, but can’t place what’s wrong. Marin forms a bond and romantic attachment to Alice’s daughter Evie. Evie has a strange gift that leads to a lot horrors and a fight to the death. What happens next is nothing but thrills, major creep factor, and dark secrets. This book felt a little familiar in the beginning, with the new nanny for the children trope. The first quarter of the book started a little slow but picked up pace continuously throughout the rest of the book. The romance gets to be a little repetitive, but it adds to the story and character development. I didn’t predict how this story would unfold, which is good because I can usually figure out things on my own. This book is an unedited ARC and will be published May 2023. Overall I’d give 4.7 chocolate bars 🍫 #allthedeadliedown #kyriemccauley #arc #marin #evie #alice #netgalley #thriller #romance #kindle #chocolatebars #greatread

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I always start by saying if I loved the cover or not. I didn’t even notice till I finished the book that it had two girls as part of a tree on the cover. I love it!

This was a very interesting story that had a lot of roots in the gothic genre. I thought this was going to be a stereotypical “girl goes to haunted house with creepy family and creepy little girls and gets scared by ghosts” story and was pleasantly surprised.

After her mother is killed in a tragic accident, orphaned teenager Marin is called upon by her mother’s old childhood friend who happens to be her favorite horror author. Marin is invited to live with Alice Hallowel and her two children as a nanny for the summer while her oldest daughter is at school. The people in town say strange things happen at Lovelace House. One of the children she’s hired to nanny is cold to her and wants her gone. Alice barely acknowledges her. Creepy and unexplainable things are happening all around Marin. After Alice’s oldest daughter Evie returns from boarding school out of the blue, things become even stranger.

The beginning of this book felt like it was trying to gaslit me. Were creepy things actually going on or did everyone have a secret? Were they all apart of the mean pranks that Wren was pulling to get Marin to leave? The characters were very well done and I loved the two little sisters Thea and Wren. They had a lot of personality and actually felt like mischievous children. I was sort of confused by the time period a few times. It felt like it was going for a gothic old time setting but then it had felt modern.

The romance between Marin and Evie was so cute. I could tell that Marin really liked Evie from the beginning and had wanted to feel like she could belong in Lovelace House with her. I also learned a lot about plants from Evie that I did my know before so I always give extra points for knowledge.

The twists here actually blew my mind a few times. I didn’t see some things coming. Near the end I was racing to finish because I was so invested. The last few chapters in part 3 are wild. If you’re interested in gothic horror or just horror in general? I recommend. This wasn’t very scary at all so it’s good for folks who want to dip their toes in but don’t know where to start!

If you’re a fan of gothic YA, then this will be the book for you! It nails the tone and the atmosphere, and the only places where it falters slightly is weak characterization and the pacing being a little too fast.