We Used to Live Here had such an intriguing premise that immediately pulled me in. The idea of strangers showing up at your door claiming your home used to be theirs is both eerie and fascinating. The opening chapters built a strong sense of unease and suspense, and I was curious to see where the story would go.

That said, while the concept was fantastic, the execution felt uneven. The pacing lagged in places, with sections that dragged and others that felt rushed. Some characters could have been fleshed out more, and I found myself wanting a deeper emotional connection to them to fully buy into their choices. The ending was unexpected, but it also left me a bit unsatisfied, like the story had more potential than what was fully explored.

Overall, this wasn’t a bad read. There were creepy, atmospheric moments that I enjoyed. It's a solid middle-of-the-road book: interesting, but not unforgettable.

I received an advanced copy of this book and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books as well as the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #AtriaBooks #MarcusKliewer #WeUsedToLiveHere #Books #Fiction #BookReview #Horror Fiction

Title: We Used to Live Here
Author: Marcus Kliewer
Format: eBook
Publisher: Atria Books
Publication Date: June 18, 2024
Themes: Supernatural, Family, Grief, Mental Illness, LGBTQ+
Trigger Warnings: Anxiety, introverted personality related anxiety, smoking, alcohol use, gore, suicide talk, violence, religion, homophobia, people pleasing

There are so many positive reviews on this book and it’s clear why. This book is twisty and turny with no chance of getting settled on one particular plot point. Eve and Charlie pick up an isolated house in the woods for a steal with the intention of renovating and flipping it. When the Faust family shows up on the doorstep when people-pleasing Eve is home alone, saying they want to tour the house as the father, Thomas, used to live there, she can’t bring herself to say no. What follows is a twist on the haunted house trope that will leave the reader guessing.

There are an abundance of positive reviews on this title. I can see why. I was guessing and second guessing throughout the narrative. There’s so much going on and so many different paths to keep track of, I felt like I had run a marathon by the end. This, in addition to being so uncomfortably terrifying that I’m honestly not sure how to rate it. I want to rate it highly for being beautifully written and squirm-worthy, but I also want to knock a little off for a frustrating ending and a slew of unanswered questions. I was irritated and disappointed by the ending and I hate having more questions than answers. I understand what the author was doing but that didn’t work for me. I did have a lot of fun getting there though.

Ultimately, I have decided to recommend this book as the journey was ultimately a lot of fun. I came here to be made uncomfortable and that was achieved. I will check out other works by this author in the future.

⭐⭐⭐⭐💀 ARC Review: We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer

Okay so… this book. WOW. I don’t usually get spooked easily, but there was a point where I legit wanted to call my mom. 😂 This line right here:

“Jaundiced skin and overgrown toenails stained with dirt… the figure took another shuffling step forward, callused heels scraping the hardwood like sandpaper.”

This one follows Eve and Charlie, a couple who move into a fixer-upper in the PNW. They’re all ready to settle into house-flipping bliss when a random family shows up at their door claiming they used to live there. Instead of slamming the door (like any horror movie survivor would scream at them to do), Eve lets them in. And that’s when things start to unravel. ghostly figures, shifting reality, and “what the hell” moments.

What I loved:
• The atmosphere. Creepy house, strange family, those little “wait, did that just happen?” moments.
• The pacing. It’s a quick read but doesn’t skimp on tension.
• The unsettling details that stick with you long after you’ve shut the book (yes, toenails and calluses heels scraping on hardwoods, I’m talking about you).

What some readers may not love:
The ending is ambiguous. If you like your horror neatly wrapped up, you might be frustrated. Personally, I don’t mind a little “wtf did I just read” feeling, but I get why it won’t be for everyone.

Overall: creepy, fast-paced, and perfect if you like thrillers that lean into disorientation and creepy vibes. If you’re cool with being left a little unsettled (and maybe side-eyeing your own house for a few days after), you’ll love this one.

Big thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! My brain may never recover. 🖤

I really enjoyed this creepy book. It's about a queer couple named Eve and Charlie who flip houses. While Eve is home alone one night, a family knocks on the door and the father asks to show his kids the house where he grew up. Not wanting to be rude, Eve lets them in and quickly regrets the decision.
I enjoyed the way the story was told and the inclusion of the documents and articles made it a really enjoyable read for me. It was like an interactive story. I couldn't wait to see what happened next! This took me three days to read and I would've read it faster if work didn't get in my way.
I received a free copy of this book from Atria Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

What did I just read??!! This was fantastic horror, in that I was creeped out from the start and I barely knew what was going on the entire time. I did have a hard time picturing the scenes from when Eve went back to the house to get the real Charlie. During that part I kept thinking "this should be a movie" But that ending, wow! The full body chills and deep sadness I felt was overwhelming. I was terrified but also wanted to cry. I will most definitely be recommending this book for many years to come! I hope there with be a prequel!

We Used to Live Here was an absolute page-turner—one of the fastest reads I’ve ever had. The story follows Eve and Charlie, who have just moved into an old house in a remote area. One snowy winter night, while Eve is home alone, a family of five knocks on the door. The father claims he grew up in the house and wants to show his children around.

Against her better judgment, Eve eventually lets them in—and from that moment, unsettling and increasingly strange events unfold. The atmosphere is tense, the pacing relentless, and the sense of isolation and dread builds with every page. I especially loved Eve and Charlie’s characters—their personalities felt authentic and engaging. The house itself seemed terrifying, and the remote, wintry setting was the perfect backdrop for the suspense.

Marcus Kliewer crafts a gripping, eerie tale that hooks you immediately and refuses to let go. I’m so happy this book will soon be a Netflix movie—I cannot wait to watch it!

*** Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC.

This has been my favourite book I've read so far this year. The puzzles in the book were so intriguing, though I would have to say readers need a physical copy of the book to enjoy it best.

It was scary, but without being too "in your face" about it and the additional "documents" in between chapters have kept me intrigued the whole time!

I cannot wait to read more from the author!

I was utterly terrified while reading this book. The ending was not what I expected but it really rounded out the book for me. I wish it could’ve been happier but I am so terrified.

We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer is one of those books that starts off with a slow creep and then suddenly you’re completely consumed, flipping pages at 1AM wondering what the hell is going on! The setup is so simple yet genius. A couple, Eve and Charlie, buy a fixer upper in a cozy little neighborhood. Life is good, then one day there’s a knock at the door, and a man says he used to live there, and do they mind if he shows his kids around? And from that moment on…total unraveling. This book took my anxiety levels from 0 to full paranoia real fast. What I loved is how the horror here is this quiet and claustrophobic tension that just keeps building. The way the author messes with perception, time, and what’s real vs. imagined had me constantly second guessing everything. If you like psychological horror that is eerie and unnerving, We Used to Live Here is a must! Just maybe don’t read it alone at night!

So while I read this in 2024 I just grabbed it as a Read Now on NetGalley in August 2025. I will gladly share my review now. It was my top book of 2024 out of over 200 read.

WOW this was fantastic. I love freaky houses, I love books that combine newspaper articles, websites, etc similar to Night Film by Marisha Pessl. This book will definitely be one of my top books of the year. Once I really got into it I read it in one night. Highly recommend.

Charlie and her partner Eve are house flippers, their latest project brings them to the Pacific Northwest where they're working to fix up an old Victorian home. One night while Charlie is out, there's a knock on the door -- Tom grew up in the house, was passing through, and would love to show his family around. 15 minutes top, promise! Eve begrudgingly lets them in to look around and things quickly go downhill: a storm kicks up, the family must stay the night, the stained glass window upstairs suddenly is no longer there.

Throughout the novel there are forum posts, transcripts of articles, and redacted police reports. All the glowing IG reviews I've seen had me expecting something a little more than I got, but this was a creepy and unsettling winter read!

We Used to Live Here is an unsettling, mind-bending read that is perfect for those who enjoy the style of storytelling and subject matter that directors like Ti West (Pearl), Jordan Peele (Us), and David Bruckner (The Ritual) utilize in their films.

As the story unfolds, a somewhat unsuspecting start loaded with a compelling eeriness gives way to an edge-of-your-seat haunting horror. Through the progression of the plot, the reader navigates a compounding sense of vulnerability and violation. All the while, it feels as if we understand less and less of what we’re witnessing, leaving us to wonder who and/or what we can trust, or if anything can be trusted at all.

With such a plethora of books on the market- between traditional and indie work - I have great appreciation for the titles that set themselves apart by bringing the reader into the story with an interactive aspect. Marcus Kliewer does this really well by including various “documents” throughout the story. In addition to these "documents", the novel comes to a satisfying end with the completion of the hidden message that the reader is fed one coded word at a time. Whether the message confirms how you interpret what you’ve read or makes you question it all, it provides a sense of finality to the story. These details create a depth to We Used to Live Here, bringing us into Eve’s world to experience the events as she does. The formatting Kliewer uses to incorporate these aspects also has a notable impact on pacing, working to keep readers engaged throughout the book.

The characters make for a fairly standard thriller cast - an unreliable and increasingly unstable main character, a logical and mostly absent/distanced partner, some side characters here and there to carry the plot, and our deeply suspicious but seemingly “normal” antagonist(s). Could they have been more complex, individualized, and memorable? Certainly. However, Kliewer does not lean heavily on the characters to carry the story, making their level of development sufficient. Our main character is not without her humanity, though. Readers who experience anxiety and/or struggle with people-pleasing tendencies will likely find that they connect to Eve’s character (which might make the book all the more unnerving).

From the graphic designer side of my brain: Bonus points on a cover design that perfectly captures the book’s concept in such a subtle yet holistic way.

A huge thank-you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read and review this ebook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

<i>We Used to Live Here</i> is Marcus Kliewer's debut novel and I am utterly impressed! This psychological horror is deeply unsettling and leaves you with a chill that lingers long after the final page.

A young couple is renovating their dream home, when they are visited by a family who claims they used to live here. What starts as an awkward social interaction turns into a surreal and disorienting nightmare where memory, identity, and truth are all up for question. This book relied less on gore or jump scares and more on the terrifying feeling that something is <i>off</i>.

I highly recommend you read this book WITH the audiobook because it offers such a creepy element to this already horrifying book. Heads up that there is morse code at the end of several chapters, in which you can string together a hidden message.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing a copy of this e-book in exchange for my honest opinion/review.

3.75 Stars ⭐️

What did I just read?? (In the best way possible)
Reading this book feels like watching a horror movie play out in your head, and I absolutely loved it. You’re screaming at the main character not to make the dumb decision… while you keep reading… as she makes said dumb decision.

Eve, with her chronic people-pleasing, was so relatable and exactly the kind of horror protagonist you root for while also yelling, "Now why did you open the door for strangers?" Apparently this story started as a Reddit thread, and I thought that was so cool (especially as someone who loves creepy Reddit stories).

This had me on edge the entire time. The atmosphere is tense, unnerving, almost claustrophobic. I also loved the narrative structure. There are standard chapters mixed with random-seeming documents that start making sense later on. I wish I could say more, but this is absolutely one of those books where going in blind is the best way to experience all the dread and twists it has to offer.

My ONLY gripe is that there are questions left unanswered. Whether that's on purpose for a more ambiguous ending or to set up for a sequel, I'm not sure. If it weren't for those unanswered questions, this would've been a 4 or maybe even 4.5 star read. Amazing debut novel from Kliewer nonetheless.

It’s tense, twisty, eerie, and will 100% make you question your sanity along with the characters’. Highly recommend if you want a fast-paced, psychological horror that sticks with you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing a copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review! 🫶

Thank you to NetGalley for the push to finally pick up this book. I bought it last year after falling for the hype, and while in the end it left me a bit confused and unsure how I really feel, I still had a relatively good time with it.

If you’re looking for a quick read, this is one I’d definitely recommend. I finished it in two sittings because I found that each time I picked it up, I had to know what was going to happen next, and the short chapters made it easy to fly through. We Used to Live Here hooked me right away with its eerie setup and tense atmosphere. The first half especially had me fully invested, with a growing sense of dread that really worked. I will say that I did enjoy the first three-quarters of the book more than the ending, but I think that was probably just a me problem since truthfully I got a bit lost in what was ultimately happening.

It’s also worth mentioning that I’m usually a fan of mixed media in books, especially thrillers and if that’s something you typically enjoy, it’s used in an interesting and effective way here as well. I also immersion read this one, and the audiobook made for a really enjoyable experience.

So even though the ending went a bit over my head this was a solid, gripping read.

I am obsessed! This read was so unsettling, creepy & fascinating! If you are looking for a straight forward read with finite answers you won't find that here. This story has so many layers and clues to find! I find myself looking back through now to decipher everything. If you, like me, are a fan of things pertaining to the multiverse, Mandela effect, cryptids, codes, & puzzles I highly recommend this read. I have been chasing the feel of Terry Miles- Rabbits since I read it years ago & this is along the same lines of that book in its exploration of the strange & unexplainable. On the surface we have the Story of Emma Eve & her partner who are renovation a house when a family comes to call & things only get strange from there. With twist & intertwinings the story slowly weaves together things tying in some things a lose thread not quite lining up. It the kind of horror story where it leaves you thinking this could be happening right now & you wouldn't know it. Like a iceberg there is the surface story but a whole lot more under the surface to explore. The ending was good left a little open & I would love to delve more into this world & story!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an eARC.

This book very much had the creepy vibe it promised for sure but it would have been even better if there was a balance struck between the eeriness and ambiguity. I do like books where the narrator is descending slowly (or rapidly) into insanity but I like it better when it has a more logical flow to it. The documents made no sense in the flow until probably the very end which was somewhat disconcerting. Overall, it's a pretty decent horror book if you go by the setting and not necessarily for a well-developed plot.

Thank you, NetGalley and the Atria Books for allowing me to read this book early. The opinion in this review is my own.

Wow! What a fun book. It was so compelling and mind bending. I couldn't put it down and when I wasn't reading it I was thinking about it. It was something I had to slow down so I wouldn't miss anything.

This was creepy and confusing in the best possible way. I was hesitant to start this because I'm sensitive to scary things but this was worth the creepy feelings.

I love books that are as interactive as this. This has you literally solving codes and looking for Easter eggs throughout. The mixed media portions were a great way to break up the main story but also add intrigue. You can enjoy the story without doing the extra bits but it's a ton of fun if you do. I was using multiple apps and sites to crack the clues and I was so invested. There were a few I still couldn't understand. In many ways this reminded me of House of Leaves with all the mixed media. I haven't finished HOL so That comparison might end with that.

I highly recommend this book. I want to immediately re-read this after knowing the ending. This is definitely one of my favorite books of the year.

I’ve been sitting on this book for a little while now and unfortunately for me it’s something I think about a lot. We follow Eve who has just gotten a killer deal on a house with her partner Charlie. Eve is surprised when a family knocks on her door asking to look around for a bit because “we used to like here”. Eve’s life and sanity begin to spiral as strange and unexplainable things start to happen once the family is let into her home.

This book was so scary to me. At multiple times near the end I had to put the book down and take a break because my anxiety was running rampant. Watching Eve lose her mind and question reality was written so well.

I loved the characters. The family that comes to the house is so eerie and unsettling from the get go. It starts off very subtle and grows to this overt all-consuming unease. The old house in was such a good and classic setting and I thought it was interesting that it wasn’t isolated. The house felt like its own character and I loved the ambiance it gave to the book.

I do not want to spoil anything, so I will just say that the last 50-100 pages of this book are wild. I was so confused and disoriented that it was literally terrifying to me. I also really liked that we don’t get a clear ending. That gives my brain the ability to run with it even weeks after reading (help).

Overall I would highly recommend this book if you are looking for a good unsettling horror novel that is not gore-heavy. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and the story is something that has stuck with me weeks after finishing.

There are some books that stick with you long after you’ve finished reading them. This will be one of those books.

The plot centers around a queer couple tasked with flipping an old house in the Pacific Northwest. When a family arrives at the front door claiming to have previously lived there and asking to come inside to relive old memories, TMC Eve is reluctant to let them inside.

She eventually acquiesces and soon after all hell begins to break loose.

Equal parts haunted house horror, psychological thriller and mind-bending mystery- the eerie and unsettling tone of this book will linger in your psyche, even after you put it down.

It was refreshingly original and if the author does engage a sequel I would be one of the first to devour it.

A film adaptation is also in the works with Blake Lively 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻

Many thanks to Atria and NetGalley for providing this in exchange for my honest feedback.