Thank you to the author and NetGalley for allowing me an ARC of We Used to Live Here. I absolutely LOVED this book. I am a sucker for thriller books and this was one of the best I have read within the last year. It was engaging throughout the whole story, I never knew what was going to happen, and the text between chapters added so much to the story. When reading it, I would get scared (which does not happen very often) and I couldn't put the book down. I would give this book a 5 out of 5. It was an amazing read!

Thank you @librofm @simon.audio @atriabooks #partner for the free audiobook and eARC!

This is how you do horror! I cannot CANNOT cannot….believe this is a debut. I can venture to guess this may be my top horror book of the year. 😱 Wow. Just wow. This book was so mind warping and creepy I just ate it up. I absolutely loved the different personalities between the two main characters Charlie and Eve. I loved how Eve was more skeptical and Charlie more laid back. I felt for Eve because letting these strangers into her home is 💯 something I would do. 😂 Next time I will think twice! I loved how once Eve let Tom and his family in the house they never left. The way in which it happened seemed so believable. 😳 This book literally gave me the heebie jeebies and scared the crap out of me. This book checks all the boxes in what I look for in horror. 🙌 My only ask is…Marcus can you quick write one more book by September so I can read it during spooky season?! If you love haunted houses, creepy people and want to check beneath your bed tonight for monsters grab yourself a copy of this book! This is THE book to read this year in the Fall!

The book fairies must be working over time...

We Used to Live Here, was one of my most anticipated books for this year.

I had high expectations for this book but Marcus Kliewer, surpassed them.

The minute you open this book you are going to plunge right into a different realm. You will lose track of time and reality. You will speak about these characters as though they really exist.

This book had so many twists, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.

To sum it up on one sentence :

Total arm hair raiser… chilling and straight up haunting .

Before I spoil something, I am going to leave you with this teaser :

As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can’t believe the killer deal they’ve just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they’re working in the house one day, there’s a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.

As soon as the strangers enter their home, uncanny and inexplicable things start happening, including the family’s youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can’t seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family—or is Eve just imagining things?

I have some mixed feelings but I will say that We Used to Live Here is one of the best examples of tension and dread that I've read in a long time. This book is extremely unsettling and I loved that.

I didn't like the interstitials. I couldn't connect them well to the narrative and I found them distracting. After a few of them, I just skipped them. You're not missing anything and I wonder if they were just added to break up the tension or add pages. They're truly not needed though. Also a couple plot points were dropped (the random house in the backyard?) and overall not needed.

I also thought that the story could have stopped before the first person chapter at the end. Without spoiling... it also didn't add anything and instead, in my opinion, it stole some of the impact of the story and the ending.

I cannot even describe how much I enjoyed this book. As someone who loves paranormal scary movies, I have not really read many books in this genre. We Used to Live Here was so good on so many levels, and the ending left me in complete shock. I enjoyed the characters and suspense - I could not turn the pages fast enough. Netflix - please turn this book into a mini series!

"Get Out meets Parasite in this eerily haunting debut and Reddit hit - soon to be a Netflix original movie starring Blake Lively - about two homeowners whose lives are turned upside down when the house's previous residents unexpectedly visit.

As a young, queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can't believe the killer deal they've just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they're working in the house one day, there's a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived there years before and asking if it would be alright if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in.

As soon as the strangers enter their home, uncanny and inexplicable things start happening, including the family's youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can't seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. Something is terribly wrong with the house and with the visiting family - or is Eve just imagining things?"

I've always been suspicious of people who just show up at a house randomly and claim to have lived there... Hence I totally buy everything in this book.

Bizarre but compelling - I wasn't sure what was happening for most of the book, but I was invested! Not as scary as I thought, but still spooky. If you're a thriller/horror lite fan, I'd recommend. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to Atria Books, Marcus Kliewer, and NetGalley for an eARC of We Used to Live Here in exchange for an honest review.

Overall I enjoyed this book. It didn't blow me away, but I do think the concept is really interesting.

I thought the book was a bit slow to get off the ground. I found some of the elements to be confusing - especially the news articles that separated the chapters. Until the book got going, it was hard to connect these to the plot.

Once the action started, though, I flew through the rest of the book and was left wanting more from it. As soon as the reader learns about the interconnectedness of the house and how it essentially leads the people stuck in it to alternate realities, we have so many more questions. How may other people got stuck in this reality? Can anyone go back to their old reality? What happened to the real Charlie and the dog? What about the run down house in the woods? Is this all in Eve's head or is it real?

This story could have been elaborated on further and I felt it ended pretty abruptly, but I do like that the book ended with a lot of questions unanswered. It fits well with the theme of the story and always kept the reader guessing. 3/5 stars.

This dark horse of a horror novel was pretty good. It was very unsettling and very mysterious. Some of the horror scenes were definitely heart pounding. I rated this one three stars because towards the end, it started to kind of take a left turn and go off the rails. I was feeling confused, but not in a good way. I am still not exactly sure what happened in the end, it’s possible that I’m just not smart enough to understand. But overall very strong novel.

This book! It was so good, so atmospheric, so gripping. It was definitely a unique book and as someone who read the Reddit post first I loved the added details and the changes made in the book! So well written. And that ending!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Marcus Kliewer for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for We Used to Live Here coming out June 18, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I was really intrigued by the premise. I don’t think it was quite Get Out meets Parasite. It definitely had some spooky vibes. It was dark and atmospheric. I loved the first half of the book. The family stopping by was definitely creepy and the mood felt unknown. I think I was just left with a lot of questions that didn’t feel answered at the end. Some of the plot points seemed to be left hanging. Or maybe I was confused. I just think it had other stories involved. I would’ve liked to see some more questions answered. But overall, I really liked it.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys spooky books!

This book was a wild ride! For a debut novel, it was very well written and exciting for the reader. I enjoy a good haunted house story. I am not normally a big horror book fan outside of The King himself, but I really enjoyed this novel. It's like the worst-case scenario if you were to buy an older house looking to flip and make a profit.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity!

What a fun and fast read! I was intrigued from the first chapter and this book takes you on a rollercoaster of what is happening. Agree with others that the ending could have been better but overall, a good read!

This book was quite interesting. Trying to follow and figure out what's real and what's not is always fun, BUT I do wish there was a bit more explanation at the end!! The twists and turns to this book are WILD and I really enjoyed it!!

What an interesting, strange, great story. It still has me wondering what's real and what's not. The story started out very strange and just became even stranger. Great debut novel.

WHAT! THAT ENDING. Okay this is the second book I’ve read that originated as a short story on the sub reddit called No Sleep. Both were horrifying and literally scary as all heck! This one is CREEPY! I had an excellent time reading this book only during daylight hours and mostly in public (at work in my break) because NO WAY was I reading this at home, alone or at night PERIOD. This is supposed to become a Netflix movie starring Blake Lively and I CANT WAIT! This one would be PERFECT for spooky season and anytime for horror lovers! THANK YOU SO MUCH to Atria for sending me an early copy of this creepy ASS story, I loved it!

Okay, this, I was not expecting. I was very excited to read this, I am a huge creepy horror and haunted house and people lover. And this book, absolutely delivered. There was a few times I was a bit hesitant. But I am so thrilled of how it all played out. I especially enjoyed the chapters with the news info, and interviews. Just made it all feel more realistic. Definitely will be recommending and listening to the audiobook once its released.

🏚️We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliwer🏚️

Thank you @atriabooks, @marcus_Kliwer & @netgalley for this ARC! Happy Pub day on June 18th! This is a book that needs to be added to every Thriller and Horror readers TBR!

Pages: 320
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book Goal 2024: 63/100

✨ How would you react or explain if the structure of your house started changing? The windows no longer were the same, the doorways would move, the floor plan would shift? ✨

What… the… hell… did… I… read?!?!

Like WTF?!

This book is a masterpiece.

These are just some of the emotions I felt while reading this book:
✨anxiety
✨anger
✨fear
✨anticipation
✨shame
✨confusion
✨sadness
✨CONFUSION

The entire time I was reading this, I had no doubts on who I felt like I should trust and shouldn’t trust. By the end of the book, I wanted to stab some of the characters myself with a fountain pen. IYKYK.

I am just shook up! I loved this book so much. I honestly think I will re-read this to see if I missed anything.

If you love thriller, horror, mystery, f*^%ed up sh*t…. ADD IT TO YOUR TBR NOW AND MOVE IT TO THE TOP.

#netgalley #review #read #0to100 #reads #reading #booknerd #books #book #dark #arc #thriller #horror #fright #spooky #weusedtolivehere

We Used To Live Here by Marcus Kliewer, is one of the strangest books I have ever read. Eva and her partner Charlie or house flippers and while fixing up the house they live in it they’re now in Washington working on an isolated Victorian home Charlie is in town when Eva hears a knock at the door. It’s a mom and a dad two boys and a daughter the dad is Thomas and the mom is Page children Kai Newton and daughter Jenny. He want to view the home because he wants to show his children where he grew up Eves at first reluctant but they seem so normal and nice She finally relents and lets them in. He keeps referring to her as Emma and at first she is interested in the tidbits he shares with his family but soon goes back to what she was doing until they finally come to the basement which she locked. They seem let down that she doesn’t want to allow them in the basement and when they finally say they’re leaving daughter Jenny goes missing. Throughout the book the settings change everything gets distorted mixed up and by the end of it you the reader will be confused. I know this is supposed to be a Netflix show and I am definitely going to watch it as I really liked the book I did fine then having to sans pointless because they really added nothing to the story but having said that I loved the sidenote the extended history notes they gave and things that were apropos to the ongoing story I really enjoyed this book I do wonder if there’s going to be another boat because the way it ended was not the way it started… I really don’t know how to explain that but if you read the book you know what I mean. This is a great book for horror fans especially those who like haunted houses alternative universe is an alternative scenarios. There’s doppelgängers and so much more in this book and it all makes for a fun fun read. I want to think atria/Emily Bessler books for my free arc copy via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

What a thrilling and exhilarating experience, I devoured this book in a day! The plot kept me constantly guessing and I’ll always love the setting of a “haunted” house. Fans of The Conjuring Universe or author Darcy Coates would love this!

Can’t wait to see what this author does next, I’m an instant fan!