I just wanted to start out by saying that I rarely read horror but I LOVED this book! This was definitely creepy, eerie, and unsettling. There was so much tension as well. I was left with a lot of unanswered questions though. Wonder if that was done on purpose.

Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher, #Atria, for a chance to review this ARC.
Wow. This was the type of psychological horror that stayed in my thoughts when I was reluctantly torn away from the story to go to work. I found myself jumping IN THE DAYTIME at imagined figures behind me. It thoroughly creeped me out! That is rare for me!

The premise gives away very little. Eve and her partner Charlie have just moved into a beautiful historic Victorian home that they were hoping to renovate or flip. It's in a desolate Oregon setting, tucked between the mountains and a forest. On a quiet evening, Eve is waiting for her partner to come home when there is an unexpected knock at her door. I could viscerally feel Eve's uneasiness and gut-filled dread as she ignores every instinct and allows a family inside her new home. They claim the father grew up there, and he just wants to give his wife and kids a short tour. Short it was not, as one of the kids goes missing while playing hide and seek. A severe storm comes and they are stuck together. The uneasiness builds and builds from there.
This is a book that will leave you guessing, and have you wanting to furiously talk to someone else about theories. There is mixed media, real psychological phenomenon, and huge mind-bending shifts to the narrative. The scenes in the creepy basement and attic were heart-poundingly scary. I loved the journey of exploring the unknown.

I would absolutely re-read this to see what new layers I can glean from it. #weusedtolivehere was so dang good! I am thrilled that it is being adapted to the screen.

This BOOK, how is it only a debut?! It was the most creepy, mind boggling yet addicting book I’ve read. I think I’ll be trying to wrap my brain around this book for the foreseeable future!

The author did an amazing job at creating unease, dread and tension from the very start. It had me avoiding my basement & overanalysing every tiny noise in my house.

Really enjoyed the use of mixed media to further add to the creepiness & confusion of the story. Look out for the morse code throughout the book for a cryptic message, too! Definitely recommend this to all my horror/psychological thriller fans.

Well, now I know what it takes to thoroughly creep me out and have me closing a book so I can finish reading it the next day. When it's bright and sunny and there aren't any shadowy corners.

Charlie and Eve buy 3709 Heritage Lane, a fixer upper in a remote area of the Pacific Northwest, with plans to renovate and flip it. One stormy night, a family shows up at their door, wanting to quickly tour the house. It's the childhood home of the father. They're only passing thru the area, and he wants to show his children the house in which he grew up. Eve is a people pleaser, so the situation quickly slips away from her, and she finds herself allowing them inside. What follows is a riveting nightmare of a story that headed in directions I could never have predicted.

The author quickly and efficiently establishes an atmosphere of wrongness and claustrophobia inside the house, and it was effortless for me to place myself in this strange, unbelievable situation alongside Eve. The sense of dread and menace built at a steady pace and had me on the edge of my seat, wanting to know what happened next while also afraid to know what the next chapter held. This book had some chilling imagery that I'll be thinking about whenever I head into my dark basement.

We Used To Live Here is everything I love to see in a well-done, creepy house story. Mix mysterious, downright odd characters, a remote, snowy setting, a main character who's flawed but easy to identify with, a sinister atmosphere, and an unforgettable ending, and I'm in Horror Heaven. This book was an absolutely mind-bending, read-with-the-light-on journey, and I had a blast reading it. This author is going on my auto buy list!

Thank you, Atria Books and Netgalley for providing me with an early copy to read and review.

Great book! Starts off with a bang and kept my interest. I'm excited to see the optioned Netflix movie.

I need time to wrap my head around everything, because wow! This book was such a journey. A constant state of dread starts almost immediately. The family that shows up at Eve’s door doesn’t seem quite right, and I felt unsettled the entire time I was reading this book. (In the best way possible!)

Eve and Charlie purchase an old house and begin to renovate it. One day, a man shows up with his family and asks to look around the house. He claims that he used to live in the house when he was growing up. Eve doesn’t want to let the strange family in, but she does. And then things start to go wrong. The family seems off and now they won’t leave. Creepy things start to happen around the house, and Eve starts to wonder - is something wrong with the house or is she slowing descending into madness?

There were so many creepy scenes and such amazing imagery though out this book. The dread just kept building and building, and I was on the edge of my seat the entire time wanting to know what was actually going on. I had no idea which way the book would go until the very last chapter. I absolutely loved the hidden messages and the morse code clues that the author sprinkled throughout the book. It was so much fun uncovering the hidden secrets and trying to piece the entire thing together as I read. I felt like I was slowly going crazy right along with Eve. This book took me on a journey, and I loved every second of it!

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
This was a debut?! I am blown away🤯 This was exactly what I needed. An amazing horror book that pulled me in and made it impossible for me to put it down. Kliewer sure does know how to tell an amazing story, and keep the reader on the edge of their seat the whole time! A family, an old house, and a man that claims he use to live in the old house—but once the new family lets him in weird things start to occur in the house😱 This book creeped me out! I loved the setting, the atmosphere, the writing, the characters, the suspense, the thrillers, the creepiness, and the supernatural elements weaved throughout. You know when you get the feeling that something just is not right, and is off? Welp, that is exactly how I felt while reading this book. Kliewer had me completely freaked out and utterly disturbed by the detailed imagery and writing (BUT I LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT!) If you are looking for a book that is sure to consume all your time, this one is for you! Make sure to clear you schedule, and read it with the lights on…because once you pick this one up you won’t be able to put it down && it is creep AF!😱 Also, LOVE the fact that it is being adapted for Netflix! AHHHHH, cannot wait! Kliewer, you nailed it with this amazing debut! CONGRATS!👏🏻

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
✦Creepy and disturbing books
✦A book that you can consume in one sitting and cannot put down
✦Horror/supernatural/psychological thriller elements weaved throughout
✦A book that has you on the edge of your seat
✦A debut book that lives up to all of the hype

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5

SHUUUTUPPP! Absolutely yes, absolutely YES! This book took me on one heckuva trip. I read this deep into the wee morning hours and dreamt about this book. The way this book makes your mind twist and bend…what you think you know—you really don’t. Sometimes the best deal on a house really isn’t the best deal after all…sometimes it’s literally a lifetime you are handing over to that home…

The verbal sounds and words that flew out of my mouth to as I read this, audibly gasping and I couldn’t sit still to save my life here! This book had me on the edge. The sheer panic this book gave me majority of the time…

These characters are very well developed, I loved the secluded setting, the vivid description of everything…I felt as though I was watching this book play out and I was just standing in the background….a little ant on the wall will you. This was amazing! I’m not going to dive much into it because it’s one of those read it to understand it books but if you love twisty mind bending reads about an old home with old bones and secrets within then this book is for you.

THE END 😮 😱 NOOOOWAY. That literally cannot be the ending of this…Marcus we need words…That is all. Put this on your TBR and thank me later.

Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

This is a complete MINDF*CK! Paranormal or psychotic break, read to find out! But do not read this one at night! It’s crazy creepy and weird with some horror mixed in. The mixed media truly enhanced this thriller, weaving together past and present and making it seem like a true story. I don’t want to say anything else because it’s best to go in blind but it had me saying “WTF is happening” over and over. And then I sat in shock after I finished.

▪️Creepy old home setting
▪️Weird, untrustworthy characters
▪️Horror vibes
▪️Mixed media storytelling

This book is being made into a Netflix movie staring Blake Lively and I’ll definitely be watching it!

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for this eARC!

5 stars. I am super picky about my horror novels and almost always feel dissatisfied by book’s end - not so with We Used to Live Here. This Reddit novella turned Netflix darling (as an aside, I hope this is still in production and is planning to come out after the book’s release) was beautifully expanded by Kliewer. A palpable sense of dread and a brilliantly crafted atmosphere set the stage for this novel. The interactions with the family, and the unease around their true intentions were akin to those created in the film ‘Speak No Evil’ by Christian Tafdrup.

Brilliant! Creepy, unsettling, and smart. I finished it in one day as I could not put it down! Highly Recommend.

Before I say anything else I want to say that this is the first horror book that has ever spooked me. So it’s kinda a landmark read for me.

We Used to Live Here follows Eve, a woman who has just moved into an old, gorgeous house with her girlfriend, Charlie. One night a man shows up at their house with his family claiming to have lived there as a child. He asks Eve if she’ll allow him to very quickly show his family the house he grew up in and she says yes. As soon as the family enters the house things start to go… wrong. As time goes by there are a few too many convenient obstacles that prevent the family from leaving, Charlie mysteriously disappears, and although there’s always a logical explanation for the strange things that start to occur in the house, Eve starts to feel like her sanity might be slipping away from her.

Like I said I thought this book was seriously spooky. Its strength is that its horror elements are based on scary things that do happen in real life as well as paranormal phenomena. So finding it creepy doesn’t even feel irrational! The horror elements are perfectly distributed throughout the book so it very slowly gets scarier and scarier as the story progresses. I also think this was a very creative story overall. The world has an endless supply of “there’s something strange going on in this house” horror books but I’ve never read anything else quite like this.

I really enjoyed Thomas, the man who used to live in the house, as a character. I think the author did a great job at making it hard to tell if he was harmless or threatening at the beginning of the story. One random detail I really appreciated is that Charlie and Eve’s relationship dynamic felt super realistic to me. That’s not really something I expect or look for in a horror book so it was a nice touch.

My big point of criticism is that I don’t think the author explained enough. I was left with too many questions at the end. I think there’s a fine line between a good ambiguous/mysterious ending and just leaving a lot of loose ends and I’ve noticed that in recent years I’ve been reading a lot of books that I believe left too many loose ends. I think there should’ve been more background information given on Thomas’s wife and children. Most of all I think there wasn’t nearly enough information clarified about the Old House and the man in the cabin (I can’t say more than that without spoiling). So although I enjoyed most of the reading experience I was pretty unsatisfied and disappointed in the last quarter or so of the book when I realized there were A LOT of things that would go unexplained.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Review: This has to be one of the most terrifying books I’ve ever read. Granted, I scare easily, but this book was an amazing blend of terror, creepy, and eerie. It honestly locked in a new fear for me, and I couldn’t even finish reading it at night. It was an excellent debut novel by @marcus_kliewer

The book begins with a couple Charlie and Eve who just moved into a fixer upper in the middle of nowhere. While Charlie is in town, Eve hears a knock on the door and a family is at the porch. The man claims her used to live there and wanted to show his family the house. The new fear unlocked- this was it. I would have let someone in and now I would never.

Once the family enters, the most unimaginable unsettling things begin to happen. As soon as the step in one doesn’t know what is real or not real, the anxiety starts to build up, and the reader is taken on a horrifying ride. The less you know going into the book, the better. Just trust me- you will enjoy this psychological suspense novel.

The author does an amazing job. The writing is great and there is so much that leaves you hanging at the edge of your seat. Brilliant atmosphere from page 1- a setting that is ominous mixed with uneasiness. The ending is going to be a hit or miss, but I absolutely loved it so much that I read it twice. If you enjoy horror or have never read horror (like me), this would be a great book to begin with.

I cannot wait to see what else Marcus writes next. I could not put this book down and I’m still thinking about it days later.

Thank you to @atriabooks and @netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Pick up a copy on June 18th!

I don’t know where to begin with this, but this was mind boggling and insane. From the cover, you don’t expect this to be a horror novel, but it’s for sure horrific and these characters are wild. I had such a fun time reading this book! Thanks to Atria Books, y’all rarely let me down! This was a whopping 5 star read for me. The ending was perfection as well!

Wow what a read! This is the most atmospheric and eerie book that I have read in such a long time. I really loved it and stayed up way later than I should have to finish it. The tension, the dread, the atmosphere I just loved it all!!

UMMMM WTF DID I JUST READ?! Holy cow what a mindf***! There were times I didn’t even know what was happening in my surroundings because of how INTO this book I was. I am so jacked for this to be a Netflix movie! It will be amazing!! 4.5 stars, rounding up to 5!

We Used to Live Here is one of the creepiest books I’ve read! Such a well done horror novel, that I went into with very high expectations and it delivered! The whole time I was thinking how this would be such a solid horror movie and I cannot wait to see it brought to life on the screen! I especially enjoyed the Reddit threads and other online media that was shared about the history of the house after each chapter, only adding to the creep factor! I immediately connected with Eve! I felt so many similarities with the character.. a people pleaser to a fault, afraid of gross basements, crass language, over thinker.. and when she makes the comment that her social battery had run out.. yes! 👏🏼
When the family shows up at the beginning of the book, stating the father grew up in the house and he really wanted to show his family around, I had a feeling I knew where the book was going. I literally could not have been more wrong! And that is my favorite thing, when an author completely pulls the rug out from under me! This book had me questioning everything, it will easily be in my top 5 books of the year! Do yourself a favor and get it on your radar, preorder, request from your library.. all the things!

Ok, so this book was legitimately scary! There were so many scenes that were described so perfectly that I truly feel this could be an amazing horror movie, especially since there was a scene in the attic that left me holding my breath! What would you do if a family shows up at night asking to tour their old house for a few minutes? This day and age, absolutely not! Being the type of person that Eve is, a big people pleaser, she lets them in. I started out super intrigued about where this story was going to go, since knowing that this was marketed as a horror book. The intrigue never let up. This is my favorite horror book of the year so far. There are so many parts of the story that I won't be able to forget any time soon! I can't wait for this to come out so I can get my hands on a physical copy and push my friends and family to read it!
Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for lending me an ARC to review early! I sincerely hope Marcus Kliewer has more stories up his sleeve so I can check them out!

This book is a total mindfuck, I really had no idea what was happening or where it was going the whole time but I kind of loved that aspect honestly. It kept me on my toes for sure! I think just knowing the setup is really all that’s important, a young couple answers their door to a family saying they used to live in the house, can they come inside for a few minutes? Things spiral from there in unexpected and unsettling directions, this was truly creepy with so many of my own personal fears being unlocked but somehow I still could not put it down. It’s fast paced, almost furiously so and combined with a mounting sense of dread and total uneasiness, it was pretty damn good in a what the fuck is going on kind of way. My rating would have been even higher but there were quite of few questions left unanswered and an ambiguous ending, but maybe I’m just stupid. Anyway, this was original and truly scary and I can’t wait to see the Netflix movie version.

This felt like a fever dream.

I read this in one sitting, I could literally not put it down. The beginning was so creepy I was yelling at my kindle because I couldn’t believe she let these people in. If you’ve ever seen the show “The Servant” on Apple it was the exact feeling and images playing in my mind. Even though Thomas was described looking like a movie star, all I can picture is Uncle George from the servant. Who is literally terrifying.

During the middle I was so confused and slightly annoyed because it was taking the weirdest turn — I’m infamously impatient when I’m enthralled in a story. But when everything aligned I was perplexed!!! Charlies inability to reassure Eve was so frustrating and even when Thomas was speaking in jumbled sentences I was like for the love of everything spit it out. This book made me feel unhinged.

I need more answers, I have so many questions. This was haunting.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the copy of We Used To LIve Here by Marcus Kliewer. The description and the beginning of this book were so intriguing. I’m not sure this was the book for me because the writing and the characters never really drew me in. The story would make a great movie, especially if the horror elements were played up. The ending was a huge surprise to me, so if you love a Lifetime movie shock, you might love this book!