Wow this book was so good!
We Used to Live Here is about two homeowners who buy a new house but their lives are about to get turned upside down when the previous residents show up unexpectedly. I started this book at night but made sure the lights were on and kept going on until it was finished. Definitely a page turner from beginning to end. This was an amazing debut novel from the author and I look forward to any more books the author writes. The book was so creepy it gave me goosebumps and you will get lost in the story. This book was a masterpiece and one I loved so much. I highly recommend this book to any reader but if you are a horror fan then this is a must read. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this scary read in exchange of my honest review of We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer.

I kept hearing how terrifying We Used to Live Here was from fellow bookstagrammers so I figured I would give it a try. I don’t mind being scared but don’t care for gore, so this book fit my reading preferences.

I will say going into this one mostly blind was good advice. I had no idea where it was going or what I was in store for which added to the reading experience. This book makes you question everything about what you’re reading.

I did have a few moments where I wasn’t sure what was really going on and some unanswered questions, but overall it was a good read. I didn’t find it as scary as others but I can see why they would have been. It will make a great movie.

Absolutely terrifying novel that had me hooked from the first page. Beautiful writing, fun twists, and a genuinely original mystery made this one of my favorite horror novels of the year.

This review is based on an eARC received through Netgalley; all opinions are my own.

I love love LOOOOOVE horror that uses liminality and unreality as the keystones to build that horror. It's difficult to build that tension up while balancing along the line between too obvious and too subtle, but We Used to Live Here perfectly balances the two. We Used to Live Here also plays with form in a really fascinating way, switching between chapters from Eve's point of view and labeled documents consisting of everything from Wikipedia entries to interview transcripts to forum posts. (Also, I highly suggest taking notes as you read, paying special attention to the morse code and embedded messages. I used the Journal function on Storygraph and it made the reading experience so much fun!!)

I also loved the two main characters; Eve and Charlie are dear to my heart, joining the likes of Miri and Leah (Our Wives Under the Sea) and Monique (The Worm and His Kings) as my personally beloved horror lesbians. I read this on Netgalley but I really want a physical copy--it's going to be really hard to wait for the paperback for this one, but I think it will be very interesting to reread in a year or so and see what I missed on my first readthrough.

If the Channel Zero season "No End House" was your favorite, you NEED to read We Used to Live Here--both capture that consumptive liminal vibe!!

Ending Spoiler:
Sequel from Charlie's POV where she rescues Eve? Please?

I am so confused! I don't understand what I read or what happened. Maybe that is a good thing. I don't know.

Eve and Charlie, a young queer couple, are house flippers. They buy a big old house in the forest outside of the town of Yale. It had more issues than they knew so Eve is thinking they should just raze it and build from scratch or scratch the project. While Charlie is not home, a family comes knocking at the door saying that the dad used to live there. Eve lets them in so he can show is wife and three kids the house. Then things start going bonkers. The little daughter runs and hides in the basement, Eve does not like the basement. She sees a lot of things. Eve has a lot of fears. Is she crazy? Is she even Eve? I am not sure. When the daughter doesn't come out, the family ends up staying. They actually end up staying the night and weird things happen. So Eve believes. She begins to think they aren't who they say they are and are some kind of weird spirits.

All the while, we get alternating passages from psychiatric books and police tapes. Some other weird shit I didn't understand.

I have to say it kept me reading. I needed to understand but it didn't scare me, just confused me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria for a copy for review.

Now THIS is how you do a horror novel! This was so good. Kliewer gives us tons of genuinely creepy imagery that I won't forget any time soon and a story that, while it didn't wrap up in a nice, neat bow, totally worked.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher!
This book was so unbearably creepy, I had to stop reading once it got dark, because I knew I wouldn’t be sleeping if I didn’t. Absolutely horror at its finest!

If a man comes to your door in the evening (family in tow) and announces he once lived in your house and can he show the inside to his family, do you let them in?
    No! Who invites strangers in to walk around your home that sits in a remote place in the Oregon woods when you're home alone?
  Eve, partner to Charlie, did and then the weirdness starts. The youngest child disappears. The family says this is a game she likes to play but when minutes turn to hours. The search takes Eve to parts of the home she didn't know existed.......REALLY existed. Is this alll in her head?
     The family, now hungry, is invited to dinner by eager to please Eve, which then turns into a late affair and now it's too late and dark to drive. Now what does Eve do? You don't want to know.
    This horror story is full of paranormal activities, psychological issues and is frankly creepy.

Whoaaaa this book will really mess you up.
Do not read this at night and definitely not alone at home.
This was crazy and really makes you skeptical and question so many things.
I wanted the ending to be different and I wanted to see more of the questions that I had be more wrapped up but it was still super good. I cannot wait to see where Netflix picks this up and how they adapt it! Its gonna be amazing!

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this novel!

This book had me reading to all hours. It was suspenseful, eerie, weird, and thought provoking. Kliewer does a fantastic job of taking his main character and pushing her to the brink of insanity and taking the reader along for the ride. I loved the ending, it was perfect for the story line. Will be hand selling this!

This one was creepy as all get out and extremely anxiety inducing in the way a well written horror book should be. However, while the writing was great and I think there was a lot to explore, the book ended up falling short for me. There was so much that was unexplained or went nowhere. I'm fine with an ambiguous ending, but this just wasn't that; it was more just what the hell did I just read. If you're looking for a well written book that will surely frighten you, then this one fits the bill, but there are more unanswered questions than explanations.

This one didn't quite land for me. There's definitely some good stuff here but it's a bit messy (it's a debut so this is rather forgivable). I didn't much like our protagonist and I feel that comparing this book to Parasite is a real marketing misstep. This lacks the depth of societal commentary that is he major draw of Parasite. A bit too much falling action for me.

This book unfortunately didn’t work for me and left me with more questions than when I started it which is one of my pet peeves in thrillers. That being said I really cant wait to watch the movie with Blake Lively!

Spectacular reading! Well written with unforeseen twists!!
Will be following this author and future books releases!
Already recommended to my book friends club!!

I read this book in 24 hours, it was one of my favorite books of the year for sure. I loved how the multiple realities were revealed and when. Being kept in the dark until literally 95% into the book, I was ok with it. I have so many questions and felt like I was losing my mind while reading. I made the mistake of reading it at night and alone and I was so scared. I love that the reader and Eve are essentially left with the same questions and sense of hopelessness.

From the cover to the plot, this book was amazing. It was creepy, it was heartwarming, it was terrifying...I was hooked. While, I would never allow someone in I am glad Eve did! Otherwise there would be no story. The thing that appealed most is the book played on our own thoughts of what if...what if we let that stranger in? What if we answered the door...so many possibilities. I couldn't predict what was going to happen next and I was captivated.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

• psychological suspense + some horror
• atmospheric
• fun red herrings

I was so creeped out reading this. I did have some unanswered questions once I finished - my mind was reeling. This one is a debut, and I look forward to this author's future work.

🗣 Thank you to netgalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read and review this book via gifted eARC! All opinions are honest and my own.

Am I fully sure what I just read here? No. But did I enjoy it? Definitely yes. Wow, this one is so eerie, atmospheric and a mind-f. I fully see this one playing out on a movie screen and just blowing my mind. The details, the level of writing to make me feel like I'm there and scared out of my mind is masterful. Nightmare fuel, but like that's what I asked for haha. This is one I'll be thinking about and discussing for awhile because is anyone exactly sure what was happening? If you liked Imaginary Friend, The Whisper Man, The Troop or The September House, I think you'll also enjoy this one. It also reminds me of a couple horror movies but I don't want to drop which ones in case of spoilers.

What starts out as a classic stranger in the house tale turns completely on its head and is completely 4d and nothing like you’d expect. Eve and her partner Charlie buy an old house in the middle of the pnw and plan to flip. One night, while home by herself, Eve has a family of five come to her door. Being a people pleaser, when the man wants to tour his childhood home, Eve says yes. The descent into madness begins here. This book is so fast paced and keeps you thinking the entire ride. It was so hard to put down. Absolutely four stars and can’t wait to read what the author writes next.

I received a copy of We Used To Live Here by Marcus Kliewer from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. What a spine-chilling read! Surprisingly, it took me a while to finish because reading it at night was simply too eerie. I'm thrilled at the idea of seeing this book adapted into a film.

The premise of the book immediately drew me in: a young couple who flips houses and a strange family that visits their former home. But wow, the twists and turns kept me on edge. I would have rated this book higher if not for the numerous unanswered questions left in the story. It felt like the author should have tied up the loose ends more neatly—unless, of course, there's a sequel in the works.