This one…I don’t know. It was like a blend of horror and the paranormal, but... was it, really? The cover suggested a cozy domestic vibe, and it was NOT that.

Ultimately, it just wasn’t my cup of tea, and somewhere around the halfway mark, I had to set it down for good.

What an absolute mindfvck!

So good!!!

I didn't know if I was up or down, who was real and who wasn't or what was going on half the time...BUT...I loved every minute of this book.

The premise is so creepy and the delivery?Chefs kiss. Letting strangers into your home is bad enough, but then they won't leave? And worse yet, now really weird things are happening, and you find yourself questioning your own sanity?!


This is also fantastic as an audiobook if you enjoy listening.

Genre: Horror

Format: Audio/E-book

4.5🌟 - I really liked it!

Talk about a spooky read!! This was so atmospheric and fantastic on audio! The suspense that built throughout the story was so good, and it had me guessing the whole time! It had the right amount of plot and character development to make it a really memorable read! I can’t wait to see this one adapted soon!

I loved this book. Amazing and will read anything from this author.

We follow Charlie and Eve who just bought a house in the far woods. Then comes along the family that used to live there and they ask to just look around because they want to see what the house looks like now.

This was spooky, creepy and just overall fall Halloween vibes! I loved the twists and turns and i just couldnt put this down. I loved the spooky creepy aspect and to this day i hate basements.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
This was a rather creepy one. Though I didn’t love the supernatural elements towards the end. The first half however I really enjoyed. A new home with a bizarre family that just knocks on the door and makes themselves at home. To me that is something that creeps me out. I liked the remote setting. Characters were a bit bizarre.
Decent book but I would have preferred the end was a bit different.

I ended up listening to the audiobook version of We Used to Live Here, and I am so glad I did. Talk about a creepy, spooky book. I think the narrator did a wonderful job expressing the true confusion and terror Eve must have been feeling during this story. This is a story that lives with you for a long time after you read it, and makes you question things you never thought to question before.

Thank you @atriabooks for my complimentary copy. My thoughts are my own.

BRIEF SYNOPSIS: A young couple buys an old house and sets out to renovate it. One night a family knocks at their door while Eve is home alone. The father tells Eve that he grew up in the house and he would love to show it to his children. Eve reluctantly agrees, but then one thing after another happens, causing the family to stay overnight. But soon Eve realizes that the family WILL NOT leave!

I am only an occasional horror reader, so maybe this one just wasn’t for me. The story definitely has all the creepy elements: an old haunted house, an isolating snowstorm, unknown visitors, strange warnings, mysterious neighbors, and doppelgängers…definitely not my usual read! However, in my opinion, the story moves kind of slow. The tension builds, and then it drops. I kept losing interest and had to go back and re-read. I could feel Eve’s frustration and eventual fear, but ultimately, I was left with a lot of unanswered questions at the end.

I simply can not shut up about this book. I have spent days annotating, analyzing, dissecting, and just processing this novel. There are so many little hidden clues and discoveries to be made. Get the physical copy of this book if you can find it because you will want to highlight, underline, tab it like crazy.

I would not recommend reading this in the dark before bed. I feel so desensitized to horror sometimes because I consume so much of it but this book genuinely scared me. To the point if I woke up in the middle of the night, I immediately thought about it.

Like, this is a debut novel? This is the kind of story that I finish and wish I had been the one to think of it. This was such a fun and horrifying ride. I still have so many questions and love discussing theories. I would love to see this book get a sequel and I'm so ready to see this as a movie.

4 .5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ .5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC! Eve and Charlie just purchased their home and are very happy with their purchase. One day, a man named Thomas and his family come to their home. Thomas tells Eve that this is his childhood home and he wants to know if he could come inside and show his wife and children where he grew up. Eve agreed, even though she felt uncomfortable doing so, and this is where her trouble started.

Weird things started happening that she couldn’t explain. As she tries to work through what is going on, she starts to wonder what is real and what isn’t.

This story has a lot of creepiness going on but I enjoyed all of it. This story took me on a roller coaster until the last page! Definitely recommend!

What is actually happening? That was my thought throughout the whole book, "We Used to Live Here". Full of twists and turns that kept me on my toes. But really left me feeling a bit too much in the dark.

The story doesn't offer much in the way of explanations, though we do get a hint of the truth right at the very end—without anything being explicitly spelled out. Without giving too much away - although I'm not sure I could - I'm still not entirely sure what exactly was going on, and while I could piece together some of it, the whole thing felt a bit too abstract for me. That said, it definitely had a creepy vibe and was entertaining overall!

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book! It was creepy and engaging from start to finish. I felt the story was very original and it kept me guessing. I highly recommend!!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer.

From the very first page, this book had my blood pumping. The idea of guests showing up that just always have their sneaky way of staying is my absolute WORST NIGHTMARE.

Charlie and Eve are a young lesbian couple who have just purchased a house that they are excited to fix up. But a knock on the door changes everything for them. A young family stands on the doorstep, the father of the family once lived there, and can they please tour the house since they are in the area? As soon as Eve lets them in, strange things start to happen, like the youngest child getting lost in the house, and refusing to come out of hiding. The longer the family stays, the weirder everything seems, and now the weather is becoming treacherous...

This book is the exact fever dream that I honestly wasn't expecting, but definitely enjoyed. The story started tipping ever so slowly, and then before you know it, the entire thing has been tipped on it's head. It did lose me a few times, but I was able to pick back up pretty easily. The ending though had me absolutely rocked.

TRULY CREEPY!! finally a book to make me feel freaked the f out! I absolutely loved everything about this book, all I can say no is Netflix better do this book justice and I can’t wait to see what comes next..

Super creepy read loved this 4.5 star read. Very atmospheric and kept me captivated through out. Loved all the details including the morris code

This was a very atmospheric read! I don’t read horror often, read: like ever, because I get spooked and this book did just that! Read if you like haunted houses, paranormal stories, and okay with lingering questions! Don’t read before bed!! 4.25/5 stars

Charlie and Eve, a young queer couple who flip houses, are thrilled with their latest bargain in a charming neighborhood. But their excitement turns to dread when a man and his family show up, claiming to have lived there before and asking to look around. Despite her reservations, Eve lets them in.

Soon after, strange and unsettling events begin: the family’s youngest child goes missing, a ghostly presence appears in the basement, and the family seems unwilling to leave. As Charlie mysteriously disappears, Eve’s grip on reality starts to falter. She’s left wondering if the house and its visitors are truly sinister—or if it’s all in her head.

Marcus Kliewer's debut work terrifies and offers moments of true horror and atmosphere. However, the disjointed story plus the many loose ends that are left once the book is over was pretty frustrating. I don't need everything neatly wrapped up, but it's good to have the major storylines have some explanation by the end.

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?