This story starts with Sol, a depressed and anxious Black Latina who drinks too much, and her Korean wife, Alice, moving into the exclusive neighborhood of Maneless Grove. It’s very difficult to get a home there, but Alice’s friend Nadine, the president of the HOA, pulled some strings to get them in.

Being two queer women of color in an interracial relationship, they are worried about living in this mostly-white, blue-blooded area, and rightfully so. Almost immediately, neighbors are not only all up in their business, but the micro-aggressions are running rampant. There is also the persistence of the HOA, begging the wives to join (and lose all freedom over their property, including the right to privacy).

Then things become a bit more sinister. Creepy kids roam the streets, the identical trees in everyone’s yards start leaving roots and twigs everywhere (trust me, it’s not as cheesy as it sounds), Sol now has horrible seasonal allergies and Alice gets debilitating headaches, then finally, Sol starts seeing strange figures in the house, along with hearing voices - lots of voices.

This is listed as the author’s first adult psychological thriller, and it is, but there is also a large horror component to this book. Small parts of this reminded me of some great horror books, like Bentley Little’s “The Association” and Stephen King’s “Christine”. The synopsis tells us this is similar to the social horror of Jordan Peele, and while that’s a bold statement to make, it’s also true. This was unique and super creepy; it’s not a short book but I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it in one sitting. I definitely recommend this to both thriller and horror fans! 4.5 stars.

(Thank you to William Morrow, Vincent Tirado and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on September 3, 2024.)

This book kept my attention the whole time. I love books like this with the slightly stepford wives feel. I was suspicious of everyone and wanted to know what was the endgame by the end of the first chapter. I can’t wait for this book to come out I’m going to hype it everywhere .

Huh. I definitely didn't dislike this book but I'm also not sure what the heck I just read? It's very creepy, very psychological horror-y, kind of The Stepford Wives meets Midsommar. Vincent Tirado does an excellent job of building suspense and a sense of unease and dread, and you're left wondering where the story is headed right up until the very end.

And speaking of the end, let's just get this part of my review out of the way now: I have to admit that the end is the part of the book that I enjoyed least. I spent the entire novel expecting a massive showdown between Sol and the Big Bad, but it really just kind of fizzles out at the end. I can't say that there isn't a battle of sorts, but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting. Surprise is usually a good thing in a horror novel, but this one somehow manages to skip right over the climax of the story and goes straight to the epilogue? I don't know how to describe it without spoiling things, but be prepared for a buildup of suspense that just … abruptly ends.

But ending aside, this book is definitely creepy. Veronica is the thing of nightmares. Really, all of the children are straight out of a M. Night Shyamalan film. And now that I think about it, “straight out of a M. Night Shyamalan film” is probably a good way to describe this entire novel. It's unsettling and you know that things are just … wrong, but there's no outright terror involved. Even the twist at the end fits. If Shyamalan ever makes a film version of this book, you heard it here first. (And now I'm totally envisioning Shyamalan's inevitable cameo as the paramedic who threatens to have Sol arrested.)

There's a decent helping of social commentary in this book, particularly where racism and homophobia are concerned. It did feel a little heavy-handed at times, but ultimately I think it really helps to explain aspects of Sol's character and her way of interacting with the world. If you're sensitive to such things, however, be forewarned.

My overall rating: 3.75 stars, rounded up. This wasn't a perfect read, but it certainly kept me uneasy and guessing where things were headed. If you like suburban horror (and/or hate your HOA), definitely consider giving this one a read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review. Its expected publication date is September 3, 2024.

This was a super unsettling premise, pairing elements of the stepford wives with get out. I loved that this was a queer twist on these types of tropes, but still addressed other societal issues as well!

A queer reimagining of "The Stepford Wives." This book is a fun horror psychological thriller. It starts slow but quickly picks up as we get to know the neighborhood. I loved the commentary on academic spaces, the nuclear family, race, etc. This will be a go-to recommendation for thrillers from now on.

a bit slow to get into but i do feel like this was necessary so that we were introduced to the characters and environment, i don’t usually read this genre but was intrigued and pleasantly surprised, definitely was disturbed/ grossed out at some parts, ending was kind of confusing, still left me with a few questions but overall a fun and unique book

thank you to netgalley for the opportunity to read the eARC.
**4.5 stars on storygraph**

i just knew from the synopsis that i was going to love this book and i did. i was a little worried about the suburban aspect, but it actually blended well with the storyline. it really benefited the horror aspect and it made the tone seem uneasy which i enjoyed.

there were a few comedic moments which i liked and didn’t expect from a horror book. it was funny at times and it didn’t take away from the uneasiness of the book.

i found sol really relatable in terms of how other people see her and her habit to really focus on something for an extended amount of time.

as for alice, there were times where i was questioning whether she even cared for her wife and her worries, but i realized what the issue was and began to enjoy her more. in the end, i really liked alice.

though i did really enjoy this read and it was very close to five stars, the ending had me a little confused. i think it could’ve been explained a little better with an extra chapter before the final chapter to really tie everything up and provide more information.

This was a unique concept and enjoyed the idea of suburban horror genre. The overall story was everything that I was looking for in the description. It had that psychological element that I wanted and enjoyed the way it showed the terror of this neighborhood. I enjoyed the way the characters were written and am excited for more from Vincent Tirado.

The title and cover kind of threw me off, I didn’t have high expectations for this but I was interested because of the summary/pitch. There are a lot of characters. I think the overall moral of the story kept me going, I liked the strictly horror plot.

So, I’m not going to lie – it was the title and cover that got me first. Next was the description of The Other Black Girl meets Midsommar. And finally? Gated Community Horror! I love that stuff.

And I loved this book!

Sol is so prickly and uncomfortable and awkward and I loved reading her. And while Alice was sometimes a little frustrating, I still liked her and wanted the best for her.

The reason behind our Horrible HOA was clever and creepy.

Readers should note that while racism and homophobia do play a part in the story, they aren’t the point of the plot. This is lovely genre horror that is not about Black or Gay pain. It’s just about horror!

I enjoyed every page of this one and would love to read the author again in the future!

• ARC via Publisher

Sol and Alice are a queer couple who move into a beautiful gated community. Everything seems fine…for the first day. And then things start to feel a little off. Sol starts to hear voices and see unnatural things. The residents are more than a little strange and seem to be moving almost in sync with each other.

The longer they stay in the community, the more freaked out Sol becomes, while Alice seems to become more entrenched.

The community gets increasingly annoyed with Sol’s nonconformity…and the community always gets what it wants.


This is good, creepy fun. It’s a bit Stepford Wives meets Get Out. There’s a lot of racism, sexism and homophobia here, and it upsets me that people go through stuff like this all the time, even today. I enjoyed the book, but I do think the ending needs some polishing…it wrapped up a bit quickly and just didn’t seem realistic. It might just be me, but I was wanting more explanation. Your mileage may vary. All in all, though, I think Tirado is a talented author and one to watch.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC. All opinions are mine.

4 stars

I loved this book. I loved how dark and creepy it was. It’s a bit of a genre bender and it is so wonderfully written.
The only downfall is that there were a lot of characters and some just didn’t really need to be included. It can become hard to remember who is who when there is this many.

ARC for review. To be published September 3, 2024.

Sol Reyes has had a very bad year. First, several workplace incidents at her university lab, the a plagiarism allegation. She’s put on probation at her employer, Yale. Her father is a homophobe and she’s drinking too much. However, her wife, Alice Song, thinks that things will get better if they move into the gated community of Maneless Grove.

Once they move in Sol thinks it’s a little too friendly. The Homeowners Association is very pushy, their contract is incredibly strict and Sol notices a lot of microaggressions from the neighbors. Alice doesn’t seem to notice these things.

Things keep getting stranger and Alice continues to dismiss Sol’s fears. Then Sol finds a journal from a former resident who went missing a few years before and she starts to learn some truths about the neighborhood.

This was not a bad book by any stretch, but I couldn’t help but compare it to Nicola Yoon’s ONE OF OUR KIND which will be out in June, as both deal with Black people moving into sinister housing developments. And while I LOVE that as a setup, here there were some things that didn’t seem to square up with the narrative, and there were so many characters introduce I sometimes forgot who was who when they came up again. So, I liked it, and I kept turning the pages, liked that both people in the couple were non-white and that that fact causes some discord, at times, in the story, but I wanted to like it even more.