I don’t like to leave two star reviews but this one was a challenging read to get through and finish. It started off really intriguing and I was anxious to see where the story would go but at the 30% mark it became hard to follow. I had to keep reminding myself who was who…
The plot seemed to get buried with political jargon and I was hoping the “horror” would eventually over shadow it, but no such luck, at least in my opinion!
There was some entertaining parts to this book, but the execution wasn’t all there.

Creative mix of family drama, tension, and horror that brings everything into a focus of reality. The leading family tensions and ultimate bonding for survival gives the unreal a face of reality and a sense of true family ties.

This story was told from the perspectives of three siblings - two brothers and a sister who is constantly trying to save them. I like explorations of sibling relationships and also the different kinds of relationship each has with their parents. I was able to suspend my belief and become immersed in the horror and mystery of this story - I believed these siblings loved and watched out for each other. Although the beginning of this book was slow in pace, it picked up about halfway through and barreled through to the end.

Thanks go to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Very very slow start. I almost DNFed it. I was interested due to the synopsis and description but it didn’t live up my expectations. Perhaps after a reread after some time.

Thanks so much NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the eARC.

This book was incredible! I literally spent a whole day off just reading because I couldn’t put it down! I loved the characters; Calla, Dre, and Jamie were the ultimate heroes and siblings. They made the storyline and I truly adored each one. Major kudos to the author for making Black lives centered. There need to be more books like this. The plot was wild and twisted and electrifying. I couldn’t have seen a single twist coming and that is my favorite kind of book. This one will not disappoint!

"Listen to Your Sister" is a horror novel from author Neena Viel that a tale between nightmares and reality, leaving readers questioning what they have read.

Twenty-five-year-old Calla Williams has struggled becoming the guardian of her younger brother Jamie. Although her brother Dre promised to help her raise Jamie, he is always off doing his own thing. Meanwhile, Calla is overwhelmed and tired of being the only one to make sacrifices to keep the family together, while Jamie is continually getting into mischief. Through it all, Calla continues to be haunted by nightmares of her brother dying, which she is powerless to stop. When Jamie's actions at a protest spiral out of control, the siblings find on the run, taking refuge in a creepy remote cabin straight out of a slasher flick. With their lives and reality hanging in the balance, they realize they should have heeded their sister's warnings about her nightmares.

I appreciated the creepy of the book and found the premise intriguing, especially the relationships between the siblings. However, a strong start, the story fell apart for me. It seemed disjointed and hard to follow at times, and I was put off by the inclusion of racial politics. I was hoping for horror with an interesting dynamic, but it felt more a vehicle for pushing a political agenda. Finishing this book was a struggle.

What a fantastic thriller! This was an amazing story, unlike anything I’ve read before. I really liked the family dynamics between the siblings and how different each one was. What a heartbreaking and haunting tale. The way the kids grew up, the racism, and hardships molded them into the strong individuals you saw at the end. Very well written and hard to put down. I’d highly recommend this to anyone. Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC for my honest feedback.

I'm going to try finishing this book as it has some good reviews. I just haven't found the interest to continue....

This book was fantastic and completely unexpected. I loved the use of horror as a literary device to illustrate generational trauma and racism. The language might be too much for readers in parts, so a trigger warning about the use of racial slurs is necessary.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Netgalley and Neena Viel for the ARC, and MacMillan Audio (#MacAudio2024) for the ALC!

“Hello there angel form my nightmare”…

Part horror, part family drama, this book was unique to say the least. I sympathized a lot with our FMC, Calla, who was exhausted raising her counter brother Jamie. Their other brother, Dre, was supposed to help but his way usually consists of just telling Calla to stop worrying. Both boys seem so lost it really hurt my heart. Throughout it all, reoccurring nightmares are used to illustrate what the siblings can’t say. What I was most impressed with was the author’s ability to weave in family bonds, childhood trauma and racism and show how it affected every aspect of these young people’s lives. A solid horror debut and I can’t wait to see what this author comes up with next!!

I received an ARC copy of this book and I was super excited to dig in! At first I was captivated. I loved the idea and the storyline. About 20% in I began wondering what I was reading and getting confused by what was real and what was imagined. I ended up DNF’ing just before 50%. It was too hard to follow and felt like the author was filling the story with descriptive words that didn’t really make sense.
Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me.

During the course of this novel, we switch between the viewpoints of siblings Calla, Jamie, and Dre. The author does a good job distinguishing between the siblings. They each notice each other's faults while being blind to their own shortcomings, which is all too human. A lot of horrifying things happen during the novel, but there's a lot of funny lines too. I liked that monsters turned out to be different versions of Calla. (This is revealed before the halfway point, so I don't think it qualifies as a spoiler.) Sometimes your worst enemy is your own anxiety. There were a couple parts where I wasn't exactly clear on what was happening, but this could have been my fault rather than the novel's. The relationship between the siblings feels authentic. They love each other, but they also drive each other crazy in the way only family can.

This was definitely an interesting read. Calla has custody of her brother Jamie who is 16 years old and a bit wild. Dre, their other brother said he would help Calla raise Jamie but that doesn't seem to be working out. When Jamie takes part in a protest the siblings go on the run and stay at cabin. Calla has a recurring nightmare that seems to be coming true.
This was a bit of an unhinged read, which isn't a bad thing. It has themes of childhood trauma, reluctant sibling guardianship, abandonment, parentification of a child, death of a parent, guilt, missed life opportunities, and strained family ties. I chuckled at some of the sibling rivalry because it reminded me a bit of my life. I did feel the end was faster paced than the beginning of the novel. I would still recommend this to horror readers who like a fever dream of a family story.

Troubled teenager? Messed up family dynamics? Sign me up.
Get onboard this supernatural thriller/roller coaster of fuckery with Dre, Jamie, and Calla. Have you ever met a character that you want to strangle but you love? That’s Jamie. He’s so incredibly unlovable that also he’s charming. I truly enjoyed every minute of this page turning thriller.
If you’re a fan of Jordan Peele, this is absolutely something to dive into. This could easily be one of his films. I can’t wait to read it over again and see what details I missed in my first read through.

[2.5 to 3 Stars] I really loved the concept of this book. Three siblings, their shared and individual traumas, and a haunted nightmare that consumes them all. The book is separated in to four parts with the first two being used as set-up and the latter two focusing on the horror action and actualization of character development, witch each chapter focusing on the one sibling's experience.

I found her writing to be enjoyable. Viel uses a lot of "big words," so you might need a dictionary handy. I, personally, don't mind learning new words and having to stop, though I know that it bothers some people. But I feel like those words also added a poetic feel to the writing. I haven't read it in a long time, but it kind of gave me the same vibe as Shelley's "Frankenstein," but in a modern tongue.

I am an older sister, so I fully stand behind Calla. I think the focus on her recurring nightmare and the stress that she experiences is a perfect reason for her to explode like she did, and that overwhelm is KEY for her response. You get to see a lot of build up and character explanation in the front, and I really enjoyed those first two parts. I found them entertaining and attention grabbing, and it kept me reading.

When I got to the second parts though, that when I got a little lost. For starters, and this is probably just a me-thing, but I felt like the description was a little misleading in that it kind of sounds like the main plot will revolve around this cabin, which is doesn't. But as I got further and further into the dream, the more confused I became. There were so many different personalities and I felt like they were hard to keep track of who was who. It was during these parts that you see major character development for all three siblings; it's nice and strong, and I love it.

Additionally, once we get into the main climax and conclusion, there was a lot of action and physical moving that I was confused about who was moving what, when, and where. The best ways to describe this feeling are 1) action movies where the screen changes multiple times in less than a second so that you cannot actually see what they are doing. or 2) a romance novel in which you are trying to visualize the positions described- there are plenty of jokes about this online.

As a debut author, I would love to other work from her because I really enjoyed her writing. This one just fell short for me. Although this book wasn't for me, thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

Favorite Lines:
"I hurt all the time. All the time. His bones ached everyday like they didn't fit right." pg 63
"She toasted the beginning of her new life." pg 170
Chapter 36 (all of it was funny), pg 291

4 stars

This was a fantastic novel. Strong writing and character & plot development.
Started out with a bang, it did lose me a bit toward the 2/3 mark but not so much that I wanted to quit reading. Just left me a little confused. I definitely want to read more by Neena Viel now.

This novel is a good blend of action packed horror with vivid descriptions and great character development for the individual characters. The story centers around Callie, the older sister who is trying to raise her youngest brother Jamie. The family drama drives the plot, with the middle brother Dre, at times helping Callie and other times he just seems to make things worse for them. The horror includes the nightmarish visons that Callie experiences and the mysterious demons intent on bloodshed that haunt the brothers.
I thought this book might have a sort of dark humor to it, as the publisher's blurb listed it as "laugh out loud funny", but I think it didn't hold true to this promise. The story line felt repetitive throughout the first half and I didn't feel drawn into the tale until late in the book. However, this is worth a read if you like lots of action in your horror.
Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

This is a terrifying novel about family bonds, trauma, and sacrifices to be mede to ensure the safety of loved ones. Told with a razor sharp sense of dark humor, this nightmarish story delivers the laughs and the horror.

Three siblings only have each other in this world. The eldest has sacrificed everything for the sake of the youngest, a sixteen year old who is street smart but rebellious to a fault. The middle brother has his own life issues to deal with so most of the responsibility falls to the older sister.

When those family bonds are stretched too thin and secrets are revealed, they are thrust into a literal nightmare where various versions of the sister are trying to kill them. Things are going to get bloody as their past traumas come to life in horrific ways.

The narrative is fast paced and deals with issues of being black while attempting to simply live a normal life. But with such disparate personalities as these three siblings, being "normal" takes on a whole new meaning. They love each other and they have a close bond through what they've suffered, yet tensions, arguments, accusations, and pride rear up and leak out.

If they're going to escape the nightmare world they find themselves in while being hunted by terrifying versions of the big sister, they'll have to rely on each other. But even that might not be enough.

I loved this book and I highly recommend it.

Calla is 25 and has guardianship of her younger brother, Jamie (with a little bit of help from their brother, Dre). Jamie does not make it easy though, and has a tendency to get into trouble. Calla just wants to protect her brothers- how come they can't see how much she has sacrificed for them??

I enjoyed this one! It definitely did not go in the direction I thought it would, and I think it's very unique. If you're looking for a creepy cabin in the woods story, this isn't it. That being said, I don't think its necessarily for everyone (but what book is?)

As I move from thrillers into lighter horror, this book seemed like the perfect choice to ease me in. The cover and description gave off strong ‘Cabin in the Woods’ vibes, but the cabin and the woods turned out to be more like background players in a much wilder story.⁠
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I really enjoyed the first half of the book. We get to know Calla as she takes custody of her rebellious younger brother, Jamie, who’s determined to get into trouble and challenge everything around him. With little help from their other brother, Dre, Calla is struggling to keep her job and haunted by nightmares of her brothers dying. Meanwhile, Jamie and Dre each find themselves caught in harrowing situations where the things from nightmares seem to come to life. This part of the story was incredibly compelling. You could almost feel the dark, sinister presence lurking just beneath the surface. The pacing was slower than expected, but it worked for me as the tension built and the Williams family’s troubles began to spiral.⁠
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When the family escapes to a creepy cabin, I thought, “Here’s where the real fun begins.” But honestly, the story became so chaotic that it lost some of its earlier grip. The ‘what’s happening’ of it all was unique and fascinating, but the shift in pacing felt jarring.⁠
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Overall, this was a solid debut filled with horror and supernatural elements. While some parts could’ve been more polished, I’m definitely excited to see how the author continues to grow and what they do next.