4.5 stars!!!

This book really reminded me of the parts of House of Leaves that I loved! I felt unsettled through multiple points of this novel and I continued to think about it when I wasn't actively reading, and that's saying a lot for me, considering my track record for this year. Chuck Wendig's writing is super accessable and I absolutely fly through his books once they have their hooks in me! While this didn't give me the 5 star feeling, my complaints are practically non-exsistant. Just that I feel like they glossed over some things that really should've been actually talked about, (looking at you Owen....) but it always made sense in context of what was going on in the plot. I do really love that the synopsis of this is super vague, I didn't know what to expect from the horror and I was really pleasantly surprised! Wendig's horror simply is for me.

First I would like to thank NetGalley and and Random House Worlds for the ARC of this novel.

I went into this book almost completely blind. I knew nothing about the author or the genre and thought it was going to lead my fantasy then horror but I was pleasantly surprised by this book.

It was dark, emotional, haunting and gruesome. I enjoyed it a lot more than I was expecting and I am looking forward to reading other books by this author.

I will say it was a little slow at times but overall I enjoyed it.

4/5 stars

I'm still trying to gather my thoughts on what I just read...
It's been a long time since I read a horror book with such distressingly descriptive, gross language. It made my skin crawl in the good way. I was nervous going in because this story, I assumed, was paying homage to one of the best r/nosleep stories ever written and I didn't want it to...ruin in? I guess??
This story ended up being less about the staircases in the woods and more about what's on the top of them which is something that the original nosleep didn't cover as much. That being said, I would have liked it more if the staircase was more of the focus to the story throughout rather than just bits and pieces at the beginning and end.

If you're hating everybody for the first 30%, just push through. They get somewhat better.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book!

I've not read many horror books so i didn't know what to expect going into this but I really enjoyed it. It was very dark and gruesome and haunting at times but also had a huge focus on friendship which I liked a lot.

The concept behind the book and the way the house was explored was really interesting and kept me reading. I also really enjoyed the writing style and how fleshed out the characters were. I feel like it made everything even more intense.

I went into this book almost completely blind. I knew what the title was and I had a general sense of the premise, but oh boy, I wasn't quite prepared for this book. At its heart (ha ha - those who have finished will know), it's a story about people's private pain. A group of friends find a staircase in the woods. One goes up the stairs and vanishes. Years later, they come together and head back up the staircase in an attempt to recover him.

I said this about Black River Orchard, and I'll say it about this one too: it is my personal opinion that Wendig is Stephen King's spiritual successor. There are tropes in this that harken back to some of King's greatest works, but it is my personal opinion that in some ways, Wendig surpasses him. For example, Wendig is a deft touch at his characters. While I may not like them, I completely sympathize with them and their plight, and more importantly, I understand them. I never find myself annoyed with the choices they make - and anyone who has consumed enough horror media will know that is high praise indeed.

My one slight complaint with this book was that it took a long time to get to the action, but in hindsight, I don't know that the rest of the book would have had the impact it did without that slow, steady introduction to our cast. Similarly, I felt that the ending was a little abrupt, but in all honesty, horror endings are often nebulous and polarizing, so this isn't an uncommon opinion. Better too short than dragging, especially since the pace picked up towards the end.

All in all, this was only my second Wendig book, but it will most likely not be my last. I think he is a master at characterization, and also at taking seemingly mundane things and twisting them, but this one wasn't a solid 5/5 for me. 4.5/5 for sure.

This was interesting although a little out there. This story follows five friends into an ever-changing house that shows them worst moments in their lives. They have to learn to deal with their trauma while trying to escape the house.

I rarely seek out multiple forums on which to post reviews, but I enjoyed Mr. Wendig's latest offering so much that I felt like shouting my elation. I devoured The Staircase in the Woods. And like excellent horror literature should, it offers more than just a fine scare that stays with readers long after the last page. His polished use of organic prose to imitate the mood and his diverse characters' truly poignant interior monologues make for a fascinating, thoughtful read start to finish. If you read one horror/thriller this season, make it The Staircase in the Woods. I think it's Mr. Wendig's best one yet. I finished in two sittings as I couldn't stand to put it down. But as I also couldn't stop thinking about it in the days that followed, I just started reading it a second time so that I can savor and further contemplate this truly brilliant, thematically layered writing

Special thank you to #NetGalley and Del Rey for their eARC.

Solid novel and effort by Wendig about a group of friends confronting a random (maybe not) staircase in the woods. A virtually identical staircase changed their lives in their youth, and with one of their mates afflicted with cancer, they invoke their bond to solve the mystery of these forested oddities and hopefully of also what happened way back when.

Although the title features its kooky phenomenon, the real stars of the novel are The Covenant themselves, our quartet of heroes Owen, Lore, Nick & Hamish. Like a role playing team, be it table top, video games, etc. they each come with their own set of personalities, strength, weaknesses, etc. but a key part of the experience when you start to tire of their attitudes, vulgarities and constant in-clashing, is that our band of heroes also come with their own traumas and the ballet Wendig displays in keeping in tune with our characters and understanding them is a feat expertly on display as you might feel the need to strangle one or two of them at different points throughout the novel.

And that leads up back to our staircase itself. No spoilers here in this review, as the book has a deep and fascinating origin story for our staircase (fully explained too!), but let’s just say here and now that this is a HORROR NOVEL. Whatever cosmic fuzzies one may get about the staircase are thrown out the window the moment The Covenant confront it, and for the reader? The name Marshie will help you decide whether you’re all in or not.

But in the end THE STAIRCASE IN THE WOODS is an entertaining and rewarding horror novel about a group of friends confronting their traumas. The Covenant’s grating behaviours and in-fighting will open up when you understand them more and Wendig gets two thumbs up for weaving a deep and intriguing tale as you flip the pages madly wondering who survives.

I love a good Chuck Wendig book and this one was really good. The premise itself is chillingly simple: strange, often impossible staircases appear in the wilderness, leading to... nowhere. Or, perhaps, somewhere far worse. Loved the story.

Wow. Chuck wendig can’t do any wrong. This story will stick with me. I don’t want to say anything more about it because it feel going in blind is so much better. When you think you know what’s going on, you don’t. So good.

This was my first Chuck Wendig book, but will definitely not be my last. This gripped me very early on and I simply could not put it down. The Staircase in the Woods hit me in a very psychological way, while still including light body horror to turn your stomach. Throughout the novel I couldn't stop thinking about what a great film this would make. My only point of contention is that I found the characters a little hard to connect with and root for during their escapades. The ending was a little convoluted and flat for how great the climax was, but overall this was a fantastic book.

Excellent book by Wendig. I am more impressed with each book of his I read. The set up of relationships is so very real. The undulating house is truly horrific.
My only complaint is the ending felt rushed. Being no stranger to writing a doorstop, I feel he could have expanded just a little.
The afterword is inspiring.

Head spinning fun! This book was disorienting and claustrophobic, and I was pleased by the genuine scary moments and interesting gore. I was so invested in this group of friends and found myself wanting more and more of their stories and tragic history. Through the house and multiple POVs Chuck Wendig slowly peels back the layers of the story in a nonlinear yet clear way that makes you wonder "What's next?" Please get your hands on this ASAP!

I thought I had read horror before this book. I was wrong. This is a book I had to read around people with the lights on. Four friends are called together 20 years after the loss of a 5th friend one night. During a fateful camping trip when they were teens, they found a lone staircase in the middle of the woods. One of them climbs the staircase and disappears, never to return. Now, as adults, the group finds itself back in the woods facing the same scenario. Their deepest fears come to life. Each must face their regrets and traumas from their own pasts. This book is about facing those fears, making tough choices, finding out who they are and want to be, and solidifying what friendship means to them. There is a great haunted house, surprises around every corner, and a helpless feeling that pulls you in and has you really feeling for these characters. The book gets super dark in places, so please read content warnings. Overall, I enjoyed this and would recommend it to lovers of the genre.

What would you do if you found a strange staircase to nowhere in the middle of the woods? It’s been 20 years since Matty climbed the stairs and was never seen or heard from again. His friends Lore, Hamish, Owen, and Nick have drifted apart over the years. When Nick invokes The Covenant, the protection pact they swore to, the others find themselves in a different set of woods in the shadow of a different staircase. This is their only chance to find Matty and offer the protection they should have all those years ago.

This was such a creepy book. I’m not going to lie, it did take me awhile to get invested in the story. Once the friends climb that second staircase it’s immediately clear they’ve walked into a house full of nightmares. Every room they enter is different and stirs up horrors and memories they would like to otherwise forget. The imagery is truly brutal at times and yet Wendig manages to keep his writing beautiful while still writing about such atrocious things. The story is told from different POVs and I think that worked really well here. As the friends are split up as they navigate the rooms, we learn about their pasts and the real world horrors they’ve experienced in their lives. It really helped me feel connected to them all, especially Owen and Lore. The ending was not what I was expecting. This is my first book by this author and I look forward to reading more from him in the future.

Thank you to Del Rey and NetGalley for a review copy.

What would you do, if you're walking through the woods and you come upon a staircase? Just a random staircase. No house, no floor, no walls, nothing else. Just a staircase. Do you walk up? Do you ease around it, inspect it, gaze up its length, and wonder? Where did it come from? How did it get here? Do you wonder...

Where
does
it go?

Five high school friends. Bound by an oath, The Covenant, to be there for each other, no matter what. They've grown up together, gone through everything together, and they are solid. One night on a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find a mysterious staircase that seems to go nowhere. One of the friends walks up those mysterious stairs, begs, cajoles, and finally dares the others to join him, but eventually finishes the climb on his own. At the top, he disappears. And soon, so does the staircase, leaving nothing behind but dark forest and deeply scared friends.

Twenty years later, one of the friends finds another staircase. He brings the group back together. Will they go find the lost friend? What will they find, up the top of those stairs?

I can't remember the last time a book's ending gave me literal chills. On my body. I'm not totally sure if one ever has but The Staircase in the Woods did. Holy cow. I've been having a rough reading year. It's been hard to concentrate, while at times it feels like the world is trying to burn down around me. The Staircase in the Woods grabbed me like no other book has so far this year. Maybe even longer than that. I couldn't put it down! I came to care about each character, no matter how deeply flawed they were. And that ending. OMG the ending. I love a great ambiguous ending and this may be my most favorite one ever. 5/5

Thank you to @netgalley and @delreybooks for the digital copy of this novel.

I picked this book up because the premise really grabbed me—I'm a big fan of thrillers and suspense, and I was hoping for something gripping and mysterious (but not too heavy on the horror). Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me.

To be fair, I can totally see why other readers might enjoy it. The backstories of the characters are pretty layered, and the dynamics between the group of friends are full of tension and emotional weight. There's a lot of trauma unpacked through dialogue and flashbacks, which gives the story some depth. But I had a hard time connecting with the characters or their world. The sex and the drugs (I absolutely hate the use of drugs in books) - none of it really resonated with me. I also tend to zone out when books start leaning into politics or conspiracy theories, and this had touches of that too, which didn’t help.

That said, if you’re into horror, this book absolutely delivers. The scary scenes are intense—gruesome, vivid, and genuinely terrifying. The story keeps the tension high almost the entire time, and the author does a great job building atmosphere and dread. So even though it wasn’t quite my taste, I think horror fans who don’t mind some extra layers (and who are cool with some darker themes) might find a lot to like here.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Worlds for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Five high school friends are bonded by an oath to protect one another no matter what. Then, on a camping trip in the middle of the forest, they find something extraordinary: a mysterious staircase to nowhere. One friend walks up—and never comes back down. Then the staircase disappears.
Twenty years later, the staircase has reappeared. Now the group returns to find the lost boy—and what lies beyond the staircase in the woods...

I enjoyed Wendig's The Book of Accidents so I was excited to pick up his latest novel, The Staircase in the Woods: the premise sounds right up my alley, as I love stories where one character is lost or missing and the others need to find out what happened to them. Unfortunately I struggled a bit with this one: the biggest problem for me is that I really didn't like any of the characters, and they didn't seem to like each other either. How am I supposed to believe that they are friends and care for one another? It seems they never LIKED each other, even when they were teenagers.
They are not badly written, don't get me wrong, everyone has a certain trauma they are facing and that was interesting, but I was not able to connect with any of them, I just found them annoying.

What I liked:
- the horror elements, very well written
- the concept of staircases and houses in the woods
- it's a fast read even though it's not a short book
- Matty aka the lost boy

What I did not like:
- the four main characters
- some parts are repetitive
- covid being mentioned
- any kind of representation seems for show and not natural imho

That being said, the book is not bad, but not great either. Recommended if you're fascinated by staircases and haunted houses, and loved Stephen King's IT and Ronald Malfi's Black Mouth.

* I'd like to thank Chuck Wendig, Random House Worlds and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#TheStaircaseintheWoods #NetGalley

Five high school friends, bonded by the Covenant to protect each other no matter what, go on a camping trip in the woods. While in the woods, they find a mysterious stairs that seems to go nowhere. One of the friends walks up the staircase but doesn't come back and then the staircase disappears. Twenty years later, the staircase appears again and the remaining four friends, grown distant with time and circumstances, come back together to see what is past the staircase and to find the lost friend.

The premise sounds very interesting but I struggled with the execution. My biggest struggle was not connecting with any of the characters and not believing that these five were really even friends in the first place. In the high school descriptions, they seemed to be a group of kids that were loosely held together because they didn't fit anywhere else. I had a hard time believing that these kids would do anything for the other ones.

The characters themselves were fairly well written, showing various levels of trauma from the disappearance of their friend and rough childhoods. However, I had a difficult time connecting with them as they were all unlikable.

The story moves fairly quickly although there are flashbacks that interrupt the flow from time to time. There is an overwhelming amount of horrific scenes that play out so there are trigger warnings galore for this book. If you like disturbing horror scenes, there are plenty here. While I didn't really care much for the characters, I was interested in the mystery of the staircase and the missing child so it kept my interest.

This was weirdly political?? The political conversations felt out of place and not warranted. The whole vibe was weird.

Juvenile writing; felt like YA trying to venture out. The whole thing got very repetitive. Unsure if it’s supposed to be a thriller - it wasn’t thrilling. It tried too hard on the gore aspect of it. Anytime there was a swear it felt like a kid discovering bad words for the first time. I was annoyed by how often the word “crescent” was used to describe the guy biting his damn nails.

Story wise it was giving IT. Something happened as minors now it’s ages later and we gotta get the band back together to relive it. Discoveries about each other’s pasts are made. The history of the staircase/house was odd. I don’t know it just didn’t really make much sense I guess. The ending was super anticlimactic and the 6 month time jump left it open ended. It just felt incomplete.