I thought this was a mildly spooky, fast paced beach read. Spooky-lite if you will. The story did interest me, and I flew through it pretty quick, but I feel like there were a few loose ends I would have liked tied up a little neater and wanted to go a but deeper with some of the characters and themes.

The beginning of this book hold me in with it, Gothic and mysterious vibes. But after the 20% mark, this felt like a totally different book from the beginning and I honestly felt like I was reading three different kind of books. That was so disjointed and honestly made no sense. I will say I did like.” ghost” aspect in the beginning when it was being introduced, but then that even got weird and pointless. The ending made me roll my eyes so many times and I honestly was just so disappointed.. I really wanted to love this book by the synopsis. It sounded very good, but it wasn’t executed well unfortunately. The two main characters fell for each other way too fast and I just never connected with anyone in this book and the plot just was way too messy and not in a good way.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC, and Simon & Schuster for the physical early copy in exchange for an honest review!

Not your average ghost story, that's for certain. Cassie has run from her life in NYC, back to her small home town in Jersey, and fallen back in love with her childhood best friend. She is feeling like slipping into the role Beth, his late wife, once occupied will never work. Then, she starts to recieve help she never expected. The story feels very gothic, in the Rebecca or Jane Eyre way - the new wife obsessed with the late, perhaps a madwoman in the attic. This woman just happens to be trapped in her brain. Cassie's restlessness is visceral throughout the entirety of the story - Cullen crafted her character beautifully. From the rawness of her OCD to the ache she feels when slipping into this life, feeling like it's a too tight pair of shoes.

I would say this is less horror and more literary fiction with gothic, horror undertones, but that's not me complaining. I love a ghost story in any format I can get it. And what makes it all the better? It's gay.

What an absolute banger of a book where (surprise, surprise) THE MAN IS THE PROBLEM.

Just kidding, all of these characters are problematic.

I loved the undercurrent theme of being performative in relationships in relation to trad-Christian living while suffering in silence. This really did a number on my former Catholic self.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely. But go in with an open mind as I don’t think the synopsis really captures what actually happens in House of Beth.

I see what the author was trying to do and the OCD representation was fantastic. I don't agree this should be classified as horror, its literary fiction with some dark elements. While I love weird lit reads, this just didn't get weird enough for me. It's like it wanted to go there but it would pull back. The way Cassie and Eli rekindled their relationship felt a bit unbelievable and it never fully fleshed out enough for me to care about it. When the twists and reveals start to happen, some were a bit of a whiplash as it just comes out of nowhere and I felt if there had been more buildup, I could have enjoyed this more. One of my favorite parts was the perspective of Beth and the ending was beautifully done. Overall I had a good time and would read more from the author in the future.

Thank you the Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC of House of Beth.

Kerry Cullen’s writing is beautifully haunting throughout House of Beth. The narrative style, precise and cutting, compels us to follow Cassie through her unreliable point of view filled with intrusive thoughts full of harm and shattered pieces of herself. She’s a massive jumble of nerve-endings spilling out in her mind as she attempts to mold herself into a new life.

Cassie is never really honest with anyone including herself, yet she begins to open up when Beth enters the picture. The question that I had while reading this though: Is Beth real? Or is she a product of Cassie’s mind? The case can be made for either scenario, of course, and perhaps that’s the point. It could go either way. We could believe everything that Cassie says and feels, or we could start to wonder about everything that Cassie says and feels. Yes, Beth appears as a narrator in the book; however, her narration is also unreliable.

The narratives are oftentimes based on memory, and memory in and of itself is unreliable. Does it change things that someone else is in Cassie’s mind, picking through her memories? I don’t know. Maybe. But memories are what we make of them most of the time. And with Cassie’s mind the way it is, well, I would venture to guess that the way she sees things, the way she remembers things isn’t going to be the full picture. And the same thing can be applied to Beth because Beth is a memory, too. That’s what she is now anyway.

House of Beth is the type of book that I’ll sit with for a long time. After reading it, the title of the book takes on a new meaning, which kind of hit me out of nowhere when I was doing something mundane. Yeah, this book is going to be with me for a while.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of House of Beth.

I liked the premise and the cover. I was hoping for a dark, suspenseful tale but its neither; its emotional and reflective.

The biggest problem is Cassie. She's boring, a trope of a trope; a humdrum character with no interesting qualities and a dull job that returns to her hometown because she has nowhere else to go.

The breakup with her girlfriend isn't heart-wrenching; its just sad.

Cassie is indifferent and depressed, not surprisingly since she deals with OCD and violent thoughts, a nod to the author's personal struggles.

Not surprisingly, Eli is a sleaze and the only interesting character is Beth.

I found her character development stronger than Cassie, possibly because her personality is stronger and assured.

Naturally, when I see novels with these types of premises, my first thought is always something scary and dark, but this was more reflective and emotional as Beth and Cassie share both unhappy and happy memories and learn from each other a bit.

This wasn't bad, just not what I expected.

4 stars — the House of Beth isn’t just a title, it’s a whole vibe

Okay but seriously… after finishing this book, the title hits differently.
I devoured this in one sitting—three hours, and I was glued to my Kindle the whole time.
Kerry Cullen’s writing is so haunting and lyrical, I found myself highlighting quote after quote.
It’s got that eerie, speculative edge I love, but with an emotional core that lingers.

Cassie’s journey is raw, messy, and beautifully human.
She’s trying to start over, but Beth’s presence? It’s everywhere.
The house feels alive, like it’s keeping secrets, and I could feel that weight in every scene.

I haven’t read a book that blends grief, queerness, mental health, and domestic unease like this in a long time.

The pacing slowed a bit in the middle, which is why it’s a solid 4 stars instead of 5—but the payoff? Worth it.

This book, is not what I expected at all and I love that about it.

Cassie, suffering from severe OCD where her brain intrusive thoughts are horrific and gore ridden, breaks up with her girlfriend, quits her job, and returns to her hometown. There she reconnects with her childhood friend, Eli, who is a widow, and she ends up marrying him. She lives in the home where his late wife, Beth, grew up, however her presence seems to still be around.

This book really explores mental health, especially with Cassie. The way she feels as if she is “evil” because her thoughts are uncontrollable. The way she self-loathes and decides no one can love her fully due to her brain and that she doesn’t deserve happiness, is something I think a lot of us who have have struggled with mental health issues can relate to.

We also get a look into Beth’s life and her thoughts and feelings. The way she just molded to what her father and the church decided was best for her. The way she never got to live outside her bubble or really explore her sexuality. Then having her life cut short tragically.

The way Beth and Cassie’s lives are juxtaposed and finally collide really emulate that the grass is not always greener on the other side and sometimes loving yourself and taking a risk to find who you are, is the best thing you can do for yourself.

This book is beautiful and powerful in so many ways. I want to thank NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for a giving me an eArc to read and review. House of Beth hits the shelves on July 15, 2025.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-arc.

This was sent through to my inbox based on other books I had liked and reviewed, and they were RIGHT.

This was such a great read. Short, creepy, and entertaining.

We follow Cassie, a young woman living in NYC, feeling like she is lacking purpose and direction. When she breaks up with her girlfriend out of the blue, she returns home to her small town and runs into Eli, her best friend from high school. We come to find out his wife has recently passed, and they quickly begin a relationship where she moves into his house and helps take care of his children.

But Cassie has.... shall we say, intrusive thoughts.

As we come to learn the history of Eli, his wife, Cassie, and other members of the town, we realize there is much more going on than meets the eye.

I highly recommend this to anyone who loves weird girl horror. A++++.

This is such a weird and interesting book?? I don’t know what exactly I was expecting, but it was not this. I definitely do not agree with the marketing of this being a horror nor do I think it’s quite weird enough for the weird lit fic girlies, but like it is weird?

This book is so bizarre and intriguing? I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this. I don’t buy the marketing spin calling it horror, and it’s not quite unhinged enough to satisfy the weird lit fic girlies either, but still… it is weird in a totally unique and contemplative way?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital galley in exchange for my honest review!

Another W for weird girl litfic lovers. House of Beth was just the kind off-putting, lyrical, gothic horror that I love.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital galley in exchange for my honest review!

If you like weird girl gothic lit fic with a side of horror then this one is for you!

Somethings could have been done differently for me to enjoy it more but overall was a creepy time.

This book was like reading the inner monologue of someone who is having a panic attack 24/7. This felt like my sleep paralysis demon came to life and wrote a book but in a good way. This felt like when you’re a little kid and you think there’s monsters in the shadows but as an adult. This is what happens when you’re made up of intrusive thoughts. Incredible

4.5 stars rounded up
Cassie stumbles back in her hometown of Elwood, NJ after a messy, sudden break up from her girlfriend, Lavender, back in NYC. She reconnects with her childhood best friend, Eli - a seemingly devoted widower whose wife, Beth, died a year prior. She soon finds herself stepping into the wife and mother role for Eli and his two children. Beth was the "good" traditional Christian wife, homeschooling her children, cleaning the home, making dinner, etc. and Cassie quickly takes over this role even though it's not what she pictured for herself. However, she realizes that Beth may not truly be gone, at least not completely.

While this does, at first glance, follow the gothic trope of a woman entering a marriage to a widower, stepping into the previous wife's place, there are some interesting twists that made House of Beth very gripping and innovative. Cassie lives with OCD, specifically, harm OCD. She deals with sudden, intrusive graphic images of violence towards others, making her feel like she may be a danger to those around her. She grapples with this throughout the novel. I found this to be very well done and very accurate to those who live with OCD. The novel also explores sexuality in a very meaningful way, in characters who are confident in their identity and those who may just be discovering it.

This may not be for everyone, but in my opinion, would be a good fit for those who typically enjoy "weird girl lit". Cassie may be off-putting to some at first, but I really think the author does a great job at making her a sympathetic character as the reader gets to know her. Kerry Cullen's writing is very well done; I found it enticing and lyrical. I look forward to what she writes in the future!

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the eARC!

So many plot twists, so many unexpected shifts in this one. I enjoyed and found it very quickly paced! Definitely pick up if you’re in the mood for something with a surprise around every corner.

Let me just say we love a messy life in this house. Our main character Cassie struggles with some mental illness among other minor dumpster fires in life. We’re fine, it’s fine, everything is FINE. This felt like one of those crazy lifetime movies where nothing makes sense, but at the same time it all makes sense. The writing style was somewhat witty and dark at times and I was cracking up in my dark bedroom at every hour of the night reading this book. I will definitely be purchasing a copy for myself upon release. 4.5 stars!

I initially gave this book 4 stars, but upon more reflection I’m bumping the rating up to a 5.

It’s tough to describe the story without spoiling anything, and the surprising turns of the plot really made the experience meaningful. I don’t want to ruin that for anyone else. I will say that I thought at first that I was reading a Lit Fic that was extra dark, then for a moment I suspected it was becoming more of a Thriller, and then it sort of became something else entirely. This book also reminded me, quite dramatically, why I’m relieved to be single. (No, I will not elaborate.)

Main character Cassie is haunted by violent, intrusive thoughts. It’s her own personal form of OCD, and it torments her. Even though she tries to fit herself into the mold of a “normal” person leading something of a domestic life with a former best friend, she is desperately struggling not to unravel.

Kerry Cullen had me intrigued from the start, with fully drawn characters and an unusual premise. I kept thinking, “Wow, everyone is making such bad decisions!” I had to see it play out. Admittedly, Cassie kind of sucks in the beginning, or at least I thought so. She was never interested in Eli before and now she suddenly wants him out of boredom, or a strange sense of possessiveness? I wasn’t buying it and I couldn’t understand it.

But also, there was a whole paragraph from her POV about how she can’t stand the smell of another person’s breath in any and every situation and I was like, “HARD relate.” Being inside Cassie’s head was disturbing but interesting at the same time, even if I didn’t necessarily like her.

About halfway through the book, something very interesting happens. Then, it only continues to get more and more intriguing. I went from mildly invested in the story to obsessed with finding out how things were going to end. And the writing itself was very good from start to finish. By the time I got to the last page, I like Cassie quite a bit more and I understood her better. (I also really liked Beth.)

This story is weird, sad, dark and different than anything I’ve read recently. There were a couple of things I questioned about the ending, but not enough to make me dislike the conclusion. “House of Beth” is the kind of strange Literary Fiction that I appreciate. Without saying too much, it’s a story about the ways people haunt each other, deprive themselves of the love they truly deserve, and end up in the traps of unfulfilling relationships. (But also, a lot of really cool other stuff, too!)

Side note: I think this novel deserves a better cover that is more specific to the actual story. A bowl of fruit just feels a bit lazy to me.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the Publisher for offering me this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

Biggest TW: Stalking, Animal death, Disordered eating, Domestic abuse, self-harm, violent images involving children

4.5 stars rounded down

A devoted wife and mother dies unexpectedly. Not long after, the grieving widower brings home a stepmother, a stranger who hides cruel and violent thoughts.

Sounds familiar, right? But this is not that story.

At the base of it House of Beth is exactly that - a modern dark fairytale about a woman who marries into a household where there is a gaping wound left by the one who came before her. But Kerry Cullen takes that premise and turns it on it’s head. Cassie isn’t an evil stepmother - she’s a person struggling with OCD, whose violent intrusive thoughts leave her questioning her reality, even herself. She’s unsure of her place in the world. She doesn’t react to situations like a person “typically” would. Yet, that’s what makes her so compelling.

Beth, on the other hand, is spoken about like some mythical figure who could do no wrong. There’s an air of mystery around who she was and how she died, and we’re kept in the dark just like Cassie until the novel pulls a certain twist that I wasn’t expecting, but loved.

I wouldn’t say House of Beth is plot driven as much as it is a study of Beth and Cassie. These two women are the core of this story, and they make for a compelling read. The writing was beautiful, just the right amount of lyrical without being over the top.

The only gripe I can think of is Cassie’s ex and their relationship not being as fleshed out. I felt as if there was more telling there rather than showing, but that didn’t hinder my reading experience.

Side note - I would probably avoid reading the last few lines of the synopsis. I think it gives away something that doesn’t really happen until much later in the story and doesn’t really present it accurately in my opinion.

Overall, I highly recommend this one and I’ll be looking forward to more by Kerry Cullen.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! This book will be published in the US by Simon and Schuster on July 15, 2025.

“There were normal brains out there, and I didn’t have one, and how was I supposed to know which kind of fucked up I was? Maybe it was OCD, but maybe it wasn’t, maybe I was just evil and perverse, haunted in ways beyond the obvious.”

Kerry Cullen’s House of Beth is a haunting and deeply introspective novel that toes the line between literary fiction and horror. From the first page, we’re thrust into the chaotic, intrusive mind of Cassie, a woman whose harm OCD leaves her questioning her very existence. She’s anxious, sarcastic, and darkly funny, her inner world a relentless loop of self-doubt and dread. Her relationship with Lavender is collateral damage in her battle with her own brain—Cassie breaks up with her to protect her, convinced she’s capable of unimaginable harm. But the thing that truly unravels Cassie is the moment she walks into work and finds her boss unconscious in a pool of his own blood. Her first thought: I did this.

Fleeing back to New Jersey, Cassie reconnects with Eli, her former best friend whose love for her once fractured their friendship. But Eli isn’t the same either—his wife, Beth, died six months ago, and he’s drowning in his own grief. A drunken reunion leads to a whirlwind relationship, culminating in a marriage that feels more like an escape route than a love story. Cassie convinces herself that if she follows the script of heteronormativity, she might finally silence the intrusive thoughts clawing at her mind. Instead, she finds herself in a house still haunted by Beth—literally.

Beth’s voice enters the narrative as she pieces together her own fragmented memories from the afterlife. She longs to be heard, to make sense of the life she left behind, and—most importantly—to be recognized beyond the roles she was forced into. As Beth takes up residence in Cassie’s consciousness, their relationship grows into something raw, defiant, and deeply affirming. Beth understands Cassie in a way no one else does, especially as Cassie unravels her own queerness and the suffocating constraints of domesticity. Their bond culminates in Cassie’s final act of solidarity: leaving Eli, not just for herself, but for Beth too.

Cullen’s prose is both sharp and lyrical, suffused with a biting wit that makes even the heaviest moments feel electric. The novel’s exploration of harm OCD is unflinchingly honest, giving voice to a struggle rarely depicted with such nuance. House of Beth is a deeply unsettling, deeply beautiful novel about queerness, autonomy, and the ghosts—both literal and figurative—that shape us. It lingers like an afterimage, a whisper that refuses to fade. Kerry Cullen is certainly one to watch out for.

📖 Read this if you love: dark, introspective character studies; unflinching portrayals of mental illness; themes of girlhood, desire, and self-destruction; and books by Carmen Maria Machado.

🔑 Key Themes: Harm OCD and Morality, Girlhood and Shame, Familial Abandonment and Self-Worth, Love as Consumption and Escape.

Content / Trigger Warnings: Alcohol (minor), Toxic Relationship (min), Eating Disorder (minor), Sexual Content (minor), Violence (minor), Stalking (severe), Mental Illness (severe), Blood (moderate), Abandonment (moderate), Bullying (minor), Misogyny (minor), Child Abuse (moderate), Self Harm (minor), Fire (minor), Miscarriage (minor), Animal Death (minor), Murder (moderate).