Following an emotionally charged breakup, Cassie flees New York City for her small New Jersey hometown only to fall into a relationship with her childhood best friend. Sound familiar? Though Kerry Cullen's House of Beth mimics a series of classic romance novel tropes, this facade slowly crumbles away into something unexpected and sinister. The novel is artfully designed to subvert expectations, establishing characters as easy stereotypes and then picking away at their surface until the truth is revealed. House of Beth is a sharp commentary on the weaponized helplessness of seemingly innocuous men and the slippery slope of tradwife culture. Although it's difficult to like Carrie at times, she undergoes a memorable and meaningful transformation. Without giving spoilers, this story represents one of the most interesting wlw relationships I've encountered in queer horror fiction.

I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up one of my usual talking points: representations of OCD in fiction. This is one of the ONLY books I've ever read where OCD is used not as a tool to demonize or stereotype in the context of dark fiction, but rather as a brutally honest depiction of a debilitating condition. I was not surprised to read that this is an OwnVoices novel: Cullen's understanding of the disorder, it's emotional consequences, and it's appropriate treatment is one so comprehensive that it has to be lived. I wish a little more attention had been given to the fact that Carrie's particular brand of intrusive fear of harming others isn't necessary a hallmark of all cases, but Cullen nonetheless does a great job of educating the reader on the division between thought and action and the egodystonic nature of OCD intrusive thoughts.

This was a bit slow for me. The story wasn't bad or anything I guess I was just expecting someone more fast paced and scary. This was more of a slow creeping dread and while plenty of people love that it's not my favorite trope.

I wanted to love this so much! However, the author got a major strike within the first 10 pages or so when I noticed a horrifically obvious discrepancy that nearly made me DNF this. One of the main reasons I requested this (thanks, NetGalley!) was because of the promise of a protagonist who lived in a little town “along the Delaware River.” I moved to NYC when I was 17 and then to the UK when I was 34, but I was born and raised literally around the corner from the Delaware River and swam in it (gross, looking back) every summer with my friends. So, it was weird to me when the book named Elwood as the town in question, and I thought, “Huh, never heard of it.” Google Maps to the rescue… and then I realise Elwood is a real town, and that it’s basically literally ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STATE from the Delaware River and closer to the Atlantic Ocean, for God’s sake. WHY! WHY DO THIS?! It enraged me to no end. Either make up a fake town so save me the fury, or, you know, actually PICK A TOWN ON THE DELAWARE RIVER.

Ahem. Anyway - I did soldier on here because I was also promised queer goodness, and I… kind of got it, I guess? Mind you, Cassie did <spoiler>break up with her first ever girlfriend within the first 20 pages or so and then immediately get with - and marry! - a man, surprise surprise</spoiler>, but at the very end of the book, things changed again… sort of. I’m being careful about spoilers here as much as possible, but it’s almost impossible to talk about this book without going into some of the details readers would probably want to discover for themselves. Still, I wouldn’t call <spoiler>Cassie having sex with Beth’s ghost as she possessed her body</spoiler> particularly rewarding, even though I know it was meant to be weirdly hot.

On the plus side, this was a page turner - after a huge reading drought, I did finish it in, like, two nights. Score! On the other hand, it was largely done with a furrowed brow and an, “Oh God, what’s coming next?” feeling. The author tried to cover some serious stuff in this book, like OCD, but the way it was handled I felt was a bit flippant. I wasn’t feeling the <spoiler>overwhelming thoughts of blood and gore Cassie suffered with</spoiler>, not because I don’t think that’s a very real experience for someone with the condition, but because it felt thrown in to make her *DiFfErEnT* in a way that was a bit obnoxious.

That wasn’t the only serious thing that was glossed over, either. The fact that Beth is dead and how that happened is an afterthought (if not predictable) and again, totally blasé and brushed over, like many of the finer details in this book. The result is that I didn’t really care about any of them and thought they were all kinda shitty people who weren’t very interesting or redeemable. I don’t have to like every character in a book - in fact, sometimes one of the most rewarding reading experiences is when you really hate a character! - but I couldn’t even muster that here. I was just… blah. It needed more background, but I was also glad it was relatively short at 240 pages and really didn’t need it to go on any further.

I feel really bad writing reviews like this because I don’t want to insinuate that the book is awful, or that there won’t be reader who really love this. Writing a book is hardcore and worthy of respect, even if it’s not my cup of tea, and I totally appreciate that. I just feel like it had one too many things that needed ironing out for it to be an enjoyable read for me.

This was a good read kind of different because I don’t like ghost stories lol but I got through thank you I will recommend

I'll be honest: I had no idea what to expect (really) from this book. I liked the cover and decided I wanted to read it.
The writing is beautiful, but I prefer more direct proses and storylines instead of metaphors and symbolism scattered throughout a book. No ambiguities.
I believe I am not the right audience for this novel. Nothing wrong with the book itself.

An accomplished piece of writing that unfolds in truly unexpected fashion. A peculiar kind of ghost story centered around mental health and grief and new beginnings, each of which is haunted in its own way. With twists that keep twisting.

It’s a semi ghost story that I didn’t find myself too engrossed with. I thought it was going to be more of a thriller, so that’s my fault for reading it expecting something different.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

House of Beth is the queer ghost story I didn’t know I needed. We follow Cassie fresh off the heels of her most intimate break up. She abandons her life after an odd occurrence at her job as a strained assistant at a literary agency and moves back to her hometown in New Jersey. Rather quickly Cassie remembers she did not leave home on good terms, leaving all her relationships in the past. Soon she reconnects with her high school best friend Eli and the two catch up. Cassie learns that Eli is a widowed father of two grappling with life with children without his wife. Eventually the two rekindle their bond and Cassie is trading her fast paced city life to be a glorified housewife.

But life isn’t what Cassie thought it would be when she fled. She yearns for her ex girlfriend while combating harm OCD constantly being disturbed by graphic and gore filled images. Secluded in the woods after moving into Eli’s home Cassie tries to find peace, but sees Eli’s late wife Beth’s ghost everywhere. Including in her mind. There is no escaping Beth’s memory and soon Cassie is uncovering the truth of her untimely passing.

House of Beth is a gorgeous metaphor of discovering self love at any cost. It’s about coming to terms with who you are, what you believe and how you got there. Looking face to face at the trauma your body may house and choosing to love it all. It’s a story about queer love, lust and yearning without any shame attached. Cullen’s writing is dark, lyrical and ethereal. It’s literary fiction with slashes of gothic horror undertones. I would file this juicy tale in the hood for her literary universe, I just know Cassie and Beth will live in my mind rent free for a long time.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for this advanced copy! House of Beth is our July 15 2025.

This is hard to review for me because it was exceptional until the ending imo. The writing is gorgeous, the characters were so interesting and vivid, but what kept me amazed by it the whole way through was how it refused to be the kind of story it could have been. The relationships among the women were so complex and interesting and it never became "fighting over Eli" but something richer, more thoughtful, and kinder. The reveal of Joan and Eli being in love the whole time felt like a tragic backslide into a familiar story about affairs that spoiled how unexpected and feminist the rest of it was. The bear trap thing was stupid and a book like this probably needed an ambiguous ending but the one she settled on was so deeply disappointing and felt like an ending to a different book. Also, if she was going to have Beth and Cassie ride off into the sunset happily together, she should NOT have had Beth betray her the absolute worst anyone could possibly betray Cassie. Her life has been small and suffocating because she lives in abject terror of losing control of her body and hurting someone, Beth is the only person who could ever force her to have that experience, and she does for really selfish and stupid reasons. I guess there's supposed to be a bookend with her "voluntarily" "hurting" Eli to save his life at Beth's urging but again that scene was dumb and resolved a different conflict than the rest of the book was about. It was hard to decide on three stars because so much of it was so spectacular, but the final few chapters failed so badly I couldn't rate it higher.

Content Warnings: Mental Illness, Disordered Eating, Animal Death, Child Abandonment, Violent Images Involving Children,

Themes: Sapphic, Intrusive Thoughts, Harm OCD, Self Destruction, Grief, Religious Trauma

My Thoughts:
I’m still trying to collect my thoughts and feelings about this one. I see many reviews saying that the MC Cassie is unlikable but honestly, she’s the most relatable fictional character I’ve come across (am I unlikable?! lol). The storytelling was atmospheric, thoughtful, and philosophical. A hauntingly beautiful, introspective ghost story. I’ve never read anything like it before, and I look forward to reading more of Kerry’s work.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Simon & Schuster for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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++++.