This book was insane, thought provoking, entertaining, and unique! A must read for monster horror lovers… but also for those who search for the resemblance to real life in these horrors.

His afterward, yet again, spoke so deeply to me that, yet again, I was brought to tears.
I know these must take so much out of him emotionally, BUT I am desperately hoping he “shapeshifts” to write a non-fiction book. A memoir. My heart needs it. ❤️‍🩹

Nat Cassidy has quickly become a favorite for horror. And this may be my favorite of 3 that I have read. Nat started this book off with a bang and did not let up until the very end. Excellent narration made the story even better. I will be nursing a book hangover for a while with this one. HIGHLY recommended!

Amazing!! One of the best audiobooks I’ve listen to.

🌱 | Raw unsettling madness! This was soooo good in the most unexpected way. I went in blind and had zero regrets. It was filled with deliberate pacing and slow dread. It was intense touching on topics of internal rage, guilt, family drama, and more. And 👏🏾 the👏🏾 audio!! Amazing! The narration enhanced the reading experience so much!

Thanks for the ALC!!

*Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC! Opinions are my own.*

4.25/5

I thought I hated this at first. In fact, I almost DNFed it like twice in the first half! This is through absolutely no fault of the book at all, entirely a skill issue on my end. The thing with this book, it subverts a lot of the thoughts you might have about a horror novel. There are monsters, yes. There's high stakes, it's bloody, all of that. But this book isn't *just* all of those things. This book also tackles the terror that is being a young kid and what that might look like if those fears become real. Sometimes that looks kinda silly, like <spoiler2D cartoon characters chasing you through a hallway with a chainsaw.</spoiler> Sometimes that's much more horrifying, like <spoiler>the manifestation of you abusive dad as a wolf ripping your companion's beloved mother to dust.</spoiler> This is about grief, abandonment, and how complicated relationships with your parents can still have love in them. The scariest part of the whole thing is not the monsters themselves, but the vulnerability, the not always knowing who to trust or when. It's really quite clever, actually.

The audiobook for this was wonderful. The narration masterfully done, Helen Laser does a great job throwing her voice between woman in her 30s and child at 5 years old. Nat himself chiming in at *just* the right moment (you'll know) was also so incredible.

One thing I will say is I didn't super love the ending. Felt a liiiittle lame for a "twist" to me. Not enough to knock down my rating but worth mentioning.

I wouldn't recommend this to just any old horror enjoyer; it certainly won't be for everyone, but this book was definitely something to marvel at and I'm really glad I stuck with it in the end.

This is my second Nat Cassidy book (I read Mary prior to this, still need to get to Nestlings!) and this just solidified his position as a "must-buy" author. I loved this so much more than Mary.

We follow Jess, a failed/struggling actress after she has found a five year old boy who's running away from his father. Together they try to seek places to hide out as so much calamity and gore follow them. And when I say gore I mean GORE.

This is very much a novel about parental trauma and overcoming fear, a deep sort of introspective look on how these experiences shape us and control us when we least expect it. Cassidy is able to ramp up tenson excellently, I was on the edge of my seat for a lot of this. This novel is able to juggle the brutality of the story with genuine heartfelt moments between the characters. Jess offers some well needed reprieve with her dry, snarky sense of humor that I found myself actively laughing at some points. And Kiddo and Jess are gonna stick with me for a while, their relationship had me shedding tears while listening to the audiobook.

So excited that I had the opportunity to read this early and I'm so excited for what Nat Cassidy does in the future!!

🎧This is by far my favorite book of the year so far! I absolutely loved everything about it. The writing was so descriptive and full of life. The characters were complex yet easily relatable. The story had multiple layers and made me feel all the feels, in unexpected ways. Yes, there is pure horror, carnage and gore, but there is also a touching string of pure humanity brilliantly woven throughout. If I could give this book 50⭐️s I would.

The narrator did a phenomenal job and really upped the whole listening experience. Plus having Nat Cassidy doing some cameo narrating was the icing on the cake.

And don’t forget about the afterward. I enjoyed that almost as much as the story itself. I love when authors give us that special inside peek into their real lives and share what inspires them.

Go read (or listen to) this book!!! You won’t regret it.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced audiobook copy.

Thank you, Nat Cassidy NetGalley, for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you publishers for your hard work!

I honestly hadn't wanted this to last as long as it did, but life gets in the way. Good thing I had a month to listen to it. I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to listen to it. There was just so much going on throughout this book. Every time I had to stop and pick the book back up, it was almost a mindscramble to get things right in my mind to remember where I left off. It's full of magic, death, some gore, and the character building is wonderful. The pacing is full speed ahead the whole time, and I definitely had a bit of a time keeping up sometimes. I absolutely love the main characters and the mother! Ah! Not to mention the Rollercoaster of emotions that this book throws at you. This book as a whole is a total wave of imagination, emotions, grief, and just overcoming fear.

A struggling actress and a runaway find one another, then utterly bloodshed happens... not from them but from the boys' father he's running from. Why is this happening, and can she keep the boy safe from him? Os it all the boys' father or is there more to it than that? What will become of the boy and the woman on their journey as they try to find safety? Read and find out.

This book has some bleak moments, even some heartbreaking ones. There are twists and turns i wasent expecting and some that made you think. This blends fantasy, horror, and other elements together, making a rather intense book, in my opinion.

This was the perfect slump-buster, it was a very quick read, highly entertaining, and kept me guessing till the end. I was very impressed with where Cassidy went with it and how he handled the concept of coping with fear. This is the third absolute winner for me from Cassidy and I absolutely can’t wait for what he comes up with next. Helen Laser narrates the audiobook along with Cassidy and I loved the performance, the storyline worked well on audio.

I'm starting to think that Nat Cassidy is scared of public restrooms.

No part of this book was what I expected and that's not a bad thing. When the Wolf Comes Home kept me on my toes the whole time- I can honestly say I had no idea what was going to happen next. There was a lot happening in this book and I think that made it feel a bit long. While I don't really think this was a book for me, I do think it was extremely well written, fast paced and entertainingThe characters were great and I quite enjoyed the bit with Who Killed Roger Rabbit.

*The trigger warning at the beginning of this one might just be my favorite part of the whole book!

A fast paced, assault on the senses horror novel that takes werewolves and fear to a whole new level.

Disclaimer: I read this book as a free e-book and audiobook through NetGalley. Thank you to Tor Nightfire, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the free advanced reader copies. All opinions are my own. This is my honest and voluntary review.

The audiobook for this was done extremely well. I really enjoyed the narrator, Helen Laser. She did a fantastic job, differentiating the voices to the person as well as adding tempo and emotion to the story. She definitely put on a performance with this one. I really enjoyed hearing Nat Cassidy come in periodically and do some narration. I really enjoyed the author being included in the audiobook, and I wish more audiobooks would do so.

Nat Cassidy took this novel and created a masterpiece of horror fiction. Gristly and heart stopping body gore mixed with pure fear and adrenaline. I could not put this down. We follow Jess who is a down on her luck, out of work actress working in a diner. After experiencing an unfortunate event, she runs into a small boy hiding in the bushes outside of her home. She quickly realizes this boy is scared of, and running from, an abusive father takes him under her wing and ends up on the run as well. But this boy has some abilities that exceed the imagination. And these abilities, invoke a fear in those around them that is unmatched and uncontrollable. This was a wild car chasing heart, stopping ride from beginning to end.

The premise of the story is highly unique. And not only is the premise unique, but the execution is elite. I loved this. I could not put it down. I was thinking about it even when I wasn't reading it and I just absolutely was mesmerized by how well this rolled out. The action is almost nonstop within the novel. It is fast paced, and just dripping with plot and character development. I did not see the ending coming in and that just made it even more outstanding. My jaw was on the floor.

Highly recommend. 5⭐️ no notes.

I did not expect to crack up at the beginning of the book because I was ready to be scared. But that comment about trigger warnings was quite funny. He is going to leave a TW to people who are triggered by book having TWs. I want to see how far he is going to take it!

Back to the book itself... yes, we are our own monsters. Things we fear (the usuals like dying, dark, heights and the unusuals like our own imagination and freak minds) shape us up in a very particular way. Those fears can be projected on others (or characters created) when we are in self-preservation mode. And this story was one big coping mechanism.

I scream a little every time I see a new Nat Cassidy book because I know he is going to mess with my brain (in a good way). Him and Catriona Ward have this impact on me when it comes to reading horror. Keep on doing what you are doing and give us more convoluted plots!

Loved this book! What an interesting premise. Jess is an aspiring actor who works nights at a diner. One night after a particularly rough night of work, she finds a boy hiding in bushes and tries to help him out. This results in Jess and the boy running for their lives with a monster chasing after them leaving bloody destruction in their wake.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Nat Cassidy for the early access to both the digital and audio editions of When the Wolf Comes Home.

This is the second book I've read by Nat Cassidy—my first was Mary, which I liked, but When the Wolf Comes Home completely blew it out of the water for me.

The story centers around Jess, a struggling actress who unexpectedly discovers a five-year-old runaway hiding in her bushes one night… and things escalate from there. And I mean really escalate—there’s so much gore and guts at one point I had to pause and catch my breath.

What really impressed me, though, was how the book balanced all that brutality with genuine heart. It even got me a little emotional at times, which isn’t something I typically expect (or experience) in a horror novel—and honestly, I kind of loved that.

Also, I can’t help but wonder… was Kiddo inspired by that one episode of Supernatural? If you know, you know.

Overall, I’d give this a solid 4.5 out of 5.

Cassidy has done it again! After Nestlings, I was prepared to be freaked the hell out but ended up UGLY CRYING about my parental trauma. This book was so many things and I loved every second. Heartbreaking, thrilling, hilarious, horror that felt imaginative and fresh despite being familiar, deeply introspective and overall a story that I can see myself revisiting often. I listened to this as an early audio arc and I really enjoyed the narrator, felt like she perfectly captured the tone of our main character, Jess.

A struggling actress/waitress, Jess is having a rough day already when she discovers a runaway 5 year old behind her apartment. His enraged father is not far behind so she takes the boy in hopes of finding him some semblance of safety. She realizes she is in way over her head upon discovering the boy has the power to transform his imagination into reality. He could be influenced by anything he sees at any time and is already in a very frightened state. Loved this kid so dang much, Cassidy truly captures the thought processes and idiosyncrasies of a 5 year old to a tee. Sometimes you read a book with a kid in it and you're just like ehhh, I'm not buying a kid would say that. Not the case here at all.

Jess is relatable as hell, with a witty dark sense of humor and a satisfying character arc. She is flawed but she's trying. The relationship between her and mother was everything because of all its subtle intricacies and tension. I love Nat Cassidy books so damn much because of how brilliantly he writes women. If you read a lot of horror books, you will find that is often not the case in the genre. But he just gets it. Auto-buy author 100%. Perfect balance of character development and plot. The pacing was fast but never rushed, a fantastical road trip filled with fears, hope and discovery all under the shadow of parental trauma and all its complexities. And don't even get me started on the author's note! Yeah, I cried, it wasn't cute. Everybody go read this ASAP!

i tired so hard to listen to this but just couldn't push myself to suffer through this.

thankful i got the audio arc

Despite my best efforts, I couldn't stick with the book. I listened up until 53% mark and decided there was no way the latter half would change my opinion. I don't think this author is for me but please don't let that discourage yo7 from giving it a try.

4 ⭐️ This was my first Nat Cassidy book and after reading it and the Afterword, which shouldn’t be skipped, I am moving his backlist up my TBR list. The afterword gave the book a whole new perspective for me as it is deeply personal for him and I just respect that so much.

As for this book, it was nothing like I expected from reading the blurb as I was expecting a typical werewolf book but it is so much more. I won’t go into many details as I think it would ruin your reading experience and it’s best to go into it with an open mind. This book is so good, while it is a horror book and has very graphic scenes of gore and death (check your trigger warnings), it is also extremely emotional and will really get you to think about how you look at fear and the world around you. The only reason I knocked off a star from my rating was because it naggingly reminded me of a Twilight Zone episode, later recreated by a Simpsons Tree House of Horror episode and it just didn’t sit right with me for some reason and caused me to lose a little of the emotional gut punch I think it should have delivered by the end. I loved the 80s call backs. I grew up in the 80s and 90s and watched TV and movies that were FAR too mature for me, and while I didn’t fear the movie this book references, I could see how that movie could instill fear into the mind of a child. I also felt the homages to other 80s horror books and movies, to me I saw a little Firestarter, Dean Koontz, Freddy Krueger and Tales from the Crypt vibes just pouring off this book.

Also, I listened to this book on audio and I think the narrator, Helen Laser, did a fantastic job bringing the story together and bringing Jess and Kiddo to life. This is a really fun journey that will have you in a roller coaster of feels, one minute you’re laughing, the next a little grossed out and horrified then another minute holding your breath in anticipation of what’s to come. I hope that if you pick this up and go for the audio, you enjoy it as much as I did.

My favorite thing about Nat Cassidy’s books is you never know what you’re going to get. Even if you read the synopsis for When The Wolf Comes Home (though I highly recommend going in blind), you won’t be prepared for where we go.

It’s nostalgic, sad, and raw. We get to revisit some iconic movies and media from childhood through a new lens that left me questioning how appropriate it really was for a kid. This book is a lot about trying to find yourself and learning, or trying, to put someone else before you.

There’s also a lot of grief, especially surrounding loosing someone you love. Mix in a tragic backstory and fun horror elements that can only be described as belonging in a few X-Files episodes, it’s a doozy of a book with a whole lot of heart.

However you read this, you can’t skip the author’s notes. Cassidy’s author notes have become some of my favorite to read because of the insight we get into his life and inspiration.

This little terror is out April 22nd 🖤

This book was a trip from beginning to end, and I was buckled in for the entire thing. It was very well written and the story was insane. I also felt that the narrator was fantastic!

This is my first Nat Cassidy book so I was really thankful for the arc- and the trigger warnings! They almost scared me off but I’m glad I stuck with it. The narration was great and the story had me hooked!