I seriously, seriously enjoyed this. I don’t read Horror very often, but I’m always a fan of the supernatural, and while the demons I tend to read about have more sex appeal, the one in Play Nice is on a whole other level of creepy—and honestly, I will say maybe a tad bit endearing. Okay, so, if you read my review and then read the book and call me a psycho for saying that I wouldn’t judge you, but honestly Rachel Harrison has such a way of characterizing everyone in this that even though I would never dream of being friends with someone like Clio, she’s is so unapologetically her that it endeared me. A brat, spoiled princess who cries too many crocodile tears, and brutally honest about all of it. Her demon—my guy uses too many emojis for me to not giggle at a few parts where maybe I shouldn’t have giggled. There’s a lot that happens in this, and to avoid spoilers I can’t say too much, but for my first foray into horror in a while, I think Rachel Harrison has set the bar really high. Suspenseful, dark, creepy, but also at times sweet, funny, and emotional, Play Nice is a roller coaster that I highly recommend.

I loved this book, which is not entirely surprising, considering I usually love everything Rachel Harrison publishes. I think she's a great author. I believe Harrison masterfully weaves a narrative that is both unsettling and darkly humorous, pulling you into a world where the mundane takes a sinister turn. The characters are incredibly well-drawn, making their descent into the bizarre all the more impactful, and the tension builds with a relentless, almost suffocating grip. If you're looking for a horror novel that's smart, original, and genuinely unsettling, "Play Nice" is a must-read that will linger in your thoughts long after you've turned the final page.

The layers!! So many layers to this book. The atmosphere was creepy, I was kept guessing until the end and I'm still not sure what I really think, and the characters will definitely stay with me for a long time.

Such a fun and unique haunted house story! I love everything Rachel writes, and this was no exception. This is both a compelling family story about sisters and parents - and the lies we all tell each other to keep the peace - and what it actually means to "Play Nice." Our main character, Clio, was a well-crafted antiheroine. I found myself constantly on pins and needles to see what she would say next!! I had so much fun reading about her. As this story progressed, it got steadily creepier. My last couple nights reading it after lights out, I was genuinely feeling scared of the dark! As always, Rachel does such a great job telling a story about an interesting woman AND making me feel scared to be home alone at night.

I adore Rachel Harrison - her smart, sarcastic heroines, her creepy, clever situations, and her writing style that draws you in and keeps you reading, hardly noticing the time passing by. She's rocketed up my list of authors to auto-buy, and this creepy tale of sisters, demons, and motherhood was enthralling and fun.

Interesting read. It was my first Harrison novel, and I'm sure won't be the last. I know some patrons will be itching to read it, so we are purchasing multiple copies. Thank you!

This was great! I've read another title by Rachel Harrison, and both of these are very weird, but in a good way. I will always remember this book, that's for sure.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This is my third Rachel Harrison book. And I wonder- Who doesn’t love a party girl? Even more so, who doesn’t love a party girl who needs to face some ugliness?

Clio is so loved that even a demon wants her attention. The house at 6 Edgewood is so 1970’s- split level, sunken bathtub, already possessed. There were scary moments and concerns about who would make it out alive. I liked the ending- it wasn’t where I thought it would go.

Thank you to Berkeley Publishing Group for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Play Nice by Rachel Harrison is another title in her playful contemporary fiction/horror cannon. Clio, our main character, finds herself the part owner of a dilapidated supposedly haunted house following the death of her estranged mother. While her sisters are ready to write the property off along with their memories of childhood trauma, Clio can’t help but find herself drawn to the house.

Something that I really appreciate about Harrison, in both this and her other works, is her ability to turn on a dime. In a number of chapters she can go from talking about a Jaclyn Hill-esque lipstick influencer (millennial nod of approval) to describing the sinister and wily creeping figure in the shadows of a child’s darkened room. She can very seamlessly blend a narrative voice that fits a twenty something NYC fashion stylist while still describing the shaking, unyielding terror of a the thing hiding in a closet.

While the haunting elements of the home—visits from old priests, spooky attics, communication through child’s drawings were well done, I didn’t think anything about this was particularly novel or with a particularly fresh perspective. Even within Harrison’s body of work, it felt somewhat similar to other openings we’ve seen before; outsiders in the band of occultists clustered around an estranged parent, etc. From about the second chapter I had a very good idea of what was going to happen—and happen it did, with little surprise.

For me, this was not the feather in Harrison’s literary cap. It’s fun, relatively straightforward and borrows on some well trodden tropes. However, the characters are one-note, and they learn virtually nothing from their ordeal. The storyline is straightforward and nothing felt particularly inventive. I think if you like Rachel Harrison books and some light horror, you’ll enjoy Play Nice. It’s good, but it’s not great and for that reason it’s a 3.5/5.

I'm constantly caught between wanting to be Rachel Harrison's best friend and wanting to gently ask "hey girl, are you okay?" This book was truly so frightening, and not in a 'jump scare' kind of way. The way tension is built, the way you can't tell what's fact and what's fiction, the constant urge to look over your own shoulder as you read. A++ job, needed my husband to walk with me to the bathroom in the middle of the night because I was too afraid to go down the hall alone.

Thank you so much to Berkley and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my thoughts.

4.5 stars

When Clio's mother dies, she and her sisters inherit the allegedly haunted house they grew up in. After years of estrangement, Clio decides to open old wounds in order to find out the truth.

Rachel Harrison does not miss! I'm terrified of haunted houses and this book is a great mix of horror and family drama. One minute you're arguing with your sister and the next minute a demon is rattling around your house. Perfection.

Clio wasn't very likeable, but she was a great main character. Her relationship with her family was super messy and real, and I appreciate that everyone had their own distinct personality and issues. There was a surprise romance and it really worked here.

Alex, the mother of Clio and her sisters, was a looming presence that I was intrigued by. She wrote a book about their experience and parts of her book were interspersed throughout, creating a book-within-a-book situation. I really enjoyed getting to know Alex through this medium.

The demon scenes were perfectly scary and I think the ending was great. I'd recommend this to any horror fan, especially those who enjoy comedy horror.

Five stars for my new Rachel Harrison favorite - and that is saying a lot, because Black Sheep still haunts me (no pun intended,) and Cackle continues to give me the creeps in all of the best ways. I love all of her books. Werewolves, witches, vampires, diet apps, and magic 8 balls are some of her best subjects.

This is a story of grief, trauma, gaslighting, and family. The best horror tells a story that resonates with the reader. I have three sisters, and that made this story personal to me. Clio, Daphne, and Leda reminded me so much of our bond and relationship.

This is a haunted house story at its heart, but it’s also a story of finding out who you are, and who the people around you are.

The sisters get a call that their mother, Alexandra, is gone. This brings up a lot of pain and trauma from the sisters’ childhood. There’s a house left to them. No one wants it, but Clio wants to flip it. She is an influencer and this is a great opportunity. But what does the house want?

Go into this one blind!

This book has some of the best horror sequences I have ever read - the house itself is incredible. I think this is Rachel Harrison’s most immersive novel yet.

This story is from Clio’s POV. I loved Clio’s self-awareness, and her inner monologue is sharp and witty. She is exactly who she says she is, and she doesn’t apologize for it.

I. Loved. This. Novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the opportunity to read this early - it went straight to the top of my TBR. It releases on September 9th. Preorder it now!

Clio is an Instagram influencer and fashion stylist living a glamorous life in Manhattan, spending her nights a ritzy corporate parties and hooking up with men to warm her bed. This way of life is challenged when her sisters call her to tell her that their estranged mother has died. Clio hasn't seen her since she was seven, and only has fragments of memories to remember her by... and the book that she wrote about their supposedly haunted house, which the three sisters have promised each other not to read. With her death, they inherit the house, but Clio's sisters want nothing to do with it. Clio takes it upon herself to fix the house and try to flip it, but finds a copy of her mother's book with annotations specifically for her and decides to break her promise with her sisters.

Your enjoyment of 'Play Nice' will depend on how much you enjoy the protagonist, and I'm sorry to say that I was actively rooting for Clio's downfall. She's rich, she's mean to everyone under a guise of snarky detachment, and she does it all with an 'I'm just a girl' faux innocence, probably because she was obviously the favorite child. Also, she hates cats. There are parts of this book where this is the conflict and people get sick of her nonsense, such as a part when she confronts her step-mother at a Memorial Day party, but each time she's forgiven too easily. Her terrible actions have no lasting consequences, except maybe getting others hurt.

There are some nice nods to Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 'The Yellow Wallpaper', with Clio and her mother's source of madness being ambiguously from the haunted house or imagined. Clio reading her mother's book, along with her personal annotations specifically for her daughter, was probably my favorite bit, though the parts were a lot less interesting to read after Clio loses her annotated copy and finds another one. The family drama is raw and painful, and I liked the parts where Clio was becoming unstable like her mother the more time she spent in the house. Her refusing any family help and labeling all of them as monsters who are trying to hold her back is realistic, and sad to read about when we're in Clio's mind and we know she needs it. And again, because I had turned against Clio halfway through the book, I had gotten some sick satisfaction from her crashing out and burning every bridge. Alas, nothing good can stay, and even her boring love interest neighbor comes back to her to be her first monogamous partner because this is the one dynamic thing about her character.

This book is finding an audience, and I can see the appeal, but it's decidedly not for me.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review. I adored this book, as I’ve adored every book by Rachel Harrison. This story centers around Clio, the lovable scamp youngest sister of the family. When Clio’s parents split up, Clio and her sisters Daphne and Leda moved into a house in the suburbs with their mom. Pretty soon after, Alex (mom) and Clio begin exhibiting strange and disturbing behaviors. Dad gets full custody and the sisters begin living a life separate from their mom. Years later, Clio gets a call while out on the town that her mom has passed away. Against her sisters’ and father’s wishes, Clio attends the funeral, where she finds out that her mom never sold the house they had been removed from, and the house now belongs to her and her sisters. She also receives a copy of the book her mom wrote, in the vein of The Amityville Horror, annotated by her, which she had promised her family years ago she would never read. What happens next rocks her world, from her family, to her romantic life, to her sense of self. This book takes you on a wild emotional rollercoaster, one that you’ll be wanting to hop right back on when you’re done. The family relationships are as relatable as they are devastating, but Clio is funny enough that you will keep coming back for more pain. You won’t regret picking this book up, but you might regret playing nice.

This latest novel from Harrison felt more like a horror than her other ones - it was quite creepy. I really enjoyed the characters and the story.

I devour every single thing that Rachel Harrison writes. This has all things paranormal, dysfunctional family drama and psychological tension. Super eerie stuffed with supernatural happenings that i was on the edge of my seat, down to the last page. Loved it! I knew I would, it's Rachel Harrison!

I enjoyed "Play Nice" which was my second read by horror writer Rachel Harrison (and not my last LOL). This is a "haunted house" type horror story but with a good dose of family dysfunction/trauma and I did find the MC, Clio a bit unlikable. But I liked how the horror is done here - Harrison has a lighter touch with it & I appreciate that a lot. And I liked the concept of trying to "flip" a haunted house - so fun in an HGTV way!! Enjoyed it & found it fairly quick & easy to read too. My thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for the advance reader's copy - appreciate the opportunity to read & review it greatly!

I've been a fan of Rachel Harrison for ages now and I think this might be her best one yet. I've always loved the way she pulls real world emotions and horrors into a story with fantastical elements. I also love a good haunted house story so this one was right up my alley.

In Play Nice, we follow Clio, a stylist and fashion influencer, as she fights the metaphorical...and literal demons in her life. After her parent's disastrous divorce in her early childhood, Clio's mom, Alex, moved her and her two sisters into a house that Alex claimed was possessed by a demon. The majority of this story takes place after Alex dies and the siblings inherited the haunted house they didn't know their mom still owned. Clio volunteers to fix the house up to be put on the market and begins the journey of unraveling the truth of her mother's life and the version of the truth she was told growing up.

I loved the flawed characters and the way Harrison portrayed the journey of becoming an adult and realizing that our parents are just as messy and flawed as everyone else.

I love a good haunted house story, I love a good Rachel Harrison story, so when the two meet it's *chef's kiss*. I loved the privileged influencer main character, I loved the 70s architectural design, I loved the exploration of childhood trauma and how it's remembered differently between siblings. I super loved the ambiguity. Was their childhood house possessed by a demon or was their mother dealing with mental health and addiction issues? Why not both? The only reason this isn't 5 stars is because I wanted ~more~. After Black Sheep, I know Rachel Harrison can get down and dirty with the possession horror, so I think I was left slightly dissatisfied with the ending. Still, as a whole this is a solid book and one I'll definitely recommend!

This is Harrison's best book yet! Her dark sense of humor perfectly balances the horrors and grief of truly knowing yourself and those closest to you. I laughed, I cried, I underlined several passages.