We Live Here Now had all the elements I usually love—an eerie atmosphere, unsettling undertones, and an unreliable narrator that keeps you questioning everything. There were definitely some creepy moments that gave me chills, and the ambiguity in the storytelling worked well at times.

That said, the pacing just didn’t work for me. It moved so slowly that I found myself losing interest more than once, and I kept waiting for something major to happen. The buildup dragged, and by the time things finally started to click into place, I was already halfway out of the story emotionally.

The unreliable narrator is what ultimately saved it from being a lower rating—there was something compelling about not knowing what to believe. But overall, this one was just okay for me. I wanted to love it, but it didn’t quite get there.

This was an enjoyable, spooky read. The narrators were great - I particularly love when we have multiple narrators performing multiple POVs in a story. Haunted houses aren't always my favorite but this was an engaging story. The writing was atmospheric and gave this gothic story even more depth.

Truly scary, intense and claustrophobic! As Pinsborough is so well-known for, this book builds the suspense to a creepy crescendo with a truly shocking ending, yet one that you could read in the tea leaves as you put together the well-arranged pieces of the mystery. Sarah Pinsborough always manages to make me read (or in this case, listen) with my jaw dropped, and the narrator did a fantastic job conveying the claustrophobic and intense atmosphere of the dreaded house. I love a haunted house mystery with a twist and this one is well-explained and well-plotted with intriguing characters and creepy plot devices that are intricately planned to get you to the scary ending. As always, Pinsborough leaves you satisfied while still always ready for more from her twisted and fantastic mind! She does a great job of actually making you FEEL the terror the characters experience, and the audiobook narrator and her fantastic acting were a perfect complement to this author's skill.

Narrators: 5/5
Plot: 2/5

I'm really torn on how to feel about this because this had so much potential to be a five star book, but I feel like nothing actually happened? There were moments of true terror and creepiness, but that all was completely dropped by the end of the book with an incredibly unsatisfactory ending. It was so painfully bleak to learn about our main characters and for THAT to be the ending. I also loathed the crow sections, but that's a personal preference not enjoying animal death scenes.

The entire book just felt like it was leading up to something intense and world-changing, but it didn't. This either needed to lean more into the horror or more into the mystery. Basically the horror was good until the end and the mystery had a great twist, but wasn't very interesting leading up to the twist. The author needed to just lean more into the story.

Basically this story had so much potential, but ended up falling flat, especially with that ending.

3.5 stars
What did I just listen to?! It was well narrated but definitely took a few minutes to process after that ending!
If you’re looking for a book that’s equal parts spooky and crazy, look no further. On the surface, this book appeared to be a domestic thriller with unreliable characters. But wait, there’s more! We’ve got all the Halloween vibes with a haunted house, ghosts, and more. I don’t want to spoil the twists and turns. Go in expecting the unexpected and enjoy the crazy ride!

We Live Here Now is a gothic thriller filled with twists and I never really knew which direction we were going to turn next! I really enjoyed the dual narration in the audiobook specifically, and the chilling atmosphere in the story in general. The overwhelming feeling of claustrophobia made me feel like I was right there in the house with them! Plus I love a morally grey cast with a bunch of weird dynamics to explore. Another great book by Sarah Pinborough!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for my gifted audiobook copy!

Story is a little slow and boring, but I continued on to see what the twist might be. I don't really care for first POV where the character continues to say they have a secret but it takes awhile for the secret to be shared. Author does a decent job of creating a spooky atmosphere but there wasn't a very good pay off.

We Live Here Now starts off slow, but once it finds its rhythm, it gets really interesting—and spooky in all the right ways. I loved the short chapters, which kept the pace moving and made it easy to get sucked in once things picked up. That ending was great and dare I say a little cheeky. If you like atmospheric reads that sneak up on you, this one's worth sticking with.

I love a good haunted house story and this one was definitely good!!!

After Emily is seriously injured in an accident, her husband decides to buy the country of state. She’s been eyeing as a perfect spot to recuperate and leave London behind.

Everything looks perfect like a storybook when they arrive but soon Emily starts feeling like she’s not alone… her health is still not 100% there so Freddy and the doctors seems she’s just hallucinating and experiencing post sepsis symptoms since she is still medically fragile.

Emily is not going to let that stand. She starts to investigate the house… secrets are bubbling up, and not just about the house!

This was a classic haunted house thriller, and it literally gave me chills! I absolutely loved going through this book and getting the great reveal at the end!

The narration trio of Helen Baxendale; Jamie Glover and Sarah Pinborough, did an excellent job bringing their characters to life! The different narrators brought different aspects of the story to the forefront, and all did a great job with their characters. Each narrator also delivered the suspense excellently.

Sarah Pinborough delivers a fresh and unsettling twist on the classic haunted house tale in We Live Here Now. Set against the eerie backdrop of a sprawling English countryside estate, the story follows Emily as she unravels a deeply buried mystery—all while grappling with the unreliability of her own mind and memory.

Oh man this one was crazy but I really enjoyed the entire journey. Some of it was predictable but I didn't care that much

Larkin Lodge where one or both of owners are never the same when they sell the house.

Emily And her husband Freddie moved to Larkin Lodge after Emily had her accident. And slowly Freddie started to become annoyed with Emily more than normal. But Emily knows there is something not right with their new home. Something not right. And when she finds out it’s dark secrete she is terrified.

This is a slow moving book. Very uneventful the first half or so. I thought it was going to be Freddie who pushed Emily and that was the mystery it was building up to. But after it was found out it became more interesting. Not sure why Emily choose not to be whole after she did what she did to Freddie. Over all it was an okay book. Slow but okay.

Sarah Pinborough is an auto-buy author for me. She is a master of creating creepy atmosphere and suspenseful, page-turning tales. This one wasn't my favorite of her novels though. Perhaps, I've simply read too many scary old house novels recently. There have been a lot.

Thank you so much @macmillan_audio for this audio book as a part of your influencer program!⁠ 🖤⁠ ⁠
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Oh dear...⁠
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I was really excited for this one. I swore I saw rave reviews and people saying it was SCARY. Either I read the wrong hype or I’ve got an unpopular opinion, because… this book was, for lack of a better word-- boring.⁠
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I went in expecting a haunted house that would have me side-eyeing my own hallways at night. Instead, I got a whole lot of nothing. Nothing scary, nothing suspenseful, and honestly? Nothing really explained like I needed.⁠
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This one missed the mark for me in so many ways. I kept waiting for the story to kick into gear, but it just... never did.⁠
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I wish I had all the time back I spent listening, TBH. Major bummer.

What a spooky read! I loved the dual POVs in this book, it really added to the suspense. I listened to the audiobook and it definitely creeped me out at times. I love books that hint at issues so this was right up my alley. I was on the edge of my seat until about half way through when it hit a lull. In the end it all came together. This book was a unique and interesting concept. I really enjoyed it, the audiobook was well done.

#weLiveHereNow by @sarahpinboroughbooks is the audiobook I listened to over the weekend during my Covid cough I found it was easier to just lie around and listen and so I did, and finished this in one and a half days! This story of a couple finding their "perfect country home" will leave you sufficiently creeped out! This takes on a #hauntedhouse vibe and oh it's haunted alright, but with some very unique type ghosts!!! The ending had my skin crawling at the THOUGHT of it all (no spoilers). If anyone has read this and wants to discuss all the ways in which this horror story horrrrrrriffied you at that ending, please dm me bc I want to scream out NOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
And I might add kudos to Ms Pinborough for such a fantastic premise and twist on the ghost trope that I did not see coming & was just so damn unique - I loved it. This is what I like - a bit of supernatural WTFs in my story!!!! This book was done so great on audio, kudos also to the wonderful narrators @sarahpinboroughbooks #HelenBaxendale and #JamieGlover !!!
This brought me back to #behindhereyes - that level of shock. Loved it, highly recommend!!!
And ever since @bnelsonauthor 's book #RedInside (which will be reviewed next) I've been on a bit of a horror ride. (Yours had me running with characters and checking for spiders everywhere Bridj)
More to come on the #horror !!!

This would be a super bookclub pick. It’s atmospheric and at times a little slow. But overall this is a great read for suspense lovers.

Was able to listen to this audiobook thanks to the publisher and netgalley. It’s an interesting concept and I really think that the author had something amazing when she started. This just fell flat to me. I feel like it could have gone in such a different direction and could have been even better than it already was. That being said still a good listen.

I love a book with a good atmospheric haunted house setting, so this one was a must read for me this year. Even though the book felt slightly slow for me at times, it was eerie and creepy and was the perfect quick summer thriller read for me.

I’m looking forward to getting to Behind Her Eyes and Insomnia by this author. Those two have been on my TBR for ages!

3.5/5 ⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Hmmm I think this had a LOT of potential. There are lots of secrets, a creepy house, troubling relationships and a FMC that some would deem “hysterical”. I did have some trouble getting into this novel though. I’m not sure if it were the characters, which I didn’t necessarily care that much about, or the plot in general. This husband and wife are both running from their pasts and obviously moving into a creepy old house will fix that. Except not really. I think the last 10% or so was very interesting and I wish that I felt that way about the previous 90%. I also didn’t care too much about the birds. I feel as though there needed to be no birds or more of the birds.

The narration was very well done though. I felt as though a lot of emotion was able to be portrayed.

I will definitely read more from this author though. I do think that Pinborough can write twisty stories.