Pretty stereotypical haunted house story but with a cool twist. I personally didn't like the raven cut scenes. I get why they're there but for the most part I found them distracting and boring. I know a lot of people said they liked the Poe vibes but it felt gimmicky to me.

Overall not a bad read. I liked our main character, it's just not the best haunted house book I've come across.

I received an audio copy of the book. Loved the main narrator. Her voice fit the vibes and was easy to understand at an increased volume.

This was such a unique and atmospheric story! I loved the haunted house theme and even though this is probably categorized as a horror, I didn’t find it to be gory or overly disturbing. It just had an inherently eerie overtone to it, and there also seemed to be some themes from Edgar Allen Poe weaved in. The audio was super bingeable and definitely kept my attention. Overall, I had a good time with this book and find myself still thinking about it days later.

I am a fan of this authors books, so when I saw this one available for review I knew I wanted to read it!

I must say I was kind of disappointed. The book felt a little typical. Kind of been there done that. I usually enjoy the twists and turns of her books but found myself zoning out while listening and having to rewind to catch back up. I wound up skipping over parts of the book because I felt like it was dragging.

Overall it was just ok for me. I may pick up a physical copy at the library once its released and try to read it to see if I like it better.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ALC.

This book was a bit of a slow burn, very atmospheric and creepy, and it paid off in the end. I loved the Gothic feel of this story and the narrators (Helen Baxendale; Jamie Glover; Sarah Pinborough) did an amazing job.

If you are looking for a good haunted house story, this is it!

If it’s a book about a haunted house it’s an automatic read for me. This book is a mix of a creepy haunted house and a domestic thriller. After a terrible accident Emily and her husband Freddie move into a home in the English countryside. As they start to settle into the house Emily feels a dark presence and feels something is terribly wrong with the house.

I first thought this was going to be a traditional haunted house story, but it actually had a surprising twist at the end that I didn’t see coming. I thought it was very clever. I also liked the inclusion of the Raven’s and the Edgar Allan Poe references. This was my first book by Sarah Pinborough and I would read more from her.

If you’re looking for a haunted house thriller that is refreshingly different, I would add this to your TBR!

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the early audio book
I loved this book. I thought it was just the right amount of crazy at the right times. You really start to doubt everything that is going on. I thought Helen Baxendale, Jamie Glover, and Sarah Pinborough really brought he characters to life. It was just a fun book and I enjoyed figuring out what was going on with the characters and watching them descend into madness!

4.5 Stars

I really really enjoy Sarah Pinborough. I have read another book from her and I really enjoyed it as well. The great thing about Sarah's books is that she does a great job telling a story that as a reader you are constantly second guessing the reality of it. You can't always tell what is is real and what is just made up in the characters head. Is the character crazy or is there something else more nefarious going on.

I thought the narration and production of this book was well done. The woman narrator did take me a little to get used to and I struggled for a little bit. I think this was more on me than the narrator itself. She didn't do anything necessarily wrong, just something with the cadence and delivery just didn't quite work for me.

This book seems like your classic haunted house story. However, only the main character is experiencing these hauntings of the book. What makes you question her as a reader, is that you are told multiple times how she almost died of sepsis. Because of this there is a possibility that she could experience delusions. No one else notices what happening in the house and is worried that she is delusional.

None of these characters in this book are loveable. I think it works really well for this book. They are all very self centered and do some really crappy things. This allows the reader to be immersed in the story and I though it played into the ending of the book.

I think my only criticism is the pacing. In the middle it got a little repetitive and a tad bit slow. This book could have possibly been a bit shorter.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this advance listener copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

Sarah Pinborough does it again! Every book I’ve read by this author has been unique, memorable, and enjoyable.

This one is no different. It’s a fresh take on a haunted house with deliciously flawed characters. I was intrigued from the start and loved seeing the plot slowly unfold. The two big reveals were as satisfying as they were twisty.

I enjoyed the different narrators and especially liked the cameo by the author herself.

Rating is rounded down from a 4.5. If you like mystery thrillers, haunted houses, or messed up characters, you’ll enjoy this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books: Pine & Cedar

After an accident that nearly kills her, Emily and her husband, Freddie, move from London to a beautiful Dartmoor country house called Larkin Lodge. The house is gorgeous, striking―and to Emily, something about it feels deeply wrong.

Old boards creak at night, fires go out, and books fall from the shelves, and all of it stems from the terrible presence she feels in the third-floor room. But these things happen only when Emily’s alone, so are they happening at all? She’s still medically fragile; her post sepsis condition can cause hallucinatory side effects, which means she can’t fully trust her own senses. Freddie doesn’t notice anything odd and is happy with their chance at a fresh start.

Emily, however, starts to believe that the house is being haunted by someone who was murdered in it, though she can find no evidence of a wrongful death. As bizarre events pile up and her marriage starts to crumble, Emily becomes obsessed with discovering the truth about Larkin Lodge.

Hmm let's see.
"Love and marriage, love and marriage, go together like a horse and carriage……" This house brings out the worst in its occupants and it was fun to witness.

We Live Here was an extremely slow burn. Nothing happened for so long I almost gave up. But, a little over the halfway mark things started to move (albeit still slow but we found out a lot of things). It was eerie, clever and at times funny but a little too slow for my taste but even still I enjoyed the story. The ending was satisfying.

DNF at 28%. I liked Pinborough’s Behind Her Eyes, so I was hoping to enjoy this one, too. But I read Behind Her Eyes early on in my thriller reading, and I don’t have a lot of patience for domestic suspense plot lines anymore. There are only so many ways that can go. I appreciate the speculative turn in Behind Her Eyes - and I feel like We Live Here Now is probably doing something similar - but the majority of Behind Her Eyes was a domestic suspense story, and I don’t know that I’d be entertained by that now. Because I’m not in We Live Here Now.

This is the story of Emily and Freddie (we get both POVs) and the seemingly haunted house they move into. Emily has had an accident that included being in a coma. They both have secrets from each other, and it’s clear early on that Freddie doesn’t even like Emily very much! Emily starts hearing things in the house and Freddie is very much against the idea that the house is haunted. Things unravel from there, one assumes!

The relationship drama between Emily and Freddie did not interest me at all. Then more friends get introduced with their own drama that I did not care about either. At 28% in there were repetitive scenes of hearing scraping and other little noises, but not much else. There’s a scene with an Ouija board that was cool but not enough to keep me going.

I think if domestic suspense and a slow start is your style, this one could work for you!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Stepford Wives meets Haunting of Hill House.

I love the title!! It is perfect for a haunted house story. Originally when I first saw the title, I could see it written in dripping blood on a foggy bathroom mirror. The red on the cover is eye catching and I think reflects the story well.

If you have read previous books by the author, you probably have high expectations. I knew that at some point there would be a twist that made this book unique from other psychological thrillers. I was not disappointed! The book kinda reminded me of The September House where nothing and no-one is exactly as they seem.

The narrators did a wonderful job of portraying the characters. I feel like I had been in a little reading slump and this book may have done the trick to get me out of it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Sarah Pinborough, Helen Baxendale and Jamie Glover. I have written this review voluntarily and honestly.

Part haunted house, part domestic thriller, this book was everything I wanted from both genres. The premise sounds kind of basic - a couple with marital issues move into a creepy house in the countryside, she starts hearing/seeing strange things, no one believes her - but I promise this is not going where you think it is. You will either love or despise the direction this takes, I personally let out an audible “oh hell yeah” when the reveals started to unfold. Idk how her brain comes up with this stuff but I bow down!

Okay, the thing is… I really love movies about creepy houses. So I’m very drawn to books with this premise but they never seem to fully work for me? Perhaps I’m just not a fan of the horror genre but nonetheless, I picked this one up and didn’t hate it, but also didn’t love it.

My favourite part was the ending, I thought that the twist was extremely clever and I wish that we had gotten to see more of that play out. Things wrapped up pretty quickly and although I felt satisfied I wish that things had come together a bit more quickly.

Narration was well done but also nothing super special, for how little we heard from the second female narrator I’m not sure it was worth adding a third narrator into the mix? It didn’t add a whole lot to the characterization or my overall reading experience.

A Haunting Done Right

I enjoyed every facet of this book. Finally, a haunting story that wasn’t a disappointment! The central mystery of the eerie house kept me turning pages, and I was just as invested in the ebb and flow of Emily and Freddie’s marriage. Even the side thread involving the ravens was beautifully done and surprisingly impactful.

The house itself wasn’t just a setting—it felt like a character with its own presence and secrets. I completely understand the hype I’ve heard about this title. It delivered atmosphere, suspense, and emotional depth in equal measure.

I have mixed feelings on this. I adore Pinborough and because of that I feel like i am not being hard enough on this book. If I'm being blatantly honest this whole book felt like a rip off of the first season of American Horror Story. I know the concept has been done before AHS as well but just the way this is written, the couples dynamic, the style of the house everything just felt like a beat for beat rewrite. It really disappoints me because Pinborough can obviously do so much better. Overall this was a let down for me.

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough cements the author in my mind as the queen of the twisty ending. I’m so grateful to @macmillan.audio for an ALC of this one. It comes out May 20!

After an accident that almost killed her, Emily and her husband Freddie move out of London to a country house. Almost immediately, Emily feels like there’s something off about the house. Floorboards creaking, books falling off shelves, horrible smells. But her postsepsis condition can cause hallucinations so Freddie doesn’t really believe what his wife is telling him, although his mood has changed too. Emily takes it upon herself to find out more about the history of the house and, not surprisingly, discovers some shocking things.

This story is told from three POVs. The two main ones are Emily and Freddie and both have things to hide when the story begins, which only adds to the creepy, gothic feel of the book. I listened to this one in a day. I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen. Pinborough does a fabulous job with the pacing, doling out bits of information along the way to keep the reader completely rapt in the story. I wasn’t completely shocked by the ending, but it was a perfect resolution to the story. I’d absolutely recommend this one to anyone who likes stories with gothic—possibly haunted—mansions, complex relationship drama, and great twists.

Each of the POVs had its own narrator—one of whom was the author herself—which made it really easy to get into Emily and Freddie’s heads. I immediately felt transported to England when I heard their voices, and absolutely loved listening. It was the perfect amount of creepy without being outright scary for me, and I’d definitely recommend the audiobook.

Review: We Live Here Now

This was definitely not your typical haunted house story—and I loved that. The audiobook cast was fantastic, really pulling you into the atmosphere and emotional weight of it all. The nods to Edgar Allan Poe, especially The Raven, gave it this deliciously eerie literary depth without feeling forced. The use of ravens throughout was creepy, symbolic, and so well-done. The house itself was haunting, not just because of ghosts, but because of the layers of sadness woven into its history. If you’re into spooky with substance, this one delivers.

This one started very slow for me. The set up for the couple and how they came to be where they are as well as the set up of the 'hauntings' at their new house kinda dragged on. Part of this for me is because I usually shy away from domestic thrillers with a couple hiding secrets and their relationship on the rocks.

Anyway, once the story gets going, I was really invested and couldn't wait to find out what was real, what wasn't and how everything would end. Then the end?! Probably one of my favorite endings to a thriller recently.

So yeah, I almost DNF'd this book, but it turned into one I can't wait to recommend and discuss with people.

Oh and audiobook bonus, the female narrator is Emily from Friends!

For those who enjoy audiobooks, "We Live Here Now" promises to be a truly immersive experience thanks to the captivating narration by Helen Baxendale, Jaime Glover, and Sarah Pinborough. Each narrator expertly embodies their respective roles, adding depth and nuance to the characters and the increasingly sinister events. Baxendale's portrayal of Emily's descent into doubt is particularly compelling, while Glover's voice adds a layer of... let's just say a certain tone that perfectly complements his character. Pinborough's own contributions to the narration further amplify the book's unique and unsettling atmosphere, making for a truly captivating listen.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the immersive listening experience. Consider yourself warned: this house takes things personally.

Sarah Pinborough's We Live Here Now is a chilling, emotionally layered novel that blends horror with psychological suspense in a uniquely unsettling way. With her signature sharp prose and clever narrative twists, Pinborough crafts a story that explores grief, loneliness, and the fear of being truly alone—even in your own home. The pacing is tight, the atmosphere oppressive, and the sense of dread grows with every page. It’s a compact but impactful read, perfect for fans of unsettling domestic horror with a literary edge. Highly recommended for readers who loved Behind Her Eyes and want something darker, weirder, and more intimate.