**DNF**
While the premise and cover were captivating, I was only able to get through the first few chapters of this book.
What I did read seemed like vivid, descriptive reading.
However, the formatting was completely off in the E-Arc and unreadable. It is mentioned in the ARC acceptance email that you not mention any typos in your review....and while I don't think it was typos (I'm pretty sure it was intentional formatting) it is unreadable for me :(
Because I wasn't able to give this a full read, I will not be sharing this review elsewhere besides NetGalley.

Thank you, NetGalley & Rising Action Publishing Co., for the eARC of Bad Things Happened in This Room by Marie Still! 🪲🐛🔪🩸

2 words: Holy CRAP.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

I don’t know what I expected but it wasn’t that.

This book is going to stick with me forever. I am floored. I’ve been looking for a book that can ACTUALLY spook me, and this one did just that! Several times! I was freaked OUT! 😮‍💨

I felt like I was teetering between possible reality and a fever dream and it had me questioning EVERYTHING. Some parts felt bizarre and sometimes a little confusing but I promise, it’s absolutely worth it to keep reading. I thought it was a little hard to keep up with but I think that’s the whole point. This tragic and maddening story was written so amazingly well. Ugh, I can’t get over it! 🫨 <- that’s me while reading this btw.

The ending blew me away. This is such a heart-breaking and haunting story, that when the bombshells dropped, they hit me like a train! I was too busy feeling emotional that I didn’t see any of it coming. If you think you know what’s going to happen, you are WRONG! And it’s not some cheap plot twists either. It actually astounded me multiple times and I am STILL sweating.

This is the PERFECT read if you’re looking for a horror novel that will mess with the reader (yes, you!) psychologically. 10/10 will probably read again when the physical copies are released! 🤩

Thanks Rising Action Publishing Co. and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC

First of all I think if I enjoyed thrillers as a genre just a bit more i would have rated this a bit higher. Or if i Liked the style of the novel more.

That being said Though the style really suited the story.

I felt like i was having a fever dream tjat was plagued by almost nightmare.

Unsettling and confusing i was on edge the whole time reading.

I will definitely recommend to my thriller friends

Wow, this psychological horror had me wondering if I was losing my mind. Bad Things Happened in This Room is about Willow, who is lost in her days and believes she is being held captive by her husband. She becomes friends with Sarah, a little girl who comes to visit her in her garden. When Sarah disappears, Willow’s already shattered mind becomes even more fragmented.

I was convinced Willow was a victim of amnesia/abduction in the beginning but as the story unraveled, I didn't know what to believe! Marie Still did an amazing job conveying despair, grief, and emotion. I felt like I was experiencing this with Willow, unsure who to trust and if I can even trust myself. The ending had a great twist and explained Willow’s descend to insanity. I definitely recommend it if you like dark psychological horror. Read for triggers.

A chilling psychological horror that descends into madness where the walls whisper and secrets are buried in the garden. A story exploring motherhood, grief, and the thin line between reality and delusion. An unhinged, dark, and twisted story.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨. | 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐚𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥

i totally had willow pegged as the victim from the start. i was completely misled. for my first marie still book, this did not disappoint. the writing flowed so easily, that i blinked and i was already halfway through (oops). the vivid detail and imagination in this story blew me away. it explores a side of motherhood we don’t want to think about. the kind that tells uncomfortable truths we can’t always imagine. and liam? that was such an unexpected angle. we rarely see fatherhood portrayed like that. this had me hooked the entire time, and when the truth finally came out… MY JAW DROPPED.

This was not for me. I powered through to finish it, to see what was really happening, and was left unsatisfied. It meandered and repeated so much that it was hard for me to focus on. And subject matter was not my fav, that is mentioned in the trigger warning section at the beginning of the story - so it’s my fault for not heeding the warnings!

I enjoyed this story and I actually liked the fact that the whole time it kept me guessing what was real or not. I was also glad we got some answers in the end and could then take that and piece together everything I previously read! Definitely a creepy vibe and sad overall but I really enjoyed the way it was written.

This was honestly heartbreaking as hell. Our narrator, Willow, is very unreliable and goes through SO MUCH in this whole book. The entire time you have no idea what’s real, what’s fake, who’s real, who’s fake.
It’s a hard novel to follow but like, it's supposed to be that way and it makes perfect sense? It is a book that you’re going to want to read in one sitting, it grips you and leaves your brain reeling at every page flip.
I was unable to guess anything that happened, the moment I had any form of inkling it would just be ripped away due to the unreliable narration. How everything came together was absolutely mindblowing and literally shattered my heart into a million little pieces.
Marie Still does a phenomenal job writing this novel, the emotions of it all just seep through the book and grip you. Also, the imagery?! Still seriously wrote everything so well, I could picture it all perfectly, the horror aspects of the scenes, the psychological parts of the scenes. It just all came to life in her writing. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.
READ THIS BOOK

A psychological horror that grips you from the floral-patterned walls to the whispering garden. Willow’s life unravels in a fever dream: the wallpaper bleeds secrets, her husband’s control suffocates, and a little girl’s disappearance shatters what’s left of her reality .

Think domestic nightmare meets Gothic thriller—this one’ll have you second‑guessing every creak in the night. It’s disturbing, lyrical, and lingers long after the last page.

Tension? Thick enough to suffocate.
Marie Still delivers a deliciously claustrophobic thriller that had me checking the locks at 2 a.m. Think locked-room mystery meets modern domestic noir. It’s eerie, it’s anxious, and it absolutely knows what it's doing.

Unreliable narrator? Check. Twists? So many you’ll think your neck snapped.
And the title? Not lying.

3.5 stars.
That was a very sad story, told in a very beautiful way.
The writing style makes the vibes feel claustrophobic, it felt tight and stressful. The descriptions were so beautifully descriptive that i could easily put myself in the MCs shoes.

I loved this book so much! The lucid dream like state writing and the unreliable narrator made me keep turning the pages!
The ending was probably one of my favorite endings ever.
Thank you Rising Action and NetGalley for this ARC.

This book was insane. I was so confused til literally the last couple chapters. I was so lost and honestly I’m glad I was, it made the book more interesting. I wanted to know what happened. I wanted the main character to have a happy ending. I wanted everything to not be wrong. But I was wrong. Everything was bad. And it was such an amazing story.

This story is creepy, twisted, and impossible to look away from. I loved the unsettling atmosphere and the way it kept me guessing. Is Willow trapped by someone else or is her mind playing tricks on her? The mystery builds slowly but pays off in chilling ways.

The writing pulls you into Willow’s world where nothing feels safe or certain. The house feels like a character on its own and the clues hidden in the wallpaper and garden added such a creepy touch. A few parts moved a little slowly but overall it was a dark and haunting read that stuck with me.

This was the most unusual and unsettling book I’ve read in a long time (compliment) it felt like such a fever dream the entire story. We only get any real reliable information at the absolute end of the book but the way it brought all the small details strewn throughout the story was seriously impressive and magical. This was a realistic horror and it was so well done. I’ll be thinking about the ending for forever.

4.5 stars!

This was a wild ride and a lot of fun to read. It did remind me of the Yellow Wallpaper in which the narrator is unreliable, but is you wonder if there is also something sinister going on. It’s one of the books where the reader is confused on and off for a while, but you just need to keep reading to get the full scope. There are still some unanswered questions that add to the overall feel of the book. It’s creepy and ominous and it constantly builds the dread and suspense. It’s full of twists and turns and I highly recommend.

Thank you, NetGalley and Rising Action Publishing Co. for allowing me to read this book. I am writing this review based on my own opinion.

OMG! What did I just read?!? That felt like a crazy fever dream, Willow’s unreliable narrative style and being unable to decipher was real and what’s not was beautifully written, I had to keep reading searching for answers.
I was instantly hooked on the psychological spiral right from the beginning, I’m so happy to of been able to read this book that I’ve anxiously been awaiting

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

How do I even explain what I just read? I can't. It's like a roller coaster full of twists, turns, loops, and unexpected jokes. Not only that, you're going to get whiplash from being perked around in every direction, and oh yes, let's not forget the hidden trapdoor! I had absolutely no idea where this book was taking me. All i know was i was not expecting anything it threw at me. This is definitely going in wtf did I just read. This isn't going in that category because of gore, blood, and nastiness. Oh no, it's just because this book is so tripping, and I had no idea what was happening most of the time. I thought i was losing my mind by the end of the book.

There is such darkness in this book and such sadness. It runs deep within the pages, and once you realize what's actually happening, it's truly awful. Im still wrapping my mind around it all. The emotions I went through with this book and with the main character I just have so many feelings about it all. Not only that, you just look at the husband and have so many questions.

The mind is a powerful thing, and this book certainly proves that. It will do so much to try and keep you safe, even from yourself. The question is, though, is it too much? What is the mind trying to do? Maybe it is, or maybe it's not. All i can say is that this book was truly tripping and certainly had me gasping by the end of it. I had no idea what was going on until the very end, and im still thinking about it all.

Five stars—easily. This book drags you into a spiraling psychosis alongside the protagonist. The way the storyline twists and folds into the ending is masterful. You don’t just read it—you experience it. I felt like I was losing my grip right along with the characters. Absolutely haunting