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Jamie's Reviews > We Used to Live Here
We Used to Live Here
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This book has totally unlocked a new fear for me, so thank you for that, Marcus Kliewer. Luckily we're only the second owners of our house and it's not old enough for anyone to have grown up here, so I'll be rightfully suspicious of anyone knocking on our door wanting to see their “childhood home.” And after having read We Used to Live Here, there is no way I'm letting a stranger into my house. Ever.
But, yeah, this is a creepy and suspenseful read, and you can sense the wrongness of the situation from the very beginning. The dread slowly builds and builds, although it's hard to really put your finger on why. I mean, by all appearances the Fausts are just a perfectly normal family, so why do they feel so … diabolical?
Eve is an okay main character, not particularly likeable but also not exactly unlikeable – she's just kind of neurotic and overly anxious (with good reason, as it turns out). Shylo the dog is a perfectly adorable good girl, of course, and I spent the entire book fretting over whether or not she was going to survive. (And does she? (view spoiler))
The first part of this book is mostly a “creepy things are happening in an old house” sort of thing (the unsettling Faust family aside), but the final pages are a total mind-bender. I'm honestly not sure if I loved the ending or semi-hated it? Let's just say that it's kind of … open to interpretation and leave it at that, I suppose? I'm looking forward to the future movie and to seeing where the director goes with this one.
My overall rating: 3.65 stars, rounded up. If you enjoy suspenseful psychological thrillers mixed with a heaping dose of horror, you should probably consider giving We Used to Live Here a read. You'll never want to open your door to a stranger again.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.
But, yeah, this is a creepy and suspenseful read, and you can sense the wrongness of the situation from the very beginning. The dread slowly builds and builds, although it's hard to really put your finger on why. I mean, by all appearances the Fausts are just a perfectly normal family, so why do they feel so … diabolical?
Eve is an okay main character, not particularly likeable but also not exactly unlikeable – she's just kind of neurotic and overly anxious (with good reason, as it turns out). Shylo the dog is a perfectly adorable good girl, of course, and I spent the entire book fretting over whether or not she was going to survive. (And does she? (view spoiler))
The first part of this book is mostly a “creepy things are happening in an old house” sort of thing (the unsettling Faust family aside), but the final pages are a total mind-bender. I'm honestly not sure if I loved the ending or semi-hated it? Let's just say that it's kind of … open to interpretation and leave it at that, I suppose? I'm looking forward to the future movie and to seeing where the director goes with this one.
My overall rating: 3.65 stars, rounded up. If you enjoy suspenseful psychological thrillers mixed with a heaping dose of horror, you should probably consider giving We Used to Live Here a read. You'll never want to open your door to a stranger again.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.
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Reading Progress
February 26, 2024
–
Started Reading
February 26, 2024
– Shelved
February 26, 2024
– Shelved as:
arcs-and-such
February 26, 2024
– Shelved as:
fiction
February 28, 2024
–
Finished Reading
March 13, 2024
– Shelved as:
popsugar-challenge-2015
Comments Showing 1-15 of 15 (15 new)
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Debbie Y
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Feb 28, 2024 10:07PM
Fabulous review, Jamie, this sounds promising. I love creepy houses, hey! :)
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Debbie Y wrote: "Fabulous review, Jamie, this sounds promising. I love creepy houses, hey! :)"Thank you, Debbie! There's a creepy house and a creepy family in this one - I got a bit spooked reading it at night, honestly. 😀
Oooo great review Jamie! The ending sounds interesting!
Your fabulous review still has me worried for the dog 😟
JustJJ wrote: "Oooo great review Jamie! The ending sounds interesting!"Thank you, JJ! The ending is very very ... open-ended and twisty. I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it, but I think I'm leaning toward liking it? It's an unusual one, for sure!
MarilynW wrote: "Your fabulous review still has me worried for the dog 😟"
Thank you, Marilyn! I always worry so much about dogs in books, LOL. (view spoiler)
Jamie wrote: "JustJJ wrote: "Oooo great review Jamie! The ending sounds interesting!"Thank you, JJ! The ending is very very ... open-ended and twisty. I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it, but I thi..."
Thanks for the spoiler, Jamie!
MarilynW wrote: "Thanks for the spoiler, Jamie!"You're welcome, although I just realized that my second spoiler doesn't really add much to my original spoiler, ha ha. What I meant to say is that (view spoiler) 🙂🐶
Jamie wrote: "MarilynW wrote: "Thanks for the spoiler, Jamie!"You're welcome, although I just realized that my second spoiler doesn't really add much to my original spoiler, ha ha. What I meant to say is that ..."
It was about the same as the first but I decided I didn't have to worry (I think, seems some weirdness is afoot). 😁
Creepy! Glad to hear Shylo is fine, that's always a big worry for me. Great review.
Mellissa wrote: "Creepy! Glad to hear Shylo is fine, that's always a big worry for me. Great review."Thank you, Mellissa! Yes, me too - I won't read a book if I know that the dog dies. 😀
L.A. wrote: "Fabulous review!"
Thanks so much, L.A.! 🙂
I love the idea of reading horror. 😂 I’m a scaredy-cat. Is there a lot of gore?
amy wrote: "I love the idea of reading horror. 😂 I’m a scaredy-cat. Is there a lot of gore?"It's been a few months, but I don't remember there being any gore in this one. I watched all kinds of inappropriate horror movies when I was ridiculously young and I've been a big fan of the genre ever since. 😀 Coraline by Neil Gaiman might be a good start if you're looking to try out some horror - it's only slightly scary and written for kids so you know there's nothing too horrible in it!
Yeah I didn’t like the open ended ending. I think overall it was good and would make an excellent movie but yeah the open ending irked me
Jess wrote: "Yeah I didn’t like the open ended ending. I think overall it was good and would make an excellent movie but yeah the open ending irked me"Yes! It would definitely make a good film but maybe they could change the ending a bit. 😀
