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To byl náš dům
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Horror (2024), Nominee for Readers' Favorite Debut Novel (2024)To byl náš dům je hororový thriller, v němž se realita pomalu drolí pod tlakem nezvané minulosti. Příběh sleduje čerstvě zasnoubený pár, který si právě pořídil starý dům na malém městě. Jejich idyla se však rychle naruší, když se u dveří objeví rodina, která tvrdí, že v domě dříve žila – a chová se, jako by se sem chtěla vrátit. Co začalo jako nepříjemné nedorozumění, se postupně mění v děsivý psychologický boj o to, co je skutečné a co halucinace, kdo má právo na tento domov – a kdo vůbec přežije. Kniha, která vychází z virálního příspěvku na Redditu a jejíž adaptaci chystá Netflix, slibuje napětí, tísnivou atmosféru a mrazivý pohled na hranici mezi normalitou a šílenstvím.
360 pages, Paperback
First published June 18, 2024
15183 people are currently reading
332750 people want to read
About the author
Marcus Kliewer
2 books3,351 followersMarcus Kliewer is a writer and stop-motion animator. His debut novel We Used to Live Here began life as a serialized short story on Reddit, where it won the Scariest Story of 2021 award on the NoSleep forum (eighteen million members). Film rights were snapped up by Netflix, and it acquired by Simon & Schuster for publication even before it had been extended into a full-length novel. He lives in Vancouver, Canada.
Follow him on Instagram @marcus_kliewer for exclusive book updates / writing things / stop motion animation & a lot of pet videos.
Follow him on Instagram @marcus_kliewer for exclusive book updates / writing things / stop motion animation & a lot of pet videos.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39,239 reviews
March 19, 2024
Once they’re in, they never leave . . .
3 1/2 stars. There is a part of me that wants to give this book five stars for being one of the most terrifying horror stories I've ever read, and another part that wants to remove more stars for the thousand unanswered questions I have. Can we please get a sequel just to explain some shit?
I love a good scare and these days they're hard to come by. I've been reading/watching horror since I picked up the Goosebumps books when I was six, so I find I'm tough to really frighten. But, my god, THIS BOOK. Don't be fooled by that domestic thriller style cover-- this is pure horror.
It scared me in the middle of the day. And at night? I lay awake listening to every bump and creak in my house. It's certainly not conducive to a good night's sleep. That one scene in the attic was portrayed so vividly that I can still see it burned onto my eyelids every time I close my eyes.
The story is about young couple Eve and Charlie who flip houses. They've just bought a dilapidated old house (in the middle of nowhere, next to woods, with an attic AND a basement, because of course) with plans to renovate and sell. Then one night a family turn up at the front door. The father claims he lived in the house when he was a boy and asks if he might be able to look around. Just 15 minutes, then they'll be on their way.
Except, one thing after another keeps happening to extend their visit. And weird things start to happen around the house. Eve starts to see things, question reality. Is it her overactive imagination? Or do the family have no real intention of leaving?
Kliewer plays on many common thoughts that sit very close to reality. You misread something, misplace something, misremember. Nothing actually changed. Your phone didn't move; you just forgot you put it there... right?
The story also incorporates several very real phenomena that I can't think about for too long without feeling deeply unsettled. Sleep paralysis demons. Capgras syndrome (believing someone you know has been replaced by a doppelgänger.) Pareidolia (seeing meaningful things in abstract images - e.g. Rorschach tests.) The Mandela effect.
I think great horror writers do this-- weave their horror with truth, with the mundane, so it feels grounded in reality and therefore believable.
That being said, I cannot ignore the fact that I'm left with so many "What about...?" questions. The fact that I'm rounding up to 4 stars despite this should tell you just how gripping and scary I found the book.
Here are just a few of the questions I have (MAJOR SPOILERS):
It's actually really disappointing that so many loose threads were left hanging because I would genuinely like to rate this higher. I feel some of this could easily be taken care of with another quick edit. Though the book doesn't publish for another three months so perhaps changes will be made between now and then.
June 25, 2024
I don’t feel like I read the same book as everyone else. Reminded me so much of how I felt reading House of Leaves.
This book had such an intriguing premise and I was really intrigued to see what might be happening. And for the first half, I was captivated and reading quickly. Eve and her partner Charlie flip houses and they have purchased an older property. They have recently moved in and when Charlie is out running an errand, Eve answers a knock at the door. Thomas, his wife, and their three children stand there. Thomas says he used to live in the house as a child and wants to know if he can show his family around as they are on their way to move across the country. Reluctantly, Eve allows them in, and what happens next gets more and more bizarre and frightening.
I don't mind horror fiction, but I want it to at least make a semblance of sense. There are some intriguing documents scattered throughout and I kept waiting for it all to come together. For me, it really didn't. It just kept getting stranger and stranger after the first half, and it never coalesced to make a coherent narrative for me.
This is definitely a creepy book with a very unsettling vibe throughout. I see that it's being made into a movie and I definitely got an American Horror story feel, so hopefully it will translate well to the screen.
This is billed as being like Parasite, and while I loved that move, this book is nothing like it. That movie made sense to me and this book just did not. I wanted my questions answered in a satisfactory way and they weren't. I was left with too many threads and not enough explanations.
Overall, this wasn't a very successful book for me, but it has a high average rating and lots of people loved it, so it may appeal to you, especially if you were a fan of House of Leaves.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
This book had such an intriguing premise and I was really intrigued to see what might be happening. And for the first half, I was captivated and reading quickly. Eve and her partner Charlie flip houses and they have purchased an older property. They have recently moved in and when Charlie is out running an errand, Eve answers a knock at the door. Thomas, his wife, and their three children stand there. Thomas says he used to live in the house as a child and wants to know if he can show his family around as they are on their way to move across the country. Reluctantly, Eve allows them in, and what happens next gets more and more bizarre and frightening.
I don't mind horror fiction, but I want it to at least make a semblance of sense. There are some intriguing documents scattered throughout and I kept waiting for it all to come together. For me, it really didn't. It just kept getting stranger and stranger after the first half, and it never coalesced to make a coherent narrative for me.
This is definitely a creepy book with a very unsettling vibe throughout. I see that it's being made into a movie and I definitely got an American Horror story feel, so hopefully it will translate well to the screen.
This is billed as being like Parasite, and while I loved that move, this book is nothing like it. That movie made sense to me and this book just did not. I wanted my questions answered in a satisfactory way and they weren't. I was left with too many threads and not enough explanations.
Overall, this wasn't a very successful book for me, but it has a high average rating and lots of people loved it, so it may appeal to you, especially if you were a fan of House of Leaves.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
September 7, 2024
4.5⭐️
this book was eerie, twisty, and so enrapturing the entire time. i had to read this slowly (lack of down time) and the book didn’t leave my mind once. the plot was so mind bending to me not knowing what to believe. one of my favorites of the year
this book was eerie, twisty, and so enrapturing the entire time. i had to read this slowly (lack of down time) and the book didn’t leave my mind once. the plot was so mind bending to me not knowing what to believe. one of my favorites of the year
July 24, 2024
4.5* This was SO good, it genuinely scared me, but I have SO MANY QUESTIONS. Literally got to the end and said WHERE’S THE REST???
October 20, 2024
what the hell just happened
January 11, 2025
Believe the hype.
September 20, 2025
Guys, can we be for real for a second. Can we be serious. This book was bad.
We Used to Live Here has an interesting premise for a horror story. A twist on a home invasion preying on social anxiety and the rules of politeness. A family is in your house. They haven’t hurt you or threatened you, but they won’t leave. What do you do? Sounds interesting, right?
This book isn’t about that.
I would be hard-pressed to tell you what this book is about. Things happen in it, certainly. Some of them are even scary. Some of them are things that, in other stories, I love! I love horror about twisted labyrinthine houses, places that want to consume you, buildings that hunt you through their corridors like a predator.
Unfortunately, this book isn’t about that either.
This was originally a short horror story and god, you can tell. The book is bloated with lengthy, irrelevant digressions that go nowhere and build to nothing, at its worst going on for pages at a time, as though the only way to establish character is to expose us to endless flashbacks and memories tangentially related to whatever is happening on page. I don’t need to know about your grandfather’s scary encounter with a great horned owl. I don’t need to know about fucking Mo.
But we need to fill out that word count, so the book spins its wheels for 200 pages between the intriguing opening and the deeply lackluster ending while we’re stuck with a main character who can barely string two thoughts together without an aside about how scared and useless she is. It is, fundamentally, a piece of short internet horror stretched over the skeleton of a novel until the skin splits and you can see the hollow interior.
And I say that as someone who likes internet horror! I think internet horror, like many forms of short fiction, thrives when it has one central, compelling idea that’s explored without overstaying its welcome. I think short horror in particular is about skillfully pulling some emotional levers in your brain and getting out right at the moment of that high. Scare them, hit them with the Bad End, and go.
But novels need things that short horror can sometimes do without. Like character development. And plot.
I think what was most frustrating to me about this book is that it draws on particular horror aesthetics—touchstones of creepypasta and SomethingAwful image threads—mixes them together, and assumes that’s all a horror novel needs. A basement that’s bigger than it should be. A woman in a hospital gown. Swarms of ants. A ragged cymbals monkey (off brand!) But these things just kind of float vaguely near each other in the soup of the plot without becoming something more. There’s no moment where I went “a-ha! so THAT’S how it works!” Neither was there a moment where I was faced with a vast unknowable terror that forces you to admit to the horror of ignorance. Things happen. You shrug and say, “Might as well.”
Spoilers follow, reader beware.
The engine of the horror in the book seems to be—as far as I can tell—an interconnected series of parallel universes tied together by Old Houses, and the house the main character Eve and her girlfriend Charlie have purchased is one of these Old Houses. So is the cabin in the woods nearby. What cabin? Don’t worry, it isn’t important. What does this have to do with the family from the beginning of the book? Shockingly little. Thomas, the father, seems to be an ageless entity who pulls people through to parallel worlds, makes up a story about how they’re crazy, and then feeds off their terror. What about the rest of the family? I don’t know. Does this seem like a needlessly complicated mechanism for this scheme? Absolutely.
See, the novel is perpetually hinting at a larger, potentially more interesting world beyond Eve’s protracted spiral like it’s begging you to read through to the end, tempting you with explanations and revelations. There are none. The paratextual interludes drop in lore tidbits to try to establish the rules of a world that the main narrative is mostly not interested in. Here is a short list of things that are never explained and, worse, have no bearing on the story the book is ostensibly telling:
- There is an Old Man with a Scar in a cabin nearby. He has a bunch of nonsense maps that we are meant to assume chart the Old Houses (because House of Leaves!). There are classic “ritual pasta” instructions included within these maps for safe navigation. The Old Man’s scar is identical to the one Thomas has at the end of book.
- A list of terminology used by “Old House Archivists” differentiating between people trapped in the network, people who are visiting, and hostile entities that are there… for some reason. (Because SCP!)
- At one point Eve is trapped with a doppelganger of Charlie (I think?), and then later at the house she finds another Charlie trapped in the basement being invaded by otherworldly ants. At least one of these Charlies is fake. I don’t know where either of the came from. Charlie is fine at the end of the book.
- There is a forum thread about how a particular knock-off cymbals monkey, which Eve has cognitive behavioral therapy’d into the mouthpiece of her worst thoughts, actually doesn’t exist and never did and neither does the company that made them.
…Okay?
None of these things do a story make.
Eve does not noticeably change during any of this. She escalates from timidly letting the family into her home to killing Thomas’s wife, but not through overcoming any internal struggle. She kills Paige on accident. Charlie is barely a character despite how central she and their relationship are to Eve’s motivations. Thomas is almost interesting, until the reveal that he’s just a nosleep monster tormenting Eve for essentially no reason. The most interesting character is Thomas’s “sister” Alison, and honestly that’s only because I read the original short story.
Because that’s the thing: the short story is better! It doesn’t drag with irrelevant sidebars, there are no paratext documents trying desperately to justify the supernatural mechanism (there is still Morse code but that's nosleep for you), Charlie doesn’t disappear ⅔ into the story, and the motivations of Alison (or Abigail) are coherent and sympathetic. It works. I can see why people liked it.
I can’t say the same for the book.
———
Okay, a couple petty asides for me, too. I don’t know the author’s alphabet soup but he writes queer people like we, literally and without exaggeration, hear the word “religion” and get scared. I don’t know about you guys but I don’t think that’s how religious trauma works. And the religion thing, like many things in the book, culminates in—nothing. Boo.
Also, who the fuck edited this. That, isn’t, how, commas, work.
We Used to Live Here has an interesting premise for a horror story. A twist on a home invasion preying on social anxiety and the rules of politeness. A family is in your house. They haven’t hurt you or threatened you, but they won’t leave. What do you do? Sounds interesting, right?
This book isn’t about that.
I would be hard-pressed to tell you what this book is about. Things happen in it, certainly. Some of them are even scary. Some of them are things that, in other stories, I love! I love horror about twisted labyrinthine houses, places that want to consume you, buildings that hunt you through their corridors like a predator.
Unfortunately, this book isn’t about that either.
This was originally a short horror story and god, you can tell. The book is bloated with lengthy, irrelevant digressions that go nowhere and build to nothing, at its worst going on for pages at a time, as though the only way to establish character is to expose us to endless flashbacks and memories tangentially related to whatever is happening on page. I don’t need to know about your grandfather’s scary encounter with a great horned owl. I don’t need to know about fucking Mo.
But we need to fill out that word count, so the book spins its wheels for 200 pages between the intriguing opening and the deeply lackluster ending while we’re stuck with a main character who can barely string two thoughts together without an aside about how scared and useless she is. It is, fundamentally, a piece of short internet horror stretched over the skeleton of a novel until the skin splits and you can see the hollow interior.
And I say that as someone who likes internet horror! I think internet horror, like many forms of short fiction, thrives when it has one central, compelling idea that’s explored without overstaying its welcome. I think short horror in particular is about skillfully pulling some emotional levers in your brain and getting out right at the moment of that high. Scare them, hit them with the Bad End, and go.
But novels need things that short horror can sometimes do without. Like character development. And plot.
I think what was most frustrating to me about this book is that it draws on particular horror aesthetics—touchstones of creepypasta and SomethingAwful image threads—mixes them together, and assumes that’s all a horror novel needs. A basement that’s bigger than it should be. A woman in a hospital gown. Swarms of ants. A ragged cymbals monkey (off brand!) But these things just kind of float vaguely near each other in the soup of the plot without becoming something more. There’s no moment where I went “a-ha! so THAT’S how it works!” Neither was there a moment where I was faced with a vast unknowable terror that forces you to admit to the horror of ignorance. Things happen. You shrug and say, “Might as well.”
Spoilers follow, reader beware.
The engine of the horror in the book seems to be—as far as I can tell—an interconnected series of parallel universes tied together by Old Houses, and the house the main character Eve and her girlfriend Charlie have purchased is one of these Old Houses. So is the cabin in the woods nearby. What cabin? Don’t worry, it isn’t important. What does this have to do with the family from the beginning of the book? Shockingly little. Thomas, the father, seems to be an ageless entity who pulls people through to parallel worlds, makes up a story about how they’re crazy, and then feeds off their terror. What about the rest of the family? I don’t know. Does this seem like a needlessly complicated mechanism for this scheme? Absolutely.
See, the novel is perpetually hinting at a larger, potentially more interesting world beyond Eve’s protracted spiral like it’s begging you to read through to the end, tempting you with explanations and revelations. There are none. The paratextual interludes drop in lore tidbits to try to establish the rules of a world that the main narrative is mostly not interested in. Here is a short list of things that are never explained and, worse, have no bearing on the story the book is ostensibly telling:
- There is an Old Man with a Scar in a cabin nearby. He has a bunch of nonsense maps that we are meant to assume chart the Old Houses (because House of Leaves!). There are classic “ritual pasta” instructions included within these maps for safe navigation. The Old Man’s scar is identical to the one Thomas has at the end of book.
- A list of terminology used by “Old House Archivists” differentiating between people trapped in the network, people who are visiting, and hostile entities that are there… for some reason. (Because SCP!)
- At one point Eve is trapped with a doppelganger of Charlie (I think?), and then later at the house she finds another Charlie trapped in the basement being invaded by otherworldly ants. At least one of these Charlies is fake. I don’t know where either of the came from. Charlie is fine at the end of the book.
- There is a forum thread about how a particular knock-off cymbals monkey, which Eve has cognitive behavioral therapy’d into the mouthpiece of her worst thoughts, actually doesn’t exist and never did and neither does the company that made them.
…Okay?
None of these things do a story make.
Eve does not noticeably change during any of this. She escalates from timidly letting the family into her home to killing Thomas’s wife, but not through overcoming any internal struggle. She kills Paige on accident. Charlie is barely a character despite how central she and their relationship are to Eve’s motivations. Thomas is almost interesting, until the reveal that he’s just a nosleep monster tormenting Eve for essentially no reason. The most interesting character is Thomas’s “sister” Alison, and honestly that’s only because I read the original short story.
Because that’s the thing: the short story is better! It doesn’t drag with irrelevant sidebars, there are no paratext documents trying desperately to justify the supernatural mechanism (there is still Morse code but that's nosleep for you), Charlie doesn’t disappear ⅔ into the story, and the motivations of Alison (or Abigail) are coherent and sympathetic. It works. I can see why people liked it.
I can’t say the same for the book.
———
Okay, a couple petty asides for me, too. I don’t know the author’s alphabet soup but he writes queer people like we, literally and without exaggeration, hear the word “religion” and get scared. I don’t know about you guys but I don’t think that’s how religious trauma works. And the religion thing, like many things in the book, culminates in—nothing. Boo.
Also, who the fuck edited this. That, isn’t, how, commas, work.
June 21, 2024
This book really took me by surprise by how quickly it went from "potential", conspiracy, and then the last 20% which made NO sense to me at all. To be fair, I honestly never connected to the MC, Eve, and found her being made out to be an "unreliable narrator", which is a troupe I rarely like to begin with--with some stand out exceptions.
The first few chapters had given me hope, and some of the "note additions" were an interesting sideline to keep you going. However, the surreal "fever dream" feeling intensified, and I couldn't connect/care about anything at that point. I was going to go with 2 stars, but the last 20% was so random, made things MORE confusing (I didn't think that possible), and when you don't care about the characters to begin with, there was nothing for me to look back on and appreciate. I DO normally enjoy ambiguous endings, but when combined with these other elements, and NO clue as to what really was going on to ponder, I just couldn't have cared less at that point.
Every reading experience is different, and if you like stories that constantly question the reality of ... everything ... you will likely have a much better reading experience with this one than I did.
The first few chapters had given me hope, and some of the "note additions" were an interesting sideline to keep you going. However, the surreal "fever dream" feeling intensified, and I couldn't connect/care about anything at that point. I was going to go with 2 stars, but the last 20% was so random, made things MORE confusing (I didn't think that possible), and when you don't care about the characters to begin with, there was nothing for me to look back on and appreciate. I DO normally enjoy ambiguous endings, but when combined with these other elements, and NO clue as to what really was going on to ponder, I just couldn't have cared less at that point.
Every reading experience is different, and if you like stories that constantly question the reality of ... everything ... you will likely have a much better reading experience with this one than I did.
September 11, 2025
so this made me feel stupid AND insane so i guess... good job?
October 31, 2025
I mean, if weird stuff starts happening in your house, the right thing to do isn’t to make your guests leave. It’s to get the heck out of there yourself, you know what I'm saying?
So this was an interesting read for me. It was both more and less than what I was expecting it to be, so let me try to get all my thoughts down here.
First, I honestly thought this would be more scary than it turned out to be. People were saying this was one of the most terrifying books they've ever read, it was nightmare inducing, they had the living daylights scared out of them, yada yada yada. So I psyched myself up (which honestly took more than a year because I'm a big scaredy cat when it comes to horror) and braced myself every which way. And then, nada.
I wasn't scared. I felt as cool as a cucumber throughout the entire read. I don't know, you guys. Maybe I'm not a scaredy cat and am actually a stone cold reader? Or maybe this story wasn't that scary. At most, I would say it was mildly spooky/creepy, but that's from the vibes more than anything plot related.
For me, scariness doesn't come from water dripping, mislaid furniture, and random doors opening and closing. There's nothing inherently scary about those things. I think those elements would work better for me in a movie (which I see is in this book's future) because they would engage more of my senses, but on the pages, I'm mostly just like, okaay?
I do wonder if my fear (or lack thereof) was also being trounced by my overwhelming annoyance at the main character. Eve is the epitome of people-pleasing and unable to stand up for herself, so she's constantly doing things that she doesn't want to do and shouldn't do. You add in all the hems and haws and bad decisions, and it was just really painful. I kept shouting at her in my head to be strong and smart, but no such luck. To be fair though, if she were, we probably wouldn't have a story at all.
Now, let's talk about how open-ended this book is. I think as a reader, you're probably going to fall into two camps. Either you enjoyed the whole thing so much that you don't really mind there's no sufficient explanation or even conclusion to this, or it would very much annoy the heck out of you. For me, I was quite taken aback by how little was explained.
Again, here, I think this would've worked better for me in a movie. In fact, we've seen this a lot with horror film franchises, where the unnamed malevolent force comes back again and again, terrorizing yet another set of unsuspecting characters in each new installment, with no real wrap up or clarifications given at the end. But on paper, it just feels incomplete. Books don't generally follow that style, so I can't help but want more.
Still, even with all my grousing, this managed to entertain me. The concepts in here are compelling and they're put together in clever ways. The writing style is engaging and the story certainly goes by quickly.
All in all, I think if you're a fan of the genre, this should at least scratch the itch even if it doesn't blow any socks off. I would just set expectations correctly going in about exactly how terrifying it is and how much explanation you're going to get, and that would be not too much on both fronts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧
So this was an interesting read for me. It was both more and less than what I was expecting it to be, so let me try to get all my thoughts down here.
First, I honestly thought this would be more scary than it turned out to be. People were saying this was one of the most terrifying books they've ever read, it was nightmare inducing, they had the living daylights scared out of them, yada yada yada. So I psyched myself up (which honestly took more than a year because I'm a big scaredy cat when it comes to horror) and braced myself every which way. And then, nada.
I wasn't scared. I felt as cool as a cucumber throughout the entire read. I don't know, you guys. Maybe I'm not a scaredy cat and am actually a stone cold reader? Or maybe this story wasn't that scary. At most, I would say it was mildly spooky/creepy, but that's from the vibes more than anything plot related.
For me, scariness doesn't come from water dripping, mislaid furniture, and random doors opening and closing. There's nothing inherently scary about those things. I think those elements would work better for me in a movie (which I see is in this book's future) because they would engage more of my senses, but on the pages, I'm mostly just like, okaay?
I do wonder if my fear (or lack thereof) was also being trounced by my overwhelming annoyance at the main character. Eve is the epitome of people-pleasing and unable to stand up for herself, so she's constantly doing things that she doesn't want to do and shouldn't do. You add in all the hems and haws and bad decisions, and it was just really painful. I kept shouting at her in my head to be strong and smart, but no such luck. To be fair though, if she were, we probably wouldn't have a story at all.
Now, let's talk about how open-ended this book is. I think as a reader, you're probably going to fall into two camps. Either you enjoyed the whole thing so much that you don't really mind there's no sufficient explanation or even conclusion to this, or it would very much annoy the heck out of you. For me, I was quite taken aback by how little was explained.
Again, here, I think this would've worked better for me in a movie. In fact, we've seen this a lot with horror film franchises, where the unnamed malevolent force comes back again and again, terrorizing yet another set of unsuspecting characters in each new installment, with no real wrap up or clarifications given at the end. But on paper, it just feels incomplete. Books don't generally follow that style, so I can't help but want more.
Still, even with all my grousing, this managed to entertain me. The concepts in here are compelling and they're put together in clever ways. The writing style is engaging and the story certainly goes by quickly.
All in all, I think if you're a fan of the genre, this should at least scratch the itch even if it doesn't blow any socks off. I would just set expectations correctly going in about exactly how terrifying it is and how much explanation you're going to get, and that would be not too much on both fronts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
✧ Connect with me ✧ Instagram ✧
June 21, 2024
WE USED TO LIVE HERE by Marcus Kliewer
..
Well this is now one of the scariest books I’ve read. If this was a movie I would not watch it. 👀
AVOID REVIEWS! People will definitely ruin a really fun element of this book that you will want to discover for yourself.
.
Read this book if you:
-LOVE HAUNTED HOUSES
-Found footage & mixed media
-Short chapters
-Creepy stuff you can’t read at night
-Nightmare fuel
-Queer representation
-Fast pace and high tension throughout
-Reddit/NoSleep turned into novels
-Book hangovers (cuz now I have one)
-House of Leaves (but better)
..
A MUST READ 5⭐️
..
Well this is now one of the scariest books I’ve read. If this was a movie I would not watch it. 👀
AVOID REVIEWS! People will definitely ruin a really fun element of this book that you will want to discover for yourself.
.
Read this book if you:
-LOVE HAUNTED HOUSES
-Found footage & mixed media
-Short chapters
-Creepy stuff you can’t read at night
-Nightmare fuel
-Queer representation
-Fast pace and high tension throughout
-Reddit/NoSleep turned into novels
-Book hangovers (cuz now I have one)
-House of Leaves (but better)
..
A MUST READ 5⭐️
September 28, 2025
Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! I keep repeating this as a mantra because I'm speechless—and I may need adult diapers after this read because it scared the living daylights out of me! I have two things to say right away! First, this is the best, most creepily executed horror plot I've read in ages, raising every hair on my body. It has incredible pacing, and I have to change my vote for the best horror novel from King’s You Like It Darker to this one. It perfectly reminded me of Shirley Jackson’s work, like The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, with its unique psychological twist.
My second thought: I hope they don’t cast Blake Lively if this gets adapted (I wasn’t thrilled with her as Lily in It Ends with Us and don’t see her as the best choice for horror). On second thought, maybe she'd be perfect as Paige, where her inner “mean girl” qualities could really shine!
Now, let’s focus on this extra creepy, nightmare-inducing, leave-the-lights-on plot that will haunt me forever. The story follows Eve and Charlie, a young queer couple who buy their dream house in a picture-perfect neighborhood, with a deal that seems too good to be true.
One evening, as Eve plans to reheat leftovers for dinner and settle in with Charlie, there’s a knock on the door. When she answers, she finds a family—a man, his wife, and three kids (two boys and a girl)—who look like they've stepped out of The Brady Bunch. The man, Thomas, explains that he used to live in the house as a child and politely asks if he can show his family around. Eve hesitates, not thrilled about letting strangers wander around her new home, but her inner people-pleaser wins out, and she lets them in.
What was supposed to be a brief tour stretches on when Jennie, the youngest daughter, decides to play hide-and-seek, choosing the creepy basement—where Eve herself fears to tread—as her hiding spot.
After a drawn-out search, Eve finds herself reluctantly sharing a meal with the family, thanks to Charlie's insistence. But when a sudden snowstorm blocks the roads, she realizes she’s trapped with this bizarre family, who seem to have no intention of leaving. To make matters worse, Charlie heads out to meet with the realtor, leaving Eve alone.
Eve soon realizes that not only is there something off about the family, but there's also something terribly wrong with the house itself. Her only chance to survive is to take extreme measures, but how far will she go before she loses her grip on reality?
Wow! My mind is blown! This is hands down my favorite horror book of the year! I cannot recommend it enough! Grab a copy, embrace the nightmares, hide under a blanket, and prepare to scream!
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My second thought: I hope they don’t cast Blake Lively if this gets adapted (I wasn’t thrilled with her as Lily in It Ends with Us and don’t see her as the best choice for horror). On second thought, maybe she'd be perfect as Paige, where her inner “mean girl” qualities could really shine!
Now, let’s focus on this extra creepy, nightmare-inducing, leave-the-lights-on plot that will haunt me forever. The story follows Eve and Charlie, a young queer couple who buy their dream house in a picture-perfect neighborhood, with a deal that seems too good to be true.
One evening, as Eve plans to reheat leftovers for dinner and settle in with Charlie, there’s a knock on the door. When she answers, she finds a family—a man, his wife, and three kids (two boys and a girl)—who look like they've stepped out of The Brady Bunch. The man, Thomas, explains that he used to live in the house as a child and politely asks if he can show his family around. Eve hesitates, not thrilled about letting strangers wander around her new home, but her inner people-pleaser wins out, and she lets them in.
What was supposed to be a brief tour stretches on when Jennie, the youngest daughter, decides to play hide-and-seek, choosing the creepy basement—where Eve herself fears to tread—as her hiding spot.
After a drawn-out search, Eve finds herself reluctantly sharing a meal with the family, thanks to Charlie's insistence. But when a sudden snowstorm blocks the roads, she realizes she’s trapped with this bizarre family, who seem to have no intention of leaving. To make matters worse, Charlie heads out to meet with the realtor, leaving Eve alone.
Eve soon realizes that not only is there something off about the family, but there's also something terribly wrong with the house itself. Her only chance to survive is to take extreme measures, but how far will she go before she loses her grip on reality?
Wow! My mind is blown! This is hands down my favorite horror book of the year! I cannot recommend it enough! Grab a copy, embrace the nightmares, hide under a blanket, and prepare to scream!
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
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September 2, 2024
4.5 🌟 SO CREEPY, so scary…Literally freaked the entire time BUT I STILL HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!!! The audiobook was absolutely fantastic too…A must-read for spooky season!! 👻🍂
June 2, 2024
I'm sorry, but I thought this book was terrible. I don't know how it's getting published. The writing is amateurish, the story stretched the bounds of incredulity and overall it just wasn't very interesting.
I'm not such a highbrow reader than I can't appreciate a book like this. I've read many thriller/horror type books that I've really enjoyed. I truly found nothing to appreciate here.
I see that this started out as a novella. It should have stayed that way. Might have been bearable at that point.
I'm not such a highbrow reader than I can't appreciate a book like this. I've read many thriller/horror type books that I've really enjoyed. I truly found nothing to appreciate here.
I see that this started out as a novella. It should have stayed that way. Might have been bearable at that point.
October 20, 2025
I need at least one (1) answer
April 25, 2024
This book made me so angry. It’s one thing for a book to be ambiguous it’s quite another to basically explain nothing. Aside from plot holes, things that are never brought up again, and too many unanswered questions.. it’s a let down because it had the potential to be a better book. I’m so annoyed I wasted time. I feel like it ended halfway through. Ugh.
October 3, 2024
'She could almost feel it, hear it - rushing from the darkness below, giddy with evil intent, breathing at her heels.'
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ We Used to Live Here is haunting, claustrophobic, deeply atmospheric thriller/horror that without question, keeps you glued to the pages while you desperately await how this nightmare all plays out.
We follow our FMC Eve and her partner Charlie who just purchased an old house on a great piece of land, it's like a piece of country in the city. They can't even believe the deal they got and plan to remodel. The only problem is one road in one road out. Eve is working on the house alone when a stranger knocks on her door.
It turns out not just one person but a whole family with the father who used to live there and wants to show them where he grew up. He assures her that they'll be quick, in and out 15mins tops! Eve is apprehensive but ever the people pleaser- ends up letting them in.
As soon as they are inside unexplained things start happening, starting with the youngest child going missing in the basement. New sounds, creaks and moans start to enter the house and the family cannot take the hint to leave and Eve now knows, she never should have let them in...
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ I'm surprised that this is a debut novel! So thankful that I literally never open the door to anyone let alone strangers lol. I didn't really do much research prior to picking this book up. To be honest, it reminded me of that show that was pretty popular last year - lol okay, I had to actually google it. The Watcher. That show with the house? Anyway, they're nothing alike but that's how we got here.
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Moving along - this was a solid book for spooky season. I was literally sitting over here on the edge of my seat biting my nails. It was creepy, unsettling, unnerving, and chilling.
For me, part of the creepiness of this story is the ambiguity of it. I was over here second guessing everything from around 65% until the end of the story. I truly have no idea what the ending was. I think, it was left open for interpretation... And if that IS in fact the case, I think it makes for a great book club pick.
Also, Netflix is already currently adapting this to screen. 👀
╰⪼ 🌲Psychological Haunting
╰⪼ 🍁Atmospheric and Suspenseful
╰⪼ 🌲Haunted House
╰⪼ 🍁No Cell Phone
╰⪼ 🌲Limited Space
╰⪼ 🍁Secluded Setting
╰⪼ 🌲Unreliable Narrator
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ We Used to Live Here is haunting, claustrophobic, deeply atmospheric thriller/horror that without question, keeps you glued to the pages while you desperately await how this nightmare all plays out.
We follow our FMC Eve and her partner Charlie who just purchased an old house on a great piece of land, it's like a piece of country in the city. They can't even believe the deal they got and plan to remodel. The only problem is one road in one road out. Eve is working on the house alone when a stranger knocks on her door.
It turns out not just one person but a whole family with the father who used to live there and wants to show them where he grew up. He assures her that they'll be quick, in and out 15mins tops! Eve is apprehensive but ever the people pleaser- ends up letting them in.
As soon as they are inside unexplained things start happening, starting with the youngest child going missing in the basement. New sounds, creaks and moans start to enter the house and the family cannot take the hint to leave and Eve now knows, she never should have let them in...
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ I'm surprised that this is a debut novel! So thankful that I literally never open the door to anyone let alone strangers lol. I didn't really do much research prior to picking this book up. To be honest, it reminded me of that show that was pretty popular last year - lol okay, I had to actually google it. The Watcher. That show with the house? Anyway, they're nothing alike but that's how we got here.
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Moving along - this was a solid book for spooky season. I was literally sitting over here on the edge of my seat biting my nails. It was creepy, unsettling, unnerving, and chilling.
For me, part of the creepiness of this story is the ambiguity of it. I was over here second guessing everything from around 65% until the end of the story. I truly have no idea what the ending was. I think, it was left open for interpretation... And if that IS in fact the case, I think it makes for a great book club pick.
Also, Netflix is already currently adapting this to screen. 👀
╰⪼ 🌲Psychological Haunting
╰⪼ 🍁Atmospheric and Suspenseful
╰⪼ 🌲Haunted House
╰⪼ 🍁No Cell Phone
╰⪼ 🌲Limited Space
╰⪼ 🍁Secluded Setting
╰⪼ 🌲Unreliable Narrator
March 31, 2025
Talk about a house of horrors,
this one had me mortgage-fied from start to finish.
Marcus Kliewer’s We Used to Live Here is a hair-raising, spine-tingling, hide behind a cushion masterpiece that nails what true horror should be. This is hands down my favorite horror book of the year, pure horror done right. Creepy, surreal, and claustrophobic, it’s the kind of story that seeps into your bones and refuses to leave.
The plot follows Charlie and Eve, a young, queer couple flipping an old house they scored for a killer price (should’ve known a "killer" deal came with strings attached). But when a polite man and his family knock on the door, claiming they used to live there, things spiral faster than a home reno gone wrong. Eve, ever the people pleaser, lets them in, and that’s when the unsettling, slow-burn terror begins. A missing child, a chilling basement presence, and Charlie’s sudden disappearance make Eve (and readers) question what’s real and what’s a nightmare dressed up as a home sweet home.
Kliewer masterfully builds tension with a creeping dread that floors you. The atmosphere is haunting and claustrophobic, with every page tightening the screws. The surreal horror feels like you’re trapped in a house that refuses to let you leave, a doorway to dread you willingly walk through.
This book did not disappoint. It’s Get Out meets Parasite, with a plot so unsettling you’ll want to check your own locks twice. Kliewer’s storytelling doesn’t just knock, it kicks the door in and invites itself to stay.
We Used to Live Here isn’t just a book; it’s an experience. The slow unraveling of reality, the creeping paranoia, and the nail-biting sense that something is terribly wrong make this one of the most chilling reads I’ve come across.
If you’re a horror fan looking for something that hits home (literally and figuratively), this book is for you. But be warned, once you start, you won’t be able to put it down.
Verdict:🏚️🏚️🏚️🏚️🏚️ five out of five haunted houses!!!!
Now this is what horror is. 🖤🔥
this one had me mortgage-fied from start to finish.
Marcus Kliewer’s We Used to Live Here is a hair-raising, spine-tingling, hide behind a cushion masterpiece that nails what true horror should be. This is hands down my favorite horror book of the year, pure horror done right. Creepy, surreal, and claustrophobic, it’s the kind of story that seeps into your bones and refuses to leave.
The plot follows Charlie and Eve, a young, queer couple flipping an old house they scored for a killer price (should’ve known a "killer" deal came with strings attached). But when a polite man and his family knock on the door, claiming they used to live there, things spiral faster than a home reno gone wrong. Eve, ever the people pleaser, lets them in, and that’s when the unsettling, slow-burn terror begins. A missing child, a chilling basement presence, and Charlie’s sudden disappearance make Eve (and readers) question what’s real and what’s a nightmare dressed up as a home sweet home.
Kliewer masterfully builds tension with a creeping dread that floors you. The atmosphere is haunting and claustrophobic, with every page tightening the screws. The surreal horror feels like you’re trapped in a house that refuses to let you leave, a doorway to dread you willingly walk through.
This book did not disappoint. It’s Get Out meets Parasite, with a plot so unsettling you’ll want to check your own locks twice. Kliewer’s storytelling doesn’t just knock, it kicks the door in and invites itself to stay.
We Used to Live Here isn’t just a book; it’s an experience. The slow unraveling of reality, the creeping paranoia, and the nail-biting sense that something is terribly wrong make this one of the most chilling reads I’ve come across.
If you’re a horror fan looking for something that hits home (literally and figuratively), this book is for you. But be warned, once you start, you won’t be able to put it down.
Verdict:🏚️🏚️🏚️🏚️🏚️ five out of five haunted houses!!!!
Now this is what horror is. 🖤🔥
July 31, 2024
SO CREEPY
We Used To Live Here is definitely one of the creepiest books I’ve ever read!! Seriously, one scene gave me full body chills.
It’s about a woman who just moved into a very old house with her partner, intent on flipping it or possibly even tearing it down and building new. One snowy night, our main character is home alone when a man and his family knock at the door. The man claims that he grew up in the house, and wanted to show his family around before they finish their trek cross country. She hesitantly invites them in, and some strange things start to happen.
I know this kinda seems like every standard home invasion/haunted house setup, but this one *really* caught me by surprise! It’s very weird and a slow burn, but man is it creepy 😂
I had a few issues with the story in that I didn’t understand a few things, and some of the characters actions just drove me up the fkn wall, but overall it was solid and I definitely recommend!!
We Used To Live Here is definitely one of the creepiest books I’ve ever read!! Seriously, one scene gave me full body chills.
It’s about a woman who just moved into a very old house with her partner, intent on flipping it or possibly even tearing it down and building new. One snowy night, our main character is home alone when a man and his family knock at the door. The man claims that he grew up in the house, and wanted to show his family around before they finish their trek cross country. She hesitantly invites them in, and some strange things start to happen.
I know this kinda seems like every standard home invasion/haunted house setup, but this one *really* caught me by surprise! It’s very weird and a slow burn, but man is it creepy 😂
I had a few issues with the story in that I didn’t understand a few things, and some of the characters actions just drove me up the fkn wall, but overall it was solid and I definitely recommend!!
August 4, 2024
lol what the fuck was this 🙄
edit: it’s been several hours and I’m still pissed off about this book 😂 Look, things started out fine. I was invested, but I still get irrationally angry thinking about all the “documents” I had to read about the fuckass “lore” that yielded no answers and the most anticlimactic, boring af last half of this book. I feel like an idiot for expecting a decent conclusion. I want my wasted time back :))))
edit: it’s been several hours and I’m still pissed off about this book 😂 Look, things started out fine. I was invested, but I still get irrationally angry thinking about all the “documents” I had to read about the fuckass “lore” that yielded no answers and the most anticlimactic, boring af last half of this book. I feel like an idiot for expecting a decent conclusion. I want my wasted time back :))))
October 29, 2025
Forget ghosts, the logic is what really died here. Because by the end, even the numerous plot holes in this book needed a map to find each other.
This book started out strong but ended in absolute chaos. The so-called predictable twist in the end contradicted half of what came before. The entirety of the book is filled with plot holes. And the ending felt so rushed and unplanned, like the author was racing to meet a deadline rather than finishing the story properly.
There were so many plot holes, but I'll list down the main ones that bothered me. Leaving the ending upto reader's interpretation is understandable but leaving the entirety of the story for us to interpret and come up with our own explanations, theories and twists especially with the endless plot holes in this book? Yeah, no thanks. I'll pass.
🚨 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗦 🚨
Even after the morse codes and decoding, the following questions still remain unanswered. Let's analyse the plot holes in detail.
1. What happened to Alison? She hunted down Eve several times and wanted revenge on thomas. But she succeeded in neither of those things, instead she simply disappeared out of nowhere like she never existed.
2. How did Eve get deported to another world where she's thomas's sister? And her new identity as Emma? How?
3. What happened to charlie in the basement? Or the charlie in motel? One of them was fake. So what happened to both?
4. Everyone considered Eve as an insane person, but then in the end, we all knew Eve was innocent. She didn't make all that shit up with her lifestyle. She wasn't thomas's sister. So how did she get transferred to the parallel universe?
5. If she's really Eve and not Emma then why no one stood by her? Even her own parents didn't acknowledge her. Least of all charlie herself called Eve insane by denying the Eve's version of truth. Make it make sense.
6. What about heather? There was someone else in the house with her, so why did she lie? And who was that 'someone'?
7. What happened to the old man in the cabin? It was said in morse codes that the old man has lived in a cabin for centuries with different names. If so then why did the book at the same time also state that the cabin was demolished ages back? And since Eve's side of the story is true, then how did the cabin disappear if it wasn't demolished? Why is the author contradicting his own statements and confusing us even more?
8. Eve had purchased the property recently, so how were there records of Emma (or Eve) stating she was living with thomas in that house for years??
9. And how did Thomas alter the reality, erase records, have his family act and treat Eve as if she's emma. How did he do all that?
10. How was there a doppelganger for charlie? How did she pull this out? Where's the back story? And what happened to the real charlie?
𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 ‼️
Thanks uswah for buddy reading this with me! 🤍 Our theories made more sense than that stupid ending filled with nothingness and millions of unanswered questions.
This book started out strong but ended in absolute chaos. The so-called predictable twist in the end contradicted half of what came before. The entirety of the book is filled with plot holes. And the ending felt so rushed and unplanned, like the author was racing to meet a deadline rather than finishing the story properly.
There were so many plot holes, but I'll list down the main ones that bothered me. Leaving the ending upto reader's interpretation is understandable but leaving the entirety of the story for us to interpret and come up with our own explanations, theories and twists especially with the endless plot holes in this book? Yeah, no thanks. I'll pass.
🚨 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗦 🚨
Even after the morse codes and decoding, the following questions still remain unanswered. Let's analyse the plot holes in detail.
1. What happened to Alison? She hunted down Eve several times and wanted revenge on thomas. But she succeeded in neither of those things, instead she simply disappeared out of nowhere like she never existed.
2. How did Eve get deported to another world where she's thomas's sister? And her new identity as Emma? How?
3. What happened to charlie in the basement? Or the charlie in motel? One of them was fake. So what happened to both?
4. Everyone considered Eve as an insane person, but then in the end, we all knew Eve was innocent. She didn't make all that shit up with her lifestyle. She wasn't thomas's sister. So how did she get transferred to the parallel universe?
5. If she's really Eve and not Emma then why no one stood by her? Even her own parents didn't acknowledge her. Least of all charlie herself called Eve insane by denying the Eve's version of truth. Make it make sense.
6. What about heather? There was someone else in the house with her, so why did she lie? And who was that 'someone'?
7. What happened to the old man in the cabin? It was said in morse codes that the old man has lived in a cabin for centuries with different names. If so then why did the book at the same time also state that the cabin was demolished ages back? And since Eve's side of the story is true, then how did the cabin disappear if it wasn't demolished? Why is the author contradicting his own statements and confusing us even more?
8. Eve had purchased the property recently, so how were there records of Emma (or Eve) stating she was living with thomas in that house for years??
9. And how did Thomas alter the reality, erase records, have his family act and treat Eve as if she's emma. How did he do all that?
10. How was there a doppelganger for charlie? How did she pull this out? Where's the back story? And what happened to the real charlie?
𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗘𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 ‼️
Thanks uswah for buddy reading this with me! 🤍 Our theories made more sense than that stupid ending filled with nothingness and millions of unanswered questions.
April 2, 2024
I DID NOT EXPECT TO LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH! Wow, Marcus Kliewer's debut horror / psychological suspense novel, WE USED TO LIVE HERE, may be the best debut of the year. I said what I f'n said.
The story is centered around Eve and her partner Charlie and their move to an old house to fix-up. The house is in a small town, with properties not so close, but the house has good bones and they want to renovate it for themselves. As the couple begins to work on renovations, they are greeted by a man and his family at their front door. The father tells Eve that he used to live in this house as a child and wanted to know if he could show his kids around. Eve reluctantly lets them view the home. As soon as Eve lets this family in, you'll be in for a wild ride! That's my synopsis review and I'm not going to divulge anymore.
Less is more when knowing what is detailed in this book. Holy cow was this such an incredible read. WE USED TO LIVE HERE is the modern horror novel story that I absolutely love. I was supposed to go to bed early, but I ended up reading this book in one sitting. You will question everything. Everything. This book is for sure in my top 10 reads of the year and I will question your judgement if you don't absolutely love this book. Hearing that they are making this book into a Netflix film has me all excited because it's absolutely deserving of a film adaptation. Ugh, I can't say more, but I loved it and Marcus Kliewer is a genius and I am now a superfan. That is all.
The story is centered around Eve and her partner Charlie and their move to an old house to fix-up. The house is in a small town, with properties not so close, but the house has good bones and they want to renovate it for themselves. As the couple begins to work on renovations, they are greeted by a man and his family at their front door. The father tells Eve that he used to live in this house as a child and wanted to know if he could show his kids around. Eve reluctantly lets them view the home. As soon as Eve lets this family in, you'll be in for a wild ride! That's my synopsis review and I'm not going to divulge anymore.
Less is more when knowing what is detailed in this book. Holy cow was this such an incredible read. WE USED TO LIVE HERE is the modern horror novel story that I absolutely love. I was supposed to go to bed early, but I ended up reading this book in one sitting. You will question everything. Everything. This book is for sure in my top 10 reads of the year and I will question your judgement if you don't absolutely love this book. Hearing that they are making this book into a Netflix film has me all excited because it's absolutely deserving of a film adaptation. Ugh, I can't say more, but I loved it and Marcus Kliewer is a genius and I am now a superfan. That is all.
October 6, 2024
Jaw dropping for a debut novel! The best thing is the plot line and concept, its catchy and unique. Looking forward to what this author cooks up next!
October 27, 2025
‼️ Before writing this review, I just wanna say sorry in advance, either I’m not smart enough to understand anything 💀 or… well, my brain is too confused to come up with anything after “or,” so yea, we’ll leave it at that 💀‼️
NO HATE, but what was that?? 😭 Guys, my name is Uswah, right? You guys don’t, by any chance, know me by any other name, right!? Like I’m not (wait, lemme Google other names starting with “U”) Ursula 💀, Urielle, or Umamah, right? Please tell me if I’m any of the above, or maybe I’m Uma!? Remember from that Descendants 2 movie?
“What’s my name? What’s my name? (Uma)
Say it louder
What’s my name? What’s my name? (Uma)
Feel the power 💀”
Guys please, don’t blame it on me, BLAME IT ON THE BOOK 😭💀 My mind isn’t working right now 😭 CUZ AGAIN, WHAT WAS THAT???
Gonna be real honest, the beginning was sooo interesting 🙂↕️ Bestie Krisha and I were so intrigued 🤭 and kinda hooked on the story. It wasn’t an AMAZING story, but it was good enough to keep us going, so I’ll give it that 🙂↕️👏 Then came the middle — omggg, really, really interesting 🙂↕️ We honestly thought the ending would BLOW OUR MINDS. I even came up with some weird theories (that I later laughed at 💀), but after finishing the ending… those theories actually sound sane 😃 Ngl, it wasn’t a scary read for me. It was creepy, yes, but not scary. Then came the ending part 🥰 …and oh boy, it left me so confused. I still am. (Proof? See the chaos above 💀)
The ending threw so many questions at me and then just ended 😭 Like, umm… where are the answers to all those questions, sir??? 😭 It was clearly open for interpretation, but still- 😭
‼️ SPOILERS BELOW ‼️
So, Eve or Emma… well, Eve was in a different universe?? She was Emma in that universe?? 😵💫 But clearly Eve was Eve, cuz Thomas gave her that locket of hers and Charlie’s. And then Charlotte in a different universe 🥰 Oh, and Heather’s husband was dead, but in another universe, he was alive?? 😭 I just can’t, please 😭 Nooooo!!! I’m going crazyyyyy (in a bad way). Jenny sounded the weirdest one at first, but by the end, I think she’s the most sane one 💀
To those who loved it, enjoyed it, or understood everything, I’m genuinely happy for you 🫂🥹🫶 Sorry, but for me… idk what it was 😃 It was just “something.” I’m gonna go to a different universe to figure out what that “something” was. And guys, my name is Uswah. Not Ursula, Urielle, Umamah, or Uma 😃🥰 It’s Uswah, even in a different universe 🙂↕️
I’m lowk so disappointed 😭 cuz the start was so good. Another flop for Bestie Krisha and me 😭 I really hope the next one isn’t 🫂 But honestly, I had so much fun with bestie Krisha 🫶💋 Thank you so much for buddy reading it with me 🫂 All those chats and weird theories made my day. Mwah 💋
That’s it, guys. Love y’all 🫶♡
———————————————
⋆✴︎˚｡⋆ pre-read ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆
Buddy reading with Bestie Krisha again 🤭♡ But this time, we’re reading Mystery Thriller & Horror 🙂↕️ Plz be good. 😭
NO HATE, but what was that?? 😭 Guys, my name is Uswah, right? You guys don’t, by any chance, know me by any other name, right!? Like I’m not (wait, lemme Google other names starting with “U”) Ursula 💀, Urielle, or Umamah, right? Please tell me if I’m any of the above, or maybe I’m Uma!? Remember from that Descendants 2 movie?
“What’s my name? What’s my name? (Uma)
Say it louder
What’s my name? What’s my name? (Uma)
Feel the power 💀”
Guys please, don’t blame it on me, BLAME IT ON THE BOOK 😭💀 My mind isn’t working right now 😭 CUZ AGAIN, WHAT WAS THAT???
Gonna be real honest, the beginning was sooo interesting 🙂↕️ Bestie Krisha and I were so intrigued 🤭 and kinda hooked on the story. It wasn’t an AMAZING story, but it was good enough to keep us going, so I’ll give it that 🙂↕️👏 Then came the middle — omggg, really, really interesting 🙂↕️ We honestly thought the ending would BLOW OUR MINDS. I even came up with some weird theories (that I later laughed at 💀), but after finishing the ending… those theories actually sound sane 😃 Ngl, it wasn’t a scary read for me. It was creepy, yes, but not scary. Then came the ending part 🥰 …and oh boy, it left me so confused. I still am. (Proof? See the chaos above 💀)
The ending threw so many questions at me and then just ended 😭 Like, umm… where are the answers to all those questions, sir??? 😭 It was clearly open for interpretation, but still- 😭
‼️ SPOILERS BELOW ‼️
So, Eve or Emma… well, Eve was in a different universe?? She was Emma in that universe?? 😵💫 But clearly Eve was Eve, cuz Thomas gave her that locket of hers and Charlie’s. And then Charlotte in a different universe 🥰 Oh, and Heather’s husband was dead, but in another universe, he was alive?? 😭 I just can’t, please 😭 Nooooo!!! I’m going crazyyyyy (in a bad way). Jenny sounded the weirdest one at first, but by the end, I think she’s the most sane one 💀
To those who loved it, enjoyed it, or understood everything, I’m genuinely happy for you 🫂🥹🫶 Sorry, but for me… idk what it was 😃 It was just “something.” I’m gonna go to a different universe to figure out what that “something” was. And guys, my name is Uswah. Not Ursula, Urielle, Umamah, or Uma 😃🥰 It’s Uswah, even in a different universe 🙂↕️
I’m lowk so disappointed 😭 cuz the start was so good. Another flop for Bestie Krisha and me 😭 I really hope the next one isn’t 🫂 But honestly, I had so much fun with bestie Krisha 🫶💋 Thank you so much for buddy reading it with me 🫂 All those chats and weird theories made my day. Mwah 💋
That’s it, guys. Love y’all 🫶♡
———————————————
⋆✴︎˚｡⋆ pre-read ⋆✴︎˚｡⋆
Buddy reading with Bestie Krisha again 🤭♡ But this time, we’re reading Mystery Thriller & Horror 🙂↕️ Plz be good. 😭
October 3, 2024
OPEN THE DOOR…CLOSE THE DOOR… I AM SO CONFUSED
If you got the above reference, then you know the vibes 😏
My goodness in We Used to Live Here we are introduced to Eve who with her partner Charlie, flip houses. While Eve is at home working the door knocks and she opens it up to a family of five. The father Thomas tells Eve he used to live in this house and would be so grateful if Eve would allow him the privilege of showing his old house to his family. Uneasy and unsure at first, Eve eventually falters and allows the family to look around.
A viewing that should have taken 15 minutes tops ends up turning Eve’s whole world UPSIDE DOWN. The family fail to leave. The daughter Jenny goes of wandering and missing in the home. Charlie also ends up missing and the family altogether just give off completely unnerving creepy vibes. WHAT IS GOING ON!?
Well, I don’t know about you but that was my whole mantra throughout the book and even when I finished I legit shouted ‘WHAT THE HECK DOES THAT MEAN THEN!?’
I loved how the book starts of immediately with the family at the door. There is no faffing about, and we are getting into the crux of the plot. Our narrator Eve was someone who I would empathise with while also wanting to put her in a headlock at the same time. She is your typical horror heroine, somewhat aware that something is very amiss but allowing emotions to sometimes cloud her gut instincts. I mentally fought with her character in my head throughout.
NOW with the amount of plot holes and unanswered questions this book should be a 1 star, but what salvaged it was the perfect amount of surreal, uneasy, creepiness. I started this book last night and had to stop as I was getting seriously creeped out. Fast forward to today reading it in the daytime it was no better. My nerves were shooked! The spookiness of it all and the uncertainty had me flying through this book.
The creativity and suspense were fantastic, but the lack of explanations did feel like I was reading to no plausible ending. I could picture the scenes perfectly in my head and it read very cinematic, but I also didn’t understand what I was reading too. This is the type of book that needs to be on a widescreen and not exactly read. I’m always the first to say the ‘book was better’ but in this instance if this was turned into a movie, I know for sure I would probably enjoy it so much more.
When I finished the book, I was bamboozled and confused as to what to take it from it. There is Morse Code in the book, so I slapped open my laptop when onto Google typed in MORSE CODE TRANSLATOR, then went back to the beginning of the book and started typing in all the codes, and I think one of my querying questions has been answered… BUT what was the purpose of said [redacted] 😏
Kudos to this author’s debut novel. He sure knows how to amp up anticipation and tension as it was brilliantly conveyed in this story. I just wished loose ends and unanswered plot holes could have been accounted for. If this turns into a movie maybe they can juggle it up a bit and have a different ending?
No nightmares for me tonight as luckily mama didn’t raise no fool, so I don’t need to worry about me ever opening and allowing strangers into my humble abode. 😂
3.5 ⭐
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
pre read
Thank you all who voted for my first October book read!
This won and I'm excited to start it off for Spooky Season!
Ready for all the eerily and creepy vibes! 🤍🖤🤍
If you got the above reference, then you know the vibes 😏
My goodness in We Used to Live Here we are introduced to Eve who with her partner Charlie, flip houses. While Eve is at home working the door knocks and she opens it up to a family of five. The father Thomas tells Eve he used to live in this house and would be so grateful if Eve would allow him the privilege of showing his old house to his family. Uneasy and unsure at first, Eve eventually falters and allows the family to look around.
A viewing that should have taken 15 minutes tops ends up turning Eve’s whole world UPSIDE DOWN. The family fail to leave. The daughter Jenny goes of wandering and missing in the home. Charlie also ends up missing and the family altogether just give off completely unnerving creepy vibes. WHAT IS GOING ON!?
Well, I don’t know about you but that was my whole mantra throughout the book and even when I finished I legit shouted ‘WHAT THE HECK DOES THAT MEAN THEN!?’
I loved how the book starts of immediately with the family at the door. There is no faffing about, and we are getting into the crux of the plot. Our narrator Eve was someone who I would empathise with while also wanting to put her in a headlock at the same time. She is your typical horror heroine, somewhat aware that something is very amiss but allowing emotions to sometimes cloud her gut instincts. I mentally fought with her character in my head throughout.
NOW with the amount of plot holes and unanswered questions this book should be a 1 star, but what salvaged it was the perfect amount of surreal, uneasy, creepiness. I started this book last night and had to stop as I was getting seriously creeped out. Fast forward to today reading it in the daytime it was no better. My nerves were shooked! The spookiness of it all and the uncertainty had me flying through this book.
The creativity and suspense were fantastic, but the lack of explanations did feel like I was reading to no plausible ending. I could picture the scenes perfectly in my head and it read very cinematic, but I also didn’t understand what I was reading too. This is the type of book that needs to be on a widescreen and not exactly read. I’m always the first to say the ‘book was better’ but in this instance if this was turned into a movie, I know for sure I would probably enjoy it so much more.
When I finished the book, I was bamboozled and confused as to what to take it from it. There is Morse Code in the book, so I slapped open my laptop when onto Google typed in MORSE CODE TRANSLATOR, then went back to the beginning of the book and started typing in all the codes, and I think one of my querying questions has been answered… BUT what was the purpose of said [redacted] 😏
Kudos to this author’s debut novel. He sure knows how to amp up anticipation and tension as it was brilliantly conveyed in this story. I just wished loose ends and unanswered plot holes could have been accounted for. If this turns into a movie maybe they can juggle it up a bit and have a different ending?
No nightmares for me tonight as luckily mama didn’t raise no fool, so I don’t need to worry about me ever opening and allowing strangers into my humble abode. 😂
3.5 ⭐
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pre read
Thank you all who voted for my first October book read!
This won and I'm excited to start it off for Spooky Season!
Ready for all the eerily and creepy vibes! 🤍🖤🤍
April 9, 2024
A 30-something couple, Eva and Charlie, along with their dog, Shylo, just moved into an enormous dilapidated home in the middle-of-nowhere Oregon. The goal is to flip the home but it's going to take a lot of time, money, and patience before that pay day comes. Eva worries that they may have bitten off more than they can chew but the ever confident Charlie thinks this was too great an opportunity to pass up.
Just two weeks after moving in Eva finds herself waiting for Charlie to come home from work. A night of wine and scrabble ahead of them. A perfectly peaceful evening.
Knock, knock, knock....
Who in the world would be knocking at their door this evening? Being off the beaten path and new to the area they definitely aren't expecting visitors. Eva debates not opening the door but after peaking out of the window she see's a family of five. Father, mother, two boys, and a little girl. Okay, so it's not the axe wielding murderer she feared, just a family. What harm can they do? With an abundance of caution she opens the door.
Father, Tom, claims to have grown up in the house. They're moving out of state and he was hoping he could give his family a little tour. Let them see where he grew up as a boy. Fifteen minutes, tops, and they'll be out of her hair. She really doesn't want to let them in but the people pleaser in her says one word she'll soon regret.... Okay .....
"Once they're in, they never leave...."
Holy shit, you guys, THIS BOOK is freaking amazing. I'm not kidding. I can't even believe this is a debut novel.
This book managed to do something other horror books don't do. It scared me. Real deal frightening. The dread is literally dripping from the pages and it never lets up. From the first page to the last I was a in a shiver-inducing trance absorbing every chilling word put forth in front of me. The atmosphere of menace, of what the fuck is happening here, had my heart racing. This book is absolutely MY KIND of horror. All the boxes were checked. ✔✔✔
Some readers have been disappointed with the denouement due to many unanswered questions. That wasn't my experience at all. I loved the ending. I love that I still have questions to ponder.
Honestly, I loved EVERYTHING about this book and wouldn't change a thing. I can not wait to see what Kliewer treats us to next. I will be first in line. ALL. THE. STARS !!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for my complimentary copy.
Just two weeks after moving in Eva finds herself waiting for Charlie to come home from work. A night of wine and scrabble ahead of them. A perfectly peaceful evening.
Knock, knock, knock....
Who in the world would be knocking at their door this evening? Being off the beaten path and new to the area they definitely aren't expecting visitors. Eva debates not opening the door but after peaking out of the window she see's a family of five. Father, mother, two boys, and a little girl. Okay, so it's not the axe wielding murderer she feared, just a family. What harm can they do? With an abundance of caution she opens the door.
Father, Tom, claims to have grown up in the house. They're moving out of state and he was hoping he could give his family a little tour. Let them see where he grew up as a boy. Fifteen minutes, tops, and they'll be out of her hair. She really doesn't want to let them in but the people pleaser in her says one word she'll soon regret.... Okay .....
"Once they're in, they never leave...."
Holy shit, you guys, THIS BOOK is freaking amazing. I'm not kidding. I can't even believe this is a debut novel.
This book managed to do something other horror books don't do. It scared me. Real deal frightening. The dread is literally dripping from the pages and it never lets up. From the first page to the last I was a in a shiver-inducing trance absorbing every chilling word put forth in front of me. The atmosphere of menace, of what the fuck is happening here, had my heart racing. This book is absolutely MY KIND of horror. All the boxes were checked. ✔✔✔
Some readers have been disappointed with the denouement due to many unanswered questions. That wasn't my experience at all. I loved the ending. I love that I still have questions to ponder.
Honestly, I loved EVERYTHING about this book and wouldn't change a thing. I can not wait to see what Kliewer treats us to next. I will be first in line. ALL. THE. STARS !!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for my complimentary copy.
February 28, 2024
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? )
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? )
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.
March 23, 2024
Creepy, atmospheric, eerie, and unsettling. Imagine someone coming to your door and telling you that they used to live there. Would you let them in to look around?
Eve is home alone when Thomas and his family knock on her front door. Thomas explains that he grew up in the home she and her partner, Charlie, had just purchased. Initially she hesitates, but then relents and lets the family in to look around.......
I loved the eerie feel of this book. Plus, it has that trapped feeling that I love in books. We Used to Live Here is oozing with atmosphere, dread, and tension. It has that something-isn't-quite-right feeling throughout the book, mainly because something-isn't-quite-right! As eerie and strange things began to happen, I was glued to the pages.
This is going to be a Netflix original movie and I can understand why. It's unsettling and there were times I wondered if things were really happening or was this all in Eve's mind. I thought the author did a great job with this. The author also did a great job with the what-is-happening and what-is-going-to happen-next feel of the book.
I finished the book with many unanswered questions. I feel Eve had many unanswered questions as well. I wonder if this was deliberately done to have readers feel what Eve felt. hmmm...
Atmospheric, eerie, sinister, and well written.
* This was a buddy read with Nikki Lee and Kim ~ It’s All About the Thrill. ❤️📖 Please read their wonderful reviews as well to get their impressions of We Used to Live Here!
Thank you to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and Edelweiss who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com 📖
Eve is home alone when Thomas and his family knock on her front door. Thomas explains that he grew up in the home she and her partner, Charlie, had just purchased. Initially she hesitates, but then relents and lets the family in to look around.......
I loved the eerie feel of this book. Plus, it has that trapped feeling that I love in books. We Used to Live Here is oozing with atmosphere, dread, and tension. It has that something-isn't-quite-right feeling throughout the book, mainly because something-isn't-quite-right! As eerie and strange things began to happen, I was glued to the pages.
This is going to be a Netflix original movie and I can understand why. It's unsettling and there were times I wondered if things were really happening or was this all in Eve's mind. I thought the author did a great job with this. The author also did a great job with the what-is-happening and what-is-going-to happen-next feel of the book.
I finished the book with many unanswered questions. I feel Eve had many unanswered questions as well. I wonder if this was deliberately done to have readers feel what Eve felt. hmmm...
Atmospheric, eerie, sinister, and well written.
* This was a buddy read with Nikki Lee and Kim ~ It’s All About the Thrill. ❤️📖 Please read their wonderful reviews as well to get their impressions of We Used to Live Here!
Thank you to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and Edelweiss who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.
Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com 📖
September 30, 2025
This was my first book in the horror genre and it did not disappoint! The way the book was written through different structures of chapters, the storytelling, and plotline is a chef's kiss.🤌🏻 With every twist and turn, I was absolutely HOOKED trying to figure out the situation with the house and Thomas. I highly recommend to anyone whether they love horror already or are interested in tapping into that genre!
If you liked the movies "Get Out"/"Us" or "Vivarium" this book is definitely for you!
If you liked the movies "Get Out"/"Us" or "Vivarium" this book is definitely for you!
March 28, 2024
OMG this book!! 😳 I have a love/hate relationship with horror… meaning I am VERY picky about what I read. I absolutely loved this book!!! 😱❤️ Thank you soo much to @atriabooks @atriathrillers for sending me this fantastic gifted copy!! 🥰🥰🥰
Pub date is June18th!! 🥳🥳🥳 Trust me.. you don’t want to miss this one!! 😉
Guys… I can’t stop thinking about this book!! It’s absolutely creeptastic!! Five terrifying stars!! 🖤
So… you are home alone… and there’s a knock ✊ on the door… you just moved here so you aren’t sure who it could be..🤔… You open the door… and there is a family… 🤔… Guess what?? They want in YOUR house. Ummm 🤨… they claim they used to live here. They would love to look 👀 around… 😬… Ummm ackward..🤷♀️… THIS is precisely what happened to our girl Eve… What would you do???
✅ Step aside.. fling open the door and say WELCOME
✅ Scream 😱 Stranger Danger ⚠️ and slam the 🚪 door
✅ You wouldn’t have this problem because you would NEVER answer the door! 😂🤷♀️
I opt for the third choice… just saying..🤷♀️ … However… Eve let them in… Nooo girl… just No! 😳 That is when things got… REALLY creepy… 😉
This is the kind of book that you ABSOLUTELY can’t put down!! It’s so atmospheric…creepy…and crazy…I seriously couldn’t wait to see what would happen next… 😳
OMG that ending!! 😳🤯🤯🤯 I never saw that coming… I literally read it three times.. JUST to make sure.. 😳 Be prepared to have this book occupy your mind… for a VERY long time…😉🤫🤐🤐
Guys… this is going to be on Netflix… and I absolutely can’t wait!! Who else is excited??? 🙋♀️🙋♀️🙋♀️ @marcus_kliewer absolutely killed it with this book!! 👏👏
Thank you Debra @openbookpostblog and Nikki @niksbooksntrix for a fantastic buddy read!! There definitely was alot to talk about!! 😳😱
🖤🖤🖤 Is this on your TBR??
Pub date is June18th!! 🥳🥳🥳 Trust me.. you don’t want to miss this one!! 😉
Guys… I can’t stop thinking about this book!! It’s absolutely creeptastic!! Five terrifying stars!! 🖤
So… you are home alone… and there’s a knock ✊ on the door… you just moved here so you aren’t sure who it could be..🤔… You open the door… and there is a family… 🤔… Guess what?? They want in YOUR house. Ummm 🤨… they claim they used to live here. They would love to look 👀 around… 😬… Ummm ackward..🤷♀️… THIS is precisely what happened to our girl Eve… What would you do???
✅ Step aside.. fling open the door and say WELCOME
✅ Scream 😱 Stranger Danger ⚠️ and slam the 🚪 door
✅ You wouldn’t have this problem because you would NEVER answer the door! 😂🤷♀️
I opt for the third choice… just saying..🤷♀️ … However… Eve let them in… Nooo girl… just No! 😳 That is when things got… REALLY creepy… 😉
This is the kind of book that you ABSOLUTELY can’t put down!! It’s so atmospheric…creepy…and crazy…I seriously couldn’t wait to see what would happen next… 😳
OMG that ending!! 😳🤯🤯🤯 I never saw that coming… I literally read it three times.. JUST to make sure.. 😳 Be prepared to have this book occupy your mind… for a VERY long time…😉🤫🤐🤐
Guys… this is going to be on Netflix… and I absolutely can’t wait!! Who else is excited??? 🙋♀️🙋♀️🙋♀️ @marcus_kliewer absolutely killed it with this book!! 👏👏
Thank you Debra @openbookpostblog and Nikki @niksbooksntrix for a fantastic buddy read!! There definitely was alot to talk about!! 😳😱
🖤🖤🖤 Is this on your TBR??
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