What do you think?
Home Sick
“The symmetry should have tipped me off.”
After a violent incident at work, Tamsin goes looking for a fresh start in a remote cottage far away from her old life. Here she could make real friends, find a job she loves, become a whole new person, even.
But the solitary cottage is actually a semi-detached, with only a thin wall separating her from a total stranger. Her neighbour is an enigma. Dowdy one moment, vivacious the next, but always wearing an unnerving smile. Tamsin can’t shake the feeling that there’s something wrong with her, especially when she starts experiencing disturbances in her own home.
As the locals share strange stories about her house, and her barely contained paranoia spirals out of control, Tamsin begins to suspect that the past she was so desperate to escape might never let her go.
After a violent incident at work, Tamsin goes looking for a fresh start in a remote cottage far away from her old life. Here she could make real friends, find a job she loves, become a whole new person, even.
But the solitary cottage is actually a semi-detached, with only a thin wall separating her from a total stranger. Her neighbour is an enigma. Dowdy one moment, vivacious the next, but always wearing an unnerving smile. Tamsin can’t shake the feeling that there’s something wrong with her, especially when she starts experiencing disturbances in her own home.
As the locals share strange stories about her house, and her barely contained paranoia spirals out of control, Tamsin begins to suspect that the past she was so desperate to escape might never let her go.
10 pages, Audiobook
First published July 14, 2026
About the author
Rhiannon Grist
10 books59 followersRhiannon A Grist is an award-winning author of Weird, Dark and Speculative fiction. Her dark fantasy / folk horror 'The Queen of the High Fields' (Luna Press) won Best Novella at the 2023 British Fantasy Awards.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 539 reviews
June 3, 2026
A slow burn psychological horror with some folklore thrown in for added atmosphere! This sounds like a recipe for a fantastic read.
Tamsin needs a fresh start, and with that fresh start is a small, remote cottage in a town where no one knows her. Here she can start over and be whoever she wants to be. Upon arrival, it becomes evident that the cottage is a semi-detached house, and she shares a wall with a neighbor. Not quite what she had in mind, but it will have to work. There’s just something that’s a little bit off with her neighbor.
This novel is very character driven, and the majority of it is listening to Tamsin’s inner monologue. She comes across as not very likable, but there were also pieces that I felt I could relate to. She is very self-conscious in social settings and constantly has emotional turmoil over what to do in certain situations. While she may be self-conscious, she is also very judgmental of others and has a “woe is me” type of attitude. But she is trying to start over and is hoping that she’ll be able to get over some of her past mindsets and mistakes.
There were also some folklore elements thrown in that I definitely liked. I’m a sucker for folklore. From a horror perspective, there are definitely some elements, but nothing that I would consider extreme. I may have chuckled at a few of Tamsin’s inner thoughts. I’m not condoning violence, but sometimes buttons get pushed.
I found most of the story to be a five star read, but I dropped a star because the ending felt a little too “neat”. It tied everything up, and there was a good moral to the story, but it couldn’t compete with how fabulous the first 3/4 of the novel was.
Thanks to NetGalley and a publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
Tamsin needs a fresh start, and with that fresh start is a small, remote cottage in a town where no one knows her. Here she can start over and be whoever she wants to be. Upon arrival, it becomes evident that the cottage is a semi-detached house, and she shares a wall with a neighbor. Not quite what she had in mind, but it will have to work. There’s just something that’s a little bit off with her neighbor.
This novel is very character driven, and the majority of it is listening to Tamsin’s inner monologue. She comes across as not very likable, but there were also pieces that I felt I could relate to. She is very self-conscious in social settings and constantly has emotional turmoil over what to do in certain situations. While she may be self-conscious, she is also very judgmental of others and has a “woe is me” type of attitude. But she is trying to start over and is hoping that she’ll be able to get over some of her past mindsets and mistakes.
There were also some folklore elements thrown in that I definitely liked. I’m a sucker for folklore. From a horror perspective, there are definitely some elements, but nothing that I would consider extreme. I may have chuckled at a few of Tamsin’s inner thoughts. I’m not condoning violence, but sometimes buttons get pushed.
I found most of the story to be a five star read, but I dropped a star because the ending felt a little too “neat”. It tied everything up, and there was a good moral to the story, but it couldn’t compete with how fabulous the first 3/4 of the novel was.
Thanks to NetGalley and a publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review
August 17, 2026
4.5⭐️ - I bloody loved this!
July 28, 2026
This was an atmospheric psychological horror novel with a wonderfully isolated setting and an unsettling sense that something is never quite right. The mysterious neighbor and the strange happenings surrounding the cottage kept me intrigued throughout. It was my first book by the author. For my taste, however, the novel was a little too mild and a bit too reflective. It spends a lot of time exploring Tamsin's inner thoughts and emotional state, and while that certainly adds depth, I would have preferred a stronger emphasis on the horror itself (you know me) and a few more genuinely chilling moments. That said, Rhiannon Grist creates an eerie, slow-burning tale where paranoia and reality gradually blur together. The tension builds nicely, and the unsettling atmosphere never lets up. In the end she comes up with a thoughtful and well-written psychological horror novel that may be a little restrained for hardcore horror fans, but is still well worth reading. Really recommended!
July 16, 2026
The most frightening thing in Home Sick isn't the house or the folklore. It's the creeping suspicion that the one thing you might never be able to escape is yourself.
Rhiannon Grist transforms an ordinary semi-detached house in the Scottish countryside into something sinister. Every creak, shadow and sideways glance hums with the certainty that something is wrong, building an oppressive, claustrophobic atmosphere. All of it woven through with traditional, unsettling fae folklore.
Beneath the eerie atmosphere sits an equally uncomfortable psychological portrait. Home Sick explores feminine rage, loneliness, shame and social awkwardness with painful honesty. It captures the quiet terror of constantly wondering how others perceive you, the crushing weight of low self-esteem and the desperate desire to become someone else, even as your own mind refuses to let you.
Unfortunately for me it never really evolves beyond its opening note. Tamsin is a believable protagonist who might have been painfully relatable if she weren't so completely abhorrent, arriving already angry, suspicious, vindictively judgemental and unreliable. Rather than watching someone gradually unravel, we're dropped into a mind that's on the edge, having already boiled over. It's uncomfortable but it leaves little room for the paranoia to escalate or the psychological tension to build making a large portion of the book feel emotionally static.
The heavy symbolism surrounding doubles, mirrors and reflections also makes the central metaphor, and ultimately its reveal, fairly easy to anticipate. When the climax finally arrives it doesn't lean into the horror enough to justify the journey. Instead of blossoming into something truly frightening or emotionally devastating, it felt oddly restrained, leaving the whole story on much the same note it began - just with a moral message.
Ultimately it captured the feeling of a mind consumed by anxiety and rage but for all its creeping unease I was left waiting for it to erupt.
My thanks to Solaris for the arc
Rhiannon Grist transforms an ordinary semi-detached house in the Scottish countryside into something sinister. Every creak, shadow and sideways glance hums with the certainty that something is wrong, building an oppressive, claustrophobic atmosphere. All of it woven through with traditional, unsettling fae folklore.
Beneath the eerie atmosphere sits an equally uncomfortable psychological portrait. Home Sick explores feminine rage, loneliness, shame and social awkwardness with painful honesty. It captures the quiet terror of constantly wondering how others perceive you, the crushing weight of low self-esteem and the desperate desire to become someone else, even as your own mind refuses to let you.
Unfortunately for me it never really evolves beyond its opening note. Tamsin is a believable protagonist who might have been painfully relatable if she weren't so completely abhorrent, arriving already angry, suspicious, vindictively judgemental and unreliable. Rather than watching someone gradually unravel, we're dropped into a mind that's on the edge, having already boiled over. It's uncomfortable but it leaves little room for the paranoia to escalate or the psychological tension to build making a large portion of the book feel emotionally static.
The heavy symbolism surrounding doubles, mirrors and reflections also makes the central metaphor, and ultimately its reveal, fairly easy to anticipate. When the climax finally arrives it doesn't lean into the horror enough to justify the journey. Instead of blossoming into something truly frightening or emotionally devastating, it felt oddly restrained, leaving the whole story on much the same note it began - just with a moral message.
Ultimately it captured the feeling of a mind consumed by anxiety and rage but for all its creeping unease I was left waiting for it to erupt.
My thanks to Solaris for the arc
Read
March 5, 2026I blurbed this one!
"Just as each person can hold multitudes, Home Sick manages to be both creepy and comforting, dark and delightful, sweet and strange. It is beyond a shadow of a doubt one of the best horror books you can pick up in 2026 and beyond."
"Just as each person can hold multitudes, Home Sick manages to be both creepy and comforting, dark and delightful, sweet and strange. It is beyond a shadow of a doubt one of the best horror books you can pick up in 2026 and beyond."
March 11, 2026
literary folk horror by way of weird girl fiction - this scary story is a heartbreaking character study of isolation, rage, and painful reckoning with oneself.
lifelong misfit tamsin has fled to the scottish countryside in the wake of a mysterious incident at work. moving into one half of a duplex on the outskirts of a cozy village, she's determined to make a fresh start and leave her old self behind.
i wasn't expecting this horror novel to feel like so-called "weird girl fiction," which has become wildly popular within its own niche. but i suppose we could call this weird girl horror, because at the center of the narrative is tamsin's necessary confrontation of how painful it is to be the weird girl, to know that you are unlikable, to watch yourself in social interactions and know that you are being perceived badly, but to be powerless to transform into someone more "normal."
very early on, i wondered if tamsin was intentionally written as autistic. she has an acute sense of shame, engages in rote self-criticism, admits that she is guarded and prone to black-and-white thinking, and experiences social alienation and rejection sensitive dysphoria.
tamsin also struggles to mask in social situations, and she falls into detailed fantasies of different, more likable selves that she wishes she could be and human connections she wishes she could have. i kept waiting for the text to acknowledge that these are major neurodivergent experiences! and i'm extremely curious to know whether a neurodivergent angle was intended by the author. with this autistic reading, the book feels profoundly sad.
okay, as for the horror - there are some truly terrifying moments, including one dread-inducing shock that made me GASP. as is acknowledged in the text, there's something fundamentally alarming to the human brain when we encounter dark doubles, doppelgängers, misbehaving shadows.
the sense of fear is dropped here and there when we go deep into tamsin's introspective inner monologue, but there is an unceasing tone of dread and powerlessness.
there's also a delicious touch of scottish folklore, with the potential of fae inflicting their surreal horror on those who dare to occupy the house built on their hollow hill.
the pacing is inconsistent - there were parts where i couldn't put the book down, and other times where it felt plodding. i do think the first section is the strongest, seeped with expertly crafted tension and the uncanny terror of not trusting your own mind or the place that's supposed to be a safe space. the middle is rather slow, and toward the end there's a series of trippy, reality-bending sequences that really push the limits of fever dreams.
ultimately this is an excellent character study of a deeply lonely person, wracked with anger and trying her best to become someone she likes better. when she finds that this fundamental change is impossible, she instead must learn to hold her most hated parts of herself, her own dark shadow.
the final chapter ties everything up with a tidy little bow, but it feels right for this cathartic story. tamsin's deep inner turmoil and scathing self hatred have finally been soothed.
Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion / Solaris for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
lifelong misfit tamsin has fled to the scottish countryside in the wake of a mysterious incident at work. moving into one half of a duplex on the outskirts of a cozy village, she's determined to make a fresh start and leave her old self behind.
i wasn't expecting this horror novel to feel like so-called "weird girl fiction," which has become wildly popular within its own niche. but i suppose we could call this weird girl horror, because at the center of the narrative is tamsin's necessary confrontation of how painful it is to be the weird girl, to know that you are unlikable, to watch yourself in social interactions and know that you are being perceived badly, but to be powerless to transform into someone more "normal."
very early on, i wondered if tamsin was intentionally written as autistic. she has an acute sense of shame, engages in rote self-criticism, admits that she is guarded and prone to black-and-white thinking, and experiences social alienation and rejection sensitive dysphoria.
tamsin also struggles to mask in social situations, and she falls into detailed fantasies of different, more likable selves that she wishes she could be and human connections she wishes she could have. i kept waiting for the text to acknowledge that these are major neurodivergent experiences! and i'm extremely curious to know whether a neurodivergent angle was intended by the author. with this autistic reading, the book feels profoundly sad.
okay, as for the horror - there are some truly terrifying moments, including one dread-inducing shock that made me GASP. as is acknowledged in the text, there's something fundamentally alarming to the human brain when we encounter dark doubles, doppelgängers, misbehaving shadows.
the sense of fear is dropped here and there when we go deep into tamsin's introspective inner monologue, but there is an unceasing tone of dread and powerlessness.
there's also a delicious touch of scottish folklore, with the potential of fae inflicting their surreal horror on those who dare to occupy the house built on their hollow hill.
the pacing is inconsistent - there were parts where i couldn't put the book down, and other times where it felt plodding. i do think the first section is the strongest, seeped with expertly crafted tension and the uncanny terror of not trusting your own mind or the place that's supposed to be a safe space. the middle is rather slow, and toward the end there's a series of trippy, reality-bending sequences that really push the limits of fever dreams.
ultimately this is an excellent character study of a deeply lonely person, wracked with anger and trying her best to become someone she likes better. when she finds that this fundamental change is impossible, she instead must learn to hold her most hated parts of herself, her own dark shadow.
the final chapter ties everything up with a tidy little bow, but it feels right for this cathartic story. tamsin's deep inner turmoil and scathing self hatred have finally been soothed.
Thank you to NetGalley and Rebellion / Solaris for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
July 17, 2026
Homesick is a modern fairytale where Tamsin is a young woman leaving the city behind after a traumatic event, opting for the charming and quiet country instead.
However, as you may expect, reality is far from idyllic and in Tamsin’s case it even goes beyond the mundane annoyances and into gory folklore territory.
I was hooked on the modern take on folklore and especially on a shadow having its independent will, just like Peter Pan’s. In that regard, I think the book earns high praise as it is it truly original and creepy.
What let me down however is the inner voice of Tamsin. Her illogic thoughts were grating on my nerves, especially in the first half. Because it is written in the first person you get sucked in as a reader in her downward spiral which made me uncomfortable.
Luckily, in the second half a lot more is happening, with more dialogue which mercifully pulls the reader out of her inner thoughts.
I recommend pushing through the first half, and you’ll get rewarded with a truly spooky and modern folk tale.
Thank you NetGalley, Rebellion | Solaris and the author for allowing me to be an early reader. All opinions are my own.
However, as you may expect, reality is far from idyllic and in Tamsin’s case it even goes beyond the mundane annoyances and into gory folklore territory.
I was hooked on the modern take on folklore and especially on a shadow having its independent will, just like Peter Pan’s. In that regard, I think the book earns high praise as it is it truly original and creepy.
What let me down however is the inner voice of Tamsin. Her illogic thoughts were grating on my nerves, especially in the first half. Because it is written in the first person you get sucked in as a reader in her downward spiral which made me uncomfortable.
Luckily, in the second half a lot more is happening, with more dialogue which mercifully pulls the reader out of her inner thoughts.
I recommend pushing through the first half, and you’ll get rewarded with a truly spooky and modern folk tale.
Thank you NetGalley, Rebellion | Solaris and the author for allowing me to be an early reader. All opinions are my own.
September 14, 2026
A solid 3.5 for me. A 4 is "Damn Near Flawless" and this didn't quite get there for me but I'm excited to read more from this author and our Night Worms book club (3K+ readers) LOVED this book and the discussion
Title/Author:Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist
Format Read: Audiobook/Physical (Night Worms)
Pub date: July 14, 2026
Publisher: Solaris
Page Count: 288
Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978183786...
Recommended for readers who enjoy reading:
- Books set in Scotland (countryside)
- Neighbors/Small town/isolation/seclusion/mystery
- Moving for a fresh start/escaping something
- Psychological Horror/Doppelgängers
- Single women MCs
- Paranoia/disordered thinking/OCD thinking/neurodivergent/psychic trauma
-Local folklore and fae
Synopsis: "After a violent incident at work, Tamsin goes looking for a fresh start in a remote cottage far away from her old life. Here she could make real friends, find a job she loves, become a whole new person, even. As the locals share strange stories about her house, and her barely contained paranoia spirals out of control, Tamsin begins to suspect that the past she was so desperate to escape might never let her go."
__
Minor complaints:
- While I fully understand what the author wanted to do with this story, I feel like it goes the long way around telling it and it does require the right headspace to lock-in/invest in a slow burn, psychological character study. I did find myself growing impatient every now and then, kind of waiting for this escalating tension to finally take off
Final recommendation: One of my favorite horror tropes is when people are looking for a fresh start so they decide to move to an eerie, secluded, rural small town in the country where they don't know anyone and the their is a good chance their house is haunted. Add to this familiar recipe, a neurodivergent MC who is really struggling with a repeating cycle of looping, intrusive thoughts and shame spiraling due to episodic anger issues and domestic drama at home. Tamsin moves to a cottage called, Sgàthan Sìth which is a duplex-she is moving into one side of the cottage and the other side is occupied.
I absolutely loved the cottage core vibes of the first act! The second act really sucked me in and got me invested in the mystery of the neighbor and the folklore of this small rural village. Act 3 is where I started feeling a little restless-and maybe a tad let down by the reveal of certain events from Tamsin's history that were breadcrumbed throughout the novel. But overall, I enjoyed this audiobook, quirky literary, psychological horror, and the narrator!
Comps: The Scald Crow by Grace Daly, The Witch of Willow Sound by Vanessa F. Penney, Hollow by Taylor Grothe
Title/Author:Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist
Format Read: Audiobook/Physical (Night Worms)
Pub date: July 14, 2026
Publisher: Solaris
Page Count: 288
Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/978183786...
Recommended for readers who enjoy reading:
- Books set in Scotland (countryside)
- Neighbors/Small town/isolation/seclusion/mystery
- Moving for a fresh start/escaping something
- Psychological Horror/Doppelgängers
- Single women MCs
- Paranoia/disordered thinking/OCD thinking/neurodivergent/psychic trauma
-Local folklore and fae
Synopsis: "After a violent incident at work, Tamsin goes looking for a fresh start in a remote cottage far away from her old life. Here she could make real friends, find a job she loves, become a whole new person, even. As the locals share strange stories about her house, and her barely contained paranoia spirals out of control, Tamsin begins to suspect that the past she was so desperate to escape might never let her go."
__
Minor complaints:
- While I fully understand what the author wanted to do with this story, I feel like it goes the long way around telling it and it does require the right headspace to lock-in/invest in a slow burn, psychological character study. I did find myself growing impatient every now and then, kind of waiting for this escalating tension to finally take off
Final recommendation: One of my favorite horror tropes is when people are looking for a fresh start so they decide to move to an eerie, secluded, rural small town in the country where they don't know anyone and the their is a good chance their house is haunted. Add to this familiar recipe, a neurodivergent MC who is really struggling with a repeating cycle of looping, intrusive thoughts and shame spiraling due to episodic anger issues and domestic drama at home. Tamsin moves to a cottage called, Sgàthan Sìth which is a duplex-she is moving into one side of the cottage and the other side is occupied.
I absolutely loved the cottage core vibes of the first act! The second act really sucked me in and got me invested in the mystery of the neighbor and the folklore of this small rural village. Act 3 is where I started feeling a little restless-and maybe a tad let down by the reveal of certain events from Tamsin's history that were breadcrumbed throughout the novel. But overall, I enjoyed this audiobook, quirky literary, psychological horror, and the narrator!
Comps: The Scald Crow by Grace Daly, The Witch of Willow Sound by Vanessa F. Penney, Hollow by Taylor Grothe
August 4, 2026
Tamsin moves from Edinburgh after a much eluded to "incident" at her place of employment that caused her to flee the city in search of a different life. She buys a cottage in a small village in the Scottish countryside, sight unseen, hoping for a fresh start and a new life. She has debilitating self-doubt and takes introversion to a new level, and she is sure this move will turn her into the person she has always wanted to be. Someone who easily makes friends. Someone more fun. A better person. A friendly person. A nice person.
Unfortunately, for Tamsin, her quaint cottage ends up being what I can only imagine here in the US is something of a duplex. Her neighbor is all kinds of weird. There are odd things occurring, weird noises at night, and she may or may not be seeing things. The townsfolk who she expected would be warm and welcoming were cold and suspicious. The entire experience is unsettling. This move wasn't all she thought it would be.
The atmosphere was quite solid. The slowly unfolding nature was expected of that of a gothic tale; unfortunately, the pacing suffered. Gothic novels can be hit or miss for me, but here I felt the first two-thirds of the book were intensely slow. The tension did build very slowly, but for the better part of the book, not much was really happening. The payoff at the end was quite well done. I wish the reader was let it on more of the rationale behind Tamsin's behaviors and reason for moving before the end. As far as the genre label here, there is horror, but it is not as pervasive as I would have expected or personally preferred.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the RBmedia for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.
Unfortunately, for Tamsin, her quaint cottage ends up being what I can only imagine here in the US is something of a duplex. Her neighbor is all kinds of weird. There are odd things occurring, weird noises at night, and she may or may not be seeing things. The townsfolk who she expected would be warm and welcoming were cold and suspicious. The entire experience is unsettling. This move wasn't all she thought it would be.
The atmosphere was quite solid. The slowly unfolding nature was expected of that of a gothic tale; unfortunately, the pacing suffered. Gothic novels can be hit or miss for me, but here I felt the first two-thirds of the book were intensely slow. The tension did build very slowly, but for the better part of the book, not much was really happening. The payoff at the end was quite well done. I wish the reader was let it on more of the rationale behind Tamsin's behaviors and reason for moving before the end. As far as the genre label here, there is horror, but it is not as pervasive as I would have expected or personally preferred.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the RBmedia for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.
Did Not Finish
September 12, 2026If you want to read about the most useless person being a waffling jackass to everyone who tries to help her, with very little in the way of horror, by all means, give Home Sick a try. Dnf 57%.
July 24, 2026
This took me a moment to get through but not through lack of entertainment.
As a big horror movie fan, I always assumed that horror books can't be quite as effective without the audio and visual effects that are often the prompts for viewer reactions. However, this book was genuinely very effective in it's participation in the genre - especially as a debut novel!
There are key scenes which have stayed in my mind (such as the voice calling from downstairs, and the stapler scenes - if you know, you know), and ones which created an effective dense atmosphere. I think this book exploited characteristics of 'horror' really well which lend themselves better to books such as the tension and uneasiness which built the readers' fear.
The one area which I feel the book fell short on was the momentum of the plot. I think the build-up was well structured gradually building panic for the protagonist but the peak of the plot came in an almighty crsecendo in the last 20% and it felt as though there was a large jump in pace. Also, though this isn't a personal criticism, I often notice that in horror the character which 'breaks the pattern' is someone we want to root for. I enjoyed the added complications to our protagonist, but I feel as though some readers may perceive a lack of a central 'hero' to this story - what makes Tamsyn special to overcome her circumstances?
I think this is an incredible debut novel and it has further inspired me to venture in to horror fiction. Although this is a far-fetched whimsy, if I ever wrote myself, I would aspire to write horror in this style. Alas, for now all I can do is recommend you read this book!
As a big horror movie fan, I always assumed that horror books can't be quite as effective without the audio and visual effects that are often the prompts for viewer reactions. However, this book was genuinely very effective in it's participation in the genre - especially as a debut novel!
There are key scenes which have stayed in my mind (such as the voice calling from downstairs, and the stapler scenes - if you know, you know), and ones which created an effective dense atmosphere. I think this book exploited characteristics of 'horror' really well which lend themselves better to books such as the tension and uneasiness which built the readers' fear.
The one area which I feel the book fell short on was the momentum of the plot. I think the build-up was well structured gradually building panic for the protagonist but the peak of the plot came in an almighty crsecendo in the last 20% and it felt as though there was a large jump in pace. Also, though this isn't a personal criticism, I often notice that in horror the character which 'breaks the pattern' is someone we want to root for. I enjoyed the added complications to our protagonist, but I feel as though some readers may perceive a lack of a central 'hero' to this story - what makes Tamsyn special to overcome her circumstances?
I think this is an incredible debut novel and it has further inspired me to venture in to horror fiction. Although this is a far-fetched whimsy, if I ever wrote myself, I would aspire to write horror in this style. Alas, for now all I can do is recommend you read this book!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Rhiannon Grist understands that TRUE horror is: not remembering what you ranted about at the pub last night
Did Not Finish
June 30, 2026This is just so boring. Calling it quits at 61%.
July 20, 2026
Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not impact my rating or review.
This was so freaking good. You want to read a horror novel set in Scotland? Well here's your book. I honestly worried at first that since I didn't really care for the main character, Tasmin, I wouldn't enjoy. But one of the great things that Grist did here, is that you realize you don't like her, heck she doesn't like herself. So once you lean in on the whole thing, you just enjoy the ride. The ending was great I thought and definitely want to read more books by her in the future.
Home Sick follows thirty something year old Tamsin. She has left Edinburgh for a small village and a cottage in the middle of nowhere. Tamsin we quickly find is fleeing 'something bad' and thinks this new house/village is where she can finally make herself over. But things go wrong starting with her showing up to find that her cottage is actually a semi-detached cottage with only a wall between her and her neighbor. Her new neighbor seems withdrawn. And Tamsin thought the villagers would be welcoming, or at least she would have options to make friends. Instead, wherever she goes, she feels as if someone is laughing at her. When Tamsin starts hearing noises at night and feels as if she is going crazy.
So Tamsin. There's a bigger longer thread to pull with this character that Grist does not reveal right away. I liked how we got different layers to Tamsin as she becomes more unraveled and in the end, can't hide from herself anymore. I did end up feeling sorry for her to a certain extent, but also a couple of times went, well she definitely has a few screws loose. And that's the thing, you go in knowing there's something off with Tamsin but you can't name it for a while.
And the other characters we get to know such as Rowan, the older man and his wife, Rowan's partner, Fergus, were great. They added to the story without taking away from the main plot I thought.
The setting of this far and away place with no one for miles definitely had me feeling dread. From the very first moment Tamsin is in her new place I was like, um nope. Not for me. But you see her trying to see what it could be in her heard. And that's something that she does a lot. She thinks about how great things would/could be if only.
The ending as I said was great. I don't want to get into spoilers, but I liked how Grist brings up stories and authors we know to explain what is going on with Tasmin and thought how it was resolved was a great way to complete the circle there.
This was so freaking good. You want to read a horror novel set in Scotland? Well here's your book. I honestly worried at first that since I didn't really care for the main character, Tasmin, I wouldn't enjoy. But one of the great things that Grist did here, is that you realize you don't like her, heck she doesn't like herself. So once you lean in on the whole thing, you just enjoy the ride. The ending was great I thought and definitely want to read more books by her in the future.
Home Sick follows thirty something year old Tamsin. She has left Edinburgh for a small village and a cottage in the middle of nowhere. Tamsin we quickly find is fleeing 'something bad' and thinks this new house/village is where she can finally make herself over. But things go wrong starting with her showing up to find that her cottage is actually a semi-detached cottage with only a wall between her and her neighbor. Her new neighbor seems withdrawn. And Tamsin thought the villagers would be welcoming, or at least she would have options to make friends. Instead, wherever she goes, she feels as if someone is laughing at her. When Tamsin starts hearing noises at night and feels as if she is going crazy.
So Tamsin. There's a bigger longer thread to pull with this character that Grist does not reveal right away. I liked how we got different layers to Tamsin as she becomes more unraveled and in the end, can't hide from herself anymore. I did end up feeling sorry for her to a certain extent, but also a couple of times went, well she definitely has a few screws loose. And that's the thing, you go in knowing there's something off with Tamsin but you can't name it for a while.
And the other characters we get to know such as Rowan, the older man and his wife, Rowan's partner, Fergus, were great. They added to the story without taking away from the main plot I thought.
The setting of this far and away place with no one for miles definitely had me feeling dread. From the very first moment Tamsin is in her new place I was like, um nope. Not for me. But you see her trying to see what it could be in her heard. And that's something that she does a lot. She thinks about how great things would/could be if only.
The ending as I said was great. I don't want to get into spoilers, but I liked how Grist brings up stories and authors we know to explain what is going on with Tasmin and thought how it was resolved was a great way to complete the circle there.
Did Not Finish
July 8, 2026DNF 23%
Yeah, this isn't for me...
Readers who enjoyed Morsel by Carter Keane or The Witch of Willow Sound by Vanessa F. Penney might have a good time with this.
Thank you to Libro.FM and the publisher for this gifted ALC. All opinions are my own.
"Did this fucker just call me cheap? Arse. Face like a slapped arse. Should slap his slapped-arse face. Slap his slapped-arse face!"
Yeah, this isn't for me...
Readers who enjoyed Morsel by Carter Keane or The Witch of Willow Sound by Vanessa F. Penney might have a good time with this.
Thank you to Libro.FM and the publisher for this gifted ALC. All opinions are my own.
April 1, 2026
Thank you to Rebellion and Solaris for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist is a folk-horror story that follows Tamsin, a frantic woman looking for a fresh start in her life following a violent incident at her workplace. She purchases a house sight unseen in the Scottish country side, but it’s far from the pastoral respite she’s been looking for. Her discomfort in the new home goes from bad to worse when she starts feeling like something is deeply amiss with her neighbor and her new home.
The best and worst thing about Home Sick was how vividly and successfully Grist builds the character of Tamsin. She is angry, paranoid, jealous, unreasonable, and filled with righteous indignation. She seems to have never met a person she didn’t have a judgmental thought about. This is one of the most unlikeable characters I’ve ever read. She sour, vindictive, and deeply insulted by the existence of others. If you really vibe with Moshfegh’s weird girl main characters, you’ll find her to be engaging. However, she’s so tediously horrible for the first 80% of the book that after a certain point I stopped caring about whether she’d find personal growth. Instead, I hoped a chunk of plaster would bop her on the head and finish the job. I’d say that Tamsin is decidedly well written but also unpleasant.
The book isn’t all that scary, except that it begs for a lot of self reflection (which people really hate, I guess.) It’s listed as horror, but except for some spooky house bits and a smattering of gore, it’s not all that scary. I’d say that this is more of a modern adult fairytale than anything else, moral included. I think the author does a very good job at creating a modern tale of self-perception, self-discovery, and managing impotent anger. Even though there’s definitely a climax that’s framed in a morality lesson, it doesn’t feel overly preachy or heavy handed.
I did enjoy the overall concept of the story, especially the folklore and fairytale parallels. However, I do think the author created a protagonist so especially odious that I did find myself really disliking her and feeling disconnected from the story due to my feelings on Tamsin. 3.5/5, with a recommendation for those looking for a slightly more psychological, less gory horror option.
Home Sick by Rhiannon Grist is a folk-horror story that follows Tamsin, a frantic woman looking for a fresh start in her life following a violent incident at her workplace. She purchases a house sight unseen in the Scottish country side, but it’s far from the pastoral respite she’s been looking for. Her discomfort in the new home goes from bad to worse when she starts feeling like something is deeply amiss with her neighbor and her new home.
The best and worst thing about Home Sick was how vividly and successfully Grist builds the character of Tamsin. She is angry, paranoid, jealous, unreasonable, and filled with righteous indignation. She seems to have never met a person she didn’t have a judgmental thought about. This is one of the most unlikeable characters I’ve ever read. She sour, vindictive, and deeply insulted by the existence of others. If you really vibe with Moshfegh’s weird girl main characters, you’ll find her to be engaging. However, she’s so tediously horrible for the first 80% of the book that after a certain point I stopped caring about whether she’d find personal growth. Instead, I hoped a chunk of plaster would bop her on the head and finish the job. I’d say that Tamsin is decidedly well written but also unpleasant.
The book isn’t all that scary, except that it begs for a lot of self reflection (which people really hate, I guess.) It’s listed as horror, but except for some spooky house bits and a smattering of gore, it’s not all that scary. I’d say that this is more of a modern adult fairytale than anything else, moral included. I think the author does a very good job at creating a modern tale of self-perception, self-discovery, and managing impotent anger. Even though there’s definitely a climax that’s framed in a morality lesson, it doesn’t feel overly preachy or heavy handed.
I did enjoy the overall concept of the story, especially the folklore and fairytale parallels. However, I do think the author created a protagonist so especially odious that I did find myself really disliking her and feeling disconnected from the story due to my feelings on Tamsin. 3.5/5, with a recommendation for those looking for a slightly more psychological, less gory horror option.
August 6, 2026
Rating: ♾️
Oh myyyyyy. This book was so far off what I was expecting, I am left with such a happy sadness after finishing this.
I absolutely loved the eerienes, it was like I was actually in this house. The folklore was amazing and the undertones of Horror was done so well.
The dry humour really caught me out, I absolutely love humour in places it feel like it doesn't belong and the sarcastic nature of Tamsin was done so well.
I found myself heavily relating to Tamsin, to the point I was researching if the author purposely wrote her as an autistic protagonist. I loved the twist at the end, it was perfect and I found myself thinking "I could actually take this advice" like it was some psychological horror self help book.
I cried at hard at the end, I felt like a part of me was healed with this ending.
Oh myyyyyy. This book was so far off what I was expecting, I am left with such a happy sadness after finishing this.
I absolutely loved the eerienes, it was like I was actually in this house. The folklore was amazing and the undertones of Horror was done so well.
The dry humour really caught me out, I absolutely love humour in places it feel like it doesn't belong and the sarcastic nature of Tamsin was done so well.
I found myself heavily relating to Tamsin, to the point I was researching if the author purposely wrote her as an autistic protagonist. I loved the twist at the end, it was perfect and I found myself thinking "I could actually take this advice" like it was some psychological horror self help book.
I cried at hard at the end, I felt like a part of me was healed with this ending.
August 6, 2026
Another mixed bag for me. The main character is insufferable and there are a lot of plot points that I would have loved to see fleshed out more. What was up with the town getting decorated? Why was Dolly the sheep here? Why did the townsfolk seem to know what was happening, sometimes fear it and others be totally nonchalant? Finally the finale which should have been an epic battle, but was basically like anyone’s first therapy session if it ended with a big kumbaya moment. I did enjoy all of the other characters (and would have liked a lot more of the, in the story) and appreciate the gays representing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 15, 2026
4⭐️ - Oh, what a fun read!
Tamsin is trying to outrun a pretty major mistake from her old life in Edinburgh, so she buys a cottage sight unseen in the countryside, only to discover it's attached to another house by a sealed basement door. 🫣 From the moment she arrives, something feels off. The neighbour is unsettling, strange things start happening around the house, and you're never quite sure if what's unfolding is supernatural, psychological, or if Tamsin is slowly unravelling.
I loved that constant feeling of not knowing what was real. Tamsin isn't the most reliable narrator, so I found myself questioning everything right alongside her. There were some genuinely creepy moments, plenty of body horror and I absolutely loved how Scottish folklore was woven into the story. It gave the whole book a really fresh feel and made it stand out from your typical haunted house horror.
This was such a bingeable read with a unique premise, some really cool folklore and enough weirdness to keep things interesting. I really enjoyed this one!
Thank you to NetGalley, Rebellion and Solaris for the ARC!
Tamsin is trying to outrun a pretty major mistake from her old life in Edinburgh, so she buys a cottage sight unseen in the countryside, only to discover it's attached to another house by a sealed basement door. 🫣 From the moment she arrives, something feels off. The neighbour is unsettling, strange things start happening around the house, and you're never quite sure if what's unfolding is supernatural, psychological, or if Tamsin is slowly unravelling.
I loved that constant feeling of not knowing what was real. Tamsin isn't the most reliable narrator, so I found myself questioning everything right alongside her. There were some genuinely creepy moments, plenty of body horror and I absolutely loved how Scottish folklore was woven into the story. It gave the whole book a really fresh feel and made it stand out from your typical haunted house horror.
This was such a bingeable read with a unique premise, some really cool folklore and enough weirdness to keep things interesting. I really enjoyed this one!
Thank you to NetGalley, Rebellion and Solaris for the ARC!
Want to Read
January 6, 2026NetGalley compares this to We Used to Live Here
I'm on board
I'm on board
August 12, 2026
Tamsin has recently left her job and her life in Edinburgh after a violent incident at her workplace. Hoping for a fresh start, she buys a cottage sight unseen and relocates to a remote town in the middle of nowhere. But when she arrives, she realizes that her new home is actually a duplex, and there’s something strange about her neighbor…
The atmosphere of Home Sick is immediately unsettling, not in small part due to Tamsin herself. Rhiannon Grist writes from Tamsin’s first-person perspective, and the narrative is a relentless barrage of her anger, resentment, anxiety, loneliness, paranoia and self-loathing. It’s heavy! Tamsin is not easy to like, but she is fascinating and complex, and Grist clearly has a lot of empathy for her protagonist. It’s impressive how Grist weaves Tamsin’s psyche into the threads of the plot. This is very much a novel about how the horrors that lie within are truly the scariest ones, and the hardest to overcome – a raw and unflinching portrait of trauma and mental health.
But in addition to Tamsin herself, this is just one of those novels that exudes a sense of wrongness – everything from the setting to the secondary characters to the plot’s many unnerving moments. There’s a liminal, uneasy quality that pervades the narrative all the way through, which is especially compelling when combined with some supernatural elements and bits of Scottish folklore.
I listened to the audiobook read by Mhairi Morrison, and I found her narration to be incredibly immersive. She has such a pleasant voice and accent and kept me invested even in moments where the plot lagged.
Home Sick is a dark folk tale about overcoming everything that’s holding you back – even, and especially, if it’s yourself. It was a deeply troubling, but also, weirdly, incredibly cathartic reading experience. Thank you to RBmedia for the complimentary listening opportunity.
The atmosphere of Home Sick is immediately unsettling, not in small part due to Tamsin herself. Rhiannon Grist writes from Tamsin’s first-person perspective, and the narrative is a relentless barrage of her anger, resentment, anxiety, loneliness, paranoia and self-loathing. It’s heavy! Tamsin is not easy to like, but she is fascinating and complex, and Grist clearly has a lot of empathy for her protagonist. It’s impressive how Grist weaves Tamsin’s psyche into the threads of the plot. This is very much a novel about how the horrors that lie within are truly the scariest ones, and the hardest to overcome – a raw and unflinching portrait of trauma and mental health.
But in addition to Tamsin herself, this is just one of those novels that exudes a sense of wrongness – everything from the setting to the secondary characters to the plot’s many unnerving moments. There’s a liminal, uneasy quality that pervades the narrative all the way through, which is especially compelling when combined with some supernatural elements and bits of Scottish folklore.
I listened to the audiobook read by Mhairi Morrison, and I found her narration to be incredibly immersive. She has such a pleasant voice and accent and kept me invested even in moments where the plot lagged.
Home Sick is a dark folk tale about overcoming everything that’s holding you back – even, and especially, if it’s yourself. It was a deeply troubling, but also, weirdly, incredibly cathartic reading experience. Thank you to RBmedia for the complimentary listening opportunity.
July 21, 2026
Thank you Rhiannon Grist and NetGalley for the advanced audiobook of this novel.
4.25 Stars
What a mind f*ck that was, but I really enjoyed it.
The beginning has this creepy eerie feel like something is definitely off.
The further it goes on it has that folklore horror element and when that started I was expecting to start disliking it, as I was worried it was going to get cheesy but that was when the psychological thriller aspect really came out and I was hooked until the end.
The narrative as a whole is a bit wierd and different than anything I have really ever read and the horror scenes were just the right amount of gore description that made me wince and grimace as I was listening. The ending was satisfying in a way I didn't expect.
I felt the author did a great job of showing social anxiety and how those running thoughts of doubt cloud your mind while trying to do any task. I felt I really related to the main character during these moments.
The narrator has a thick accent but her speech is very clear and understandable.
Good read.
4.25 Stars
What a mind f*ck that was, but I really enjoyed it.
The beginning has this creepy eerie feel like something is definitely off.
The further it goes on it has that folklore horror element and when that started I was expecting to start disliking it, as I was worried it was going to get cheesy but that was when the psychological thriller aspect really came out and I was hooked until the end.
The narrative as a whole is a bit wierd and different than anything I have really ever read and the horror scenes were just the right amount of gore description that made me wince and grimace as I was listening. The ending was satisfying in a way I didn't expect.
I felt the author did a great job of showing social anxiety and how those running thoughts of doubt cloud your mind while trying to do any task. I felt I really related to the main character during these moments.
The narrator has a thick accent but her speech is very clear and understandable.
Good read.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
3.5 rounded down
I liked this book, don't get me wrong! I just think it was doing somehow both too much and not enough the whole time. I thought the idea is really amazing, I loved the setting, and I thought the locals in the village were all fun and unique characters. Our main character, however, I found to be really, I don't know, inconsistent? It's hard to put my finger on exactly what didn't click with me about her.
But my main issue is with the execution of the story itself. The story really wanted to beat us over the head with doubles, mirrors, shadows, and Dolly the sheep, for some reason? There's something there in all that, it was just all a little too much. Even if we had just focused on mirrors, that would have been enough!
There's also the neighbor of it all. I really wanted more of the neighbor, we get like, two or three interactions before the big showdown. The story would have been much more effective to me if Tamsin had multiple weird encounters with her, but, oh well I guess. I just think I would have had a better time if the story leaned more into Scottish folklore and dark fairy tales.
One thing I will say in praise of the book is you have to wait and wait and WAIT to find out what Tamsin did and what she was running from and I absolutely loved it. You really had to work to find out what it was and it was WORTH IT! I feel like oftentimes a lot of books I read nowadays either give The Big Secret away too early OR make you wait until the very end and it was a nothingburger the whole time. (I'm looking at YOU Ruth Ware, when you wrote In a Dark, Dark Wood. I'll never forgive you.) I will absolutely be keeping this author on my radar to see what they come out with next.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.
I liked this book, don't get me wrong! I just think it was doing somehow both too much and not enough the whole time. I thought the idea is really amazing, I loved the setting, and I thought the locals in the village were all fun and unique characters. Our main character, however, I found to be really, I don't know, inconsistent? It's hard to put my finger on exactly what didn't click with me about her.
But my main issue is with the execution of the story itself. The story really wanted to beat us over the head with doubles, mirrors, shadows, and Dolly the sheep, for some reason? There's something there in all that, it was just all a little too much. Even if we had just focused on mirrors, that would have been enough!
There's also the neighbor of it all. I really wanted more of the neighbor, we get like, two or three interactions before the big showdown. The story would have been much more effective to me if Tamsin had multiple weird encounters with her, but, oh well I guess. I just think I would have had a better time if the story leaned more into Scottish folklore and dark fairy tales.
One thing I will say in praise of the book is you have to wait and wait and WAIT to find out what Tamsin did and what she was running from and I absolutely loved it. You really had to work to find out what it was and it was WORTH IT! I feel like oftentimes a lot of books I read nowadays either give The Big Secret away too early OR make you wait until the very end and it was a nothingburger the whole time. (I'm looking at YOU Ruth Ware, when you wrote In a Dark, Dark Wood. I'll never forgive you.) I will absolutely be keeping this author on my radar to see what they come out with next.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 27, 2026
The constant “everyone is mean to me” inner monologue was dreadful, and I honestly didn’t see the “female rage” the publishing firm was hinting at.
I understood what the ending was trying to say about self-acceptance, but the character development felt way too easy after 300+ pages of that behavior.
That said, the creepy moments were genuinely unsettling and intriguing. If the author leans more on this while writing their next book, I think they would be genuinely on to something fantastic.
The horror aspects alone is what bumped this to 3 ⭐️
I understood what the ending was trying to say about self-acceptance, but the character development felt way too easy after 300+ pages of that behavior.
That said, the creepy moments were genuinely unsettling and intriguing. If the author leans more on this while writing their next book, I think they would be genuinely on to something fantastic.
The horror aspects alone is what bumped this to 3 ⭐️
July 16, 2026
Review originally on JamReads
Home Sick is a psychological/folk horror novel written by Rhiannon Grist, published by Solaris. A slow-burn psychological proposal that is sprinkled with some paranormal elements, delivering a novel that is at the same time dark and cozy, creepy but sweet, all built around Tamsin and the cottage, creating what is by moments a study of her character and how she's trying to flee the past.
Looking for a fresh start, Tamsin buys a remote cottage far away from her old life; an opportunity to forge new bonds, find a job she doesn't hate, and rebuild herself as a person. But the cottage is a semi-detached, with just a thin wall separating her from a complete stranger, the enigma that is her neighbour; something must be wrong with her, but Tamsin can't pinpoint what it is. When more strange things start happening in her own house, Tamsin can't avoid thinking that the past she was trying to flee will not let her go.
Grist builds all the novel around the own character of Tamsin, using her voice as a way to give us a closer insight into Tamsin's tormented mind. She's not a lovable character, in fact, I think at many points you might want to just yell at her; but if you take a closer look, you can see how she hates herself, and how all this charade of becoming a new person is also deeply affecting her. She's certainly trying to get better, to start a new life, but at the same time, insecurity is killing her.
Another reason I loved how Grist approached this novel is that there's a constant blur in the line between reality and imagination, making the reader wonder what's real about what Tamsin is experiencing, getting the maximum from that unreliable narrator figure.
The pacing is relatively slow, leaning more into the psychological elements of the plot, carefully creating the foundations needed for all the story to eventually make sense; I found it to be pretty bingeable despite that, as the author keeps us engaged all the time while the atmosphere is being built.
Home Sick is a remarkable debut, an excellent psychological horror that I totally recommend if you like the genre and prefer a more grounded approach, putting the weight on what could be called a character study. Rhiannon Grist is an author to watch in the future!
Home Sick is a psychological/folk horror novel written by Rhiannon Grist, published by Solaris. A slow-burn psychological proposal that is sprinkled with some paranormal elements, delivering a novel that is at the same time dark and cozy, creepy but sweet, all built around Tamsin and the cottage, creating what is by moments a study of her character and how she's trying to flee the past.
Looking for a fresh start, Tamsin buys a remote cottage far away from her old life; an opportunity to forge new bonds, find a job she doesn't hate, and rebuild herself as a person. But the cottage is a semi-detached, with just a thin wall separating her from a complete stranger, the enigma that is her neighbour; something must be wrong with her, but Tamsin can't pinpoint what it is. When more strange things start happening in her own house, Tamsin can't avoid thinking that the past she was trying to flee will not let her go.
Grist builds all the novel around the own character of Tamsin, using her voice as a way to give us a closer insight into Tamsin's tormented mind. She's not a lovable character, in fact, I think at many points you might want to just yell at her; but if you take a closer look, you can see how she hates herself, and how all this charade of becoming a new person is also deeply affecting her. She's certainly trying to get better, to start a new life, but at the same time, insecurity is killing her.
Another reason I loved how Grist approached this novel is that there's a constant blur in the line between reality and imagination, making the reader wonder what's real about what Tamsin is experiencing, getting the maximum from that unreliable narrator figure.
The pacing is relatively slow, leaning more into the psychological elements of the plot, carefully creating the foundations needed for all the story to eventually make sense; I found it to be pretty bingeable despite that, as the author keeps us engaged all the time while the atmosphere is being built.
Home Sick is a remarkable debut, an excellent psychological horror that I totally recommend if you like the genre and prefer a more grounded approach, putting the weight on what could be called a character study. Rhiannon Grist is an author to watch in the future!
September 3, 2026
Thank you so much Libro FM for the free audiobook! Narrator is fantastic! Review to come.
July 9, 2026
3/10
Thank you to NetGalley and Solaris for providing me with an eARC for this book.
In all honesty I should’ve dnfed this: had it not been an ARC, I probably would have. This was a tough and at times exhausting read that has produced many a rant and had me putting the book down in disbelief. Since studying publishing I often find myself approaching criticism from an editorial viewpoint and as I read this all I could think was, if I’d received this as a first draft I’d say it has potential but need a lot of refining. And that’s the thing here, the ideas aren’t necessarily bad, it’s more in the execution.
I don’t really know how to state my issues concisely so I’m just going to put it all out there. To begin with the entire opening premise just doesn’t really land, the set up and Tamsin’s approach to life felt so nonsensical that I found it hard to take the story seriously. Tamsin’s characterisation feels inconsistent and the sense of forced quirkiness makes her feel as if it’s her first day on earth rather than a person with history and a skewed outlook on the world. Her actions are often absurd in a way that doesn’t contribute to the later discussions of the novel but instead feel like the author forcing scenes to get where they need to go through baffling but mundane actions. This lack of consistency leaks into the plot with character motivations and needs changing on a whim, to even having inconsistent descriptions (not the intentional ones for uncanny effect) that distracted and frustrated me. One example of this is part of a chapters long tangent of buying a rug, an escapade that adds essentially nothing to the story and contains too many examples of nonsensical choices to list here, we get a lengthy and clunky description of the rugs size and the difficult task of carrying it only for the punchline of this section to be that the rug is incredibly small, bringing into question what the point of all that description was and why I’m even reading about rug buying for multiple chapters in the first place.
To step away from the rug rants (there have been many) this feels like a good time to mention that it was pretty clear that Grist has experience writing short stories. Much of the first half in particular felt like vaguely relevant vignettes with lots of padding and repetition to fill out the space. This could be a reason why the book also feels so tonally inconsistent and fails to really establish any sense of atmosphere or tension. Whilst the horror imagery is definitely well done, the frame in which it appears takes some of the punch away. In particular the final act and confrontation lacks any real tension because of its formulaic and repetitive structure, it ends up taking what should be the peak of the novel’s horror and somehow making it boring to push through. It certainly doesn’t help that all of the book’s reveals are so heavily foreshadowed that if you have any knowledge of folk horror you can see everything coming a mile off if you pay just a little bit of attention.
I do think the highlight is the dynamics between Tamsin, Roman and Fergus. Rowan in particular feels like the books only fully developed character and having him on page was always a breath of fresh air. I also did find the discussions around anger very interesting. Whilst it did feel fairly surface level and under developed (I’m too tired at this point to discuss the weaknesses of it in full) it did at least give some intrigue and substance to the second half.
Ultimately, this was not a good time for me. I do feel there’s a version of this story that is good, a version that went through more refinement and a tighter focus on developing and discussing a consistent narrative, but as it stands the quality is just not there. What I think is most frustrating about this book is that not only are its issues distractingly obvious, but for the most part the solutions to resolving those issues and improving the novel are right there as well.
Thank you to NetGalley and Solaris for providing me with an eARC for this book.
In all honesty I should’ve dnfed this: had it not been an ARC, I probably would have. This was a tough and at times exhausting read that has produced many a rant and had me putting the book down in disbelief. Since studying publishing I often find myself approaching criticism from an editorial viewpoint and as I read this all I could think was, if I’d received this as a first draft I’d say it has potential but need a lot of refining. And that’s the thing here, the ideas aren’t necessarily bad, it’s more in the execution.
I don’t really know how to state my issues concisely so I’m just going to put it all out there. To begin with the entire opening premise just doesn’t really land, the set up and Tamsin’s approach to life felt so nonsensical that I found it hard to take the story seriously. Tamsin’s characterisation feels inconsistent and the sense of forced quirkiness makes her feel as if it’s her first day on earth rather than a person with history and a skewed outlook on the world. Her actions are often absurd in a way that doesn’t contribute to the later discussions of the novel but instead feel like the author forcing scenes to get where they need to go through baffling but mundane actions. This lack of consistency leaks into the plot with character motivations and needs changing on a whim, to even having inconsistent descriptions (not the intentional ones for uncanny effect) that distracted and frustrated me. One example of this is part of a chapters long tangent of buying a rug, an escapade that adds essentially nothing to the story and contains too many examples of nonsensical choices to list here, we get a lengthy and clunky description of the rugs size and the difficult task of carrying it only for the punchline of this section to be that the rug is incredibly small, bringing into question what the point of all that description was and why I’m even reading about rug buying for multiple chapters in the first place.
To step away from the rug rants (there have been many) this feels like a good time to mention that it was pretty clear that Grist has experience writing short stories. Much of the first half in particular felt like vaguely relevant vignettes with lots of padding and repetition to fill out the space. This could be a reason why the book also feels so tonally inconsistent and fails to really establish any sense of atmosphere or tension. Whilst the horror imagery is definitely well done, the frame in which it appears takes some of the punch away. In particular the final act and confrontation lacks any real tension because of its formulaic and repetitive structure, it ends up taking what should be the peak of the novel’s horror and somehow making it boring to push through. It certainly doesn’t help that all of the book’s reveals are so heavily foreshadowed that if you have any knowledge of folk horror you can see everything coming a mile off if you pay just a little bit of attention.
I do think the highlight is the dynamics between Tamsin, Roman and Fergus. Rowan in particular feels like the books only fully developed character and having him on page was always a breath of fresh air. I also did find the discussions around anger very interesting. Whilst it did feel fairly surface level and under developed (I’m too tired at this point to discuss the weaknesses of it in full) it did at least give some intrigue and substance to the second half.
Ultimately, this was not a good time for me. I do feel there’s a version of this story that is good, a version that went through more refinement and a tighter focus on developing and discussing a consistent narrative, but as it stands the quality is just not there. What I think is most frustrating about this book is that not only are its issues distractingly obvious, but for the most part the solutions to resolving those issues and improving the novel are right there as well.
August 1, 2026
Um...NO
It wasn't for me.
It wasn't for me.
July 27, 2026
This book was such a surprise. At its heart, it explores what loneliness and neglect can do to a person; that feeling of being invisible and becoming almost a ghost haunting the space around you. Of feeling “other” to the people around you and not knowing how to break through the walls you’ve built around yourself.
It’s also explored the self-destructiveness of bottled-up anger and the desire to lash out at the world when you feel powerless.
Some of the quotes in here really spoke to me and I think the author beautifully encapsulated those feelings of social anxiety and feeling like you don’t fit in to the world around you.
There were also some genuinely scary moments that made me wish I wasn’t reading this whilst home alone (like a fool).
Overall, this was a fantastic horror and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author in the future!
It’s also explored the self-destructiveness of bottled-up anger and the desire to lash out at the world when you feel powerless.
Some of the quotes in here really spoke to me and I think the author beautifully encapsulated those feelings of social anxiety and feeling like you don’t fit in to the world around you.
There were also some genuinely scary moments that made me wish I wasn’t reading this whilst home alone (like a fool).
Overall, this was a fantastic horror and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author in the future!
July 17, 2026
In theory, I should have liked this book, but I really struggled to finish it, read the first 25%, then switched to the audiobook. I just found the whole experience very slow, annoying, and extremely boring. I mean, I get she is insecure, lonely, sad and angry but my god was it tedious to listen to! I'd normally like an fmc like this but the way it was written wasn't for me and the horror aspects I didn't find entertaining or very interesting at all.
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