Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey

11 reviews

jhbandcats's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I know this was a labor of love by Sarah Gailey so I *really* wanted to like it. I did not like it at all. 

I see that a lot of people have said the book was character-driven. I felt Vera was such an unreliable narrator that I couldn’t trust any personality or character she presented. I therefore felt the plot was more important. 

I was so-so on the book till that wild ending. It was so over the top that it ruined what had come before. I felt the strongest parts were about the peephole, Vera’s relationship with her father, and the mystery of how much her father knew / approved of her using the peephole. I felt the supernatural parts were the weakest and I found James the artist to be more of an annoying diversion than anything really integral to the story. 

Minor quibbles re editing: there is a lot of emphasis on there being no locks on the bedroom and bathroom doors but there’s a comment, “The door was locked.” It’s also clear that it’s the middle of a hot and humid summer, but the A/C is on high making it cold inside. Vera says, “I would have turned the heat up….” The artist lives in the shed some distance from the house yet he tells Vera, “I hear you in the night sometimes.” Finally, I got really tired of the phrase, ”the house her father had built.”

I am really sorry I didn’t like this because I’ve read almost all Gailey’s books and have enjoyed them all. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Mental illness, Abandonment, Gore, Violence, Blood, Murder, Torture, Gaslighting, Vomit, Chronic illness, Confinement, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

yalibrarianjen's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Death of parent, Violence, Chronic illness, Blood, and Toxic relationship

al_owl's review

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

blackcatkai's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

CW: blood, murder, death, violence, chronic illness, body horror, confinement, gore

this was a ridiculously atmospheric slow burn novel that went from sad to weird to a bit horrifying. i loved every moment of it.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Violence, and Gore

Moderate: Murder

gellyreads's review

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The concept is really captivating. It's hard to describe the pacing with this novel as it starts off paint-drying slow then speeds up so quick you're on a rollercoaster.

I enjoyed Vera's descent into madness and violence, and I love the concept of the monster, but I feel like I would LOVE this book instead of like it if the existence of the monster wasn't clear. IDK, felt too clear to me.

 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Blood, Body horror, Torture, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Murder, Death of parent, Death, Chronic illness, Cancer, Gore, Violence, Vomit, and Mental illness

mbmayo's review

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Just Like Home centers around Vera Crowder's return to her childhood home. Her estranged, dying mother has called her back to sort through all the things left behind in the house.

I can see why some people may not have resonated with the book. We spent a lot of time inside of Vera's head, rather than on plot or action. Personally, I really enjoyed this close introspection and the slow unfolding of the events that caused Vera's father to leave and the rift between Vera and her mother to be set in stone.
 

I do wonder if the book would be scarier without the physical embodiment of the monster. If instead Vera stepped right into her father's legacy to take care of James Duvall.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Confinement, Vomit, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, and Torture

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was maybe the most scary and horrifying book that I've ever read?? Gailey does body horror and body descriptions like no one I've ever read. Will definitely read them again, but whew, this was terrifying. My only little things were that the reveal felt a little bit muddy to me, and I kind of felt like I was bonked in the head with the idea of stains/residue over the course of the book until I was sure that it was meaningful in some way.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Blood, Chronic illness, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Vomit, and Alcoholism

Minor: Pregnancy, Excrement, and Sexual harassment

The gore and torture totally made me lose my appetite until I finished the book, so beware, my sensitive-to-words friends!

curiouslylem's review

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I was extremely excited for this book when I read the summary and saw the beautiful cover! It didn’t disappoint, but man did it took a while for things to speed up. 

This gothic thriller is a slow burn filled with beautiful, detailed descriptions and suspense galore. The plot follows Vera, daughter of serial killer Francis Crowder. Vera’s relationship with her parents is complicated, but her relationship with the Crowder House is even more so. 

If you pick up this book, get ready for some thrilling descriptions, tense situations, and a plot twist that’s unique & unexpected. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

annir's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Blood, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Torture

Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, and Vomit

Minor: Chronic illness, Abandonment, Cancer, and Child abuse

enchantressreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

There needs to be a specific genre entitled “traumatized person comes back to the source of their trauma in order to heal when some crazy shit happens” because I will read everything in it.

I’ve loved everything Sarah Gailey has written, and when Just Like Home was released, I was so excited to get my hands on it. I mean, a horror book with a pink cover? With that description? Written by Sarah Gailey? Sign me up.

And it was everything I hoped for, and more.

Vera Crowder left her childhood home as soon as possible. She’s been gone for twelve years, but her mother Daphne has called because she’s dying. We know pretty quickly that there’s some tension between Daphne, but soon it’s shown that Vera isn’t popular around town, either. The only person that gives her the benefit of the doubt is artist James Duvall, who is staying in the guest house while he works on art inspired by the Crowder House.

What makes a house truly haunted? Is it the land, the house itself, or what happens within its walls?

While settling her mother’s affairs, Vera learns quickly that she will have to face not only her trauma, but the demons of the house. The house holds trauma just like human bodies do.

“Some things, Vera knew, were made to die.”

I related a lot to Vera, for various reasons I won’t explain here. Gailey seems to write characters that I can relate to in most of their works, and I’m really thankful for that. Their characters are not perfect, are easily flawed, but are determined to work through their trauma to break generational chains. There’s also a very satisfying ending that, while symbolic, feels like a breath of fresh air. 

I highly recommend not just Just Like Home, but all of Sarah Gailey’s works. I’m so glad they’ve gone more into the horror genre, and I can’t wait to see what else they release.

Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for this advanced review copy. All opinions are my own.

CW for blood, gore, body horror, emotional abuse, murder, death of a parent, grief, chronic illness/hospital/medical setting, and generational trauma

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Gore, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Body horror

Moderate: Death of parent and Grief

Minor: Chronic illness