Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey

133 reviews

bunchbayberry's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Wow. Yes, it was a slow build-up. And the twist is wild. I loved the atmosphere the author creates with her words. And I am so glad I read the acknowledgements at the end. They are almost like an epilogue and wrap up the story's lingering emotions. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Death of parent

librarymouse's review

dark 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

4.5

This book starts off as normal as a book about the daughter of a serial killer returning to the home her dying and estranged mother has turned into a money-making shrine to the investigation of her husband's crimes. Then it gets weird with twists that are simultaneously expected and comprised of plot that I could have never expected in decades.
There are still so many questions I want answered, and I would have loved to know the contents of Vera's dad's letters.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Murder, Body horror, Death, Gore, Medical trauma, Blood, and Vomit

Moderate: Confinement

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

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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

emlittle's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

You know what really sucks? When a book wasn’t bad, but had the potential to be great. [Slight spoilers ahead] ‘Just Like Home’s premise was promising enough: a woman having to return home and face the remnants of the childhood that was shattered by her father’s crimes and exploited by her mother. I was hugely excited going into it.

Vera was a compelling enough character. The story was told in a series of present day and flashback scenes, and we get to learn the most about Vera aka the daddy’s girl who was equally adored by her father. We slowly learn about her father’s dark side and her own darkness even at the age of 11. We get to watch her parent’s dysfunction (to put it mildly) shape her. Her evolution as the character that we never *really* know is so fun.

BUT. But. The story completely fell apart for me when Gailey introduced a supernatural explanation that didn’t actually explain much. Without giving away what it is, it felt so half baked and out of place, it overshadowed the elements of the story I thoroughly enjoyed. It honestly pissed me off. ‘Just Like Home’ would’ve been such a strong thriller otherwise.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Murder, Blood, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

lindsfindley's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

Uhhhhh. This was a weird one. It wasn’t bad, just weird! Also, Vera is very clumsy.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Death of parent

paykay's review

dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Blood, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse

izzyproudfoot's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

2.0

I personally did not like this book which is what my 2 stars represent. 

This book definitely went for the creepy vibes. You learn a lot through flashbacks. The book gave me "ew vibes" and I didn't like any of the characters. There were a few ways she could have done this book, there's a few twists and turns. It wasn't for me though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Body horror, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

stephanieluxton's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

The pace of this story is a bit slow but I enjoyed how things played out. It didn't go exactly how I expected it to, which is good. I have some mixed feelings about the end. I don't feel like all my questions were answered fully, but I did enjoy the journey.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Torture, Confinement, Murder, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Gore

Minor: Child abuse and Vomit

killmoore_'s review

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

I went into this as blind as possible, and I'm so glad I did. 

I loved everything about Just Like Home from the very first page - the imagery is rich and decadent, the characters mysterious and questionable. Mm. Chefs kiss. Gailey uses language that draws you in and holds you hostage as you follow Vera in two different time lines, working to unravel the mystery of the Crowder House and navigate the shattered remains of her relationship with her dying mother. It could have ended there - psychological and true crime adjacent, but no. Gailey gave us so much more.

The sharp turn into WTFville was sudden and absolutely amazing. I was not expecting this to take a hard dive into creature feature, and I could not have loved it more. I love a good "house as a character" storyline and this did not disappoint. This had me chanting "get his ass!" Alone in my room at 2am 😅

An atmospheric, spooky, wild ride. I would highly recommend. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gore, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, and Violence

renyoi's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

Brilliant atmospheric, suspenseful storytelling that builds up to its truly horrifying moments in intensely effective ways. The protagonist,

an unreliable narrator in the subtlest sense

, turns out to be the most horrifying character in the book, which was entirely unexpected for me. My only wish is that the “true crime” aspect had been more present in the book; as it is, we are told it is a constant presence in the Crowder family’s life but never shown it apart from weirdo James Duvall, who comes across more as a basket case than as a representation of society. 

Aside from that, though, this work is a thrilling, grisly, appalling turn on the “haunted house” and “serial killer” genres of horror. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Abandonment, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Child abuse, Mental illness, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Vomit