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A review by hdbblog
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Ah, my first 5-star review of the year. Let me tell you, I was supposed to be writing a review for another book today but no. No, this book is stuck in my brain and it refuses to leave. We Used to Live Here started out as a regular haunted house book, and then it evolved into something more. Something sinister and fascinating. I'm not over this, and so I'm going to review it for you. I beg your pardon for rambling, in advance.
After Eve decides to let a random family who "used to live here" into her house for a tour, everything goes sideways. Now if you're asking yourself why on Earth she would do that? Same. I know, I know, it's a typical horror story setup. Our narrator has to make a few bad decisions or there won't be a story to follow. Kliewer is at least kind enough to set up our girl Eve as a hardcore people pleaser, so she has motive. Rest assured though, I did yell at the book and therefore, by default, her.
As I said above, the story does start out as your typical haunted house novel. Mysterious noises, dark shadows in corners, and really REALLY eerie interactions with the family who has invaded Eve's house. The book does an excellent job of building a deep sense of unease. I was unsure of whether Eve was even a reliable narrator. Was she seeing things? Was she losing her mind? That, my friends, is my favorite kind of horror story feeling. There's nothing better than feeling like you can't quite get your footing, and that a twist might be around any corner.
And oh, OH twists there were. I absolutely will not spoil this for you. You have to dive into this book yourself, and let the madness take you. What started out feeling pretty cookie cutter, soon turned into something that I really wasn't prepared for. I was sending updates to my sister as I was reading this and I think one of them was simply, "Things just got WEIRD." and yup, that about sums it up. Kliewer opens up the trap door to the depths of this house's lore, and you just fall straight into the darkness with Eve.
Now I will warn that this book doesn't exactly wrap things up neatly. I know a lot of readers out there like everything explained, and hate ending a book with vague unknowns. We Used to Live Here doesn't care about that at all and honestly I was okay with that. I truly believe it actually added to the whole vibe of the story. If you embrace this fact, I promise that you'll have a good time. Also if you're asking yourself, is this a scary book? Well, I'm a bad judge of that because I read a LOT of horror and I'm pretty desensitized to a lot of things. In my opinion it was definitely unsettling, and very creepy. Your mileage may vary.
After Eve decides to let a random family who "used to live here" into her house for a tour, everything goes sideways. Now if you're asking yourself why on Earth she would do that? Same. I know, I know, it's a typical horror story setup. Our narrator has to make a few bad decisions or there won't be a story to follow. Kliewer is at least kind enough to set up our girl Eve as a hardcore people pleaser, so she has motive. Rest assured though, I did yell at the book and therefore, by default, her.
As I said above, the story does start out as your typical haunted house novel. Mysterious noises, dark shadows in corners, and really REALLY eerie interactions with the family who has invaded Eve's house. The book does an excellent job of building a deep sense of unease. I was unsure of whether Eve was even a reliable narrator. Was she seeing things? Was she losing her mind? That, my friends, is my favorite kind of horror story feeling. There's nothing better than feeling like you can't quite get your footing, and that a twist might be around any corner.
And oh, OH twists there were. I absolutely will not spoil this for you. You have to dive into this book yourself, and let the madness take you. What started out feeling pretty cookie cutter, soon turned into something that I really wasn't prepared for. I was sending updates to my sister as I was reading this and I think one of them was simply, "Things just got WEIRD." and yup, that about sums it up. Kliewer opens up the trap door to the depths of this house's lore, and you just fall straight into the darkness with Eve.
Now I will warn that this book doesn't exactly wrap things up neatly. I know a lot of readers out there like everything explained, and hate ending a book with vague unknowns. We Used to Live Here doesn't care about that at all and honestly I was okay with that. I truly believe it actually added to the whole vibe of the story. If you embrace this fact, I promise that you'll have a good time. Also if you're asking yourself, is this a scary book? Well, I'm a bad judge of that because I read a LOT of horror and I'm pretty desensitized to a lot of things. In my opinion it was definitely unsettling, and very creepy. Your mileage may vary.