Review by bisexualbookshelf - We Used to Live Here

fast-paced

3.0

Well this was a book! Alternatively, I liked the concept and not the execution. A few problems:

Mandela effect, doppelgangers, AND the multiverse? Pick a trope, sir!
This book was so weighed down by Paige and the kids. I get it, the "we used to live here" trope doesn't really work without a family; no one is gonna let some lone guy wander into their house. But besides that, what was the point of those characters?? The focus on them in the first third of the book made the latter two-thirds feel like a whole different book.
Eve's paranoia was not well thought out or appropriately handled. Again, I get it: it's not really psychological horror without evoking the "is it all in her head?" scenario. But I felt the descriptions of Eve's paranoia truly bordered into a mental illness, which felt even weirder with Charlie's outright dismissal of fears. Also, Eve's paranoia was seemingly dropped halfway through the book. Ok.
Speaking of Charlie, another character without much development. I never got a sense of her or of her relationship with Eve. Honestly, towards the end, when Eve is looking for Charlie and fighting to get back to her, I was kinda like "....but why?" There wasn't enough backstory for Eve's love for Charlie to feel real. Also I found their relationship super annoying.

Anyways, this was a fun time but not a good time. Do with that what you will!