This was an amazing read, I was ready for anything after behind her eyes but it was just fantastically well thought out. Recommend 100%

This one is a little bit of a slow burn and was a little repetitive in parts for a horror/thriller. However, I do like books with unreliable narrators and flawed characters and this was full of them. The twist was unpredictable but also went down an avenue that I didn’t really like which was similar to other books from this author.

Thank you to net galley for providing an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

*3.5 stars*

After being hospitalised and in a coma, Emily finds herself being persuaded to move from London to the wild landscape of Dartmoor in Devon. Her husband Freddie says it will be a fresh start for them both. Their marriage had become stale before Emily’s accident. Maybe it will save their marriage, but sadly, some house moves mean that you’re simply packing your problems and taking them with you.

Emily hates Larkin Lodge on sight, in particular it’s the cold and creepy feel of the place, like something bad happened here. Well Emily’s about to find out exactly what did happen, and it sure makes for a creepy read!

“We Live Here Now” was something of a slow burn, but it has lots of really creepy moments along the way.
I have to say though, that I couldn’t actually find any empathy with any of the characters, however, the narrative kept returning to a raven that lived on the property, clinging to the warmth of one of the chimney stacks of Larkin Lodge, and I found those particular scenes quite moving!

This had me glued to the pages right to the end. Dark but with a touch of undetlying humour. The story of a marriage gone wrong and how to fix it. Echoes of the Stepford Wives. Loved it.

Effective gothic chiller / haunted house thriller - this is a genuinely surprising tale of an awful couple who move to an isolated house. Fascinatingly unlikeable leads (this isn’t a criticism), along with a far more sympathetic raven, experience a different sort of haunting.

Really enjoyed this - an absolute page turner. Thanks to Talking Scared podcast for the recommendation

My thanks to Orion Publishing Group and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘We Live Here Now’ written by Sarah Pinborough in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

When Emily is released from hospital after a near fatal accident, she and her husband Freddie move from their flat in London to their new home Larkin Lodge situated in the wilds of Devon. When they arrive everywhere is shrouded in an icy grey mist and as soon as they close the front door things start to happen, a fire is extinguished then re-starts, books move from shelves, and a room on the top floor has a foul stench that only Emily can discern. It isn’t until their friends arrive and bring out a Ouija board that Emily feels a supernatural presence in the house that’s sending a message to her.

‘We Live Here Now’ is the chilling story of a house and the couple who move into it. It’s told from the three perspectives of Emily, Freddie and the raven who’s watching over the house where its mate has died. Nothing about Emily and Freddie feels right as they’re relationship is rapidly deteriorating and are both keeping secrets that adds to the suspense. I don’t normally enjoy supernatural stories but there’s something about this cleverly written thriller that’s kept me reading with the tension gradually building the further I’ve got into the plot.

Sarah Pinborough delivers another deliciously unsettling thriller with We Live Here Now, a novel packed with eerie atmosphere, suspected hauntings and psychological tension.

Emily and her husband, Freddie, move into the beautiful but isolated Larkin Lodge, hoping for a fresh start after Emily’s near-fatal accident. But from the moment they arrive, strange things keep happening—fires go out, books tumble from shelves, and an unsettling presence lingers in the house. As Emily struggles with her fragile health and the lingering effects of her trauma, she begins to question whether the haunting is real or just in her mind.

We see the story told from 3 perspectives, Emily, Freddie and a raven, the raven chapters adding to the eerie feeling and sense of dread.

This book masterfully weaves together the supernatural, unreliable narration, and slow-burn suspense to keep us guessing on what is the truth. The chilling atmosphere seeps into every page and the sinister undertones only increase as the plot progresses, meaning the payoff at the end is well earned.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 rounded to 4.

An easy to read domestic thriller with a supernatural twist that takes a little while to warm up, but definitely gets you hooked once you're in! The personality changes of the two main POV characters as they spend more and more time in their new home are gradual until suddenly they're extremely obvious. Interspersed with the POV of a raven whose mate died in the house, they allow us different insights to the story. I found both Emily and Freddie flawed and irritating, but I believe that's on purpose. It definitely adds more weight to the story. While the conclusion was somewhat obvious, it was still an entertaining read which I flew through relatively quickly.

Sarah Pinborough is the queen of the domestic tragedy, where a middle class couple have their brittle stability upset by secrets, physiological flaws and a twist of the supernatural - which sometimes seems to have been conjured by a darkness emanating from the apparent contented pair.

We Live Here Now explores just such a setup, pairing it with a convincingly Gothic setting - Larkin Lodge, a brooding house on Dartmoor, a place that, as the opening section hints with its references to Jane Eyre, has its own secrets. It's expertly done and Pinborough guides her readers in and out of sympathy with the main protagonist, Emily, making the outlandish goings on here seem almost unexceptional and certainly quite believable.

Emily is coming to terms with drastic changes in her life, as the job she'd staked so much on is taken away from her in the aftermath of a dreadful accident. Troubled by guilt and loss, she doubts herself, she doubts her husband Freddie and, one feels, has thrown herself into the project of buying and occupying Larkin Lodge as a way of avoiding the need to confront all that.

Freddie has his own demons - I think the reader will suspect from fairly early on that it's one of two possible things, either likely to wreck his and Emily's relationship.

In chapters written from the point of view of each, we are soon shown the facts, but more importantly, the layers of self-justification, the accusations, and increasingly, the poisonous state of the relationship. It's all rather compelling, rather horrifying and rather ominous. And that's before Emily starts feeling there is... something... about the house.

This build was impressive - there were so many ways things might go - with an atmosphere of moral taint, a feeling that something about Larking Lodge is alive and reaching out, that Emily and Freddie - and those who lived there before them - is reaching out. But it's puzzling. As Emily becomes obsessed with the Lodge and begins to research it, she doesn't discover a simple history of tragedies. There are former owners who seem to have had a good life there. How to square that with her own feelings of distress?

Maybe it's Emily that is the problem.

That's certainly what Freddie decides.

With overtones of gaslighting, coercion and manipulation, We Live Here Now goes to some very dark places indeed. Equally at home providing the reader with a plausible nexus between individual despair and the supernatural, and a pin-sharp portrayal of middle class life and relationships, Pinborough has written a story that grabbed me and made sure I kept on until the final catastrophe(s) are resolved - or not, given the very unsettling final section.

I loved seeing the shout outs to other authors, including to a particular supernatural series whose author recently died, as well as the sense of time-encrusted mystery around what is actually wrong with Larkin Lodge and when it all began.

I would strongly recommend We Live Here Now.

Emily and Freddie have relocated from London to a remote country house. As soon as they move in Emily begins to get a strange feeling and is convinced the house is haunted.

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough has just the right level of creepiness to keep you turning the pages, desperate to know what is going on, but all too prepared to slam the book closed if things get too much. A little bit like watching a scary film from behind a cushion.

Emily is rebuilding her life after an accident in which she almost lost her life. Months in a coma have left her weak and jobless. During the time she was in a coma her husband, Freddie, sold their London apartment and bought a remote house, convinced this was what Emily wanted. Freddie's employer has arranged for his job to be relocated but in the meantime he has a few weeks left to work in the London office. As a result of this Emily is frequently alone in the house during the week.

Strange things begin to happen around Emily, all the classic signs of a haunting; strange smells, noises, objects moving. While Emily is convinced there is a supernatural element at play, no one else has witnessed anything and her husband tries to convince her that it is more likely to be a post-sepsis hallucination. My first thought was that Emily had brought something back with her after being technically dead for a few minutes but I did also consider that this could be a case of gas-lighting.

There is far more to the story than the sinister goings-on within the house. Past residents deny ever witnessing anything and both Emily and Freddie are hiding secrets. You begin to wonder how far they are willing to go to prevent their secret from being uncovered. All of the different threads made for a pacey story.

I felt empathy for both main characters as they tried desperately to deal with the situation they were in. The harder they tried to keep their secret hidden, the worse the situation became and the more drastic the solution seemed. When the secret of the house is finally revealed I loved how it was used by various characters and led to a wonderfully apt conclusion.

This book was so creepy! I read an eARC of this book on Net Galley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

This is my fourth book from this author and this was my favourite I’ve read so far. The atmosphere in this book was incredible and it was a gripping read. This is all set around an ominous house. Two people move there from London, both harbouring secrets and resentments. The house is unnerving, cold drafts and books falling off of shelves, mysterious messages. However for our main character Emily this is all set against a backdrop of not being able to trust her senses. After a serious accident she can’t be sure if she is genuinely experiencing these sensations or if it’s a result of her accident. Not helped by her partner being dismissive of the supernatural occurrences. The house was genuinely creepy. There was something so disquieting about the top floor.

This was an interesting book because none of the characters are particularly innocent. The main couple have their secrets. They’re hiding things from each other. So while the house is creating fear, there’s also huge tension from their relationship and their fears of being discovered in their betrayals. This was quite fascinating as you weren’t sure what the characters would do, they were often quite unexpected and this really added to the suspense of the book.

This was a thrilling and enjoyable read. I flew through this as I didn’t want to put it down!

This book did not go the way I expected but I loved it!

I was expecting a regular thriller but this one had supernatural elements too. It was creepy, and enticing at the same time. I read it in just over a day as I found it hard to stop.

I think I've only read one of her books before but I would certainly read more.

It’s been a tough period of recuperation for Emily after waking from a coma thanks to an accident. She’s lucky to be alive and her husband Freddie wants his wife to feel safe, secure and happy. His solution? Moving out of London to Devon, a fresh start in a new home. Larkin Lodge has plenty to say about it (not all of it good) and Emily cannot shift the feeling that the house is clinging on to its history. Mind you, it’s not just the house that is continuing to hide something, is it? Quite gothic in tone, Sarah’s skill at painting a suitably unsettling tale shows no signs of abating.

I think this is the first Sarah Pinborough that I've read and I really enjoyed it - weirdly not dissimilar to something I read earlier this year. A couple both with secrets and an old house drawing them in. I enjoyed the small cast of characters and learning about the good and bad within their personalities, as well as the ghost like presences in the house which keep you slightly unnerved the whole time. Whizzed through this and will definitely read more of Sarah's work!

Emily had a serious fall whilst on holiday with her husband Freddie and their friends and she almost died, after waking from her coma she agrees to move from their London flat to a country home on the Devon moors, it will help her recuperate and hopefully heal their marriage too. As they arrive at Larkin Lodge Emily is downhearted, it's the middle of winter and the house is surrounded by mist, the inside feels just as bleak and, as she explores the house and sees the empty suite on the second floor, she is convinced that something bad happened there and, when Freddie is working back in London, she experiences some very strange events. Deciding to delve into the history of the house and the people that lived there previously, she discovers that the house is hiding some very dark secrets but then so are Emily and Freddie...

We Live Here Now is the latest thriller by Pinborough, told from the perspectives of both Emily and Freddie, there is also the occasional input from a raven (I know that sounds mad but you have to read this book to understand why). This starts off as a slow burner and, as the story progresses and old secrets are revealed, the pace steps up a few notches. This authors previous novels are excellent, my favourite being Behind Her Eyes, which was adapted into a tv series, both of which were fabulous and, like that one, Pinborough also injects the supernatural element into this one, which I loved. The author weaves a web of deceit and lies throughout this tale and many will think they've worked out where it's heading but, in true author style, she throws in twists which you won't see coming and blindsided me many times. If you love a thriller that will leave you thinking WTF just happened, this is one for you.

I'd like to thank Orion and NetGalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

I was so excited when I found out about this new release since I have enjoyed this author’s work a lot in the past. I’ve also realised I have to catch up with the TV adaptations of her novels but I read more than I watch TV so it’ll take a minute.

Before I talk about the content of the book, I want to point out how stunning the cover is. One of those I know I want on my bookshelf because I adore those colours. While quite simple, it fits with the story of the book and the font used for the title is really pleasing to look at too.

What about the actual story? Huge fan. I was getting worried the closer I got to the ending because I didn’t know how everything would wrap up. There were a few options and I wasn’t sure which one I preferred. Spoiler-free, of course, but I’ll say the ending was a little different from what I thought as one of those options and…it was so much better than my option. Understandable that the best-selling author can write a better ending than I can. And the ending isn’t everything but for a story like this one, it’s very important. A disappointing ending leaves a bad taste we can’t easily get rid of. And we tend to remember that disappointment more than the good time we had reading the rest of the book. However, that wasn’t an issue here. The more I think about the ending, the more satisfying it feels.

There isn’t a huge cast of characters in this book and we mostly focus on Emily and Freddie. I enjoyed the dual POV to really get their thoughts straight from the characters themselves since that made some elements of the house and its influence on people easier to understand. The other characters are more minor and not as fleshed out but we know enough about them. We don’t require more information about them and I actually think knowing more could have made the story worse. We need that bit of mystery.
And mystery there was. From the very beginning, we don’t fully know what’s going on. Is everything happening actually real? Is it Emily’s imagination? What is everyone else hiding? Who can we actually trust?
I very much enjoyed how Emily’s health issues could justify her not being a reliable narrator. It felt different to the usual way in which this is done and I appreciate it. Her character ARC and what she decides to do in the end is also a very interesting choice.

As for the plot, it felt very straightforward at first. Couple moves to a new house but is the house haunted? Nothing groundbreaking here but a kind of story I enjoy nonetheless. However, the explanation for what was happening was very unique. I had never read anything like that and it caught me by surprise. I had plenty of theories, of course. But none were even close to what really happened. And I love that! Because, again, the real story was a lot more interesting than what I imagined.
The reveal made me realise this story was more complex than I expected. And it’s also what made the ending so good, in my opinion. The details of the reveal were used really well to craft that ending I enjoyed so much.

To be fair, it’s hard to find any negatives to mention. The book is pretty short and that surprised me at first. But I feel that’s not a negative but a positive. There’s no filler to complain about which these types of stories often have. The writing is easy to follow and the story moves quickly. So I guess the only potential negative would be if someone wasn’t happy about the ending but that’s not the case for me.

I’ll definitely recommend this novel all year round. But I know people love their seasonal reads so I’ll say this one is perfect for summer (quick read and addictive), for spooky season (for obvious reasons) and for winter (the story takes place during the winter). But as long as people read it, the month or the season when they do doesn’t matter.

Psychological Thriller meets The Supernatural = Gripping!
Freddie and Emily move into Larkin Lodge. It’s meant to be a new start but they’re both hiding secrets.
Strange things start to happen and Emily soon realises their new home has secrets too.
This was a real heart in your mouth book and I couldn’t turn the pages quick enough to see how it was going to end!
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the gothic feel of this novel. The house is more than a setting; it's a character in its own right.
The exploration of relationships, deceit, and secrets is deftly handled through this mysterious house. Those who live in it are soon affected by it. They soon learn about aspects of themselves they may want to hide from others.
A deliciously dark thriller.

As a fan of gothic horror (particularly in the vein of Shirley Jackson), this sure did keep me up & keep me reading through the night! There were lots of 'breadcrumbs' to follow when plumbing the depths of Emily and Freddie's pasts, and I relished the challenge while also feeling my skin crawl over those ashy footprints... I wish more thriller-writers would turn their hand to including horror elements, it's a genre match made in heaven (or hell...!)

Having a read a few of the author’s books, there are a few similarities to see here.
A strong story bounds the characters nicely, with a familiar refrain of the people’s worst flaws and vices. Once again, possession and souls come into the fray and the descent into darkness begins.

It’s entertaining and yet relentlessly depressing and morose, as you read word after word of the worst elements of humanity as the story darkens and becomes bleaker and breaker, but it creates a story of depth and of interest.
There is no doubt that this is very well written and crafted with skill and passion. As ever, I’m grateful for the publisher for letting me read this before publication.