Book: Haunt Sweet Home
By: Sarah Pinsker
Published: September 3, 2024
Publisher: Tordotcom
Genre: Horror
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. What this means is that if you purchase anything through the links I provide for you, then I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Please consider supporting my blog!
About Haunt Sweet Home
Mara is aimless and just lands a job as a night shift production assistant on her cousin’s ghost-hunting and home makeover reality TV show called Haunt Sweet Home. She didn’t expect much with this job, but she didn’t expect she’d be hiding with fog machines to set up scares for the homeowners. But some unnerving things happen when her creepy new co-worker comes on set. This new co-worker forces her to confront the person she is and who she is to become.
What I thought:
I wound up finding Haunt Sweet Home on TikTok, and this was a short “horror” read. I don’t know if I would consider this horror, though. To me, this is a more contemporary or “coming of age” paranormal story. This is by no means horror or horrish.
Yes, I picked up this book because of TikTok, but I also really liked the cover and the fact that this story follows a film crew. So, that intrigues me. I guess a part of me was hoping that the crew was going to fake it until they didn’t, and they wound up dealing with something supernatural.
But if I’m going to be honest, this story isn’t really scary or even horrorish. Yes, it has a ghost, but there is plenty of stuff out there that has paranormal elements that aren’t considered horror. I mean, do we consider A Christmas Carol a horror story just because it has ghosts? No, we don’t.
I’m by no means saying that this book is terrible because it’s not. It’s a good book, but I feel like it’s being targeted at the wrong audience. I probably would have enjoyed the story so much more if it hadn’t been claimed to be something it’s not.
To be honest, I find Mara completely relatable. For the longest time, I have felt lost and unsure of what I want to do. It makes it even more relatable that I’m close in age to her, too.
So my thoughts about this book are very mixed. It’s honestly a good book and a fast read. Just don’t go in it thinking that it’s going to be scary or even horror, for that matter.
If you liked this review, then maybe you will like my post of horror books for beginners.