We Used to Live Here strays from my typical taste in horror, but I'm so glad I finally gave it a try. With books, I tend toward the metaphors of botanical and body horror, with the occasional addition of cannibalism (please please read The Lamb for me, I beg). This stems from the fact I do not visually experience books, which, while occasionally annoying, does pay off, as I can't handle horror movies at all. We Used to Live Here tends towards the psychological realm—a place I am terrified of after having been forced to watch The Shining in theater. So why did I read this book? Easy: I heard it came with sapphics.

I've been in a review writing drought, so this is me dipping my toes back in because I want to touch on something I noticed several reviews bring up: to some this book feels incomplete or like a mishmash of partial ideas. While I do agree that there is A LOT going on, to me, the world building and plot line seemed very intenional, which led to these gripes actually being a plus to me. For example, one of the files referenced a user named Navidson, which immediately made me think of House of Leaves (which I need to get back to now that I think of it), a book that also deals with subtle differences/discrepancies leading to poor psychological health. This, among other things, made the lack of clarity feeling like it was designed to make the text more immersive than incomplete or incoherent. While this may not hold true for all readers, it worked for me.

If you enjoy decently fast-paced prose, reality unraveling (who doesnt /j), in world documents, and old houses, I would definitely say give this a shot. There is not much attention to the romance, subplot or otherwise, so if you are here like I was for the sapphics, you might be a bit disappointed (but please still give it a try).