Haunt Sweet Home by Sarah Pinsker

HAUNT SWEET HOME is a cozy not-quite-horror novel about a woman named Mara who is working as a PA on her much more successful older cousin's paranormal ghost hunter/remodeling show, Haunt Sweet Home. They film at the homes of people who have just purchased old houses and roll while the owners discover their new living space might actually be haunted. As Mara soon discovers, some of her new duties involve faking these hauntings.

...But what if something happens that isn't faked?

The ratings for this are on the lower side and I'm sorry to say I can kind of see why. Some reasons I agree with and some I don't. First, I think a lot of people didn't like Mara, but I think she represents the aimlessness a lot of us feel in our twenties, when we can't hold down a real job and we don't feel like we fit in with our families, and we're not good enough at adulting. She's unlikable, yes, but she's supposed to be-- mostly because people are always calling her out without actually expecting better for her. She's used to being the disappointment.

The pacing for this was actually pretty slow for a novella and I thought it did all right, although I wished for more from the actual storyline. I guessed the twist pretty early on, but I was never fully sure until the end what kind of tone the author was working towards. Was this lit fic? Cozy horror? Was it actually going to turn into a sapphic romcom? There were a lot of mixed signals, which could make this feel uneven, although ultimately, I think I did like the story and what it was trying to do.

If you like T. Kingfisher, this kind of has a similar vibe to some of her early stuff.

2.5 out of 5 stars