Wait, do I like cozy horror? I was surprisingly hooked despite not much actually happening for a good chunk of the book. But if you find Mara boring, or are here for dark spooks and haunts, I imagine this could feel like a very long novella!

 

Energy: Go-with-the-flow. Gentle. Sympathetic.  

 

This book is more cute than creepy; it took a second for me to reframe my expectations once I realized that. Predictable but still fun to read. 

 

Slow burn plot (most of this is just Mara navigating the new gig). Fun fake-outs – eerie little things happen and sometimes lead nowhere. Slow start then rapid-fire conclusion but didn’t feel rushed…or maybe I’ve read too many long books recently 🤷‍♀️. Our MC isn’t easily scared, but is not so ‘meh’ that it ruins the tension. Writing style gave middle grade vibes sometimes but it worked for me – concise but moved the story along nicely. 

 

Scene: 🇺🇸 Set in Western Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

Perspective: An aspiring climate scientist who struggles to stay focused in their classes, so they’re taking another ‘gap year’. They land a cool (but exhausting) job on a home improvement reality show through a cousin’s connections. 

There are also transcripts between chapters from one episode of the show. 

Timeline: Current (2020s). Summer.

🔥 Fuel: Uncertainty. How will Mara’s new job go? Why is her cousin ghosting her? Is something supernatural going on? Will she find a friend in the new employee?

📖 Cred: Paranormal realism

 

Backyard fire pit. Motel restaurant. Burnt food. Wood carving. Family bonfire. Fiddler jams. Apple orchard. Home libraries. Night shift.

 

Content Heads-Up: Fire (smoke, no injuries/damage). Divorce (very brief mention). Animal death (cows; historical; very brief mention). Death (brief off page recall; heart condition; old age). Arthritis. 

 

Rep: American. Black American, Indian American, and non-binary peripherals. Dark, pale, and ambiguous skin tones.

 

📚 Format: Library Hardcover