Suburban Hell

Suburban Hell is for sure a mixture of Desperate Housewives, any Bravo reality show about moms and The Exorcist or Southern Bookclubs Guide to Slaying Vampires. 

I enjoyed the experience of this book for sure. I enjoyed the plot as it unfolded and as the story grew more and more horrific. 

I do find the classification as horror to be a little misleading...it's horror-lite. It's Andy Cohen does horror. It's like watching the Scary Island episode of RHONY where there is an exorcism at the end. When I say that this book is horror fluff, I don't necessarily mean that as a bad thing. If you are a die-hard horror fan this book will not be for you at all BUT...if you want to laugh a little and still experience some scary things (i.e. a vacuum attack, Barbie Dreamhouse of Terror or a school carnival gone awry) then you will enjoy this book. 

As I am more of a traditional horror fan I was surprised by the tone of this book, though I guess I shouldn't have been given the title and the description. The writing is quick, quippy and fun. The plotting is dangerously fast and drops you right into the story. I almost never say this but I kind of wanted more exposition and table setting before dropping us right into this group of moms and friends. 

I did love the exploration of the inner lives of suburban motherhood and what it means to be looked over or exhausted and what that can really do to someone. The fact that these women are really all they have and they have to do the work to save each other says a lot. I did find that very touching as the book progressed. I also really liked all of the characters which is a real testament to Kilmer's writing and world building. 

Overall I enjoyed the experience of this book but it will not be a book that I re-visit in time and i would only recommend this to friends who just want to dip their toe into horror instead of being fully immersed. 

Book Grades: 
Plot Development and Pacing - 90/100 
Character Development - 85/100 
Theme and Subject Matter - 85/100 
Writing Style - 90/100
Reader Engagement - 80/100 

Overal Grade: 86% - B OR 3/5 Stars 

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 
Expected to be unleashed on: 9/27/22.