When Áine’s friend Laura decides to move out of their shared flat to buy a houseboat with her boyfriend, Áine, too, finds a new place to live, moving in with her own boyfriend, Elliott. They’re lucky, really: despite the nightmarish London rental market, they manage to secure a flat in a neighbourhood filled with organic food shops and fancy coffee places. It should be easy enough to feel at home there—yet Áine is unsettled from the start. The creeping mould around the basement door, the furniture left behind by previous tenants, and the strange upstairs neighbour who seems to be watching her all contribute to a growing sense of unease.

I Want to Go Home But I’m Already There speaks to a generation trapped in the rental crisis, with little hope of ever affording a home of their own. Roisin Lanigan captures the psychological toll of short-term leases, perpetual displacement, and the powerlessness of being at the mercy of anonymous landlords.

Rather than a plot-driven novel, this is an introspective, atmospheric story centred on a small but vividly drawn cast of characters. Lanigan’s writing excels in its haunting depictions of the mundane: Áine works from home, struggles to maintain friendships, and, most of all, simply exists within the flat, observing its eerie atmosphere. The novel brims with chilling imagery—the fruit that rots within hours, the distant wails of a woman she has never seen, the persistent cough that lingers whenever she’s indoors. As the narrative unfolds, the line between reality and imagination blurs, and the flat itself seems to take on a life of its own.

Lanigan also captures Áine’s deepening isolation as her obsession with the flat’s sinister nature grows. With her family back in Ireland and her university friends drifting away, she struggles to hold on to past connections. Elliott, dismissive of her concerns, only widens the emotional distance between them.

I Want to Go Home But I’m Already There is a chilling, witty, and unconventional ghost story—one that explores not just hauntings, but what it truly means to feel at home.

I did enjoy this book, but from the description as a modern day ghost story and being put in the horror genre I was expecting something different. I kept waiting for something to happy and about half way through realised the story was going to carry on in the same vein. That said, I enjoyed the writing and could relate to the story having also endured the rental market in London for a few years. There was certainly a creepiness to it and a lingering sense of dread, but I think it's doing the book a disservice to call it a horror.

2.5*
I was incredibly intrigued by the beginning of the book, so I had quite high expectations, however, about 30% through it started to drag quite a bit. There wasn't much in terms of plot, so it didn't feel like anything was actually happening.

I found the commentary on the rental market interesting and relatable, but the rest of the book was unfortunately not for me. The writing was quite repetitive and didn't capture my attention beyond the very beginning and introduction to the story.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital copy of this book in exchange for a review!

3/5 stars

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It’s been too many years since my last confession. These are my sins. I am loved and I don’t think I deserve to be loved. I am a betrayer. I am a bad friend. I am pretending to be someone else. I am tired all the time from the pretence. There are ten commandments and I am steadily making my way through violating all of them. There’s something inside my house and I think it wants to kill me. Does the Church still believe in exorcism? Can you exorcise my house? It’s not really my house anyway. Can you exorcise me?”

An interesting look at a modern day haunted life amidst adolescent anxieties and an increasingly constricting housing crisis. I appreciated a lot of the ideas, but didn’t feel it lived up to its full potential.
We follow young couple Elliot and Áine, having just moved in together into a shared rental flat that, on the surface, looks like the millennial dream. We follow them throughout the duration of their yearlong lease, as the cracks begin to appear in both the walls of their seemingly perfect dwelling, as well as their relationship.

This was one of my most anticipated literary releases of the year. The potential for a haunted-house novel examining millennial existential fears, set during a post-pandemic rental-crisis was endless. I was excited to see where the author would take it. Above all, I wanted the novel to capture that titular homesick feeling of wanting to return to a “feeling of home” regardless of location. A state that might not even exist anymore, or maybe never has. In its best moments, it did that, but there was a lot of (for lack of a better word) “empty space” in between those.

Empty space occupies a lot of the pages of this novel. There’s the emptiness that Áine feels about her life, her job and her daily routines. The increasingly empty silence between her and her boyfriend, and the empty conversations with her friends. The emptiness of a house that refuses to become a home, because it’s so clearly impermanent and “not yours”. It asks the question of our current crisis is a “housing”-one, a “homing-crisis”, or both. I loved these conversations about a situation I have lived, and continue to see many of my generation-fellows still live.
Personally, I’d wished there’d been a little more to fill the empty spaces though. As it stands, I Want to Go Home but I’m Already There has distinctly little plot, resulting in a dragging and often boring reading-experience. Although that thematically matches well, I feel like a bit of contrast with some more dark comedy or even more genuine horror from the “hauntings” would’ve elevated it even more.

Many thanks to Penguin and Fig Tree for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was enthralled by this book. A woman moves into a damp, creepy flat with her boyfriend and becomes convinced she’s being cursed or haunted. It’s unclear whether the flat is actually haunted, or it’s a manifestation of everything that’s not quite right in her life (which is pretty much everything). Her relationship with her boyfriend is strained, her best friend (and former housemate) is moving on with her life without her, her job doesn’t seem to notice if she’s there or not, her family bonds seem a bit odd too, her mental health (and physical health in parts) is declining. I found the narrative compelling and oppressive, as the story went on it became more and more so. A claustrophobic and compelling read.

An interesting modern-day haunting.
I was hoping for more haunting, a lot of intense description on the mundane it was more an introspective look into a young woman’s anxiety’s and relationships. A good read but not the ‘ghost story’ I expected.
Thank you to net galley for the ARC.

I Want To Go Home But I’m Already There is an electrifying, genre-blurring meditation on nostalgia, identity, and the unsettling liminality of modern life. With razor-sharp prose and a dreamlike, almost haunted atmosphere, Lanigan captures the strange, in-between spaces (both physical and emotional) where memory and reality collide.

The writing is hypnotic, shifting seamlessly between the deeply personal and the eerily universal. It’s a book that understands the allure of longing, the way homesickness can exist even for places and times that never truly belonged to us. Every page brims with a quiet, aching beauty, making it impossible to put down.

This is the kind of book that lingers, that seeps into your thoughts and makes you reconsider your own sense of place and belonging. A stunning, evocative work.

I Want To Go Home But I’m Already There follows Áine who has just moved into a flat with her boyfriend, Elliot. The new flat is in a great neighbourhood but Áine feels uncomfortable and as if someone is watching her in the flat. Áine stays inside the flat and pretends to work from home but ends up doom scrolling and fixating on the issues with the flat. Her friends are moving on with their lives, her relationship with Elliot isn’t perfect and she cannot ignore how she feels like she is being watched.

This was well done and very clever. Personally I found it to be less of a haunted story and more a metaphor for the issues in Áine’s life. I could feel the atmosphere and melancholic tone to this book. That said, I did find it to be a bit too long and parts of this were a bit uncomfortable mainly Áine and Elliot’s relationship and I can’t say I enjoyed all of this. This beginning was very compelling though.

This is true horror for me. I feel the claustrophobic feeling of the characters when I read. I feel all of the feelings. Talnted author and a must read! Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Claustrophobic and nightmarish novel, flawed characters dragged through life. The sense of the dampness that infest the apartment seeps through the pages,

Wasn't mad about the ending, but found myself totally in the world from the get-go. It would be wrong to say I 'enjoyed' this...a very immersive read. Excited to see what Róisín does next.

Áine rents a flat with Elliott. Laura and Cain are her friends from uni years.
We get a very detailed experience of Áine‘s internal and external life.
For about until the page mark 170 - until the last part of the book I had thought I was having a 5 star reading experience.
I fell in love with Lanigan’s writing.
I found the characters authentic, believable and the storytelling and the themes timely.
Had this been more coherent, without having to answer all the questions it poses, had it answered some more questions, tied up Cain, Laura and Áine‘s family plot lines with some more detail, or were 20-30% shorter, and ended the same way it does, I would have slightly enjoyed this more.
Have I already said I fell in love with the writing? Extremely transporting, real, detailed, inviting. I can’t wait to see what she does next.

Thank you for making this ARC available – I really loved reading this book and will be pitching a piece around it.

"I Want To Go Home But I'm Already There" was not what I was expecting, but I really enjoyed it. While the description of "a ghost story set in the rental crisis" is bound to make many readers anticipate horror, this is a portrait of one young woman's life as she struggles with her relationship, a lack of money, a flat that doesn't feel like home, and her mental health. It is filled with descriptions of Aine's thoughts and feelings as she navigates this period of her life, taking the reader fully into her mind set so you really feel her frustrations.

There were points where I felt the book needed some further editing or fine tuning, for example there is a section I had to read several times about how Aine wants to have "her own front door" which I had to read several times because I couldn't understand why she felt the flat didn't have its own front door, as it obviously did and it clearly wasn't possible for strangers to just walk into their flat. Eventually I figured out it must mean she didn't want to share the front door of the whole *building* with anyone else but surely this would be exceptionally unusual, if not basically impossible for a rental property in London, it seemed an impossible goal? Maybe that was the point but it was weirdly expressed. There were a few moments like this where I found myself confused. Overall however I really enjoyed this story and am glad I read it.

an excellent premise; a horror novel about the horrors of renting in London. as the story goes on, this transpires to be much more about the breakdown of a relationship over the course of a year. it discuses love, mental health, stability and friendship in your 20s - all with this backdrop of a 'haunted' house. It really gets under your skin. The characters are very well rounded- I found myself feeling sorry for Àine whilst becoming increasingly frustrated with her. I felt for her, truly. it's unlike anything else I've read before.

An interesting read. Claustrophobic and haunting at times, albeit a little slow. The plot felt a little all over the place and definitely needed some fine tuning.

A claustrophobic look into what it means to live in a space that will never be yours, this novel is a haunting for the new age. Densely packed with descriptions of the cloying uncertainty of renting and dating, Lanigan offers a witty and biting portrayal of modern life.

I Want To Go Home But I'm Already There by Róisín Lanigan is a claustrophobic, unsettling read that draws you in.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC!

Seeing the world through (MC) Áine’s eyes feels like returning to pick at a wound before it has had time to heal.

Lanigan’s purposefully drab yet enticing writing style melts you down and pours you into Áine’s world. A thick sort of comfort blanketed me progressively throughout the book, and I found myself feeling equally frustrated and kindred with Áine.

With witty commentary on the state of the rental market and the general economy, the vast majority of readers will undoubtedly hear their own thoughts echoed within the narrative.

All in all, the novel feels like a mucky sort of hug and an ode to young people who feel tossed about by both their environments and their emotions. A promising debut from an exciting new voice in the literary landscape.

I really enjoyed this! Perfect read for January when I’m looking for something a little dark and creepy. Lots of relatable elements to the main character, and being a person in your 20s trying to make sense of things. Super interesting concept trying haunting to the rented flat itself, and also very astute in some of its conversations surrounding friendships, relationships, work etc. Definitely feel like this would be popular with the Sally Rooney girlies!