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filemanager's review against another edition
3.0
A little choppy, with a few sub-plots, but over all pretty good. Great ending!
tinaha083's review against another edition
3.0
⭐️⭐️💫 What would you do if your beloved stepson was seemingly responsible for the death of your adored biological daughter?
— Leigh and Peter have the perfect blended family. Until one weekend, on their way home from a getaway, they’re informed that Peter’s son Kip has been arrested for driving drunk and crashing his truck into a tree. Chrissy was with him. Twelve hours later Chrissy is dead, and Kip is charged with manslaughter. Once tried, Kip says that it wasn’t him who was driving - it was Chrissy. Peter and Leigh are torn between their loyalty to each other and their loyalty to their children. Can their marriage survive? What really happened? —
That was a summary of the information from the book jacket. It all sounds amazing and really drew me to wanting to read this book. Unfortunately it completely went to pieces for me. There was potential for a great story here. An exploration of what loyalty means, of parents raising children and stepchildren, of how relationships work in blended families, of how families can be torn apart when lines are drawn and sides are taken. Of how your faith in your own children can be shaken by love for your stepchildren.
This story, on the other hand, while knowledgeable about trials and law, comes across as a textbook case and none of the depths are really explored. There are numerous subplots that didn’t make much sense and that, in the end, turned one story into a complicated, overwrought set of stories that have no credibility or believability. Characters behave in a way that feels completely false. There is rampant drug use and sexual overtones that just aren’t believable in light of the death of a family member. There is also a parental disconnect that I just did not understand. There were questions that never got asked, and behaviors that never got explained or corrected.
And that’s the main issue. Believability. There just isn’t a lot that happens in this story that is believable. Nobody behaves the way they should, the way real people would, or at least people of my acquaintance. At the end of the day, it was hard to get invested in the lives of people who were continually making decisions and then acting on them, when their information was sketchy at best. And a couple of the subplots, in particular, veered strongly off course and just derailed the story completely. It was never able to recover its footing.
This book is a definite page turner, and I read it in about 3.5 hours. But I found myself sorely disappointed by how it played out, and I was left wondering what the purpose was of what I’d just read. It just didn’t work for me.
My thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for a free copy in exchange for my honest review.
— Leigh and Peter have the perfect blended family. Until one weekend, on their way home from a getaway, they’re informed that Peter’s son Kip has been arrested for driving drunk and crashing his truck into a tree. Chrissy was with him. Twelve hours later Chrissy is dead, and Kip is charged with manslaughter. Once tried, Kip says that it wasn’t him who was driving - it was Chrissy. Peter and Leigh are torn between their loyalty to each other and their loyalty to their children. Can their marriage survive? What really happened? —
That was a summary of the information from the book jacket. It all sounds amazing and really drew me to wanting to read this book. Unfortunately it completely went to pieces for me. There was potential for a great story here. An exploration of what loyalty means, of parents raising children and stepchildren, of how relationships work in blended families, of how families can be torn apart when lines are drawn and sides are taken. Of how your faith in your own children can be shaken by love for your stepchildren.
This story, on the other hand, while knowledgeable about trials and law, comes across as a textbook case and none of the depths are really explored. There are numerous subplots that didn’t make much sense and that, in the end, turned one story into a complicated, overwrought set of stories that have no credibility or believability. Characters behave in a way that feels completely false. There is rampant drug use and sexual overtones that just aren’t believable in light of the death of a family member. There is also a parental disconnect that I just did not understand. There were questions that never got asked, and behaviors that never got explained or corrected.
And that’s the main issue. Believability. There just isn’t a lot that happens in this story that is believable. Nobody behaves the way they should, the way real people would, or at least people of my acquaintance. At the end of the day, it was hard to get invested in the lives of people who were continually making decisions and then acting on them, when their information was sketchy at best. And a couple of the subplots, in particular, veered strongly off course and just derailed the story completely. It was never able to recover its footing.
This book is a definite page turner, and I read it in about 3.5 hours. But I found myself sorely disappointed by how it played out, and I was left wondering what the purpose was of what I’d just read. It just didn’t work for me.
My thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for a free copy in exchange for my honest review.
amesjo's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this book!
It had so many story lines and I kept waiting for them to merge.
Bonnie did a great job with the twists. Having me think it was going to turn out one way and then having it come together another.
So glad I won this ARC from publisher!
It had so many story lines and I kept waiting for them to merge.
Bonnie did a great job with the twists. Having me think it was going to turn out one way and then having it come together another.
So glad I won this ARC from publisher!
purplepaste's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
whatjustinereadss's review against another edition
4.0
*NO SPOILERS! THINGS BROUGHT UP ARE MENTIONED IN SYNOPSIS*
The plot of this book is stunningly dark. every character in this story is important so pay attention. the fact that this story is started with the death of Chrissy, it’s more about Leigh and Pete’s lives after her death. which is refreshing in my opinion. overall, this was a wonderful read.
The plot of this book is stunningly dark. every character in this story is important so pay attention. the fact that this story is started with the death of Chrissy, it’s more about Leigh and Pete’s lives after her death. which is refreshing in my opinion. overall, this was a wonderful read.
shelbyandpaws's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bink_64's review against another edition
3.0
This book started out so good as a family drama with a blended family and the death of one child at the expense of the other parent’s child selfish behavior. You can feel the tug and pull of their love for their child, their love for each other and the love for the family they have created by blending the two. When Kip gets charged with manslaughter it creates a crack in the family dynamics that may not be able to be fixed. This part of the story is great.. then there are all these subplots that seem to derail the story and are just a little far out there. Almost like an action movie on the side that then circles back to the main plot. That being said, I did enjoy the main plot and thought the author did a good job of describing grief and the family dynamics in the death of a child.
taylok3's review against another edition
5.0
House on Fire is an absolutely phenomenal read! I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. I was held captive by all of the detail and unable to stop reading as I just had to know how the story would play out and I was not disappointed!!
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for their next suspense read!
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for their next suspense read!