_alyssabrown's review against another edition
2.0
To be honest, I really did not enjoy this book. I didn’t really like the characters, and I really didn’t care for the storyline. I felt like most of the story was confusing but tbh maybe that’s my fault because I could not focus on the story since I was so uninterested. The ending wasn’t awful, but once again I found it confusing. The only reason that I gave this 2 stars rather than 1 is because there were a couple chapters out of the 75 that were relatively intriguing. Overall, just not the book for me.
cwelch021's review against another edition
4.0
"One for Sorrow, two for joy,
Three for a girl, four for a boy,
Five for silver, six for gold,
Seven for a secret, never to be told"
Thriller? Not quite what I expected. I might more categorize this read as a slow burn suspence novel with multiple, eyebrow raising twists, within the last 50 pages. I was not expecting the ending of this book, especially since the first three quarters of it was a bit of a slow read. I did enjoy the "before" and "after" format of the telling of the story, both through the eyes of the main characters. I didn't find it confusing, which I was thankful for! I wish the first half of the book went a little quicker or was filled with more suspense, but the ending really saved it for me.
~~~~~~~~ Spoilers May Be Contined Below. Continue At Your Own Risk ~~~~~~~~~~~~
The House of Secrets details the story of Duncan, Claire, and Joe; a family living in Derbyshire. Claire and Duncan are in an unhappy marriage. Claire's mind runs wild while Duncan spends more and more time at "work" and the "gym". Joe struggles greatly with making relationships and is often found by himself, scouring for hoards of treasure with his metal detector.
One day Joe comes home with an odd coin and becomes fixated on finding the treausre hoard he is SURE lies on his property. Claire becomes overwhelmed with the idea that Joe is going to find out her, their secret. When Joe doesn't return home after witnessing a fight between his parents, their worlds are turned over.
Within the last few chapters of the book we learn that there have been multiple deaths in the family, a two decade long secret, and maybe our thoughts on specific characters have been skewed all along.
Three for a girl, four for a boy,
Five for silver, six for gold,
Seven for a secret, never to be told"
Thriller? Not quite what I expected. I might more categorize this read as a slow burn suspence novel with multiple, eyebrow raising twists, within the last 50 pages. I was not expecting the ending of this book, especially since the first three quarters of it was a bit of a slow read. I did enjoy the "before" and "after" format of the telling of the story, both through the eyes of the main characters. I didn't find it confusing, which I was thankful for! I wish the first half of the book went a little quicker or was filled with more suspense, but the ending really saved it for me.
~~~~~~~~ Spoilers May Be Contined Below. Continue At Your Own Risk ~~~~~~~~~~~~
The House of Secrets details the story of Duncan, Claire, and Joe; a family living in Derbyshire. Claire and Duncan are in an unhappy marriage. Claire's mind runs wild while Duncan spends more and more time at "work" and the "gym". Joe struggles greatly with making relationships and is often found by himself, scouring for hoards of treasure with his metal detector.
One day Joe comes home with an odd coin and becomes fixated on finding the treausre hoard he is SURE lies on his property. Claire becomes overwhelmed with the idea that Joe is going to find out her, their secret. When Joe doesn't return home after witnessing a fight between his parents, their worlds are turned over.
Within the last few chapters of the book we learn that there have been multiple deaths in the family, a two decade long secret, and maybe our thoughts on specific characters have been skewed all along.
breejay's review against another edition
3.0
Nothing spectacular, but also not terrible or the worst book I've read.
christacolaizzi's review
2.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Sophie Draper for providing a digital review copy in exchange for honest feedback.
Draper’s concept of a before-and-after timeline of a tumultuous marriage, their child, infidelity, and ultimate separation is lovely. The story itself is fun, mysterious, and stimulating. Draper’s writing and imagery is excellent throughout. Unfortunately, my personal reading preferences did not align with the way The House of Secrets was styled.
All of the characters were unlikable to me. Claire seemed to be paranoid, bitter, and insecure. Dunkin had one redeeming quality (his love for animals), but other than that, I felt he was a narcissistic, emotionally abusive, unfaithful, angry character. In fact, I believe Dunkin and Claire both were easy to hate. Their son, Joe, had the most potential to be a likable, relatable character, but his character wasn’t developed enough for me as the reader to establish a connection to him.
I thought that throughout the majority of the book, nothing of true substance was happening. It was a lot of description, imagery, and dreams, but no real content.
I felt this story was very “jumpy”. The timeline was confusing to me; throughout it I couldn’t tell what the main story line was. It took 98% of the book to establish what the before-and-after event was. Without spoilers, I can only say that the reveals of this book were disappointing to say the least, while also being a bit boring. I’m sorry to say this book wasn’t one I enjoyed reading.
TW for this book: elderly animal abuse/animal pain
Draper’s concept of a before-and-after timeline of a tumultuous marriage, their child, infidelity, and ultimate separation is lovely. The story itself is fun, mysterious, and stimulating. Draper’s writing and imagery is excellent throughout. Unfortunately, my personal reading preferences did not align with the way The House of Secrets was styled.
All of the characters were unlikable to me. Claire seemed to be paranoid, bitter, and insecure. Dunkin had one redeeming quality (his love for animals), but other than that, I felt he was a narcissistic, emotionally abusive, unfaithful, angry character. In fact, I believe Dunkin and Claire both were easy to hate. Their son, Joe, had the most potential to be a likable, relatable character, but his character wasn’t developed enough for me as the reader to establish a connection to him.
I thought that throughout the majority of the book, nothing of true substance was happening. It was a lot of description, imagery, and dreams, but no real content.
I felt this story was very “jumpy”. The timeline was confusing to me; throughout it I couldn’t tell what the main story line was. It took 98% of the book to establish what the before-and-after event was. Without spoilers, I can only say that the reveals of this book were disappointing to say the least, while also being a bit boring. I’m sorry to say this book wasn’t one I enjoyed reading.
TW for this book: elderly animal abuse/animal pain
tayparks's review
2.0
I'm going to be honest with you. This book sorta fell flat for me. It started off strong, but by about halfway through, I was considering not finishing it. The differing points of view and time periods all felt very confusing and just seemed to muddy up the plot. I was not invested in the characters, and by the end of the book, I couldn't have cared less what they did or what happened to them. I do not recommend this book.
•
Thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollins for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
•
Thanks to @netgalley and @harpercollins for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.
lis86's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
what_amy_reads's review
2.0
Thank you to NetGalley & HarperCollins for the e-ARC to review.
I'm not quite sure what I think of this book, to be honest. Sophie Draper writes a literary and atmospheric novel about the unraveling of a marriage and its profound effects on everyone involved, but this book can't quite decide what it wants to be. Things that it is: well-written, with an excellent sense of place and setting; a well-rounded main character in our heroine Claire, but the other characters remain a bit flat; and a well-steeped mystery with a twist. But while it is all of those things, it is not particularly suspenseful, OR particularly thrilling, OR particularly gripping. It's as if the author couldn't quite decide what type of book to write and so she tried to write both a psychological thriller and an atmospheric mystery and it just doesn't work here. There were way too many weird asides, red herrings that don't resolve, and "dreams" sprinkled throughout the narrative and while I think to some extent that might be to show the mental state of our main character, it just doesn't work particularly well here. The husband, while flat, is also particularly deplorable as a human being. I wanted to love this one, but alas.
Trigger warnings for accidental violence against animals & described abortion.
I'm not quite sure what I think of this book, to be honest. Sophie Draper writes a literary and atmospheric novel about the unraveling of a marriage and its profound effects on everyone involved, but this book can't quite decide what it wants to be. Things that it is: well-written, with an excellent sense of place and setting; a well-rounded main character in our heroine Claire, but the other characters remain a bit flat; and a well-steeped mystery with a twist. But while it is all of those things, it is not particularly suspenseful, OR particularly thrilling, OR particularly gripping. It's as if the author couldn't quite decide what type of book to write and so she tried to write both a psychological thriller and an atmospheric mystery and it just doesn't work here. There were way too many weird asides, red herrings that don't resolve, and "dreams" sprinkled throughout the narrative and while I think to some extent that might be to show the mental state of our main character, it just doesn't work particularly well here. The husband, while flat, is also particularly deplorable as a human being. I wanted to love this one, but alas.
Trigger warnings for accidental violence against animals & described abortion.
More...