206 reviews for:

Glass Houses

Madeline Ashby

3.56 AVERAGE

mirrorstarweb's review

4.0

dark mysterious tense

kipperstein's review

1.0

sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

mariahaskins's review

5.0

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I loved every bit of this hot, unsettling, twisting and turning near-future scifi thriller. There are so many layers to this story and it had me hooked from the first page to the last.

spinstah's review

3.5

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An enjoyable light read, but I think it needed more character development and a stronger ending. 

_rebeccab's review

3.5

dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

bitterlyenthusiastic_books's review

3.0

dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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Glass Houses sets itself up to be my favorite type of locked-room mystery thriller—an eerie, high-tech mansion on a deserted island, a private jet crash, and a cast of coworkers. While the premise is intriguing, the execution didn’t fully land for me. This isn’t a classic whodunnit. The central mystery isn’t about who is behind the chaos but what exactly is happening and why… it was underwhelming. There’s no real sense of tension, nor are there red herrings to keep you guessing. Unfortunately, the payoff didn’t feel worth the buildup.

Kristen is a fun character—chronically messed up, respectfully, and relatable in her frustration with the tech world, even if she leans a little Mary Sue at times. I love the concept of exploring what it’s like for a child of streamers or family vloggers to grow up, but I wish the book had leaned more into that idea and less into the clunky tech jargon. The dystopian setting was super interesting and had so much potential, but it felt underutilized, leaving me wanting more world-building and less of the romance subplot. The large cast of side characters also bogged things down, making it hard to stay invested in the plot. 

With that said, there’s something unnervingly relevant about the story that makes it worth a read, even if it didn’t fully deliver for me.

sci_mom's review

3.5

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

kirstinbrie's review

3.75

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ariaverge's review

3.75

dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

nadine_gruhn's review

4.0

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes