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yvo_about_books's review against another edition
3.25
"A house is just a bunch of lumber and nails, Hattie. It’s just a thing. Never fall in love with anything that can’t love you back."
I loved my first experience with Mary Kay Andrews' writing last December, and I've been meaning to read more of her books ever since. I actually picked up The Homewreckers on a whim when I was looking for a little change of genre... I loved the sound of the blurb with the house renovation reality TV angle, and I was in the mood for a little romance. Somehow, I wasn't as charmed by The Homewreckers as I thought I would be though. I still love the premise of the story, and the house renovation is probably my favorite part of the story. I loved reading about the project, the improvements and the struggles they faced, and I liked the little behind-the-scene of this type of reality TV show the story provided. I was surprised that this wasn't mainly a romance read though, because a pretty big part of the plot is focused on a missing person case. Not that I don't like a good mystery, but I think in this case it actually distracted from the rest of the plot. Especially since the identity of the person responsible is SO obvious almost straight away. I literally said to myself: 'I bet he did it' and then 'no, that would be WAY too obvious'... Only to be disappointed when I found out it really was him. Also, I wasn't a fan of Hattie. For a person who is supposedly smart, independent and looking to prove herself, she sure does make a lot of extremely stupid mistakes. She also lets people walk all over her... This is not all, because The Homewreckers also has a pretty obvious and very present love triangle. One of my personal pet peeves on a good day, but there also wasn't any chemistry between Hattie and neither of the two male candidate, which only made things worse. The romance just wasn't all that credible or enjoyable for me, and I guess this is where the mystery actually ended up saving the day for me. I'm not say that The Homewreckers is a bad read, but it definitely wasn't nearly as good as Bright Lights, Big Christmas for me.
Graphic: Car accident, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Murder, Abandonment, Gun violence, Infidelity, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Violence
carly_the_librarian's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Murder, Death, and Cursing
emilyrollande's review
2.0
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Sexual content
Minor: Rape
caitlinjadams's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Death of parent, Excrement, Infidelity, Confinement, Murder, Abandonment, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Grief, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, and Car accident
Minor: Sexual content and Fatphobia
tillie__'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Murder
courtneyclouts's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Car accident, Pregnancy, Gore, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Alcohol, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Rape, and Stalking
kdailyreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Murder, Infidelity, Alcohol, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Pregnancy and Gun violence
kimveach's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Stalking, Infidelity, Gun violence, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Grief, Cursing, and Sexual content
Minor: Pregnancy
ldruckreier's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Death
jennastopreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The Homewreckers marks the second book I've read by Mary Kay Andrews (the first being The Santa Suit) and I am glad to say that I enjoyed this one a heck of a lot more than the first. I took a risk picking this up in the middle of a massive reading slump (the last three books I read just did NOT work for me), and I was pleasantly surprised by how well this HGTV knock off storyline lured me in and kept me flipping all 435 pages.
Here are 4 things I liked about THE HOMEWRECKERS:
1. This book had a good mix of character development and background, plot moving storyline, and some mystery mixed in. There was just enough of each aspect to keep me invested and not so much that it felt like overkill (for instance, I never felt like we were getting too into the nitty gritty about, say, painting the cabinets in the house, or something). It kept moving!
2. The setting on Tybee Island made this the quintessential summer read, with descriptions of hot, humid air and a beachy backdrop. I will have to make her future books always be on the docket for the warm months, because this was just perfect.
3. The main character, Hattie Kavenaugh, was likable and endearing, and carried her own in a mostly male dominated industry (contracting work). We also got to see her have to struggle through some very human things, like grieving her husband, feeling torn on being attracted to someone new, and making poor financial decisions.
4. I love some true crime, so the whole solving a cold case situation really was the icing on the cake for me! So much fun to read and wasn't so heavy that it felt scary. I think anyone could read it without having nightmares.
My biggest drawback to this one happens in the last 75 pages or so, and I don't want to spoil that, but it wasn't a huge deal. I still really enjoyed the reading experience and will definitely read more books by MKA!
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Car accident
Minor: Grief, Sexual content, and Racism