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yvo_about_books's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
3.25
Finished reading: May 30th 2024
"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.
Content Warnings
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
caitlinjadams's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
I enjoyed it, but I definitely didn’t love it. I would have preferred the “Saving Savannah” version over the “Homewreckers” version, I think. The story had plenty of interest from the home restoration and the murder mystery without the (to me annoying) drama of the cliche shallow LA cutthroats.
Content Warnings
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
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Murder
oflifeandstuff's review
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
kaylahcc's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Grief, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content
kdailyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Murder, Infidelity, Alcohol, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Pregnancy and Gun violence
kimveach's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
This was a very enjoyable listen. The story was more mystery than rom-com which I always appreciate. The narration mainly was excellent except the female protagonist often sounded like a whiny little girl. I understand she's supposed to be insecure but I didn't enjoy the interpretation.
Content Warnings
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
jennastopreading's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
Thank you to St. Martins Press for sending me a free copy in exchange for a review!
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Car accident
Minor: Grief, Sexual content, and Racism
amandathebookishlibrarian's review
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Car accident and Gun violence
meliroo's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
I've only read one other MKA book prior to this one (The Newcomer) which I really enjoyed, so I had high expectations going into Homewreckers.
Based on the blurb, I was expecting house flipping drama and romance. What I got was a cold case mystery as the main plot driver. The house renovation took a back seat, and I didn't really feel the chemistry between Hattie and either of the male interests. I appreciate that the mystery element was at least layered enough so that the "whodunnit" wasn't completely obvious from the get go.
Maybe it's because I was expecting one thing and got another, but this book felt LONG. I'm usually pretty fast at read throughs; this one took a while to gain momentum, and by the time we reached cruising speed I didn't really feel invested in the characters. Overall, kind of forgettable, but a good summer read.
I was provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Based on the blurb, I was expecting house flipping drama and romance. What I got was a cold case mystery as the main plot driver. The house renovation took a back seat, and I didn't really feel the chemistry between Hattie and either of the male interests. I appreciate that the mystery element was at least layered enough so that the "whodunnit" wasn't completely obvious from the get go.
Maybe it's because I was expecting one thing and got another, but this book felt LONG. I'm usually pretty fast at read throughs; this one took a while to gain momentum, and by the time we reached cruising speed I didn't really feel invested in the characters. Overall, kind of forgettable, but a good summer read.
I was provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Death, Grief, Infidelity, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Car accident, and Bullying
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