Reviews - Like a House on Fire

466 reviews for:

Like a House on Fire

Lauren McBrayer

3.86 AVERAGE

rachelgallops's review against another edition

4.75

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

candygirl929's review

3.0

emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ellenmegan123's review against another edition

4.0

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

kathleencox's review against another edition

2.0

slow-paced

nikitanavalkar's review

3.25

emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I need to remind myself constantly that women’s fiction often disappoints by diverging from my comfort romance archetypes and that maybe I shouldn’t go plunging in even if it sounds intriguing. A sexy (not spicy) sapphic tale of infidelity and midlife existential crises sounded very interesting to me and was pretty readable but it fell short. I wasn’t expecting a traditional romance or an HEA even (women’s fiction remember) and while I got more of a good result than expected, the author cut off the story at a weird spot and deprived us of what could’ve been a complex emotional journey of the breakdown and subsequent healing of a family and a marriage in sacrifice to a budding relationship ends abruptly in a somewhat vaguely idyllic resolution in the epilogue. Vague being the operative word. That was a choice, to say the least.

We spend most of the book following Merit and Jane’s relationship develop from professional camaraderie to personal friendship to a lot more, and then we don’t really see the consequences of it? Beginnings of them yes, but then it ends. Cory is a clueless man and a below average husband but not a bad person, which I know, it doesn’t need a bad person to ruin a marriage. But Merit feels like the true villain of the story, trying to have her cake and eat it too. Not asking for the flavor she wants but being unhappy when she doesn’t get it. Okay I took that metaphor too far. I don’t begrudge her for wanting a career (not really) and a family (also not really) and wanting her husband to see her and help her, but she’s a typical unlikable and untrustworthy heroine characteristic of WF, which made her seem unsympathetic. It also shows what happens when someone who doesn’t actively want kids ends up having them anyway. She loves them sure, but man she makes it sound like no love can be worth all that stress. All this to say the title makes it sound way more interesting than it is. Okay that’s unfair, the writing and story is compelling and nicely paced. I blew through it quite quickly but was left wanting for a better resolution.

Content Warnings