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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well this turned out to be much more thought provoking and introspective than I thought it would be. This asked so many questions that will stay with me about marriage and motherhood and being a middle aged woman who is struggling. While there were definitely parts of Merit that I could relate to she was a very morally ambiguous character but while I may not have agreed with many of her choices I found her to be fascinating. I tend to fly through books of the thriller variety but this was just as compulsive for me as any thriller, I really became wrapped up in Merit’s life and couldn’t wait to see what she would do next. I could see this being a great book club pick, especially as a summer choice as it’s light enough you could read it by the pool but it still has a lot of depth and loads to discuss.
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage
Moderate: Cancer
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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
I’m often drawn to stories about personal identity and how our understanding of ourselves evolves over the course of our lives. Lauren McBrayer’s upcoming novel Like a House on Fire is one such story told with the kind of brash humor that goes hand in hand with brutal emotional honesty. Looking at the relationships in our lives, especially questions of what we bring to them and what we get from them, McBrayer shows how our measures for success, for happiness, for ‘good enough’ depend on how we see ourselves and what we feel we deserve. Like a House on Fire is, in many ways, a novel of personal awakening and that moment where you need to decide whether to drift off back to sleep or commit to getting out of bed to start a new day.
After a few years of trying to sell her paintings (while also being a stay-at-home mom to two small children), Merit has had enough of her husband’s silent judgement and decides to go back to work at an architecture firm. She and her new boss, Jane, immediately hit it off during the interview and it doesn’t take long for Merit to long for the hours she spends in the office at Jane’s side. Their friendship quickly outgrows the bounds of a professional, working relationship and Jane becomes Merit’s person – the one who just gets her from all the ways her husband’s habits grate on her nerves (and why) to what Merit needs in terms of encouragement and reassurance as an architect, an artist, even as a mother. With her connection to Jane so strong, Merit begins to reexamine the other relationships in her life, especially her decade-plus marriage to her college boyfriend Cory and why things between them seem to have gotten so… dull. The answers Merit finds when she asks herself what she really wants surprise her and soon she’ll have to make decisions that will affect the lives of those she loves the most.
For the rest of my review, please visit my blog: https://wp.me/pUEx4-1bn
After a few years of trying to sell her paintings (while also being a stay-at-home mom to two small children), Merit has had enough of her husband’s silent judgement and decides to go back to work at an architecture firm. She and her new boss, Jane, immediately hit it off during the interview and it doesn’t take long for Merit to long for the hours she spends in the office at Jane’s side. Their friendship quickly outgrows the bounds of a professional, working relationship and Jane becomes Merit’s person – the one who just gets her from all the ways her husband’s habits grate on her nerves (and why) to what Merit needs in terms of encouragement and reassurance as an architect, an artist, even as a mother. With her connection to Jane so strong, Merit begins to reexamine the other relationships in her life, especially her decade-plus marriage to her college boyfriend Cory and why things between them seem to have gotten so… dull. The answers Merit finds when she asks herself what she really wants surprise her and soon she’ll have to make decisions that will affect the lives of those she loves the most.
For the rest of my review, please visit my blog: https://wp.me/pUEx4-1bn
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
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:
Yes
Lauren McBrayer’s Like a House on Fire tore me apart and put me back together in the span of 320 pages.
One of my most anticipated reads of the year, I seriously struggled with the first 51% of the book, yearning for Merit and Jane’s budding friendship to slow down; for the two of them to be more distinctive from one another and less two dimensional; cringing at the amount of times the author used the term “tits” or used “bitch” as a term of endearment. I was almost disappointed. Almost.
While my previous critiques hold true and I stand by the fact that Merit and Jane’s friendship felt too rushed for me, I think the latter half of the book made up for the lack of yearning and longing and desire. There was a very clear shift in Merit’s thinking and acting, which was very interestingly obvious in the writing. The first half of the book contained several self deprecating statements, an obvious low esteemed view of Merit’s life and while that seemed intentional, I considered giving up several times because I could not get into the writing.
Another aspect that threw me off was the nonexistent timeline. There were chapters where the passing of time was mentioned—sometimes days, sometimes years—but I had a hard time keeping up with the timeline itself, and thus the progression of the main characters’ relationship.
The second half, on the other hand, took me through such an emotional roller coaster that I felt my own chest aching for Merit. For Jane. I think the author handled Merit’s self-discovery and sexuality with so much care and delicacy that I relived my own experiences through her writing. Merit’s confession to Jane and Jane’s subsequent concurrence felt personal and real and like I was the one coming to terms with falling in love. I will cherish Lauren McBrayer’s writing of that confession in Mexico because it made me feel the characters’ fire and their own desires for one another.
I found that the author’s writing improved significantly as she wrote about the two women’s bond, so solid and giving and graceful. Their relationship was clearly dear to the author and, once again, the care that was devoted to cultivating such loving moments between the two (despite the nature of their relationship) was just so touching I read several passages more than once.
Overall I wish I could have a rewrite of the first half of the book as well as the characters to ensure they read and felt like two different women, and simultaneously wish I could reread and experience Like a House on Fire for the first time all over again. The execution of the relationship itself was beautiful in my opinion, and I will likely read it again and again and again.
Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Lauren McBrayer for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
One of my most anticipated reads of the year, I seriously struggled with the first 51% of the book, yearning for Merit and Jane’s budding friendship to slow down; for the two of them to be more distinctive from one another and less two dimensional; cringing at the amount of times the author used the term “tits” or used “bitch” as a term of endearment. I was almost disappointed. Almost.
While my previous critiques hold true and I stand by the fact that Merit and Jane’s friendship felt too rushed for me, I think the latter half of the book made up for the lack of yearning and longing and desire. There was a very clear shift in Merit’s thinking and acting, which was very interestingly obvious in the writing. The first half of the book contained several self deprecating statements, an obvious low esteemed view of Merit’s life and while that seemed intentional, I considered giving up several times because I could not get into the writing.
Another aspect that threw me off was the nonexistent timeline. There were chapters where the passing of time was mentioned—sometimes days, sometimes years—but I had a hard time keeping up with the timeline itself, and thus the progression of the main characters’ relationship.
The second half, on the other hand, took me through such an emotional roller coaster that I felt my own chest aching for Merit. For Jane. I think the author handled Merit’s self-discovery and sexuality with so much care and delicacy that I relived my own experiences through her writing. Merit’s confession to Jane and Jane’s subsequent concurrence felt personal and real and like I was the one coming to terms with falling in love. I will cherish Lauren McBrayer’s writing of that confession in Mexico because it made me feel the characters’ fire and their own desires for one another.
I found that the author’s writing improved significantly as she wrote about the two women’s bond, so solid and giving and graceful. Their relationship was clearly dear to the author and, once again, the care that was devoted to cultivating such loving moments between the two (despite the nature of their relationship) was just so touching I read several passages more than once.
Overall I wish I could have a rewrite of the first half of the book as well as the characters to ensure they read and felt like two different women, and simultaneously wish I could reread and experience Like a House on Fire for the first time all over again. The execution of the relationship itself was beautiful in my opinion, and I will likely read it again and again and again.
Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, and Lauren McBrayer for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage
adventurous
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
I haven't seen enough of this one around yet, but it's one you'll want to take note of.
Merit's life is predictable, yet not as she pictured. She loves her husband and children, but something’s missing. Merit decides to jump back into the architect career she put on pause to be a full time mom, and lands a job with an elite firm. Merit quickly bonds with her boss Jane, a dazzling older woman who is bold and unapologetically herself. Seeing Jane's lifestyle that contrasts her own, Merit begins to question her life's trajectory on her current path.
Merit is such a relatable character. She’s a little dull at the beginning of the book, but breaks out into full color as she's confronted with options she never considered, and reclaims her identity as an entire woman. Jane's character also got more well rounded in tandem with Merit's as their friendship influenced them both.
I didn't expect to love this as much as I did. It was easy, as the writing is phenomenal. It's a slower paced, character driven exploration of identity and self-discovery.
Loved it. Can't wait to see more from McBrayer.
⚠️: infidelity, miscarriage, cancer
Thank you Putnam Books for sending me an advance copy
Merit's life is predictable, yet not as she pictured. She loves her husband and children, but something’s missing. Merit decides to jump back into the architect career she put on pause to be a full time mom, and lands a job with an elite firm. Merit quickly bonds with her boss Jane, a dazzling older woman who is bold and unapologetically herself. Seeing Jane's lifestyle that contrasts her own, Merit begins to question her life's trajectory on her current path.
Merit is such a relatable character. She’s a little dull at the beginning of the book, but breaks out into full color as she's confronted with options she never considered, and reclaims her identity as an entire woman. Jane's character also got more well rounded in tandem with Merit's as their friendship influenced them both.
I didn't expect to love this as much as I did. It was easy, as the writing is phenomenal. It's a slower paced, character driven exploration of identity and self-discovery.
Loved it. Can't wait to see more from McBrayer.
⚠️: infidelity, miscarriage, cancer
Thank you Putnam Books for sending me an advance copy
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Infidelity, Miscarriage
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced