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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
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
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
4.5 stars ✨ this books turned out to be a lot more emotional than i had anticipated. i loved how pure and loving both merit and jane were, and how honest they were with each other. honestly, i had no idea what to expect coming into this book but it did not disappoint and it ended up being pretty beautiful especially towards the end. i loved jane and merit, here’s to them :)
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
emotional
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Beautifully written with two very strong female characters that were really compelling, as people, but I just didn't connect with the working mother side of the story.
My Tiktok review: https://www.tiktok.com/@kellyhitchcockpairings/video/7163496201852063019
This book was just so heartbreakingly beautiful. My goodness the prose. I am aching & happy all at once. Like a House on Fire is author Lauren McBrayer’s debut novel (thanks NetGalley for the eARC!) The storytelling is complex & speaks to the dualities of identity. While marketed as contemporary fiction, I’d also categorize this one as a queer romance.
I was lead to this book by the Modern Mrs Darcy Summer Reading Guide. This was beautiful, seductive, smart, and deep. I inhaled it. I loved the introspection of the main character Merit. I loved knowing her inner most thoughts, questions, and desires.
I can’t believe this was a debut novel like middle aged women who are brilliant architects slow burn coworkers to friends to lovers ft. infidelity and incompetent but lovely husbands and fathers…
maybe 4.5 idk yet….! So good though
maybe 4.5 idk yet….! So good though
When I first picked up this novel, I could not have imagined myself to be more different than the main character. Merit is a middle-aged woman in a long term (heterosexual) marriage and the mother of two kids. While none of those identities overlap with my own, I still found pieces of Merit’s journey that I resonated with. Like A House On Fire had a bit of a slow start, but once I was in - I was all in. This was an emotionally compelling story up until literally the last line.
I think, on a more personal note, that the thing I loved the most about this book is simply how well it articulated that we are forever still uncovering things about ourselves. We just have to be courageous enough to explore. To peel back the layers no matter what we find underneath. This is an exemplary look at what it means to explore your identity later in life - even when you think you have it all figured out.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I think, on a more personal note, that the thing I loved the most about this book is simply how well it articulated that we are forever still uncovering things about ourselves. We just have to be courageous enough to explore. To peel back the layers no matter what we find underneath. This is an exemplary look at what it means to explore your identity later in life - even when you think you have it all figured out.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.