A review by bathtubbookworm
Secrets of Our House by Rea Frey

emotional inspiring tense fast-paced

4.25

🛁 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 🛁

Secrets of our House by Rea Frey

“In sickness and in health.

In lies or deceit.”

Synopsis: Desi thinks that the secret to saving her marriage and getting closer with her daughter is to do what she does best: build and design a home in a sleepy mountain town and move them out there for the summer. However, as unexpected guests arrive and new relationships blossom, the secrets of this family slowly reveal themselves and change their dynamic forever.

If you’re opening this book to read a thriller, I would recommend you reframe your thinking. Do I suggest you put the book down? Absolutely not. But a thrilling family drama is what you’re getting yourself into here - but one that paces like a thriller. A few major events circling a family falling apart but trying their hardest to stay together. A perfect portrait.

I usually find that family dramas and domestic fiction drag for me without some sort of crazy plot line, but Secrets of our House is an exception. I never once felt bored with any of the characters and felt like they were very dynamic. While Ava was the archetype of a teenage best friend and her mother, Lenore, the portrait of a woman whose death looms and she’s reframed her thinking about life because of it - they still managed to be multidimensional characters. I particularly loved and identified with both Jules and Tommy.

A fresh family drama that doesn’t try to hard to be something it’s not, but one you won’t be able to put down. If that’s your cup of tea, be sure to pick this one up. I give Secrets of our House an 8.5/10 bubble baths!🛁📚