What a rollercoaster Somebody's Home by Kaira Rouda was! Told from the perspective of 5 characters over a weekend, it's a fast ride and that will leave your adrenaline pumping and your fingers anxious to turn the page!

I like going into books somewhat blind so I'm not going into a lot of detail as to not spoil it for others. If you've enjoyed Kaira Rouda's other books I think you'll enjoy this one too!

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the uncorrected Sigel proof of Somebody's Home in exchange for my review.

Somebody's Home by Kairu Rouda is a fast-paced thriller. The story line pulled me in immediately and kept me engaged to the end. Rouda tells the tale using dark themes of greed, selfishness and despair. The disparity between the haves and have-nots and how rules and norms differ for each is disturbing. Very enjoyable and engaging read. I would recommend it to a friend and look forward to reading more by this author!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Somebody's Home by Kaira Rouda.

Tom feels abandoned and angry. His dad and step mom have taken their two children and moved out of his childhood house. And even though he is into his twenties, he still feels entitled to stay in the house, which is why it was agreed that he would stay in the guest house for a bit longer, despite the new owners moving in. But Tom is quickly intrigued in the new owners when he discovers that one of them is a girl his age, attractive and interesting. Maybe he won't be leaving anytime soon afterall.

To me, this was a story told by multiple people about different types of abuse committed by men. It was a good story, and kept my interest, but more than that, it was essentially a pamphlet on red flags to beware of if pursuing a relationship. Some elements of the story felt a biiiiit reaching, but overall it was a well told, and captivating story.

I love me some Kaira Rouda, this is now my favourite book by her. In this one mother and daughter Julie and Jess buy a house...but there is a catch, the old owner wants the son to be able to stay in the carriage house on the weekends. I loved that this book is told from multiple points of view...six to be exact. I know it sounds like it would be confusing but trust me, it isn't., Rouda makes each characters voice very clear. I was able to read this very quickly because this book just sucked me in and what I thought would happen...didn't. This is a "just one more chapter" kind of read...and the next thing you know you are so immersed in this tale your butt doesn't leave the chair until you are done. I would call this more of a domestic drama than a thriller but it is also excellent storytelling and I am so here for it.

I like Ms. Rouda's books. They always make for a quick fun read.

Julie moves out from her huge mansion on the sea to get away from her self absorbed husband. She takes along her daugher Jess who is none too pleased.

She buys the house from Sandi and Doug who's son lives in the carriage house with the expectation that he will move out in 2 days.

Each chapter is told from a different characters POV which I feel adds insight and drama to the book. We have high schoolers Seig Heiling, Incels, prostitution and affairs. while I did enjoy reading the book and read it quickly, the superficiality of the characters was a turn off. Maybe because I don't live in So Cal but I never want to be like any of them.

I usually love Kaira Rouda's books, and this book seemed to embody what I love about her work. But, it was more about family drama then what I expected and what I enjoy. Overall, it was still a good read. Rouda is very descriptive and her writing flows in Somebody's Home just as it did in her other thrillers.
I recommend for anyone looking for a dramatic family story that has some twists and turns.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Julie has taken her daughter, Jess and left her extremely rich husband, Roger. They move into a house that used to be owned by Sandi and her pastor husband. Sandi’s stepson Tom is allowed to stay for a couple of days in the guest house after Julie moves into the main house. Tom is a little off and takes a mutual liking to Jess, who otherwise does not want to be at this new house.

2.5 stars.

I thought this was really boring. It was told from 5 perspectives. It was a lot of inner monologues from these people and I felt like it was a lot of woe is me. Nothing of consequence happened in the first 50% and that is when I had to start skimming to be done with it. Things finally started happening but nothing I found interesting or anything that made me want to resume in depth reading. This is another book I think was marketed wrong. It is not a mystery and it is not much of a thriller. It is a slow family drama with some action near the end. I really liked Best Day Ever by this author but it has been downhill since then. I think I am done with her.

This book was an unexpected surprise. The characters are well developed and even though I didn't like quite a few, I did like the story. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

What a gripping collision course of intersecting twists! I had no clue where this mesmerizing domestic thriller was going and the action packed ending came to a surprising crescendo for all. Whoa! Unputdownable!

Thank you Thomas and Mercer and Netgalley for my e-ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Writing good reviews is the easy part. It is writing the reviews of books that you did not enjoy that is darn difficult.

I did not like this book. Really at all. It was well written and did not fall into the flytrap of thrillers that all seem the same. So that’s a win.

BUT.

It legitimately turned my stomach. I feel like this is the second book that has had that affect on me in the past month or so (Chevy Stevens – Still Missing), so maybe I’m becoming sensitive in my old age. I just felt like I was watching people destroy themselves while also seeing how they got there. It was devastating because it’s a reality. Reader beware, this is not a book where you’re trying to figure out a whodunit or anything of the like. It is watching the very worst of people and how it creates second generation trauma. Yikes.

Synopsis: Julie leaves her marriage and with her daughter, Jess, in tow, they move to a new home. There is one minor detail, the previous family has asked that their son be given until the end of the weekend to move out of the carriage house / shed at the back of the property.

As you can imagine, between their move in date and his eviction – the plot unfolds.

The book is still worth a read. It was not predictable. It was not boring. I just straight-up did not like the story. It hurt my heart.

You still have time to mull it over; this one is not release until Jan 18, 2022.

The story was somewhat interesting. The most developed characters are Tom and Jess. These are kids that seem to be lost and made wrong decisions along the way; even though, they had some good influences in their lives. With that being said, that's the good of this story.

The story begins with Julie and it seems to open right in the middle of the story as I read along and yet it's the beginning. Although, this story has different voices and POVs which help each character develop and push along the storyline; however, it does fall short. There's no cohesiveness from one character to another. As the story begins with Julie, ultimately, the story as a whole is more about Tom and Jess. Everyone else is a minor character. I find that the minor characters such as Julie and Sandi don't push along the story, as they do not affect Tom or Jess.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for letting me read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Julia wanting new beginnings, with her rebellious / spoiled daughter
Owners left quickly, pastor controlling, abusive, the son from his first marriage has big anger and hate issues,
will he obey and move out before new tenant comes. The carriage house is his home and nobody will change
that. More about domestic issues, and many characters than her usual suspense romance books I have read by her.
Given ARC by Net Halley and Thomas Mercer for my voluntary review and my honest opinion

3.5 stars for this book. I have loved all of Kaira's books and I did like this one but for me it was a little all over the place with so many plot points...mega church pastor issues, domestic violence, a prostitution ring then out of nowhere we get a nazi scandal. It was a little over the top and unbelievable for me. I really liked Sandi's pov and Julie's.
I like Rouda so of course I'll read her next book but this one didn't work for me.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer & Netgalley for my advanced ebook copy.

Multiple story lines, multiple voices that all come together in a heart-pounding ending in this domestic suspense novel. Definitely recommend.

Julie and her daughter has recently moved to another house, leaving her estranged husband, Roger. In a carriage house on the new house's yard, lives Tom. Tom is a son of a previous pastor and has been forced to move out. He believes that the house is rightfully his. Furthermore, he also wants to be there when his mother decides come back. Sandi is Tom's stepmother that loves him very much and wishes to help Tom stay in the right path. The whole situation shows how complicated the characters' lives at the moment.

In my personal opinion, it doesn't feel like thriller but more to crime drama. The plot lays out smoothly with no unexpected twists. So in a way, I'm a bit disappointed because it's not what I thought it would be. Nevertheless, the multiple point of view is a nice touch.

Overall, it is a good book.

I read the summary of what this book was about. A woman and her daughter buy a house. They have agreed to let the previous owner's son live in the carriage house for just the weekend. Since this is billed as a psychological suspense novel I know what is going to happen. He will be creepy (he is) and he will terrorize them over the weekend.

I was wrong.

This book had so many twists and turns and more twists. This story is told from multiple points of view - the mother, the daughter, the husband, the previous owners mother, father and son. It's pure craziness! There is drama, suspense, relationship struggles. - it's all in there.

This was a fun, easy read and I kept those pages turning. I kept saying "wait - I have to see what happens with XX" Then "ok one more chapter because now I have to see what happens this ZZ" I one more chapter'd my way through the whole book!

I saw this entire story as a movie in my head. Maybe a Lifetime movie - maybe a Limited series because the drama is THERE,

Thank you to the author, the publisher and #netgalley for the ARC which did not impact my review.

4.5 stars. I am rounding down to 4 because it didn't quite hit that "wow" or "holy cow" experience for me.

Yikes! Here is another 5 star read!

I absolutely loved Somebody's Home, from start to finish. Kaira Rouda has a talent that can not compare. The writing style and easy flow of the chapters make this novel an exceptional read!

Julia Jones and her daughter Jess are starting over, after leaving a marriage that was nothing short of suffocating, Julia needs a fresh start. How exciting to be living on an ocean side property? The home was previously owned by a pastor and his wife. However, this house is not all that it seems to be and something or someone was left for Julia and Jess.

Tom is the son of that pastor. Tom hated his father and now he also hates Julia for moving into the only home he has ever known. Tom has no intention of leaving.

What was once thought to be a new start has turned into nothing but a nightmare.

Tune in January 18, 2022 for this incredible book!

"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅."~𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒖

Told through alternating points of view, SOMEBODY'S HOME is meticulously plotted domestic suspense at its finest.

Julie is walking away from her privileged life and absent husband Roger. She purchases a house across town, determined to renovate it and find purpose in her life once more. Her teenage daughter Jess is a reluctant participant, as she enjoys her father's money and all it can buy.

Tom is an angry young man whose mother abandoned the family years before. His father, an up and coming pastor, quickly remarried a Sunday School teacher, Sandi, and had two sons. Sandi is kind and tries to mother Tom, but his father deems him a bad seed and further alienates Tom from the family. When the pastor's sins come to light, the family has to move, and one thing the pastor insists on leaving behind is Tom. Tom stays in the guest house, his anger quietly festering, until the day Julie and Jess move in. They're in his house...and he's not leaving.

I was totally gripped by this fictional story and wildly entertained by the collision course these people were on...all roads lead back to one place: home.

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Tom is forced to move from his home, his racist (that man 🤬) preacher father and stepmother sold his childhood home behind his back and moved away not allowing him to come. He’s seething with rage over it and is squatting in the backyard shed. He has some very dark plans with some really bad guys, and they’re all planning to go to the dessert….
Julie and her daughter Tess bought the home Tom is raging over. Julie is a plastic person (nothing on her is original equipment) and Tess, as well a typical teenager Hates everything, rebels, and can’t wait to move away. Meanwhile, Roger, Julie's husband has tracked them down to their new home and is devising a plan to get them back home.
Sandi and Doug🤬 are Tom's stepmother and father, the previous owners of Julie's new home. Doug, this is going to be hard for me to even be PG about, is a straight POS. He's a racist, homophobic, cheating waste of an air-breathing man.
There’s been a photo leak of Jess and her friends making poor choices. Roger is arrested in a prostitution scandal at the same time, and Jess is just learning that her mother is someone completely different than she thought.
Jess befriends Tom and learns some difficult news. From that point the book is intense, I can’t put it into words. Just wow.
This book is powerful ,it will resonate longer with you than most.
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Don't give up on this book by Kaira Rouda. It's a great domestic thriller that you don't want to put down. I didn't like a couple of the characters that just seemed downright evil with their hostility towards family life. I have this book a five star because it kept me on edge of seat.