This one was middle of the road for me. Might try it again later, but for now, I can't get into it. Really appreciate the review copy approval.

This is a fantastic domestic, family drama. This was action packed and a fast-paced read. Highly recommend! Rea Frey is incredible!

I literally could not put this book down. I will admit it was a little slow at the start but once I got past the first few chapter I flew through the book. The twists and turns literally had me speechless and at times I gasped out loud! It's too bad this house doesn't really exist because it the way Rea describes it I think it would make for the most amazing vacation.

When Desi, a wildly successful interior designer, builds an exquisite dream home in the North Carolina mountains, she never imagines it will be the very thing that tears her family apart. Rea Frey’s new novel, Secrets of Our House, explores the skeletons hidden away in the closets of homes and how they impact the family members keeping those secrets.

Desi’s life is at a crossroads. Her husband is barely on speaking terms with her, so the summer at their getaway house, called the Black House, is not the reconciliatory trip she hoped it would be. To make matters worse, Desi’s daughter Jules has fallen in love with a local boy and is getting some wild ideas about her future … ideas that Desi does not approve of. When Desi’s old flame pops up on the scene, things are further complicated as she tries to prevent her husband from discovering the secrets she has been keeping from him for decades. Will Desi even recognize her life anymore at the end of this summer of secrets?

Told from the POVs of both Desi and her daughter Jules, Secrets of Our House is a domestic drama about the ways in which our choices impact the ones we love and reverberate throughout the years, following us through time. This novel will appeal to readers who love melodramatic family-focused stories, told through the eyes of both mother and daughter.

Personally, I feel misled by Secrets of Our House’s cover and synopsis, as I thought I was picking up a suspense thriller; however, this book is much more a story about relationships - mother-daughter, wife-husband, girlfriend-boyfriend. Secrets of Our House reminded me of a Jodi Picoult novel, so if you enjoy her books, you will like Secrets of Our House. I think that if I had gone into this book knowing what to expect, I may have liked it more.

Thank you Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for this advance listener copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really didn't like this book. At all. I just felt like it was slow and boring and never really went anywhere. It turned out to be nothing like the blurb states. The blurb uses the word "thrilling". There was absolutely nothing thrilling about this book. Dull, predictable and slow. Those are the words that I would use for this book.

Don't get me wrong. People who like well driven character studies will enjoy this book. I just couldn't get into it, which made it hard to enjoy the story.

One star. I just couldn't do it. The audio was good, which is why I hung on, but it wasn't enough to save the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the early listen! Wow what a great suspenseful drama mystery. Narrator did a great job narrating the story.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* wow, for the length of this book a lot goes on! this book seems very long but not in a bad way, would reread and recommend

This was a mystery drama with a lot of suspense. I really didn’t know what to except. And I had no idea that I would be tangle up in this like every one in the story. This had a lot of great drama and it held my attention the whole time.
I can’t believe I haven’t heard about this author sooner. I loved how well it was written and it made me upset and anxious which should give some idea about how good it was. I chose to listen to this book on audio and the narrator was excellent.
I highly recommend this. It was good.
Thanks Macmillan Audio via NetGalley.

I love Rea Frey and her domestic suspense novels! She’s a wonderful writer and her stories completely captivate me. Secrets of Our House is no different. Highly recommend!

I did not find the description that called this suspenseful to be accurate and I was disappointed about it. I have liked this author’s suspenseful work before which I think contributed to my disappointment. I feel like this book was over the top with drama which in addition to being immature in nature it was repetitive. This book is from two perspectives Desi a woman in a failing marriage ruminating over the secrets she has been keeping (which weren’t as mysterious as I was hoping) and Jules’ who is Desi’s daughter who is 18 and in love for the first time and considering going to Columbia or staying in River Falls where she is finally feeling alive. I listened to the audio version of this book and I did think he narrator did a decent job.

I want Women's Fiction to be smart, and this was just barely okay. I thought midway that I had missed the young adult classification, which is how it reads, however, I didn't. The synopsis states thrilling domestic drama, and I disagree. The story drones on and on for over half the book. The familial relationships are insulting. Without spoiling, the plot starts around 75% and from that point, the story plays out like a B-movie.

The author used profanity sparingly; I appreciated and noticed it.

I wanted to know more about the house.

The book was disjointed. I didn't find the plot believable.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for accepting my request to read and review Secrets of Our House.

#NetGalley
#MacmillanAudio
#SecretsOfOurHouse

Wow! I wasn't sure where this book was going when I started listening, but I definitely wanted to find out. A slow burn, the tension kept building and building, with a sense of some kind of impending disaster - I honestly wasn't sure if it was going to end up with a horrible accident, one of the characters murdering another, or even some kind of catastrophic natural disaster - all I knew is something was coming. The author did a fantastic job of gradually building suspense and that feeling of doom, but without me being able to specifically identify how she did it. I love that - the invisible magic a writer has of combining words in just the right way to lead you where they want you without you knowing how they're doing it! I'm sure the narrator of this audiobook had something to do with it. Initially, I wasn't sure I liked the voice - it seemed a bit bland, but soon I forgot I was listening to a book and was just completely strapped in for the ride. Character development was great - I felt like I knew each of these characters personally (it still feels like these are people I've actually met IRL) and was invested in the outcome of each of their stories. Highly recommend to anyone who loves a good family drama, slow build sort of thriller (I definitely felt like I was reading a thriller, although I don't think it's billed as that). I'll read anything else I can find by Rea Frey now!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author Rea Frey, the talented narrator Samantha Desz, and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I was expecting family drama, but it's full of suspense and emotions. Just when you think things are settling down, secrets are safely buried… Think again.

I have enjoyed several books by this author. However, this one did not appeal to me. Why do publisher marketing teams feel the need to mislead readers about the type of book they are promoting? That, as well as comparing books to ones with rave reviews even though they are not remotely similar, is my pet peeve. I may have enjoyed the story more if I had not expected a family drama. I continued reading and wondering where we were headed. The characters were shallow and the decisions they made were ridiculous. I am not a soap opera fan so this one left a bad taste in my mouth.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Looking Within Ourselves

This book was so sad in so many ways. A dysfunctional family in every way. A domineering mother, a distant father, a daughter giving up her dreams for those of her mother.

Desi and Peter's marriage is in trouble and they both know it. Desi has a successful career in Chicago. She designs a dream house in the mountains of North Carolina. Along with their daughter Jules go on vacation in North Carolina. This is a new start for Desi and Peter in hopes that it will restart their marriage and somehow save it.

Desi, however, is still in love with someone else. Someone she knew when Peter was in the Service. When he came home, she chose to stay with Peter but she is not in love with him.

Jules falls in love with a local boy and does not want to go to college as she had planned to do. She goes because her mother intervenes and speaks to her boyfriend and he talks Jules into going.

When Christmas vacation comes they go to the house in the mountains of North Carolina. A huge snowstorm and an event which causes them all to re-evaluate their lives and find out what they really want in life. What they have been and the mistakes they have made.

The narrator did a wonderful job on the narration of the audio book. I really enjoyed the book and I loved the sad ending which had me holding my breath.

I would definitely recommend this book. It will make you think re-evaluate your life and your interactions with your family.

Thanks to Rea Frey for writing a great story, to Samantha Desz for the great narration, to MacMillan Audio for publishing it and to NetGalley for making it available to me.

3.5⭐
There was quite the family drama going on in this one.
And it wasn't told in your typical dual perspective when it's usually between the husband and wife. It was told by the mother, Desi, and her daughter, Jules. Although the narration was good, I do wish there was some distinction in the voices since they do vary in age.

Desi brings the family to spend the summer in North Carolina to try to save her marriage to Peter and to spend time with Jules before she is off to college in New York. But Jules has other plans when she meets Will and ultimately they fall in love.
As a mother you always want what's best for your child and you try to steer them in the direction you think is best, but who's to say what the right direction is?
So many secrets happening, which I guess you could have figured out by the title. I didn't agree with most of them, but who am i? 🤷
It was slow going for me for quite a while, but it certainly picked up in the last third or so. It was action packed there for a few chapters. I would be interested in reading more from this author in the future.

*Thanks for Netgalley, Macmillan Audio and Rea Frey for the advance audiobook. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review*

Secrets of Our House by Rea Frey pulled me in from the beginning with its storyline and narrator. The author wrote some intriguing characters and great descriptions, and realistic scenes. I was pulled into this twisted family drama and the betrayal was shocking. Samantha Desz was great performing this book. She brought the characters to life with her voice and emotions. Thank you #NetGalley and #Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to this book. I really liked it!

Wow! I did not know what I was getting myself into when I started this book. It was an intense, emotional roller coaster ride, and I loved it! Desi was a character that I just could not sympathize with as she was incredibly selfish, but she fit into this plot so well. I would highly recommend reading or listening to this book!

Secrets of Our House is a struggle between what various family members want and what the mother perceives as what they “need”. I thought the book was extremely well-written with enough description to paint a vivid picture. The real problem I had with this one was the plot. It really didn’t seem to go any where. As a mother and daughter myself, I totally understand being held and holding unrealistic expectations for myself and others. The conflict in this book was a bit contrived and didn’t really go anywhere. Thanks Netgalley for the ARC.

The audio narration for this book was fantastic and masterful in tension building. I wish I had loved the story more, but for me, it was bogged down by too many traumas. I can suspend disbelief for thrillers , still this just took the sheer number of incidents too far.