There is not a single likable main character in this book, and yet the book elicits mounds of empathy from the reader for those very unlikable characters. Elizabeth and Brianna show us a unique female relationship that crosses class and race. It's not a friendship. It's more like a needship. Each one needs the other for purely selfish reasons. Against the backdrop of police brutality this thriller examines race, class, mental illness, and abuse with masterful character development. I was mad. I was on the edge of my seat. I was terrified - for all of the main characters! To create a story where the true "bad guy" doesn't even participate in the action of the story is also masterful. The emotional abuse was crafted in a way that really makes the reader stop and think about the meaning of abuse and what that really can look like

The only thing that would have improved this book for me was knowing more about how Elizabeth got to the point she is in the book. Brianna's character arc is clear and easy to understand, but Elizabeth's still left a lot to the imagination.

Thanks so much Penguin Group Putman and NetGalley.

Elizabeth's friend dies a mysterious death. Her life is now out of control so she hires Brianna as a personal assistant. Brianna has her own questions about death as her son was killed after someone in Elizabeth's neighborhood called the police.

I thought the author did a good job of exploring female relationships and addressing race, class and privilege. All the characters are flawed in some way, and the story has lots of complexities and twists.

Thanks to NetGalley and to GP Putnam and Sons for the digital ARC. I had high hopes for this one but it felt like a book that was searching for a social issue and just happened to land on the one it did relating to race and class. Brianna as a character felt unrealistic. I also felt like the story became predictable. It was not for me.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

In this novel, everyone is a manipulator. The storylines are fun but unrealistic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the opportunity to read this debut novel!

Elizabeth hires an assistant to help her with the trauma of her best friends death. As we see the relationship between Elizabeth and Brianna progress, we start to understand why Brianna is there to begin with!

This book was a definite page turner for me!! It was interesting and intriguing and I finished it pretty quickly. I found a lot of the plot towards the end to be hyperbolic and over the top but that didn’t bother me. The issue of race, class, etc was the underlying theme which was definitely addressed.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC for this book.

After reading the description of this book I was super excited and hopeful for this thriller. I expected a suspenseful plot that would grip me from the beginning and keep me interested throughout.

While there was hope in the beginning with the shocking surprise at the very end of the opening that was a false positive. About 40% of the way into the book I was confused as to what I was reading and why we were still building the characters and their histories that far into it.

I felt there was a lot this author wanted to say, so they said it all. I loved the social issues they added, just leave out about half the past and edit down the character building and get to the suspense part faster. That for me would have kept me more engaged and helped me read this quicker and allowed me to rate this and review it higher.

Didn’t hate it, still was hopeful all the way until the ending, but not one I would tell someone to run out and buy.

For sure a check it out from the library read.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House

Baby the way i ate this book up. It was so good. Sara came in ready to jump things off. It definitely picked up quick. L The way the two characters stories came in line with one another. Wish we got a little more about Elizabeth’s up bringing but baby we got enough.

-Brianna got her lick back and then some. I’m not mad at. People need to stop with the bs. Y’all know how cops are towards black people. If we, Black people, really started getting y’all back things might change. The thing is we shouldn’t have to. Black people are some of the nicest people you’ll meet.
-Pat, sorry to you girl. However, you got on my nerves a little.
-David was not playing with Elizabeth. He told her all of how he felt.
-Nathan came and aired it out.
-Elizabeth’s mother is a narcissist, bully and straight up mean. Has no boundaries towards her daughter. No wonder Elizabeth is the way she is.
-Elizabeth. Girl you are something else. Talk about low down and dirty. I was trying to be in your side but what the hell.

Holy moly, I loved this book! It was utterly engrossing from the very first page, and I really enjoyed how the writing straddled the line between thriller and women's fiction. The dynamic between the two female main characters, Elizabeth and Brianna, with all its complexity and secrecy, was definitely the best part of the novel, in my opinion, but it also had such a great twist that I did not at all see coming. Really really cannot recommend this book enough!!

I have mixed feelings about this one. While the plot is a page turner, the story overall comes across as scattered and disjointed. It almost doesn't feel like a finished, polished draft. Also, the characters are pretty unlikable. Likability isn't a requirement, but in my opinion, we should at least feel like we empathize with or understand the main characters. That was a bit lacking here. However, don't get me wrong, this is a supremely entertaining story that kept my interest all the way through, and I liked how the author handled the twists and turns. The social issues are also handled expertly. I will look forward to more from this author.

While We Were Burning
By Sara Koffi
Pub Date: April 16, 2024
G.p. Putnam
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thriller
Debut novel set in a community in Tennessee. Elizabeth can’t let go of her friend’s supposed suicide.
Brianna is extremely helpful but she has a big secret she’s keeping from Elizabeth. A bit of a stretch but believable.
4 stars

I really enjoyed While We Were Burning. The lead character was Elizabeth, and her husband was David. It was assumed that Elizabeth's friend, Patricia, committed suicide, but Elizabeth believed she was killed. As Elizabeth was doing her murder research, she believed that Patricia's husband Jack, was the one who killed her.

David believed that Elizabeth was unstable, so He convinced her to hire an assistant. Enter. Brianna. It was clear from the beginning that Brianna had an ulterior motive but that wasn't revealed until the end. She was with Elizabeth through everything, she even tried to save her marriage, or at least allegedly. She ended up having an affair with David. Nevertheless, Brianna was with Elizabeth through everything. When the center that Elizabeth worked for burned down, Brianna was there. Even though Elizabeth was accused of burning the center down, Brianna stood by her. When Elizabeth was researching Patricia's death, Brianna was there helping her. And when David wanted to divorce her, Brianna was there to try to talk some sense into David. But as I said, Brianna betrayed her.

All sorts of truths came out in the end. And there was even a twist. While I'd love to share those truths, that was spoil it. Suffice it to say that Elizabeth was a nut case, and Brianna wasn't who she appeared to be. The author did a fine job weaving the story together, and his character development was excellent. I gave this book five stars.

This was a fast paced read that kept me wondering the entire time. I didn’t see the end coming, and it wrapped everything up really nicely.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read an ARC for review!

This was an interesting thriller that had me guessing where the story was headed again and again. The prologue hooked me! However, the prologue seemed to be very misleading. The beginning had me sucked in, with a mysterious death and our main character convinced it wasn’t an accident. Add in our second main character, with her extensive (and maybe not quite necessary) background and side story (some of which I’d forgotten by the last 90% of the book). I felt like there was extra story that wasn’t necessary to make our mystery interesting. None of the characters were like able. Elizabeth’s husband, David, was unbelievable. While there was definitely mention of gentrification, that’s all the came about it. Bring mentioned. The ending was slightly unhinged and felt a little rushed and chaotic after the long path it took to get there.

All in all, I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves suburban house-wife drama and a thriller that makes you suspect every character.

Thank you Netgalley & PENGUIN GROUP Putnam for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have really complicated feelings about While We Were Burning. I'm not sure what to say, exactly, other than that you should probably go into this fairly blind, because literally nothing in this book will make sense or go the way you think it does.

This book had so much potential for me but I ended up disappointed and annoyed by the characters!

While We Were Burning tells the story of two women who are connected through an awful tragedy but don’t necessarily know it and understand how. The main characters, Lizzie and Brianna are both unlikable for me, as well as Lizzie’s insufferable husband David. The only character I wanted to support was Jay, Brianna’s son, who we only catch a true glimpse of once. I wish there was more background about him.

The bones of this book were really good. The framework was definitely there! The social injustices that were written about were heartbreaking and all too real.

To me, I just feel like the author didn’t know which way to go so she kind of went all over the place and I was left questioning why. One of the characters does something so out of character in the second half of the book that I was genuinely confused and disappointed.

I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot and then felt like the second half just totally went crazy. I was left with a lot of questions.

The author is clearly a talented writer. I enjoyed her writing style, POV style, and nicely paced chapters. I just felt like this book was a little too….. disjointed and that made it hard for me to care about the characters. I look forward to the author’s next novel because I truly did like her writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group - GP Putnam and Sons for the opportunity to read the ARC.

After the mysterious death of Elizabeth's friend, she begins to spiral. Not being able to get out of a funk, her husband thinks it will be best to get a personal assistant to get her life back on track. Brianna, her new assistant, is also dealing with the recent death of her son. Brianna joins Elizabeth on the search for answers about her friend's murder only for Brianna to be searching for her answers as well about her son.

This book was nothing that I expected it to be, although I did not have preconceived notions about this book before I began. I feel there were some surprising twists and turns but the timeline of these episodes seemed out of place. It lacked character-building & relationships built amongst the characters as this would have supported and strengthened the actions the characters take during the storyline.

I rate this book 3.5 stars. It did hold my attention, especially in the last half of the book. I love debut books and this book really showcased what the author has to offer and I am looking forward to her future books to see what they bring. If you are looking for a book with thrills and mystery about relationships with loved ones, race, and grief this book is for you.

Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC!

Sara Koffi delves into how race affects female friendship, and I felt she was effective in exploring "unlikable" female characters, though the characterization of multiple characters could have been fleshed out more. While a lot of the storyline was predictable, it covered important topics in a way that kept it interesting.

(Thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC)

While We Were Burning is a domestic thriller that brings together two women, Brianna and Elizabeth, seemingly by coincidence. Elizabeth hires Brianna as her personal assistant to support her in her day-to-day life as she attempts to cope with the recent death of her friend and neighbor. A death that Elizabeth is obsessed with because she is certain that her friend was murdered. Brianna seems perfect, exactly who Elizabeth needs, as if she has always been a part of her life; however, Brianna is not be who she seems. As Brianna helps Elizabeth uncover the truth behind her neighbor’s death, Brianna has unanswered questions of her own. Questions about the murder of her black son, at the hands of the police, after someone in Elizabeth’s “perfect” white neighborhood calls the police over a possible stolen bike. Brianna is willing to do anything to get the answers she so desperately needs and to get revenge on whomever was involved.

I was initially drawn to this story because it was compared to Parasite; however, this comparison did not hold up, leaving me feeling disappointed. This novel, while a thriller, attempts to address themes of white privilege, police brutality, implicit biases, loss and grief, and mental health; however, I do not feel that any of these themes were explored in deep or meaningful way that would push the reader to think more critically about these issues. The protagonists, Brianna and Elizabeth, were unlikeable with few redeeming qualities. Exploring unlikable female character is something that the author is striving for; however, I feel that the nuances of the characters were not fully fleshed out. For example, I wish Brianna’s story was explored in more depth. This would’ve created more empathy for her character (even if unlikable) and a deeper understanding of her actions and motives. Unfortunately, the dialogue was a bit cheesy at times and there was a significant overuse of the characters’ names and a lack of pronoun usage. This was very distracting, making it difficult for me as the reader to truly fall into the story. This style of writing also makes the dialogue unrealistic. Ultimately, I just expected more and definitely wanted more from this novel. The concept is compelling, but it unfortunately falls short in execution.

This book was full of twists and turns,, written from 2 point of views. Lizzie and Brianna live on “opposite sides of the track” but their lives become intertwined for better or worse. Both mourning a loss, they lean on each other while getting close to the truth about what happened to their loved ones. Would have loved more background on Lizzie to explain why she is the way she is and her marital problems regarding intimacy.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! This book was a page turner from start to finish. The story line and plot could be confusing at times, but other than that I enjoyed it!