I'm just tired of reading this book. It's not bad and it's not good. I'm just tired of it. I keep telling myself I will get interested in it but I'm at the halfway point and I'm done.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

This is an ambitious project. The author overlays fictious characters over the historical setting of Waco, Texas. This coming-of-age love story is told from three POVS; Jaye, living inside the compound, Roy, the son of the local sheriff and a podcast 30 years after the events unfolded. This is a tense story with a slow burn build up until the siege. The quality of the writing is beautiful, and the author has the reader seeing, smelling and feeling the scenery, the emotions and the tension on both sides of the standoff and in the town. The podcast perspective of interviewing people 30 years later was well executed and really added to the story. It was so interesting to see where people landed. The time setting of 1993 was very important to the story as Jaye and Roy were disconnected in the pre-cell phone era. The anxiety of not knowing how a loved one is during a tragedy for weeks and months is what drove Roy to do anything to find Jaye. The story also gives an insightful glimpse into cult life and the impact the siege had on the small town and people on both sides of the standoff. This was so well executed. It is a dark story that is beautifully written.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher to have early access to the kindle version of this book. I love me a good thriller/historical fiction.

I received this book from #NetGalley and was excited to read it! I watched the documentary series about Waco on Netflix awhile back and was hooked so I knew this would be great. Even though it isn’t about David Koresh it is based on it and I wasn’t disappointed. I really loved reading it from the view of the teenagers who were hopelessly in love. It was so raw and full of their emotions. There was enough suspense to keep you holding your breath at the end. I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of the book and smiled while reading the ending. A love like Roy and Jaye’s don’t come around often so being inside of it and all of their turmoils was a wild ride!

We Burn Daylight is the story of two teenagers, Roy and Jaye, that fall in love in the town of Waco Texas in the late 1990's. Jaye's mother has just left her husband to follow a preacher to a promised Utopia in Waco, Texas. Jaye is much more cynical than her mom, but follows her to escape the mundane existence of her middle school and possibly gain freedom and a new life. When they arrive at the compound they are created by Perry Cullen, aka "the lamb" who has build a community on a ranch, and raises money for his community selling guns and ammunition - all while preaching about the second coming. Having just read the nonfiction book, Cultish, it was interesting to read about the life and words of "The lamb", who was based loosely on David Koresh.
Roy is fourteen, the son of the local sheriff, and feels a bit lost without his older brother, who is stationed in Afghanistan. When Roy and Jaye meet at a gun show, the two feel connected and begin a star crossed relationship. You feel immediately that the story is headed to dark territory. Interspersed in the novel are excerpts from a podcast that interviews various people that were involved with "the lamb", law enforcement officials, FBI, and towns people that were involved with the siege on the compound. Unlikely ending, but would be an interesting book for a book discussion.

If you are going to set a book about a crazed cult leader in Waco, Texas, in 1993, everyone is going to assume it’s about David Koresh. While this book may be inspired by those events, similar to Bright Young Women, We Burn Daylight tells a different story about a different cult leader. Unfortunately, I found Perry, the cult leader in this novel, more of a caricature and not compelling at all. I wondered why anyone would follow him. The book sparked some interest in looking back at the events of 1993, but I was not that absorbed in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the eARC.

This concept had me so excited but, I don't know why it just didn't work for me. I struggled to get through the book and really was glad to be done with it. I can't fully put my finger on why.

Fascinating take on the David Koresh story with nuanced character development and fun turns of phrase. Thank you NetGalley!

This novel is so well done. The characters are believable, the love story innocent and heartbreaking, and the confusion and chaos of Waco was perfectly described. I loved the usage of a podcast recording as a storytelling device, and the epilogue was pitch perfect. I’m so glad that I read this, and can’t wait to recommend it.

I got about 30% in and this one just felt slow to me. Interesting subject but I needed a bit more plot. I’ve heard good things so maybe try it if you’re interested.

We Burn Daylight is set in 1993 Waco, Texas against the backdrop of a communal doomsday cult's heyday. While not precisely about Daid Koresh and the Branch Davidians, it is clearly based on actual events. These actual events played out my freshman year in high school, which I remember watching daily in captivation. That the main characters in this book were my own age at the time made this story extra special and relatable. What We Burn Daylight excels at is painting vivid shades of gray. There is no exact right and wrong, truth or lie, prophet or profiteer, lar or lawlessness, moral or immoral. This is a story GenX will particularly relate to, and it is brilliantly written. The only thing that kept this from being a 5-star read for me is that I felt the "why" was missing from how events played out in the end. I respect the author's choice for the characters, but I would have preferred just a little more explanation. But maybe that is just another shade of gray to come to terms with?

4.5 stars for this brilliant story. The explanation for how it came to be in the author's note made it all the more incredible.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

While I was born in 1990, I was not privy to the "doomsday cults" that frequented many TV screens and newspaper articles. I did grow up in a Christian household, but my participation at churches often changed due to my mom's preferences until, one day, we settled on one in particular for reasons still not entirely clear to me. With this framework, I went into Bret Anthony Johnston's "We Burn Daylight."

Reading this novel from the perspectives of the two main youths and the occasional podcast snippet here and there kept me on my toes. I wondered not only what would happen next but also if I could foresee potential chaos and heartbreak from the podcast interviewees. I wanted to prepare myself for the worst by "figuring it out." That didn't stop me from becoming invested in these characters, even when I didn't understand their choices.

Bret Anthony Johnston did an excellent job of showing the complexities and fragilities of the human spirit and how desperate one can become to feel they are truly worthy to another.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with a digital review copy of this exceptional novel in exchange for my honest feedback.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House for gifting me a digital ARC of this thought-provoking book by Bret Anthony Johnston. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

A fictionalized account of the Waco cult standoff, this story is told from the POV of two teenagers, Jaye and Roy, in 1993, and from podcast transcripts in 2024. Jaye's mother was a believer of Perry, also known as The Lamb, and Jaye followed her to Waco. Roy is the son of the local sheriff, struggling with his brother's deployment to Iraq, and becomes enamored with Jaye. The teenagers are smarter than many of the adults, and realize that Perry's intentions aren't good and something needs to be done. The story is suspenseful and you will be rooting for Jaye and Roy, as well as fearful for the way the standoff between Perry's followers and the Federal Government will end up. Fascinating look at cults, wonderfully written, suspenseful, and a novel that is both a love story and a tragedy.

Any book about a cult is usually a good one but this one was definitely one of the best ones I have read. The story goes back and forth between Jaye and Roy, two teenagers who fall for each other. Jaye is originally from California but comes to Texas with her mom to live with Perry, or The Lamb. Roy is the son of the sheriff who ends up being in charge of investigating the cult.

Both characters of Jaye and Roy were very well written and the book itself was a very fast read. I think the author did a wonderful job of portraying what it was like being in the compound and giving you an idea how some of the characters fell victim to a man like the Lamb.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy

I received and ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Man! The author's note at the end distinctly states, "this book is not about David Koresh," but change the names and keep the timing, the location, the suspense, and the colossal embarrassment of the way that situation was handled, and you know where you are headed. That said, this was an incredible read. Told through narration interspersed with podcast interviews and phone interviews, the plot was propulsive from page 1. And, it truly isn't about "the Lamb," this is a story of one caught on the inside without much choice in the matter, and one on the outside tangentially swept up into the events. Fiction that feels somewhat plausible, because, after all, it is set in Texas, where strange things are known to happen. I still remember coming home from work, flipping on the news, and seeing the Branch Davidian compound on fire. It's hard to imagine that it has been 30 years, but if you were ever fascinated with that - or even if you weren't, this is immersive, plot-driven fiction with solid character development that will keep you entertained and turning pages. Highly recommend. 5 stars

This novel offers a gripping and imaginative fictional portrayal based on the events that unfolded in Waco over 30 years ago. The two main characters are vividly developed, adding depth to a story that is both compelling and immersive. I was so engrossed in the narrative that I even missed a subway stop while reading! Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys a captivating and well-crafted story.

This is a very interesting story based on the true events of 30 years ago during the attack on the Branch Davidian compound/cult. I had of course heard about the Branch Dividians but really hadn't paid much attention and certainly hadn't ever considered what the individual people were like as people. Based the media coverage, you couldn't help but think of them as crazy. This book pointed out that they were people a lot like us who just got caught up in something that sounded good at the time but snowballed into something crazy. A real eye-opener.

WE BURN DAYLIGHT is a fictional novel built around the drama and heartbreak of David Koresh's Branch Davidian sect and the FBI's siege of the compound in April 1993. The siege is used as an example for policy and procedures that still ripple through law enforcement.

Told through the eyes and hearts of two 14 yr olds on opposite sides of Perry Cullen as he gathers believers to his compound in Waco, Texas. Jaye's mother has joined Cullen's sect, bringing her into the fold where not everything is to be believed. Roy is the sheriff's son who watches his father's struggle with the sect's intrusion into small town politics. Together they will work to understand the unimagineable liberties Cullen will take with his followers while they grow closer to each other and the apocalypse headed for their lives.

Bret Anthony Johnston has written an immersive story. The characters and community are real, three dimensional, and the story will see them grow emotionally. A truly great book that my reading circle will love as much as I do.

Hard to put this one down.Set in Waco with multiple points of view and a cult storyline, this simultaneously felt familiar and entirely new to me. I loved the characters, especially the Sheriff and his wife. Thanks to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a tense and riveting novel that is both a love story and a tragedy reminiscent of a Shakesperean play. Reading <b>We Burn Daylight</b> is like watching two locomotives on the same track heading towards each other with no way to stop them.

It's easy to see the similarities between this book and the 1993 events that brought to a head the 51-day standoff between the Branch Davidian apocalyptic cult under David Koresh in Waco, Texas and federal agents. Except, the principal part of this story is centered around two teens on opposite sides who are destined to find each other.

The narrative is told through the eyes of Jaye and Roy starting before the deadly altercation in 1993 and excerpts from current podcast interviews with people who had been involved 20 years earlier. Roy is the 14-year-old son of the county's sheriff and Jaye is the recalcitrant daughter of a woman who leaves her home in California to settle with an odd group of lost souls in Waco, Texas who are devout followers of the Lamb, a self-made prophet.

I've never understood the lure of cults, but in reading this mesmerizing portrayal of the Lamb by Bret Anthony Johnston you can certainly imagine the psychological impact that a fanatic with utopian promises can have on people seeking a "better" life at all costs and how their indoctrination and the Lamb's preachings set off a course of events that lead to disaster.

This book was very different from the types of books that I usually read. However, the quality of the writing and the buildup of suspense made it perfectly enjoyable.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read a digital review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.