I was pretty torn on this book.

I loved the description and the premises of the story. What's not to love? A seemingly perfect couple with a beautiful house they are trying to flip in a slippery housing market. A couple who wants it all is living the typical "American Dream".

Once we get to know the characters we realize everything isn't as it seems on the outside. This is a story of how quickly your own personal decisions can impact and destroy the lives of others.

It is beautifully written however wildly frustrating to read. I enjoyed how this story was told but I felt the characters were frustrating.

Thank you, NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

The real estate crisis of 2008 is the catalyst for Nick and Phoebe Maguire’s marriage to go haywire. Their dream of having their own home turns into a nightmare as they find themselves in a dark and empty neighborhood filled with fore-closed homes. As Nick and Phoebe’s marriage starts to unravel, they each have their own plan to dig themselves out of their financial hole. But their separate agendas may ultimately destroy them both.

This relentlessly bleak and grim novel follows Nick and Phoebe as they move from Boston to California where they hope to take advantage of the property bubble. They’re already on shaky ground due to Phoebe’s reliance on prescription drugs and her relationship with her boss, and as the market collapses and they are faced with financial pressures way beyond their ability to cope, their lives and their marriage begin to disintegrate. Set against the searing heat, drought and wildfires of Southern California, the sense of threat and danger ramps up and the tension builds. It’s a raw and troubling portrait of a deeply dysfunctional couple and a deeply dysfunctional society, and unflinching look at what happens when the American Dream turns sour. There’s some really powerful writing here and I found it a gripping and compelling, if deeply unsettling, read. It’s a bit too long and repetitive, however, and Phoebe’s constant drug-taking soon becomes tedious. And although much of the dialogue is authentic, there’s rather too much reliance on texting to move the action forward. However, these minor faults are outweighed by the novels strengths and as the marriage becomes increasingly toxic, the reader feels almost as trapped as Nick and Phoebe are, and just as unable to turn away, like watching a car crash you can do nothing to avoid.