Advance Review Copy

I hope you have plenty of room on your wish list because this has been a great week for thrillers for me. To put it bluntly, OMG! OUR HOUSE is a real corker!

The writing is different. Engaging and extremely easy to read it's told in two POV's - the husband and the wife's. I liked the aspect of seeing each person's thoughts. I did think it ran a little bit long, but all in all it's worth checking out. It's already been released in the UK and Berkeley has the US release scheduled for early August.

Fantastic book. My first by this Author. Fiona and Bram share custody of their children and house in a posh neighbourhood. Fiona arrives home one day to see another couple moving their belongings into her house. Her husband is missing. Many events transpire in this story that kept me reading to the very end. A most enjoyable book. I think this book should have a sequel. Thank you NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.

This book is tough for me to review..The writing was superb and the story is definitely eye opening and I have never read anything like it...Our house is a book that has a few twists and turns especially toward the end, but it just felt like it went on and on...I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was about 100 pages shorter...Not a bad book but not great either..

Man, I wanted to love this book more. I was hooked after the first chapter, and I could feel the tension jumping off the page.

I thought it was a brilliant premise. Fiona pulls up to her house to find a moving van parked out front and strangers moving in! Just the thought of that is enough to make my heart race. Fiona will tell her story through a crime podcast and her husband, Bram tells his side through a typed word document. I really did enjoy both characters.

A wonderful, detailed plot and a good twist was not enough to keep the story from drowning in a repetitive narrative and somewhat tedious pace. I did figure out the twist, but I enjoyed being shocked as soon as I figured it out (if that makes any sense)!

Fell a bit flat for me in the end, but still a good twisty read. Thanks to Berkley/Netgalley for my ARC. Check out my blog for all my reviews https://dressedtoread.com/

I was so into this at first but man did it drag and drag and drag.

Free ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

See link to goodreads review

This was a psychological thriller that grabbed you from the beginning and held your attention through to the end. A book that will keep you awake at night. A cautionary tale about how little we know those closest to us and how even the best of people can be taken down by shock and loss. I was hooked, and I wanted more, wanted to see it all play out. A shocking ending for sure.

I really enjoyed this book! I had never even heard of the housing fraud that was committed in this book so it made an interesting in more than one perspective. The characters were believable and well written. At first, I was slightly discombobulated at the multiple narrations of Fi's story, Bram's Word Document, and real time for both characters but I quickly adjusted. There were a few moments in the middle of the text that the story seemed to drag on just a little bit but it picked back up and held my interest. Great read!

I was so taken in by the premise and for the most part the book delivered but it also just felt like there was something missing or not quite as much as I wa shopping for. Then I read the last line and was blown away! That ending took a maybe 3 or 3.5 to a definite 4! Overall a good read but I’ll recommend it just so others can experience that same sharp intake of breath after finishing that I did. I love being surprised and this one did it for me with those final words.

Our house is about newly separated Bram (Abraham) and Fi (Fiona) and the ‘birds nest’ living arrangements with their kids. It’s also about the mess Bram has gotten himself into. Fi finds her home sold out from under her, without the slightest knowledge on her part.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Bram’s mess just keeps getting bigger and bigger, and each of those situations makes me wonder more and more, how in the world is this going to get straightened out. New problems were introduced often, and all of the circumstances are extremely believable.

Sometimes, too many twists and surprises are annoying to me, but not in this book. I found myself fascinated by how credible, how believable – and not irritating – those many twists and surprises were and looked forward to what was to come next. Often, I’d think I’d see something coming, but it would take an abrupt turn instead. How the author kept all the details straight is no minor feat.

The ending. The ending was one more BIG surprise I was in for. Well done, Ms. Chandlish, well done.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review. I truly enjoyed it.

Our House is the story of a couple, Fiona and Bram, whose marriage breaks down after Fiona catches Bram having an affair. They agree to share use of their house to keep their two sons happy. However, one day when Fiona comes home she finds someone else moving into the house. Told from both Fiona and Bram's points of view, the twisted saga of how the house was sold unfolds. While the premise of the story was interesting the actual way it unfolded was kind of boring, and the climax seemed underwhelming.

Fi returns home early from a weekend getaway to find people moving into her house.  The couple have purchased her home and Fi has no knowledge of this ever happened.  As Fi works to piece together how this happened, she discovers her soon to be ex husband has vanished without a trace.   Bram's has found his life spiraling out of control and he doesn't know how to stop it.  His ex-wife has been more than generous when it comes to co-parenting their boys but is it all a scheme he has set in place?

The book has a great concept and it started out strong.  As soon as I started reading I thought this book is going to be one I'm not going to be able to put down.  However, somewhere in the middle it got pretty dull.  It felt like filler material, nothing really significant happens and it doesn't necessarily enhance the story.  Much of it could have been left out and I wouldn't have missed it.  The ending picked back up with a nice twist I didn't quite see coming.  Then the end felt rushed and left me with many questions.  I have never really been a fan of open endings, I don't want to fill in the blanks myself, I want a strong conclusion.  The book does give you some idea but not a full picture.

Our House is a slow burn of a domestic thriller. While elaborate, it is something that can be envisioned as events that could actually happen in real life. Our House is one of those books where it almost seems like nothing is happening, and then all of a sudden everything happens! And that last paragraph.........oh my!!!

Our House is the story of what happens when lies are compounded upon lies. Marital arrangements between Fiona (Fi) and husband Bram are unconventional following his (another) infidelity and lay the backdrop for the interwoven story of a neighborhood culture, nail biting accident, and twisty dealings surrounding the "house" in question. While the characters seemed well developed, the novel's voice had me thinking the couple were much older than they were described. That may have been due to the English phrasing or the couple's vintage sounding names. The author used a device of switching between Fi telling her story via a popular podcast, responses via Twitter comments, and Bram's memoirs, which I found unique and very timely. Although I guessed one of the plot twists early on, by the time I got to the end of the book, the story took a turn that had me thinking, "Whoa, I didn't see that coming!" and in the next minute there were several more "What just happened?" moments. The book is a cautionary tale for living our lives in an age of social media, ease of technology manipulation, and information on demand , and while there would have to be a total alignment of bad judgement calls for the whole scenario to unfold in real life, you will pray NONE of the events in the book ever happens to you.

Gripping! A double cross on a double cross! Wait! He sold the matrimonial home out from under his wife and kids and disappeared with the money?! Or did he? So may secrets! What starts out as a fairly simple scam soon spins totally out of control. You will want to pull a sickie to find out what the next twist could possibly be in Candlish's plot line! It's hard to review this book because there are so many opportunities to give spoilers! And the ending! Wow! Totally didn't see that on coming!

An exciting read!

What a ride! In this book, something that goes wrong goes VERY wrong, and it keeps getting even more wrong as the story progresses.
Fi and Bram live with their two sons on a lovely, well-to-do street that’s becoming a more desirable place to live every day. Real estate is booming here, and conversation among the neighbors sometimes centers on how much their properties are increasing in value. What fun to become millionaires if they decide to sell, even though none of them really have the desire to leave, including Fi and Bram.
But the two are not without their marital problems, and Bram, in particular, has been keeping secrets from his wife. Many secrets, that unfold throughout the story. Fi has always been forgiving, but there’s a certain point when enough is enough. The two still want only the best for their children, however, and they work out a separation agreement that will keep the boys feeling secure and will keep them in their lovely home. Until the day Fi comes home and finds all of their belongings moved out and a stranger greeting her at the door.
Unfortunately, Bram has been hiding dark secrets from everyone. Everyone, that is, except a certain couple who know more about him than he realizes. Blackmail ensues, and lie upon lie threatens to topple the couple’s dreams for keeping their home while maintaining a civilized breakup, all leading to a dramatic ending that I never saw coming. It left me saying “Wow!” as I finished the last page.
This is an engrossing thriller about murder, fraud and blackmail told from both Fi’s and Bram’s points of view, although in very different ways.
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review. 4 stars!

Fiona is walking up her street to her home, when she spots a moving van. New neighbors, it looks like. As she gets closer, she realizes, they're moving into her home.
Thus starts the story of twisted havoc. A betrayal of the worst kind, because it's someone she's loved and has two sons with. Her husband, Bram. They are separated. However selling het home from under her and disappearing is the ultimate stab in the back. Trying to piece together what happened will take more then a shattered mind can handle.
Great storyline. Outstanding characterization. Intriguing, suspenseful right up to the end. Recommended.
5 Stars

Our House Review

Can you imagine coming home and finding someone else moving into your house. All your belongings are gone and all of a sudden your whole world has been erased? This is the whole premise of Our House.

Fi and her husband Bram have separated. They alternate living in the house so the children's life is not interrupted. Fi is away on a weekend but comes home one day early to see a moving/removal van in front of her house. A strange woman answers her door and explains she and her husband just bought the house. It turns out Bram sold the house under her. I don't want to say why as that would spoil the suspense.

The story is told alternately between Fi and her husband Bram. Fi is telling her side on a podcast. Bram has a past that Fi is unaware of. He seems to be a bit mysterious.

There are a few Oh My God moments where you can't believe what you read. And the ending is an OMG and Holy Crap and NOOOOO moment.

I really loved this book. Bravo to the author.

Wow. That's the only word I can think of right now. Where do I start? This is a good wow by the way. Finally, a contemporary book that I found myself not being able to wait to get back to. I read a lot of books and sometimes they sit and I read when I go to bed usually. For this one, I was taking my Kindle to snatch pieces where I could, even in the car. I kept thinking, where is this going to GO??

Now, let me say it was not what I expected. It lured me in because the description said that when Fi (Fiona) came home one day, people she didn't know were moving into her house. What the what? I had to find out. I thought it sounded quite original.

I started it and was taken on a wild roller coaster ride. I thought there were enough twists to make this quite a satisfying read. I do not want to give any spoilers away about what happened and WHY it was going on, but did anyone else think of the Gift of the Magi by the time things were explained?

Also, I always appreciate an ending where things may or may not be wrapped up too neatly. I want to admit this is my first Louise Candlish book and it will not be my last. I immediately went to Goodreads to find out what else she has written. YAY! There are other books by her!

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this opportunity!

This was an awesome read with one of the best opening scenes of any novel I've ever read. Just imagine coming home to find that some other family has moved into your house. It's all legal: they've got the papers to prove it. The dual husband/wife narrative works really well and the ending was utterly unexpected. Fresh and entertaining. Thank you netgalley for the e-review edition.