I am one to enjoy family mysteries and domestic thrillers, and this would fall more under family mystery. I feel like this book left me wanting more, i enjoyed the characters and getting to know them but it was all so expected and predictable. I think this book will appeal to many readers. I just wanted more mystery.

I really enjoyed this... until the end where it just wrapped everything up too perfectly. I disliked the character of Desi but that was ok... I don't think she wasn't meant to be super likeable. She acted very immature at times and was very selfish in a lot of her choices. I liked the chapters with Juliet much more. She is trying to find her way in the world but is hesitant to talk to her parents. And it's hard to blame her - her mom is pining away for another guy. Her father is moody and seems to not be interested in their family.

Juliet is in love with Will and would rather stay with him than go off to Columbia. Why no one offered the option to defer Columbia for a year is beyond me. This seems like the best option given the situation, but this was never mentioned. *Shrug*

Anyway, without giving anything away, it was really good until the end. It was obvious all along that an airplane was going to feature into this story and it does, but this part was so unrealistic. I wanted to keep reading; I was just disappointed by how it ended.

This was definitely something not for me. I really wanted to enjoy this one, but I DNFed about halfway.

*Thank you @stmartinspress for the copy in exchange for an honest review. Review not posted to Amazon/Goodreads because less than 4 stars or DNF.*

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.

This was a little slow going, but it definitely kept my attention and was worth the slower pace!

If you love a good domestic suspense, this one is for you!

This storyline is told from two POVs and flows smoothly. The ending was a bit disappointing and unrealistic, but other than that this was a fun and enjoyable read.

The MC has a lot of secrets that slowly start to unravel, and cause a bit of a mess for her!

Overall, an enjoyable and worthwhile read that I recommend to anyone who enjoys family drama and domestic suspense reads!

Secrets of Our House was absolutely savage at times. I was legitimately shocked at some of the events in the book. It was way more than just a standard family drama story where each of the members has a secret. I did find it hard to justify some of the decisions Desi made and I’m not sure how much of that was because we are completely different personalities. Desi was hard to like at times for sure. I loved the way the house itself felt a little bit like a character that you at times wanted to come home to and in other instances feared. I found myself tearing up and also having to put the book down due to a specifically graphic scene I wasn’t prepared for, so the emotional gambit was real. Just writing this review helped me realize how much this book stood out from its genre. For me, this was a 4/5.

If you like extremely competent daughters, judgmental mothers, or families drowning in secrets, this is the one for you.

I received a digital copy of this book free from St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

A rich read with vibrant characters.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

As always, Rea Frey delivered a masterful work of fiction. Her character and story development always pull me in. Secrets of our House was phenomenal.

I love Rea Frey! I was beyond excited when I was given Secrets of Our House! Rea’s writing is so unique and all it’s own.
I loved this book, family dramas are my jam! I love how Rea Frey wrote the beginning as a slow burn. Peeling back each layer of this family ever so slowly so keep me glued to my kindle. Rea fills the pages with secrets and twists and turns, so I could figure out early and others had me guessing until the very end. It is like Rea gives the readers a tiny bone, I love the gift! Who doesn’t love to say ” I KNEW IT!”.
I look forward to reading more from Rea Frey!

4.5
I really loved this story which is a family drama with many tense, action-filled scenes. Rea Frey writes with a lot of realism and I enjoyed the characters, setting and action of the novel. The cover and title may lead one to think it's a thriller or mystery, but that is not the case. Rather, this is a well crafted novel that explores relationships, secrets and family dynamics. The marriage and parent-child relationships are well portrayed. Although at some points I thought "Really? How many bad things can happen?", the events certainly kept me turning the pages and wondering how it would resolve. I will definitely be looking for other books by this author and would recommend this to anyone who loves family dramas.

Very well written, addictive read. It held my attention right from the start and surprised me with several twists (a feat not easily done). Loved it. Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

Deceiving. That is how this story plays. Desi has planned and built a structure so complete that the landscape around it has held it and grown around it. The house was a lifelong project that has haunted her dreams and it’s realization a life long goal. The family enjoys the space but doesn’t revere it as Desi does. Living so isolated has given each family member it’s own survival skills. Jules their daughter loves this place maybe more than her mom. Loves the simple life here with people who have embraced her and encouraged her place among them. A place in contrast to the college her parents assume she will attend. A stranger shows up and not only disrupts but tries to destroy the home in the hills Desi holds dear.

I love books about family drama and secrets and this definitely checked both of those boxes. It is an addicting domestic drama with unexpected twists. I was hooked quickly and didn't want to put this down. I need to read more books by Rea Frey since I enjoyed this one.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This is the first book I have read by this author, I am looking forward to reading more.

This was an absolutely addictive domestic family drama full of huge secrets. Secrets of Our House is a tale about choices, and how decisions one makes about life always have consequences. Sometimes the impact of those choices is unforeseen and even unintentional, but there is no escaping the ramifications, even if, as in Frey's tautly-constructed story, they only manifest many years later.

Secrets of Our House is an absorbing, entertaining, and richly emotional examination of a family that has been careening toward a crossroads -- a reckoning -- for a long time. Having now arrived there, she illustrates how each character reacts and adapts when the truth is known, and what they decide is best for each of them moving forward. Will they be able to forgive each other, and themselves, in order to forge new, healthier relationships with each other and move on.

I rated this 4 stars.

A domestic drama/suspense with many layers. This was a slow burn, with layers peeled back slowly to keep the reader engaged. I enjoyed the characters and the plot but my goodness… so much happens. Too much, in my opinion. The conclusion was fast paced and full of shocking truths… but so overdone and dramatic. A good story but a bit too much in the drama department for my tastes.

Rea Frey's Secrets of Our House is a book about a family's secrets. Desi, Peter, and their daughter, Jules, appear on the surface to be a happy family, but behind closed doors, there are deep-dark secrets that if known could ruin the family. Peter and Desi, along with their daughter, retreat to North Carolina to the Black House, their mountain retreat, to try to heal what is left of their relationship. This well-written book will keep you guessing until the end.

3.5 stars

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an egalley in exchange for an honest review

A domestic fiction novel about a family that is experiencing the fallout from a lifetime of secrets and silence. Alternating in perspective between mother, Desi, and teenage daughter, Juliette this was one heck of an anxiety-filled rollercoaster. Desi drove me absolutely crazy and it was apparent from the very first chapter what might possibly be some of the secrets she was hiding. I much preferred the daughter, Juliette who just seemed to be the more mature and stable character.

There was a lot of action and maybe that is where the anxiety comes in. Maybe it is also because it is a bit of an ambiguous ending with secrets left unresolved. Perhaps we shall see some of these characters again, someday.



Publication Date 08/02/2o22
Goodreads review published 16/02/22

Secrets of Our House was so good, it was intense! I was on the edge of my seat and found myself reading throughout the night instead of sleeping - I could not stop reading! The characters, the story, the twists and turns, the setting, THE HOUSE! This one stayed with me long after I finished reading it and I love it more and more each day. There were several quotes that really struck a chord with me. I saved them and know I will go back to read them again, and will use myself one day. This was one of my favorites: “This is your life, honey. You are a human being who has her own desires, wishes, and dreams. It doesn’t matter if you’re seventeen or seventy-five. You want what you want for a reason. So don’t apologize for wanting what you want, Juliette. Ever.”

I am a big fan of Rea Frey and I loved the different angle and style she had with this one compared to her others. I absolutely loved her previous books but would welcome and appreciate a mix of all styles moving forward. She talks about her struggles with writing this one in the Acknowledgments, and how it “stuttered and started several times”, but I hope she knows that those struggles were worth the fight, angst, and frustration - this was a hit and would make a fantastic movie!

I've read a couple of this author's books and loved them. I enjoyed this one but it fell just a bit short. The reason being, I didn't like the main character, Desi or her husband, Peter. I also didn't like the friend, Carter. I did however love Jules who is Desi and Peter's daughter, Will, who is Jules's boyfriend and Tommy who is Desi's brother and Peter's best friend. Those three had it more together. Will's parents, who was in the story a bit, I also loved.

This book is told from Desi and Jules perspective. Alternating between the two. Desi is a bit overbearing and comes across and a strong woman who puts her business above all else. Yet I saw her truly as a weak woman who didn't do the right thing early on. She should have followed her heart instead of money. I say money because that is what I got from her. She went for the money.

Jules is a young lady who falls in love and knows deep inside what she wants. She's a survivalist who was taught early on how to get by by Peter and Tommy. She's very smart and self-assured. Until something happens to turn her world upside down.

Will is a pilot and in love with Jules. He's a good young man and cares about people wholeheartedly. When he loses his mother it seems his life spirals out of control. He does things without thinking first. Listens to the wrong person. But he's a good one. He's really a good person.

This book had a few surprises though one I did figure out fairly early on. It came as no surprise to me at all. It did however make me a bit sad. She should have told someone. I won't say who or what just that she should have.

When people lose their perspective it seems that a lot of others can be hurt deeply. You lose your way too. I don't think Desi should have taken the road she did but it made the story so it was meant to be. The description of The Black House made me feel as though I was standing in the driveway looking right at it. The deep snow felt cold to my bones. The accident made me cringe. It also made me cry bit ugly fat tears. I felt like I was there so that made up for anything that I didn't like in this story.

Well written and told in a way that makes you feel lots of emotions. This author has a way of making you feel what the characters feel even if you don't like some of them. I felt Desi's loneliness and heartache. Peter's sadness and shock. Jules pain of losing something so important to her. Will's, well his all. He lost a lot and I felt so bad for him.

Thank you #NetGalley, #ReaFrey, #StMartinsPress for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book.

4/5 stars and I do recommend it. It's good. You'll need some tissues so be prepared.

Desi manipulated events to portray her life and family as happy and successful, sweeping long-buried secrets under the rug. As the family spends the summer in their new gateway home, the secrets start to unravel, and the strength of the family is tested.

Calling all fans of Family Drama and Women’s Fiction...this one won't disappoint, so add this to your February TBR!

I rarely quote lines from books, but I love this one: “Hard is where the good stuff is.” There's a lot of hard in this book.

For someone who outwardly appears to have it all together, Desi is a hot mess. You want to root for Desi and yell at her
simultaneously. She is self-centered and controlling, never realizing the ripple effect of her lies and need for control. I wasn't surprised by Desi’s secret, but I enjoyed how Rea Frey slowly unraveled it. The tension felt real as Desi and her husband Peter struggled with their long-term marriage - love lost in the acts of co-parenting and career building. Her relationship with her daughter isn't much better - always choosing work over family time. The emotional contagion of Desi’s actions ripples farther than she could ever imagine.

Please review the trigger warnings before reading. Rea Frey successfully showcases both emotional and physical survival. The tragedies devasted me. And my heart raced as the characters battled the wilderness, so please beware that some scenes are not for faint of heart.