Loved it. You just know when you open a book by this author you were going to have all the feels at absolutely love it and this book did not disappoint.

2.5 stars

This book is labelled as mystery/thriller and women's fiction however I would say it lacks the mystery thriller part and is more a family drama

Mom, Desi is a force to be reckoned with. I couldn’t connect or feel any empathy, she was selfish, overbearing and impulsive. Treads I found odd give her successful career.

It’s through her POV and that of her 17 year old daughter, Jules that this story is told.

As you can surmise from my rating I struggled with this story. The atmospheric feel was nice in terms of the outdoors, scenery and fresh air. However I found it repetitive as Desi pines for a lost love, at the same time trying to save her marriage.

Jules story had a bit more feeling, a conflicted teen but there were just to many inconsistencies that threw me off. Parts that didn’t make sense - you can hop over to Goodreads where more is hidden behind the spoiler button.

The ending didn’t satisfy me, it was long and drawn out plus I didn’t feel any real closure. Parts didn’t feel authentic and a little over the top. Suffice to say this book would make a great book club read just for the many topics to discuss.

Secrets of Our House is a slow burn family drama that I found predictable about secrets, each person has one. At times traumatic and contrived.

All this being said, there are a lot of 4/5 star ratings so it could just me a me thing. I have heard great things about the author's debut Not Her Daughter, which was one of the reasons I requested this one. I will read it in time (you should see my TBR pile, kinda scary).

My thanks to at Martin's Press (via NetGalley) for a digital arc in exchange for a honest review.

I didn’t like Desi at all. She’s whiny and dramatic and selfish. I did, however, love all of the other characters. I found myself skipping through pages of her to get to them, and at the 70% mark I couldn’t read fast enough. Three stars for the other characters and the story switch, minus two stars for Desi and a less than stellar ending for Carter, who deserved way more than what he was given.

Desi has secrets…yes more than one.​

Jules now has one, but she will reveal it.​​

We meet this family in their gorgeous house in the woods that was designed by Desi for peace and comfort, but this house does harbor secrets held past and present.​​

SECRETS OF OUR HOUSE moves on as we see the family taking a three-month summer vacation at their dream house and as the dream house has everyone changing their lives in one way or another.​​

The characters were authentic, the setting was gorgeous, but the story line had me looking for when something was going to happen.​​

Things did happen, and things became tense with a final thought that it’s family that matters.

​​It was well written, but the story line seemed too much like a soap opera to me. 3/5​​

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

Secrets of Our House is about a family with many many secrets! Desi the wife is in love with another man! Peter the husband wants a divorce! Jules their daughter doesn't want to go to college she wants to marry a local boy she has fallen in love with!

The family secrets all start coming to a head and intertwine so beautifully. This is a very emotional, heartfelt family drama! The characters are the type that no matter how much information you're given you will always want to know more! I loved this story! This was my first book by this author but I look forward to reading more of Rea Frey's other books!

Thank you Get Red PR and St. Martin's Press for sharing this book with me in exchange for an honest review!

Holy cow! This book was not at all what I thought it would be....it was by far better. Excellent character development, and the story just doesn't slow down. There are tons of parts that you absolutely can not stop reading....twists and turns. I have to add, I didn't particularly like the main character, but the rest made up for her.

Thanks you to the publisher, author and netgalley for the chance to read this ARC.

I appreciated the family dynamic of this story. It seemed as though every single thing that could happen to the family in this situation happened.

Desi and her family have a dream getaway house set in the mountains of North Carolina. They call it “The Black House”. They love to visit during the summer time. This family has many secrets! Desi is in love with a man named Carter from her past that she has never stopped loving. Her marriage to Peter is falling apart and her daughter, Jules, is in love with a local young man named Will. Desi wants her daughter to go to Columbia University where she was recently accepted, but Jules wants to stay in North Carolina with her first love. Will this family figure out what is best for everyone?

I loved this book! The events taking place in this book felt very real and believable. Rea Frey is a brilliant writer. All of her books that I have read so far have been highly entertaining and this was no different. I really like her style. She knows how to capture her audience. I could not put this one down! Make sure to get a copy of SECRETS OF OUR HOUSE. I will be looking forward to her future books.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

A solid new read by Rea Frey. I enjoyed it and would recommend.. I read this months ago, and the story didn’t stay with me. I didn’t find the characters or the story memorable. Just one of hundreds that I’ve read over the last couple of years.
3.5/5

Thank you #netgalley and #stmartinspress for the eARC.

I have loved all of Rea Frey's books so was excited to read this one. I enjoyed it but my heart was in my throat the entire time! Peter and Desi have grown apart in their marriage so when daughter, Desi decides she doesn't want to go into the city to college (but instead has fallen in love with local boy Will), Desi is beyond disappointed and forces her to commit to a semester. That's the basic premise. There are secrets everywhere in this marriage; Peter and Desi are headed for divorce, old boyfriend Carter is still hanging around, and Jules and Will are more involved than their parents know. So just go with it! Lots of tension and chilling moments but if you know Frey's books you know she won't disappoint!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub. Date: February 8, 2022

Women's fiction seems to be an umbrella term for books about women's love-life experiences that publishers market to female readers. I have never understood the genre’s name. Women like me enjoy many genres. Novels that are classified as women’s fiction are often clumsily written and filled with silly romantic clichés. Yet, they are not labeled romance, beach books, or chick-lit novels, where you expect the tale to be sappy. No one would ever call “Anna Karenina” by Leo Tolstoy women’s fiction although the story revolves around a woman’s extramarital affair. A more modern example is "We Were the Mulvaneys" by Joyce Carol Oates. A daughter's reputation is damaged by a rape that tears the family apart. Oates never writes women's fiction, although her novels often focus on a woman’s love-life experiences. Does anyone have an alternative name for the genre?

This women’s fiction novel revolves around a middle-aged married couple and their 17-year-old daughter. The wife secretly longs for a man who is not her husband. The husband secretly desires a divorce. And the daughter secretly desires not to go to college, but to marry the boy she loves. Get it? Lots of secrets. The repetitive marital angst is way over-the-top. The mother acts like a lovesick teenager no different than her daughter. The young lovers can also irritate with all their drama. At least their angst is age-appropriate, unlike the adults. Where Tolstoy or Oates might portray such a relationship in a believable, engaging way, Frey delivers all the trappings of a plot-driven commercial fiction. It makes me wonder, do publishers believe women prefer to read books in which the writing only tells a story without stimulating their minds? Is it just me who thinks this way? Nevertheless, the only part of the novel that I did appreciate is the beauty of nature that is described encompassing their house in the mountains of North Carolina. These sentences paint a colorful picture that shows us a talented author but not enough for me to be able to enjoy the rest of the book.

This is a very enjoyable book. It is full of drama and romance. It tells of the struggle of family life and choices we make that affect so many around us. I didn't want to put it down.

The premise for this one sounded fantastic so I was really looking forward to digging in. However, I was slightly disappointed with my reading experience.

First, the sense of atmosphere with the Black House is great - tension-filled and luxurious.

However, I had a hard time connecting with the main character, especially since the beginning was somewhat slow for this genre. And then the author ultimately introduces too many characters and storylines, which added to my sense of disconnection.

Although not necessarily the fast-paced suspense narrative I expected, fans of family sagas will likely enjoy this juicy novel.

This is a compelling novel based on a household living in a dream home in the wilderness. Domestic drama, teen angst, marital problems... intrigue and red herrings are all in this book. So many characters to follow was a bit too busy for me, but still I enjoyed the story.
Thank you NetGalley for providing this copy. The opinion in this review is solely my own.

I’ve really enjoyed Rea Frey’s books in the past but this wasn’t my favorite. I felt like there were way too many things going on, many of which were profound and life-changing. For all of these major things to happen to this small group of people was completely far fetched and unrealistic. There were also several things that happened that would have never happened in real life. I won’t go into details because I don’t want to spoil the plot, but I have firsthand experiences in a few of the things that were described and they were not at all accurate. For those reasons, I kind of lost interest about halfway through. I did finish it but I found that I wasn’t really invested in the outcome. I still love Frey’s books, but this one just wasn’t for me.

Another really good read from Rea Frey. Engaging characters and enough secrets and lies to keep me interested. That coupled with wilderness locale and lots of suspense made Secrets of Our House a captivating read for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins' Press for this ARC!

This was my first novel by Rea Frey. I have to say that I was blown away by this book! This was a 5 star read for me, if not more. The way the author describes the setting/scenery had you feeling like you could visualize everything so perfectly as you were reading. I was able to feel connected to each of the main characters, and even shed a few tears along the way. Rea Frey has a beautiful writing style, and I devoured this novel in just above 24 hours. Secrets of Our House follows a family, husband Peter, wife Desi, and 18 year old daughter, Jules, who have just relocated to their custom built home in the mountains of North Carolina. We also meet Desi's past love, Carter and brother, Tommy. Tommy, Peter and Carter all served in the Marines together. By Jules falling in love with a local boy named Will, we are also introduced to his character, as well as Ava, his sister, and William Sr. and Lenore, his parents. The family secrets and dynamics all start coming to a head and intertwine so beautifully. There is also a huge sense of survival/adventure in this novel that I wasn't expecting, but loved that it was thrown in there and done so well. This is a very emotional, heartfelt, family drama that I don't think anyone some miss that is a fan of this genre. There may be a few moments that seem unrealistic, but they served the book well. I loved this story, and it is definitely among my favorites for this year. I look forward to reading Rea Frey's other books.

This book was sent to me by Netgalley on Kindle for review…this is the story of a dysfunctional family with a controlling parent…the daughter wants to make her own decisions but it is not permitted…love, marriage, teen angst, divorce, wilderness dynamics…friendship…this book has it all…one wonders what will happen next…true to life…no cushy cozy story this one…after I finished , I wondered what would happen to the family and if there w
Hold be a sequel…that makes for an intriguing read…leave the reader wanting more…his is a good one… the house is almost a character in his book…the author does a great job of showing not telling…

Desi and Peter are struggling to keep their marriage together , so they along with their daughter Jules escape to their mountain house for the summer to try to repair what is broken. A story of love, loss, and adventure that kept me reading late into the
Evening!

I absolutely loved the story. This is my favorite really read all year. Great characters and an amazing plot. I would definitely recommend this book.