I had high hopes for a story about a man who won’t leave his family home, after his family vacates they premises and a new family, looking to rebuild their own lives, moves in. Unfortunately, this story fell a little flat for me - there were too many character narrations between chapters and it made it tricky to relate and connect with them. It felt like each chapter was telling a story on the surface, there wasn’t enough depth in the plot, not enough explanation to the motives of the characters for me to enjoy the story as much as I’d hoped.

I enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t one of my favorites of Rouda’s. It was suspenseful, but no big twists or surprises. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.

3.5/5

This was great! My first book by this author and won't be my last!
Julie has finally found the courage to leave her marriage. She leaves her million dollar home and takes her daughter Jess with her. A slight hiccup here, the sellers son is living in the carriage house on the property and is expected to be out by the end of the week. Lots to go wrong here!
There's scandal's, twists, action and lots of thrills.
I enjoyed the large cast of characters and a cleverly written plot.
Highly recommended!
With many thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Mercer for this advanced reading copy.
Out on the 18 January 2022.

I was hooked from page one and I couldn't put this book down.
When you start this book there were so many different stories that touched on each other but you had absolutely no idea how they were going to collide together! Then with the magic only this author can create everything comes together Seamlessly, as it was always meant to !

A really great story and really well written. I liked the characters and setting and really couldn't put it down. A slow burner but once it gets going it's fab. Highly recommended xx

This is the story of Julie Jones who has left her husband to start over with her teenage daughter. Their new house on the other side of town is supposed to be ther new beginning. Only this house comes with a lot of surprises and not everything is like it seems. So there is a connetction between the new and old inhabitants of this house. Like it or not!
Honestly, I could not really get into this story although I really enjoyed Kaira Rouda's previous books.

Thanks a lot #NetGalley #Thomas & Mercer for an ARC

Not as much of a thriller as I expected, but I did enjoy that the title was a play both on the creepy idea that somebody is in your home, and that it is HOME for somebody, and what that means to different people. It was a good read, but The Pefect Daughter was so much better.

Julie Jones has left her suffocating marriage. With her teenage daughter, Jess, she’s starting over. Their new house in Oceanside is the first step toward a new life. Even if it does come with the unexpected. The previous owners, a pastor and his wife, have left something—or rather someone—behind…

Tom Dean has a bitter hatred for the father who considers him a lost cause, and for the woman who’s moved into their family’s house. The only home he’s ever known. He’s never going to leave. She thinks he’ll be gone in three days, but Tom has the perfect plan.

For a newly single mother and her daughter, a fresh start is the beginning of a nightmare. Before the weekend is over, somebody is going to get exactly what they deserve.

Thanks to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I found that Kaira Rouda's Somebody's Home was off to a slow start because of so much back and forth between her characters. The plot does pick up and I'm glad I stuck with it. I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an early copy to review.

Sadly, I did not care for this book. I could not feel anything for any of the characters. They were all very whiny self entitled people and it was hard to connect with them. The last 20% of the book was at least face paced and more interesting, but it means you have to slog through 80% of people feeling sorry for themselves to get there.

I enjoyed Kaira Rouda's book, The Favorite Daughter, so I had high expectations for this book. But it somehow fell flat for me. The dialogue was stilted and it seemed repetitive; at times it read like a YA novel. There were multiple storylines, told through different characters POVs in alternating chapters. Topics included a lot of triggers including white supremacy, anti-Semitism, women-hating, and more. The ending was suspenseful, but I'm sad to say it took too long to get there, and wasn't worth the lead-up. I'm not giving up on Kaira yet; I'm hoping her next book is up to previous standards.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance reader's copy.

I have been wanting to read a book by Kaira Rouda for a while now. I'm glad this was my first experience, great first impression. I love the format (short chapters switching among all characters) which made it super easy and fast to read. A lot of secrets and plans going on from all different angles. Great ending. I'm definitely recommending this book to my friends.

Thank you NetGalley, Kaira Rouda, and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC.

Review posted on : https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend.com/

Crazy Times!

With multiple storylines and narrators, this is a mystery that will keep you on your toes.

After Julie purchases a new home for herself and her daughter Jess in Oceanside after escaping her husband Roger’s clutches, she dreams of a new life. Little does she know that strange things are afoot in the Circle-K.

As part of the closing contract, Julie agreed to let Tom, the former owner’s son, stay in the guesthouse for a few extra days in order to get his stuff together and find an alternate place to live. Little does Julie know, Tom has no plans to leave. Unfortunately for Julie, Tom isn’t a choir boy even though he grew up in the church. He’s far from it in fact. He has big plans, plans that will rock the little town of Oceanside and will bring harm to anyone around him.

The premise of Somebody’s Home seemed intriguing, however, the book’s premise and the actual novel itself didn’t quite jive and the multiple storylines just didn’t work for me. I am however only one reader and I urge you to read other reviews as this book might be right up your alley. While this wasn’t my favorite book of Ms. Kaira Rouda’s, as a faithful fan, I will still be lining up for her next book.

This was a buddy read with Ms. Kaceey.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer.

Published on Goodreads and Twitter.

Couldn't finish - I tried a few times to read this but I just couldn't get into it or keep going. It wasn't what I thought it was unfortunately.

Uh, no.
This no up to Kaira Rouda's normally excellent standard.
The characters are cardboard cutouts involved in pedestrian plot to that borders on the unbelievable.
It's silly at times.
Especially the "relationship" that develops between Tom and Jess in just a matter of hours.
It's not exciting.
That being said, I've LOVED everything Ms. Rouda has written before this.

I really enjoy Kaira Rouda’s work and this book was no exception. Written in that unique Rouda style, with fantastically developed characters, it drew me in from page one. Had a fast paced style, with many povs, which I loved! Found it to be engrossing, twisty, chilling, and shocking! Highly recommend to my fellow thrill seekers!

As two families embark on a fresh start, their past starts to catch up to them. Julie and her daughter Jess move into house vacated by the Deans, as Julie tries to start her life over after leaving her husband, Roger. Unfortunately, the Dean's son Tom is bitter and doesn't want to leave the carriage house he has been living in quite yet. Tom has plans. A weekend of fresh starts, quickly becomes a weekend that nightmares are made of.

This book is told from multiple POV's, so you get the story from different perspectives. You also get the sense that danger is lurking around every corner which gives it a suspenseful, page-turner feel. Unfortunately, all of the characters in this book are really unlikeable. It was difficult to feel any kind of empathy toward them, so by the end, you don't really care what happens to them. A good book with a lot of family drama and a good amount of suspense to keep you reading.

Kaira Rouda always give you a twisty and thrilling ride and Somebody’s Home was another example of this, There is a lot going on with these characters, some of whom you will dislike immediately. An absolute page turner that I read in 2 sittings.

One weekend will change the lives of these 2 families forever. Julie Jones has packed up her belongings and her daughter and is moving to the other side of town, away from her controlling husband. Daughter Jess is less than happy with the changes, longing for her ocean view home. The former owners had been found o sell quickly and get out of town after their own troubles. Their son Tom, lives in the carriage house but has til the end of the weekend to leave. Tom is an angry and troubled man with plans of his own. The lives of the 2 families will collide in ways that none of them could imagine.

Out January 18th, you gotta read this book. Thanks to Thomas and Mercer and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read.

I enjoyed this book a lot. It had a lot of fun twists and the story was told from multiple points of view, which I love. The characters weren't all likable, but that made the story more interesting. I liked the ending a lot, and there were a couple parts that had me really creeped out! Fun read.

Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

PUBLICATION DAY: January 18, 2022

SUMMARY:
This is the story of Julie and her quest for independence after many years of being married to the overbearing Roger. It’s also the story of Jess, Julie and Roger’s daughter and the mistakes and errors in judgement she commits as a senior in high school. And perhaps most unsettling, it’s the story of Tom and his dysfunctional family. What will happen when these worlds collide?

PROS and CONS:
Rouda has her own unique style of writing - if you like it, you’ll love this one. I do find her style of writing to be a little on the repetitive side, but I also appreciate how her plots unfold, and I did like the ending on this one. Her characters tend to be on the one dimensional side (but it makes them much easier to hate!)

READ IT?
It’s pretty good...easy to read and a satisfying ending!

3.5 Stars

2.5 stars…. This unfortunately didn’t work for me at all 🙁

To start off, let me just say, I've enjoyed both The Best Day Ever and The Favorite Daughter immensely. With that said, this book felt like it was written by a completely different author. The characters were all superficial/shallow and super one dimensional.

The book alternates POV's between the family that has just sold their home and the buyers of the home. Julie and Jess are moving in, but there is one small problem, the previous owner's son Tom still lives in the carriage house. They move in on a Friday and he is to move out on Sunday by noon, so the entire book takes place in that time frame. Julie is a wanna be real housewife and besides that there is nothing else you need to know about her and honestly her character brings nothing to the table. Then you have the storyline between Jess and Tom which kind of gave me whiplash. One minute Jess wants to run away with him but then scared of him two seconds later. And they JUST met 24 hours earlier! There is another POV told from Sandi, Tom's stepmother which didn't seem to do anything to move the storyline ahead. I'm not even going to talk about Roger and Doug - basically women are their property. They were quite repulsive actually.

Nothing really happens until after the half way mark - just more of a slow domestic suspense. Then when things get going everything but the kitchen sink is thrown in and not in a good way :(

Being I really enjoyed the previous works by this author I'm going to chalk this one up to a hiccup and would still be interested in trying again.

PS - It seemed all the men in the book were women haters......like.every.one.of.them

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas and Mercer for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review