Koffi is clearly a smart writer, and I will definitely read her next work. I love a revenge thriller, but this one kind of went off track quickly with Patricia-- I just didn't buy it. The two central characters are interesting, and I was interested to see what they did.

Very slow and hard to connect with the characters. Picked up in the last 20% but took me forever to get to there and had already checked out.

This book was entertaining. The character development was so intriguing. The ending was unexpected and I recommend this books! hank You to Sara Koffi, Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Elizabeth's friend mysteriously dies and is certain that she was murdered. Her husband suggests that she get a personal assistant to help her get her life back into some semblance of order. In comes Brianna, who steps in seamlessly and helps get Elizabeth back on track. As they get closer, Elizabeth confides that she thinks her friend was murdered and now both of them are looking into her death although Brianna has her own reasoning for investigating. Overall, this book covers a lot of themes, from race, to class, to mental illness and even though none of the characters seem truthful with themselves, it deals with the responses to grief.

This was an enjoyable, entertaining read! I liked the character development and I wasn't expecting the ending. If you like books with unexpected endings, I would recommend this! Special Thank You to Sara Koffi, Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

While We Were Burning is a race-conscious debut thriller about Elizabeth Smith, a politically "progressive," White, suburban housewife whose friend dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances. As she works to put her life back together and understand what happened, she hires a personal assistant named Brianna, a Black woman working through her nursing degree and looking for answers to her son's death by police shooting.

Marketing this book as "Parasite meets Such a Fun Age" set my expectations tragically high. The story was entertaining, but I didn't find the overall themes to be very original and the character motivations seemed weak and inconsistent, particularly at the end when we find out how Elizabeth's friend died. That said, I still recommend this to anyone interested in the synopsis and I would read more from Sara Koffi in the future.

This one was okay. Ultimately it just couldn't keep me as engaged as other thrillers and it's hard to put my finger on why, This one didn't click for me but I think it will be a popular read this summer!

While We Were Burning is a gripping and intense debut that skillfully tackles significant themes such as racism, classism, and mental illness. The novel delves into the complexities of grief, portraying how individuals navigate their pain, whether through a quest for revenge or a descent into mental turmoil. The morally ambiguous characters are portrayed with depth; while their responses to grief are often deplorable, their motivations may resonate deeply with anyone who has experienced trauma or loss. Having personally battled with my mental health and endured such unshakable pain, I found this book emotionally challenging to read at times, which is a testament to how effectively Koffi addresses these sensitive, important subjects.

Thanks to NetGalley & Penguin Group Putnam for the digital ARC!

An interesting read but one i did not find myself fully investedn in. It was a little unbelievable at times.
Many thanks to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was unable to connect with the characters, and I couldn't get into the book. There was a lack of emotion and appeal for me.
The affair took the book in a direction that strayed from what I felt was the premise of the story, and it just became unbelievable.
There just could have been a lot more to this- as the expose on racism and the fallout of one’s unthinking actions, is a topic that, sadly, we must still ensure is told. But it fell flat for me.

After losing her best friend under mysterious circumstances, Elizabeth is spiraling. No longer able to keep track of things, she hires a personal assistant to help out. Brianna fits into Elizabeth’s life perfectly, picking up the slack and doing everything necessary to keep Elizabeth’s world in balance. Soon she and Elizabeth are working together to solve her friend’s untimely death. Brianna has questions of her own and is there under false pretenses. She’s looking for answers and the only way to find them is to entwine herself deeper into Elizabeth’s life…but neither of them is what they first appear. Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This novel had the potential to be so much more than it is. The premise is intriguing, but the characters were all so over-the-top in their actions, dialogue, and personalities that it made them unlikable and disingenuous, which in turn, made the book awkward.
2.5 stars.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for allowing me early access to the ARC ebook edition of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you NetGalley for sending me this arc in exchange for my honest review!

Rating 2.5 Stars

While I was super intrigued, this book was not for me. But I definitely recommend it for someone else. I didn't like the characters and I just couldn't get into the story as much as I would have loved to. It fell flat for me. I will be giving this author a second chance though because I did like the writing style, just not the story.

The premise of this sounded really interesting. I love a good revenge story & Brianna definitely deserves to get her revenge. However, the story turned more into a Lifetime movie & it lost the suspense for me. The dialogue between the characters was also weird. They kept saying the person's name that they were talking to. It was a lot of "David... this." "That... David." I couldn't help but picture Alexis Rose saying David every single time. It really took me out of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Puttnam for the eARC.

A quick read doesn't always mean the best read. Some of the characters didn't fully come together for me and I felt at the end it was too far out there to believe or feel connected to. 3 stars rounded up.

Fast Paced Psychological Thriller, with Insane Characters you will not like. Still, it was a book I did want to stop reading. I liked the premise of the book, but the last quarter of the book, the book becomes completely unhinged. You do have to suspend belief, as it’s hard to really believe people would behave this way. It becomes a giant soap opera, with a strange ending. Too Over the Top, but still worth a read. Just don’t go into this thinking you are getting great social commentary or literature. It’s more towards the Lifetime Movie Genre.

Thank You NetGalley, Sara Koffi, and Penguin House Putnam for a copy of this book. I leave reviews for all books I read.

This had no flavor.

I wanted a lot more out of this book than what I got. It was predictable in all the worst ways and was also just not thrilling in the slightest...

The motivations of the characters were all over the place and everything felt lackluster and one-dimensional. Overall, this felt like a Lifetime movie, and TO ME that is not a good thing.

out now! thanks netgalley and putnam books for the eArc!

still figuring out how i feel about this. typically i’d be into a thriller with a revenge plot but lots of this book was easy to guess. i see were Koffi may have been going with making both narrators flawed and clouded by passion/emotions but it made it harder for me to be invested in the success of the revenge. the ending also caused some annoyance for me. good premise and mostly good execution!

3.5 rounded up! This was an exciting read that I read in one sitting, which definitely says something. Not quite a thriller, but it has the energy of a thriller. Gave me very similar vibes to Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (and not just because of the fire-related titles). I think this book has a lot to say and is digestible for a wide crowd.

While We Were Burning follows two women. First is Elizabeth, a rich white woman, who loses a friend early on in the book to suicide, and then begins suffering from mental health issues. Her husband and boss are (overly) concerned for her well being, and she thus hires an assistant to help her along. Her assistant is our other POV, Brianna, a Black woman who has lost her son to a police encounter (details are sparse) and is trying to find answers.

I think While We Were Burning was a great debut that shows a lot of potential for Koffi as an author. The book was a bit short - only 300 pages - and I think a few things could have been fleshed out a bit more, story wise. There were aspects toward the end that I didn't quite enjoy, but that is personal taste and very spoiler-y. Regardless, Koffi used this novel as a harsh (but necessary) critique on white woman tears, and I (as a white woman myself) was HERE for it. Elizabeth was a character we all loved to hate, and she deserved every critique Koffi threw at her. I personally disliked her husband as well, and think he deserved more than he got. Brianna was not likeable, but her motivations and choices were understandable, all things considered.

Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Special thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

When Elizabeth’s life starts to spiral out of control after her “best-friend-out-of-convenience”’s death, she eagerly accepts the help of her new personal assistant. Her picture-perfect life as the ideal wife centred around her ideal husband soon starts to inevitably crumble to dust at the hands of someone else.

I picked this one up because of the premise and blurb, and I was not disappointed. The author explores the underlying themes of race, class, power, and morality beautifully. There is simply something about watching horrible characters burn. Something I sometimes felt was lacking was more depth to the characters and more in-depth exploration of motives. All in all, readers will find a well-crafted debut with much potential.