This book was a rollercoaster of emotions from start to finish. It deals with race and privilege in Tennessee. You will not agree with all the characters actions but you will understand why they do what they do.

I like my reads to be smooth in the right way, but I'm afraid that I found rading. "While We Were Buring" to be like traveling down a choppy and confusing road of dialogue and characters. I had to work to read this book all of the way to the very last page. Also, things can be fantastical, but they also need to be plausible.

A poignant and entertaining look at race, mental health, relationships, and more!
The characters were dynamic and artfully unlikable, while the story itself oscillates seamlessly between searing social commentary and riveting drama in a way that keeps you turning pages. Can't wait to see more from this author!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book to read, I enjoyed it and I would rate it a solid 3/5 stars.

This book had all the makings of something I would like, two women dealing with issues in their lives and their relationship to each other. Looking at class and racism and other issues. But somehow I could 't connect with it and had to push myself to keep reading. It is a short book so did finish it but it left me wanting more, to it to make better use of the potential. Others might enjoy it more than I did.

I could not finish enough of this book to be able to leave a comprehensive review, but I hope it finds its audience and I am grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

**A huge thank you to NetGalley, the publusher, and Sara Koffi for the opportunity to review an ARC of this book**

This book deals with a lot of familiar topics of every day life: Class, female friendships, trust, race, mental illness/abuse.

I hated all of the characters, but surely I kept going because the author just sucks you in.
She certainly succeeded in making me feel all the feelings. I was mad. I was anxious. I didn't know who I was rooting for at times.

Elizabeth and Brianna both know how to put on a face and neither is who they present themselves to be.

4 stars, would recommend!

After the death of a friend, Elizabeth Smith hires a personal assistant to help get her life back together. Little does she know the assistant she hired has a motive for helping. This story explores relationships, race and a quest for justice. I really enjoyed this book told by alternating viewpoints and look forward to future books from this author.

I was so afraid that I would have a negative reaction to this book. I just knew I would find fault with the way the subject matter was approached and handled. Thank you for proving me wrong, Sara Koffi. I was so consumed by this book. I wanted know how it ended. I had to keep reading. I can't say it's an easy read, but books that stay with you usually aren't. Just a great debut. Loved it.


Thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for an e-arc in exchange for an unbiased review.

While We Were Burning by Sara Koffi

Release Date: April 16, 2024
Genre: Thriller

Content Warnings: racism, mentions of suicide, mental illness, death of a child, emotional abuse

Themes: Racial injustice, classism, unhinged women, revenge

My Thoughts: I was very impressed with this twisty debut novel. The publisher likened it to Parasite meets Such a Fun Age and I couldn’t agree more. The story is super fast paced and exciting, I read it in almost one sitting. None of the characters are likable but I found myself still feeling deep empathy for Brianna and Elizabeth. I wish we had more of Elizabeth’s background as there were some unexplained behaviors throughout the book but that is really my only complaint. I loved it, I love unhinged women trope more than anything and it was so well done!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Net Galley and Penguin/Putnam for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved the premise of this story, but while reading, my enthusiasm faded away. I think it's got something to do with the unlikable characters, even though I usually love flawed characters. I tried to start reading this several times, thinking I was in the wrong headspace at first for a story like this, but I kept struggling. That's why I chose to quit at 31%. Please check out other reviews if you want to read this story.

⚠️ cw: suicide, murder, death of a child, mental health issues, racism

After her friend's mysterious death is ruled a suicide, Elizabeth can’t shake the suspicion that her friend was actually murdered. As she spirals, her husband hires a personal assistant to keep her on track. Brianna is exactly who Elizabeth needs and soon, the assistant hired to distract Elizabeth from her obsession with her friend's death is the same person working with her to uncover the truth behind it. Because Brianna has questions too. She wants to know why a police killed her young Black son. Why someone in Elizabeth’s neighborhood called the cops on him that day. Who took that first step that stole her child away from her. And the only way she’s going to be able to find out is to infiltrate Elizabeth’s life, where the answers to her questions lie.

Thank you so much @netgalley, @sarathekoffi, and @putnambooks for the ARC! This book was a page turner for sure and I couldn’t put it down so it was a quick read! The blurb described the book as a mix of Such a Fun Age and Parasite. I haven’t seen Parasite, but I totally got Such a Fun Age vibes, but as a more of a domestic thriller. The way the secrets and mysteries were unfolded as the plot progressed was masterful and kept me engaged throughout. I loved the dual point of view and thought that both Brianna and Elizabeth were such well developed characters. The dual point of view really allowed the reader to get in their heads and empathize with them, despite how crazy and unlikeable they each are. A great domestic thriller, While We Were Burning releases April 16!

Parasite meets Such a Fun Age in a scorching debut that is as heartbreaking as it is thrilling, examining the intersection of race, class, and female friendship, and the devastating consequences of everyday actions.

When you dislike the characters and still want to keep reading.....testament to amazing writing. This book is 300 pages, yet I finished it quite quickly.

The quote that starts the book is by Kimberly Jones, “They’re lucky Black people are looking for equality and not revenge.” This was so perfectly fitting for this literary piece and how the story captured this message was exceptionally profound for a debut novel.

This book was a rollercoaster of emotions, with an ending that may leave you wishing you wore motion sick bands.

This book was wild!

So many unexpected twists and turns! Elizabeth is crazy but it seems almost environmental. Like her upbringing and life has contributed to it. Though I wish they dove into her past more to explain her. There’s hints but it’s not fully fleshed out.

While Brianna is just psychotic. As a mother I can’t even begin to understand the hurt she feels but her actions are beyond grief. She’s kinda evil. Not that I blame her.

What an exciting read. Just when you think you know, you don’t. It was a fast paced, page Turner that I didn’t want to put down.

I would be happy with more, maybe a flashback to college to explain Elizabeth a lot better. But it isn’t necessary. Maybe even a prequel at some point of college David and Lizzie.

Elizabeth and David are having some problems in their marriage. Elizabeth’s friend Patricia noticed and asks Elizabeth to get together the next day. Patricia ends up dying before they can get together, and Elizabeth is convinced she was murdered though the death was ruled a suicide. This leaves Elizabeth reeling and husband suggests hiring an assistant. Brianna and Charles are also having problems, and he leaves her. Brianna ends up becoming Elizabeth’s assistant…

I went into this book blindly and it was definitely something. I liked the alternating viewpoints and the couple of twists in the story. It did feel like it kind of abruptly ended - and I didn’t love the Brianna/David thing. It felt pretty forced. There was a lot of race and class commentary here as well, and it was relevant to the story. Overall, this was a three star read for me. It was a quick read, especially the last 30% or so.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review:

Part thriller, part exploration of contemporary race issues in America, part mirror to our online selves, this novel is all heart and hard to put down. I tore through While We Were Burning in about two sittings in the course of 24 hours and found myself fascinated by the characters and the story. The tale is perhaps a tad melodramatic at times near the end, but it hovers in the realm of believable in the way that our online selves have created a society where there is more melodrama.

Elizabeth Smith lives in a nice, upper middle class Memphis community that is all networked online through a message board or app (think NextDoor). Her neighbors are do-gooder, not-in-my-background types who are concerned about the potential uptick in crimes in their safe neighborhood. Her marriage is boring, a tad under-utilized, and it’s clear that Elizabeth is trying to form a deeper connection with her neighbors and friends but is struggling. When she finds the body of her coworker and friend in what is quicky deemed a suicide, Elizabeth starts to spiral into her own theories which puts her squarely on the watch list of her husband and her therapist, who both consider Elizabeth’s theory of murder to be absurd and an indicator that she’s unhinged.

Across town, Brianna is reeling from the unexpected death of her young son and emotional loneliness that follows when her husband leaves to work through his grief on his own.

Soon, the stories of these two women collide when Elizabeth, seeking to appease her husband and therapist, hires a stranger as a personal assistant. Elizabeth and Brianna soon become close friends and start working together to figure out the truth behind her neighbor’s death.

While We Were Burning is an ode to regret and vigilante justice. The reader is in for a wild ride with twists and turns, and the novel should leave all readers contemplating the decisions they make and the unintended consequences that may follow.

I look forward to future works by Sara Koffi!

I was not able to finish the book and therefore do not feel that I can give an unbiased review about the book, its plot, characters, or the author's work. I might revisit this book at a later time and finish it then, but not right now.

This one was so confusing. I read it earlier in the year, zipped through it, and then, when I knew I needed to review it, went back in and liked it less. As others have said, the characters are unevenly drawn. We know lots about Brianna but not enough about what led Elizabeth to this point in her life where her husband is closely monitoring her mental health and sometimes in cahoots with her therapist (isn't this a violation of patient privacy, BTW?). I almost thought they were gaslighting her at certain points. And David--he's not fully drawn either. That contrasts heavily with Brianna's character.

I thought the race politics overarc was a good idea but the above factors distracted me from it. As if the characters couldn't support such an important theme well enough. Better character development!

And, yes, none of the characters were likeable but this isn't always a dealbreaker in fiction. But yes in this case.

I thought this book had real potential, but man, I ended up pretty disappointed and annoyed by the characters.

"While We Were Burning" follows the stories of two women connected by a tragic event. But honestly, I didn't really like Lizzie, Brianna, or Lizzie's husband, David. Jay, Brianna's son, was the only one I could root for, and I wish we got to know him better.

The book had a solid foundation with the social justice themes, but it felt like the author got a bit lost in the plot. Some characters did things that just didn't make sense, leaving me confused and disappointed, especially in the second half.

I enjoyed the first half, but the second half went kinda wild, and I was left with more questions than answers. The author's writing was good, though, and I'm looking forward to her next book.

There is not a single likable main character in this book, and yet the book elicits mounds of empathy from the reader for those very unlikable characters. Elizabeth and Brianna show us a unique female relationship that crosses class and race. It's not a friendship. It's more like a needship. Each one needs the other for purely selfish reasons. Against the backdrop of police brutality this thriller examines race, class, mental illness, and abuse with masterful character development. I was mad. I was on the edge of my seat. I was terrified - for all of the main characters! To create a story where the true "bad guy" doesn't even participate in the action of the story is also masterful. The emotional abuse was crafted in a way that really makes the reader stop and think about the meaning of abuse and what that really can look like

The only thing that would have improved this book for me was knowing more about how Elizabeth got to the point she is in the book. Brianna's character arc is clear and easy to understand, but Elizabeth's still left a lot to the imagination.