I really loved the premise of this book, but ultimately it was hard to follow and not for me. I felt the multiple POVs was distracting.

Wow! This book is set on Cape Cod. The book mingles different classes of the island population. You have the Mayflower descendants, Jamaican immigrants, doctors and druggies. It is quite a mix of people and none of them seem to be stereotypical. Trigger warning: abortion, abuse, child abuse, infidelity. Most of the characters came across as degenerates that I would not knowingly want to meet. This book really held my interest though and I finished it in one sitting. Thank you to NetGalley an Alcove Press for the digital ARC. This review is my own opinion. I do want to add that I saw a promotion for this book that said if you loved Lessons in Chemistry you will love this book. This book is NOT anything like that. The same promotional blurb called it darkly humorous. I could NOT call it humorous.

Every once in a while, my tendency to pick books based on their covers backfires (and this book really does have a gorgeous stylized cover, profile silhouettes overlaid with flames) Unfortunately, this was one of those times.

This book started off so strong, with an adult daughter’s trip home to Cape Cod for the holidays coinciding with a Christmas night fire burning down the medical clinic where her father once performed illegal abortions in the pre-Roe v. Wade era. I was initially hooked by the premise and the author’s beautifully descriptive prose, but sadly it failed to hold my attention. The lovely prose starts to wander and feel aimless. The multiple POVs, so often a favorite of mine, did not add to the story. Every character is unlikeable (but not in an interesting way), and all of the POVs sound like the same voice regardless of which character it is.

I try really hard not to DNF an ARC but ultimately gave up on this one around the 40% mark. This author has talent and potential, and I think this book will resonate with the right readers, but I just wasn’t one of them.

There's a lot going on in this book, and it didn't really come together for me. Mary lives in Brooklyn most of the year but her mother lives in Cape Cod, and this year Mary has come to Cape Cod for Christmas. On Christmas Day, there's a big fire at the town clinic, which used to be an abortion clinic run by Mary's father. Mary is adopted and has always wondered who her birth parents are, and we follow her and other minor characters as Mary tries to figure out her heritage and also what or who caused the fire.

This isn't exactly a thriller - you know pretty early on who may have been involved in the fire and what nefarious things may be going on - and there's not really an undercurrent of suspense running throughout the book. I think this book is meant to be a character study and a story about family and community, but the narrative jumped between so many different perspectives and timelines that it made it difficult to get invested in any one character. I appreciated the book's attempt at pulling back the curtain on a tourist town, and sometimes the writing was lovely. But overall, it just wasn't very memorable.

I also didn't love the way this book talks about abortion; obviously not every book is going to have a positive view on abortion, but positioning the doctor as a serial philanderer and sexual predator was certainly a choice. There was also a lot of judgment in how the author talked about the women who came to the clinic, and although I saw this marketed as a feminist book, the narrative wasn't really compassionate towards any of the female characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Alcove Press for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

The perfect summer read! It was so fun to delve into the generational secrets that have been long buried in Wellfleet until a fire threatens to unravel everything.

I did not know what to expect with this book and it definitely kept me on my toes. The twists were well thought out and I found myself genuinely surprised at some of the reveals, yet the author did a good job of also setting everything up. The twists were well planned out.
I struggled with some of the pacing and the characters, I could never quite tell who I was supposed to be rooting for. Towards the end I found myself wishing there had been more moments from the past to better understand the characters.

This was an intriguing story. I appreciate the mysteries that run throughout the story and I felt like these plot points did a great job of holding interest and keeping the story moving forward. There are a handful of characters and POVs, which offers up a variety of perspectives and insights to the story and I found that this narrative structure really worked here and never teetered into repetitiveness. The characters felt complex and dimensional in a way that really added a layer of realness to the story. I could tell this was a story that was important and personal to the author.

I will say, I was a bit disappointed in how the characters were written. There wasn't really anyone that I felt I could connect with or root for. And while I have nothing against unlikable characters, I didn't feel like these characters were unlikable in an enjoyable way. I also felt like the overall pacing was really off. There was a lot going on that I wanted answers to and to see how they would all come together, but the story lacked any real urgency or drive. There were chapters/sections where I felt like I just had to get through rather than being able to engage with the text. I also felt like there should have been a lot more follow up or care for Danny and what was suggested he went through. I felt like we were starting to uncover some deeper trauma and open up for the chance for Danny and Mary to really come together and heal, but then Mary just sent Danny back home and that was that.
MILD SPOILER WARNING
I was also thrown by the ultimate reveal about the fire, mostly because it was revealed to have been caused by a character that we never really saw or got to know. And then the way that entire arc was resolved felt unsatisfying--comparing a child being used/manipulated to the intentional acts of adults was not a strong thread.

Probably 2.5

Thanks to NetGalley and Alcove Press for providing me with a digital review copy of this story in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Alcove Press and Judith Newcomb Stiles for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of Hush Little Fire.
This novel was intriguing from the start-a fire breaks out Christmas night in Cape Cod. The action is fast paced but the story jumps around too much for me and I found it hard to put all the pieces together. There is so much going on-family secrets, identity, adoption, abortion and lots of bad behavior along with multiple narrators. I could not become fully immersed.
This had a great start but the characters were flat with few redeeming qualities. There was a lack of emotion and the characters accepted all the bad behavior. There are some twists and turns but the plot is somewhat predictable.
I enjoyed this story only from the sidelines. I wanted more depth and compassion from the characters.

Mary knew she had been adopted but longed to know who her birth parents were and she had a difficult and distanced relationship with her mother. She goes back to Cape Cod for the holidays, a fire consumes a clinic and although she was seen there she can't remember it. Her mother has fled to Florida, her son (who she doesn't know for sure who his father is) wants to return to New York, and the Police seems to believe she is responsible for the fire and the death of the nurse that was trapped within the clinic. She'll get help from the most unexpected person in the island, and as she starts to learn the truth about her past, her family, and her own son, she fights to keep her composure and to be there for those she loves. Hush Little Fire throws a lot of concepts for thought regarding womanhood, the right for an abortion, family and women perceived value in society.
I thank Ms. Stiles, her publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

The premise of Hush Little Fire seemed super interesting, but unfortunately it didn't click with me and I stopped reading around the 30% mark.

The story itself is dark and full of suspense, and I still have lots of questions about the fire, Mary's background, and why everybody in this town acts so suspiciously all the time. I'm sure that for a fan of mysteries this story really has the potential to hit the mark.

That said, I had trouble connecting with any of the characters - they just felt so unlikeable to me, I couldn't get past it. Considering the multiple POVs I expected to at least have someone to root for, or to appreciate them for the flawed individuals they are, but the flaws kept piling up and I found myself not really wanting to read on.

If you're a fan of realistic, gritty mysteries that give you small nuggets of hints at a time, you might enjoy this one.

✨ Disclaimer ✨ I received a free copy of this book and this is my honest review.

I struggled. The characters didn't grab my interest. While there were several different narrators, they all sounded the same to me. And I almost felt like I was reading their diaries, except these were grown adults. The timeline for events felt incredibly off kilter. Roe v Wade was decades before the fire. Why were there drugs in the clinic still? Was it still open? That is never discussed. And Mary's obsession with her birth mother felt like an affectation, instead of honest. Doesn't help that it felt incredibly obvious who her parents were. Was that one of the mysteries we were supposed to uncover? Finally, I think it really just annoyed me that the only way we find out who started the fire (the big mystery) was that the person spelled it out to another character. Sure the foundation for the story was a good one, I just felt that the execution missed the mark.

Secret and lies on the dark side of Wellfleet. A fire at a health clinic is blamed on Mary who is back home and looking for answers of her own but she didn't do it- or did she? This starts well but the multiple POVs muddled it for me. I don't understand the suggestion that this is for fans of Lessons in Chemistry and Where the Crawdads Sing-there's no comparison (and those novels are themselves quite different from each other). Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Over to others.

Not bad not great. Thought this would have been more centered on the abortion clinic of it all versus a family dynamic. Think that maybe would have been more engaging

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review. Unfortunately, I found the story to be confusing. Thank you for the opportunity and your consideration.

This novel had a lot going for it—mystery, family secrets, and a chilly Cape Cod setting that felt perfect for a wintry, slow-burn read. I appreciated the intergenerational lens and how it tried to weave together history, motherhood, and identity across multiple perspectives.

But for me, it didn’t quite deliver the emotional or narrative payoff I was hoping for. Mary is a sympathetic character, and her search for the truth—about the fire, her birth mother, and her family’s murky past—is compelling in parts. Still, the pacing dragged at times, and the multiple threads didn’t always come together in a satisfying way. The plot had promise, but it sometimes felt more meandering than mysterious.

I’d still recommend it to readers who enjoy literary mysteries with complex mother-daughter dynamics and small-town intrigue. It just didn’t light a fire for me the way I wanted it to. 🔥

i really do enjoy character driven books. especially ones where we learn some deep truths.
this is such a realistic point of view too. the starting point of things being exposed often happens by just one thing and its ripple effect. like often doesnt go kaboom "here are you secrets" but its in the little moments,the nuggets we find, the threads pulled. in this is what happens for one adopted woman. a health clinic is burnt down. but there is sooooo much more to it. and they relate to our main characters whole life, her parents and the secrets being kept from her.
i never knew what way this was going to go. i didnt want to think her adoptive mother would keep secrets as a hurtful thing. you always want believe a parents decides things good or bad to protect right? so i was surprised and didnt like which way the book swung. but was it to stay that way?#
there is a unique writing style from this author. and i think id like to read more of her to see if it stays the same or was just the way she laced out this book.

This was an amazing discovery, lots of secrets and thrilling involved. I didn't regret jumping headfirst into this. An amazing discovery

I wanted to really enjoy this book but there were too many things that didn't get resolved or was pointless.
The MC has this silly titles for simple things that gets
annoying.
I read some reviews that say everything was wrapped up in a nice box at the end but it was not. It is hinted at it like one character says the put the accelerant down but never says they are the one to light the fire.
Does Mary ever find out about the Chief? Does the memory of that night ever come back?

I wanted to love this book but unfortunately I only liked it. I really struggled to connect with the characters and I found it to be predictable at times. Please give it a go yourself you may find you really like it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

It's an interesting premise but I fear the execution falls flat. I find myself dislike the main character so much that it's hard to enjoy the story.