Exhilarating

This fast paced novel sat with me until I was able to get back each time. All the twists and turns kept me up late. It touches on quite a few triggers that happen to a lot of people; abuse, neglect and/or racism. I think many of us can relate to the feelings of Anne.

It was ok, I expected it to be more scary than it was.

I’m really enjoying the easy to read thrillers at the moment. This one genuinely had me scared, it sure if it’s because I’ve just been reading too much of the genre through.

The premise of this book seems a lot more suburban than how the story eventuates and the initial introduction of the characters isn’t as impactful as it could be. I definitely think there are some major downfalls to the character development and overall mystery however a really interesting and often nail biting thriller.

It was impossible to say how it would end, but I felt that special pull of the well-crafted mystery that makes the reader desperate to know what happens.
This story was told from many perspectives with short chapters, and I loved that. I think the author did a great job linking them all together and making the story work plus it added the suspense element. I enjoyed the characters and felt for them in different ways and they acted true to life and believable.

I loved watching the relationship between Anna and Oaklynn develop. It was like watching a soap opera; lots of missed connections and dramatic reactions. Anna had such high hopes for this relationship but things didn't go the way she had planned and I was really entertained watching the downward spiral.

Such a page-turner based on interesting characters and complex family relationships; there is a mystery to solve, but it takes second place to all the inter-personal drama. I loved it so much I picked it up and didn't put it down until I was finished. It's not an in your face type of thriller but the writing is amazing and the story-line certainly keeps you reading.

Thank you NetGalley, Andrew Hart, Lake Union Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

#TheWomanInOurHouse #NetGalley

I enjoyed this book at first, the ending took a strange twist! The racism seemed to come out of nowhere even though the author mentioned the main character was Asian quite a few times. Interesting story line, it just went in a strange direction.

I received this Kindle book from a Goodreads giveaway .

I finished this book, but I have to say it was a struggle. I initially thought that this was going to be an easy read...a thriller, suspenseful ,but it really just wasn't that good at all.

Most of the characters were awful, and lacking development. I always expect there to be a character in a book without any redeeming qualities, but in this book it was all of them. And then add all the product name dropping, the terrible plot and weird ending and you find yourself shaking your head and wondering why you wasted the time reading it in the first place.

Ugh!!

The Woman in Our House is a thriller about how the decision of hiring a complete stranger to live in your home and take care of your children could be a life-changing decision that you may regret. Anna Klein and her husband relocated to the South and moved into a beautiful home with their two children Veronica and Grace. Anna is finally ready to get back to work as a literary agent and she and Josh decide to hire a live-in nanny to take care of the children. While they are nervous, Anna does a lot of research to find Oaklynn Durst, a Mormon from Utah with excellent references and soothing demeanor who is absolutely loved by children. Veronica and Grace soon adore Oaklynn but Anna becomes concerned when both children have unexplainable illnesses and injuries. While everyone, including Josh, is enthralled by Oaklynn, Anna is convinced that something suspicious is happening to her children and Oaklynn is somehow responsible. Anna begins to do some digging into Oaklynn's past and soon discovers that she is not who she says she is. However, Oaklynn is not the only who has been keeping secrets and those secrets may just cost someone their life.

I felt that the book started out strong, especially with revealing a twist so early. I liked the different perspectives that gave insight into the characters and their side of the story. However, the story quickly got derailed with too many subplots. The story became less focused, which made me start to lose some interest. And that ending? I'm not sure what the author was thinking but his social commentary along with completely implausible chain of events were just a mess. The story would have been just as thrilling without the extraneous subplots and the completely unnecessary white supremacist/racial angle.

The Woman in Our House could have been a 4-star rating as I liked the concept of the nanny stolen identity. Unfortunately, it dropped down to a 2.5 rating (rounded down to 2 stars). The author tried to fit too many implausible ideas into one story and it just didn't work.

Thank you to Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5

[b:The Woman in Our House|39904261|The Woman in Our House|Andrew Hart|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1549635992s/39904261.jpg|61749922] by [a:Andrew Hart|17998029|Andrew Hart|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is one of those books that feels like a bit of a slow burn but when you get to the end, BAM things get crazy. This is my first time reading a book by Hart, but it will surely not be my last.

What it's about: Anna Klein has taken some time off from her career as a literary agent while she's been raising her 2 girls. Now she is ready to get back to work but she needs help in order to work at the house. With some trepidation, Anna and her husband Josh decide to hire a live-in-nanny to help with the girls so Anna can work in her home office and not have to worry. At first, when Oaklynn Durst arrives things are perfect. She clearly loves the girls and is very helpful around the house, but after a while when strange things start happening to the girls (illnesses/accidents), Anna starts to wonder just how trustworthy Oaklynn actually is. But while Oaklynn may have secrets, she isn't the only one. As everyone's secrets are brought out into the open, the consequences are anything but what Anna could have expected.

The Woman in Our House felt like it was a quick book, but it still took me almost 6 hours to read it. It is definitely a slow burn, and overall has very unlikable characters. I couldn't really connect to anyone in the book at all, but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. Some things you are already aware of right away in the book, and a couple other things I predicted easily, but I definitely didn't see the ending of this one coming. The ending does get a little gruesome and made me cringe a bit, but overall the book itself was more chilling than gruesome.

I thought the plot was interesting and although some people might consider the end to be a little out there, I was fine with it and it made for a chilling conclusion to this book.

Song/s the book brought to mind: This was a no-brainer, Total Eclipse of the Heart by Bonnie Tyler (it's mentioned in the book).

Final Thought: The Woman in Our House gave me the creeps more than once, especially towards the end, and I found myself getting startled by every noise I heard. I love when a book can do that to me, and if you do too then I highly recommend this one. It's a little different than other things I have been reading lately which made for a nice change of pace.

I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The first half had such good build up that just.... didn’t deliver. A low 3 stars.

As I started this book I got a sense of flashbacks to the movie "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle" - not the storyline per se but the whole mood.
By chapter nine I was hooked. And then came the "fun" part of being the reader - seeing if you could "outsmart" the author by guessing and theorising about the direction this book was going to take before they could reveal it themselves.
By chapter 23, the author had spun such a web with his characters that you just knew one or more of them would come tripping up in a big way.
I really enjoyed the various narrators of the story, each contributing valuable insights into the story. Very clever to allow the three-year old to also voice a chapter - thus adding to the whole atmosphere of the book.
What I enjoyed about this book was that you couldn't identify the "bad guy" in the book until almost the very end. You kept changing your mind about them as you read so that when he/she was ultimately revealed, it was rather a surprise.
There were parts of the story that I didn't think were fully explained - for example where the terrier was when it was lost, where did the cat go, but overall they didn't detract from the story too much.
A great read, very cleverly crafted.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me the chance to read this book.