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Somebody's Home
A quiet neighborhood. A lovely home. A promising new beginning. In a heartbeat everything can change in this propulsive novel of suspense by USA Today bestselling author Kaira Rouda.
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.
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.
299 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 18, 2022
717 people are currently reading
5915 people want to read
About the author
Kaira Rouda
42 books2,796 followersKaira Rouda is a USA TODAY and #1 Amazon and Amazon Charts bestselling author of contemporary fiction exploring beneath the surface of seemingly perfect lives. Her suspense novels include BEST DAY EVER, THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER, ALL THE DIFFERENCE, THE NEXT WIFE, SOMEBODY'S HOME, THE WIDOW, BENEATH THE SURFACE, UNDER THE PALMS, THE SECOND MRS STROM, WHAT THE NANNY SAW and JILL IS NOT HAPPY. Her next novel, WE WERE NEVER FRIENDS, is out February 3, 2026.
She lives in Southern California with her family and is at work on her next novel. Visit her webiste, KairaRouda.com for more. Connect with her on Instagram and Pinterest: @KairaRouda; and on Facebook at Kaira Rouda Books.
If you'd like to host Kaira at your book club, please reach out through her website KairaRouda.com
Sign up to receive a monthly email from Kaira with exclusive sales news, book excerpts, sweepstakes, and giveaways at: kairarouda.com/signup/
She lives in Southern California with her family and is at work on her next novel. Visit her webiste, KairaRouda.com for more. Connect with her on Instagram and Pinterest: @KairaRouda; and on Facebook at Kaira Rouda Books.
If you'd like to host Kaira at your book club, please reach out through her website KairaRouda.com
Sign up to receive a monthly email from Kaira with exclusive sales news, book excerpts, sweepstakes, and giveaways at: kairarouda.com/signup/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 430 reviews
February 1, 2022
What do you get when you combine The Real Housewives of the O.C. with neo-nazis and psychos? This book!
2.5 stars
Somebody’s Home is an over-the-top psychological thriller about a former trophy wife who moves into her dream home and the former tenant who will not leave.
When Julie, a trophy wife, who has had almost every plastic surgery procedure imaginable, leaves her wealthy, domineering husband to move into her dream home on the wrong side of the tracks of Orange County, she is ready to leave her glamorous life behind and move forward living a simple life along with her daughter, Jess. The only problem is that the former owner’s son, Tom, a neo-nazi incel, will not leave, putting Julie and Jess’s lives in great danger.
I wasn’t a fan of the narrative style. There are too many characters to keep track of, and all felt like cartoonish cliches. They include:
Julie, The former trophy wife trying to make it on her own.
Jess, The spoiled rich kid, whining about her first-world problems.
Tom, The psycho, hate-loving, incel who creates terror.
Roger, The raging, cheating husband who controls the purse strings.
Sandi, The religious goody two shoes who sees the good in others.
There are a few additional characters who play important roles. None of the characters are likable. They lack depth and dimension, but they add plenty of entertainment value.
This is a juicy, fast-paced read. I would compare reading this to watching a lifetime movie. There isn’t much substance to the plot or the characters, but the drama serves its purpose and creates a mindless diversion.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway!
2.5 stars
Somebody’s Home is an over-the-top psychological thriller about a former trophy wife who moves into her dream home and the former tenant who will not leave.
When Julie, a trophy wife, who has had almost every plastic surgery procedure imaginable, leaves her wealthy, domineering husband to move into her dream home on the wrong side of the tracks of Orange County, she is ready to leave her glamorous life behind and move forward living a simple life along with her daughter, Jess. The only problem is that the former owner’s son, Tom, a neo-nazi incel, will not leave, putting Julie and Jess’s lives in great danger.
I wasn’t a fan of the narrative style. There are too many characters to keep track of, and all felt like cartoonish cliches. They include:
Julie, The former trophy wife trying to make it on her own.
Jess, The spoiled rich kid, whining about her first-world problems.
Tom, The psycho, hate-loving, incel who creates terror.
Roger, The raging, cheating husband who controls the purse strings.
Sandi, The religious goody two shoes who sees the good in others.
There are a few additional characters who play important roles. None of the characters are likable. They lack depth and dimension, but they add plenty of entertainment value.
This is a juicy, fast-paced read. I would compare reading this to watching a lifetime movie. There isn’t much substance to the plot or the characters, but the drama serves its purpose and creates a mindless diversion.
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway!
November 7, 2021
Buyer beware.
Next time you consider a home purchase, do be quite sure to fully read the fine print from the seller. They just may include an unexpected surprise that you might not be able to get rid of.
Julie has finally found the courage to leave her marriage. She packs up her daughter Jess and leaves her million-dollar home on the beach in Oceanside, California for a more modest inland home.
But of course, nothing goes as planned. And one major hick-up…the sellers’ son is living in the carriage house on the property and is expected to be out by the end of the week. Sooooo, what if he doesn’t want to leave💁🏻♀️
Now, just to add to the heaping mess, Julie’s soon-to-be ex-husband just got caught up in a scandal big enough to make national headlines.
And the hits just keep coming. Though her daughter Jess is due to attend University next fall, one mistake that went viral threatens to derail those plans.
Kaira Rouda always writes clever, captivating thrillers with characters we absolutely love to hate. And yes, she did it again!
A large cast of characters with plenty of action from all sides. But Ms. Rouda wove the storylines together seamlessly to take the reader on a fabulous, thrilling ride.
A buddy read with Susanne.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer.
Next time you consider a home purchase, do be quite sure to fully read the fine print from the seller. They just may include an unexpected surprise that you might not be able to get rid of.
Julie has finally found the courage to leave her marriage. She packs up her daughter Jess and leaves her million-dollar home on the beach in Oceanside, California for a more modest inland home.
But of course, nothing goes as planned. And one major hick-up…the sellers’ son is living in the carriage house on the property and is expected to be out by the end of the week. Sooooo, what if he doesn’t want to leave💁🏻♀️
Now, just to add to the heaping mess, Julie’s soon-to-be ex-husband just got caught up in a scandal big enough to make national headlines.
And the hits just keep coming. Though her daughter Jess is due to attend University next fall, one mistake that went viral threatens to derail those plans.
Kaira Rouda always writes clever, captivating thrillers with characters we absolutely love to hate. And yes, she did it again!
A large cast of characters with plenty of action from all sides. But Ms. Rouda wove the storylines together seamlessly to take the reader on a fabulous, thrilling ride.
A buddy read with Susanne.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer.
November 5, 2021
The first chapter of this book had me so excited. A mysterious narrator waits outside of a house, watching. There’s someone inside who shouldn’t be, and a woman is in there with them and in danger. The narrator rushes into the house, and fade to black…. So good! I was on the edge of my seat and couldn’t wait to see how we got here and what happened next. The book then goes back to two days ago as we spend time in the POVs of the new owner of the house, her daughter, the husband she’s leaving, as well as two of the previous occupants: the ne’er-do-well son who has no intention of leaving the house his family has sold out from under him and his stepmother.
Based on that, did you expect this to be about incels, domestic violence, child abuse, corrupt church leaders, neo-nazis, prostitution, and social media scandals? All with a large dose of religion thrown in? Yeah no, me either. Apologies if that description counts as a spoiler, but I’d have included them as content warnings anyway. I also want to note that while that opening chapter may have you expecting lots of thrills, this was very much domestic suspense, and light on the suspense until the very end.
I’ve read two other Kaira Rouda books (Best Day Ever (which I loved) and The Favorite Daughter) and in both of those my favorite part was that Rouda was able to create deliciously evil, over the top, love-to-hate characters. Here, I just hated nearly everyone. And not in a fun way. In an “I can’t wait to put this down and get away from these people” way. This simply wasn’t fun in the way I’ve come to expect from this author. I do have to give credit though for the last 20% or so really sucking me in. My pulse was pounding and I did enjoy the callback to the opening scene once we got there. I truly disliked a lot of the resolution and how preachy the whole thing felt, but some of those issues come down to personal taste and beliefs.
Other reviews are much more positive, so make sure to check out those as well for a balanced look at this title. I *may* give the author another try because I did enjoy the first two books I read quite a bit, but I skipped her last and wish I’d skipped this one too. I’ll be waiting for reviews next time to see if she’s gotten her devious character spark back.
Expected publication date: January 18, 2022.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of this title for review.
Based on that, did you expect this to be about incels, domestic violence, child abuse, corrupt church leaders, neo-nazis, prostitution, and social media scandals? All with a large dose of religion thrown in? Yeah no, me either. Apologies if that description counts as a spoiler, but I’d have included them as content warnings anyway. I also want to note that while that opening chapter may have you expecting lots of thrills, this was very much domestic suspense, and light on the suspense until the very end.
I’ve read two other Kaira Rouda books (Best Day Ever (which I loved) and The Favorite Daughter) and in both of those my favorite part was that Rouda was able to create deliciously evil, over the top, love-to-hate characters. Here, I just hated nearly everyone. And not in a fun way. In an “I can’t wait to put this down and get away from these people” way. This simply wasn’t fun in the way I’ve come to expect from this author. I do have to give credit though for the last 20% or so really sucking me in. My pulse was pounding and I did enjoy the callback to the opening scene once we got there. I truly disliked a lot of the resolution and how preachy the whole thing felt, but some of those issues come down to personal taste and beliefs.
Other reviews are much more positive, so make sure to check out those as well for a balanced look at this title. I *may* give the author another try because I did enjoy the first two books I read quite a bit, but I skipped her last and wish I’d skipped this one too. I’ll be waiting for reviews next time to see if she’s gotten her devious character spark back.
Expected publication date: January 18, 2022.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy of this title for review.
January 20, 2022
I know that there are polarizing reviews of this one--lots of people really loved this psychological thriller, but I'm joining in the group where this book just didn't work for me. I really liked Best Day Ever and The Favorite Daughter, but Somebody's Home felt clunky and underdeveloped.
The chapters rotate between a large cast of characters, which for me, caused them all to stay on the surface and never allowed us to get the depth of what was going on. There were so many "issues" and none of them were thoroughly explored. I never really understood why Julie left her husband (well, other than the fact that he was a controlling ass), but we never saw interaction between the two that made me root for her to escape him and get away. In fact, she barely moves a few miles away from him, so it wasn't really what I would call escaping. There was no restraining order, it was just oddly portrayed. I'm usually the first one to celebrate women getting away from horrible men, but I just didn't buy this one.
All of the characters were caricatures, living with their heads in the sand and never suffering any consequences for their choices or behavior. I didn't care at all for the stereotyping of religion in this one either, and even the white supremacist behavior was just surface level and readers never feel anything truly foreboding about it.
I'm just going to chalk this one up as a "miss" and will definitely read Rouda's books in the future, hoping this is a one-off dud.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.
November 1, 2021
This is the first book of the author that I have read. It turned out to quite different from what I expected, and not in a very satisfying way.
Roger is a pompous and successful businessman. His wife Julie has decided to part ways with him and buys a property to move to with her daughter Jess. Tom does not get along with his dad (a pastor) and his stepmom Sandie. While he had promised to clear out from the shed at the back of the house, he has nowhere to go. He works in a pub, has not been to college and probably cannot afford most places. Jess, having lived in a luxurious house is not excited at this move and cannot wait to get away to college. Roger is arrested as part of an investigation, and as luck would have it, at the same time photos of Jess & her friends become public suggesting they were playing games fuelling hate. There is also Tom, who is getting desperate as the date to move nears.
On the positive side, the multiple threads come together quite well. But, the characters are all shallow, it is a weak story, and did not make for a very engaging read.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher & author for a electronic review copy.
Roger is a pompous and successful businessman. His wife Julie has decided to part ways with him and buys a property to move to with her daughter Jess. Tom does not get along with his dad (a pastor) and his stepmom Sandie. While he had promised to clear out from the shed at the back of the house, he has nowhere to go. He works in a pub, has not been to college and probably cannot afford most places. Jess, having lived in a luxurious house is not excited at this move and cannot wait to get away to college. Roger is arrested as part of an investigation, and as luck would have it, at the same time photos of Jess & her friends become public suggesting they were playing games fuelling hate. There is also Tom, who is getting desperate as the date to move nears.
On the positive side, the multiple threads come together quite well. But, the characters are all shallow, it is a weak story, and did not make for a very engaging read.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher & author for a electronic review copy.
December 26, 2021
Julie wants to escape her overbearing and controlling husband, so she saves a up enough money to buy a house for herself and her teenage daughter, Jess. She is able to secure a quick sale and move-in date, but she must allow the owner’s older son, Tom, to stay the weekend in the carriage house. However, Tom has his own ideas. He won’t leave the house because he has a plan. Watch out, because he will get revenge on the family who abandoned him and won’t let anything stand in his way.
I was a huge fan of Rouda’s The Best Day Ever and The Favorite Daughter, so I was thrilled to receive the ARC of her latest thriller. The plot synopsis is intentionally vague, so I was extremely surprised and taken aback by subject matter. This book pits Christianity against Judaism, explores Nazi rhetoric, and portrays all male characters as evil and demeaning to women. The women fall prey to these evil men due to their passive compliance. It was not an easy book to read, as these stereotypes lacked believability and ultimately formed a ridiculous plot. The writing was overly repetitive with trite phrases like “Truth be told.” You won’t find any twists in this one, just one long convoluted plot.
However, this book did start out with an easy readability that hooked me. I was intrigued as to where this was headed for the first 25%, so kudos for the bait.
2.5/5 stars rounded down
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer Publishing for the ARC of Somebody’s Home in exchange for an honest review.
I was a huge fan of Rouda’s The Best Day Ever and The Favorite Daughter, so I was thrilled to receive the ARC of her latest thriller. The plot synopsis is intentionally vague, so I was extremely surprised and taken aback by subject matter. This book pits Christianity against Judaism, explores Nazi rhetoric, and portrays all male characters as evil and demeaning to women. The women fall prey to these evil men due to their passive compliance. It was not an easy book to read, as these stereotypes lacked believability and ultimately formed a ridiculous plot. The writing was overly repetitive with trite phrases like “Truth be told.” You won’t find any twists in this one, just one long convoluted plot.
However, this book did start out with an easy readability that hooked me. I was intrigued as to where this was headed for the first 25%, so kudos for the bait.
2.5/5 stars rounded down
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer Publishing for the ARC of Somebody’s Home in exchange for an honest review.
January 14, 2022
Somebody’s Home by Kaira Rouda is the story of two families who have one house in common. Julie has left her wealthy and negligent husband and moves to a suburb, which causes major problems with her teenage daughter. The previous owners of Julie’s new home are a pastor and his family. As part of the sale contract, the pastor’s adult son Tom will remain in the small cottage in the home’s backyard for a few extra days. Tom does not wish to leave his family home to strangers and refuses to move. And there the trouble begins and the tension will progressively build until the very end. The novel’s storyline is original and well-developed. The characters are troubled, flawed and interesting, making this a worthwhile read. This is my first book written by Kaira Rouda but I would not hesitate to read more. I highly recommend Somebody’s Home. Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
November 7, 2021
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
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
June 30, 2021
Can't wait for you to read my latest domestic suspense novel. Thank you for adding it to your Want to Read shelf!
November 28, 2021
Review posted on : https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...
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.
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.
January 11, 2022
One thing you can say about Kaira Rouda's books, at least the ones I've read: they're not formulaic. First book I read was one of my all-time favourites; second book was totally different but still a 5-star read; third book was a disappointment; and this one was a real mixed bag.
There are many characters in this book and we get the story from five different viewpoints. Julie has left her wealthy husband Roger and taken their teenage daughter Jess to live in a home she bought from Sandi and Doug. Doug's son Tom has been living in the carriage house but has agreed to vacate the premises a couple of days after Julie and Jess move in. I'm not even going to try to synopsize the plot for you. Suffice it to say that there are almost as many plot lines as viewpoints, none of which are developed to any extent and some of which are pretty weak. You've got your domestic abuse, incel culture, white supremacy, religious zeal, and philandering, to mention a few. Probably some triggers in there too.
In spite of the negatives I actually kind of enjoyed this book, probably more than it deserved, and the ending was pretty exciting and tension-filled. I can't really recommend it though. You'll just have to take a chance and maybe you'll like it and maybe you won't. I'm certainly very curious to see what this author does next. 3.5 Stars for Somebody's Home!
My thanks to Thomas & Mercer via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Available January 18, 2022
There are many characters in this book and we get the story from five different viewpoints. Julie has left her wealthy husband Roger and taken their teenage daughter Jess to live in a home she bought from Sandi and Doug. Doug's son Tom has been living in the carriage house but has agreed to vacate the premises a couple of days after Julie and Jess move in. I'm not even going to try to synopsize the plot for you. Suffice it to say that there are almost as many plot lines as viewpoints, none of which are developed to any extent and some of which are pretty weak. You've got your domestic abuse, incel culture, white supremacy, religious zeal, and philandering, to mention a few. Probably some triggers in there too.
In spite of the negatives I actually kind of enjoyed this book, probably more than it deserved, and the ending was pretty exciting and tension-filled. I can't really recommend it though. You'll just have to take a chance and maybe you'll like it and maybe you won't. I'm certainly very curious to see what this author does next. 3.5 Stars for Somebody's Home!
My thanks to Thomas & Mercer via Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel. All opinions expressed are my own.
Available January 18, 2022
January 24, 2022
Review to come :)
January 17, 2022
I am a big Kaira Rouda fan. This book is a lot less instantly devious and psychopathic than, say, Best Day Ever. For me (because I love twisted thrillers) that was a bit of a disappointment from the start. Rouda’s engaging writing style kept me interested, as always, but this book has a few too many narrators (including children, which for me is always a little harder because it gives a YA feeling unless the kid is super compelling) so that I wasn’t able to get completely invested in any one character. And the characters are well-drawn, but for me the book was missing the compulsive and compelling draw of some of Rouda’s other crazy creations.
So, overall, a decent and well-written thriller with an interesting plot, but for me, missing the unique voice and deviousness of Rouda’s last two books. Still a big fan of Rouda and definitely will be picking up her next book, but this one just wasn’t a standout from the thriller pack for me.
Thanks to Thomas and Mercer, NetGalley and the author for the ARC.
So, overall, a decent and well-written thriller with an interesting plot, but for me, missing the unique voice and deviousness of Rouda’s last two books. Still a big fan of Rouda and definitely will be picking up her next book, but this one just wasn’t a standout from the thriller pack for me.
Thanks to Thomas and Mercer, NetGalley and the author for the ARC.
December 29, 2021
Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Jan. 18, 2022
Julie Jones wants to start a new life. After saving up for months, she and her teenaged daughter, Jess, are able to move into Julie’s dream home, leaving Julie’s husband, Roger, behind. The former owners promised that the guesthouse on the property would be empty by the weekend but Tom, the tenant and son of the former owners, refuses to leave. Tom, in fact, has a very dark plan to enact and he will not leave until the plan has come to fruition. Julie begins to fear for her daughter, and for herself, and when her husband and her daughter become embroiled in two very different, and very serious, media disasters, Julie must decide if her new life is worth the cost.
Kaira Rouda’s new novel, “Somebody’s Home”, is a dark and gripping tale of starting over, and what happens when your dream turns into a nightmare. Unfamiliar with Rouda’s work, the premise alone hooked me, and I was addicted from the first page.
None of the men in this novel are likable in any fashion. Roger, Tom and Tom’s father are the most narcissistic, patronizing, abusing men on the planet, and it is unfortunate (for the women especially!) that they all landed in the same town. Like a fairy tale in reverse, Oceanside, California should come with a warning: all men are abusive jerks. DO NOT MARRY THEM! Men aside, I really enjoyed the female characters, as they all planned to sever the ties that bind them to their (soon-to-be) ex-husbands.
Rouda touches on deeper concepts alongside abuse; from White Supremacy and Incel Patriarchy, to anti-Semitism and sex solicitation, this is not a book that is light-hearted. With self-esteem and mother-daughter relationships at the forefront, it will leave an indelible mark on every reader. Rouda is able to discuss these very real topics in a serious way, while still making the novel enjoyable and entertaining.
The novel is narrated mostly by Julie, although we do hear from Jess, Roger, Tom and Sandi (Tom’s stepmother) as well. Each character is so brilliantly well-developed, and the suspense only grows with the turning of each page. The ending packs one heck of a punch, too, and it had the right amount of unexpected surprise.
Rouda created a novel of female protagonists, full of female-power, and it was easy to relate to any one of the top women in “Somebody’s Home”. The creativity of the plot, the flow, and the well-developed characters made this novel page-turning and un-put-down-able. “Somebody’s Home” is my first novel by Rouda, but it won’t be my last.
Expected publication date: Jan. 18, 2022
Julie Jones wants to start a new life. After saving up for months, she and her teenaged daughter, Jess, are able to move into Julie’s dream home, leaving Julie’s husband, Roger, behind. The former owners promised that the guesthouse on the property would be empty by the weekend but Tom, the tenant and son of the former owners, refuses to leave. Tom, in fact, has a very dark plan to enact and he will not leave until the plan has come to fruition. Julie begins to fear for her daughter, and for herself, and when her husband and her daughter become embroiled in two very different, and very serious, media disasters, Julie must decide if her new life is worth the cost.
Kaira Rouda’s new novel, “Somebody’s Home”, is a dark and gripping tale of starting over, and what happens when your dream turns into a nightmare. Unfamiliar with Rouda’s work, the premise alone hooked me, and I was addicted from the first page.
None of the men in this novel are likable in any fashion. Roger, Tom and Tom’s father are the most narcissistic, patronizing, abusing men on the planet, and it is unfortunate (for the women especially!) that they all landed in the same town. Like a fairy tale in reverse, Oceanside, California should come with a warning: all men are abusive jerks. DO NOT MARRY THEM! Men aside, I really enjoyed the female characters, as they all planned to sever the ties that bind them to their (soon-to-be) ex-husbands.
Rouda touches on deeper concepts alongside abuse; from White Supremacy and Incel Patriarchy, to anti-Semitism and sex solicitation, this is not a book that is light-hearted. With self-esteem and mother-daughter relationships at the forefront, it will leave an indelible mark on every reader. Rouda is able to discuss these very real topics in a serious way, while still making the novel enjoyable and entertaining.
The novel is narrated mostly by Julie, although we do hear from Jess, Roger, Tom and Sandi (Tom’s stepmother) as well. Each character is so brilliantly well-developed, and the suspense only grows with the turning of each page. The ending packs one heck of a punch, too, and it had the right amount of unexpected surprise.
Rouda created a novel of female protagonists, full of female-power, and it was easy to relate to any one of the top women in “Somebody’s Home”. The creativity of the plot, the flow, and the well-developed characters made this novel page-turning and un-put-down-able. “Somebody’s Home” is my first novel by Rouda, but it won’t be my last.
January 27, 2022
Julie Jones has finally left her emotionally distant, billionaire husband with her daughter Jess and they have moved to a new home many steps down from what they've been used to and hubby won't be very happy when he arrives home from his business trip and finds both of them gone. The new home's previous owners signed a contract with Julie that their son (Tom) could stay a few extra days in the guest house to finish all his packing and find a new place to live. Unbeknownst to Julie, Tom is very angry about having to move and when Jess and Tom lay eyes on one another it's instant chemistry so Julie will have more problems than her unhappy, hubby to contend with. Meanwhile somewhere out in the country, Tom's preacher father and docile stepmother are dealing with their own personal problems and know that Tom is a bit of a troublemaker but both families couldn't have ever imagined how their lives would intertwine leading up to cataclysmic, climatic outrageous ending.
I did enjoy the storyline and loved how the book began but I'm afraid I'm in the minority about how I felt about this book. I found the writing very stilted and abrupt at times plus so much was thrown into the story (religion or lack of? plastic bimbos, neo-nazi teens, hate, lust, new homes? first love, dead animal, guns, subservient women, adulterous preacher, money madness, etc., etc., etc.) it felt just way over the top for me, oh, and not one bit of happiness anywhere in the story I didn't feel any tension or suspense. Almost all the characters were unlikeable so I couldn't feel any compassion or empathy for any of them. Now, I know a lot of the story was tongue and cheek but it just didn't work for me. Then in the last 35% some type of religious theme was overused and too silly especially for the dramatic climax. Whew! "That was a mouthful.". I kept plowing through because I needed to find out how this story would eventually play out. Kaira Rouda is a popular author with a great fan following and I will still try another book but this one just left me putting my hands up and saying, " OKAY THEN" and just shaking my head. Please remember this is only the opinion of this humble reader and I know that many other readers really loved and will this book.
I want to thank the publisher "Thomas &Mercer" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!
I have given this story a rating of 2 DIFFICULT 🌟🌟STARS!!
I did enjoy the storyline and loved how the book began but I'm afraid I'm in the minority about how I felt about this book. I found the writing very stilted and abrupt at times plus so much was thrown into the story (religion or lack of? plastic bimbos, neo-nazi teens, hate, lust, new homes? first love, dead animal, guns, subservient women, adulterous preacher, money madness, etc., etc., etc.) it felt just way over the top for me, oh, and not one bit of happiness anywhere in the story I didn't feel any tension or suspense. Almost all the characters were unlikeable so I couldn't feel any compassion or empathy for any of them. Now, I know a lot of the story was tongue and cheek but it just didn't work for me. Then in the last 35% some type of religious theme was overused and too silly especially for the dramatic climax. Whew! "That was a mouthful.". I kept plowing through because I needed to find out how this story would eventually play out. Kaira Rouda is a popular author with a great fan following and I will still try another book but this one just left me putting my hands up and saying, " OKAY THEN" and just shaking my head. Please remember this is only the opinion of this humble reader and I know that many other readers really loved and will this book.
I want to thank the publisher "Thomas &Mercer" and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book and any thoughts or opinions expressed are unbiased and mine alone!
I have given this story a rating of 2 DIFFICULT 🌟🌟STARS!!
October 19, 2021
This book didn't really do it for me. I thought it read more like a young adult book and contained a bit of every kind of scandal the author could think of instead of delving deep into a couple key themes. It centers on 2 families- one who is moving out of a house and the other who is moving in. Tom lives in the carriage house and is furious when his dad (along with his stepmom and half siblings) decides to move and tells him that it's time for him to stand on his own 2 feet. Julie, along with her daughter Jess, is moving into the house in an effort to escape her controlling husband. You get POVs from all of these characters, plus more, and there is a lot more going on than just the timeline on leaving the house.
I didn't find any of these characters likeable, except for maybe Tom's stepmother, Sandi. Jess was particularly spoiled and shallow. Though the book did move at a fast pace because there was so much going on, I wasn't all that invested in what happened to them. That being said, I thought the end of the book was decently done and packed some surprises.
Overall, this wasn't my favorite but I am sure there is an audience for it. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I didn't find any of these characters likeable, except for maybe Tom's stepmother, Sandi. Jess was particularly spoiled and shallow. Though the book did move at a fast pace because there was so much going on, I wasn't all that invested in what happened to them. That being said, I thought the end of the book was decently done and packed some surprises.
Overall, this wasn't my favorite but I am sure there is an audience for it. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
November 14, 2021
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.
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.
January 31, 2022
I’ve been finished with this book for a while but had a hard time writing this review. I loved every book I’ve read by the author, so I had high expectations. It started great, but I lost interest in the characters quickly. Still adore the author’s writing, so this won’t stop me from reading her next book!
This thriller is filled with deceitful characters that deserve to be killed off! Sandi and Julie are the only two I didn’t want to strangle myself (who doesn’t love a Julie 😌).
Doug and Sandi are married with three sons. Doug is a charismatic and sanctimonious preacher. Not sure how Sandi puts up with him without hitting the bottle! Their son, Tom, has major issues, but who can blame him with a father like Doug? Doug’s hypocritical lifestyle caused the family to sell their home and move to another church. Tom, who is legally an adult, is left behind and vows to get the house back.
Julie is the wife of a rich entrepreneur that is possessive. Roger is used to getting his way and uses money to control his trophy wife and teenage daughter. Jess has grown up thinking it’s normal to drive a BMW and have a Platinum American Express, that Daddy pays for. So when her mother moves her out of their fabulous house to start a new life, she thinks it’s a major crisis. Before meeting her husband, Julie worked for a plastic surgeon who used her as a before-and-after model. She’s fake from head to toe, but has finally opened her eyes and wants out of the privileged life she once craved.
Jess—an obnoxious, self-absorbed teenager—is hard to like.
QUOTE:
“Jess is used to plastic, to paying for whatever she wants, whenever she wants it. Instantly, no matter the cost.”
Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for providing this ARC through NetGalley. This review is my honest opinion.
This thriller is filled with deceitful characters that deserve to be killed off! Sandi and Julie are the only two I didn’t want to strangle myself (who doesn’t love a Julie 😌).
Doug and Sandi are married with three sons. Doug is a charismatic and sanctimonious preacher. Not sure how Sandi puts up with him without hitting the bottle! Their son, Tom, has major issues, but who can blame him with a father like Doug? Doug’s hypocritical lifestyle caused the family to sell their home and move to another church. Tom, who is legally an adult, is left behind and vows to get the house back.
Julie is the wife of a rich entrepreneur that is possessive. Roger is used to getting his way and uses money to control his trophy wife and teenage daughter. Jess has grown up thinking it’s normal to drive a BMW and have a Platinum American Express, that Daddy pays for. So when her mother moves her out of their fabulous house to start a new life, she thinks it’s a major crisis. Before meeting her husband, Julie worked for a plastic surgeon who used her as a before-and-after model. She’s fake from head to toe, but has finally opened her eyes and wants out of the privileged life she once craved.
Jess—an obnoxious, self-absorbed teenager—is hard to like.
QUOTE:
“Jess is used to plastic, to paying for whatever she wants, whenever she wants it. Instantly, no matter the cost.”
Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for providing this ARC through NetGalley. This review is my honest opinion.
January 17, 2022
Julie Jones finally musters the courage to leave her wealthy but inattentive husband, Roger. She and her daughter Jess move across town to a new house in a different part of Oceanside. The old owners, Doug and Sandi, have moved out. However, they have left someone behind, their eldest son, Tom. Tom lives in the guesthouse and he hates his father and stepmother with a passion. For Doug, the feeling is mutual. Tom is supposed to vacate the guesthouse by the end of the weekend, but he has other plans. Ones that will change the lives of all involved by the time the weekend is over.
"Somebody's home, and he isn't supposed to be there."
This book starts off creepy, letting us know that someone has invaded a home and shouldn't be there. But then it flashes back several days later, leading up to the days before the event and truly goes sort of off course. The premise is interesting--a man refuses to leave his childhood home--but the story heads off in so many directions: Julie's marriage; a scandal with Jess and her friends; a scandal with Roger; a scandal with Doug, a pastor (sense a thread here)...
Each character tells their story from their point of view and it's a bit boring and repetitive at times. There is certainly an impending sense of doom at times and some good twists, but more needed to happen. Every person repeats their feelings over and over, instead of progressing the story forward. Worse, many are hateful, and it's hard to care about them or their motivations.
Overall, this one has its creepy at moments and some story threads are interesting, but it didn't work very well for me as a thriller. 2.5 stars.
I received a copy of this book from Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Smashbomb ~ Instagram
"Somebody's home, and he isn't supposed to be there."
This book starts off creepy, letting us know that someone has invaded a home and shouldn't be there. But then it flashes back several days later, leading up to the days before the event and truly goes sort of off course. The premise is interesting--a man refuses to leave his childhood home--but the story heads off in so many directions: Julie's marriage; a scandal with Jess and her friends; a scandal with Roger; a scandal with Doug, a pastor (sense a thread here)...
Each character tells their story from their point of view and it's a bit boring and repetitive at times. There is certainly an impending sense of doom at times and some good twists, but more needed to happen. Every person repeats their feelings over and over, instead of progressing the story forward. Worse, many are hateful, and it's hard to care about them or their motivations.
Overall, this one has its creepy at moments and some story threads are interesting, but it didn't work very well for me as a thriller. 2.5 stars.
I received a copy of this book from Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Smashbomb ~ Instagram
January 28, 2022
Full review to come.
I had a blast reading this with the #overbookedbookclub as a Buddy read!
Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, Netgalley & Kaira Rouda for a #gifted ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This thriller is Now Available.
4 ⭐️.
I had a blast reading this with the #overbookedbookclub as a Buddy read!
Thank you to Thomas & Mercer, Netgalley & Kaira Rouda for a #gifted ARC in exchange for my honest review.
This thriller is Now Available.
4 ⭐️.
February 22, 2022
One of my Top 5 New Releases for January!
January 8, 2022
Somebody’s Home is the latest thriller by Kaira Rouda. This is my 2nd attempt reading it so I am completely changing my review. This was a slow burn for me for the first 50% of the book (IMO) but after that, it really picked up speed. Julie was married to Roger who was a self-centered and controlling jerk. She decided to leave Roger and start a new life with their daughter Jess. Poor Jess didn’t want to move and Roger wanted them both to come back. A few things happened along the way that I won’t give away but it kept me on the edge of my seat.
January 19, 2022
Everyone is leaving everyone, and trouble is brewing for Roger Jones, Julie Jones, and Jess Jones.
Trouble is also brewing for Doug and Sandi a pastor and his wife and their son Tom.
Julie has left her controlling, wealthy husband and bought the house that Doug and Sandi owned.
Doug and Sandi left because Doug was reassigned to another parish because of his infidelities. Doug is an abusive husband, but Sandi was taught to stand by her husband and be submissive. He is also an abusive father who doesn’t show either side to his parishioners.
The two families are connected by a house on Cherry Hill Lane and the cottage at the back of the house where Tom lived since his father wouldn’t let him in the house.
Tom must move out since the house has been sold, but he vows not to leave. It's his house, and it has been his home since he was a young boy. He will make sure he won’t have to leave…he has a plan.
There is a lot of trouble for all of the characters and a lot of tension.
Jess gets caught on social media for being at a party spouting white supremacy, and her father is arrested for being part of a prostitution ring.
Tom is involved with a very bad gang and has a very bad plan.
The characters are mostly unlikable and pretty sketchy except for Sandi.
What is going to happen to all of them?
What is Tom going to do is the main question since his father left him to fend for himself?
SOMEBODY'S HOME is intense and well written but the story line was upsetting for me with all the hatred, sneakiness, and lying going on.
The ending will have you on pins and needles.
Thriller fans and domestic thriller fans will enjoy this book. 4/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Trouble is also brewing for Doug and Sandi a pastor and his wife and their son Tom.
Julie has left her controlling, wealthy husband and bought the house that Doug and Sandi owned.
Doug and Sandi left because Doug was reassigned to another parish because of his infidelities. Doug is an abusive husband, but Sandi was taught to stand by her husband and be submissive. He is also an abusive father who doesn’t show either side to his parishioners.
The two families are connected by a house on Cherry Hill Lane and the cottage at the back of the house where Tom lived since his father wouldn’t let him in the house.
Tom must move out since the house has been sold, but he vows not to leave. It's his house, and it has been his home since he was a young boy. He will make sure he won’t have to leave…he has a plan.
There is a lot of trouble for all of the characters and a lot of tension.
Jess gets caught on social media for being at a party spouting white supremacy, and her father is arrested for being part of a prostitution ring.
Tom is involved with a very bad gang and has a very bad plan.
The characters are mostly unlikable and pretty sketchy except for Sandi.
What is going to happen to all of them?
What is Tom going to do is the main question since his father left him to fend for himself?
SOMEBODY'S HOME is intense and well written but the story line was upsetting for me with all the hatred, sneakiness, and lying going on.
The ending will have you on pins and needles.
Thriller fans and domestic thriller fans will enjoy this book. 4/5
This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
October 13, 2021
I just want to start off by saying that I absolutely adore Kaira Rouda! I follow her page on Facebook and she is so adorable and down to earth! This is also the third book that I have read by Kaira Rouda, and it definitely will not be my last.
Somebody’s Home is a fast paced read. This book deals with real life issues, and unfortunately some very disturbing issues. Although the majority of the characters were not very likable, they each had their own very personal experiences in life to deal with.
While we do know what is going to happen towards the end of the book, the intensity will keep you on the edge of your seat! A true nail biter for sure! I would love to see (or rather read) a sequel to this book.
I highly recommend reading Somebody’s Home, as it has the perfect amount of drama and suspense.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer Publisher for my advanced copy of this book! Date of release January 18, 2022.
Somebody’s Home is a fast paced read. This book deals with real life issues, and unfortunately some very disturbing issues. Although the majority of the characters were not very likable, they each had their own very personal experiences in life to deal with.
While we do know what is going to happen towards the end of the book, the intensity will keep you on the edge of your seat! A true nail biter for sure! I would love to see (or rather read) a sequel to this book.
I highly recommend reading Somebody’s Home, as it has the perfect amount of drama and suspense.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer Publisher for my advanced copy of this book! Date of release January 18, 2022.
February 23, 2022
The charming house in the quiet suburbs is really a hot mess of secrecy, desperation, and chaos.
“Somebody's Home” unfolds in a first-person narrative that produces tension, confusion and desperation. “Somebody is in my home. I don’t know what to do.” Everything centers on the house; what happened there, who lives there, who no longer lives there, who never lived there, always “the house.” The narrative alternates among multiple characters and goes back in time so readers learn how people got the “the house” and how they feel about living in it and leaving it.
The residents of the house, both past and present, are diverse. Readers come to know a lot about them, their hopes, their plans, and their struggles to balance the darkness and the light. They are all just living their lives day by day, whining and complaining about everything, but they become incrementally deceptive, manipulative, and evil. The house, however, knows their real stories, the things they want hidden. Then, things become even worse, and this time it makes the news.
Rouda created a complex narrative rich in complexity and moral challenges, one that exposes the superficial and unmasks the hidden. Anyone can tell a lie that has a degree of truth, but reality is different. I received a review copy of “Somebody's Home” from Kaira Rouda and Thomas & Mercer.
“Somebody's Home” unfolds in a first-person narrative that produces tension, confusion and desperation. “Somebody is in my home. I don’t know what to do.” Everything centers on the house; what happened there, who lives there, who no longer lives there, who never lived there, always “the house.” The narrative alternates among multiple characters and goes back in time so readers learn how people got the “the house” and how they feel about living in it and leaving it.
The residents of the house, both past and present, are diverse. Readers come to know a lot about them, their hopes, their plans, and their struggles to balance the darkness and the light. They are all just living their lives day by day, whining and complaining about everything, but they become incrementally deceptive, manipulative, and evil. The house, however, knows their real stories, the things they want hidden. Then, things become even worse, and this time it makes the news.
Rouda created a complex narrative rich in complexity and moral challenges, one that exposes the superficial and unmasks the hidden. Anyone can tell a lie that has a degree of truth, but reality is different. I received a review copy of “Somebody's Home” from Kaira Rouda and Thomas & Mercer.
October 6, 2021
3.6 rounded up
Julie Jones has left Roger, her controlling wealthy husband and is moving to a new home in Oceanside, CA in northern San Diego County. Her teenage daughter Jess isn’t as excited about leaving her life with dad.
As Julie is setting in she finds someone else is there.
Tom Dean the adult son of the previous owner; Pastor Doug and his wife Sandi told their son that they are moving to a new home but Tom is not going with them and needs to get a job and pay his own expenses. He is to vacate the carriage house and they are praying for him.
Story is told with multiple POV ~ Julie, Jess, Roger, Tom~ the unwanted somebody, and Sandi~ the step mom and wife of Pastor Doug.
A first, I found most of these characters so unlikeable, I had a hard time keeping focused.
Hmm then things got interesting ~ very interesting ~ yep! Sure turned out much better than I had thought; it soon became a page-turner for me.
This is my third Kaira Rouda novel ~ she does not disappoint!
Note: In one of Tom’s chapters he mentioned that it never rains in Southern California in October and it typically a time for fire destruction and Santa Ana winds. However, while reading this we had a major thunder/lightning storm come in to Orange. San Diego & LA Counties and actually delayed a football game and the comment was name it never rains in October.
Want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 18, 2022
Julie Jones has left Roger, her controlling wealthy husband and is moving to a new home in Oceanside, CA in northern San Diego County. Her teenage daughter Jess isn’t as excited about leaving her life with dad.
As Julie is setting in she finds someone else is there.
Tom Dean the adult son of the previous owner; Pastor Doug and his wife Sandi told their son that they are moving to a new home but Tom is not going with them and needs to get a job and pay his own expenses. He is to vacate the carriage house and they are praying for him.
Story is told with multiple POV ~ Julie, Jess, Roger, Tom~ the unwanted somebody, and Sandi~ the step mom and wife of Pastor Doug.
A first, I found most of these characters so unlikeable, I had a hard time keeping focused.
Hmm then things got interesting ~ very interesting ~ yep! Sure turned out much better than I had thought; it soon became a page-turner for me.
This is my third Kaira Rouda novel ~ she does not disappoint!
Note: In one of Tom’s chapters he mentioned that it never rains in Southern California in October and it typically a time for fire destruction and Santa Ana winds. However, while reading this we had a major thunder/lightning storm come in to Orange. San Diego & LA Counties and actually delayed a football game and the comment was name it never rains in October.
Want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 18, 2022
September 19, 2021
"𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒅."~𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒂 𝑨𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒖
Told through alternating points of view, SOMEBODY'S HOME is meticulously plotted domestic suspense at its finest.
Julie is walking away from her privileged life and absent husband Roger. She purchases a house across town, determined to renovate it and find purpose in her life once more. Her teenage daughter Jess is a reluctant participant, as she enjoys her father's money and all it can buy.
Tom is an angry young man whose mother abandoned the family years before. His father, an up and coming pastor, quickly remarried a Sunday School teacher, Sandi, and had two sons. Sandi is kind and tries to mother Tom, but his father deems him a bad seed and further alienates Tom from the family. When the pastor's sins come to light, the family has to move, and one thing the pastor insists on leaving behind is Tom. Tom stays in the guest house, his anger quietly festering, until the day Julie and Jess move in. They're in his house...and he's not leaving.
I was totally gripped by this fictional story and wildly entertained by the collision course these people were on...all roads lead back to one place: home.
Told through alternating points of view, SOMEBODY'S HOME is meticulously plotted domestic suspense at its finest.
Julie is walking away from her privileged life and absent husband Roger. She purchases a house across town, determined to renovate it and find purpose in her life once more. Her teenage daughter Jess is a reluctant participant, as she enjoys her father's money and all it can buy.
Tom is an angry young man whose mother abandoned the family years before. His father, an up and coming pastor, quickly remarried a Sunday School teacher, Sandi, and had two sons. Sandi is kind and tries to mother Tom, but his father deems him a bad seed and further alienates Tom from the family. When the pastor's sins come to light, the family has to move, and one thing the pastor insists on leaving behind is Tom. Tom stays in the guest house, his anger quietly festering, until the day Julie and Jess move in. They're in his house...and he's not leaving.
I was totally gripped by this fictional story and wildly entertained by the collision course these people were on...all roads lead back to one place: home.
October 21, 2021
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Julie lived with her husband and daughter in an extravagant ocean front mansion. She has been socking money away for years to escape her marriage.
With that money, she has secretly purchased a fixer upper home on the other side of town for her and her daughter.
She is finally away from her husband, she can start a new life. But.... he is rich and powerful and not willing to let her go…..
The angry son of the previous homeowners is living in the shed behind her new home. He has vowed to never leave …. 👀
_________________________________
Sounds like a collision course for disaster, right?
I loved this one! 🙌
Julie lived with her husband and daughter in an extravagant ocean front mansion. She has been socking money away for years to escape her marriage.
With that money, she has secretly purchased a fixer upper home on the other side of town for her and her daughter.
She is finally away from her husband, she can start a new life. But.... he is rich and powerful and not willing to let her go…..
The angry son of the previous homeowners is living in the shed behind her new home. He has vowed to never leave …. 👀
_________________________________
Sounds like a collision course for disaster, right?
I loved this one! 🙌
January 6, 2022
Favorite Quotes:
Fate is funny that way. You find what you think is your dream, and eventually it becomes your nightmare.
It’s so satisfying, hanging up on someone. In the olden days, back when we had big thick phones, you could slam those into the cradle and— pow!— make an impact. Now I stab at tiny buttons with my thick fingers, but still, he got the point.
I never want my face on TV. I like being powerful, but behind the curtain. Like a real Wizard of Oz.
My Review:
This was my first-time buddy reading and I had an excellent partner in which to experience this when my blogger gal-pal Joselyn, of rincondejoss.com, suggested we collaborate. Joselyn is far more adventurous in her reading genres than I am so I most likely cramped her style with my choice for our buddy read. After perusing the first chapter, I feared her potential wrath with my selection as the book soon had me more than a bit nettled.
I deeply despised this entire cast of obnoxious characters, as they were horrid and ghastly people, types I would never willingly share air with. While they were all individually detestable and loathsome, the minister was the worst of all – he was abhorrent and oddly enough, the most familiar. Yet as vile as they were and as impatient as I was with their floundering and shallow self-absorbed thinking, I found myself prickling with curiosity and invested in their twitchy story. The little pea in my brain was simmering.
Kaira Rouda is a sly and crafty trickster! She sucked me into this itchy tale that annoyed and captivated me in equal measure. I bow to her adept pacing and exceptional word voodoo that kept me grinding my teeth yet unable to put my Kindle down, even when I wanted to throw it at the back of her characters’ heads to knock some sense loose. This is only my second time perusing Ms. Rouda’s vexing mastery, a slight I plan to rectify ASAP. The gal has skills!
Fate is funny that way. You find what you think is your dream, and eventually it becomes your nightmare.
It’s so satisfying, hanging up on someone. In the olden days, back when we had big thick phones, you could slam those into the cradle and— pow!— make an impact. Now I stab at tiny buttons with my thick fingers, but still, he got the point.
I never want my face on TV. I like being powerful, but behind the curtain. Like a real Wizard of Oz.
My Review:
This was my first-time buddy reading and I had an excellent partner in which to experience this when my blogger gal-pal Joselyn, of rincondejoss.com, suggested we collaborate. Joselyn is far more adventurous in her reading genres than I am so I most likely cramped her style with my choice for our buddy read. After perusing the first chapter, I feared her potential wrath with my selection as the book soon had me more than a bit nettled.
I deeply despised this entire cast of obnoxious characters, as they were horrid and ghastly people, types I would never willingly share air with. While they were all individually detestable and loathsome, the minister was the worst of all – he was abhorrent and oddly enough, the most familiar. Yet as vile as they were and as impatient as I was with their floundering and shallow self-absorbed thinking, I found myself prickling with curiosity and invested in their twitchy story. The little pea in my brain was simmering.
Kaira Rouda is a sly and crafty trickster! She sucked me into this itchy tale that annoyed and captivated me in equal measure. I bow to her adept pacing and exceptional word voodoo that kept me grinding my teeth yet unable to put my Kindle down, even when I wanted to throw it at the back of her characters’ heads to knock some sense loose. This is only my second time perusing Ms. Rouda’s vexing mastery, a slight I plan to rectify ASAP. The gal has skills!
January 6, 2022
Thank you GetRedPr / Netgalley / Brilliance Publishing for the gifted copy.
I have been a fan of Kaira Rouda for quite a while now and I have to say, I am absolutely loving the new direction she is taking with her books. No one writes crazy, twisted characters like Kaira does!
This is the type of book where you just have to enjoy the ride…it’s a crazy, twisty one for sure and will definitely have you double-checking those locks when entering and leaving your home for a good long while. As a fan of unlikeable characters, Iwas in heaven! I’m not really sure if there were any I truly liked as they all had qualities I disliked and made questionable choices, but it’s like that car wreck that you just cannot turn away from and you need to keep watching to see how it ultimately plays out.
I think what really kept me engaged is the privilege here. It’s over-the-top at times and I found myself caught up in the drama of it all. Plus, the chapters were quick…the kind that just beg you to read one more and then another until you find yourself at the end before you know it.
This is definitely an addicting, binge-worthy type of read with such an entertaining plot. I loved how the different threads wove together, tangling in the most unbelievable of ways. If you enjoy domestic suspense, this is one not to be missed!
Audio thoughts: I was able to listen to this one and what a treat it was. Narrated by a full case, I absolutely loved it. Each of the narrators – Amanda Leigh Cobb, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Anita Kalathara, Rob Shapiro and Jennifer Jill Araya – all did a fantastic job with their part, the pacing and intonation spot on, and they really made this book come to life. I think listening to this book made it even more enjoyable!
You can see all my reviews at: https://www.alwayswithabook.com/
I have been a fan of Kaira Rouda for quite a while now and I have to say, I am absolutely loving the new direction she is taking with her books. No one writes crazy, twisted characters like Kaira does!
This is the type of book where you just have to enjoy the ride…it’s a crazy, twisty one for sure and will definitely have you double-checking those locks when entering and leaving your home for a good long while. As a fan of unlikeable characters, Iwas in heaven! I’m not really sure if there were any I truly liked as they all had qualities I disliked and made questionable choices, but it’s like that car wreck that you just cannot turn away from and you need to keep watching to see how it ultimately plays out.
I think what really kept me engaged is the privilege here. It’s over-the-top at times and I found myself caught up in the drama of it all. Plus, the chapters were quick…the kind that just beg you to read one more and then another until you find yourself at the end before you know it.
This is definitely an addicting, binge-worthy type of read with such an entertaining plot. I loved how the different threads wove together, tangling in the most unbelievable of ways. If you enjoy domestic suspense, this is one not to be missed!
Audio thoughts: I was able to listen to this one and what a treat it was. Narrated by a full case, I absolutely loved it. Each of the narrators – Amanda Leigh Cobb, Shaun Taylor-Corbett, Anita Kalathara, Rob Shapiro and Jennifer Jill Araya – all did a fantastic job with their part, the pacing and intonation spot on, and they really made this book come to life. I think listening to this book made it even more enjoyable!
You can see all my reviews at: https://www.alwayswithabook.com/
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