This novel deserves all of the hype that it has been getting. I will now join the countless other readers who have been urging everyone to read this book. Seriously, read this book! It will definitely be on my list of favorite books of the year.

For April and Leo, everything seems to be going up in flames. Their marriage is ending and their house just caught on fire. While their home and possessions may be lost, their family was able to get out safely. Needing a place to stay, they accept April’s mother’s offer to move in with them for the time being. Moving back into her childhood home with her parents, Deb and Billy, seemed like an easy solution, but with April and Leo’s marriage on the precipice of divorce, two young children to attend to, and April’s parents who are keeping their own secrets from their adult children, the complications just seem to be accumulating.

The novel alternates between April, Leo, and Deb. The alternating chapters worked beautifully for this story. It enabled me to really feel as though I knew the characters. I wanted their backstories. I wanted to know about their lives, their relationships, their hopes and fears. These characters felt so real to me. I was completely hooked from the first page, and I did not want to stop reading for any reason.

Everything about this novel was filled with feeling. It was so easy to get pulled into this story. Each character seemed to work their way into my heart, and I felt so much for them. They were not perfect. They didn’t always make the best decisions. They sometimes hurt the ones they loved. Their own hearts broke. They kept secrets. There was nothing simple about their lives or their stories, but that’s what made them so relatable.

There’s nothing I would like to do more than to get into every detail of this story. I am not going to do that, though. This novel needs to be experienced by the reader. All I can do is tell you that I highly recommend The Burning Side. I am envious of people who are going to get to read it for the first time. I wish I could read it again for the first time, too. Yes, it was that good. Yes, you should definitely add it to your TBR list. I don’t care how many books you already have on your reading list, make room for this one. I promise you won’t regret it.

*5+ Stars
 

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