General Fiction | Book Chatter

The Housewife
By Natalie Barelli
Poisoned Pen Press, June 2026, 368pp.

The Short of It:

I love a good villain.

The Rest of It:

*No Spoilers*

Jodie has always dreamed of being the perfect housewife. She gets her wish when she marries Dr. Roy Davies, a renowned psychiatrist with a posh Beverly Hills home. Jodie moves right in, but the neighborhood wives are watching her with a cautious eye. She sure isn’t Deborah, Roy’s first wife, who decided to kill herself by shooting herself in the head.

Oops.

Jodie has some secrets.

As details about Deborah’s death begin to surface, along with the weird, very strange behavior of the housemaid, Jodie starts questioning everything. Soon she’s digging into Roy’s locked office and wondering why there are so few details surrounding Deborah’s death.

I won’t say any more because I don’t want to give anything away, but The Housewife is one of those dishy reads that makes you put the chores on hold. There’s deception, lies, plenty of suspicious behavior, and a nice twist that keeps you on your toes.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

The Compound
By Aisling Rawle
Random House, June 2025, 304pp.

The Short of It:

Reality TV junkies will appreciate this one.

The Rest of It:

Lily—a bored, beautiful twenty-something—wakes up on a remote desert compound, alongside nineteen other contestants competing on a massively popular reality show. To win, she must outlast her housemates to stay in the Compound the longest, while competing in challenges for luxury rewards like champagne and lipstick, plus communal necessities to outfit their new home, like food, appliances, and a front door. ~ from the publisher.

This was an interesting read. It starts off like your run-of-the-mill reality TV setup but I found it to be a little deeper than that. These contestants are playing for an unknown reward. I mean, as a reader we don’t really know what the end game is. Sure, there are task rewards throughout their time there, to build up their compound. Like, an actual door because it simply did not have one. But these tasks are based on their personalities and their needs.

Cameras everywhere. This particular competition immediately requires that each male and female contestant partner and sleep together. Like, actually sleep Zzzzz together. How does one do this without knowing them? Rules keep them from sharing personal information so they go into it blind.

Quickly, Lily realizes that some of the contestants are untrustworthy and in it for themselves. Lily carefully observes the dynamics but at the same time, isn’t really sure what she wants. Does she even want to win? Sometimes the conditions are questionable. Food, is a reward so if they don’t earn it, they don’t have it. There are many hungry nights.

I liked how the story progressed but I felt that ultimately, it wasn’t clear what any of them wanted from the experience. There are some gossipy bits and He Said, She Said moments and some of the characters are likable but there wasn’t a clear villain and I think that makes it a little spicier, you know?

Overall, a fun read and a good book to distract you from real life.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

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