Lockdown with her husband and 15 year old twins is getting to be a bit tedious for Caitlin - the only thing getting her through is her secret. A secret affair she has which she has been carrying on with Daniel for a year.

Ali - unemployed - is spending her lockdown drinking wine and watching her neighbour Daniel.

Until the day Daniel is found dead.

Unfortunately this style of writing just dis not appeal to me - too much time recounting their thoughts and not enough dialogue to make the story feel real.

2 stars ⭐⭐

Special thanks to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Stay home was a decent book. I think the subject of the pandemic and staying at home has become popular recently. I didn't enjoy the fact that she was having an affair. Ending was kind of predictable.

First book I've read that is based during the lockdown of 2020/2021, and I don't feel it does the despair, the worry and pain of that period quite justice. But this book was very well written, and you did identify with the main character and her issues of loneliness and addictions.

Stay Home follows Caitlyn, a married mother of two that has been having an affair that has become a bit more difficult of late with the onset of lockdown rules. Regardless she heads off to see her lover only to discover his body in a pool of blood. She flees knowing that if she reports the murder then her secrets will be exposed...but she is unaware that nosy neighbour Ali has been keeping watch

Where to start with this book...most of this book is internal monologue of the two main characters which is quite tedious. They think elaborate thoughts about what has happened, their theories and opinions on each other (so much so that conversations between these two take an age). There is very little logic employed here, the characters make idiotic decisions that are completely frustrating that can only serve to lengthen the book. Neither are likeable or compelling - I don't have to like the characters to enjoy a book but I have to find them interesting. There is very little plot in 90% of the book until the final reveal of what actually happened...which I actually found really interesting and wish had played a bigger part in the book. If the last 10% had been extended out with less of the previous fluff I would have at least given this a 3 star but it took way too long to get good - I considered DNFing this book as it was so meandering.

Thanks to Netgalley for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review

Good story, well written and I wish I'd read sooner. I would definitely read more by this author. Please keep writing.

This was very topical being set during the pandemic, i am not a massive fan of this being included in books but I did enjoy the mystery side of this

I did not like the pandemic in this book, I read to escape and I prefer books not to mention COVID. It would be good in a few yeas but right now its too fresh

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. Wow if you are looking for a murder mystery during at pandemic then you might want to check this book out. Ha great for Halloween Month 🎃

Great plot to get yourself lost in. This book has everything. A real fast paced thriller. Will get your heart racing on more than one occasion. Very well written. Highly recommend this book

I think the topic was too on the nose for me. I also didn't love the dialogue method. It felt repetitive and didn't give me the sense of dread I think the author was intending.

A really good read with interesting characters. I did kind of guess the killer before it was revealed which was slightly disappointed as I'm used to be shocked by twists. But I still enjoyed the plot.

Given the description of this book, I think I had higher hopes for it. At times, it just felt repetitive and the story fell a little flat to me. So much so that I couldn’t get into it at times and was a struggle to finish. I always give authors another chance before writing them off though. And I do think this writer has promise! But this particular book wasn’t a favorite.

I enjoyed reading this novel which incorporated the pandemic seamlessly.
The characters and their angst were believable and relatable, especially Ali, who was a bit different but very interesting.
Set in modern times, Covid included, made the atmosphere cloying at times, which fit with the secretive suspense of the story.
Some good twists kept my interest and the style of writing was well paced and smooth.
Would recommend!

I was looking forward to reading this but unfortunately found it difficult to get into. It was very descriptive and sometimes overly wordy in my opinion. I did persevere though and I’m glad I did as overall it improved

This book is a book about secrets , affairs, and addictions. I have to say it was way too descriptive for me and at times over the top. I loved the plot and the characters but the writing style was disappointing.

Reading Between the Wines book review #70/115 for 2021:
Rating: 2 🍷 🍷
Book 📱: Stay Home
Author: Ava Pierce
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers | Women's Fiction
RELEASED on January 31, 2021!!!

Sipping thoughts: Quick easy read. The actual killer was very predictable, in my opinion, but the reason was not what the reader would assume. This story took on a completely different path than I initially thought, and it was a pleasant surprise. The low wine glasses (aka stars) are due to the fact that it dragged on SO much in a lot of parts with unnecessary parts. I enjoyed it when the parts revved up and climaxed but there were just too many descriptive parts that almost made me lose interest.

Cheers and thank you to @NetGalley and @HodderAndStoughton for an advanced copy of @StayHome

#StayHome #HodderAndStoughton #NetGalley #advancedreadercopy #ARC #Kindle #Booksofinstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagram #nicoles_bookcellar #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #booklover #bookstagrammer #bookaholic #bookreview #bookreviewer #IHaveNoShelfControl #ReadingBetweenTheWines #fiction #generaladultfiction #thriller #suspense #mystery #MysteryAndThriller #WomensFiction

This is a thriller for those that liked the twisting plot of Gone Girl and enjoyed the thriller "I know what you did" feel from The Woman in the Window. This is definitely a thriller that I think hit harder, or was more interesting, spending my own time in a "lockdown" where we hardly left home. All the same, the writing paired with the plot definitely make this a worthwhile read.

This book was a good read for the current times, but I'm not sure if it will last the test of time. The writing was good though.

There was a whole lot of telling, but not much doing. The endless rambling became tiresome. The two main character's voices were indistinguishable, despite one being an alcoholic. Their eventual friendship seemed forced and not entirely believable. And the conclusion was not only expected, it absolutely fizzled.

I really liked the idea of the plot of this book, it sounded really current and had not been done before.
The writing was good, a certain level of intensity was built, the really strange character watching was both creepy and threatening. The different perspectives was a good idea as it allowed you to get a feel for each character and added to the horror with the strange thought processes.
However I feel it a fell a little short, it did not really ever get going. I felt I was reading a description rather than feeling the events or seeing them.
On times I felt like deciding not to finish reading as it didn't pull me in.