Review of The Burning Side by Sarah Damoff

The novel's premise hooked me, and while I was eager to find out whether April and Leo's relationship would survive so many challenges, and I enjoyed the extended family storyline, I wanted to feel more emotionally invested in the high-stakes situations, secrets, and traumas.

When April and Leo's house burns down in the middle of the night, they're luckily able to escape safely with their two young children.

But as they reel from the loss of their home, the reader learns that the evening of the fire, the couple discussed divorce. In fact, the distress and distraction around the conversation is probably what led to the fire itself.

Now the family of four is living with April's parents, determining what can be salvaged from their house, and keeping up appearances as April's family reels from her father's troubling health diagnosis and a host of secrets coming to light from each member of the family, including Leo and April themselves.

Damoff tracks back in time to how April and Leo first met, and to their courtship and early days. In the present-day storyline Leo and April realize (along with the reader) how little they really knew about each other's inner lives and, in Leo's case, past trauma, before they married and until this moment.

Past secrets related to Leo's life are revealed, and April tenderly enters into trying to manage their effects on her estranged husband.

In the present-day timeline, Leo and April are hurt, betrayed, heartbroken, angry, and hopeless. They slowly creep toward each other again, but in light of the many life-changing events of recent days, weeks, and months, a resolution seems far from assured.

April's supportive family is in the background, coping with their own challenges, and the precious nature of life and love is emphasized at each turn.

I was fascinated by the premise, but the story felt a little disjointed to me. I didn't feel deeply about situations when I would have expected to. But The Burning Side is an intriguing read, and it would make for a great discussion.

I received a prepublication version of this title courtesy of Simon & Schuster and NetGalley.

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Sarah Damoff is also the author of The Bright Years.

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