Okay, so I just finished The Briar Club and WOW. The house narrating? Genius. Felt like eavesdropping on neighbors through thin walls—but in the best way possible.

Mrs. Nilsson? Complicated queen. I wanted to shake her AND hug her simultaneously. Her morally gray parenting had me texting my book club in ALL CAPS at 2am.

Not every resident clicked with me (looking at you, emotionally constipated roommate), but that tension made the house feel REAL. Like that one weird cousin at family gatherings.

Pro tip: Read this with snacks. The food descriptions (plus actual recipes!) had me ordering takeout at midnight. Grace’s cooking club meetings are now my life aspiration.

Final verdict: 4.8/5 stars (-0.2 because now I’m emotionally attached to a fictional brownstone). This book lives in my brain rent-free—just like those tenants in Briarwood House.