The HOA

The HOA #1

by Tanya Smith

Vellamar Estates is the kind of neighborhood where the lawns are always perfect and the neighbors always wave. The kind of place where you pay a little extra for peace of mind, for safety, for the comfort of knowing that someone is looking out for you.

But someone is also looking in.

Behind the gates, four families are keeping secrets—the kind that could destroy careers, marriages, and lives.

A woman living a double life to keep her daughter fed.

A former athlete bleeding money to the wrong people.

A landscaper laundering cash to save the grandmother who raised him.

A couple who just want to exist without apology.

They came to Vellamar to build something. To protect what matters. To finally breathe.

But there are cameras where no one thinks to look. Files on every resident since the day they moved in. And an understanding that the best leverage isn't money—it's shame.

Now the families of Vellamar must decide what they're willing to lose to protect what they've hidden—without knowing who's watching, who's listening, or who among them can still be trusted.

Some neighborhoods have rules. Vellamar has leverage.

And once you're inside, getting out costs more than getting in.

For the paranoid, you were right.

Genres: Audiobook, Thriller, Mystery, Literary Fiction, Suspense

404 pages, Hardcover

Published March 3, 2026

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read the description of this book, it immediately stuck out.
I love books with neighborhood drama and I know how annoying HOAs can be.
There’s always that one person (or a few people) with WAY too much time on their hands who go around measuring people’s grass and watching to make sure their trash bins are taken off the curb by a specified time.
But the HOA in this book takes things to a new extreme.

The president of the HOA works hard to ensure that Villamore Estates maintains neighbors who she deems acceptable (heterosexual white families).
If you have black or brown skin, or are in a same-sex marriage, she doesn’t want you in her neighborhood for fear of you lowering property values.
And she knows how to make your life hell until you give up and move.

Imagine you buy a luxurious home in an exclusive gated community that’s equipped with a state of the art security system.
You agree for a technician to come out and set it up.
Then you find out that the technician has been secretly spying on you in your own home using the very equipment that you pay for to have security and peace of mind.
To make matters worse, his one and only goal is to discover your secrets and dirty laundry in order to have blackmail to use against you.

I love the plot, and I did enjoy getting to know all of the characters.
Some I was rooting for and some disgusted me so much that I can’t think of words to use to describe them.

But I also had a couple of issues.

First, at 400 pages, the book was a bit long and there were some parts that dragged on.
This could have had 50 fewer pages without compromising the story by just eliminating some of the unnecessary details.
The ending also felt a bit rushed for a book of that length.

Also, there were some details that didn’t make sense.
Twice the author mentions residents walking from the parking garage to their apartment.
But the community is comprised of large homes with driveways, garages and yards.
Also, when describing one of the characters losing his parents, she mentions that a son was 34 and his mother was 44 when it happened.
I really don’t think that the author was trying to insinuate that someone gave birth at 10-years-old.

Thanks to NetGalley, Audicious Press and Tanya Smith for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

[stephen gross · Rating 1 out of 5]

horrible ending

No closure! Did not tie the story to a close. The book had too much fluff. Not enough substance. Very disapointed.

[✩｡°⋆ Lala ⋆｡°✩ · Rating 3 out of 5]

•𝐀𝐋𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝘄•

[The HOA]
🔥 Release Date: March 3, 2026 🔥
Thank you to Audacious Press, Tanya Smith, and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
★★★☆☆

The story takes place in a gated, super‑rich community, Vellamar Estates, where pristine lawns and neighborly waves hide something far creepier: constant observation and control in the name of “community standards.” Behind the manicured facade are four families, each carrying secrets that could derail careers, relationships, and lives if exposed. It’s not just mystery — it’s leverage, shame, and surveillance masquerading as security.

What a wild, albeit long ride. You’re dropped straight into the chaotic lives of the residents, mysterious rules, and some shady HOA board members who are both racist and homophobic, all of whom feel a little… off. It took a moment to get familiar with everyone, but once I settled in, I really enjoyed the tension, the strange power plays, and the way the world feels both lived-in and oddly rigid. The writing kept me hooked throughout. Not perfect, but intriguing in all the right ways.

Overall, The HOA is messy, tense, and darkly compelling, a glimpse at a world where control and appearances rule, and everyone has something to hide.

[Eileen Murphy-Schmehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Welcome to Vellamar Estates- An exclusive neighborhood that is as beautiful as it is safe. People go about their lives not knowing they are being watched. The secrets that they carry will be leveraged against them. Patricia, the HOA president walks the streets and looks for violations, but will the residents catch on and fight for their lives?

A must read thriller that definitely made me glad that I live in the country on a dead end street…..

I received an advance copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kim McFall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would rate this one a 2.5 - 3 stars. The premise was good, it started out great! Neighborhood drama, blackmail, hidden cameras…

I liked the multiple pov & loved the narration. This was the perfect narrator that was able to capture the coldness of certain characters.

However, the storyline was just too long and drawn out. For a story that was detailed and precise, then ending was every rushed and didn’t tie up all of the loose ends.

Thank you to Net Galley for this advanced reader copy!

[Jasmine Grayson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Smh! I’m SOO disappointed. The premise is great however the author really struggled to execute a thrilling thriller. I don’t even know if this could be classified as a thriller because nothing happens! I was incredibly bored before 75% into the book we get a little action which quickly fizzles out and back into repetitive internal dialogue from characters who aren’t very interesting. They could’ve been but there’s something missing in their development.

Furthermore, the ending was so upsetting considering I spent time finishing this book hoping it led to a satisfying conclusion just to determine there are several open story lines with no resolution or closure! I’m pissed! Again… this book was so damn dull and long, so the fact idk what happened to these characters or if the villains are served justice really bothers me. I assume the author may be planning a sequel but I won’t be reading due to her lackluster storytelling and dragged out pacing.

The only positive I have for this book is that our villains are SO unlikeable… especially John— he truly disturbed and angered me. The general consensus amongst my virtual bookclub is that this may be a better story in a TV series format— great bones, just not fully fleshed out despite the length of book.

[RoosBookReviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a struggle to get to the end, only for there to be no clear answer since the author wants to make this a series.
This book is long. That by itself is not bad, but only if the story has someplace to take you with it. This one does not. There were so many things that could have been edited to make the story pacing better and to be less repetitive. For example, at one point an identical note is delivered to four families. Instead of telling us what the note was and then giving us the four different reactions, the author repeated the entirety of the note verbatim before each reaction. Readers can remember, we don't need this. This type of repetitiveness throughout the novel makes this book a chore, and had I not made the agreement to finish I would have quit many times over. The narration was also boring, and I had to go back a few times because I spaced out.

thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for my ARC of this audiobook.

[January · Rating 3 out of 5]

The HOA by Tanya Smith (2026)
The HOA Series #1
17h 22m narrated by Robin Miles, 406 pages


Genre: Domestic Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Literary Fiction

Rating as a movie: R

Featuring: Titled Chapters, Secret Surveillance, Affluent People, Neighbors, Blackmail, Classism, Secrets, Power Trips, Criminal Activity, Sex - Off-Camera, Belabored Narratives, El Dorado Hills, California, Los Angeles County, Multiple POVs, Gated Community, Bigotry, Violence, Plotholes, Circles

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½🏘📹👨🏻‍💻💸

My thoughts: ⏯️ - I'm not sure I've read a suspense thriller that is also literary fiction, this is either going to be really good or really bad for me. I'm excited because her nonfiction book read like good fiction.

📱14% 15h left Chapter 9 THE CELEBRATION- I'm afraid this book is so long, not because it's a complex story, but because the author repeats every detail three times from every possible angle. For example, a character is introduced in the first chapter, DIGITAL PREDATOR, by their full name, John Lee-Jing. We spent chapters watching this John do surveillance and set up characters for blackmail. Yet when a character reads his full name on a card and calls him up for help, she still takes the time to write several sentences about what the character didn't notice, ending with, "Didn’t realize that the man she’d just trusted to check for cameras was the same person who’d sent the 1:57 a.m. text." 🙄 That's not very expressive, it's just annoying. It's not 1820, nobody wants to read long explanations saying the same thing five different ways. In another part, a character talks about how a neighbor almost died, and then we have to hear John say the exact same thing in almost the same paragraph from his view through the surveillance camera. This one's going to be tough for me. Plus, I'm not a fan of the narrator's voice.
⏸️ 38% Chapter 23: The Pride Party - These people being neighbors makes no sense. 27 residents in a gated community that ranges from a dental student to an NFL player, okay. 🙄 Then each chapter has the details of a short story, as if she doesn't expect the reader to recall any information from the previous chapters.

I was super excited to start this book when I realized Tanya Smith wrote it. I really liked her memoir, Never Saw Me Coming; it was one of those non-fiction books that reads like fiction. I even mentioned that I hoped to read a fiction book by her in my review. But this story was just long for no reason. There's a lot of inaction and tons of repetitive scenes every time you see something through a character, then she does a replay from John's point of view through the monitor, and they don't even add any details, it's the exact same scene. This was done over and over again and just annoyed me to no end. I think the reason why this is considered literary fiction is because we spent a lot of time in the characters' heads, but it's done in third person, which is just a lot of unnecessary exposition. I had to watch characters do stupid stuff over and over again. The last 90 minutes of the book was the worst part for me because it was very stagnant at that point, and I feel like a good editor would have cut all of that. Ultimately, there's no reason for this book to be a series. There's no reason for there to be a second book. This should have been resolved in this book. You had almost 18 hours, and in addition, you think I'm going to sit through another 18 hours of the same mess? Absolutely not. The plot was good, but the execution was way overdone. This book should have been 10 hours with a proper ending.

Recommend to others: I think you should totally check out this book, some people love it, but for me, it's just alright.

The HOA Series
1. The HOA

Songs for the soundtrack: "Brandenburg Concerto No. 3" by Johann Sebastian Bach,
"MY HOUSE" by Beyoncé, "Mad House" by Rihanna

Memorable Quotes: At 8:32 p.m., John Lee-Jing sat in his basement surrounded by twenty-seven glowing monitors, each one a window into someone else’s private life.

Tommy stood alone beside his shed, the padlock hanging open, two-point-three million dollars in drug money waiting inside. The night air carried jasmine scent—peaceful, suburban, completely wrong for what had just happened. Fisher’s friendly wave replayed in his mind. The old man’s smile. His cheerful voice calling out about the beautiful weather. He had no idea how close he’d come to dying for that wave. And Tommy could never warn him, never explain—could only pray that Fisher kept driving on Tuesday nights, kept waving hello, kept being exactly innocent enough that the cartel considered him not worth noticing.

“You almost died tonight, Mr. Fisher,” John murmured. “For the crime of being friendly.” He replayed Tommy’s face in that moment. The terror beneath the forced smile. The way his voice came out too loud, too bright, while four men decided whether to kill a retired postal worker. “You were scared, Tommy. You thought they were going to shoot him right there in your driveway.” John leaned closer. “What would you have done? Watched? Helped them hide the body?” He zoomed in on the containers being carried into the shed. The weight of them. The care with which the men moved. “Drugs? Money? Both?” John sat back. “Doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re in deep, Tommy. Deeper than you ever planned to go.”

The doorbell rang at exactly 2:00 p.m. the next day. Jessica opened it to find John Lee-Jing on her porch—professional, reassuring, equipment case in hand. His Vellamar Security polo shirt looked crisp and official.

After he left, Jessica stood in her living room, feeling foolish but relieved. No cameras. No bugs. No surveillance. She poured herself a glass of wine and sat on her couch, feeling the tension drain from her body. Tomorrow she would focus on her practical exam. Tomorrow she would return to building the future she’d been working toward. Tonight, she would simply be grateful that she was safe. She didn’t notice that John’s scanner had never actually been turned on. Didn’t know that the beeping sounds came from a device designed to reassure rather than detect. Didn’t realize that the man she’d just trusted to check for cameras was the same person who’d sent the 1:57 a.m. text. * * * John sat in his basement, watching Monitor 3 as Jessica poured wine and settled into her couch. He had stood in her bedroom. Touched the doorframe of her daughter’s room. Breathed the same air she breathed. And she had thanked him for it. “You were looking for the monster, Jessica.” He leaned closer to the screen. “But you invited him inside.”

John nodded politely while privately disagreeing. Observation didn’t create responsibility. It created advantage. The people being watched were responsible for their own behaviors. He was merely documenting what already existed. At sixteen, John created his first surveillance network by accessing the school’s security cameras. Through a screen, he could see more than he ever could in person—multiple places at once. His first real use of leverage came junior year. He observed the school’s star quarterback buying prescription drugs from a chemistry lab assistant. John documented the exchanges over three weeks—times, locations, amounts. Instead of reporting it, he approached the quarterback with a simple request: get John access to the school’s server room after hours. “Why would I do that?” the quarterback asked, dismissive. John showed him a single photograph with timestamp. No further explanation was necessary. The next day, John had full access to the server room, where he installed software that expanded his surveillance throughout campus. He learned you didn’t need force. Just the right information. The threat alone was usually enough. “You’re so quiet, but you always seem to know what’s happening,” a girl in his programming class observed once. “It’s like you’re invisible but see everything.” Her words pleased him more than any compliment ever had. More than praise for good grades. More than recognition from teachers. She had seen him—or at least, the version of himself he wanted people to see. Invisible. All-knowing. Untouchable. Stanford was supposed to be his escape from Hong Kong’s cramped apartments and paper-thin walls.

[Susan Belman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one hurts a little, because on paper? It should’ve been a slam dunk for me.
I love an HOA-centered story—because let’s be honest, they’re already a little terrifying in real life 😂 Add in a stalker, secret surveillance, messy neighbors, and a wildly problematic HOA president, and I was READY for the drama.
And to be fair… the drama is there.
We’ve got secrets, blackmail, racism, anti-LGBTQ discrimination, and a whole neighborhood full of people hiding things they don’t want exposed. The setup is juicy, and there are definitely moments where it delivers on that tension.
But getting to those moments? A struggle.
The pacing is really slow, especially in the beginning. It took way too long to get to the good parts, and just when things would pick up, it would slow right back down again. At times it honestly felt like a chore to keep reading, and if I hadn’t committed to reviewing it, I probably would’ve DNF’d.
It also felt longer than it needed to be—this easily could’ve been trimmed down by 50 pages without losing anything important. A lot of the detail just didn’t add enough to justify the pacing issues.
And then there were some details that pulled me out completely. Things like inconsistencies in the setting (are we in a gated home community or an apartment complex??) and timeline/math issues that just didn’t quite make sense. They weren’t huge on their own, but combined, they made the story feel less polished.
The ending? Decent—but also a bit rushed considering how long it took to get there.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one HOA that was brutal, deadly and simply a menace!! The residents of Vellamar Estates in Eldorado Hills, CA simply want to pay their way, HOA dues and live privately! But in this case they had to deal racism and bigotry along with the everyday struggles of life! Patricia Sterling, head of the HOA left me speechless an unfathomable amount of times. Meanwhile John Lee-Jing made me cringe and his antics were scary as this could happen to anyone! Overall, a decent read. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Francisca Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The HOA is really good. There are a lot of characters, but they’re so dissimilar that it made it easy to follow. I love the cat-and-mouse aspect the most and can’t wait to see what’s in store for book 2.

There were a couple of plot holes that did take me out of the book, and I had to suspend reality to continue enjoying it.

Robin Miles was good but spoke a bit slowly for me. I listened at 1.25x speed, which helped.

Thank you to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing me with an ALC.

[Jo Lee]

I cannot listen to that narration for 17 hours. Slowed down, sped up, it’s giving grandma excited to do the bedtime story!

[Chan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review of advanced copy received from NetGalley.

I always filter out HOAs on Zillow for this exact reason. Honestly, I don’t feel that bad when someone moves into a wealthy, gated neighborhood with an uptight HOA and then acts surprised when they start harassing them. What were you expecting? That they’d treat you differently because you’re suddenly “one of them”? Please.

As for the book itself, it felt incredibly long for what it was trying to accomplish. Being dropped into multiple characters and storylines right at the beginning was overwhelming, and not in a good way. It took far too long to find my footing, and even by the end I don’t think I could clearly distinguish all the characters. The constant reminders of who was who may have helped, but I still didn’t care about any of them.

I also really disliked how repetitive the chapters were. Each one lays out a character’s situation, and it’s usually obvious who’s trying to blackmail or sabotage them. Then the book turns around and re-explains what just happened, like it’s checking to see if I was paying attention. I was, and now I’m annoyed. This keeps happening. One event occurs, and then I have to hear about it again from every character’s perspective. By the time the cycle finishes, any tension is completely gone.

The “villain” of the story didn’t work for me either. Yes, the antagonists are the HOA managing the community, which makes sense given the title, but their motivations felt thin and cartoonish. We’re told they profit off violation fees and that they’re racist, trying to keep the neighborhood white and straight, but it never felt grounded or believable. I kept thinking, don’t any of these people have day jobs? Why are they this committed to villainy? They want families they don’t like to move away, but wouldn’t high turnover in a gated community raise red flags for potential buyers? And wouldn’t selling homes far below asking price devalue their own property?

And the ending. For how long the book is, you eventually realize it’s mostly setup for a series. Cue the loosely tied plot threads and half-resolved arcs for everyone. It didn’t go far enough, and it wasn’t nearly as much of a thriller as I expected it to be.

[Bossmanaries Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A page-turner that actually deserves the term. Get this book now! Welcome to Vellamar Estates where houses are worth $5 million, beautiful lawns but run by wolves over sheep who will engine more than their precious wool. We have four families trying to live but end up targeted by a corrupt HOA board. There is so much to enjoy about this sinister novel especially the tension that is created and characters that you want to drop in the ocean with just a 3,000 lb safe to stay afloat.

This is the beginning of a series of HOA books and I can understand the author giving a cliffhanger with an open ended conclusion. It’s very unsettling as machines and systems last longer than people, the author gives you more to think about than just surface discussion but this book deals with surveillance, power, corruption, blackmail, racism, sexism, and homophobia.

Robin Miles does a great job of delivering the story on audio. Sometimes, you have to pay very close attention to the switches between so many characters whereas with an ensemble cast it would have been easier to handle the voice changes.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #THEHOA for providing the advanced audio version in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend thriller lovers and others to take this book for a spin.

Rating: 4.25 stars
Pub Date Mar 03 2026

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, and Tanya Smith for the advanced audiobook copy in exchange for my honest review.

The HOA is a thriller set within a neighborhood governed by an HOA, where secrets, tension, and drama between residents begin to unravel into something much darker.

As someone who lives in a community with an HOA, I was immediately intrigued by this premise because HOAs can be so controlling, and the idea of a thriller centered around one felt like such a fun concept. Unfortunately, while this story had a lot of potential, it did not fully live up to what I hoped it would be.

The book started off strong and immediately pulled me in with an interesting setup, but as the story progressed, it began to drag. There were multiple storylines happening at once, and at times they became muddled, leaving me trying to keep track of who was doing what to whom. Instead of building suspense, the story became somewhat tangled and lost momentum.

The ending was okay, but I felt it could have been stronger and a little clearer to really make the payoff worth the buildup.

That said, Robin Miles did a great job with the narration, adding emotion and personality to the characters and helping keep the audiobook engaging throughout.

Overall, this was an enjoyable listen with a great premise, but the execution fell a little short for me.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ Vellamar Estates promises a perfect, safe, and comfortable life for its residents. Someone is always keeping watch for threats from outside the community, but what happens when the cameras are turned inward and someone is watching the residents and keeping a tally? Every secret, lie, quirk, and shame is being recorded, but by whom and why?

The premise of this book is very interesting, especially now that we’re living at a time when cameras track so much of our day-to-day lives. Smith does a good job of creating atmosphere and building tension. The real horror lies in the fact that this situation feels real and could very well happen.

I understand that the author needed to provide the history and background of each resident to ensure a better understanding of what was at stake, but I found this part of the book quite long and it really slowed the pace. I also found that following a number of POVs did not give me the depth of character development I was looking for.

I think you will enjoy this book if you:

💜 Enjoy a creeping tension
💜 Like multiple POVs
💜 Delight in a clever concept

Thank you to NetGalley and Audacious Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Chloe · Rating 2 out of 5]

The HOA by Tanya Smith | 2 out of 5 stars
A gated community, Vellamar Estates, is extremely expensive and follows strict community rules, but all of this is to maintain a “higher quality of life.” However, the HOA, like many around America, over-reaches to an unbelievable extent with their surveillance for questionable reasons.

I was so excited for this book considering how culty and weird HOAs already are, but I was pretty disappointed. The biggest positive was the narrator, she handled the large list of characters very well. The bad part? Somehow they all fall into generic stereotypes that are boring. The story mostly held my attention, but that might not have been for the best due to the frequent continuity errors. Most of all, the repetition almost made me put the book down. Hearing four different characters express essentially the same thing, and then having the next chapter be another character going over how those four characters reacted was very unnecessary. Again, the book isn’t horrible, but if I had known what I was getting into, I would not have picked it up.

Thank you to Victory Editing and NetGalley for providing this ALC!

#netgalley #THEHOA #tanyasmith

[Mackenzie Maczko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review on ARC from NetGalley! Let me start off by saying that there has not been a NetGalley ARC that I have read thus far that I have ln’t completely loved and ate up!

Tanya Smith is a new author for me and now I have to go read her memoir because the way this book was written and executed and described was flawless. I was on the edge of my seat at every step of the way, even though we knew what was going on as the reader the suspense of the characters made me feel like I was in the depths of suspense with them. The HOA gave me everything that I look for in this type of a book. It had mystery. It had thriller. It had suspense. The only thing that I can critique on is the fact that I now have to wait for her to release the release date of the sequel. And just like her book, I am at the edge of my seat waiting to find out what happens next and I can genuinely say that I full heartedly believe book 2 is gonna be even more mind blowing and incredible than book one is! This was such a quick read because of how fast paced it was and the fact that I couldn’t put it down without continuously thinking about it, speaks volumes for itself let alone how intricate the plot was, and the characters themselves. The fact that I live in an HOA and I could completely see the potential for the elements in this book to be completely brought to life and potentially real life issues made it even harder to put the book down! 10 out of 10 would highly recommend!

[Angelie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The HOA is the first of a series of character driven mystery/thriller novels. I listened to this one on audio, and while the narrator did a great job, this book had so many POV’s (males and females and people with different accents) that multiple narrators would have improved the experience.

It is rare when an author can command full attention in a story that lasts up to 17 hours on audio, and sadly this book did not have the necessary ingredients. It’s even rarer when you are left wanting a sequel. Unfortunately the ending didn’t leave me excited about book 2 in this series. It did leave me firm on my position that I will never live in an HOA, though!

The premise was super fun, the set up to the story was captivating, but the execution did not work for me. For one, it seemed to tangent in and out of unnecessary subplots, and then there was so much repetition, no real character to attach to, nobody all that likable (though I did like the unhinged-ness of some of them), and it really seemed like some obvious editing was overlooked. The amount of times “with trained precision” or “with clear precision,” or some variation of that was used was really obnoxious. It took me out of the story repeatedly.

I guess overall, I am just left feeling like it had some untapped potential. I would be interested in a shorter, stand-alone book by this author in the future.

Audio ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op in exchange for an honest review! All opinions and statements are my own.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This audiobook kept me hooked. All of the different people and their personal lives were very accurately described. Seeing how the discrimination they were faced with affected their lives in so many different ways. The HOA was awful! I can’t believe the false statements and watchful eyes.

I felt like I was involved in the neighborhood getting all of the gossip on the neighbors from the way this was written.

The ending was definitely not what I expected I do wish it was tied up differently but I still would recommend.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had me really wondering what was going on. The homeowners association didn't want the wrong demographic in the neighborhood. They were watching inside and out. And even though this book was long that didn't bother me. However, the end felt rushed to me. It seemed to jump a few weeks forward and that threw me off. It just didn't seem cohesive with the rest of the story. There was also a character that seemed unfinished.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Alexis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the concept of this book but I found it slow, especially the first half, and it just fell kinda flat for me. I was hoping the ending would at least give some closure to the story and these characters, but it was left frustratingly open ended. While it was entertaining enough, I just don't know if I'm invested enough to continue this series.

[Heather Pendleton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book had such an interesting premise, and I went in expecting a tense, drama-filled read—but unfortunately, it just didn’t fully work for me. The idea of neighborhood drama and secrets within an HOA setting had so much potential, but the pacing felt off and made it hard to stay fully invested. There were moments where things picked up, but overall it dragged more than I expected. I also struggled to connect with the characters. I wanted to feel more invested in their lives and the conflicts, but they felt a bit flat, which made the stakes not hit as hard as they could have. That said, there were a few intriguing twists and glimpses of what the story could’ve been, which is why it’s not a total miss. It just didn’t quite come together in a way that kept me hooked. If you enjoy slower-paced, drama-driven stories, this might still be worth checking out, but it wasn’t the right fit for me.

[From Love The Letters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dear Readers,

I went into The HOA by Tanya Smith not really knowing what I signed up for. I knew it was about a corrupt Homeowners Association, but that didn’t prepare me for what it actually turned into.

This wasn’t your everyday “welcome to the neighborhood” type of story. Not even close. 🚫 🏡

From the beginning, something felt off, and it stayed that way the entire time. The suspense is what carried me through, because if I’m being real, I’m still not even sure this book was for me. But I couldn’t stop reading. I needed to understand the why behind it all. 🤔

And that’s where it got unsettling.

Voyeurism doesn’t even fully cover it. This was deeper than that. Cameras. Hidden electronics. Every corner of these homes being watched. Nothing unseen. Nothing unheard. Privacy? Gone. Completely.

What really stuck with me is how realistic it felt. That’s the part that didn’t sit right. Because in today’s world, this doesn’t feel that far off. HOAs already have a reputation...complaints about trash cans, grass height, noise, parking… all of that is real. We’ve seen it. Some of us have lived it.

But this?

This took it to a level that made me pause.

Because we already accept cameras and ring cameras watching us. Security systems inside our homes. And the idea that something meant to “protect” you could actually be used to watch you… without your knowledge… for the wrong reasons?

Yeah. That’s what kept me reading.

Each character had something to lose. And their secrets? They were worth keeping—at least to them. But the real question was: how much are you willing to pay to keep your life from being exposed? 🤫

Money. Reputation. Acceptance.

The HOA wasn’t just enforcing rules, they were controlling people. Blackmailing them into maintaining this perfect image of a community that wasn’t perfect at all.

And that’s where I started to feel conflicted.

Because while the author did a solid job breaking down each character—their secrets, their choices, even their justifications—I kept coming back to one thing:

Who gave anyone the right to dig that deep into someone else’s life?

And for what? Appearances? Money?

There’s an underlying message here about what’s done in the dark eventually coming to light. But honestly… I’m not even sure the book fully answers that. Some things felt like they stayed in the shadows.

What didn’t sit right with me was the willingness of these characters to bend. To sacrifice their integrity for comfort. For money. For status. For belonging.

And maybe that’s personal for me.

Because I’ve always been the type to believe if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything. And watching people fold like that, Nope ain't gonna do it !

Still, I can’t deny this: the book makes you think.

It makes you question what you allow into your space. What you trust. What you assume is safe.

Would I recommend it?

I think it’s a good read, but not an easy one. It’s the kind of book that lingers a little too long and makes you second guess the quiet noises in your own home.

And maybe that’s the point.

From Love,

The Letters

[Ciara Hartman · Rating 3 out of 5]

🎧 Audio Review: Felt a bit dull/boring, especially the first half. It was easy to lose focus on the audio. But I think it also had to do with the story itself, not just the narration.

📝 Story Review: I had really mixed feelings about this one… I did eventually get pulled in and began to get invested in the characters and storyline, but it took a while to get there. The multi-POV aspect was nice and I was able to keep the characters separated in my mind, so that wasn’t confusing for me.

However, it was very verbose, probably could’ve been condensed into something a good bit shorter. Dialogue/storyline became very repetitive, especially the last 25% of the book. And I really wish this wasn’t the first in a series… I feel like it’s just being drug out, in a story that could’ve been condensed to allow for the conclusion to happen in book 1. I feel strongly that book 2 is basically going to be another version of what happened in book 1 and that makes me not wish to pursue it.

This is a story where everyone is hiding something, racial & sexual discrimination play a huge part in this story, and the bad guys in the story made me furious. So not only did the book seem to be never-ending and repetitive, but it ends mid-story and you’re left with a foul taste in your mouth due to the horrid characters and their horrid actions.

Also, this story may make you rethink living in gated communities that have a HOA! 🤯

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/5

Vibes: Long winded yet intense. Will make you very angry at the atrocities people commit.

Tropes 👇

- Conspiracy
- Gated community
- Spying/surveillance
- LGBTQ & BIPOC rep
- Blackmail

CW’s 👇

- Drug dealing
- Racial & LGBTQ discrimination/prejudice
- Invasion of privacy/tech monitoring
- Prescription drug overdose
- Gambling addiction
- Unethical doctor
- Murder

Audio Release Date: March 2, 2026
Audio Run Time: 17 hrs, 22 mins
Narrated By: Robin Miles
Series: The HOA, book 1
Genre: Thriller
POV: Third Person; Multi

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for this ALC in return for my honest review.

[A Mac · Rating 1 out of 5]

I try to rate modern mystery/thrillers more gently, because I know I'm not going to be reading something that will ever be considered classic lit; they're generally the junk food of books, and I try to adjust my ratings accordingly. However, sometimes they're just objectively bad, and unfortunately this was one of those times.

The writing style of this one was one of its biggest downfalls. The author spelled out everything in excruciating detail, down to the tiniest thoughts of the characters. Readers weren't allowed to draw their own conclusions or try to connect any dots on their owns, and that lack of trust in the reader made reading this feel like getting spoon fed. The author didn't lead the reader anywhere, but instead grabbed you by the hair and dragged you there.

The antagonists were tropey, to the point where one of them felt like a cartoon. The short chapters from his POV generally ended with a one-liner that sometimes literally made me cringe. There were times when the author dove off into a character's background, again going into levels of unnecessary detail that honestly just got boring. This over-detailed writing was used throughout the book. For example, one character set some small traps in her house to let her know if anyone had been in it, and we got the details about them while she was setting them, while they were triggered, and again while she discovered them all being disturbed. If all the repetitions and needless details were trimmed out, this book realistically could have been 100 pages shorter and would have been the better for it. There were also several times where details provided just didn't make any sense, and should have been caught by an editor.

I can't recommend this work, even if you tend to love modern mysteries/thrillers. My thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

[T. Wynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The HOA by Tanya Smith is a richly layered, character-driven story that pulls you into a seemingly perfect neighborhood and slowly reveals everything simmering beneath the surface. From the outside, the community feels polished and orderly, but it does not take long before the cracks begin to show and the tension starts to build.

If you have ever considered buying into an HOA, this book might make you pause and look a little closer. The day-to-day realities of HOA life are depicted in a way that feels incredibly authentic. The rules, the politics, the power struggles, and even the smaller, almost petty disputes all feel very real. It adds an extra layer of unease because so much of it feels believable, even before the mystery elements fully take hold.

One of the strongest aspects of this novel is its cast of characters. Each resident brings their own perspective, baggage, and secrets to the story, and the shifting viewpoints keep things engaging throughout. I really enjoyed how the different storylines intertwined, gradually revealing deeper connections and hidden motivations. No one feels one-dimensional, and just when you think you understand someone, another layer is peeled back.

There is a strong Desperate Housewives vibe here, and I mean that in the best way. It has that same blend of drama, intrigue, and dark undercurrents lurking beneath a picture-perfect setting. The pacing keeps things moving, and the steady unraveling of secrets makes it hard to put down.

Overall, this was an entertaining and immersive read with plenty of twists, compelling characters, and a setting that feels both familiar and unsettling. Thank you to Tanya Smith and BookSirens for the ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tanya Smith is a new author to me, but after tearing through this book in a single day, I already know she’s going to become a firm favourite. Vellamar Estates hooked me from the very first page with its unsettling blend of luxury, secrecy, and creeping paranoia. On the surface, it’s the kind of neighbourhood where the lawns are immaculate, the neighbours always wave, and you pay extra for the illusion of safety. But beneath that glossy exterior, four families are hiding secrets that could shatter their lives, a woman living a double life to feed her daughter, a former athlete drowning in debt to dangerous people, a landscaper laundering money to save the grandmother who raised him, and a couple simply trying to exist without apology. Smith weaves their stories together with such tension, emotion, and atmosphere that I found myself completely immersed, unable to look away as the façade of perfection began to crack.

What makes the book so gripping is the chilling realisation that someone inside Vellamar isn’t just watching over the residents, they’re watching through them. Hidden cameras, secret files, and a system built not on rules but on leverage turn this gated community into a pressure cooker of fear and suspicion. As each family fights to protect what they’ve hidden, the question becomes not just who’s watching, but who can still be trusted. The twists are sharp, the pacing relentless, and the emotional stakes sky high. and flawless characterisation. By the final page, I wasn’t just impressed, I was desperate for the next in the series. For the paranoid, you were right: in Vellamar, getting in costs mone, but getting out costs far more.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

[Kristin List · Rating 4 out of 5]

The HOA by Tanya Smith is one of those books that creeps up on you. It starts off feeling like a peek into a polished, picture-perfect neighborhood—and then slowly, almost quietly, everything starts to feel… off.
What I loved most is how real it all feels. If you’ve ever lived in (or even considered) an HOA, this will hit a little too close to home. The rules, the politics, the subtle power plays, the petty disputes that somehow aren’t so petty—it’s all written in a way that feels completely believable. That’s what makes it unsettling before the thriller side even fully kicks in.
The characters are a huge strength here. Everyone has something going on beneath the surface, and the shifting perspectives keep you guessing. Just when you think you’ve got someone figured out, another layer gets pulled back. No one feels flat, and honestly, that’s part of what makes the tension build so well.
There’s definitely a Desperate Housewives vibe—but darker. Much darker. It has that same “perfect on the outside, messy underneath” energy, but with a sharper edge. And as things unravel, it becomes less about neighborhood drama and more about control, surveillance, and how easily power can be abused.
I don’t say this lightly—this is one of the more unsettling thrillers I’ve read in a while. It feels less like you’re reading and more like you’re watching everything unfold in real time. The sense of being watched, of never quite knowing who to trust, really sticks with you.
And that ending… it doesn’t wrap things up neatly. It kind of blows the door open.
I’m not just hoping for a second book—I need one.

[DeeG Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those books where the premise had a lot of promise, but the execution didn’t quite work for me.
The story is set in a gated community where several families are all hiding secrets, and someone is watching them and collecting information to use as leverage. It’s a great idea for a psychological thriller, and the “everyone has something to hide” theme was really interesting.
However, this audiobook really needed more than one narrator. The narrator did a good job, but with the number of characters and points of view, it became very hard to keep track of who was who. This is a very long audiobook (over 17 hours), and there are a lot of POVs and characters. Some characters appeared and then disappeared, and some storylines felt like they went nowhere, which left a lot of unanswered questions.
The story itself is pretty crazy and unhinged, and there were definitely a few characters that were so maddening you almost wanted them written out completely. There was also quite a bit of repetition, with the same information being repeated multiple times, and the constant use of characters’ full names started to get a bit annoying after a while.
I understand this is the first book in a series, but the ending didn’t feel like a cliffhanger, it felt like there was just no real resolution to anything. I don’t mind open endings, but I do like at least some things to be wrapped up.
Overall, this was a great premise that probably could have been a much shorter book with fewer POVs and more resolution.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the book.