MixedThe Washington Independent Review of BooksTempest’s work is worth reading if only for the poetry of her writing and its so-called urban edginess ... the author skillfully delves into the underbelly of drug dealing and criminals in London ... Unfortunately, the book is divided between the present-day story of the main characters (in their 20s) and the backstories of their parents and grandparents. This is where I had trouble. I loved the present-day story but felt ambivalent at best about the lengthy, lecture-like backstories of the main characters’ families ... If you can skim these lengthy passages and get to the more compelling pages of The Bricks That Built the Houses, I think you’ll be glad you read this debut novel.