How to Killa Guy in Ten Dates - Shailee Thompson

"When Jamie Prescott and her best friend Laurie attend a speed-dating event, Jamie expects to meet a roster of mediocre men and indulge in some street food afterwards. She doesn’t expect one of her dates to have his throat slit at their table during a blackout. When the lights come back on and there are more bodies on the floor, it becomes clear that speed dating can be a very dangerous pastime.

Armed with makeshift weapons and Jamie’s extensive knowledge of what NOT to do in a horror movie, the remaining speed daters try to find an exit while the killer adds to their body count. As the night progresses and Jamie comes face-to-mask with the murderer, she begins to suspect he is committing the slayings to woo one of the daters and turn her into his real-life Final Girl. But Jamie has a different love story in mind, and as she fights for her life, she can’t help but find herself ensconced in a love triangle with two of the other speed-daters. Will she survive the bloodshed to find her happily ever after? Or does this machete-wielding psychopath have another Final Girl in mind?"
 

What Worked for Me:

 This is pretty much my perfect slasher read.  I love the amount of character development we get before the bodies start dropping so that all of the characters are more than just a name. Once the bodies start dropping, they keep dropping and I loved the creativity of the kills. This was a single POV read which really opened up the whole cast of characters to potentially be the killer.  The ending reveal was very well done and was probably the most cinematic section of the whole read - I could 100% see this being played out on the big screen. 

I think the tone of this read could be hit or miss for readers, but I loved it.  Jamie doesn't speak directly to the reader, but she has the sort of encyclopedic knowledge of slashers and thus the 'rules' for how to survive one.  At times, it felt like she was so close to breaking the fourth wall, but then something would happen or another character would interrupt her. I enjoyed that some of the characters were more skeptical and could be used as stand-ins for more skeptical readers.

I don't entirely agree in marketing this book as a horror romance, and I think doing so is a slight disservice.  As an avid romance and murder-book reader, I absolutely adore the 'two sides of the same coin' dialogue where the same plot could be read in two very different ways, just depending on the framing.  That being said, this did not read like a horror romance to me.  It read much more as a straight forward slasher with a heavy romantic subplot which I think is much more successful.  I really enjoyed the way Thompson intertwined the genre expectations of both, but if any reader is coming to this for a romance plot against a horror backdrop, I would say you may be disappointed. Does it hit the beats for both a slasher and romance - sure. But the slasher is much more of the focus and the romance elements do feel like they are off to the side a lot of the time until it is convenient for the slasher plot for the characters to have a little break. 

What Didn't Work for Me:

I think Thompson did as good a job as she could with describing the location and movement of all the characters - but there were so many hallways that I had a hard time picturing where our characters were (dead and alive). Now, there is a map in the front of the book but I read the ebook so it wasn't quick to flip back and forth.  Now, I don't feel like I was completely lost and Thompson did a good job so I could follow the events and knew the general locations of things, but I think if I had an easier time checking the map, it would have been a bit more fun and interactive of a read. 

Overall, this was a really fun read and I loved the tone and characters.  We get plenty of body drops and some good moments of tension and suspicion.  

 Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC.  Publication date was February 3, 2026. 

 

Cross Your Heart and Hope He Dies - Jenny Elder Moke

 "Juliette Winters is used to taking care of business alone. She has no time for petty things like romance, friendships, or emotional commitments. Love is for people who believe in reality TV dating and holding hands in public. She's too busy dominating the publishing world by single-handedly saving her company from financial ruin with the book deal of the century.

Business magnate Warren Ellingham has guaranteed Juliette exclusive rights to his explosive memoir that promises to expose the secrets of his ultra-exclusive country club, Pacific Pines. But when Warren drops dead of an apparent heart attack and the memoir is stolen, Juliette suspects that someone was willing to resort to murder to keep their secrets from being exposed.

Enlisting the help of Charlie Hawkins, a doctor with a heart of gold and abs of steel, Juliette dives into the glamorous and messy world of Pacific Pines Country Club. As the investigation heats up, so does the tension between Juliette and Charlie. But Juliette can't afford any distractions because the bodies keep dropping, and Juliette is tee-d up to take the blame. If she doesn't uncover Warren's killer soon, the thing that was supposed to secure her future might just be the thing that ends it."

 What Worked for Me:

The first book in the series was marketed as a hybrid romance/mystery and in my review, my main gripe was that I felt like it was just okay at both of those genres but would have been stronger if it had picked a lane.  This book read much more as a cozy mystery with a romance sub-plot and I think it was more successful because of those choices.  

 The investigation elements were really well done and I enjoyed how many different twists and turns we went down.  I loved the inclusion of a good ol' fashioned murder board to make sure motives and alibis were all accounted for.  I also found Juliette to be the right mix of competency so we were rooting for her but she still felt like a normal person getting caught up in some murder.  

 I enjoyed Juliette as a character overall and thought her background and childhood really came through her personality as an adult.  I very much enjoyed seeing her interact with her friends who, at times, needed to force their love upon her.  I think some readers might find her a bit abrasive, but I think we see through that tough facade pretty early on in the book.

What Didn't Work for Me: 

 I wanted more stakes to solving this mystery.  We are told that there will be consequences to these events but it felt like Juliette was the only one who was concerned about those consequences.  Of course, this pushed her to continue her own investigation and to push the police further.  But since it was just her that seemed to be worried, it make the stakes feel smaller and like maybe she was overreacting.  

Overall, this was a fun read.  I enjoyed that it was more of a true cozy mystery rather than trying to be half mystery/half romance like book 1 in the series.  A lot of fun investigation threads and locations for the reader to follow.  

 Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.  Publication date was January 20, 2026

Romance Wrap-up January 2026

The Cuddle Clause - Roxie Ray 

This was such a cute and fun read. I absolutely loved our MCs and how they fit together. Ray does a great job of really capturing that awkward new roommate time where you are learning about each other's quirks and living pattern.  When it came to the wolf shifter stuff, this almost felt like book 2 in a series because it seemed like the reader should already be in the loop.  We did have our FMC to act as sort of a reader stand-in for things to be explained to, so that was nice. The miscommunication/no-communication trope got a little old for me by the end, but the way the ending wrapped everything up so nicely really helped bring everything together.

Tropes: Roommates, Paranormal (Wolf Shifter), Fake Dating

Standalone 

And Now, Back to You - B.K. Borison

B.K. Borison is an insta-read/insta-buy author for me and I was thrilled that this read stood up to my high expectations.  I loved both of our MCs and how their quirks worked together so well.  It was like I could feel the chemistry crackling off the page even when they were just lightly flirting.  I really enjoyed that we got to see them as coworkers and the snowed-in trope at the same time since they are weather reporters - it was such a fun element and one that I never thought about before. We also get a great supporting cast and I loved that both MCs had different family structures that were present on page and informed their decisions. It all felt very realistic and helped ground the story.

Tropes: Coworkers, Opposites Attract, Only One Bed, Snowed In Together

 

Series: Heartstrings #2

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Romance for the ARC.  Expected publication date is February 24, 2026.

Dom-Com - Adriana Anders

While I'm no stranger to kinky/BDSM romances I think Anders does a great job of introducing the topics/nuances to readers who might not be as versed in those topics.  In this case, our FMC is visiting a kink club for the first time so the reader gets to learn along side our FMC. I really loved how our MCs had that sort of instant connection and meshing of their likes/dislikes that really made their relationship feel inevitable. I loved the banter and flirting during the work day together and how that ignited the spark that both of them were trying to ignore. I did feel like our MMC was a little less developed than our FMC and that led to him feeling stiff and flat in a way that made the third act of this read a little choppy. I wanted more of a gradual realization of his feelings and instead it felt more like he just flipped a switch during the third act breakup but we didn't really get to see that growth. 

Tropes: BDSM, Co-Workers, 

Standalone 

 

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for the ARC.  Publication date was January 27, 2026 

Mountain Daddy - S.J. Tilly

I've said it before - age gap romances can be a bit of a hit or miss for me - but this one was a big hit. I think Tilly does a fantastic job of really showing us the connection between these characters and how they work together despite their age difference.  I really loved how we got to see our MCs interact before they realized who the other was.  This, again, helped lay the foundation for their relationship and got it out of the (for me) creepy zone of dad's friend lusting after his daughter. I know some readers love that sort of melodrama or angst but that's not my thing. I also really liked the sort of rom-com elements when they kept trying to find time to spend together and would end up running into someone or having their plans interrupted at the last minute. 

Tropes: Age Gap, Dad's Best Friend, One Night Stand, Small Town, Forbidden

Series: Mountain Men #2

Wish I May - Hannah Murray

This was a really fun read and I'm excited to read on in the series.  After reading this, I was surprised at how long it actually was (308 pages) because it read much more like a novella. We are sort of thrown into the story after our 3 MCs have already met and, we are told, have been interacting here and there before the big renovation project gets underway.  I wanted to see more of the build up and more of those first interactions instead of being basically told where we were starting off.  I think Murray does a great job of balancing the 3 POVs and I really enjoyed seeing how all of the different characters really felt about the flirting (and then more) that was going on. Once our three got together, it was a lot of fun as well and I think the discussions around the reality of being in a poly relationship were handled in a realistic way without taking me out of the book.

Tropes: MMF, polyamorous, small town

 

Series: Three Wishes #1

Thanks to the author for the ARC.  Publication date was January 20, 2026. 

Ranger - Onley James

Another great read in this series.  We got to see our MCs interact in the previous book a little, so we had some ground work already laid for the reader.  I really liked that James didn't take the more obvious plot route by having our MCs start engaging in a BDSM/sex only relationship and then develop feelings from there.  Instead, we see them develop their relationship from the ground up and work through their own personal hang-ups first. And as usual, we get to see some of the characters from the previous books/series and have a good ol' fashioned murder party by the end.

Tropes: MM, BDSM, Age Gap, Boss/Employee

 

Series: Jericho's Boys #4

 

 

 Vows We Never Made - Nicole Snow

 

 I was in the mood for a marriage of convenience book and this sounded exactly like what I wanted.  Unfortunately, it didn't quite work for me mostly due to how absolutely miserable I found our MMC to be.  I love a tortured, reformed, bad boy as much as the next reader but there was something about him that I just wanted our FMC to leave him so he could just be alone in his misery.  Even the adorable dog in the story couldn't redeem him (in a way, I found he was nicer to the dog than our FMC). I really liked the set up and the first half of the book but every time he started to show that he was changing, he would backslide so far that I really wanted him to not get any more second chances.  By the end, I was expecting a big grovel scene, but we don't really even get that.  I could see glimpses of redeemable qualities throughout the book, but they never felt like they were building up to anything substantial. I absolutely love Snow's romantic suspense books and I think she writes great over-protective, alphahole type characters but maybe her more contemporary works aren't for me.

Tropes: Marriage of Convenience, Enemies to Lovers, 

 

Series: The Blackthorn Inheritance #1

Latte Darling - S.J. Tilly

 

As mentioned above, I can be picky about my age gap romances, but Tilly really seems to write exactly what I like and this was no exception. We get to have the little bit of angst from our MMC being the dad of our FMC's date, but without the overly dramatic fallout of if it was an ex-boyfriend. Another aspect of Tilly's books that I often really love is the sort of instant acceptance that this is their person - not exactly in an insta-love sort of way, but in a quieter 'yep, he/she is the one for me' kind of way.  This was probably the most fun and fluffy age gap romance I've read in a while.  

Tropes: Age Gap, Grumpy/Sunshine

 Series: Darling #2

We Were Never Friends - Kaira Rouda

 "Meet the sorority sisters of Theta Gamma

Roxy Callahan Gentry, the ruthless former sorority president and current hostess who has painstakingly choreographed every detail of this weekend—even matching the cocktails to her couture—to prove that she remains their undisputed queen Amelia Dell, the widow drenched in old money and alcohol, with her big pot-stirring spoon and uninvited boy-toy in tow. Jamie Vale, the double-legacy pledge, straight-A student with no sparkle, now a top cardiologist with a picture-perfect family—and a well-guarded bad habit. Beth Harrison, the scholarship student who never quite fit in and was only admitted because her best friend Sunny insisted that the two were a package deal. Sunny Spencer, the carefree and beloved friend to all, or so it seemed—until she wasn't. They've been summoned to Roxy's luxurious Palm Springs vacation home to celebrate the engagement of her son to Beth's daughter. But the refurbished 1920s estate is eerily reminiscent of the hotel where tragedy struck during Spring Break twenty-five years ago. Long-simmering tensions and shocking secrets begin bubbling to the surface like bodies—because while the weekend was supposed to be about celebrating the future, it's not so easy to bury the past…"

What Worked for Me:

The frenemies vibes were fantastic and I loved that this was multi-POV so we got to see how the different characters really felt about each other - both in the past and the current day. There is some great moments of tension where characters have to choose if they want to confront someone or stay quiet and keep the peace. There are so many  'unspoken' moments where the characters allude to something or make a small comment that doesn't mean much unless you are in the know. 

The isolated setting really helped ramp up the tension combined with the fact that it brought back memories for all of our characters. I really think Rouda captured the desert's dangerous beauty perfectly and then when the danger starts ramping up in the third act, we really see the desert come to life.  Snowy settings seem to be the go-to for isolating characters, but I really enjoyed seeing that dynamic but in a warmer setting.

What Didn't Work for Me: 

My biggest gripe with the story is a little hard to explain without spoilers, but there is an alternate universe where this book is much more of a psychological thriller that I think I would have enjoyed more. This could have been achieved by leaving some details about what happened in the past more vague - then the parts of the story that were related to those past details would be a little more up to interpretation and maybe we could have seen different ideas of what happened in the past from the different POVs.  As it currently reads, anytime there was even a hint of something mysterious in regards to past evens, all of the characters pretty much immediately dismiss it as being impossible because the events of the past aren't in question - all the characters know the final outcome.  

This might fall under a 'me' problem, but I didn't really understand the pull to get together after so many years of being apart.  It didn't really seem like the sorority sisters stayed in touch very much, if at all, but they still all showed up.  I think the character motivation was a little underdeveloped for my taste because as the narrative progressed, I just kept thinking "why did they show up at all?" I liked the frenemies vibes, but I think they could have been even more pronounced if we had an idea of how involved they all were in each others lives still. I wasn't in a sorority, so maybe I'm just not fully understanding the dynamic at play here.

Overall, this was a fine read.  It didn't have as much tension or psychological elements as I was expecting, but I still enjoyed the frenemies aspect.  

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.  Expected publication date is February 3, 2026.