The Break-Up Retreat - Camilla Sten

"Welcome to Himlafall Clinic, where we use revolutionary therapy techniques to heal you from heartbreak. Whether you are going through a devastating breakup, or can’t seem to stop picking the wrong partners, we are here to help you change your life, once and for all…

Isobel Anderssen has heard rumors. Nestled deep in the Swedish woods, there is a clinic. Primarily aimed at helping women who have gone through devastating break-ups, the Himlafall Clinic is meant to heal your mind and help you move on.  Sometimes people are never heard from again.

Armed with a fake story and a contraband phone to record interviews, Isobel is ready to expose Himlafall’s founder and get closure for the families of missing loved ones. But when she gets there, nothing goes to plan. Her contact is missing. The founder, Dr. Martina Hastings, knows how to get under Isobel’s skin in ways she didn’t anticipate. And all the while, the ghosts of the missing haunt her at every turn. It is clear something is going wrong and Himlafall, and Isobel must uncover the truth, before she disappears once and for all."

What Worked for Me:

The premise was really interesting and worked as a great set up.  It doesn't take a lot of time for us to get to the actual retreat location and get right into the investigation.  There wasn't too much set up, even once MC gets to the retreat and meets all the other characters - we were able to get into the investigation more quickly than I was expecting. 

I enjoyed that we got more background information of the situation that lead MC to start her investigation sprinkled into the book as it went along.  These interjections are done via forum posts and letters which really helped them stand out from the main plot. There were some that weren't exactly clear how they immediately fit in, but by the end, everything was clear.  

The variety of characters was very well done and I enjoyed seeing the full spectrum of the type of people who may be attracted to this sort of retreat. They all had distinct personalities that were very clear so I didn't get them mixed up or get confused. 

What Didn't Work for Me:

Based on the build up of the premise, I was anticipating much more of a sinister vibe for the retreat.  Instead, it seemed like a very regular place and our main character was the weird one.  There are a few moments where things get a little tense, but nothing that I felt matched the vibes of the allegations that inspired our MC to investigate.  

There's a particular part of our MC's background that gets mentioned a number of times and I was expecting it to become a bigger plot point.  However, it didn't really feel like it was a big deal to anyone outside of our MC and didn't seem like it held her back in a significant way.  I think the idea was interesting, but I would forget about it between the different times the MC mentions it. 

Overall, this was a good read that really paid off on the premise.  I liked how we got right to the retreat without any delay and dove into the investigation.  I was expecting a more sinister vibe to the book that didn't really come until very late.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.  Expected publication date is June 9, 2026.

The Family Game - Catherine Steadman

 

"Harry is a novelist on the brink of stardom; Edward, her husband-to-be, is seemingly perfect. In love and freshly engaged, their bliss is interrupted by the reemergence of the Holbecks, Edward's eminent family and the embodiment of American old money. For years, they've dominated headlines and pulled society's strings, and Edward left them all behind to forge his own path. But there are eyes and ears everywhere. It was only a matter of time before they were pulled back in . . .

After all, even though he's long severed ties with his family, Edward is set to inherit it all. Harriet is drawn to the glamour and sophistication of the Holbecks, who seem to welcome her with open arms, but everything changes when she meets Robert, the inescapably magnetic head of the family. At their first meeting, Robert slips Harry a cassette tape, revealing a shocking confession which sets the inevitable game in motion.

What is it about Harry that made him give her that tape? A thing that has the power to destroy everything? As she ramps up her quest for the truth, she must endure the Holbecks' savage Christmas traditions all the while knowing that losing this game could be deadly."

What Worked For Me

 This is a great example of a premise pay off and I wish I would have picked this up sooner.  There is an alternate universe where this book could have been more of a quiet domestic drama but I'm so glad Steadman went full steam ahead into thriller territory. The story does start a bit on the quiet side and it takes a little while for the sinister undercurrents to start coming to the surface but once they do, it is a real fun ride.

The comparison to the movie Ready or Not is pretty obvious and I think matches the tone of the read well.  I loved the sort of fish out of water aspect of our main character and seeing the strange world that this rich family live in.  We even get a similar sort of game element where this family has been playing certain games for years and our outsider main character gets thrown into the mix without knowing the full extent of the stakes. 

 I loved our main character, Harry, and how competent she was without feeling like she was unrealistic.  She is a mystery/thriller writer so her brain is sort of naturally wired in a way to think through these sorts of puzzles.  She has some resources from her writing job that she can reach out to for help and it never felt like she had over the top investigation skills - just a regular person with enough time on her hands to do a bunch of research.  Her keen observations about the family and her investigation made her a really fun character to follow as she unraveled the mystery.

What Didn't Work For Me

 The mechanic of Harry listening to the tape in chunks instead of all at once irked me a bit.  I understand it happened that way in order to help the flow of the story so that she would investigate one thing at a time.  However, whenever we got a new chunk, it ended up taking me out of the story a little bit because I just didn't understand why she couldn't listen all at once.  At the end of the day, she still gets all the info off of it one way or the other, but I wish it could have been handled in a way that didn't feel quite so heavy-handed. Maybe multiple tapes are being mailed to her one by one or she has to collect them from different spots that are important to the mystery, something along those lines I think would have been a bit more immersive. 

 Overall, this was a really fun and fast paced read.  I loved the reveal of all the secrets as well as the game elements. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC.  Publication date was September 29, 2022.  

We Call Them Witches - India-Rose Bower

"Most people have been devoured by the eldritch creatures, but Sara and her family have been fighting for survival, armed with their knowledge of folklore and pagan rituals - the only weapon that seems to work against these monsters. And then a young woman, Parsley, comes out of nowhere into Sara's life. Found in their garden, they have no idea where she is from. Sara and Parsley begin to fall in love, but disaster strikes when Sara’s brother Noah is taken by the creatures. They set out to find him, across a landscape of merciless terror, haunted by death. But can Parsley truly be trusted in a world where humanity is as scarse as humans themselves?"

 What Worked for Me

 I loved the folklore elements and how they were used on both sides of the story - with the monsters and the protection from monsters.  I love folk horror and this really hit the spot.  The theme of the old ways being the only way to protect yourself combined with the fact that not many people know this information any more was very compelling. I would have liked to see more trial and error or some examples of times where they learned new information or new tactics but it turned out to be completely not helpful. 

 The monster design was great and I actually liked that they were a little mysterious and vague as to where they come from or why they all look different.  There was a part where one of the characters calls this out a little where they mention that if this was a movie, there would have been announcements on the news about the breakout but they didn't get anything like that.  We do get a whole lot of different theories thrown out there - some more plausible than others - but we never get a sort of 'official explanation' and I liked that it is left up to the reader a bit. 

 

What Didn't Work for Me 

 My main struggle was with the character relationships and trying to find my footing in regards to how these characters interacted before the Witches came in comparison to now.  We get dropped into the story about 1 year after they came, but for the longest time the reader doesn't really get much information on how things were before. We do eventually get some flashbacks and some more explanation in the later parts of the book, but I wanted that information earlier.  As it currently reads, I feel like I couldn't really settle into these characters or understand some of the interpersonal tension going on. For the first half of the book - it felt like I was just watching these characters like on a TV show instead of really feeling immersed in the story.  Once we do get some flashbacks and more explanations, the characters felt much more grounded and realistic which made the events of the ending really hit home. 

Despite knowing the main plot points from the description, the first half of the book felt very stagnant and I didn't feel like it had a bunch of forward momentum.  I thought we were going to have much more tension with the Witches or with Parsley being an outsider to this family, but both of those points were handled quickly and without much friction. Our family comes across like a well oiled machine as far as setting up their protective barrier and falling into a routine that they obviously know well after doing it for so long.  It is realistic, but sort of sucked any real tension out of the story.  Once the main event happened and our characters had to leave their safety - I was much more invested and the tension really ramped up.  I did like that we got to see their relative safety so we could understand what they were leaving behind, but I wanted to get to that main plot point faster.  

 Overall, this was a good folk horror read, I loved the second half once our characters leave their safety net and we get more background on what life had turned into since the Witches came to be.

 Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.  Publication date was April 7, 2026

Romance Wrap-up March 2026

 Catch Got Your Tongue - Kelly Reynolds

 

 I'm not a baseball person, but I absolutely adore this series.  We got to see a bit of the crush building between our two MCs earlier in the series and I was so excited to see how it played out on page.  Despite each of these being easy to read as standalones, I would recommend reading book 2 (Pitches Be Crazy) because we get to see a bit more of Bella's background and her relationship with her brother.  Based on the build-up from the previous books, I was expecting this to be a little more on the slow-burn side of things.  However, it felt like our MCs got together relatively quickly and now there was no looking back.  I did find myself missing some of that slow burn tension that felt like the first 25% of the book was working toward but didn't end up stretching out as long as I was expecting.  Our MCs worked really well together and felt like this was a sort of 'finding their missing puzzle piece' sort of romance - things just clicked into place and then stayed put. 

 Thanks to the Author for the ARC.  Expected publication date is April 14, 2026

Tropes: Sports (Baseball), Teammate's Sister, Virgin FMC, Neurodivergent rep

 Series: Rose City Roasters #4

 

Mountain Grump - S.J. Tilly

I loved this series and this final book was probably my most favorite of the bunch - it was trope catnip for me.  Our MCs are perfectly opposite in so many ways, but they just have an undeniable chemistry right at the start that absolutely sizzles off the page and the marriage of convenience just pushes them over the edge. Our MMC was the perfect grump and while he was less grumpy to our FMC, his grump towards her was always for caring reasons that I absolutely adored.  I did find the miscommunication/third act breakup part a little overly dramatic but I think Tilly did a good job of showing us that the particular circumstances was still a tender spot for our FMC so it made more sense. I'm bummed that this series is over (I believe) but can't wait to read more from Tilly in the future.

Tropes: Grumpy/Sunshine, Marriage of Convenience, Small Town, Hurt/Comfort

Series:  Mountain Men #3

 

Pay-Per-Heart - Grace McGinty

 This book had a lot of things going for it - but I think it ended up being more of a 'not for me' type of read.  I had a lot of fun and I loved the premise, but wanted more from the execution (about 100 more pages with some character/relationship development).  As a lover of the why-choose/poly tropes, I thought this would be right up my alley.  However, I've come to discover that 5 MCs is maybe too many for me since I'm more of a character-focused reader.  I loved the initial character development and tension when our FMC gets hired by three of our MMCs and they all sort of have crushes on each other that come out in different ways and we get a lot of tension building.  But the last 1/4 of the book felt really rushed and like the characters agreed to try this sort of poly dynamic without much discussion and then they all magically loved it without much issue or conflict and then the book ended with everyone living happy ever after.  Which is all great, but I wanted to see more character development with this new arrangement.  Especially because one character had drawn a hard boundary earlier on in the book that he was not interested in non-monogamy even during the initial dating phase but then suddenly he changed his mind.  This was a low angst read, which I enjoyed, but I just wanted some more quiet, introspective moments with these characters where they really chew over this new poly life and how it is working for them. 

Tropes: MMFMM, Sex Worker MMCs, Boss/Employee 

 Standalone

 

While You Were Seething - Charlotte Stein

 Charlotte Stein has solidified herself as an insta-read author for me.  An incredible feat, considering her contemporary romances have all been single POV - which is not my preference.  Despite this, all of them have been five-star reads, because her character development and build up of emotional tension (and then release) is absolutely phenomenal and this book was no exception.  Our MCs know each other from their college days where they were rivals in creative writing classes - she was a lover of romance stories and he was a cynical lit-fic type bro.  We get a good number of flashbacks to those days which I think really helped show not only their relationship development, but individual character development as well.  I love a good forced proximity and having the sort of 'if we're going to work together, we have to at least be able to stand each other' dynamic.  Throw a little fake dating into the mix and I'm in love. As with the other single POV romances from Stein, we get to see so much emotion from our MMC that it is almost like getting his POV on page.  The pining, the self-torture, the obvious obsession with our FMC - it is all *chef's kiss* perfection. 

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC. Expected publication date is April 14, 2026 

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Road Trip, Forced Proximity, Fake Dating

Standalone (but interconnected with When Grumpy Met Sunshine and My Big Fat Fake Marriage) 

Everyone in This Bank is a Thief - Benjamin Stevenson

 "I’ve spent the last few years solving murders. But a bank heist is a new one, even for me. I’ve never been a hostage before. The doors are chained shut. No one in or out. Which means that when someone in the bank is murdered, everyone is a suspect. 

The Bank Robber. The Manager. The Security Guard. The Kid. The Film Producer. The Priest. The Receptionist. The Patient. The Caregiver. Me. 

Turns out, more than one person planned to rob the bank today. You can steal more from a bank than just money."

 What Worked For Me:

This is the fourth installment in the Ernest Cunningham series and it was a great entry.  If you liked any of the previous books in this series and Stevenson's style of storytelling where Ernest speaks directly to the reader, then you'll like this one too.  I had a brief thought, before starting this read, that maybe the 'gimmick' of Ernest would start to get old going on 4 books.  However, Stevenson did a really great job of using the heist setting to give a twist on the standard mystery format we've grown to love watching Ernest follow.  It really walked that fine line of being familiar and hit every part of what I've come to expect from an Ernest Cunningham mystery but also new enough to not feel stale or overly formulaic. 

The cast of characters in this are absolutely fantastic and I think we get a really good feel for everyone since they are trapped in such close quarters.  Similar to the 2nd book in the series where they were all stuck on a train together, the tight location helps amplify interpersonal tensions and really adds another level of intrigue.  The variety of characters also helped the mystery investigation because they all came from such different backgrounds and just happened to be in the bank at the right (or wrong) time. 

 The mystery investigation, as usual with these Cunningham mysteries, was great.  I never actually sit down with pen and paper and try to solve the mystery first, but I did try to pay more attention and pause every so often to try and remember some of the different clues or conversations.  There was one reveal where I immediately had the though of "oh, that must mean XYZ" and in the next sentence Ernest calls out that theory and immediately dismisses it which I chuckled at.  I loved the actual reveal and how, once again, more things were connected than I was expecting which is always great in these mysteries.

What Didn't Work for Me: 

 There's one specific plot point of the book that I didn't quite buy, even though we get some on-page explanation of why that character made the choice they did.  But it just felt a little too 'out-there' of a choice to make.  I had a hard time suspending my disbelief for a moment but ended up just shrugging and continuing reading.  It sort of felt like Stevenson wrote himself into a bit of a corner and this was the least-worst option of how to fix it.  It didn't bother me enough to stop reading and I think the downstream impact of the decision was handled well but it still took me out of the book for a bit.

 Overall, this was another great entry in the series and I'll continue to read as many of these as Stevenson would like to write. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the ARC.  Publication date was March 17, 2026 

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. 

The Storm - Rachel Hawkins

 

 

"St. Medard’s Bay, Alabama is famous for three things: the deadly hurricanes that regularly sweep into town, the Rosalie Inn, a century-old hotel that’s survived every one of those storms, and Lo Bailey, the local girl infamously accused of the murder of her lover, political scion Landon Fitzroy, during Hurricane Marie in 1984.

When Geneva Corliss, the current owner of the Rosalie Inn, hears a writer is coming to town to research the crime that put St. Medard’s Bay on the map, she’s less interested in solving a whodunnit than in how a successful true crime book might help the struggling inn’s bottom line. But to her surprise, August Fletcher doesn’t come to St. Medard’s Bay alone. With him is none other than Lo Bailey herself. Lo says she’s returned to her hometown to clear her name once and for all, but the closer Geneva gets to both Lo and August, the more she wonders if Lo is actually back to settle old scores.

As the summer heats up and another monster storm begins twisting its way towards St. Medard’s Bay, Geneva learns that some people can be just as destructive—and as deadly—as any hurricane, and that the truth of what happened to Landon Fitzroy may not be the only secret Lo is keeping…"

What Worked for Me:

I loved the dual timeline and how it was used to fill the reader in on details so we could better understand the gravity of the situation and what happened back then. I also found the story in both timelines to be equally interesting so I didn't mind when we moved between the past and present. 

The setting was impeccable and used to the full advantage of the plot. I loved the drama of the impending storm along with the history of the town and how many storms it had survived in the past.  There was an appropriate reverence for the power of the weather that really came through.  Despite reading this in January in Pennsylvania, I could really feel the sticky heat and humidity coming off the pages. 

Despite my feelings below in regards to the stakes of the book, I did feel like the reveals were really well done and intriguing.  There were a few reveals that got an audible gasp out of me when I read them, which doesn't often happen. 

What Didn't Work For Me:

I didn't quite get enough 'so what' for my liking.  I wanted there to be more at stake for our characters or for the town.  As it stands now, it felt more like small town gossip that didn't have any real impact.  I think if there was some sort of bigger threat looming - maybe the case being reopened, maybe a big anniversary coming up, maybe the people who live there protesting and could become violent. I think the True Crime aspect was really under-utilized and could have been an easy way to get some extra weight and depth to the story. 

 Because of the lack of stakes, it almost didn't feel like a mystery book at all - like the characters weren't actively trying to solve the mystery of what happened all those years ago.  It felt more like I was along for the ride and the book was more just showing me scenes from these character's lives rather than me watching the characters trying to work toward a goal.  I kept reading because I wanted to know what happened in the past but it would have been nice to have some characters along for the ride with me on that journey. 

Overall, I enjoyed this read - I wish there were more obvious stakes and drama but I loved the dual timeline, setting, and reveals. 

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.  Publication date was January 6, 2026.  

Romance Wrap-Up November 2025

Thirsty - Lucy Lehane

I really enjoyed this paranormal read, especially the characters and world building.  Currently, I don't see that this is part of a series, but I hope we do get more books in this universe some day.  Lehane does an absolutely fantastic job of fleshing out this world where humans have fairly recently become aware of supernatural creatures.  While our one MMC is a vampire, we get to see a whole host of other creatures in this read and I would love to see more.  We get some fantastic banter between the MCs as well as with side characters and everyone feels so incredibly well-developed.  I think the journey from enemies to lovers was also well developed and I liked that the reason they were enemies was something they could realistically get over.  The main conflict didn't quite work for me and I found that I often forgot about it for large pieces of the book until the one MC would mention it.  It felt like something that would be more pervasive in the overall relationship and friendships with the other supernatural characters in the book.

Tropes: MM, Paranormal (human x vampire), Secret Identity, Enemies to Lovers

Standalone

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC.  Publication date was October 14, 2025.

The Home Wrecker - Sara Cate

This was absolute perfection.  I loved how different all of the characters were and how they each were working through their own things but all three came together so perfectly. This really balanced the spice with the emotional so well for my tastes. I haven't read a lot of the marriage in trouble trope, so I don't have a lot to compare this to, but I think Cate did a great job of showing the reader the connection between Caleb and Briar so we could see where they came from and how far they'd grown apart. I think the different dynamics between the different character pairings as well as when they were all together were a great way to show off the different character developments.  While book #1 in the series is not necessarily needed to read before this one as each one centers around a different Goode brother, I think book 1 lays a lot of ground work for the relationships and history of the Goode family that I would recommend reading it first. 

Tropes: MMF, Queer Awakening, Marriage in Trouble, Sex Worker MMC, Kinky

Series: The Goode Brothers #2

Disciplinary Action - Onley James

This wasn't quite it for me.  There were parts that really worked well, but I think the whole thing went a little off the rails at the end.  This is very much a sort of 'if you can suspend your disbelief enough, you'll have a good time' sort of read, which I generally don't mind.  And I was able to forgive a lot in the name of a fun romance read such as the reason our MCs end up meeting in the first place.  But it really stopped working for me when it came to the main conflict and how our MCs ended up resolving it.  It felt very much like James had written the characters into a corner and devised the most outrageous plot twist to get them out of it. 

I want to mention that, based on reviews I was reading on Goodreads from when the book was first released in 2020, the book I read was different so it seems like James made some updates in the past 5 years. 

Tropes: MM, Age Gap, Kinky, Student/Headmaster, Hurt/Comfort

Standalone

Spicy or Sweet - Sophie Snow

This was a super fun read and I loved being back in this series.  We get great banter between our MCs as well as the rest of the characters and some of that great small town pushy busy-bodiness that I love.  Snow does a great job of giving her characters realistic depth often with conflicts outside of the main relationship which I really appreciate.  I did keep forgetting about the age gap (30/46) until the characters mentioned it, but I think overall it was handled well.  I especially liked how the younger MC was the more aggressive of the two which made it feel more equal and less predatory like some age gaps can get.  

Tropes: FF, Enemies to Lovers, Small Town, Age Gap

Series: Wintermore #2

Mountain Boss - S.J. Tilly

There is something about Tilly's writing that my brain just absolutely loves and this was no exception.  We get a ton of short chapters and frequent POV changes which could absolutely feel like whiplash, but it was like potato chip reading where I just wanted to keep reading long past my bedtime. I completely adored both our MCs and their personal journeys and loved that our FMC was not a pushover or bad at her job.  She was a very resourceful person who was proud to do a good job which I loved to see in a male-dominated industry.  Tilly writes the best unhinged heroes and Sterling is the perfect mix of unhinged obsessed with absolutely adoring.  We get a little touch of romantic suspense/danger as well which I loved.

Tropes: Boss/Employee, Age Gap, Forced Proximity, Hurt/Comfort

Series: Mountain Men #1

Hammered - Jasinda Wilder

This was another one that didn't quite work for me.  I found our FMC to be incredibly annoying and the main conflict very repetitive despite it feeling resolved time after time.  Our FMC recently finalized her divorce and has some personal body image issues and overall confidence issues from the marriage that she's still working through.  I loved the sort of meet cute aspect of her needing a last minute handyman to fix her window and the connection the two had from the start was really great.  However, our FMC was very hot/cold on the MMC as well as on her own body despite him constantly telling her how attractive she was and how much he wanted to be with her.  I could believe this coming up once or twice, but the way it seemed like it came up every other interaction was just exhausting to read. This is one of those times where I think it is more 'realistic' that these issues don't disappear after just one time of the MMC telling her that he likes her, but it wasn't doing the flow of the story any favors to be 'realistic' like this.   I do think I'll read on in the series as I am interested to see how the couple in the next book plays out. 

Tropes: Handyman MMC, Love After Divorce, Older MCs 

Series: Dad Bod Contracting #1

Silent Vows - Jill Ramsower

This was a pretty solid mafia romance read but I wasn't overly wowed by it.  I did find the FMC deciding to be mute to be an interesting aspect that I think was used well in the overall narrative. This hits all the usual mafia romance tropes - arranged marriage, possessive MMC, etc - but I found that it focused mostly on the main couple and we didn't get a whole lot of 'mafia business' on-page. While our MCs were pretty well developed, any side characters felt very one dimensional and the overall world didn't feel developed enough for my liking.

Tropes: Mafia, Arranged Marriage, Possessive MMC

Series: The Byrne Brothers #1

A Forbidden Arrangement - J Wilder

I picked this book up because I saw a video where it was described as a "dark romance with a walking red flag MMC" and that was all I needed to hear. I love my MMCs in dark romances to be basically unhinged obsessed with the FMC and in this case, she disappears after a one night stand and when he finds her, he forces (or forges?) her into a marriage with him so it completely fits the bill.  This is the 4th book in the series and I didn't read the first three (but I will probably go back and read them at some point) so it was pretty glazed over what the brothers do but it seemed like some sort of secret society but not quite mafia (but I could be wrong about that). I loved our FMC and how smart she was when it came to figuring out the MMC.  

Tropes: Dark Romance, One Night Stand, Forced Marriage, Red Flag MMC

Series: Twisted Vows #4

Most Likely to Deny Love - Mary Waterford

This was a super fun read that was unexpectedly sweet.  Our FMC needs a date to her sister's wedding, ideally someone who can help her shake off her sister and mother's constant comments about her weight.  Good thing her boss is already obsessed with her and offers to step in, I loved their chemistry both in the office as well as outside of it.  Both have complicated family relationships and I loved how the FMC gets her chance to help the MMC as well.  We get a lot of heat along with a lot of heart in this read.  The fake dating was fun - complete with a practice kiss so it looks real when we do it in front of your family. 

Tropes: Fake Dating, Boss/Employee, Age Gap, Plus Sized FMC

Series: The Yearbook Series #2

Zomromcom - Olivia Dade 

This was a fun read and a good first entry in a new series.  I loved the banter between our MCs and absolutely cackled anytime our FMC would break out into song.  We have some great side characters and moments of action as well.  Dade gives us some great world building and character development as our MCs work to discover the truth behind the zombie breakout. I did struggle with the tone of the read for the first half of the book. I think Dade was going for heavy real world stuff with moments of levity between the MCs but instead it sort of felt like they couldn't decide if they wanted to take the zombie breakout seriously or not. I think the second half of the book balanced that tone much better.

Tropes: Paranormal (human + vampire), Romantic Suspense, Zombies

Series: Supernatural Entanglements #1

The Living and the Dead - Christoffer Carlsson (trans. Rachel Willson-Broyles)

"Small towns sometimes have a voice of their own.

On a snowy winter night in 1999, Sander and Killian leave a house party together outside a small town in rural Sweden. The very best of friends, the two seventeen-year-olds imagine they will remain so forever. But by the next morning, a corpse is found in the trunk of a car, and each boy is a suspect in the murder. Each has something they want to conceal from the police. And from the other.

The hunt for the killer will take more than twenty years. It will see the lead detective leave the force forever. And it won’t end until a second body turns up in similar circumstances, and the tight-knit community’s secrets are finally brought to light."

What Worked for Me:

This was an expertly plotted mystery investigation.  At the beginning, it seemed pretty straightforward and I found myself wondering why this would take 20 years to solve.  I didn't anticipate all the different layers to the crime, characters, and investigation.  I loved that we got to follow the detectives as well as the other characters who were also finding out information from the police and from each other. I think Carlsson does a really great job of drilling down to the human element in this read and I would be interested in reading more of his novels.  

The setting of this rural town in Western Sweden was fantastic and as someone who has never been to any part of Sweden, Carlsson does a great job of describing it in a way that felt very understandable.  There was a sort of feel of 'this could be any rural town' that really made it easy to connect to the story. Since we do have a 20 year time span, it was interesting to see the ways in which the town changed and the ways in which it didn't.  

The pacing was a bit of a slow burn and it took a little longer to start putting pieces together than I was expecting.  Now, this wasn't a problem and I ended up thinking everything paced out just right in the end.  I think I just needed to re-calibrate my mind from the mystery/thrillers I had been reading back to a police procedural mystery.  But I think the slower pacing really allows the reader to sink into the story and get a feel for all the characters. 

This is the 3rd book in the Hallandssviten series, and I had not read the first two books.  Based on the descriptions, they seem to follow different towns in the same area of Sweden and there are mostly different detectives.  It does look like some of the detectives overlap in the books, so it would be interesting to read the series and find the connections.  That being said, I don't feel like I lost out or was confused about anything because I started on book 3.

What Didn't Work for Me:

There were a lot of characters in this read and it took a little while for me to really get a grasp on who everyone was and how they all relate to each other.  There was a list of characters and brief descriptions of their relationships in the beginning of the book, but I read it on an ereader so it wasn't super easy to keep flipping back and forth.  I would say by the 25% mark, I had all the characters straight in my head and didn't have any issues for the rest of the read. 

Overall, this was a great slow burn Nordic Noir read.  It took me a little while to get a handle on all the different characters and their relation to one another, but once I did, I was very much invested.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Hogarth.  Expected publication date is December 2, 2025

The Forest of Missing Girls - Nichelle Giraldes

 

"Lia Gregg always hoped to outgrow her fear of the woods surrounding her childhood home. The dark, menacing trees have long been the site of whispered legends and disappearances of girls like her. But after a breakup sends her back to live with her family, the woods feel more sinister than ever. 

When a teenage girl disappears from their backyard, Lia's childhood fear becomes terrifyingly real. The missing girls are no longer just faces on the news. Now, the danger is closer than she imagined, and her younger sister could be next.

As Lia digs into the disappearances, she begins to suspect her mother knows more about the forest—and the horrors within—than she's letting on. To save her sister and uncover the truth, Lia must confront the secrets lurking in the trees and the darkness they conceal…before it's too late."

What Worked for Me:

Small town creepy history really sold this read to me from the beginning.  I absolutely love small town secrets - the more sinister, the better.  We get to meet a lot of characters as the town begins to search for the missing girl which I immediately tried figuring out who might be involved with the crime. Giraldes does a great job of building tension within the small town because it is more likely than not that someone near by knows what happened or was involved. We get some details about a few of the past disappearances including Lia's memories about the more recent ones.  However, I do wish we had gotten some more lore of the town and the disappearances in the past. 

I loved how the forest worked as its own character.  It was a constant foreboding presence that seemed to follow our characters wherever they went. It was interesting to see Lia's connection with the forest between her good memories of her childhood combined with the sinister feeling that the answer to the missing girls was out there. The other POV in the book also had a connection to the forest that was different than Lia's.  Again, an interesting contrast to the other views we get in the book.

The reveal about what happened to the missing girls really toed the line for me on if it worked or not.  When we first get some hints revealed, I thought for sure I was reading too much into it and that I must be misunderstanding.  But as we got more clarification and the implications of that information became clear, I really enjoyed the direction the book headed in. Giraldes did a great job of really holding the reader's hand the right amount where I felt like "this is weird, but I'm trusting this author knows what she's doing." I do think it won't work for some readers as it is an odd choice, but I really liked it.

What Didn't Work for Me:

I wanted more out of Lia's character.  She felt a little underdeveloped for me but in a way where it was a little like she was acting as a reader stand-in.  It felt like were were told a lot of things about her like her feelings about her mother and relationship with her ex but the way that information impacted her actions throughout the book just didn't quite come together for me.  I was much more interested in her sister as it was her best friend that was taken. 

I really wanted to learn more about the past disappearances and how the town handled (or didn't handle) them.  Despite the current missing girl, the other girls in the past almost seemed to be forgotten and I would have expected Lia's investigation to maybe look more into the past missing girls to try and find a link or pattern. 

Overall, this was a really great atmospheric read.  The small town creepy vibes were well woven throughout the book.  I do wish Lia was a little more developed and for us to get some more information about the past disappearances.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.  Publication date was November 11, 2025.

Heads Will Roll - Josh Winning

 

"After sitcom star Willow tweeted herself into infamy and had to be dragged blind-drunk out of a swimming pool, her agent shipped her off to the woodsy and wonderfully anonymous confines of Camp Castaway. Tucked away in the trees of upstate New York, Castaway is a summer camp for adults in desperate need of leaving behind their mistakes, their social media accounts, their lives. No real names, no phones…no way to call for help.

Willow is relieved to find that her fellow campers seem okay. To her shock, her own favorite actress is here, sitting by the campfire and roasting a s’more. And did that jaded writer, Dani, just wink at her? But the peaceful vibe is shattered when a terrifying woman pops shrieking from the wardrobe in Willow’s room. Soon after, one of the campers vanishes. Is Willow about to get cancelled all over again, this time for good?

Soon, terror grips the group, campers begin to lose their heads—literally!—and Willow and her new friends are on the run. As paranoia grows and disturbing past deeds come to light, this escape from their shallow lifestyles might just lead to a set of shallow graves."

What Worked for Me:

The set up for this worked fantastically.  I loved the idea of this 'unplugged' camp where folks can just decompress and disconnect.  It easily solved the problem in modern slashers of the 'why didn't they just call for help' trope and didn't feel overly contrived.  We get a good mix of characters at this camp - all with different reasons for wanting a reset which helped with the balance.  I also enjoyed the fact that since this camp was basically anonymous, there were some good red herrings when it came to figuring out who the killer might be. 

I also loved the folk horror aspect and there were times where I wondered if we were going to get into supernatural horror territory.  I think the legend was a perfect mix of a little over the top combined with plausible.  Like we could 100% see the real story behind the campfire tale.   

What Didn't Work for Me:

I wanted more character development before the bodies started dropping.  I know that is sort of the point of a slasher is that the characters are basically cannon fodder which normally I'm ok with.  However, with how emotional the other characters got at certain deaths, I felt like there was a disconnect between the characters and the reader.   

I felt the social media message was a little heavy handed in this and at times, felt like this was an 'issue' book instead of a slasher that had some commentary on modern day media.  I think maybe that sort of overt messaging would be better suited for maybe a younger YA book.  I think the message is important, but I just didn't need to be hit over the head with it - the overall plot made the point clear enough.

Most of the kills were off page and the characters would find the body afterwards.  I didn't particularly mind this, at first, due to the overall folk horror elements.  However, there was one fantastic fight scene that just made me wish we got of that action on page.  We do get more as the book progresses, mostly due to the fact that our MC is now involved in the action a lot more, but I think maybe some multi-POV so we could see more of this killer would have been fun.

Overall, I think this just ended up in the 'not quite for me' category.  I really liked the set up and setting, but wanted more character development before the bodies started dropping.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC.  Publication date was July 30, 2024

The Wasp Trap - Mark Edwards

 "A dinner party in a beautiful Notting Hill townhouse turns into a sinister game, as six old friends are forced to spill their darkest secrets…or else.

Six friends reunite in London to celebrate the life of their recently deceased ex-employer, a professor that brought them together in 1999 to help build a dating website based on psychological testing.

But what is meant to be a night of bittersweet nostalgia soon becomes a twisted and deadly game when the old friends find themselves held at gunpoint. They are given an ultimatum: reveal their darkest secrets to the group or pick each other off one-by-one.

It soon becomes clear that their current predicament is related to their shared past. The love questionnaire they helped develop in 1999 for the dating site was also turned into a tool for weeding out The Wasp Trap. This and the other tragic events of that summer long ago may help reveal the truth behind a killer hiding in plain sight."

What Worked for Me

If the premise above catches your eye at all, please pick this read up.  The entire main plot takes place during the dinner party so there isn't a whole lot of fluff to take away from the premise.  I love when reads with these really high level plots just jump right into it without a lot of set up or exposition.  Like, we all know why we picked up the book, let's just dive right in.

In hindsight, I really enjoyed the dual POV, but I didn't love it until the last 3rd of the book.  I think the dual POV mechanic worked very well as a way to give the reader backstory to these characters and that fateful summer without having the characters in the current day plot unnaturally explain things they all already know. It also served as a way to give the reader a break from the tension in the main plot - although I did feel, while reading, that it was too much of a break at times. 

The tension in the main plot was perfection.  When the main conflict kicks off, it ramps up very quickly and at first, I thought it would stagnate.  Instead, Edwards manages to find new ways and new angles to add tension and complications. There were a good number of reveals and twists before we actually got to the resolution of the main mystery, none of which I saw coming.  This was a relatively shorter read at 330 pages, so to fit all of the dual POV, plus twists and reveals, meant the pacing and tension had to be on point.  This really feels like it was meant to be a one-sitting read.

What Didn't Work for Me

The extra ending reveal/twist felt a bit heavy handed and I didn't think it was necessary.  I really enjoyed the main reveal of the core mystery/situation but Edward tacked on a little extra reveal right at the end that I could have done without. It is one of my least favorite tropes in mystery/suspense books (but naming the actual trope would be a spoiler). 

I do wish the past POV would have gotten around to the main plot a little more quickly.  There were a number of times when we switched to the past POV and I thought to myself "why do we keep coming back here? Is it just for a break in tension?  Some easy character development?" And when we do, eventually, get around to the main plot, I was extremely intrigued - I just wanted to get there a little sooner so I didn't feel quite so much like my time was being wasted.

Overall, this was a great read that really paid off on the premise. Fantastic tension and reveals with an interesting dual POV element.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC.  Publication date was September 16, 2025