Alexa Martin never lets me down and BETTER THAN FICTION is no exception. This romance novel is hysterical and kept me cackling. There was excellent character development in Drew as she navigates being a new and unexpected business owner while also sitting through her grief. BETTER THAN FICTION is part love story and part Drew finding herself again after loss.

Not my favorite from this author, but definitely an engaging read. There were some consent issues that I would've appreciated to be addressed.

Kay Shanee definitely had a reader in me! There’s so much about this indie romance that I loved; this book had me in a chokehold and up until the wee hours of the morning trying to finish it 😩 In CONFLICTED HEART, I appreciated the strong cast of supporting characters, as well as the therapy-positive representation in a Black man protagonist who is wholeheartedly behind seeing a therapist and repeatedly expresses how therapy helped him. Drue is awesome and hilarious, and there were several moments that had me doubling over with laughter, but also moments that had me teary eyed. I wasn’t expecting the 3rd act twist, which also made Siyanna’s unreliability valid.

I think this book might have suffered from some genre misrepresentation. I kept (and keep) seeing it on ‘Thriller’ lists, but it definitely didn’t give me ‘thriller’ vibes. It’s not so much a thriller but more like a political suspense book. The distinction here is definitely needed, as thrillers and suspense novels have some key differences. I liked the clue-finding aspect of the plot; it felt very cat and mouse, and the plot definitely bears some resemblance to real-life. I was constantly engaged and wanted to know what was going to happen.