This one sounded right up my alley, the synopsis said if you like romance and found family this is for you and unfortunately I found it lacking in the romance department. I’m all for a story with no romance but when I’m told it’s a romance I can’t help being disappointed when it’s not. Expectations are so important to me and had I known before I started that this was fiction with a small amount of romance I probably would’ve enjoyed it more. Anyway, take my opinion with a grain of salt because this wasn’t bad by any means, just not what I thought it would be and I couldn’t help feeling underwhelmed in the end. There was so much immaturity with Josie and her two roommates and friends and it was hard to believe three thirty somethings would have such a lack of maturity. I did switch to audio and I love Sophie Amoss narration so that really saved it for me and probably is the only reason I actually finished. I guess I could recommend this to the right reader but that reader isn’t me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Riley Sager is a polarizing author, I have friends who rave over his books and others who think he’s overrated. I’ve enjoyed all of his books, some more than others but this may be my favorite yet! If you read the synopsis that may surprise you because it seems like the plot follows the same overdone script we’ve seen so many times before. But not everything is as it seems and things get flipped around so much I don’t think many could say this didn’t have a fresh take on a tired trope. Because of this unique spin I really think the less you know the more you’ll enjoy this because a huge part of the fun for me was the wild ride. I will say that despite there being a slow burn feel it read really fast for me still and the atmosphere was creepy too. All in all I thought it was a super entertaining summer thriller that I think will once again divide readers, I don’t see a lot of middle ground here, I think you’ll either love it or hate it. I loved it and can’t wait to see what everyone thinks, I’m sure it’ll be discussed quite a bit this summer.

I’m a huge fan of the author and when I found out that she was releasing a book that was loosely inspired by JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette I was swooning even before I got a chance to read it. She takes a chance and reimagines history through her own unique lens and it worked incredibly well for me. 

Told over the course of several years this felt like an epic, sweeping love story all about fate and timing. Both Cate and Joe were complex and well drawn and in alternating chapters detail their personal upbringings in the time both before they meet and afterwards. I was complete caught up in their story and hanging onto the authors every word. There was so much nostalgia too, always a fun aspect for me and it was well done here. Overall I loved every minute of this one and can definitely recommend it as a perfect addition to your summer TBR.

I was drawn to the premise of this one, it was intriguing to me. 👇🏻

Synopsis: Staying is dangerous. Leaving could be worse.

Leah and McKenna have never met, though they have parallel lives.

They don’t—ever—find themselves in the same train carriage or meet accidentally at the gym or the coffee shop. They don’t—ever—discuss their problems and find common ground. They don’t—ever—acknowledge to each other that although their lives have all the trappings of success, wealth and happiness, they are, in fact, trapped.

Because Leah understands that what’s inside a home can be more dangerous than what’s outside. Driving past McKenna’s house one night, she sees what she knows only too well herself from her own marriage: McKenna’s “perfect” husband is not what he seems. She decides to keep an eye out for McKenna, until one night, she intervenes.

Leah and McKenna have never met. But they will. 

So two women both in dangerous situations so there are major triggers for domestic violence here. I emphasized with Leah and McKenna even though parts of their situation required the suspension of disbelief. That part didn’t really bother me as I was invested in their personal stories but I did have some other issues. Parts of it felt repetitive, there were scenes with each women separately but both would be internally thinking in very similar ways so that got a little boring. Then a detective is introduced about halfway in and his chapters obviously gave it a police procedural feeling, not bad just unexpected for me. As he was working cases he tended to repeat himself quite a bit so those two aspects made the book feel a little too repetitive for me. I can’t say I’m upset I read this though, there was something compelling here and the author is a solid writer, just a few minor issues for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thanks to the tagged partners for my copy. 

I absolutely love when a thriller opens with a bang and this one delivered. It starts at Trevor and Fiona’s wedding reception where the groom dies!! That definitely got my attention and then it flashes back to a few different timelines which slowly gives you the details about what led to his murder. Literally everyone was a suspect, Trevor was an asshole to all of them and it was fun to try and figure out who actually got fed up enough to off him. This group was a total train wreck that I couldn’t stop watching, if you like super messy people, who honestly are pretty despicable and are behaving horribly this was entertaining and fun. Things go off the rails from time to time and you may have to suspended some disbelief but as a popcorn thriller I really liked it!