2024 releases

Review: Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous by Mae Marvel

~ megs14malloy

Everyone I Kissed Since You Got FamousEveryone I Kissed Since You Got Famous by Mae Marvel
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Everyone I Kissed Since You Got Famous is a sex positive Sapphic Romance story. While it had some slight pacing issues for me, I’m glad I read it. I def had fun with the characters.

This story follows A-list celebrity actress, Katie Price, who returns home to Wisconsin for the holidays and ends up reconnecting with her long-lost best friend, Wil Greene, a budding internet star known for kissing strangers.

It may have been a decade since Katie and Wil last connected, but once they do, it’s like they never left each other sides. The mutual attraction is undeniable.

Each of the women are going through some personal struggles, and we do get keyed into those things. So, while there’s a lot of cutesy romance moments, there’s also some substance and relatable life issues.

I really enjoyed the start of this, meeting Katie and Wil, as well as learning their thoughts and feelings on one another. I was immediately struck by the amount of chemistry the authors were able to create between these two women.

There’s something so sexy about mutual attraction that hasn’t culminated yet. The pining for one another, as they get reacquainted. I feel like the authors really nailed that feeling. I felt it in my stomach, the butterflies.

I also really enjoyed the last 20%, including the overall conclusion. Sadly, the middle bit did drag for me. Some of it, the thoughts of the MCs, in particular with regards to one another, started to feel repetitive and I wanted more consistent forward motion with the plot.

It made the story feel longer than it actually is. The middle of the story just failed to capture my attention and keep it, unlike the beginning and the end. I enjoyed Katie’s perspective a little more than Wil’s, so that also added to my sense of unevenness with the book.

With this being said, overall, I feel like this is a fun, oft-steamy, female-female romance that a lot of Readers are going to enjoy. There are many different aspects of this to connect to, and for the right Reader, at the right time, I can see this becoming a new favorite Romance story for them.

I appreciated how open Marvel made these characters. They talked through everything. Their past, their wants, their fears; they even had close relationships with their Moms. That was a treat to see.

At the end of the day, while this didn’t necessarily knock my socks off, I’m excited to see where these authors go from here. I will def check out whatever they write next.

Thank you to the publisher, Griffin and Macmillan Audio, for providing me copies to read and review. I hope Katie and Wil live happily ever after!

View all my reviews

Review: Tell Me Who You Are by Louisa Luna

~ megs14malloy

Tell Me Who You AreTell Me Who You Are by Louisa Luna
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I first learned of the existence of Tell Me Who You Are, I excitedly expected it to be a continuation to the Alice Vega series. It was only after I received a copy, that I realized that it wasn’t. That it’s actually a standalone novel.

Nevertheless, it sounded like the kind of Psychological Thriller I enjoy, therefore I was still excited to get to it. I’ve had great success with Luna’s previous work, and had no doubt she would impress me with this as well.

In this story, we are mainly following Brooklyn psychiatrist, Dr. Caroline Strange. While Dr. Caroline isn’t the only perspective we follow, for me, she was definitely the star.

Dr. Caroline is opinionated, head-strong and certainly confident, both in her field and in her every day life. Things take a turn though when she has her first session with Nelson Schack, a disturbing new patient.

Nelson succeeds in getting under Caroline’s skin quickly by uttering two statements, I am going to kill someone, and I know who you really are.

Then a woman goes missing. A woman who Caroline has a loose connection to. Unfortunately, for Caroline, the police know of her connection to the woman and now she’s apparently their number one suspect.

Believing the police to be incompetent, I mean they’d have to be if they suspect her, Dr. Caroline takes matters into her own hands, trying to track down the elusive Nelson, and possibly even rescuing the missing woman.

During this process, Caroline needs to face her own past, and the terrible truth that lies there.

I know Tell Me Who You Are won’t be for everyone, but it’s just my kind of messy train-wreck drama. I found every aspect of this compelling and entertaining.

Going into it, I was aware it didn’t have the highest overall rating, but from the very start it hooked me. The cast of characters are so interesting. I couldn’t keep my brain from thinking about this story. I was eating it up.

I flew through this so fast. As it cycled through the various perspectives, my mind was flipping like a rolodex trying to make all the connections. I thought Luna did a great job piecing this all together and bringing it to an exciting and satisfying conclusion.

I would recommend this to Readers who enjoy books like An Anonymous Girl, The Perfect Daughter or The Golden Couple. All have a similar vibe, part of which is being a fly on the wall during someone’s therapy session.

I did listen to the audiobook and really enjoyed that format. There are different narrators for the various perspectives and I did find it well-done and engaging.

Thank you to the publisher, MCD and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I had a great time with this and look forward to more from this author!

View all my reviews

Review: The Girls on Floor 13 (Detective Maria Miller #3) by Helen Phifer

~ megs14malloy

The Girls on Floor 13 (Detective Maria Miller #3)The Girls on Floor 13 by Helen Phifer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Helen Phifer’s Detective Maria Miller books are all super solid, page-turning Paranormal Mysteries. These books follow Maria Miller and her partner, Frankie, as they investigate cases that lack a normal, scientific explanation, and trust, these stories get DARK.

Located in New York City, there’s certainly no lack of bizarre happenings for them to investigate. Maria and Frankie have quickly become one of my favorite detective duos.

In this, the 3rd-installment to the series, Maria and Frankie are summoned to the Parker Hotel, an infamously haunted NYC-hotel, after the bodies of two teenage girls are found murdered in one of the rooms on the 13th floor.

The girls are laid out on the twin beds, as if on display. It’s a gruesome scene. As the investigation begins, the hotel manager shares some information with Maria that surprises her. A newspaper article reporting on an almost identical double murder that occurred in the hotel decades earlier.

In fact, a lot of people have suffered a tragic end at the hotel, some of the spirits reportedly still stalk the halls. Is there possibly some connection to the past in this case?

The more time they spend at the hotel, the more it seems to be effecting Maria. It feels like something has poisoned her body. It’s truly a race against the clock as they try to find the murderer, before they have the opportunity to strike again.

I found this mystery very intriguing. Phifer wastes no time diving into the main case we’re going to be examining. I appreciate how Phifer’s not afraid to get graphic. This one is definitely not for the faint of heart.

I loved the inspiration I felt from IRL Haunted Hotels. I know the author had a particular hotel in NYC in mind, but it immediately made me think of the Cecil Hotel. I mean, the watertower connection…

There’s def some creepy imagery in this. I feel like Phifer excels in that area. Let it be known, this is a true Paranormal Mystery. It’s not one of those, is it, is it not, cases. Go into this knowing it is absolutely, 100% Paranormal.

As with many Adult Mystery series, you can read this as a standalone. I would recommend reading the other books in the series though, as there is a lot of great character development for Maria and Frankie, as well as some really fun side characters, over the course of the three books.

With this being said, you could actually read this one first and then if you loved it enough, go back and read the other two. I would certainly have no problem with doing that.

This gets absolutely wild at the end. It’s so gripping. It’s compelling throughout, but the pace and the stakes really increase the closer you get to the end.

Overall, this was an entertaining, fast-paced, creepy mystery. I love how Phifer pulls a historical perspective into her stories as well. The back and forth and the way everything builds out is just very pleasing.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Paranormal Mysteries, or Horror Mysteries. Maria and Frankie are like the Mulder and Scully of the NYPD.

Thank you to the publisher, Storm Publishing, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I can’t wait to see what comes next for these characters!

View all my reviews

Review: The Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean

~ megs14malloy

The Return of Ellie BlackThe Return of Ellie Black by Emiko Jean
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ellie Black has been missing for 2-years when she’s suddenly found by hikers in the woods of Washington State.

She’s distraught and disheveled, but where exactly has she been? Detective Chelsey Calhoun is shocked by Ellie’s reappearance, but unfortunately, Ellie’s not offering up a lot of answers. The mystery lingers.

For Chelsey, any missing person case hits close to home. Her sister, Lydia, went missing when they were just teens, and ever since, Chelsey has been searching for closure for herself, and any other missing girls out there.

As Chelsey begins questioning Ellie, she’s not able to get any real answers from her. It feels off, like Ellie is hiding something, but what? She’s a victim here, right?

This novel is insta-compelling. We kick off with Ellie being discovered and from there, it’s a ride. We get a lot of different perspectives, and even different points in time, as we begin to build out the truth behind this mystery.

I was initially surprised by all the perspectives, but somehow, it just worked. I also loved the tone from the start, how mysterious it all was.

This definitely kept me guessing and I appreciated how Jean continually added to the mystery. What started out as the mystery of what had happened to Ellie, ultimately evolved into so much more.

I thought Jean had some very clever reveals and I loved the thoughtful way she explored the topic of the exploitation and victimization of women.

Overall, I was impressed with this. The tone stood out for me. I’m not sure quite how to explain it, but it felt distinctive from other Missing Persons Thrillers. It’s quite character-drive, but so well-executed.

Thank you to the publisher, Simon & Schuster, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m looking forward to reading more from Emiko Jean!

View all my reviews

Review: The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett

~ megs14malloy

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton AngelsThe Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallett
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙🖤💙

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels features two rival authors after desperately hunting down the same scoop.

Amanda Bailey and Oliver Menzies have a history together, not necessarily pleasant. Yet they’re about to be back in each other’s orbit as the both investigate the whereabouts of a baby who survived a cult, the Alperton Angels, close to two decades ago.

The Alperton Angel cult brainwashed a teenage girl into believing her baby was the anti-Christ. Eventually, the girl came to her senses and contacted the authorities for help.

It was a huge case at the time, which garnered a lot of attention due to its sensational and bizarre circumstances. The Angels committed suicide, but the baby was free and survived. However, after that, the baby disappeared, their circumstances never made public knowledge.

Now that baby has turned 18, and the world is dying to know, where have they been all this time? What is the true story behind the Alperton Angels cult? And where is the baby now? Who have they become?

Amanda and Oliver, against their own inclinations, decide to collaborate in their baby research. If they both agree to focus on different aspects of the case, it shouldn’t be a problem to both cover the case at the same time.

In fact, it may actually be helpful, as each book could create more interest for the other. But the truth about the Angels is much more disturbing than they originally anticipated, putting them dangerously close to the heart of the story.

Janice Hallett has made quite the name for herself as the Queen of the Unconventional Narrative. Her books are always a journey, a truly a unique reading experience.

As the Reader, you are supplied with all of the same documents a researcher may use when studying a real life case. You have access to things such as emails, text messages, news articles, and even transcripts from phone conversations.

These things are blended together in such a way that eventually helps to perfectly piece together the overall story. It’s pretty amazing how well Hallett can build out a story using solely these mixed media elements.

For me, her novels seem to work better via audiobook, but that’s 100% personal preference. I have read one of her books physically, and it at times it seemed jarring, and occasionally, even a little boring.

The other two I have listened to via audio, and because of the vibrant narration, have felt more pulled in and engaged with the story. This one in particular was fantastically executed via audiobook and I would recommend that format.

This story got pretty wild. I definitely wasn’t expecting the direction it ended up going. Writing a novel in this format has got to be extremely challenging, but somehow Hallett nails it every time.

I won’t claim to have been able to follow every single detail of this. Hallett’s stories are impressive in scope. There’s a lot going on, and at times, it can feel chaotic. Regardless, this one was never dull. Fast-paced and intriguing the whole way through, this was a great time.

Thank you to the publisher, Atria Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Hallett’s uniquely-presented and impeccably-plotted Literary Mysteries will keep me coming back as long as she keeps cranking them out.

I can’t wait to see what’s next!

View all my reviews

Review: Clever Creatures of the Night by Samatha Mabry

~ megs14malloy

Clever Creatures of the NightClever Creatures of the Night by Samantha Mabry
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was going to wait for a while before writing this review, see if I could settle my thoughts a bit, but I’d rather just rip the proverbial band-aid off. Let’s get this over with…

Prior to starting this, I saw the overall low rating and I laughed in its face. I frequently find myself in the minority opinion on YA Horror books, so was completely expecting to enjoy this in some way.

Unfortunately, I fall directly in line with the majority of other Readers on this one. OMG, for me, this was a complete and total mess. I have no idea what I just read.

This story is a fever dream meets a bad acid trip and I wasn’t having it. The only things I really took from this are: we’re following a character named, Case; she’s gone to visit her friend, Drea, per Drea’s invitation; when she gets to Drea’s home at the appointed time, she’s not there and instead Case is forced to interact with Drea’s bizarre housemates.

There’s a slight post-apocalyptic feel to this. Like an event happened that forced all these kids to move into this remote house together and they live cut off from the rest of society, but I have no idea why.

From the start, I knew it probably wasn’t going to be for me, but I kept going. I wanted to see if I could find some sort of enjoyment in the story. The writing style was not to my tastes at all, but sometimes, if the storyline is gripping enough, I can see past that.

Initially, I was intrigued by the fact that Drea seemed to be missing. If we could believe Case’s thoughts, Drea had invited her there, so why would she suddenly be gone?

The property itself was rather eerie and all of Drea’s roommates were odd in a way that did, at the start, seem like it could provide a good creep factor. Sadly, that never took off. It was so confusing, I just could never settle in to enjoy any of the atmosphere, or outlandish circumstances.

The dream-like quality of the writing, paired with the hopping around in focus, made it very hard to decipher any sort of plot. I wanted to get to the bottom of what happened to Drea, but the story was relayed in such a way that it made that close to impossible and not enjoyable.

I’m not sure who I would recommend this to. I would say you’d have to be a big fan of Literary, or Speculative, stories to enjoy this. Also, perhaps if the words of a story are the most important thing for you, it could work.

The writing does have a certain sense of lyricism to it that could be pleasing to some Readers, but if enjoy any coherent plot, or well-developed characters, you may as well skip it.

Thank you to the publisher, Algonquin Young Readers, for providing me with a copy to read and review.

I went in with an open mind, but woefully, this was a complete miss for me. On to the next!

View all my reviews

Review: The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

~ megs14malloy

The Midnight FeastThe Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Midnight Feast is easily one of my most anticipated releases of 2024, coming from one of my go-to Mystery/Thriller authors, Lucy Foley. I love her classic style, her sense of place, as well as her dramatic characters.

The moment I read this synopsis, I needed it.

This story follows four different perspectives: Francesca, the founder, Owen, the husband, Bella the mystery guest, and Eddie the kitchen help. On first observation, you may think four perspectives it a lot, but honestly, it never felt like it here.

They’re all equally interesting in their own right, and so well developed. Additionally, each play an important role in the events that play out over the course of the story.

We join these characters on the first night of the grand opening weekend at The Manor, a luxury retreat that Francesca has created, along with the help of her husband, Owen, upon her familial coastal estate.

The unique property is sold out for the weekend and all guests are expecting the best of the best, to be pampered and low-key treated like royalty. Francesca is pulling out all the stops, no expense has been spared, but will it all come off without a hitch? She’s beyond stressed.

It doesn’t take long after you meet all the characters for the ominous tone to set in. There are some mysterious things happening and the property itself seems to be mired in a darkness. It’s unsettling; wicked and wild.

The abutting woods feel like they are looming over the resort, like they may harbor secrets and other disturbing things. The local lore surrounding these woods certainly doesn’t help matters. This atmosphere got under my skin fairly quickly and I was eating it up.

Further, I loved the construction of this story. The chapters are short and you alternate between all of these perspectives. With each chapter you’re learning more and more about what is actually going here, the history and connections.

We also get some journal entries, which take us back to the property, I believe, 15-years prior, and the horrific events that happened there at that time. Through these journal entries we learn a bit more about some of the players in our modern timeline. Enlightening stuff.

I was at the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading this. I found the story to be so gripping. As each chapter ended, it felt like another puzzle piece falling into place.

I was scrambling to get through it. I had to know the truth behind all the connections and what was going to happen on the night of the Midnight Feast. It was a real race to figure everything out. I had so much fun with it.

I’m trying not to give too much away about what happens. It’s best to just go in and be surprised. This definitely went places that I wasn’t expecting.

I can’t stress enough how great this atmosphere felt though. I’m an atmosphere-girlie through-and-through. That’s the number one thing I want out of my stories and Foley delivered it in spades here.

It felt rich, dangerous, hedonistic, and a bit pagan in nature. It almost toes the line into Folk Horror territory, if I’m being honest, and you know I love that.

This was wildly-engaging and non-stop entertainment. There’s no lulls ever in the forward progression of the narrative and mystery of The Manor. The conclusion was exciting and included more than one jaw-dropping moment.

In my most humble opinion, this is Foley’s strongest work yet. Everything about this gets top marks from me. I literally have no complaints.

It comes with my highest recommendation. If you haven’t already, you need to add this to your Summer TBR. If you love atmosphere, clever plot development and non-stop twists and turns, you are sure to enjoy this as much as I did.

Thank you so, so much to the publisher, William Morrow, for providing me with a copy to read and review. As mentioned above, this was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it far exceeded my expectations.

Well done, Lucy Foley. Well done!

View all my reviews

Review: Dead Tired (The Expectant Detectives #2) by Kat Ailes

~ megs14malloy

Dead Tired (The Expectant Detectives, #2)Dead Tired by Kat Ailes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

💚💗💚💗💚💗💚💗💚💗💚💗💚💗💚

Dead Tired is the 2nd-installment to the Cozy Mystery series, The Expectant Detectives. I had a lot of fun with the 1st-book and have been anticipating this release ever since.

The main character, and our narrator, is Alice, a new Mom, who lives with her boyfriend, baby, and high-spirited dog, Helen, in the quaint country village of Penton.

In the 1st-book, the couple had recently moved to Penton after discovering they were pregnant, and Alice ended up meeting the other characters, her now best friends, in a prenatal class. That’s where they solved their first murder.

As this story begins, it’s been a year and the women are closer now than ever. It’s on one of their regular picnics with the babies that they first encounter Rowan and Layla, eco-protesters, who are buck-naked at their first meeting.

In an awkward conversation, Rowan and Layla mention that they are prepping for a photo shoot to help bring awareness to a wind farm that will soon be overtaking this lush and vibrant natural countryside.

Alice and her friends agree to help with the protest, thus finding themselves shortly thereafter chained to trees on an overnight protest. Ah well, anything for a bit of rest, I guess.

The next morning, Layla is found dead, still chained to her tree and a new investigation begins. Can Alice and friends discover the killers before anyone else is cut down?

I had so much fun with this. As with the 1st-book, I listened to the audiobook and cannot recommend it enough. Kitty Kelly’s narration is Alice to me a this point. Her delivery, with the humor and everything else, is just so spot on!

I also love Ailes sense of humor. These books don’t take themselves too seriously and I cherish that. Ailes knows, we’re here for a good time. Let’s have some fun. Just because it involves murder, doesn’t mean it can’t be cute and cozy.

I’m so properly attached to these characters now, which is one of the best things about Cozy Mystery series. The longer they go on, the more attached to them I get.

Alice, Ailsa, Poppy and Hen (the other mum) are such a dynamic group of women. I love being with them and spending time with them. There’s a lot of differences among them, but they just fit so well together, as they navigate new motherhood, and amateur sleuthing, all at the same time.

This went by too quickly. I tried to savor it, but I just couldn’t. The mystery was so compelling, the hijinks and banter, so good, I just ate it up.

Additionally, Helen, Alice’s dog, is such a special treat. I appreciate so much the way she is written and Alice’s relationship to her. I can relate to the non-stop chaos those four dirty paws can sometimes bring. Even reading about Helen’s predictably wild ways puts a smile on my face.

Towards the final reveal, I did find it a little muddled. I was actually surprised by the whodunit, like so much so, I wondered what I missed; like, did we get all those clues?

Nevertheless, in the whole scope, I didn’t really care that much about all that. It was really the journey getting to that point that I loved the most.

The way this left off, I’m definitely anticipating a 3rd-book, and cannot wait for it. You’ll find me first in line!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. This series is an absolute blast. I recommend it to all Cozy Mystery fans!

View all my reviews

Review: Murder, She Wrote: Murder Backstage by Jessica Fletcher and Terrie Farley Moran

~ megs14malloy

Murder, She Wrote: Murder BackstageMurder, She Wrote: Murder Backstage by Jessica Fletcher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Murder, She Wrote: Murder Backstage is the 58th-installment in this long-running, much-loved Cozy Murder Mystery series, starring amateur sleuth, Jessica Fletcher.

This is the 5th-installment to be written by Terrie Farley Moran, who took over the series beginning with Killing in a Koi Pond back in 2021. I have read all of the books authored by Farley Moran, and have been so pleased with her contributions to the series thus far.

I feel she’s really captured the original tone and characterizations, sticking with the classic format that I think works so well for long-time fans of the series. You know what you’re getting when you pick up a MSW book and I appreciate that TFM hasn’t tried to change that.

In this installment, we go along with Jessica, as well as her closest friends, Mort Metzger, his wife, Maureen, and Dr. Seth Hazlitt, as they travel to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to reunite with Jessica’s cousin, Emma.

Emma is a theater actress from London, who long-time fans of the show may remember first meeting in an episode during Season 1 of the television series.

And before you come at me for being the biggest dork on the planet, the only reason I remember this so well is because they had Angela Lansbury play the role of both Jessica and Emma in the episode, which was a little strange, TBH.

The only difference really was Emma had red hair and a London theater actress accent. So, there was a scene where Jessica and Emma were having a serious conversation while riding in a car, and they could only show one of them at a time, and it’s slightly choppy and hilarious.

Anyway, I digress. Back to this book. I was delighted that TFM decided to include such a classic character from the series. I’ve never forgotten cousin Emma and it’s always lovely to see her. She’s energetic and a lot of fun.

In this, Emma is going to Canada to star in a theater production featuring an internationally famous star, Derek Braverman, who has created his own old-fashioned musical review. Approaching the end of his career, he wants to go out on his own terms, performing his own show.

Emma contacts Jessica and extends an invitation to her and her friends, thinking it would be a great time for them to reconnect. While Edmonton is a long way from Cabot Cove, Jessica and crew jump at the opportunity.

The mystery involves the death of stagehand, whose body is discovered in the theater after hours, but of course, Jessica and Emma are there.

From that point on, Jessica puts her master-sleuthing skills to the test, as she yet again sets out to solve the murder, and find the killer, before the tables are potentially turned on her and her loved ones.

Y’all know, I cherish my time with Jessica Fletcher. This is my all-time favorite Cozy Mystery series. It’s my go-to as a way to escape life for a while. These stories are so pure and fun. I always know what I am going to get when I pick one up, and there’s real comfort in that.

This is the 43rd-book that I’ve read in the series. I still have a way to go, but I will never stop. As long as they keep being released, I will keep picking them up and I certainly hope that Terrie Farley Moran sticks around the long-run as well.

This did take over my life while I was reading it. Once we had our body, I was hooked. Everyone was suspicious and a lot of people had motive, but whodunit?

I enjoyed the whole cast of characters, as well as the setting of the hotel and theater. Jessica and her friends took full advantage of being in Edmonton, managing to get in a lot of touristy things, even whilst solving a murder.

In fact, if I’m honest, there’s was a bit too much of the sight-seeing bits for my taste. It tended to drag down the pace of the story a little.

While I am glad the friends had the opportunity to see some sights, and learn some history of the city, I didn’t necessarily need to go along with them on every excursion.

With this being said, I still really enjoyed this. I thought the mystery was fun and the full cast of characters was great; a nice mix of theater, and non-theater people. The conclusion was exciting and my heart was full by the end.

For the uninitiated, these books can be read in any order. If you are interested in checking any of them out, I would recommend just reading a few synopsis and deciding which one sounds most intriguing to you. Once you found it, just give it a go. You could end up loving them as much as me!

Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’ll never turn down a Murder, She Wrote Mystery, so please keep ’em coming!!

View all my reviews

Review: A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston

~ megs14malloy

A Novel Love StoryA Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars rounded up**

Elsy Merriweather has a few things in her life she knows she can count on: her best friend, Pru, their shared love of Romance novels, and their annual book club retreat.

Elsy, a literature professor, loves getting lost in the pages of a happily-ever-after story, even if she feels like she’ll never live one herself. Been there, tried that.

But things are changing. Pru is on the cusp of getting engaged, her upcoming trip with her boyfriend unfortunately falling on the same week as the book club retreat. Additionally, the rest of the book club has sent their regrets for this years trip; everyone is busy.

Elsy needs the retreat though, whether or not anyone else will be attendance. She decides to go, solo-road trip it to the remote cabin, where she will drink copious amount of wine and read all the Romance.

Honestly, this sounds like heaven to me too, so I was fully supportive of Elsy’s plans. On her way there though, her car breaks down and she finds herself stranded in a quaint little town that seems all too familiar.

It’s Eloraton, the small town setting of her favorite Romance series! How the heck is this possible? Eloraton is a fictional place, yet here she is…

Rachel Flowers, the author of the series, passed away while writing the final novel, so the story was never finished. Because of that, Eloraton is trapped in time, where everything remains the same even as time passes.

Elsy feels like that could be the reason why she’s ended up here. To help the town, and thus all the people in it, find their perfect storybook ending.

There’s a character she doesn’t know however, and wasn’t counting on, a grumpy bookstore owner named Anders, with minty green eyes, and his own reasons to want the town to continue on forever just the way it is.

We follow Elsy, trapped in her favorite fictional town, as she meets the characters she has grown to love over the years of reading this series. It’s so cute, because it’s like she’s meeting celebrities. Of course, they have no idea how infatuated she is with all of them, or why.

I really did love this set-up. It’s so Poston, to have such a creative and quirky twist to an otherwise normal Contemporary Romance story.

I appreciate how unique Poston’s style is now. She’s really created a nice little niche for herself within the genre and her writing is so distinct. You could tell this was one of her books just from the writing and characters alone.

I did enjoy the dynamic between Elsy and Anders; their back-and-forth was entertaining and there was definite chemistry smoldering away.

The middle portion wasn’t quite as exciting for me as some of Poston’s other works. I found some elements a bit repetitive and there were times that I wanted more actual substance from her interactions with the townspeople. I wish it could have had some more drama in that regard.

The highlight of this for me was the growth of Elsy’s character over the course of the story. She comes to some solid revelations about her life while she’s in Eloraton, and I especially enjoyed the exploration of her friendship with her best friend, Pru.

With this being said, this is still an amazing story. I am just comparing it, maybe unfairly, to The Dead Romantics and The Seven Year Slip, both of which I 5-star level loved.

So, while this isn’t my favorite of Poston’s Adult Contemporary novels, it’s still hella cute and enjoyable. I would absolutely recommend it to all Contemporary Romance Readers, particularly if you’ve enjoyed Poston’s style in the past.

There’s just something so cozy and comforting about her stories. It’s almost required to cuddle up under a blanket with a hot drink to read them.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me a copy to read and review. I always look forward to Poston’s new releases and this didn’t disappoint!

View all my reviews