Lala
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ An Artful Dodge by Karen Odden ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
• 4/5 ☆ •
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
This is not my usual kind of book, but once I settled into the storytelling, I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I expected. Odden’s London is vivid and feels lived in. The noise, the grime, the crowded streets. It's easy to picture Kit moving through it all with the instincts of someone who has survived by being quick and clever.
Kit Jimeson is the heart of the story. She's a talented pickpocket and one of the top earners in an all women thieving ring, but her motivations are simple. Take care of her family and find a way out. She's written with a mix of grit and vulnerability that makes her easy to root for, especially as the pressure around her builds. I liked the tension in her choices, the way she weighs survival against the hope of something better. The stakes rise as Kit realizes how tangled the connections around her really are. The story stays grounded in character, but there are enough twists and turns to keep the momentum moving.
The audiobook narration is excellent. Anna Burnett brings the cast to life with clear, expressive delivery that fits the tone of the world. I was pleasantly surprised by how immersive the audio is. It really adds texture to the setting.
Overall, this is a well crafted historical crime story with a strong sense of place, a compelling heroine, and a cast of women trying to survive a world that gives them very few choices. I'm glad I gave it a chance.
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
If you like:
✔️ Victorian heists
✔️ all women crime crews
✔️ morally grey heroines
✔️ historical crime fiction
✔️ stories about survival and loyalty
✔️ immersive audiobooks
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
📅 Pub Day: Out Now 🎧📚
💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from RBMedia. All opinions are my own.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ An Artful Dodge by Karen Odden ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
• 4/5 ☆ •
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
This is not my usual kind of book, but once I settled into the storytelling, I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I expected. Odden’s London is vivid and feels lived in. The noise, the grime, the crowded streets. It's easy to picture Kit moving through it all with the instincts of someone who has survived by being quick and clever.
Kit Jimeson is the heart of the story. She's a talented pickpocket and one of the top earners in an all women thieving ring, but her motivations are simple. Take care of her family and find a way out. She's written with a mix of grit and vulnerability that makes her easy to root for, especially as the pressure around her builds. I liked the tension in her choices, the way she weighs survival against the hope of something better. The stakes rise as Kit realizes how tangled the connections around her really are. The story stays grounded in character, but there are enough twists and turns to keep the momentum moving.
The audiobook narration is excellent. Anna Burnett brings the cast to life with clear, expressive delivery that fits the tone of the world. I was pleasantly surprised by how immersive the audio is. It really adds texture to the setting.
Overall, this is a well crafted historical crime story with a strong sense of place, a compelling heroine, and a cast of women trying to survive a world that gives them very few choices. I'm glad I gave it a chance.
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
If you like:
✔️ Victorian heists
✔️ all women crime crews
✔️ morally grey heroines
✔️ historical crime fiction
✔️ stories about survival and loyalty
✔️ immersive audiobooks
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
📅 Pub Day: Out Now 🎧📚
💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from RBMedia. All opinions are my own.
Added to listNetgalleywith 149 books.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Lovers XXX by Allie Rowbottom ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
• 3.5/5 ☆ •
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── This was interesting and well written, but it just didn't wow me the way I hoped. The writing has a strong sense of mood, and I appreciated the way the story explores friendship, longing, and the stories people tell themselves about the past. There's a lot of focus on memory and the way people rewrite their own histories, which ended up being one of the most interesting parts for me.
The atmosphere is intimate and emotionally heavy, and the characters feel layered and believable. The book spends most of its time inside those relationships and emotional landscapes, which will probably work well for readers who connect deeply with character driven stories.
Where it faltered for me was the balance between character work and plot. It feels more interested in exploring its characters than building tension, which is a valid choice, but it left the ending feeling a little quick and lighter than I wanted. I understood what the book was aiming for, but I never felt as emotionally invested as I wanted to be.
Overall, it's thoughtful, well crafted, and clearly written with intention. I can absolutely see why it will resonate with some readers. It just didn't land as strongly for me. ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
If you like:
✔️ moody slow burn ✔️ quiet emotional tension ✔️ friendship stories with sharp edges ✔️ reflective literary fiction ✔️ longing and nostalgia ✔️ intimate character studies
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
📅 Pub Day: June 02, 2026 🎧 💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from RBMedia. All opinions are my own.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Lovers XXX by Allie Rowbottom ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
• 3.5/5 ☆ •
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── This was interesting and well written, but it just didn't wow me the way I hoped. The writing has a strong sense of mood, and I appreciated the way the story explores friendship, longing, and the stories people tell themselves about the past. There's a lot of focus on memory and the way people rewrite their own histories, which ended up being one of the most interesting parts for me.
The atmosphere is intimate and emotionally heavy, and the characters feel layered and believable. The book spends most of its time inside those relationships and emotional landscapes, which will probably work well for readers who connect deeply with character driven stories.
Where it faltered for me was the balance between character work and plot. It feels more interested in exploring its characters than building tension, which is a valid choice, but it left the ending feeling a little quick and lighter than I wanted. I understood what the book was aiming for, but I never felt as emotionally invested as I wanted to be.
Overall, it's thoughtful, well crafted, and clearly written with intention. I can absolutely see why it will resonate with some readers. It just didn't land as strongly for me. ── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
If you like:
✔️ moody slow burn ✔️ quiet emotional tension ✔️ friendship stories with sharp edges ✔️ reflective literary fiction ✔️ longing and nostalgia ✔️ intimate character studies
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
📅 Pub Day: June 02, 2026 🎧 💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from RBMedia. All opinions are my own.
DNF at 14%. Unfortunately the pacing wasn't good for me, and I'm having trouble focusing on it. I may come back to it in the future.
DNF at 14%. Unfortunately the pacing wasn't good for me, and I'm having trouble focusing on it. I may come back to it in the future.
Added to listNetgalleywith 146 books.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ The Last Time We Drowned by Saratoga Schaefer ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
• 3.25/5 ☆ •
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
This was a solid thriller with clean writing and a fun setup, but if you read a lot of thrillers, you'll probably spot the major twists long before they arrive. The setup is fun. Influencers, a luxury yacht, a curated “sisterhood” that’s clearly full of jealousy and contention, and the atmosphere hits that glossy turned claustrophobic tone right away.
What worked for me was the setting and the tension of being trapped at sea with people who are all performing versions of themselves. The hurricane backdrop adds a good layer of pressure and the missing influencer thread gives the story a ghost in the walls feeling that I liked. The paranoia and the shifting alliances and the sense that everyone is lying all of that lands.
Where it lost me a little was the predictability. The reveals did not shock and some of the character beats felt familiar if you have read a lot of influencer culture thrillers. Even when I guessed where things were going I still wanted to see how everything would finally come apart.
Overall it is a fast and readable thriller with a strong sense of place. It did not surprise me and I wanted a little more bite from the reveals. Still if you like glossy to feral mysteries with a locked room edge this one fits the bill.
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
If you like:
✔️ influencer culture thrillers
✔️ locked room mysteries
✔️ yacht set suspense
✔️ luxury to nightmare flips
✔️ paranoia spirals
✔️ storm trapped tension
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
📅 Pub Day: Jun 02, 2026 🎧
💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Sourcebooks Audio. All opinions are my own.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ The Last Time We Drowned by Saratoga Schaefer ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
• 3.25/5 ☆ •
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
This was a solid thriller with clean writing and a fun setup, but if you read a lot of thrillers, you'll probably spot the major twists long before they arrive. The setup is fun. Influencers, a luxury yacht, a curated “sisterhood” that’s clearly full of jealousy and contention, and the atmosphere hits that glossy turned claustrophobic tone right away.
What worked for me was the setting and the tension of being trapped at sea with people who are all performing versions of themselves. The hurricane backdrop adds a good layer of pressure and the missing influencer thread gives the story a ghost in the walls feeling that I liked. The paranoia and the shifting alliances and the sense that everyone is lying all of that lands.
Where it lost me a little was the predictability. The reveals did not shock and some of the character beats felt familiar if you have read a lot of influencer culture thrillers. Even when I guessed where things were going I still wanted to see how everything would finally come apart.
Overall it is a fast and readable thriller with a strong sense of place. It did not surprise me and I wanted a little more bite from the reveals. Still if you like glossy to feral mysteries with a locked room edge this one fits the bill.
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
If you like:
✔️ influencer culture thrillers
✔️ locked room mysteries
✔️ yacht set suspense
✔️ luxury to nightmare flips
✔️ paranoia spirals
✔️ storm trapped tension
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
📅 Pub Day: Jun 02, 2026 🎧
💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Sourcebooks Audio. All opinions are my own.
Added to listNetgalleywith 143 books.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ All Expenses Paid by Zoe Rosi ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
• 4/5 ☆ •
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
This novella drops you straight into a sun bleached nightmare, luxury on the surface, absolute dread underneath. It has that glossy influencer trip vibe that curdles fast, and the shift from “dream vacation” to “you’re not getting out of this alive” hit exactly the way I wanted.
I love the way Zoe Rosi writes these sharp, vicious little stories. This is my third book from them, and the pacing is always tight: no filler, no downtime, just a steady slide into danger. The whole setup gave me major Hostel energy, but filtered through modern content creator culture, which somehow makes it even more unsettling.
If I’m nitpicking, I wanted a little more depth between the two girls before everything went sideways. But that's also the reality of a novella. There's only so much room before the story has to start breaking things.
Overall, this was quick, brutal, and easy to inhale in one sitting. Zoe Rosi continues to be reliably unhinged in the best way.
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
If you like:
✔️ sun drenched horror
✔️ influencer culture
✔️ fast, brutal novellas
✔️ psychological tension
✔️ luxury to nightmare flips
✔️ Hostel adjacent themes
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
📅 Pub Day: May 20, 2026 🎧
💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Lighthouse Books. All opinions are my own.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ All Expenses Paid by Zoe Rosi ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
• 4/5 ☆ •
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
This novella drops you straight into a sun bleached nightmare, luxury on the surface, absolute dread underneath. It has that glossy influencer trip vibe that curdles fast, and the shift from “dream vacation” to “you’re not getting out of this alive” hit exactly the way I wanted.
I love the way Zoe Rosi writes these sharp, vicious little stories. This is my third book from them, and the pacing is always tight: no filler, no downtime, just a steady slide into danger. The whole setup gave me major Hostel energy, but filtered through modern content creator culture, which somehow makes it even more unsettling.
If I’m nitpicking, I wanted a little more depth between the two girls before everything went sideways. But that's also the reality of a novella. There's only so much room before the story has to start breaking things.
Overall, this was quick, brutal, and easy to inhale in one sitting. Zoe Rosi continues to be reliably unhinged in the best way.
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
If you like:
✔️ sun drenched horror
✔️ influencer culture
✔️ fast, brutal novellas
✔️ psychological tension
✔️ luxury to nightmare flips
✔️ Hostel adjacent themes
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
📅 Pub Day: May 20, 2026 🎧
💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Lighthouse Books. All opinions are my own.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Desperate Bodies by Lydia Mathis ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
• 4/5 ☆ •
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
Desperate Bodies is one of those collections that sits heavy in your chest. It focuses on some of the everyday experiences of Black girls and women, and as someone who’s mixed, I felt seen in a way that doesn’t happen often. The stories move through exhaustion, resilience, humor, fear, and the quiet (and not so quiet) moments that shape a life, and they do it with a voice that feels lived in instead of performative.
Some pieces lean into quiet horror, and those were some of my favorites. They’re grounded in real emotional truths, the kind that makes your skin itch because they’re familiar. Even when the stories touched on heavier topics, they didn’t tip into being too much. There’s a balance here that feels intentional and respectful of the experiences being portrayed.
What stood out to me most was how honest the collection is about the constant struggles Black women face, and how those struggles can shape identity, relationships, and self worth. It’s the kind of book that resonates whether you’ve lived these realities or you’re trying to understand them with more depth and compassion.
It’s thoughtful, sharp, and full of emotion, and it delivers its impact without ever feeling overwhelming.
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
If you like:
✔️ black girlhood 🖤
✔️ quiet horror
✔️ emotional realism
✔️ identity and survival
✔️ character driven stories
✔️ literary short fiction
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
📅 Pub Day: Sep 15, 2026 📚
💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Grove Atlantic. All opinions are my own.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Desperate Bodies by Lydia Mathis ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
• 4/5 ☆ •
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
Desperate Bodies is one of those collections that sits heavy in your chest. It focuses on some of the everyday experiences of Black girls and women, and as someone who’s mixed, I felt seen in a way that doesn’t happen often. The stories move through exhaustion, resilience, humor, fear, and the quiet (and not so quiet) moments that shape a life, and they do it with a voice that feels lived in instead of performative.
Some pieces lean into quiet horror, and those were some of my favorites. They’re grounded in real emotional truths, the kind that makes your skin itch because they’re familiar. Even when the stories touched on heavier topics, they didn’t tip into being too much. There’s a balance here that feels intentional and respectful of the experiences being portrayed.
What stood out to me most was how honest the collection is about the constant struggles Black women face, and how those struggles can shape identity, relationships, and self worth. It’s the kind of book that resonates whether you’ve lived these realities or you’re trying to understand them with more depth and compassion.
It’s thoughtful, sharp, and full of emotion, and it delivers its impact without ever feeling overwhelming.
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
If you like:
✔️ black girlhood 🖤
✔️ quiet horror
✔️ emotional realism
✔️ identity and survival
✔️ character driven stories
✔️ literary short fiction
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
📅 Pub Day: Sep 15, 2026 📚
💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Grove Atlantic. All opinions are my own.
Added to listNetgalleywith 142 books.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Accidental Assassin Vol 1 by Molly Ni Chéileachair ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
➝ • 3.5/5 ☆ •
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
This volume is pure chaotic fun. It's bright, silly, violent, and surprisingly charming. Bonnie is an office worker with a survivalist upbringing, which gives her just enough instinct to stumble through situations she has absolutely no business surviving. She's cute, pink, loves fruit shaped jewelry, and constantly underestimated… sometimes correctly.
The tone swings between cartoonish violence and romcom energy. One minute she is stabbing a guy in the eye with a pen, the next she's in a chibi panel being dramatic. It shouldn't work, but it kinda does. The art is expressive and colorful, which keeps the whole thing feeling playful even during the violence.
Ronan is the classic grumpy stoic counterpart, and even though his attachment to Bonnie sometimes feels sudden, the chemistry is there. Their dynamic ends up being one of the most entertaining parts of the volume.
It's a fast, colorful read that never takes itself too seriously, and it leaves you curious about where the story will go next.
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
If you like:
✔️ sunshine x grumpy
✔️ WEBTOON style humor
✔️ accidental chaos
✔️ spy romcoms that don’t take themselves seriously
✔️ messy partnerships
✔️ bright expressive art
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
📅 Pub Day: September 1, 2026 📚
💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from WEBTOON Unscrolled. All opinions are my own.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Accidental Assassin Vol 1 by Molly Ni Chéileachair ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
➝ • 3.5/5 ☆ •
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
This volume is pure chaotic fun. It's bright, silly, violent, and surprisingly charming. Bonnie is an office worker with a survivalist upbringing, which gives her just enough instinct to stumble through situations she has absolutely no business surviving. She's cute, pink, loves fruit shaped jewelry, and constantly underestimated… sometimes correctly.
The tone swings between cartoonish violence and romcom energy. One minute she is stabbing a guy in the eye with a pen, the next she's in a chibi panel being dramatic. It shouldn't work, but it kinda does. The art is expressive and colorful, which keeps the whole thing feeling playful even during the violence.
Ronan is the classic grumpy stoic counterpart, and even though his attachment to Bonnie sometimes feels sudden, the chemistry is there. Their dynamic ends up being one of the most entertaining parts of the volume.
It's a fast, colorful read that never takes itself too seriously, and it leaves you curious about where the story will go next.
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
If you like:
✔️ sunshine x grumpy
✔️ WEBTOON style humor
✔️ accidental chaos
✔️ spy romcoms that don’t take themselves seriously
✔️ messy partnerships
✔️ bright expressive art
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
📅 Pub Day: September 1, 2026 📚
💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from WEBTOON Unscrolled. All opinions are my own.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Crybaby by Sierra Frank ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
➝ • 5/5 ☆ •
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
This one gutted me in that personal way where you don't realize how deep it's cutting until you're already bleeding. It's raw without being performative, emotional without being melodramatic, and written with this soft honesty that feels like someone opening their ribcage and letting you look inside. This book feels like getting dragged through someone else’s coming of age in the worst, most intoxicating way. It’s not a diary. But it reads like someone trying to make sense of their own thoughts, feelings, and wreckage in real time.
Apple is the kind of girl who wants to belong so badly she would follow anyone into the dark. Dahlia and Starr are both beautiful disasters, and she folds herself into their world like it's the only place she's ever been wanted. The book captures that specific girlhood ache; wanting to be chosen, wanting to be seen, wanting to be loved even if it ruins you.
The writing is dreamy and bruised, drifting between motel rooms, strip clubs, late night drives, and the dangerous men who treat girls like currency. It's messy, impulsive, and painfully believable. You can feel the heat, the exhaustion, the bad decisions stacking up until there is no way out that doesn't hurt.
It's not trying to be inspirational. It's not sanitized. It's just honest, and that's what makes it such a hard read.
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
If you like:
✔️ feral girlhood narratives
✔️ unhealthy attachment
✔️ the movie Thirteen (Evan Rachel Wood is literally my crush)
✔️ messy teens making worse choices
✔️ toxic friendships
✔️ coming of age gone wrong
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
📅 Pub Day: June 1, 2026 📚
💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Xpresso Book Tours. All opinions are my own.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Crybaby by Sierra Frank ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
➝ • 5/5 ☆ •
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
This one gutted me in that personal way where you don't realize how deep it's cutting until you're already bleeding. It's raw without being performative, emotional without being melodramatic, and written with this soft honesty that feels like someone opening their ribcage and letting you look inside. This book feels like getting dragged through someone else’s coming of age in the worst, most intoxicating way. It’s not a diary. But it reads like someone trying to make sense of their own thoughts, feelings, and wreckage in real time.
Apple is the kind of girl who wants to belong so badly she would follow anyone into the dark. Dahlia and Starr are both beautiful disasters, and she folds herself into their world like it's the only place she's ever been wanted. The book captures that specific girlhood ache; wanting to be chosen, wanting to be seen, wanting to be loved even if it ruins you.
The writing is dreamy and bruised, drifting between motel rooms, strip clubs, late night drives, and the dangerous men who treat girls like currency. It's messy, impulsive, and painfully believable. You can feel the heat, the exhaustion, the bad decisions stacking up until there is no way out that doesn't hurt.
It's not trying to be inspirational. It's not sanitized. It's just honest, and that's what makes it such a hard read.
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
If you like:
✔️ feral girlhood narratives
✔️ unhealthy attachment
✔️ the movie Thirteen (Evan Rachel Wood is literally my crush)
✔️ messy teens making worse choices
✔️ toxic friendships
✔️ coming of age gone wrong
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
📅 Pub Day: June 1, 2026 📚
💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Xpresso Book Tours. All opinions are my own.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Love Shots by Travis M. Riddle ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
➝ • 4/5 ☆ •
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
That was definitely a direction I wasn’t expecting!
As a Big Brother fan (never got into Love Island), Love Shots was a super fun read. The whole setup is a reality show that’s been twisted enough to make you uneasy.
The contestants are shallow the way reality TV practically requires, bouncing between alliances, paranoia, and trying to keep up appearances for the cameras. And then "Mic Drop" Lara shows up a week before the finale, blowing the whole social game apart. She walks in, instantly shifting the power balance and forcing the couples to scramble. It’s the kind of twist designed for pure chaos.
The production team is even worse, and the way the story peels back what they’re actually doing gives the book this creeping, uncomfortable tension. It’s not just drama for entertainment anymore. It’s manipulation, control, and something darker shaping the season.
It’s chaotic, entertaining, and unhinged enough to keep you guessing where it’s going next.
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
If you like:
✔️ reality TV chaos
✔️ behind the scenes scheming
✔️ paranoia
✔️ unhinged late season twists
✔️ messy contestants
✔️ competition shows gone wrong
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
📅 Pub Day: May 29, 2026 📚
💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Travis M. Riddle. All opinions are my own.
✦•┈๑⋅⋯ Love Shots by Travis M. Riddle ⋯⋅๑┈•✦
➝ • 4/5 ☆ •
── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──
That was definitely a direction I wasn’t expecting!
As a Big Brother fan (never got into Love Island), Love Shots was a super fun read. The whole setup is a reality show that’s been twisted enough to make you uneasy.
The contestants are shallow the way reality TV practically requires, bouncing between alliances, paranoia, and trying to keep up appearances for the cameras. And then "Mic Drop" Lara shows up a week before the finale, blowing the whole social game apart. She walks in, instantly shifting the power balance and forcing the couples to scramble. It’s the kind of twist designed for pure chaos.
The production team is even worse, and the way the story peels back what they’re actually doing gives the book this creeping, uncomfortable tension. It’s not just drama for entertainment anymore. It’s manipulation, control, and something darker shaping the season.
It’s chaotic, entertaining, and unhinged enough to keep you guessing where it’s going next.
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If you like:
✔️ reality TV chaos
✔️ behind the scenes scheming
✔️ paranoia
✔️ unhinged late season twists
✔️ messy contestants
✔️ competition shows gone wrong
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📅 Pub Day: May 29, 2026 📚
💌 ARC gifted via NetGalley from Travis M. Riddle. All opinions are my own.
