You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
Thank you Goodreads Giveaways and Kensington Books for this advanced reader copy.
Two sisters on a journey to find the mother who abandoned them 10 years earlier with a True Crime Podcaster and her producer who are looking to score an interview with the con artist she ran off with.
This was quite a roller coaster of story. Jess finds out that her younger sister, Tegan, has been posing as her and was about to leave her with just a note to explain her whereabouts. Instead Jess joins her, a True Crime podcaster, and the hunky ex-football player producer on the search for their mother with the 5 postcards she’s sent them over the past 10 years.
I will say, I was more invested in the story of the mother than I was in Jess and Adam’s romance. They basically had a love at first sight moment, but I really didn’t get much indication why. Jess has major trust issues and Adam is partially working on Jess to talk so he can produce his own podcast. Tegan is 18 and literally sleeps through half the book, and even the podcaster has to leave for a family emergency midway through the journey. The excellent writing and all the revelations at the end are what made me rate it 4 stars.
Two sisters on a journey to find the mother who abandoned them 10 years earlier with a True Crime Podcaster and her producer who are looking to score an interview with the con artist she ran off with.
This was quite a roller coaster of story. Jess finds out that her younger sister, Tegan, has been posing as her and was about to leave her with just a note to explain her whereabouts. Instead Jess joins her, a True Crime podcaster, and the hunky ex-football player producer on the search for their mother with the 5 postcards she’s sent them over the past 10 years.
I will say, I was more invested in the story of the mother than I was in Jess and Adam’s romance. They basically had a love at first sight moment, but I really didn’t get much indication why. Jess has major trust issues and Adam is partially working on Jess to talk so he can produce his own podcast. Tegan is 18 and literally sleeps through half the book, and even the podcaster has to leave for a family emergency midway through the journey. The excellent writing and all the revelations at the end are what made me rate it 4 stars.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not my usual genre so I think I was missing a “wow” factor, but a good read and it was well written!
Well apparently I'm a Kate Clayborn fan. This is the second of her contemporary romances that I've read where the buzz I get from reading depth of emotional development comes not only from the main romance, but the friend/family relationships as well. Nicely spun.
In this book we even get a trendy true-crime hook: the hero is part of an investigative podcast team tracking down a con man. A con man who just happens to have run off with the heroine's mother leaving her the sole caretaker for her little sister.
Until now, Jess has lived her entire life for her sister. But Adam is the one who might just get her to relax her guard enough to start living.
The only quibble i have is that Adam is far too emotionally evolved and self aware from the get go, but it's just a small quibble. He's come far from being a star athlete who watched the pressure of that world destroy his best friend. He's extremely caring and protective and gentle with Jess from the first moment he enters her life.
Jess is pleasingly guarded. Watching her learn to trust was lovely. And watching her see others successfully love their family was heartbreaking. This is a sweet, sweet, (just a bit of steam) romance heavy on the emotional development.
Just the way I like it.
In this book we even get a trendy true-crime hook: the hero is part of an investigative podcast team tracking down a con man. A con man who just happens to have run off with the heroine's mother leaving her the sole caretaker for her little sister.
Until now, Jess has lived her entire life for her sister. But Adam is the one who might just get her to relax her guard enough to start living.
The only quibble i have is that Adam is far too emotionally evolved and self aware from the get go, but it's just a small quibble. He's come far from being a star athlete who watched the pressure of that world destroy his best friend. He's extremely caring and protective and gentle with Jess from the first moment he enters her life.
Jess is pleasingly guarded. Watching her learn to trust was lovely. And watching her see others successfully love their family was heartbreaking. This is a sweet, sweet, (just a bit of steam) romance heavy on the emotional development.
Just the way I like it.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn't think it was possible to write a character with so little agency until I read this book.
Edit: I initially DNFed this book due to it feeling like the main characters where both just going through the motions without making any choices, they really just felt like tagalong sidekicks and I still saw that in the latter half of the book but it did get better. Overall I don't think I'll be re-reading this anytime soon but I am glad I finished it.
Edit: I initially DNFed this book due to it feeling like the main characters where both just going through the motions without making any choices, they really just felt like tagalong sidekicks and I still saw that in the latter half of the book but it did get better. Overall I don't think I'll be re-reading this anytime soon but I am glad I finished it.
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Finally a love story with a real, actual, interesting plot. Amen!
Kate <3 Ily Kate <3
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. Review to come :)
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. Review to come :)
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was an unexpected delight. A road trip romance + true crime podcast? Count me in! I hadn’t read any of Kate Clayborn’s other books before but had heard great things about them, so I was really excited to read this one. The story is told from the dual POV of Jess, who has been raising her sister since their mom disappeared, and Adam, who works for a true crime podcast. The plot was unique, and I loved the combination of romance and mystery. The characters were complex and well-developed, and I also thought author did a good job navigating more serious themes of grief and loss. Overall, I enjoyed this one, and I’ll definitely be reading Clayborn’s backlist.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.