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A review by fringebookreviews
Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe
4.25
✨Close Encounters of the Tattooed and Shirtless Kind✨
I really really loved this book. The concept was just so clever and fun??? I did find myself wishing that they encountered some real ghosts and cryptids and aliens, oh my! But there was a bit at the end there that gave me hope (👀)!! I definitely feel like I’m missing out by not being a conspiracy theorist!! I’m also very much missing my own super hot cryptidly tattooed conspiracy podcast host, but that goes without saying.
I really enjoyed reading about the different conspiracy theories and desperately wish The Out There was a real show. I flew through half of the book in a night and woke up eager to finish it—something I haven’t felt in a while! The entire book felt like *romance reasons* disguised as monster hunting which was thoroughly entertaining. If you like a tropey-to-the-point-of-campy kind of romance, this one’s definitely for you:
✨Banter as foreplay
✨Only one (haunted) bed
✨Ooposites attract
✨”So sick you act drunk” scene
✨Post shower collision (with his damp, shirtless body)
✨He gives her a niche nickname
✨Forced proximity
✨They defend each other
✨Mutual Pining
The book is first person (present tense), single POV from Hallie’s perspective, so she’s definitely the main character with the most to lose/gain. But even then, we learned a good amount about Hayden, with just the right amount of mystery surrounding his feelings—until they fell into bed, obviously. I really enjoyed the scene at his mother’s house, as we got to see a bit of his depth as well.
While this was pretty close to a five-star read for me, I did have just a few things that tripped me up. The first thing was her horrible and toxic co-worker/ex, Cade. He was very unsettling and I could’ve done without him in my cute cryptid romcom!! He didn’t add much to the plot besides stress. Like, I know what he ~technically added to the story, but if I’m being real, I just didn’t want to deal with him and the third act ruckus I KNEW he’d cause. For my health, I skipped over like every section where he was spewing vitriol, but I WAS seated for Hayden threatening him at every turn.
Further, I loved their dynamic, but I wanted a bit more depth or tension within the relationship. It was instant attraction for them both and they fit together almost a little too well. Or maybe I just needed Hayden to really crack from the sexual tension, you know? Like go kinda feral. He was maybe a ~bit too respectful? And since the third act was caused by Cade and not a conflict between the couple, the romance took a back seat at the end, which is the opposite of how I want to feel. The end was a bit anticlimactic in the romance department, but I did enjoy Cade’s breakdown.
Overall, the third act was rather annoying and the romance didn’t drive me to complete distraction, but I still had a LOT of fun. I can’t wait to reread this one via audio, as I really adore the narrator, Alex Finke, and it read like a book meant to be listened to. (I do wish they got a guy to narrate some of the episode transcripts, but I’ll definitely survive.) The teaser we got for book two kinda threw me, but I’m actually kind of obsessed?? We didn’t even meet the love interest, but I’m sold.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5 🌶️🌶️*/5
*A couple of open-door scenes with low-to-medium level of detail. I could’ve used a bit more in this department, but the writing felt natural and fun with good chemistry.
I received and eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.
I really really loved this book. The concept was just so clever and fun??? I did find myself wishing that they encountered some real ghosts and cryptids and aliens, oh my! But there was a bit at the end there that gave me hope (👀)!! I definitely feel like I’m missing out by not being a conspiracy theorist!! I’m also very much missing my own super hot cryptidly tattooed conspiracy podcast host, but that goes without saying.
I really enjoyed reading about the different conspiracy theories and desperately wish The Out There was a real show. I flew through half of the book in a night and woke up eager to finish it—something I haven’t felt in a while! The entire book felt like *romance reasons* disguised as monster hunting which was thoroughly entertaining. If you like a tropey-to-the-point-of-campy kind of romance, this one’s definitely for you:
✨Banter as foreplay
✨Only one (haunted) bed
✨Ooposites attract
✨”So sick you act drunk” scene
✨Post shower collision (with his damp, shirtless body)
✨He gives her a niche nickname
✨Forced proximity
✨They defend each other
✨Mutual Pining
The book is first person (present tense), single POV from Hallie’s perspective, so she’s definitely the main character with the most to lose/gain. But even then, we learned a good amount about Hayden, with just the right amount of mystery surrounding his feelings—until they fell into bed, obviously. I really enjoyed the scene at his mother’s house, as we got to see a bit of his depth as well.
While this was pretty close to a five-star read for me, I did have just a few things that tripped me up. The first thing was her horrible and toxic co-worker/ex, Cade. He was very unsettling and I could’ve done without him in my cute cryptid romcom!! He didn’t add much to the plot besides stress. Like, I know what he ~technically added to the story, but if I’m being real, I just didn’t want to deal with him and the third act ruckus I KNEW he’d cause. For my health, I skipped over like every section where he was spewing vitriol, but I WAS seated for Hayden threatening him at every turn.
Further, I loved their dynamic, but I wanted a bit more depth or tension within the relationship. It was instant attraction for them both and they fit together almost a little too well. Or maybe I just needed Hayden to really crack from the sexual tension, you know? Like go kinda feral. He was maybe a ~bit too respectful? And since the third act was caused by Cade and not a conflict between the couple, the romance took a back seat at the end, which is the opposite of how I want to feel. The end was a bit anticlimactic in the romance department, but I did enjoy Cade’s breakdown.
Overall, the third act was rather annoying and the romance didn’t drive me to complete distraction, but I still had a LOT of fun. I can’t wait to reread this one via audio, as I really adore the narrator, Alex Finke, and it read like a book meant to be listened to. (I do wish they got a guy to narrate some of the episode transcripts, but I’ll definitely survive.) The teaser we got for book two kinda threw me, but I’m actually kind of obsessed?? We didn’t even meet the love interest, but I’m sold.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.25/5 🌶️🌶️*/5
*A couple of open-door scenes with low-to-medium level of detail. I could’ve used a bit more in this department, but the writing felt natural and fun with good chemistry.
I received and eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.