Book Review: Man of My Dreams by Olivia Worley

June 12, 2026June 10, 2026 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★.5
Audience: Thriller
Length: 320 pages
Author: Olivia Worley
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Release Date: June 2nd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A romance author is shocked when one of her characters-in-progress seemingly comes to life… but is he too good to be true, in this dramatic and twisty thriller perfect for fans of Ashley Winstead and Kate Alice Marshall, where the truth really is stranger than fiction.

Bestselling romance author Ivy Harcourt has been as unlucky in love as she’s been successful in writing—as her sad relationship track attests, there are no good dating options left in New York . . . Until she rescues an escaped dog in the park, and runs into Liam. Charming, British, hot architect Liam. The exact description of the love interest in her next book.

When an instant connection leads to a whirlwind relationship, Ivy is convinced she’s found the dream man. Except he may be too perfect. He may be hiding something.

And Ivy may have secrets of her own.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

WELL I HAD A GOOD TIME.

Heyooooo I liked a thriller! TAKE NOTES.

I don’t know if it was combination of reading this in a day or finding me at the right time but I hardly guessed a single thing that happened in this book. It was twisty and full of psychological suspense. I thought the plot flowed well and kept things moving. The unreliable narrator vibes had me second guessing everyone in Ivy’s life, including her.

The audiobook is really good. Highly recommend that format for this thriller. I liked that this had a combination of romance and mystery. It gave me multiple plot lines to be aware of and helped the pacing. I would be interested in reading Olivia Worley’s next book.

Overall audience notes:

Thriller
Language: moderate
Romance: fade to black
Violence: high
Content warnings: arson, loss of life, kidnapping, domestic abuse, medical abuse, murder

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart by Emma Simmerman

February 22, 2026February 12, 2026 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Thriller
Length: 384 pages
Author: Emma Simmerman
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: February 3rd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder meets Tell Me Lies in this binge-worthy debut murder mystery about a college student whose senior year takes a deadly turn when her exes start turning up dead…

Every time a guy breaks my heart, I write him a eulogy in my journal. It’s kind of my thing—closure through creative mourning. They don’t actually die… or, at least, they didn’t.

Now? These guys aren’t just dead to me, they’re dead to everyone. And I’m the prime suspect.

With my senior year at Pembroke College—and my entire future—on the line, I’ve got no choice but to play detective. Unfortunately, that means teaming up with my long-standing frenemy, Asher, who is insufferable and somehow always there when I need him the least. We bicker, we banter, we occasionally almost hook up, but with the body count rising and my name all over the suspect board, there’s no time to get distracted.

Between college parties, messy exes, suspicious deaths, and a murder investigation I never asked to be a part of—one thing’s for this is not how I thought my last year would go.

Here’s to hoping I can find out who the real killer is… before someone ends up writing my eulogy.

Thank you Avon Books for the gifted copy.

WELL NOW I’M JUST MAD.

This felt a little all over the place. As if it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a thriller or a romance or maybe romantic suspense? But that didn’t nearly bug me as much as the FMC. I think it’s a cop out in thrillers to have the FMC be under the influence of alcohol or drugs every single time something big happens. The unreliable narrator component didn’t play out well because of this. And all she did was make bad choices.

I oddly enough, really liked Asher. He was probably my favorite character and I liked most of the romantic tension between him and Sloane. It did have an enemies vibe I could get behind. But his character was absolutely ROBBED with a plot choice at the ending. Whyyyyy???? Oh it totally ruined it.

The reveal of the big bad guy seemed out of pocket too. They weren’t involved with the plot much and the destruction they caused didn’t line up with the reasoning during their villain monologue. I had my eyes on multiple other characters who would have made more sense.

Anywhoooo not my favorite, moving on.

Overall audience notes:

Thriller/Romantic Suspense
Language: strong
Romance: 3-4ish open door
Violence: high
Content warnings: multiple murders, weapons violence

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James

October 15, 2022April 2, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Thriller
Length: 352 pages
Author: Simone St. James
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: March 15th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In 1977, Claire Lake, Oregon, was shaken by the Lady Killer Murders: Two men, seemingly randomly, were murdered with the same gun, with strange notes left behind. Beth Greer was the perfect suspect–a rich, eccentric twenty-three-year-old woman, seen fleeing one of the crimes. But she was acquitted, and she retreated to the isolation of her mansion.

Oregon, 2017. Shea Collins is a receptionist, but by night, she runs a true crime website, the Book of Cold Cases–a passion fueled by the attempted abduction she escaped as a child. When she meets Beth by chance, Shea asks her for an interview. To Shea’s surprise, Beth says yes.

They meet regularly at Beth’s mansion, though Shea is never comfortable there. Items move when she’s not looking, and she could swear she’s seen a girl outside the window. The allure of learning the truth about the case from the smart, charming Beth is too much to resist, but even as they grow closer, Shea senses something isn’t right. Is she making friends with a manipulative murderer, or are there other dangers lurking in the darkness of the Greer house?

A true crime blogger gets more than she bargained for while interviewing the woman acquitted of two cold case slayings in this chilling new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel.

GREAT AUDIOBOOK.

I love a cast in an audio read and this hit the mark for me. I flew through it in that regard because I can’t get enough when the narration is on point.

Story wise, the first half was GREAT. I was perfectly spooked (because I like my thrillers on the mild side of scary). Very much intrigued by what was happening and how these two women’s stories were going to collide.

Buuuut, maybe I just have an issue with ghosts in books? I don’t know. When the ghost came out to play I found myself more detached from the novel. Or it could be that the second half was super predictable so it draaaagged a lot. This combination led to my disenchantment by the end.

I liked the extremely subtle romance and the back story behind the main character. This actually wove into the rest of the plot well as to why Shea was making certain decisions.

While a bit of miss for me, it was still a good read.

Overall audience notes:

Thriller
Language: a little
Romance: kisses
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: murder (with graphic descriptions), child sexual abuse, alcoholism, miscarriage mentioned, gun violence

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing

August 26, 2022September 13, 2021 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Thriller
Length: 373 pages
Author: Samantha Downing
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: July 20th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Teddy Crutcher has won Teacher of the Year at the esteemed Belmont Academy, home to the best and brightest.

He says his wife couldn’t be more proud—though no one has seen her in a while.

Teddy really can’t be bothered with the death of a school parent that’s looking more and more like murder or the student digging a little too deep into Teddy’s personal life. His main focus is on pushing these kids to their full academic potential.

All he wants is for his colleagues—and the endlessly meddlesome parents—to stay out of his way.

It’s really too bad that sometimes excellence can come at such a high cost.

WELL THAT WAS TWISTED.

What a fantastic audiobook. Really brought the whole story to life and I devoured this easily.

But also, wow, was this a wild read. Every few chapters I was surprised by who was murdered next. I like that I got the POV of many of the characters. Nobody was exactly redeemable or likable in this tale, and yet, that really worked for this story. I didn’t know who was going to do what next and I like that aspect for thrillers.

I’m not sure how I felt about the ending? I guess I thought it was be more of a punch. Instead it turned out to be a little bit of a let down. Things happened that needed to, but not in the way I expected.

Very dark and sinister. Full of dark academia and morally grey and just plain bad souls. It’ll definitely keep you on your toes. Twisted obsessions turned murderous. Leaving many in their wake.

Overall audience notes: