Book Review: Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart by Emma Simmerman
🐾🐾🐾🐾 — Heartbreak, humor, and homicide — the ultimate “messy girl becomes murder suspect” mystery.
Review Date: January 28, 2026 | Release Date: February 3, 2026
Some people burn old photos. Some people block their exes. This heroine? She writes eulogies for every boy who’s ever broken her heart. Which is funny… until those boys start turning up actually dead.
Here Lies All the Boys Who Broke My Heart is the kind of book that feels playful and dark at the same time — like reading a glittery diary that slowly morphs into a true crime podcast. What starts as a clever, cathartic gimmick becomes a full-blown nightmare when heartbreak collides with homicide and suddenly the main character isn’t just journaling her feelings — she’s the prime suspect.
The voice is the real standout here. Witty, self-aware, messy in the most relatable way. The protagonist feels like someone you’d absolutely follow on TikTok: oversharing, spiraling, trying to stay funny while her entire life implodes. Her dynamic with Asher (the frenemy you definitely shouldn’t trust but also can’t stop side-eyeing romantically) adds just enough tension and banter to keep the story emotionally grounded amid the chaos.
What I loved most is how the book balances tone. It’s funny without trivializing the murders, romantic without losing the mystery, and fast-paced without feeling shallow. Every chapter ends with a tiny hook — a new secret, a new suspect, a new reason to doubt what you think you know.
It’s part campus drama, part murder mystery, part emotional reckoning. And underneath the twists and bodies, there’s a surprisingly thoughtful exploration of how we process heartbreak, blame, and identity — especially when the narrative about you is being written by everyone else.
Come for the dark humor and messy exes. Stay for the twists, the tension, and the delicious feeling of not knowing who to trust — including the narrator herself.
Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Book Review: We Were Never Friends by Kaira Rouda
🐾🐾🐾🐾 — Three women. One day. And a lifetime of courage waiting on the other side.
Review Date: January 25, 2026 | Release Date: February 3, 2026
There’s something especially delicious about a thriller that takes a group of women who should be bonded for life—and proves they were never actually friends at all. We Were Never Friends is a razor-sharp, darkly funny exploration of jealousy, status, and the quiet resentments that simmer for decades before finally boiling over.
Set over a single reunion weekend in Palm Springs, the story reunites five former sorority sisters who now wear very different versions of success: the queen bee, the grieving heiress, the perfect-on-paper doctor, the outsider who never quite belonged, and the golden girl whose memory still haunts them all. What begins as champagne and curated cocktails quickly curdles into passive-aggressive digs, buried secrets, and a growing sense that this weekend was never meant to be a celebration.
Rouda’s greatest strength is voice. Each woman feels distinct, flawed, and quietly dangerous in her own way. The tension doesn’t come from nonstop action—it comes from conversations that feel just a little too polite, smiles that linger too long, and memories that refuse to stay buried. The atmosphere is thick with wealth, performative friendships, and the kind of emotional debt that compounds with interest.
What makes this book especially addictive is its blend of dark humor and psychological unease. You’ll find yourself laughing at the absurdity of their social games one minute and holding your breath the next, waiting for the inevitable implosion. It’s a slow, delicious burn where the real mystery isn’t just who might die—but how many of these women have been capable of it all along.
Perfect for readers who love messy, morally gray characters, luxe settings with sinister undertones, and stories where the real villain might be memory itself.
Thanks to NetGalley and Poisened Pen Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Book Review: Love and Other Brain Experiments by Hannah Brown
🐾🐾🐾🐾 — Three women. One day. And a lifetime of courage waiting on the other side.
Review Date: January 25, 2026 | Release Date: February 3, 2026
Love and Other Brain Experiments is a deliciously intelligent romance about ambition, insecurity, and what happens when your heart refuses to follow your carefully constructed life plan. Hannah Brohm delivers a story that feels both academically sharp and emotionally vulnerable, blending fake dating, professional rivalry, and second-chance regret into a deeply satisfying slow burn.
Frances Silberstein is the kind of heroine I instantly love: brilliant, self-sabotaging, and clinging tightly to the idea that success will finally make her feel whole. Stuck in postdoc limbo while her ex thrives in the career she once turned down, Frances is painfully relatable in her fear of falling behind—personally and professionally. Her internal monologue is sharp, anxious, and often funny in a way that hits a little too close to home for anyone who’s ever felt stuck in the “almost” stage of life.
Enter Lewis North, her academic rival and unexpected emotional counterbalance. Where Frances is tightly wound and hyper-analytical, Lewis is perceptive, steady, and quietly kind—the kind of hero who doesn’t bulldoze her defenses, but gently waits for her to lower them herself. Their banter starts as competitive sniping but slowly morphs into something softer and more dangerous: genuine connection. The fake dating setup is perfectly executed, not just as a romantic trope, but as a high-stakes professional risk that constantly threatens to unravel both her reputation and her heart.
What makes this romance stand out is how grounded it feels. The emotional tension isn’t driven by miscommunication or unnecessary drama, but by very real fears: fear of failure, fear of being second-best, fear of choosing the wrong path and never catching up. Frances isn’t just learning how to love someone—she’s learning how to stop measuring her worth by external validation and start trusting her own instincts.
The science metaphors are clever without being overwhelming, and the academic setting adds a refreshing layer of realism. Conferences, networking anxiety, imposter syndrome, and career envy are all woven seamlessly into the love story, making the stakes feel genuinely meaningful.
This is the kind of romance that feels quietly powerful. No flashy grand gestures—just two people slowly choosing each other in the middle of uncertainty, ambition, and emotional risk. Smart, tender, and deeply human.
Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Book Review: Just One More Day by Shari Low
🐾🐾🐾🐾 — Three women. One day. And a lifetime of courage waiting on the other side.
Review Date: January 25, 2026 | Release Date: February 1, 2026
Just One More Day is the kind of book that quietly sneaks up on your heart. It doesn’t rely on shocking twists or over-the-top drama—instead, it delivers something far more powerful: deeply human stories about women standing at emotional crossroads, forced to decide whether they’re brave enough to choose themselves.
Bernadette, Marge, and Amber couldn’t be more different, yet they’re all facing the same question in different forms—can you truly move forward without confronting what’s been holding you back? Bernadette’s storyline hit hardest for me. There’s something devastatingly real about rebuilding your life after betrayal and realizing that healing doesn’t always look like closure—it sometimes looks like letting go of the version of yourself who tolerated less than you deserved.
Marge’s story adds emotional weight and complexity, exploring how secrets—especially those rooted in love—can quietly reshape entire lives. And Amber’s journey brings a gentler, more hopeful tone, capturing that fragile moment when you want to believe in love again but aren’t sure your heart is ready to take the risk.
What Shari Low does so well is balance heartbreak with warmth. There’s grief here, and regret, but also friendship, forgiveness, and the quiet kind of optimism that feels earned rather than forced. The writing is intimate and reflective, the pacing steady but engaging, and the emotional payoff genuinely satisfying.
This isn’t a flashy rom-com—it’s a comfort read for grown-up romantics. The kind of book you finish feeling softer, wiser, and a little more hopeful about second chances.
Thanks to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Book Review: Game, Set, Match by Jennifer Iacopelli
🐾🐾🐾🐾 — She’s chasing the championship. He’s the one match she never won.
Review Date: January 25, 2026 | Release Date: February 3, 2026
Game, Set, Match delivers the perfect blend of second-chance romance, elite sports pressure, and irresistible chemistry. From the very first chapter, the stakes are crystal clear: Penny Harrison is not just playing to win — she’s playing for her future, her reputation, and her place in tennis history.
At only twenty-one, Penny feels both fiercely driven and achingly human. Her ambition is sharp, her discipline unbreakable… until Alex Russell walks back into her life. The bad boy champ who once shattered her heart isn’t just a distraction — he’s a reminder of everything she’s tried to bury under trophies, endorsements, and relentless training schedules.
What makes this romance hit so hard is the emotional push-and-pull. Every interaction between Penny and Alex is charged with history, regret, and unfinished feelings. Their chemistry crackles, but it’s never easy. There’s tension in every rally, every shared glance, every moment where Penny knows she should walk away — and simply can’t.
The Outer Banks Tennis Club setting adds such a rich layer to the story. Between Penny’s complicated feelings, Alex’s undeniable charm, and the parallel love stories of Jasmine and Indiana, the book feels vibrant, fast-paced, and emotionally immersive. It’s not just about one romance — it’s about navigating love when your entire identity is built around winning.
This is a second-chance sports romance that understands ambition doesn’t disappear for love — it just learns how to share space with it. Sexy, heartfelt, and packed with longing, Game, Set, Match proves that sometimes the hardest opponent is the one who already knows your heart.
Thanks to NetGalley and Requited for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
