Source Library
Published by Jove Books on August 16, 2022
Rating:
Turns out that reading nothing but true crime isnβt exactly conducive to modern datingβand one woman is going to have to learn how to give love a chance when sheβs used to suspecting the worst.
PhD candidate Phoebe Walsh has always been obsessed with true crime. Sheβs even analyzing the genre in her dissertationβif she can manage to finish writing it. Itβs hard to find the time while she spends the summer in Florida, cleaning out her childhood home, dealing with her obnoxiously good-natured younger brother, and grappling with the complicated feelings of mourning a father she hadnβt had a relationship with for years.
It doesnβt help that sheβs low-key convinced that her new neighbor, Sam Dennings, is a serial killer (he may dress business casual by day, but at night heβs clearly up to something). Itβs not long before Phoebe realizes that Sam might be something much scarierβa genuinely nice guy who can pierce her armor to reach her vulnerable heart.
I don’t know why, but I thought this book was going to have a bit of a mystery element (sometimes with library books, I just jump in without refreshing myself on the synopsis, and I think the title and cover confused me!). But turned out to be a pretty straightforward contemporary romance.
This was good, but at times it was so slow and felt like nothing was happening. The romance was sweet, and Sam was adorable. But my favourite relationship was Phoebe and her brother’s, and watching them reconnect and grow closer was very heartwarming.
I’m not a true crime reader but I quite enjoyed reading about Phoebe’s dissertation (although the deadlines and the way she put off working on it at times made me so anxious!).
I think if you are a bigger contemporary romance reader than I am, you’ll get more out of this than I did, but it was a good read.