Love Me Stalk Me

 

She thought she was sexting an AI boyfriend. He was very real and already obsessed. 

Love Me Stalk Me by Laura Bishop is a bold, buzzy, bedroom-door-wide-open romance that leans hard into obsession and the he falls first fantasy and has a blast doing it.

Izzy is a stressed manager at a high-end department store. She’s stuck in a soul-sucking relationship with a man who treats her like an afterthought. Looking for a safe place to vent, she downloads an AI boyfriend app for emotional release and late-night flirting. What she doesn’t know? The “AI” on the other end is very real. Cal, the store’s dangerously attractive new head of security, has been listening in, falling fast, and quietly hacking his way into Izzy’s digital life. When Izzy thinks she’s sexting an algorithm, she’s actually building an intimate connection with the man watching her back at work.

As sparks fly in real life and Izzy finally breaks free from her awful boyfriend, the story takes a darker turn. When Izzy is put in real danger, Cal’s devotion shifts from secretive to protective. He’s all in. No hesitation. No half-measures.

This audiobook is spicy, fast-paced, and unapologetically over-the-top. The dual POV works beautifully here, letting listeners sit inside both Izzy’s vulnerability and Cal’s intense, slightly unhinged devotion. CJ Bloom and Sebastian York absolutely understand the assignment. Their performances are confident and sultry. They perfectly matched to the story’s tone.

While I found the story entertaining, Cal’s cyber-stalking crossed into slightly uncomfortable territory for me. This one lives firmly in fantasy-land. If obsessive, morally gray heroes are your thing, you’ll probably eat this up.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster Audio for the complimentary listen. Love Me Stalk Me is out now. If you’re in the mood for a spicy romance with obsession, protection, and zero chill from the male lead, this one delivers. 

qotd: do morally gray romance heroes work for you? Or is that a hard no?

#spicyromance #audiobookromance

#morallygrayhero #romancereads

About the Author

Laura Bishop writes books about obsessive men, clever women, and the dangerously thin line between love and psychological warfare. A military spouse and full-time wrangler of two wildly energetic boys, Laura lives in Florida, where she survives on caffeine, chaos, and the occasional quiet moment when everyone’s finally asleep—a.k.a. prime stalking-I-mean-writing time. She is the author of Hate Me Take Me and Love Me Stalk Me.

The Wife Deserved It

 

One more book before the year ends? Make it short, twisty, and impossible to put down.

The Wife Deserved It by Darby Kane is a sharp, fast-moving story of domestic suspense that wastes absolutely no time getting to the good stuff.

Darby Kane drops us into a marriage where secrets, resentments, and quiet betrayals have been piling up for years. When things finally crack, they crack hard. The story unfolds with precision, peeling back layers of deception as the truth gets darker, messier, and way more twisted than it first appears.

What really worked for me here is the novella length. The short format keeps the pacing tight and relentless, which ramps up the tension and makes every reveal land harder. There’s no filler and no wandering subplots. It’s just a steady march of twists that kept me flipping pages and second-guessing everyone involved.

Themes of marriage, power, manipulation, and revenge run throughout, and Kane clearly knows how to play with reader expectations. Just when you think you’ve got a handle on what’s happening, she pulls the rug out from under you.

If you love domestic suspense with bite or you’re trying to squeeze in one more book before the new year, this is a great pick. You can easily devour it in a couple of hours, and it leaves a satisfying sting behind.

Out now. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

QOTD: What’s the last book you’re hoping to finish before the year ends?

#domesticsuspense

#psychologicalsuspense

#shortreads #bookstagramreads

#endofyearreading

About the Author

Darby Kane is the pseudonym for a former divorce lawyer and #1 international bestselling author of domestic suspense. Her books have been optioned for television and featured in numerous venues, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Cosmopolitan.

The Odds of You

 

A meet-cute at 30,000 feet, a writing crisis, and an impulsive escape to Scotland. This audiobook had me hooked.

Sage wasn’t looking for a meet-cute at 30,000 feet, but the universe had other plans. On her way to Comic Con, the data-analyst-turned-surprisingly-bestselling-author finds herself instantly clicking with Theo, a rising star whose charm is matched only by his good looks. They have a spark and then Sage promptly shuts the door. Between social-media scrutiny, a looming deadline, and a sequel she can’t seem to write thanks to ADHD, anxiety, and a heavy dose of imposter syndrome, she decides she has no space for romance. So she does the only logical thing. She makes an impulsive escape to Scotland.

What was meant to be a quiet retreat to outrun family drama and reclaim her creative brain turns into something far more complicated and far more wonderful when Theo reappears. The Scottish setting is lush and moody and the chemistry simmers. Their banter is quick witted and fun, while their connection shines with tenderness and heat. I loved how sensitive, grounded, and quietly confident Theo felt, and Sage’s neurodivergent experience was written with so much care that she felt incredibly real on the page. Of course there’s a break up. But that gives each of them time to work out some family and career issues before finding their way back to each other. 

The audiobook brings all of this to life beautifully. Georgina Sadler’s narration is warm and expressive. It’s perfectly tuned to Sage’s emotional arc. She hits both the humor and the vulnerability.

This is a heartfelt, atmospheric, spicy second-chance romance that definitely worked for me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the complimentary early listen. The Odds of You releases Jan. 6.

QOTD: What kind of book do you want most between Christmas and New Year’s? Something light, immersive, or familiar?

#macaudio2025 #audiobookreview #romanceaudiobook #secondchanceromance #bookstagramromance

About the Author

Kate Dramis is a former copywriter based in Atlanta whose obsession with fantasy worlds and escaping into a good love story eventually drove her to chase her dream of being an author. Inspired by a dream about a woman calling down lightning to save a friend, The Curse of Saints was Kate’s debut novel and became an instant #2 Sunday Times bestseller. She has a BA in journalism from the University of Georgia.

The First Time I Saw Him

 

The past doesn’t stay buried and when it resurfaces, Hannah knows running is the only option.

The First Time I Saw Him picks up right where The Last Thing He Told Meleaves off.  I’ll be blunt: you really do need to be familiar with the first book before diving in. This isn’t a recap-and-carry-on king of sequel. It assumes you know these characters, their secrets, and the emotional landmines already buried beneath the surface.

When Owen unexpectedly appears at Hannah’s exhibition, Hannah instantly knows the fragile life she & Bailey have built is about to implode. They’ve spent the last five years preparing for this exact moment. When danger resurfaces, they don’t hesitate. They run. What follows is a tense, high-stakes race as Hannah will risk everything to keep Bailey safe, even if it means putting her own life on the line.

Laura Dave skillfully weaves shifting timelines and multiple points of view throughout the story, and the approach pays off. Those layers knit together the unresolved threads from the first book while deepening this story’s emotional core. What stood out most is how much this novel becomes about family and forgiveness. Bailey has grown into a confident young woman, and her relationships with Hannah and with her grandfather, Nicholas are loving and grounding amid all the danger.

On audio, this is a standout. The multi-cast narration is excellent across the board. Each narrator brings clarity and emotional weight to their role. The distinct voices make it easy to track the shifting timelines and POVs. No small feat in a story this layered.

Thank you Simon Audio for the early listen. The First Time I Saw Him releases January 6. I loved its relentless tension, emotional payoff, and smart continuation of Hannah and Bailey’s story.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: Do you like sequels that pick up immediately where the first book ends, or do you prefer more distance between stories?

#simonaudio #lauradave #audiobookreview #upcomingreleases #thrillerreads

About the Author

Laura Dave is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of several novels, including The Last Thing He Told Me and Eight Hundred Grapes. Her novels have sold more than six million copies and have been translated into forty languages. The Last Thing He Told Me was the Goodreads Mystery & Thriller of the Year for 2021 and is now a series on Apple TV+, cocreated by Laura. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their son.

A Sociopath’s Guide to a Successful Marriage

 

She doesn’t want a divorce. She wants a better house, better schools and maybe one well-timed murder.

A Sociopath’s Guide to a Successful Marriage by MK Oliver is the kind of wickedly fun domestic thriller that sinks its hooks in from page one and never lets up. The story follows Lalla Rook. She’s a wife, mother, and unapologetic shark in a sea of guppies. She has zero interest in pretending to be warm or charming. She’s cold. She’s calculating. She’s efficient to the point of being terrifying. She’s an absolute delight to read.

Lalla’s needs in life are simple: a better house, a better neighborhood, a better school for her kids, and a marriage that runs the way she thinks it should. It’s just smart planning if a few people need a gentle shove, a strategic bribe, or a well-timed threat to make things happen. But her perfectly organized life implodes the moment a dead man appears in her living room, and again when the first husband she left for dead years ago suddenly reenters the picture. Lalla’s daily to-do lists turn into full-tilt survival mission.

The themes of ambition, control, reinvention, and the blurred moral lines people cross to build the life they think they deserve are packaged with such dry, sharp humor that you can’t help but root for Lalla even when she’s doing something profoundly questionable. Her wit is accidental, her loyalty is conditional, and her problem-solving is borderline criminal. Watching her bulldoze obstacles and bully her friends “for their own good” is half the fun. The other half is seeing how deep she’s willing to dig her heels in when her master plan is threatened.

The pacing hums along, but the real engine is Lalla herself and every scheme, mess, and item she triumphantly crosses off her to-do list. It’s smart, sly, darkly funny, and just plain entertaining.

I had a blast with this book. Now I want to see what other shenanigans Lalla gets up to next. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Huge thanks to Atria for the advance copy. A Sociopath’s Guide to a Successful Marriage hits shelves February 17. You’ll definitely want to meet Lalla.

QOTD: Would you rather read about a likable main character or an interesting one?

#upcomingthriller #darkhumorbooks

#unlikablefemaleleads #bookstagramreads #atriabooks

About the Author

M.K. Oliver is a former English teacher and headteacher originally from Liverpool. He long dreamed of becoming a writer and after many years of working in schools, he took the exciting decision to put down the whiteboard marker, take up the keyboard, and give it a go. He enjoyed writing courses at Curtis Brown, Faber & Faber, and the Royal Court Theatre and now lives with his family and talkative cat in North London.

Five for Friday: Five Audiobooks for Holiday Downtime

 

Happy Friday bookish friends!

December listening doesn’t need to be ambitious. These are audiobooks for wrapping gifts, walking the dog, hiding in the car for ten extra minutes, or just letting someone else do the storytelling while your brain rests.

If you’re looking for holiday romcom audiobooks, romantic comedy audiobooks, or simply cozy audiobooks to help you unwind during a busy season, I got you. These are all easy, low-stress listens that shine on audio. They’re perfect for holiday downtime when you want something comforting, fun, and effortless.

What’s your go-to comfort listen this time of year — audiobooks or music?

#audiobookrecommendations

#holidayaudiobooks

#cozylistens

#romcomaudiobooks

#bookstagrammystyle

Meet the Newmans

 

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the early listening copy! Out Jan. 6. 

Set in the 1960s, right as the country is on the brink of major social change, Meet the Newmans pulls back the curtain on a wildly popular family sitcom and reveals the complicated lives behind the scenes. I grew up watching shows like the fictional one in this book, so the nostalgia was immediate, along with the sobering reminders of a time when women couldn’t access birth control on their own or even have a credit card in their own name.

Onscreen, the Newman family is perfection: Del works, Dinah is the ideal stay-at-home wife, and sons Guy and Shep charm America each week. Offscreen, everything is unraveling. Del is hiding serious financial trouble. Shep, a talented musician, is suffocating under his carefully managed image. Guy is in a secret relationship with Kelly, an up-and-coming actor and in an era when studios controlled everything, Guy’s refusal to sacrifice that relationship is quietly powerful. Kelly becomes a calm, grounding presence for Guy and for the entire family as they face Del’s sudden coma and the chaos surrounding the show.

At the center of it all is Dinah. Challenged by a young female reporter for reinforcing limiting stereotypes, she’s forced to reevaluate her role. When crisis hits, she steps up. Dinah secures a sponsor for the season finale, hires the reporter to help rewrite the script, and helps push both the show and her family into new territory. Guy finally directs the finale, Shep claims both love and his music, and Dinah emerges transformed.

Marin Ireland and Tim Campbell deliver excellent narration. A nostalgic, thoughtful story about identity, reinvention, and breaking free from the roles we’re handed. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Is there a TV show from your childhood that still feels nostalgic to you?

About the Author

Jennifer Niven is the #1 New York Times and internationally bestselling author of thirteen books, fiction and nonfiction, including the massive breakout All the Bright Places, which she also adapted for film. Her award-winning books have been translated into more than seventy-five languages and have sold upward of 3.5 million copies worldwide. Jennifer has loved television and film her whole life and has been lucky enough to develop projects with Netflix, Sony, ABC and Warner Bros. She divides her time between coastal Georgia and Los Angeles with her husband and literary cats.