Love Sold Separately is part whodunit murder mystery and part romance. There were a lot of interesting aspects to this title, but some fell flat.

I was interested to see how a down on her luck struggling actor gets involved in a murder investigation and the development of a romantic relationship along the way. There were a lot of moving pieces in this story- false leads, potential threats, relationship dynamics. Some of them made sense while others seemed a bit random and abrupt and thrown in simply as an effort to make the story multifaceted and more complex.

I found myself questioning many of the characters motivations and actions and also the appearance of the police reliance on amateur sleuthing.

Overall, Love Sold Separately is an enjoyable, light (as light as it can be when talking about a death investigation) read, but it left me wanting more development in some areas and less false starts in others.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

3 stars!

I’m a fan of romance. I’m also a fan of murder in my books. Preferably both at once. I’m just a lucky girl to have the Hallmark Channel and Investigation Discovery as channel 85 and 87, so I can flip back between the two depending on my mood. Long story short, I love a romance, but I also love a good murder mystery, so Love, Sold Separately seemed like the best of both worlds, but unfortunately I couldn’t get myself invested in this story largely due to the writing style. I personally found it a bit bland, and holding back the potential of the story. I mean, a detective romance, signed, sealed, delivered, I’m yours *pun intended;)*

When I say I didn’t enjoy the writing style, I mean that I found it basic in the sense that, “insert dialogue” She said. “Insert dialogue” He said. Really gets boring after awhile. Seriously wanted her to spice up the writing style, and really let me get inside the character’s head because murder at a new job at the shopping channel! Ugh, I wanted to LOVE it, but I only found myself reading words.

My college drama professor told us that if there were anything else we could convince ourselves to do instead of acting, we should. The first pages of Ellen Meister's LOVE SOLD SEPARATELY reminded me of his advice, as financial problems mount and Dana has lost her “day job” in retail. Things look bleak, but best friend/agent Megan arranges an audition at The Shopping Channel, something with which I am unfamiliar, but now feel I know a bit about. The salary would solve so many problems, but a non-compete clause would mean giving up her theater group, Sweat City, but how can she let down her friends? There are so many more complications, murder and mayhem, sabotage, intrigue and romance, but I won’t put “spoilers” here.
I couldn’t put it down and at the end wished it could go on and on. I liked the characters and wanted more time with them. I also appreciate the insight into the rewards for those called to be actors, getting lost in a character, using nervous energy to power the performance, working as a team. The plot is rewardingly complex and the ending is satisfying. I love when I think I know what's coming, and then get a surprise twist.
A bit of universal wisdom: “She needed this to be a mellow day at work. But that wasn’t the way it went down.” (It never is . . . we used to pretend a lack of urgency to keep the school copier from messing up).

This title kept me going at just the right pace with great characters! As a main character I really enjoyed Dana's self awareness and involvement in the story, and the supporting characters were all very well done. I really enjoyed this book and hope to read more from the author in the future!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC copy.

This was an interesting whodunnit mystery with sort of a romantic side plot, which I wasn't quite what I expected, but was still a fun enough read. Some of the story's threads felt a bit excessive/tangled at times, but I still think mystery and romance fans could enjoy this book in their own ways.

Ellen Meister’s ‘Love Sold Separately’ is mainly a murder mystery with a little bit of romance mixed in for good measure. While there are a lot of interesting narrative threads, most of them get tangled along the way.

Dana Barry is a broke actor presented with the job of a lifetime: a hosting gig at The Shopping Channel. Right after she’s hired, The Shopping Channel’s biggest star is found dead in her office, and the police suspect murder. As Dana tries to unearth the truth, she’ll find herself drawn to her coworker, Lorenzo, and then to police detective, Ari. In the meantime, she may be putting herself in harm’s way.

There were parts I enjoyed about this book, and others that I found confounding. I think Meister’s ambition to tell a multifaceted story should be applauded, but it didn’t quite work for me. There were too many false leads, too many random plot points. Dana’s character is interesting, but also kind of confusing, as her motivations and actions unfold in ways that seem too random. In my opinion, the emphasis on the Dana/Lorenzo relationship made the subsequent Dana/Ari relationship feel abrupt. I also wish that the events of the last two or so chapters would have been spread out and developed more.

Overall, 'Love Sold Separately' is an entertaining novel with some unpredictable elements, but it left me wanting a bit more.

**Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.**

It was an interesting original idea, but it seemed to have different plots that felt like things were just added on, but not really needed. I wish it was more the rom com book then who done it.

This book had a very interesting premise to it and that was originally why I requested to read it. I loved how you see a girl go from so down on her luck to landing a dream job, or so she thinks. I did not care for all of the drug use in the book. I did enjoy the twist at the end with the murderer and after reading it did click in my head that oh yeah that does make a lot of sense. I also enjoyed how the main character did not back down from doing her theater showing even knowing that she could lose her day job over it. All in all this book was okay to me. I found myself having a lot more questions than answers at the end and could have enjoyed the book without some of the extras (i.e: drugs, prescription drugs belonging to someone else, and sex tapes).

Thank you to netgalley, and Harlequin-Trade Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.