⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
“…I want to be with someone I love the way I love you. That’s all I know.”

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this new thriller, to review prior to its June 14th release date.

I have heard a lot of good things about this author’s previous works, so I was intrigued when I saw this one coming out. I love me a good thriller and this one did not disappoint.

This story goes between past and present as we follow a slew of main characters. We also follow Sabrina, an ex of THE Jake Danner, who has never quite let him go to the point of obsession, as she tries to make him see how great she is and how terrible Molly, his true love, is.

Sabrina was creepy but I couldn’t look away (haha see what I did there?). This story absolutely caught my attention and had me immersed. The chapters flew by and then I was near the end and surprised and upset that it was almost over. The twist at the end was pretty good. I predicted part of it, but that doesn’t mean it was bad.

My only issue with these types of thrillers is that they a big focus on cheating. I get that it makes for a good storyline, but it gets to the point where it’s just too much.

I needed a good thriller to get me back into reading as I’m starting to descend into a slump, and this book delivered. I have her other book ‘Too Good to be True’ that I will definitely plan to pick up sooner rather than later.

“Maybe happiness is what you surrender to, not what you fight for.”

“And it’s never too late to chase your dreams. Even the ones you abandoned.”

TW: Infertility, miscarriage (on page), infidelity

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I think I need to resign myself to the fact that Lovering's books aren't for me. I always get sucked into the hype around them and then find myself disappointed. This book is marketed as a "sexy suspense novel" about "addictive, obsessive love" and there is absolutely nothing sexy or suspenseful about any of it. There is zero chemistry between the two main characters who are supposedly so obsessed with each other and I figured out every single plot "twist" before I was even 20% into the book. None of the characters were particularly likable and the whole situation was just absurd. There was maybe some potential for at least Sabrina's plot line, but then even she fell completely flat by the end of the book. I know a lot of people really enjoy Lovering's books, I am just not one of them.

Can’t Look Away was a great book to dive into while enjoying the Boston Harborfront on Sunday! This book is part suspense, part romance, and 100% hard to set down - even with an amazing view behind it!
Told through three different POV, Can’t Look Away alternates between chapters in the past and chapters in the present, about six years later. The chapters set in the past take place in Brooklyn as Molly and Jake fall in love at first sight at a concert. Jake is the lead singer of a rock trio and stares at Molly in the crowd, then finds a way to get her number and take her out. Their love story is fast and furious and all-consuming, as Jake attempts to balance his touring with his relationship and Molly works on turning her MFA thesis into a novel.
On the other hand, the chapters in the present take place in suburban, oceanfront Connecticut, where Molly is now married to Hunter and struggling to get pregnant again to give their daughter Stella a sibling.
The pacing was great, and I just had to keep reading to find out more about the story that connected the past with the present. I was sucked into this one and couldn’t look away (get it?) until the end.
Many thanks to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This was my first read by @carolatlovering and I look forward to enjoying her backlist. Can’t Look Away comes out tomorrow (6/14) and I definitely recommend checking it out - especially if you like to switch up genres, since it combines suspense and romance.

Complicated love, failure to communicate, and some desperate lies get in the way of happiness for the main characters. I did not feel connected to or sympathetic toward any of them. No big surprises as I’d hoped.

Thank you to St. Martins Press,Netgalley, and the author Carola Loverling for early access to this book.

This multiple POV novel is about two women who are in love with the same man and are in relationships at different times. It had a slower start but it really picked up later in the book. A wonderful read that will keep you reading.

I absolutely loved this book! I could not put it down. The way the timeline and different points of view were written kept me invested in the storyline. I never truly never was able to guess the twists before they were revealed. It was so well done – though I do wish there would have been a POV from Hunter. Given the history that is revealed later in the book it was hard to imagine he didn’t have his own scheme or at least dialogue when Jake reappeared in 2022.

I would recommend this book to everyone! It pulled me out of a reading slump and I just know I’ll still be thinking of this book days from now.

Can't Look Away is a well-written and well-executed read that is more romance than a thriller or suspense. The storyline was fantastic, super interesting, and it kept me flipping the pages. The character development in this book was superb!

This isn't my first Lovering novel. I loved reading her book, "Too Good To Be True", that was published last year. It was full of twists and turns and was so well written. I was very excited for this read!

I will let you know from the start that this is a thriller with a twist of romance. I wasn't expecting to have my heart strings pulled, and I think that it's only fair to warn the reader that there might be tears of sadness/happiness shed.

The story is told through different perspectives and different timelines. We get bits and pieces of past and present and the overall picture starts to become much clearer with every turn of the page. Just when I thought I had figured it out an even bigger twist is thrown in!

This was such a fun read and I enjoyed every chapter. It is a perfect summer read for the beach, the pool, or on the couch while enjoying your a/c!

Thanks to Netgalley, and St. Martin's Press for allowing me an advanced digital copy to read and give my honest review. It was a 4 star read for me! I look forward to Carola Lovering's next book!

"Can't Look Away" is set to be released on June 14, 2022 here in the U.S. so pre-order now!

Happy Reading!

I first want to thank the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book! Overall I would give this book 3 stars. It was a decent read, and had a decent twist, but it both dragged on and left me wanting more at the same time. I loved the premise and the role of manipulative Sabrina, but it took too long for Sabrina's motive/plan to be revealed. And then at the end, Sabrina just kind of faded away, I really wanted more of her craziness. I'm not sure how I felt about Jake- he was meant to be the original love interest but he just drove me insane. I liked the end of the book okay, but I think the crazy that Sabrina revealed in the beginning of the book could have been built on so much more; I think those first few Sabrina chapters made me think this would be more of a thriller than it was. But overall, it was a decent read. Not usually my genre of choice (as I mentioned, expected a thriller after those first couple Sabrina chapters), but I didn't hate the book.

DNF @ 12%. This book was just all over the place and after reading some reviews, I'm not the only one to think so. As excited as I was for this one, I don't think I'll be continuing. Thanks for the opportunity!

I was simply blown away by this book. After the first chapter I was hooked. It was like watching a soap opera with all the requisite characters. Meet Molly: budding author and questionable taste in men. Meet Hunter: the stoic paragon of sacrifice and my favorite. Meet Jake: selfish rock star who is careless with his love. Meet Sabrina: the manipulator.
I read hungrily trying to figure out how all the chips would fall. I couldn’t warm up to Molly. Sabrina was malicious and evil and although I love to read about devious women I’m glad no one like her is around me. I wasn’t impressed with Jake, it was all about him. Now I was Team Hunter from the beginning.
If any of these descriptions pique your interest, my review has served its purpose.

Molly seems to be living an idyllic life in an affluent Connecticut suburb with her handsome husband and young daughter, save for trouble trying to conceive their second child, until Molly's ex-boyfriend, and not just any ex-boyfriend, perhaps The One Who Got Away, moves into the 'hood with his new wife, Sabrina. Molly and Sabrina strike up a friendship before Molly realizes the conflict of interest and Sabrina might just have ulterior motives for becoming bosom buddies with her husband's ex.

A domestic drama with a thriller-y twist Can't Look Away alternates between present day and a decade previous exploring past relationships, old wounds, buried secrets, and toxic love that threatens to upend everything.

I've enjoyed author Carola Lovering in the past, I loved Tell Me Lies and liked Too Good to Be True. Unfortunately I found <i>Can't Look Away</i> to be just okay; readable but bland.

This book took me somewhere I hadn’t expected it to, but I certainly enjoyed the trip.

This book has it all: drama, romance, and psychological suspense. In all honesty, I was in my happy place while I was reading Can’t Look Away. It had everything that I love in a novel, and I was hooked right from the beginning.

This novel is about young, all-consuming love. When Molly and Jake’s eyes meet at one of his band’s shows, their connection is instantaneous. With Molly being an aspiring author and Jake being a musician and songwriter, their creativity feeds off of their passionate relationship. Their relationship had its share of peaks and valleys, and boy, did I feel all of the angst, tension, apprehension, and butterflies.

The book it told from the past and the present from different characters’ perspectives, over the span of nearly a decade. There’s nothing better than getting into the minds of the various characters, seeing what makes them tick, witnessing the lengths that they will go to in order to get what they want, and feeling like a fly on the wall in their lives.

Where this story crosses many genres, I was never certain where the author was going to take this story or her characters. I never really trusted any of the characters. My suspicions were always on high alert, and I sat on pins and needles, filled with apprehension through all of the dysfunction while I waited for everything to be revealed.

Can’t Look Away hit the mark for me. It was a titillating page-turner about love, jealousy, and obsession that made my heart race in the best way.

*5 Stars

𝗖𝗔𝗡‘𝗧 𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗬 is a love story that explores the hold of a first love long after the relationship has ended with drama, suspense, and secrets thrown in as well. It’s a quick read that kept me engaged throughout. I enjoyed the dual timelines and multiple POVs. The character development was great and I was satisfied with the ending. Another great read from Carola Lovering that you should definitely add to your list!

WOW! Thankfully I got the ebook and audio ARC of this one, because once I started I could not stop. Although not actually a thriller in my eyes, it was some really intense suspense with a lot of craziness thrown in.

Molly Diamon meets Jake Danner when he's a rising rock star. He's playing at a local bar where Molly goes with a friend and their eyes lock and sparks fly! He pursues her and she is smitten.
There is the little fact that he had a girlfriend, but he tells her that wasn't working and that he had already begun the breakup process. They fall hard and fast and their love is intense. But his career is on the upswing, and life with a rock star isn't all wonderful. Allegations of cheating, communication issues, and too much time apart push Molly into the arms of another man who she had struck up a friendship with along the way.

Fast-forward a few years where Molly, Hunter, and their daughter, Stella, live in a quiet, although exclusive, community where she isn't sure she quite fits in. She loves her husband and daughter, but friends are few and far between. Then she meets Sabrina at her yoga studio and they quickly become BFFs. There's much more to Sabrina than Molly realizes.

Things from her past are about to come back into her life in a big way and Sabrina definitely has her own agenda where Molly is concerned. Molly's world is turned upside down. Secrets come out, people resurface, and we are along for this out of control ride!

Molly isn't perfect. Who is? But Sabrina is definitely one of those characters you will love to hate and the lengths she will go to in getting what she wants will amaze you!

Finished this one in a day!

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for my advance copies in exchange for an honest review!

3.25 rock star obsession stars

The main characters in this one are Molly Diamond and Jake Danner. Molly is an aspiring writer and Jake is on his way to becoming a bona fide rock star. Their eyes meet one night at a concert and then the romance starts, Jake even writes a hit song about her.

The book hops around in chronology and storytelling so we get teasers that the couple doesn’t have a happy ever after ending. And what often happens with rock stars? Obsessed fans! In Jake’s case, an old girlfriend just cannot let Jake go and she is dedicated her life to having him, no matter the cost.

Years later, we know that Molly is happily married, teaching yoga, and has a precocious daughter, and we slowly learn the details of how she’s ended up in Connecticut. It’s still a struggle for her to fit in so she’s excited to make a new friend in Sabrina.

With themes of the one you left behind, being famous not really making you happy, and creative muses, this one was an entertaining read, albeit an over-the-top ending.

I went into this one mostly blind, thinking it was going to be a thriller. This is probably one of the few times I was happy to be surprised that it wasn’t a thriller. Did it have some thriller aspects? Yea- a crazy jealous ex girlfriend who wants to “get revenge” on the girl who stole her man? HOWEVER, this book is more so women’s fiction. It’s a book about lost dreams, growing up, fame, relationships. It’s about being caught between two worlds- the just finished college and the world is your oyster feeling, and the married, settled down and new family stage of life. I actually really enjoyed this book! I can’t wait to read more from this author!

What’s it about (in a nutshell):
Can’t Look Away by Carol Lovering is a domestic suspense novel that tells the story of Molly Diamond, Jake Danner, and Sabrina – how their lives connected, intersected, and impacted each other.

Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
The cover of Can’t Look Away is of an eye peeking out of a gap, giving me total peeping tom vibes. The blurb calls it a sexy suspense novel which I find intriguing and supports the peeping tom vibe of the cover.

Actual Reading Experience:
I think that my initial expectations were very close to my actual reading experience. I’m not sure how much of a thriller it is, but I did enjoy the suspense and the many twists, turns, and revelations in this story. I was hooked from page 1 and stayed focused on the story until the last page, leaving me with a creepy feeling once I took in the full ramifications of it. I do love a creepy ending!

Technically, the story is told through three points of view – Molly, Jake, and Sabrina – but only Sabrina’s chapters are in first-person narration. I think using this technique kept the suspense so high throughout the story. Sabrina’s mind and thoughts are very concerning in many senses of the word. I was always worried about what she would do next. If I knew anything, I knew that she was highly unpredictable.

The telling was a bit confusing initially as the story switched through timelines and points of view fairly quickly. Though I enjoyed learning the back story and all the secrets that came from that, I struggled to follow along at first. Eventually, I got used to the flow and found it much easier to follow.

There are only a very few things to figure out in this story, so mostly it is the type of tale you’ll want to just sit back, enjoy the ride, and marvel at the way lives intersect and impact one another.

Characters:
The relationships between the characters are even more important than the individual characters. An assortment of healthy and unhealthy pairings each bring their own challenges and secrets to this story. The characters are pretty well developed, particularly Molly, the main character. We know a great deal about her past and how it worked to form the many layers that make her the complex person on the page. She is relatable and even likable.

To Read or Not to Read:
If you are looking for a novel full of suspense with a solid romantic plotline, Can’t Look Away by Carola Lovering is just what you are looking for.

Can’t Look Away by Carola Lovering is an engaging, dramatic story. It’s classified as a thriller but I feel like it’s more domestic drama. At times, I wanted to shake Molly but more because I could actually see being her friend and advising her to do the opposite of what she was doing. Her choices may not have always been the best but she was always trying to do her best. I was surprised by a few things that happened in the book. This is my second book by Lovering (the first being Tell Me Lies, which is being made into a show) and her writing is always dynamic. The back and forth between the two timelines kept me totally invested and I was happy with how Lovering had these characters end up. This was a fun book to read.

I am not sure how to categorize this book, the closest I can think of would be a domestic suspense. We are following two different points of view and a few different timelines, our main characters are Molly and Sabrina. Molly meets Jack in 2013 and they had a relationship while hi band was just taking off now in present day she is married to Hunter and living in a small town in Connecticut. Molly is struggling with her life and not fitting into their new town when she meets Sabrina. The two quickly become friends but Sabrina is keeping secrets and when they are revealed both of their lives will change. I really enjoyed this one and once I started I could not put it down. The story was fast paced and I didn't have any problems when we jumped back in time. I have another book by this author and I am excited to read it after enjoying this so much. Thank you St. Martin's Press for my gifted copy for review!