I'm not entirely sure why I dove into this one thinking it was a suspenseful thriller. Perhaps it was because of the way it's marketed, or because the author's previous book was an amazing thriller with an outstanding twist. Well... it isn't! It is however quite the engaging and captivating domestic drama.

I love Lovering's writing style and her character development. I love the way she weaves relationships together.

Overall, I very much enjoyed Can't Look Away and look forward to reading more from Carola Lovering.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.75 stars rounded up

If you want to enjoy this book, read it for the story. This is not a thriller or a mystery book. But it is a well written, good story about life, love, relationships, people. In some way it reminds me of Liane Moriarty's books.

We have the story of a couple that started seeing each other when they were young and they were trying to find themselves and their way in life. When carriers were pulling them in different directions and they were trying to figure out life in a relationship in the same time.

The characters are very relatable. We have the sweet and loving boyfriend who is also selfish, self-centred and nasty at times. We have Maggie, the kind, honest, nice girl who can be infatuated and quite the spoiled princess. They love each other but they mess up and they prove that love is not enough to keep a long term relationship.

The ending was a bit strange, not my favourite choice but over all a good read!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book!

A whole bunch of craziness! Imagine being so obsessed with your ex, that you will do anything (real crazy stuff) to get them back. Even though this is fiction, I can actually imagine this happening in real life, especially how the world is now.

'Can't Look Away' involves a romance, a love triangle, a square and then back to romance. Plus, a whole lot of a craziness, I mean CRAZINESS!!!

I wouldn't really consider it a psychological thriller. To me, it was more of a drama. It did keep my attention all the way through. I did figure one thing out mid way through, but I still wanted to find out what was going to happen.

'Can't Look Away' publishes on June 14, 2022. I think you will enjoy it.

Thanks to Netgalley, St Martin's Press and Lovering for the Kindle Version of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book is an awesome read and it is so good!!!! Molly Diamond, an aspiring write, goes to a Danner Lane concert and locks eye with the lead singer, Jack Danner, which changes everything for both of them. They begin dating and move in together after a few months. He is a handsome rock star and being on the road touring for lengthy stretches begins to take its toll on their relationship, plus add a psycho ex-girlfriend to the mix and lots of things happen!!! I could not put this book down!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this unputdownable book that I absolutely loved!

This book read like a really interesting movie. in my opinion it wasn't as twisty as I wanted it to be.. I wanted it to be more of a thriller but it really wasn't.

Carola Lovering is becoming a bright new voice in thrillers! Each one gets better and better! This had so many unexpected twists and turns. Absolutely un-put downable.

Can’t Look Away by Carola Lovering is a 2022 St. Martin’s Press publication.

Well, I’m at a loss for words here. I do not like to give low ratings, but it is becoming an epidemic in 2022. I loved the first book I read by this author, so I was highly anticipating this one. Sadly, this book was a big letdown.
I don’t see the point in wasting time on the critique- I did finish the book- mainly because I kept waiting for some big reveal or plot twist that never materialized. The conclusion left me wondering what the point of the story was and why I wasted my time with on it.

I normally avoid one-star ratings because I hate the added attention they draw- choosing to either DNF or quietly remove the book from my list- but I did read it from start to finish, and feel obligated to give it a star rating- so to avoid scrutiny or challenges to my rating I’m kindly handing this one a 1.5 star rating.

While I understand that Lovering has created a story that looks at the dynamics between Molly, her friend Sabrina and her ex-boyfriend Jake, both when Molly and Jake were a couple as well as years later when Molly is married with a child, but the execution just doesn’t work for me. It kind of feels like Lovering is trying to make it a thriller, with Sabrina trying to sabotage the relationship and then following Molly’s life years later. But if she’s so incredibly jealous of the relationship that Molly and Jake had, then why in the world does she put Jake right in Molly’s path and expect it to be the solution to her jealousy? Using it as a way for Jake to get Molly out of his “system” just seems problematic. Molly isn’t necessarily perfect, but Lovering does use this character as a way to showcase how Jake was a toxic person in their relationship, without Jake trying to be a bad person. He’s incredibly preoccupied, and while he needs Molly to be successful, he tends to get wrapped up in his career and forget about how his lack of interest and communication hurts the person he cares about the most. Ultimately this leads to Molly walking away and setting up a reunion in the current time. The thoughtful look at why Jake and Molly grew apart is by far the best part of this book, but the weird set-up of Sabrina’s storyline holds this book back. A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

“We’ve got a lot of ground to cover, you and I.”

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT 1: That old proverb “Don’t talk to strangers” still applies when you’re an adult. Is everyone clear on that? This is when you nod your head in compliance. Good job.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT 2: If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a freaking angry duck who is hell bent on revenge against you; therefore, don’t cozy up to the duck. Once again, please nod in compliance.

Moving on…

In this one, we have our main character, Molly. Her story is told in two timelines: One timeline begins in 2013 and tells the story of an intense, yet doomed-to-fail romance with Jake the musician; the second takes place in present day, when we see Molly as a wife to Hunter and mother to Stella, but nostalgia is a beast, so she often thinks of Jake. Simple enough.

But then…we also get the perspective of Sabrina. She may or may not (probably the first one) be stalking Molly, and she seems a wee bit upset about something from the past. As she suggests in that quote at the top of this review. Sabrina and Molly have a lot of ground to cover.

Guys, here I am minding my own business and reading this book, thinking it’s perfectly fine and engaging, BUT THEN, I get to around the 30% mark, and a hand shot out from my inside Kindle and slapped me in the face. I mean, WHAT? Well, from then on, things were just uncomfortable in that mouthwatering way that domestic suspense novels often are.

Grab it, read it, and delight in all the shock and awe. It’s so dang fun and dysfunctional, but there are also surprising moments of tenderness, pain, and emotional growth. It checks all the boxes for an entertaining yet impactful reading experience.

Can’t Look Away ………you can’t put it down! Jake and Molly are destined to be together, or are they? Sabrina, or whatever name you want to refer to her as, certainly has her own agenda. Can’t Look Away is a quick read that flips back and forth between characters and clearly identified dates in the timeline. I read it in one sitting.
Definitely a good summer read!
Thank You to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

First loves can be hard. They can be even harder when you’re first love is a rock star named Jack.

This is a quick read, and would make the perfect storyline for a lifetime suspense or mystery movie. Complete with married couples, a new friend who seems too good to be true, and that rock star ex sprinkled in what would you expect but chaos to ensure. 😉

I enjoyed the book and wanted to stay on the crazy train to see what would happen next.

This book is a little over the top. You get a two for one with this book, thriller and romance. Some of the characters came off as juvenile at times and could be hard to identify with their motives. Overall a decent read. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Carola Lovering is a drop everything author for me. This book has a little bit of everything — domestic drama + romance + suspense/thriller/mystery. I am obsessed with the way Lovering writes. I loved the alternating chapters and nonlinear timeline in this book. It was so well written, and the character development is on point. I also loved how the chapters went from the past to present. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a romance with a touch of domestic suspense! Thank you to St. Martins Press + NetGalley for my gifted e-copy!

I liked this novel! I really loved Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering so was really excited to read this novel!

I was not disappointed. It's got a few twists that will leave you wondering how the heck you missed it in the first place!

One thing, I wasn't sure if this was a thriller. I would have billed it as a domestic suspense / women's fiction more than a thriller.

Otherwise really liked this book!

3.5

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher/author for the ARC copy!

I was looking forward to reading this book, however, I was disappointed in the execution of the story. I found it repetitive and at times. I just didn't care about the characters and all their angsts.
By the end of the book, I just needed to know why Sabrina and /or Molly) would want a man like Jake in their lives..
Obviously not the book for me, but thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital copy

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this Arc!

This was a fast-paced, thrilling read and there were some twists that I definitely didn't see coming! I can't say it is my favorite of the genre simply because I really didn't enjoy any of the characters. I'm not sure if that was on purpose or not, but it put a damper on the whole story for me. However, if your interested in this read, I would definitely say give it a go! Happy reading!

I literally couldn’t put this book down from the moment I picked it up. Everything was perfect. A love story between a lead singer in a band and a girl in a bar. And then. One day. They break up. Fast forwards and flashbacks through the book show us the truth. And the truth is more astonishing than I ever imagined. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Jake is a musician and in love with Molly but the life of the musician tears them apart. Years later Molly is married to a different man and has a kid. She meets a woman named Sabrina who has a few secrets of her own and makes Molly's past catch up to her.

This book combined two of my favorite genres which are contemporary with a bit of romance and thriller. The story is a slower build with dual timelines and multiple points of view with characters that were well defined, relatable and had a lot of growth throughout the story. While the story wasn't a jaw dropping or fast paced I still couldn't put it down. I love stories that span multiple genres and if you do too then you'll really enjoy this one.

Can’t Look Away was a great contemporary novel. The drama of a vengeful ex is all too real in this society, which gave the book such a sinister undertone. I loved watching the story play out as Molly slowly discovered the truth about her new friend.
I docked a star because the climax of the story (at the birthday party) was just unbelievable to me.

Another solid read from Carola Lovering, though not quite as good as Too Good to Be True. I expect a lot of dark and twisty from this author, and this one was maybe a little twisty light.

Molly, fresh out of grad school, meets Jake, budding rock star, and instantly they fall in love. They quickly move in together, but the world has different plans for them, and eventually they go their separate ways. Fast forward a few years, and Molly is now living the quiet suburban life with her husband and young daughter. She meets Sabrina at one of her yoga classes, and they become friends. But there is more to Sabrina than meets the eye; she has specially targeted Molly and has plans for her for something Molly did to her in the past.

This story is told across multiple timelines and multiple narrators, taking the reader back to when Molly and Jake first fell in love, and the obstacles that came between them. It was fast paced and easy to read. I had high expectations for the great reveal and was slightly let down in the end.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review.