*Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Carola Lovering, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Previously published at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/cant-look-away/

Can’t Look Away, Carola Lovering’s third book, isn’t exactly a mystery or thriller. It crosses many genres, including romance, suspense, and a tearjerker with some mystery thrown in. But wow. What a book! Layered characters, evil exes, cute kids, bitchy women and handsome rock stars all rolled into one fabulous package.

Molly, a young 23-year-old aspiring writer, is living in Brooklyn, when she sees Jake Danner of “Danner Lane” perform for the first time. Their eyes meet and they fall head over heels in love. Though Jake is just getting out of a relationship, they move quickly, sharing an apartment after six months together. When the popularity of the band explodes, so does their relationship, though their timeline together spans years.

The book jumps back and forth between timelines and voices; Molly as a 23-year-old girlfriend of a rock star and Molly later in life, as a young mother living in a small Connecticut town married to another man. Also, Sabrina, the ex-girlfriend of a rock star and now, a young mother living in Flynn Cove. Life in this little town, a wealthy enclave of young families, should be idyllic and is until Molly’s secrets are slowly uncovered.

The mystery revolves around Sabrina, a newcomer to town, and Molly’s new friend. What the reader learns almost immediately is that Sabrina has known Molly for a long time and is not a fan. But how does she know her? Sabrina’s ramblings in the book, those of a creepy stalker, bring that suspense into Can’t Look Away that the reader is craving. This is definitely a page turner, and I looked forward to Sabrina’s chilling voice in direct contrast to Molly’s angst.

Carola Lovering is a new author for me. Some things I loved about this book were how twisty it was, but I also enjoyed Molly’s unpredictability. She doesn’t make the decisions you think she will make, and I liked that unreliable narrator piece. This was entertaining and kept you addicted to the last page. While the story is told in dual timelines (2013 and 2022), it is not confusing as it is in some books. There is so much emotion from both characters that really draws the reader in.

The conclusion of Can’t Look Away is truly brilliant. I really wasn’t sure that it would have a happy ending because of Molly’s unpredictability and Sabrina’s plans for her, but Lovering was able to tie everything together.

Another compelling and impossible to put down story by Carola Lovering. I could not get enough of the dynamics between Molly, Sabrina, and Jake. The mixture of romance and thriller gave this a fresh feel. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy looking forward to more greats stories.

Obsession and love. How do you draw the line? This was 'okay', kind of over the top and a bit too far fetched for me to believe.

Carola Lovering is quickly becoming an auto-buy author for me! I didn’t know if CAN’T LOOK AWAY was going to be able to top how much I loved her last novel, TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE. However, I think this one is my new favorite of her’s! Her plot lines are always unique and fast paced with a sprinkle of romance and this one is no different. I highly recommend this to everyone, but warning: make sure you have time to binge it in just a couple sittings, because you won’t be able to put this one down 😉 4.5 stars from me! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Can't look away by Carola Lovering doesn't disappoint. Told in dual timelines the book focus' on Molly in 2013 and today(2022). In 2013, Molly meets Jake, a lead singer in an up and coming band named Danner Lane. They fall in love but Molly can't keep up with the musician lifestyle. In 2022, Molly is living with her husband Hunter and her daughter in the suburbs. Molly becomes friends with Sabrina, thinking they have has a lot in common but little does Molly know Sabrina isn't exactly who she appears to be.
This book is a quick read but I wouldn't categorize it as a thriller, it's more of a domestic suspense. I enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more from the author. Thank you to Carola Lovering, St Martin's Press and Net Galley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Fans of Too Good To Be True will be blown away yet again with lovering’s latest novel. This multiple POV story follows Molly, Jake, and Sabrina across a 9 year span that truly keeps you wanting more page after page. It was a quick and enjoyable read that jumped between the past and present, but was easy to keep up with. I was truly invested in each character and couldn’t wait to see what would happen next.

The ending was absolutely perfect! I didn’t find it to be rushed and was left feeling like there were no loose ends.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: June 14, 2022

TW: lots of focus on pregnancy loss and fertility struggles, eating disorders, stalking

This dual timeline read takes us between 2013 and today…slowly revealing how these two timelines merge in this anxiety-inducing domestic drama with one super crazy ex-girlfriend. This was a quick and easy read and Sabrina’s chapters in the first person were quite chilling! My issue is that this is marketed as a mystery/thriller and despite the mayhem that was caused over the years, there were no consequences and everyone’s storyline wrapped up with a HEA.

I love love this author. Such a good book, I think people are gonna really love this one. Keep me wanting more the whole way through. Thank you!

I LOVED Tell Me Lies and Too Good To Be True so I was thrilled to get an ARC of this book. Unfortunately, Can’t Look Away did not meet my high expectations. I read the whole book waiting for a suspenseful event and was disappointed that there was nothing unexpected. I think the book should be marketed as a relationship drama because that more accurately depicts the story line. I still enjoyed the actual writing but the overall story missed the mark for me.

Thank you to Carola Lovering, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What do you get when you mix a love story with a psychological thriller? A great book! The story takes place in 2013 and 2022. Molly is living in New York, trying to be a writer, and locks eyes with a handsome musician. There is immediate chemistry. Jake and Molly move in together and seemingly have a perfect relationship.Fast forward to 2022 and Molly has a husband and a little girl. It has been years since she’s seen Jake. Jake and his new wife move to Molly’s neighborhood and there are many secrets and twists and turns. It’s a quick read and I will be recommending it to all my “book” friends! #NetGalley #StMartinsPress #Can’tLookAway @CarolaLovering

This is the story of obsessive love of all kinds, this is the story of a romantic triangle that becomes a square. While there is some suspense, it is less of a thriller than a story of coming to terms with what you want in life. Was a good read

Mmm, I have mixed feelings on this book. It didn’t really feel like a thriller. I never felt on the edge of my seat or shocked. It just reads like a fiction story with some light thriller elements. It’s like a thriller lite.

I didn’t dislike the story. It was just weird to have the 3rd person and then the first. It would throw me off when added in with the time jumps. I didn’t care for either Molly or Sabrina. The reveal about their connection was meh, and the other thread was also lackluster. I think this author has the potential for more thrills, it just didn’t happen with this book.

Thank you NetGalley and SMP for the digital review copy.

Wow! What an enjoyable quick thrill read!
Can't Look Away had the perfect combo of romance, plot twists, frenemy drama that keeps a plot moving fast. Highly recommend for an escapist thriller! Thankful for the ARC !

This is my second Carola Lovering thriller and it definitely won’t be my last! I was enthralled throughout the course of the story and was blown away by the unexpectedness of the ending. It makes you wonder the lengths some people are willing to go for love. Definitely recommend! Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

My heart rate while reading this: 📈

👀 REVIEW: CAN’T LOOK AWAY 👀

By Carola Lovering

📖 SUMMARY: In 2013, Molly was an aspiring writer who had just met and fallen madly in love with Jake Danner, the lead singer of the up & coming band Danner Lane. But in 2022, Molly is a yoga teacher living happily in suburbia with her husband, Hunter, and her daughter… though with a new version of “Molly’s Song,” Danner Lane’s biggest hit, on the radio, she can’t help but think of Jake from time to time. She doesn’t feel she can relate to the country club women in Flynn Cove, so when new-in-town Sabrina starts attending Molly’s yoga classes, the two women quickly become close. Sabrina, though seemingly nice, had ulterior motives for moving to Flynn Cove and befriending Molly. Interwoven with second-person POV chapters from Sabrina, this novel explores the dark side of obsession, and what lengths people will go to in order to get what they want.

💭 THOUGHTS: What a wild ride!! This was the first book in a long time that I stayed up late to finish because I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what happened in those 9 years between 2013 and 2022 and how exactly Sabrina was connected to Molly. We also get some chapters from Jake’s POV, which helped to reveal different sides of characters. I knew I liked Carola’s writing from reading TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, and I thought this book was even better! Throughout the whole book there were twists and turns that I didn’t expect, and my heart was beating so fast because I was anxiously anticipating the next thing. I don’t want to say much about the plot because of spoilers, but you should definitely be prepared to pick this one up this summer.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the arc! This one comes out on June 14th.

✨ RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🥰 YOU’LL ENJOY IF: you like domestic drama/suspense

It’s taken me over a week to even decide on a star rating for this book. Something about just left me feeling super ambivalent.

The good:
• Easy and fast read
• Molly was an interesting, flawed character
• Definitely a few touching moments

The not-so-good:
• NOT a thriller. NOT a mystery. And these aren’t my own expectations clouding my enjoyment of the book; it’s legit categorized under those genres on Goodreads. And lemme tell you, it was no such thing. There’s certainly some suspense, but it’s way more family/romantic drama than anything else.
• Sabrina was annoying af. Oh no baby, what is you doing??

I see Can't Look Away as straddling a few different genres: part domestic drama, part women's fiction, part romance, part suspense/mystery. I'm always eager to explore how obsession drives us to do crazy things, and I hope you'll love being along for this wild ride.

Molly’s life did not turn out the way she had planned. She has given up on her dream of being a writer and is instead raising her daughter in Connecticut with her husband Hunter. She befriends a woman named Sabrina who she bonds with quickly but it’s possibly that Sabrina has a different motive for befriending Molly than what Molly suspects…

Can’t look away is the most endearing story I’ve read all year. I wish it was a series! The storyline is reminiscent of stories by Taylor Jenkins Reid or Catherine Center. An absolute page turner, I read it in one sitting. Young love. The ups and downs of life with a popular musician that just got his first record deal. Hard and unexpected choices. Friendship blooming into new love. Reconnecting with a past love, while putting the future in jeopardy. The character development was superb and I fell in love with the characters early in the story and loved watching them as the years went by. A perfect beach read or just because…. 5 stars.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my review.

Big TW for miscarriage, infertility, loss of a baby

I had not read either of Lovering's previous books, only knew her to be an author in the thriller genre, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I did overall enjoy this one, though it is much more of a low simmer of suspense and a slow burn. This was a really unique blend of a lot of different genres; I would be hesitant to market it as a thriller as it also brushes up against women's fiction and a decent dash of romance.

In this book, we get to see from Molly, Jake and Sabrina's point of view from a variety of different points in their weird love triangle. Alternating timelines and perspectives can sometimes be a bit unwieldy, but I thought that it was done well here for the most part. I did think it lagged a bit in places and I wish there had been a bit more oomph in the ending-- I kept waiting for a big reveal or something dramatic but this leans much more domestic.

I think this book would be perfect for fans of Big Little Lies and You on Netflix as it has similar vibes.