This was a puzzling read. It was overly dramatic and things dragged on for a bit before getting resolved too quickly and conveniently in the end. I did enjoy the tension of boundaries, unhealthy display of love, and volatility of the narrative. Overall, not the best but also not the worst.

What an awesome read this is! This book focuses on an incredibly likable character by the name of Molly's relationship with her musician boyfriend/ex boyfriend (Jake). The book is fast paced, fun and purely entertaining. Without giving too much of the story line away, it is a fantastic combination of a thriller, romance and beach read. I loved it. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Tell Me Lies was one of my favorite books of 2019 so to say I was excited for the opportunity to preview Can't Look Away is an understatement. I think Carola Lovering has a beautiful way of writing about the dynamics of people, especially those in romantic relationships.

Can't Look Away is the story of Molly + Jake. They meet at a concert in 2013 when 23 year old Molly locks eyes with Jake, the lead singer of an up and coming boy band, and the rest is history. They fall quickly in love, merge their lives, and Jake writes a #1 song, Molly's Song, that puts his band and their relationship on the map. Years later, Molly and her husband Hunter and daughter Stella are living in Flynn Cove, Connecticut. While their life is nice, Molly is lonely and misses her friends and the joys of living in the city. Sabrina, a newcomer in town, comes to a yoga class that Molly is teaching and Molly feels a connection right away. Sabrina is the first person Molly has met in Flynn Cove that seems down to earth and real and they closely become friends. Unfortunately, Sabrina's reasons for befriending Molly and moving to Flynn Cove are far from innocent and will force Molly to confront her past and secrets she's been keeping.

I did enjoy this book and specifically liked the way the author chose to move between different times (2013 vs 2022) and different points of view (Molly and Sabrina). I enjoyed the relationship between Molly and Jake, but I wanted more of the little details that make up a life. Where this book lacked for me was providing the in between detail, it felt like all big moments that moved really quickly without letting me get in the weeds of who these people are.

This book is being marketed as a mystery/thriller but I would classify it more as a domestic drama. There is a twist and some suspense, but it didn't read as a thriller to me and I did find a lot of the story to be predictable, but enjoyable.

Overall, I would recommend this book - it was fun, light, quick, and entertaining. The drama is heavy handed but so are relationships in your early 20's. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an Arc through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. Expected Publication is 6/14/22. I plan to post a review of this book in my social feeds for my podcast @easy_ish and personal instagram @alissaavilov which reaches 1350 followers in early June. We will also discuss this book in our podcast episode coming out in June 2022.

3.6, really.
I'm vaguely annoyed about something the author gave away way too early, especially given my certainty that this was unintentional. Bonus points for not lording every little unknown detail over me though.

I was a huge fan of tell me lies, and while I missed out on reading the second book by this author I really enjoyed Can't Look Away. I did find the part where I thought they had sex in the car to be a tad confusing because then it kept being said that they only kissed? I love the dual timelines even though all of the characters with the exception of Hunter irritated me in both timelines. Lovering is a very talented writer and I liked the unique story line that was offereed as well as the funny comments made by Serena even though she was crazy!

Twenty-three-year old Molly Diamond attends a concert in Brooklyn and locks eyes with the lead singer Jake Danner...both feeling an instant connection. They fall in love and begin a whirlwind romance. Jake writes a hit song about Molly that makes his band famous but begins to put a strain on their relationship. A decade later, Molly is living in Flynn Cove, Connecticut with her young daughter and her husband Hunter. When she meets newcomer, Sabrina, they quickly become friends but Sabrina has another agenda. Sabrina already knows everything about Molly and she's ready to expose Molly's secrets and force her confront her past.

Can't Look Away is and domestic thriller which explores the relationships between Molly, Jake, Hunter, and Sabrina. The novel transitions between the past and present exposing the truths and lies that occurred during those relationships. It explores how the decisions each person makes affect both their paths in life as well as those around them. Although this is technically a domestic thriller; the novel focuses more on the characters relationships and different versions of "love" than offering a sense of danger or suspense. I was able to piece together the plot twists pretty early on so the surprise ending was a bit disappointing and the plot didn't keep me engaged as much as I hoped. That being said, this was still an interesting novel and I do enjoy the authors writing style and I look forward to reading future novels.

Carola Lovering did it again! I was thrilled with Tell Me Lies and have been eagerly awaiting a new one. Well, I got what I wanted and a whole lot more.

We have Molly, you know, THE Molly. Jake Danner's Molly. The muse. They aren't together anymore but her heart still belongs to Jake.

Then we have Sabrina. Sigh. Crazy Sabrina. Sad, pathetic Sabrina. Good lord Sabrina. If you put as much energy into literally ANYTHING else as you do into hating Molly, imagine what you could do.

Sabrina somehow ends up living in Flynn Cove, with her new husband, and oddly enough, Molly. Interesting....

That's all I'm going to say because I don't want to ruin anything (although it's fairly easy to figure out) but what really got me was that it wasn't a full blown thriller. It was like 2 stories in 1. One about a crazy obsessed nutjob who holds a grudge for far too long and another about the what ifs and first loves. It was a nice balance between the two yet it didn't feel overly thriller-esque but it also was not super sappy and lovey.

Great book and an easy read!

Wow, Carola Lovering knocks another one out of the park with her newest thriller!

Molly, living the single life in New York, meets Jake, a lead singer of a new and upcoming band and feels an instant connection. Things progress fast and they fall in love intensely. Flash forward many years later, Molly is living in a small coastal town with her daughter and husband, Hunter (not Jake.) What happened with Jake? Struggling to conceive another child, Molly meets a new friend Sabrina. Can Molly trust Sabrina or will her secrets come to haunt her?

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good fast paced psychological thriller.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 6/14/22.

Oof, I hate categorizing a book as "women's fiction" (for what I hope are obvious reasons) but this book is so hard to place into a different genre. A bit romance, a bit thriller (cue Stalker Joe from You), but mostly, a drama about how people come to terms with the life they've chosen and the life they could've had.

I'm a sucker for stories in which the possibility of loving two people at once is explored (look at you Colleen Hoover, with Maybe Someday). And in Can't Look Away, that's a prevalent theme.

It may be too strong to say that Molly, our protagonist, is unhappy but she's definitely unsatisfied. Struggling with getting pregnant with a second child, surrounded by people she can't relate with, and feeling unfulfilled with her job, Molly isn't in the best place, even if she does have a husband (Hunter) and daughter she adores. Add into that unresolved feelings about an epic love she had with a literal rockstar (Jake) ten years earlier and things clearly get messy.

I enjoyed the writing and thought Lovering did a good job making each character feel relatable despite their obvious flaws. Throughout the novel, I both loved and hated each character at some point (except Hunter, long live our love for Hunter). There were some issues I had with the execution though. Three perspectives are given that go back and forth between the past and present. Because of this, there were many times I felt like I was repeating the same events/reflections over and over again. I also didn't love how infertility and parenthood were treated here. I don't want to give anything away, but let's just say at the very end, I was banging my head against my Kindle. It wasn't pretty.

So, although not a mystery/thriller like I expected, Can't Look Away was an entertaining read, even if I didn't enjoy how some topics were handled.

Can’t Look Away by Carola Lovering is a great read. This book gives you romance, long lost loves, reconnection and mystery all rolled into one. Molly and Jake fell head over heels in love when they met, their romance was quick and tumultuous and ends abruptly after 3 years. Hunter steps in and rescues Molly and they end up falling in love. Meanwhile Sabrina holds a deep dark secret and as she befriends Molly it slowly starts to rear its ugly head.

Definitely a twisty story that keeps you interested and gives you some added suspense. Definitely recommend this one!!

🌟Book Review🌟

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the #AdvancedReviewCopy

RELEASE DATE: June 2022

It's 2013 and while at a concert, Molly locks eyes with the dreamy, lead singer, and guitarist of the new, up and coming band.

Jake is on stage; she's in the audience, the space is full and eyes are on him, but his are only on her.

They instantly fall, deeply, and wholeheartedly in love. Who says love at first sight isn't real?

Fast forward a decade, we learn that Molly is (happily?) Married with a daughter but Jake is not her husband.

As the story flips from past to present filling in the gaps, we learn many things.

1) People are not always who they say they are
2) Obsession can be deadly
3) The difficult choices we make, can sometimes, turn out to be the best ones yet, even after years of regret.

I really liked this one, BUT do not go into this expecting a thriller. It is categorized as such  but it's more of a twisted, love story/drama.

If you go into this knowing that, you'll be less disappointed.

There were parts of this story I absolutely loved and others I didn't, but mainly due to the character's choices, and to me, that's what makes a book rich, and real. So when I say I didn't love some parts, it actually made me like the book more as a whole.

We are not perfect. We all make mistakes. But I often find that as readers we are disappointed when our characters mess up. I personally like a semi-flawed character who struggles with making the right decisions at times. It makes it more real and I can connect better. This book is full of those characters. You'll find yourself thinking: "He didn't, did he?" And, "She possibly can't!" I was hooked from the start and invested in the character's complicated lives from the get go. I gave this one 4 stars and not 5 only because I had figured out the plot twists, especially the big one at the end, early on. I kept hoping I'd be wrong, but I wasn't. So the suspense was lost to me. But other than guessing the twists, this was a solid, well constructed and cleverly executed love story.

🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
.
.
.

#can'tlookaway
#newreleases
#comingsoon
#women'sfiction
#lovestory
#arcreview
#advancereview
#netgalley
#suspense

I really enjoyed Carola Lovering’s Tell Me Lies and Too Good To Be True, so I was happy to read this ARC of Can’t Look Away from #netgalley and #stmartinspress. Molly Diamond meets Jake Danner after she sees him perform his music with his band. He locks eyes with her in the crowd and then he finds a way to track down her number to ask her out. Their physical chemistry is undeniable, but their relationship has many issues. Jake’s dedication to his music and his band keeps him from making Molly the main priority in his life. The story takes us through the different stages of their relationship and reveals how someone is quite determined to keep them apart The story is told in alternating points of view of the main characters..It’s a quick, easy read and I finished it in two days. Toward the end of the book, a tragic event occurs and the character responsible for causing it is never held accountable. It bothered me that the character was never arrested for what was done. Other than that, I really enjoyed the book.

Molly Diamond once had a life most women would dream of having, dating the lead singer in a rock band, having him write a song about her... it's all dream-worthy. But it's so far from the life she has now. Now she is a little older, married to a nice guy who does not sing in a band, and spends her days teaching yoga and fulfilling her mom duties. It is not the life she pictured for herself, but it's what she has, but she is not so she it's a life she wants.

Her marriage has it's struggles, there are fights and moments they can't stand one another, but then there are moments when she remembers why she married him. It's a series of ups and downs they somewhat manage to survive... but now they are about to face their biggest hurdle yet, one they may or may not come out on the good side of!

Can't Look Away is an engaging read about a woman who finds herself living a life she is not so sure she wants anymore. It's not the life she dreamed of having, the one that resembles a little more of what she had in the past. As she tries to come to terms with everything happening in her marriage, her struggles with fertility, a woman comes into her life that she thinks might be the perfect friend to lean on during this time. But little does she know said woman has ulterior motives, ones that can completely derail what little stability Molly's life has left.

This dramatic and thrilling read promises to keep you captivated from the first page until the last. There is a lot going on between the pages of this one, with it's engaging story line and well drawn characters that have quite the story to tell, you won't be able to pry your eyes from the pages! Highly recommend!

I requested an advanced copy of this title from the publisher, via NetGalley, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest and unbiased opinion.

▫️ REVIEW ▫️

Can’t Look Away ~ Carola Lovering

🙏🏼 Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this gifted eARC copy. It comes out June 14, 2022.

▫️READ IF:
* You play Zac Brown Band and Dan + Shay on repeat.
* You’ve been known to internet stalk an ex or the current flame of an ex.
* Small-town living seems a little too small some of the time.

▫️SYNOPSIS: Molly Diamond is the ultimate wing-woman, heading to a concert with her best friend Nina, when she’d rather be home. It’s in that Brooklyn bar where she locks eyes with lead singer, Jake Danner, and her life is forever changed. Their romance is a one-of-a kind love, weathering the ups and downs of fame, distance, and temptation - it’s the kind of love songs are written about, “Molly’s Song” to be exact.

Ten years later, Molly has settled into life in Flynn Cove with her husband, Hunter, and their daughter. She teaches yoga classes on the regular and has finally made what she believes to be a real friend in Sabrina. Most of the time, Jake is a distant memory but Molly soon realizes that first loves are hard to forget completely, especially when her daily life becomes filled with the reality of what she left behind.

▫️REVIEW: LOVED. THIS. BOOK! Was expecting a thriller but it definitely more of a mysterious romance - but the genre mix-up honestly didn’t matter because I was sucked in right away. This is my second Lovering book and I can now say with total confidence that she does pacing right! With each page, she gives you just enough romance and just enough deception to keep you turning. This had all the elements of a romance without being cheesy, along with some suspense to add a bit of darkness. Never mind the surprises at the end that I didn’t really see coming - all of this mixed together to make such an entertaining read! Went in blind, came out seeing the Lovering light! Save this one for your summer reading list, folks - it hits the shelves June 14, 2022!

Loved this book by Carola Lovering! Had the perfect mix of romance and mystery that kept me on my toes the entire book. My first read by this author, but will definitely not be my last!

Thank you to net galley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Not so much a thriller as a romance book mixed with a heavy dose of spiteful stalking. Is this my favorite book by the author? No. But I did want to see how it all got pulled together and the resolution. Sabrina was not likable at all and Jake and Molly were frustrating off and on.

It’s a quick read and worth giving a try.

I would classify this book as a romantic suspense or a drama with a tiny bit of mystery. By no means is it a thriller, which is what I initially expected based on the marketing. The story follows three main characters-Molly, Sabrina and Jake-in both the past (2015) and future (2022) as they navigate love, breakups, fame, friendships and family. It highlights the great lengths people will go to get what they want and how easily someone can deceive or manipulate you. While the story is pretty believable, not all the characters are super likable (Sabrina), and I wasn’t always sure which outcome I wanted most. Like her last book, I was sucked into Carola Lovering’s fast-paced. I felt very immersed into the story and while most of it was predictable, I was itching to know what will happen next. Definitely recommend reading this when it comes out in summer 2022!!

Thanks NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

DNF. I reeeeally don’t like stalker books, and as soon as I realized that this was one, I was immediately out. I’m sure it’s great for it’s intended audience, and the cover is great.

Molly Diamond is a twenty-three year old barista that dreams of becoming a writer. One night at a concert she meet Jake Danner, the lead singer of the band playing that night. They instantly have a connection, a whirlwind romance ensues but things sometimes just don't work out. Many years later, Molly is now married to Hunter, she teaches Yoga, and has a young daughter named Stella. Molly feels out of place in her new community of Flynn Cove, Connecticut until she meets Sabrina. Sabrina and Molly become fast friends and they spend all of their time together. Molly discovers Sabrina has an ulterior motive for befriending her. Molly is faced to deal with the choices she made in her past.

I really enjoyed this book by Carola Lovering. I loved the past and present timelines and the different points of view. It is a love story with a bit of suspense added in. CAN’T LOOK AWAY is very entertaining and well worth reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This review will be posted to my Instagram Blog (@coffee.break.book.reviews) in the near future.

I did enjoy this book, but I wouldn't categorize it as a thriller. Maybe more drama romance. Ehh I don't know, but not a thriller.

I liked the characters and I felt part of the group while reading. Multiple point of views that flowed seamlessly. A story that keeps you captivated throughout and FINALLY an ending that I like.