I thought this book was meh at best. The main female lead was INSUFFERABLE. Her internal monologues went on and on. I just found her to be emotionally stunted and intentionally, emotionally unavailable. For a large portion of the book, Phoebe's dark outlook on life and romance was due to her unresolved trauma stemming from her parents' divorce. I understand that, but I could not bring myself to empathize with someone who does not acknowledge their trauma and expects a HEA. I do admire her persistence writing her dissertation and graduating from her grad program. The only things I did like were Sam, the love interest, and Lenore, the stray cat Phoebe takes in. Sam's character is not the typical one of contemporary romance. He's a bit on the shy side, emotionally mature, and a nice dude. I honestly wanted Sam with a different character with little emotionally baggage. While there was conflict, that could have been resolved with some communication, the ending was pretty much what I expected. There were some scenes that showed some character growth for Phoebe. However, the girl needs therapy. There was not much resolution of said trauma that satisfied me.

Talk about paranoid.

Phoebe Walsh is obsessed with all things true crime. It’s even the subject of her dissertation. The problem is, because of her obsession she suspects everyone she meets of being a serial killer. Which, of course, doesn’t bode well for romantic relationships.

So when her new neighbor, Sam, offers to help move a desk into her family home late one night, in his bare feet, Phoebe knows he’s up to no good and is probably out to kill her. And it doesn’t matter that he’s handsome, kind, or that her heart speeds up at the mere sight of him. In her mind, he’s a murderer – and no way will she cave into the attraction and be involved with the next Jack the Ripper.

Sure. Whatever you say, Phoebe.

Being a romance novel, there’s not a whole lot of surprises in the pages of Alicia Thompson’s "Love in the Time of Serial Killers." We know how the story will go. But the fact that I loved it as much as I did caught me unawares, along with the amount of depth there is to Phoebe’s character.

Phoebe is complicated. She’s sensitive and insecure but also an abrasive asshole, all because she has impenetrable walls around her heart and doesn’t know how to be vulnerable. And poor Sam, she makes things so hard for him. She pulls him towards her and then pushes him away, time and again. But it’s all part of their connection and the chemistry between them.

Speaking of chemistry, the love scenes are very, VERY open-door and graphic. I wouldn’t say the book is pornmance, but it comes close. Just a heads up.

Thompson’s next novel, "With Love, from Cold World," is set to publish in August 2023. Lucky for me, I already have a DRC, and you can bet I’ll be reading it. Thanks, Berkley!


My sincerest appreciation to Alicia Thompson, Berkley, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.

I really enjoyed this one. The true crime thing was a different place to start from than a lot of other romances, and it felt a little heavy handed at the beginning, but it really tied together and worked with the character development as well as adding a funny edge to the relationships.

PhD Student Phoebe Wash loves serial killers, true crime and everything in between. When she moves into her recently deceased father's house in Florida, she hopes to pack up his belongings and get out so she can crush her thesis. One evening she meets her Sam Dennings, and while initially thinking he's one of the many serial killers she's obsessed with she puts her worries aside for this nice guy teacher. As Phoebe struggles with her family's past, she explores her growing feelings towards Sam, all the while hoping she can cut out of town and run.

I loved the cover of Love in the Time of Serial Killers and the premise of Alicia Thompson's novel. While well written and a take on grief and accepting love, it falls short for me. I wanted more serial killers and more intrigue, in this fluffy romance. I guess I expected a bit of darkness with a title like that? This was more of a cozy romance then twisty one I had hoped it to be. Thank you NetGalley, Alicia Thompson and Berkely for the read.

Love this book. Brought together two of my favorite genres - true crime and romance. Don’t let the title scare you off - there is nothing scary about this book. Unless you’re scared to let someone in and love them like Phoebe.

It's cute! A fun romance with some laughs. I was disappointed that there wasn't more shenanigans because of her suspicions of the neighbor being a serial killer. She suspected it at first and then quickly dropped it. I would have liked to see more rom com moments based on her snooping and overall acting weird. But it was still a nice read.

I couldn't put it down and I didn't want to. This book lived up to every ounce of hype that I had experienced for it. This book is beautifully written; a gripping storyline with strong characters. It ticked all the boxes of my expectations. I would definitely recommend it to others.

I'm still a little undecided on this one overall. I'm new to reading romance books and I still struggle to find which subset of the genre I actually like, so I'm kind of reading a little bit of everything as I figure it out.

One thing I have discovered is I greatly prefer a good plot line over character developments (if I had to choose one). Phoebe loves true crime, and I think that was like 85% of her personality. The basis of this story is that Phoebe is cleaning out her recently deceased fathers home, with some help from her brother, and ~growing~ as a person as she does so. Between writing her dissertation, meeting Sam, and facing some of her childhood trauma, she learns to love herself and others and blah blah blah. There's really not much plot and since we know they end up together in the end I have nothing else to say.

I didn't realize how much I would love this book at first until I was about 20% of the way in, and then I couldn't put it down. Thompson's writing style flowed beautifully and I felt like she created characters I connected with. All in all, definitely one I would recommend and one I will be purchasing to adorn my shelves and share with my audiences!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

𝙏𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙣 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜—𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙚'𝙨 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙩.

📍 Read if you like:
• Slow Burn Romances
• Reverse Grumpy/Sunshine
• Pop Culture
• True Crime Obsessions

I went into this book not knowing what to expect, but I loved it. The true crime and romance were so well done and it worked for me.

I loved Phoebe and her obsession with thinking her next-door neighbor, Sam, is a serial killer. She is so obsessed with true crime that she doesn’t see how nice and wholesome Sam is. I loved his character so much!

Also, I just want to mention how perfect and unique this cover is. It represents the book so well and major props to the cover designer.

I wasn’t expecting this book to be as deep as it was. It did have some humorous moments, but it also mentioned difficult topics like depression, grief, and childhood trauma. I think the author blended it so well with a quirky romance.

There were some side characters I liked and pop culture references that added to the story. Also, the true crime addition was perfect.

This was such a unique story! I loved the romance between our two likable characters and the humorous scenes. The author also did so well working around those hard topics, and I feel like the overall story had a meaningful message. I loved this book so much!

I really enjoyed this, even if it took me forever to read. It was a slump, but I powered through and loved the dynamic in this one.

A romcom about a heroine who's obsessed with true crime? Sign me up! LOVE IN THE TIME OF SERIAL KILLERS is absolutely perfect for anyone who reads primarily romance and thrillers (aka, me). It was an interesting deep-dive into both genres. I'll definitely be picking up Thompson's next book!

I loved this book, it was a really fun read! I loved the main character, her love interest was great, and I particularly enjoyed all of the character development the main character dealt with, though I would have enjoyed an epilogue.

This book was much deeper than I expected it to be, but I loved it all the same! The romance was a slow burn that blossomed at the perfect moments.

Phoebe is a PhD student who has a major true crime obsession. When her father dies, she moves into his house to wrap things up and put the house on the market. She is creeped out by her next door and starts obsessing that he is a serial killer. He turns out to be this uber sweet elementary school music teacher! Phoebe is attracted to Sam but has a lot of commitment issues because of her parent's relationship. How Phoebe gets past her web of complications for the premise of the story. Overall a super cute rom com that has serial killer references that you will laugh along with.

I forgot what this book was when I finally got around to it, so at first thought it was an autobiography and was really confused. I must admit at first I was annoyed by Phoebe's actions, she seemed too paranoid, but then I really thought about it and was like yeah if I saw a dude wandering around at night I would be rude too. Phoebe's character is really well developed and she has such great character growth, even though I wanted to shake her sometimes. The only negative I have for this book is Sam is described as wearing jeans to a 4th of July picnic in Florida and I call shenanigans, he would die of heat exhaustion. But the end was amazing and so sweet and made me cry, loved it!

Fun. Quirky. Charming. If you are a self-professed true crime fan, you'll relate to our MC, Phoebe Walsh, a PhD candidate who knows everything about the genre. Phoebe meets her match in Sam who 1) is a potential killer suspect after her first run in with him in the middle of the night and 2) turns out to be the opposite of who Phoebe surmised him to be. With witty banter, heartfelt dialogue, and serial killer references, Love in the Time of Serial Killers is a fun read that will ultimately melt your heartstrings.

This was a damn fine book. It's not often that I get teary from the angsty parts of a romance but this one had me crying. Part of that is probably because I felt like I could relate to Phoebe on a lot of levels.

Overall I think the other characters could have been fleshed out some more, but Phoebe was very well put together. Her obsession with serial killers and how people write their stories was actually pretty well thought out from a logical perspective. I like the way Thompson put it together. But it was Phoebe's cold heart that I mostly connected with. There was just so much of her self reflection that was like me talking to myself. It was a wild time. And in our 3rd act darkest moment phase, I really felt for her.

At the core this is a story about a 30 y/o woman figuring out that she doesn't have to be so cynical and non-trusting of people all the time. She figures out life and learns how to come to grips with the trauma from her past, the person that turned her into, and the person she hopes she can be in the future.

It's packaged in a pretty funny (I had actual laugh out loud moments), mostly lighthearted, and a little spicy romcom that made me both very happy and a bit depressed if I'm being honest.

Thank you, Berkley, for my gifted review copy of Love in the Time of Serial Killers
by Alicia Thompson.

A romance with serial killers in the title. The female main character is knowledgeable about true crime and the male main character is the sweetest type of cinnamon roll? GIVE IT TO ME.

Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson has it all. A love story with a grief element. A novel that tackles loneliness - not just the romantic variety, but with family and friends too. Add in the loss and possible reconnection with a strong female friendship. Oh, and how could I forget? A wealth of pop culture and true crime anecdotes sprinkled throughout the pages. Cue Julie Andrews because 'these are a few of my favorite things.'

Let's chat about Phoebe. She's smart, discerning, tough, determined, and suspicious. Especially when her next-door neighbor Sam offers to help her late one night. NOPE. Never accept help from someone. My momma taught me that when I started driving to the mall by myself. "Remember, Sarah, that's how Ted Bundy got some of his victims with his fake cast." Buffalo Bill anyone? I need help loading this into the van? NOPE.

Phoebe and I are the SAME. Her mind works like mine does with endless connections to true crime cases. We do this to protect and guard ourselves.

But Sam. Well, he catches her off guard. He's just too sweet. So good. Kind. There's something about him. You feel it in Alicia's writing and you'll fall in love with him just like I did. Their love story is tender, sweet, it feels "real" like ordinary people falling in love when they weren't ready or looking.

There's also mention of America's Next Top Model, a fire works show, trips to the library and more. Readers get to know Phoebe deeply. We meet her childhood best friend and understand Phoebe better because of who she was then and who she is now. Her little brother is a wonderful side character.

I am Really Into This book! I laughed, I swooned, I cackled and I want to read it again and again. So damn good!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was one of my most anticipated releases from last year because everything I had heard about this book sounded amazing to me especially because I love true crime! I will say this book definitely delivered a fun time. There were times throughout the middle of the book where I got a little bored because it got pretty repetitive at times but overall, it was a fun read especially for those who love true crime and contemporary romance!