This was a wonderful debut novel from Kelly Piazza. When I saw the illustrated cover, I assumed this story would be more of a romantic-comedy. What it actually contains is a raw and honest journey of a person dealing with addiction. The content is detailed, astonishing and heartbreaking. But, this book is also wonderful, provocative and important. Matty's recovery journey is heroing and makes you really root for him. The main characters are both wonderful and unique, Matty's family is humorous and loving and the entire read was wonderful, even when incredibly sad and difficult at times.

*book review: Don't Overthink This by Kelly Piazza

Happy Publication Day to this beautiful book by @kelly @netgalley

*trigger warnings: drug use, addiction, suicidal behavior, depression.

Kelly Piazza wrote the book beautifully, the style of writing fit the story so well and the characters were created carefully with a touch of untainted honesty that I hardly see in love stories. I loved to see the characters grow, face their fears, right the wrongs they did and accept responsibility for their actions. This was truly a beautiful story.

Matty is an addict, he is powerless before his oxycodone addiction. He's desperate to get his old life back but had no way to get to it. Matty had been in love with Keelie forever, but his oxycodone addiction destroyed everything & forced them apart. Two years later, Matty is still addicted and in unimaginable pain, broken inside to the point of no return.

But life offers him a last chance to get Keelie to talk to him again and maybe win her back. But only if Matty can stay off oxycodone and not mess this one last chance up, himself.

I am absolutely gobsmacked that this is the author’s debut novel! This was SO good.

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for an ARC of this book, all opinions for this review are my own.

This has to be one of the most emotionally raw and real books I’ve read in a long time. The plot is so unique and challenging, and I can honestly say a first of its kind. We journey with Matty Arvali through his oxycodone addiction, him losing the love of his life, strangling through anxiety and withdrawals, but most importantly we see what role family play in helping you reach the end of a dark tunnel and how second chances are always up for grabs.

You will love this book if any of the following interest you:
💊Mental health representation
💊Second chance romance
💊Emotionally raw and unfiltered stories
💊Recovering from addiction
💊Family doing anything they can to help

Matty Arvali lost his heart to Keelie Santiago thirteen years ago and they couldn’t get enough of each other. Doing life together brought Matty the utmost of joy despite his struggle with mental health, knowing one day he will marry and give his absolute everything to make this beautiful, learning-to-speak-Italian girlfriend of his happy. But with addiction luring in the doorway of Matty’s life, Keelie has no option but to let go of this rope holding Matty together, in the hope of saving herself.

Now after officially having hit even lower than rock bottom, Matty’s brother steps in to help him get back to the creative, sober guy he once was. Through experiencing incredible withdrawals and anxiety, one small piece of information drags him through- one of his best friends is getting married soon and he is to be best man. Double bonus that Keelie will be there, and this might just be his last chance to win her back.

Despite this being such a difficult topic, I absolutely loved this book. I think it explained addiction so respectfully but realistically that it felt like I was both in the shoes of Matty and his family. The first half of the book switches between past and present timelines, giving us such a clear background of what he went through, with the last 50% taking place in the present and you can’t help but root for him every step of the way.

I would highly recommend this if you are looking for something challengingly beautiful to read. This book takes you through all the emotional feels.

*please check TW*

Wow. This had such incredible, raw emotion.

I love romance novels that cover heavy, emotional topics because they are realistic and important to real relationships. I will say that they didn't feel as much like a romance as it had such a strong focus on the personal journeys of each character, but I think it worked well for the story.

Overall, I loved the balance of a second chance romance as well as simply a second chance at life with Matty's sobriety giving him his life back.

Thank you to the publisher, author and netgalley for providing me a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

SUCH a good read! I really enjoyed this book from start to finish! The characters all were so well described and the story line was so fluid. I was borderline jumping up with excitement at the close of Part I and then had my heart beating out of my chest when Matty and Keelie meet back up for the first time! I also am really used to reading books from a female’s perspective, so this was a really nice change up that I didn’t know I needed!

I really loved this book! I went into it not knowing what to expect, given that Kelly is a first-time author, but was so pleasantly surprised. I thought the way she depicted addiction and its affects on those who suffer, but also their extended network (their friends and family) was so honest and real. I cried, I laughed, I swooned! This was a great romance book.

First off I would like to thank NetGalley and Foxglove Publishing for providing me with this ARC. If I had to describe this book in four words they would be raw, genuine, captivating and passionate. The storyline really tugged on my heartstrings and it depicts that there are second chances after addiction in such a beautiful way. Thirteen years ago, an oxycodone addiction destroyed the relationship between Matty and Keelie. Despite her love for Matty, Keelie ends the relationship in order to save herself from his self-destructive ways. Matty longs for the life he had before drugs entered the picture. And after two years of living with the “what ifs”, he is given a second chance to earn Keelie’s trust, and possibly love, again when he is invited to his best friend’s wedding. The author, Kelly Piazza, did a great job with the character development of her novel. They harmonized well together and were relatable at the same time. It was a raw, courageous and honest look at addiction. It was also a heartwarming take on second chance romances. This was the author’s debut novel and I look forward to her future novels to grace us.

Matty Arvali has been in love with Keelie Santiago since middle school. Their love makes all their friends and family envious.

Matty cannot imagine a world without Keelie in it.

Matty is also a drug addict - one New Years Eve, Matty hits rock bottom and Keelie is forced to sever ties in order for Matty to save himself from self destruction.

Matty’s brother stages an intervention in order to get him the help he needs to lead a long, healthy and happy drug free life.

Matty is reluctant to get clean - until he learns that his best friend is getting married, and Keelie will be in attendance at his up and coming nuptials.

He knows this is his opportunity to regain Keelie’s trust and prove to her (and the rest of his loved ones) that he can get clean and stay clean once and for all.

This story was raw, real, and unlike any love story I’ve read in the past.

This was an INCREDIBLE debut novel that showcased addiction in a relatable way and at the end of the day, love is the greatest drug.

I really wanted to love this book. The description got me so excited and that’s it. It was okay but I found it really boring often. The beginning is very strong and the rest not so much it felt a little bit chaos. Also the portraying of addiction was very realistic and not harmful or judgmental. Definitely check trigger warnings before reading it.
Just not my book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

First of all I want to thank Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing me an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I scroll through NetGalley looking for books that I think I might enjoy and when I came across this title and read the synopsis I was intrigued. Normally I am a romantic comedy or suspense person and this was outside of that comfort zone and I thought to give it a try.

Don’t Overthink This
Release Date: 4.19.22
What I loved:
- Realistic, this story’s main focus is addiction and recovery and I really felt for Matty during his journey
- Italian, Matty’s family is from Italy and I loved how Italian was used throughout
- Flashbacks, I loved how flashbacks were used to establish Matty’s relationships with his friends and how important they were to him
- Family, there are a few different types of families within this story and each one is equally important to Matty

Overall this book was a little hard to get through at times since addiction is such a difficult subject. I am very happy I pushed through the discomfort cause it was absolutely worth it in the end. If you would like to read a challengingly beautiful story of addiction, recovery, growth and love I would absolutely encourage you to read this book.

Posting on 4.18 on Instagram under the name @readingwiththecatlady

4 stars ☆ Oh wow, this one was so freaking good. This book has a unique plot that I haven’t even read something like this before. This story is a second chance romance but it focused more on the topic of addiction.

Matty is an addict which affects his relationship with his family and also Keelie.

It’s all from his pov. In the first 50% of the book, the chapter goes from past to present which I liked since we get to see a lot of events and changes that happened between his family, friends and also Keelie. The other 50% of the book was just all present chapters and that’s where we get to see his family and friends were happy with him from what he’s done so far and Matty’s relationship with Keelie slowly rekindle.

Matty did go through rough paths as he’s dealing with his addiction and his growth and recovery process of him being sober were just amazing. I’m proud of him.

Also, check tws !!

Thank you NetGalley & Foxglove Publishing for this ARC !!

𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝑵𝒆𝒕𝑮𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆-𝒂𝒓𝒄.


As much as I wanted to like this book and delve more through it’s premise, I unfortunately had to give up right after landing 12% of the book.

The premise is great as it tackled relevant topic such as addiction that is really rampant nowadays and that part of the synopsis piqued my interest as I wanted to learn more about it, sadly I just couldn’t get into it because of the writing.

Maybe, in the future but now, I just couldn’t get into it. I’m sorry.

Wow! This story of a recovering addict and second chances is unlike anything I have read before.

Matty Arvali will do anything for another high including ruining all his relationships especially with the love of his life Keelie Santiago . Then his brother steps in to help him get clean, his best friend's wedding is a few months away, and Keelie will be there. Can Matty get and stay clean long enough to go to the wedding and try to get Keelie back?

I really enjoyed this book. Please check trigger warnings before you start it, but wow. This is Kelly Piazza's debut novel and she nailed it. I would have like to of seen more in the second half of the book, but I think the first half she nailed the feelings, frustrations, and outcomes of dealing with addiction. Thank you Kelly, Net Galley, and Foxglove Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Debut done right!

The cover does not do justice to the depth the book has, especially with the mc trying to be sober. It's more of a self-improvement than romance, of course the love helped but it is wayyyyy more than that. My heart melts at Matty and Keelie (trust me, you will root for them as well) and the writing (kisses) to the author and the editor.
Slow burn at its best!
But (yes!)
Do not think this book as a romance, it is not.

4.5 starts thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the ARC
As someone who has dealt with having someone she loves deal with a addiction I was drawn to this story. I found myself rooting for Mattey and just following his story and even shaking my head sometimes at disbelief and rooting for him. As much as this book is fiction its really not because this can be anyones story and deals with real issues.

This cover is not fitting for this book at all. The opening few pages are literally about someone trying to talk themselves out of committing suicide. The first 50% of the book is completely about battling addiction. Tell me how the cover is appropriate? It’s misleading at best, purposely deceptive at worst.

The first half was good. It focuses on addiction, withdrawal, hitting bottom, how it affects your loved ones and struggling with sobriety. It lost me in the second half. Instead of a story of overcoming addiction and fighting to make things right with the people who were wronged throughout his drug use, it’s basically “they’ll all forgive you once you get in the same room with them again! No worries!” We’re supposed to believe that Matt destroyed her life, but Keelie basically just lets it all slide because he’s a few months sober. The only ones who really treat it as seriously as it should be are his family, most of whom are absent from the majority of story except for his brother.

There was a real opportunity here to write a book about addiction, loving someone in recovery and all that it entails. Unfortunately, the second half of the book missed the mark.

Thank you for this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was SO excited to get this book based on its description. However, the way the author mentions suicide and addiction in depth was triggering for someone like me with recovery from depression, anxiety and addiction. There should be a trigger warning in the first pages of the book. While I think it’s amazing that many books are discussing mental illness today, I feel that the way this was handled was not tactful.

3.75*

”There’s an overwhelming hopelessness that comes along with detoxing. Especially when you’ve already failed so many times before. There’s a sense that nothing in the world will make you feel better than you are when you’re high, and that’s not the addiction talking, it’s just the honest truth.”


SUMMARY
Matty Arvali, lost in the throes of opioid addiction, is given a fresh chance by his brother who forces him into sobriety. When the chance of reconnecting with Matty’s old life, his family, his friends, and most importantly, the love of his life, comes around, will Matty grasp this opportunity or squander it in favour of oxycodone?

OPINION
As a student nurse, I’ve worked with substance misuse recently and that is what drew my interest to this novel. Working with those who are trying to recover from addiction was the best experience of my working life so far and I learnt so much. In society, those who have drug addictions are so prejudiced against that ironically, rather than this prejudice acting as a manipulation tool to get that person behaving ‘normally’ in society again, it sets the substance misuser up for failure, enforcing the psychological aspect of addiction.

In Don’t Overthink This, author Kelly Piazza nails both the psychological and physical elements of addiction in MC Matty. But I think that the best aspect of this novel is the character arc; the longer Matty was sober, the more his personality began to emerge.

An unexpected perk of this book is learning all those Italian swear words, and I have to say even the naughty words are unfairly beautiful in Italian. Literally the most romantic language in the world and you cannot change my mind. Matty being a flirty Italian man made him instantly likeable. Similar in the way society believes those with drug addictions makes them instantly unlikeable.

RECOMMENDATION
Fans of contemporary romance would like this one. Please read this and learn things whether that’s not all those who misuse substances are bad, or some choice Italian swear words. You’d be a total stronzo if you didn’t.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Kelly Piazza absolutely nailed this novel.

This tells a story about Matty's current situation in the first part and we see how he challenges his addiction and his attempt to get clean which, will not be simple. There are also flashbacks about his past relationships with his friends and Keelie. The second part takes place when he's invited to his best friend's wedding as long as he agrees to stay sober, but he will experience more difficulty since Keelie was invited as well, giving him a chance to make everything right with her. You also get to see Matty's perspective as he tries to reconnect with his best friends. It's good to see how they still cared about him despite their shattered relationships and how they keep asking how Matty was doing.

4.5*

Thank you NetGalley & Foxglove Publishing for this E-Arc in exchange for a honest review!

I can’t believe that this was the authors DEBUT novel! Instant auto-buy author for me!

This book does NOT cut corners about drug addiction, which is much appreciated. There is so much raw honesty and reflection of addiction. This book accurately depicts what it’s like and how drug addiction affects everyone around you. As well as drug addiction, this is a second chance romance between the two main characters, Matty & Keelie.

Matty is has an oxy addiction, and drinks way to much. Keelie and Matty have been together for 10 years. During their relationship, Matty has been on and off pills their entire relationship, until one tragic incident occurs and Keelie leaves Matty for good.

It’s been almost three years since Matty saw Keelie, and he is still on pills until Matty gets kicked out of his parents house. Matty goes to live with his brother, Chris, to try and get sober.

Matty ends up seeing Keelie at his best friends wedding. At that time, Matty has been 5 months sober. During the wedding, Matty and Keelie start talking again, and rekindle their relationship.

This is a sad book that ends with a happy ending.

TW: drug addiction, alcohol, suicide, suicidal thoughts, overdose, mentions of Bipolar Disorder, DUI’s, brief mention of starving oneself