I enjoyed the overall jiist of the book, but felt there were times where it was a bit try-hard and lackluster. I could tell each character was well thought out and had a great backstory, but their connect to Colby always felt forced and not genuine. The story drags on for a while then decidedly puts the pedal to the metal to wrap everything up in a most interesting way.

"...If I was going to look for answers I might not like what I was going to find...I didn't want comfort. I wanted justice."

Once again with her latest work, If You're Reading This..., the twisty queen of thrillers author Kiersten Modglin has created a suspenseful domestic thriller.

From the very beginning we are shocked by the scene of bride Colbie in an ER waiting room finding out her groom Phil is dead from a heart attack before he ever said "I do."

Fast forward to what would have been their one year wedding anniversary and Colbie is at an Air BNB with Jamie her man of honor and life long bestie, Eric the best man who was like a brother to Phil, and wedding band singer Miles who has been a comfort to Colbie through the year.

She is there to open the envelopes the wedding guests left for the couple with messages of where they hoped the couple were in life and love. It's emotional yet sweet until the last envelope which is surprisingly from Phil and begins, "If you're reading this..."

What?! Did Phil know he might die? Was it a premonition or something more nefarious? I have to be honest I did not see the full story until the end and for me that is the best compliment for a thriller.

I had never heard narrator Subhadra Newton before but I was very impressed with her honest performance of Colbie who goes through every feeling from grief to shock to anger to love. It was a rollercoaster of emotions.

If, like me, you are a fan of this author you will enjoy another fun twisty ride. If you haven't experienced the thrill of her mysteries and if you're reading this review... it's definitely worth your time to check out If You're Reading This...

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Dreamscape Media via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

*This Review Is For The Audiobook*

Colbie and Phil’s wedding day did not turn out to be the day that she had dreamed it would, instead it was a nightmare. One year later, still grieving the loss of the man she had planned to spend her life with, Colbie is getting ready for a completely different anniversary celebration than the one she had expected. Miles, James, and Eric, Colbies three closest friends, are taking her away for the weekend to help her cope and find the closure she needs. When Colbie opens the box of letters written by her wedding guests for the bride and groom on their anniversary, things take a dramatic turn. At the bottom of the box is a letter from Phil that makes Colbie realize she may not have known the man she loved at all.

I have heard many good things about Modglin’s books so I am a bit disappointed that this was my introduction to her work. I found this story to be very slow and even boring at times. I have read other reviews that suggest that this book reads differently than her others so I plan to try another one of her books before deciding how I feel about her work.

I thought that the premise of this story was interesting but its execution did not work for me and I did not enjoy the characters. I didn’t like the relationship between Colbie and her three friends. It didn’t feel believable and the level to which the three men doted on her felt cheesy. I also felt that Colbie was too naive and did not enjoy her helpless female vibes (ex. Thinking she needed to call a tow truck for a flat tire). In the same way I found Amber and the Tanners to be too stereotypical and over the top. Along with not liking the characters, I thought this thriller lacked suspense and the twist was underwhelming after all of the time spent building up to it.

While this novel did not work for me, I thought the narrator did a good job and appreciated being given this advanced listening copy from Netgalley and Dreamscape Media.

"Amidst a box of anniversary well-wishes, a mysterious note from a surprising sender kick-starts this heart-wrenching domestic suspense about love, loss, and deception."

As Colbie and her soon to be husband, Phil, are getting ready on their wedding day; the unexpected happens and Phil is found dead in the grooms quarters. Phil's death is ruled of natural causes and Colbie is forced to go on, trying to reconcile what should have been the happiest day of her life shattering her heart.
A year later Colbie's three best friends, take her on a getaway to help her cope with the one year anniversary of Phil's passing. Colbie decides that this would be the best time to open the letters of well wishes written by guests the day of her wedding. As she opens and reads the letters with her besties by her side, she finds a letter in the bottom of the box with familiar handwriting. The letter is from Phil and what feels like a blessing to hear from the love of her life one last time, quickly turns to confusion - did she really know Phil after all?

While the twists and turns were a bit predictable, I did enjoy this book. The characters were well written and I found my self feeling so bad for Colbie, as I can not imagine how she could ever trust again. Kiersten Modglin does an excellent job writing mystery/thrillers that are fun and engaging. If you're looking for a quick read that is just a good time, this is the one for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ALC.
On Sale Now.

IF YOUR READING THIS BY
Kiersten Modglin

This is an author that I really like. I have read other books that I have enjoyed by her but unfortunately I have not enjoyed this one.

Colbies fiance died on her wedding day of a heart attack . Then she gets a letter from him to open on the one year anniversary of their anniversary. Colbie decides to take a weekend away with her 3 best friends
#Netgalley
Miles James and Eric. As the weekend unfolds and she reads the letter secrets are revealed and surprises unfold.
I found this book to be really unrealistic and hard to read as it was just unbelievable.
I was disappointed as I do like this authors writing but the story just felt rushed at the end and like I said unbelievable.

This could have been a really good book and I really love this author, but I am so disappointed. The outcome/ending of this book is so disappointing, especially when she chooses her. “love interest.” She picked the wrong guy!!! The ending was too generic for me.

Let me just say I usually love books by this author, but this one not so much. For one thing what does this girl look like that she is three guys who are willing to go on an emotional one year anniversary weekend to celebrate one year of her deceased husband. Most men run for the hills when there’s an emotional moment and especially tears yet all three of these guys are so emotionally supportive and I guess it’s stereo typical of me to say that all of them are straight. There were many moments in this book where I thought how ridiculous such as when Kobe had a flat tire and Eric runs in it says “Are you OK?” Most people would walk in the house and say “do you know you have a flat tire?” This is just with the book as far as the narrator goes I found her narration to be flat and emotionless except when it came to Colby‘s sister who sounded like she was from the deep south as opposed to everyone else who just had plane no accented voices. That was just too much going against this whole book I really do love this authors previous audiobooks but unfortunately this was a mess for me. This will not cut me off listening to her books in the future though it is for as the narrator goes I think if she put a little emotion into her books it would be way better she has a nice tone to her voice and she did the deep South accent very well so I am not saying she doesn’t have talent I just think this was a total mess all the way around. I received this book from NetGalley and a publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

I usually love Kiersten Modglin’s books, but ‘If You’re Reading This’ just didn’t do it for me.
One year after Colbie’s fiancé Phil dies of a heart attack on their wedding day, Colbie and 3 of her closest friends Miles, Eric, & James go on a trip together. Colbie opens a box of letters that were meant for her & Phil to open on their 1 yr anniversary. One letter was from Phil indicating he may have known he was about to die. So Colbie is determined to find out if Phil was in danger and if he really did die from a heart attack.
I found the story to be anticlimactic and somewhat boring. But Kiersten Modglin is an author I do recommend.
Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The narrator was fine in this short book.

Though presumably anyone on this site read the book, potential spoilers below.

I requested this book because I had listened to because I had listened to The Missing by this author. It kept me entertained through miles of walking even though some things stretched my belief. I did not like this book at all. There was no character development, the dialogue was unreal, somehow we are supposed to believe that three men would conspire to kill someone for a woman with no discernable personality and/or unknown connection to the men (she didn’t even know that one of these men she was so, so, so close to had a sister). So many unbelievable moments – moving through three bedrooms, waiting for two hours in the dressing room at her wedding because her fiancé was late, living in a house for a year without wondering who paid for it, and more. Too many plot holes and an unsatisfying ending.

This book had way too many plot holes and unbelievable moments to be enjoyable for me, unfortunately. Modglin has better books. Cycling through the 3 beds was a particularly ludicrous moment. This one wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

I always fully endorse the talented, self published Kiersten Modglin and all of the things her creative mind sends our way.

This book was no different, I easily could've finished listening to this one in 1 day but life happens....and you know, adulting.

After Colbie's son-to-be husband, Phil dies suddenly, she's understandably crushed. So for a year she relies heavily on her besties, 3 devoted guys who worship the ground she walks on. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Colbie and her 3 besties James, Eric and Miles.

The story has nice pacing and comes together nicely at the end. As always, I recommend checking this one out.

Quick, Easy, Fast paced. Love that about Kiersten Modglin books.

This one was not my favorite by her I was invested all the way up until the plot twist at the very end. I just missed the mark FOR ME. I would give it 3.5 but that isn't an option so I rounded down on this one.

I was given an audiobook ARC and the narration was great. Would Definitely recommend the audiobook for this one.

While the premise is interesting and the mystery kept me listening I was sadly not digging the book as much. I took several breaks whiles listening because I kept hoping the slow pacing would pick up. I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. For me it’s a forgettable book.
The narrator, Subhadra Newton did a decent job but I just struggled with the book and I honestly couldn’t tell you if it was the narrator that I struggled with as well or not.

Special thanks to Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the ALC.

Modglin's thriller about a widow delving deeper into what happened to her husband as a way to work through her grief didn't bring anything majorly new or ground-breaking to the genre, but it was a fun and compelling read. I listened to this as an audiobook and loved the narrator and it was the perfect book listen to while running errands or doing chores as each chapter ends in a place that makes you want to start the next one and it is so overly complicated in plot that you can't multi-task. I would definitely be interested in picking up more from Modglin.

Kiersten Modglin does it again! Honestly I’ve read a number of her books and I always enjoy them. Modglin has a true talent for creating a well paced mystery.

Was this plot unbelievable? Yes. But was it entertaining? Also yes. I listened to the audio book (thanks NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for my honest review) and the narrator did a great job at reading into the emotion and keeping the story going at an appropriate pace.

The only part of this book that left me a little unsatisfied was the ending. Colbie finds out why happened to her husband-to-be on the day of the wedding and turns against him immediately. I have a hard time believing this to be the likely reaction for someone in her shoes. If she truly loved him like the book tried to portray the whole time, regardless of what he did I would picture an internal conflict between feelings if betrayal and grief. Despite that, this book kept me entertained all the way through so I do still recommend it for those who love thrillers

Thank you to the most incredible audiobook creators dreamscape media, netgalley and the author for this alc in exchange for honest opinion. I really liked this book it almoat felt like it was morphing into a romance why choose trope which may havr been super interesting and clearly the author could so totoaly write it. The narration was one of the BEST I've heard recently.

3.5/5

It’s been one year. One year since what was supposed to be the happiest day or her life. One year since she had to endure the most devastating moment of her life. It should have been a time of celebration instead it’s the one year anniversary of the marriage that never happened and Colbie is still trying to work through her loss. It’s during a weekend with her three best friends, processing her grief, that Colbie finds a surprise message her fiancé left for her on what should have been their wedding day, a confession of sorts, leading Colbie to wonder what really happened to him and if she ever really knew him at all. This is the promising premise of Kiersten Modglin’s If You’re Reading This… And while this premise definitely hooked me, sadly I thought the story’s endgame faltered a bit, with some of the ending just seeming to come out of nowhere, with little to no real foreshadowing of what was to come. I also wasn’t sure what the point was of having Colbie’s sister show up for a few scenes, cause a bit of chaos, and then just disappear. Modglin did a great job with that character (and I despised her as I am sure was intended) but I’m not sure what her point really was. It felt like she was going to play a real role in the story and yet…she just didn’t. Overall it was a decent story, but not particularly memorable. It was like a fairly good ‘movie of the week’ but not one you’re likely remember a month later. As for the narration, Subhadra Newton did an excellent job and was a pleasure to listen to. 3.5 stars. I’d like to thank Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to an advance audio copy of If You’re Reading This…

https://www.amazon.com/review/RU4FHE7BKVU4T/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/if-youre-reading-this-kiersten-modglin/1142116184?ean=2940175974998&bvnotificationId=8560fe40-6518-11ed-bb84-0e54f57606c1&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/228433308

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamspace Media for this audiobook ARC!

I enjoyed the narrator, she had a very nice cadence that added to the story. I thought this book started off very strong and it did hold my attention until the very end. There were a few plot holes that caused me to rate this 3 stars and the ending felt a bit unbelievable to me.

This was my first read by this author and I would be interested in reading more of her books in the future.

This one did not feel like the typical Kiersten Modglin. I found it a lot slower paced than normal. I did enjoy it but it didn’t give me my thriller fix. It didn’t seem to have twists and turns until the end.

There were a lot of details or holes that didn’t make a ton of sense but while you’re reading you just go with it.

I do really enjoy this author and will pick up her next book for sure. It always blows me away how fast she can write.

I did like the narrator for this one.

I really liked the narrator of this book! The premise was a little hard to believe, but I enjoyed the plot twists. It was a quick enjoyable read/listen. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.