What starts as a home renovation co-workers to lovers story turns dark when the stars of To the Manor Build, Robert & Holly, leave town the night of their wedding. Erika, their personal assistant, is left to figure out the mystery of where they disappeared to as the "honeymoon" to Montreal seems to be a ruse. As Erika digs deeper into the couple, she discovers secrets, threats, and inconsistencies that leave her wondering if she really knew the happy couple at all.

Readers will enjoy the experience of trying to figure out if Robert, Holly, and Erika are victims or perpetrators of a slew of crimes and possible murders.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harpers Perennial and Paperbacks for the ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I am a big fan of Sarah Strohmeyer’s chick lit books so I was very excited to see she’s been writing thrillers. Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me.

The book is very predictable, which wouldn’t be a bad thing, except it feels like the entire book is spent building up to “something” and when it ends as you expected it’s a let down. There were also big clues mentioned in the beginning of the book that are never mentioned again and it just felt like she wanted to include them but then couldn’t figure out how to incorporate them into the story’s end. Overall, the book left me unsatisfied and towards the end I had to force myself to finish it.

If your interests intersect at the corner of HGTV and thrilling mystery then this book is for you.

The story centers around a team of people working with a couple who are renovating a house for a tv show competition. It is told through multiple POVs, predominantly the couple’s assistant Erika and her mom Kim. There is suspense, there is tv drama, there are Reddit threads. It’s hard to say much else about the plot without giving anything away, but I overall enjoyed this book.

For me, some of the main characters’ choices were nonsensical and hard to rationalize, which made me dislike and distrust them. That makes the book frustrating at times. But, hey, they like to entertain and I was entertained.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennials and Paperbacks for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book was a phenomenal contemporary read, and totally takes advantage of everyone's current love of reality TV (and associated subreddits). Following Holly and Robert's renovation of a small old cabin--and turning it into an energy-efficient dream home after they acquired the property at a tax sale, there is literally drama on every page. From the "did they actually buy the property legally?" to the "wait they evicted someone?" to their disappearance, to the letters, to so much more. This book has it all--suspense, thrill, and I had no idea who the real villain(s) was/were for most of it.

As an actual (elected) assessor in New England, the sideline story with the Listers was absolutely hilarious to me (and hit a little close to home), and I could picture each of them with their clipboards clomping through houses taking stock of what it held inside, and then holding incredibly adversarial hearings at town hall. Solid addition to the book that really made it feel straight out of a small town.

Toward the beginning, I really questioned why Kim had a storyline--she definitely comes across initially as a total busybody mom with her nose in everyone's business. Obviously that opinion changed after Tammy came to town and the two of them became thick as thieves for the greater good. I also felt like Erika was being set up from the beginning. Was she? Read and find out!

Now that I've finished the book, it's left me with the lingering question of "who was the worst of the villians?" And I'm not sure I can answer that. Pretty sure the comparision list is equally long for any/all of them despite the villainous acts being completely different!

By the 20% mark of this book, I was already frustrated with main characters Erika (assistant to Robert and Holly, the real estate influencer-preneurs at the center of this story) and her mom Kim -- by that point in the story, Erika was already showing strong signs of being slightly deluded and of having no backbone, and Kim seemed like a micromanaging helicopter parent. Then, at 20%, Kim finds what turns out to be bloodied silk pajamas dumped in her garbage bin in the dead of night, and she puts them in her freezer and GOES BACK TO BED?! At that point, my patience for any of these characters was over, and the only reason I kept reading was to find out if my initial guesses about the central mystery of the story were correct. This was a read that was simultaneously boring and frustrating.

I tried with this book, but it was very much not for me. Initially, I thought the idea was clever, but after getting a few chapters deeper, didn't feel like it was self-sustaining enough to keep me engaged.

Set in Vermont, this book’s plot revolves around real-estate investors, Holly and Robert, who wed during the course of the story, and who are also among the top contestants in a house-building competition run by a popular home-renovation reality show. Two other principal characters are Erika, Holly’s and Robert’s capable assistant and Erika’s mom, Kim. Most of the chapters are narrated by Erika or Kim. Erika has a secret history (no secret to the town-folk, but rather to the reader for much of the book). It might have been shared earlier so we’d understand the character better. A couple more colorful, though minor, characters are Doreen (who works with Kim at the town clerk’s office) and Tammy (Holly’s mother).

Overall, I think this book would appeal to many readers — especially those with an interest in home decor and renovation and reality shows in general. It’s an easy, moderately entertaining read. The twists and turns are not hard to keep straight. There are multiple strands to follow: the behind-the-scenes look at a home renovation reality show, as well as a behind-the-scenes shady deal that preceded all this hoopla, the glamorous fairy-tale couple/romance, and the supporting cast of varied characters, some congenial, some colorful, some suspect, some sympathetic.

That said, I liked the story, but just okay, and it took me a while to get there. Some of that is just me. A reality show about home renovation is about the last thing I’d watch on TV. The entire book was burdened by too much description of unimportant details. Again, probably me. I wasn’t interested in the exhaustive details of decor. I had little investment in any of the main characters. Erika and Kim made some pretty dumb, and hardly credible, choices. Erika had all the info she needed (evidence of things gone wrong), but just didn’t want to admit what she knew (to herself, to the police), so she never acted responsibly. Kim made some bad, and frankly unbelievable, choices, too, e.g., not bothering to report very disturbing events to the police. What was going on, plot-wise, seemed pretty obvious to me — if not how the details would play out.

The story is loaded with Vermont stereotypes. An attempt at local flavor, I guess. I live in Vermont and found this pretty tiresome. I’m curious about the rendering of dialect. There were any number of Vermonters in the story who probably spoke with a characteristic Vermont accent (e.g., glottalization, dropped letters) — not that I’d want to read it. But the only character whose speech is parodied is the fellow from Boston, who drops his final Rs, In writing, that means replacing a final “r” with “ah,” which makes for a bumpy read. The guy is a very minor character whose appearance in the book is short-lived and hardly necessary. He seemed only there to poke fun at Mass-speak. (I think the word “shah” was supposed to mean “sure.” But I had to stop and reread the sentence a couple of times. Annoying.) Beyond dialect, other linguistic choices bothered me a bit — e.g., “seeing as how” instead of “because,” or “since.” Yes, that’s common informal speech, but it makes people sound uneducated.

Again, the book will probably appeal to many readers more than it appealed to me. My rating reflects my lack of personal interest, the dumbed-down characters, and my feeling that the plot was somewhat too obvious.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennials and Paperbacks for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Holly and Robert barron seem to have it all, real estate investors and contestants in a competition run by To The Manor Build, the nations most popular home renovation app. It’s all camera-ready laughs and debates over herringbone tile until Holly and Robert go missing, hours after their picture-perfect wedding—leaving behind a bloody trail.⁣
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This novel was definitely an entertaining one, I really enjoyed that we got blog style bits from the characters I think it made it more fun to follow along with the plot. ⁣
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I wasn’t really shocked by the ending of this one but I still think it’s a good mystery novel and an easy read!

We Love to Entertain is a mystery focused on the set of a home renovation Tv series. Erika is the assistant to designer Holly and her new husband Robert, a real estate investor. The pair decide to take a last minute honeymoon during the final week of shooting for the TV show, and Erika is left wondering whether they are really on vacation or if something has gone wrong.

What I liked: the home renovation sections; the sections that were a behind the scenes look at a reality TV show; and the setting of Vermont. The mystery itself had an entertaining wrap up that I didn’t see coming!

What I didn’t: the main characters made such awful decisions through this entire book. They kept finding clues that something was wrong and doing the opposite of the smart thing. Erika in general was a weak character that annoyed me and I wasn’t rooting for her in any way. The decision to split the story between her POV and her mother’s POV was unique, but I’m not sure it worked for me. I wasn’t drawn in by either character or by much of the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Wow..... if you can look me in the eye and say you KNEW who the the bad guy(s) are in this one, I think I'd have a difficult time believing you. Admittedly, I knew something had t be going on with Robert, as it's basically spelled out for you, but I didn't- AT ALL- anticipate the full reveal. I love books like this, especially if they have a happy (but not cheesy) ending. Very well done, one I will definitely recommend. (And possibly re-read, to see what I missed!)

I only finished this book because I wanted to see how ridiculous it could get and I was not proven wrong. I'm sorry, but this book was terrible. My issues:
--Every character, whether they are from Florida or Vermont, talks like a local yokel country bumpkin. The word "fetch" instead of "get" was used nine times.
--The characters make ridiculous choices. Find a set of bloody pajamas in your trash? Put them in the freezer and go to bed. Get shot at in your own backyard? Just go to bed and maybe call the police the next day.
--The blog posts were terribly written and full of gender stereotypes about man caves and women needing extra closet space for shoes.
--Why were Erika's chapters written in the third person, but Kim's chapters written in first person?
--Erika and Holly were both very immature for characters in their late twenties.
--The overall writing style was very choppy, full of cliches, and suffers from over descriptions of even the most mundane tasks and objects.
--The title really didn't have anything to do with the book.

Definitely not for me.

We Love to Entertain is a 2023 suspense novel written by Sarah Strohmeyer, a new author to me that I found on NetGalley. I liked the premise and was gifted a copy, which hit my queue this week. A homebuilding / decor show based in Vermont - totally up my alley, especially when it contains murder and mystery. I wonder what that says about me... ah, to digress... that said, interesting characters with a bit of edge. At times, they were too on the nose but Erika was a great protagonist. I rooted for her all the way. While the culprit(s) are mostly obvious, it's still entertaining. A few things left open at the end, not in a bad way but that could've tied things together nicely. I'm giving it 3.5 stars because at times, it used too many plot devices to move the story along which felt inserted in an obvious and unnatural manner. For example, the waitress at the wedding is a clue but I still don't know what it had to do with the story. Also, there is tension with the mother and a backstory for the daughter and the father that are supposed to add intrigue yet don't end up anywhere. With some more focus to detail, this would've stood out even more as a great thriller. I'll read another book from the author to see if this was a fluke or just the author's style... which may work for some people. Enjoyed it tho and glad I read it.

If you enjoy HGTV renovations and mysteries - then this book is for you.  I didn't want to stop reading and almost gave up my entire weekends plans to try and finish this book.  Robert Barron - known also by "The Robber Barron" thinks he's scored big when he gets a Vermont cabin for a steal at a tax sale because they previous owner hadn't paid owed taxes. He ends up teaming up with social media influencer Holly to renovate the cabin and submit it for an HGTV show "To the Manor Build".  They become one of the finalists, fall in love and end up getting married - only to have Robert ask to borrow his assistant's car to take Holly on an impromptu honeymoon at the last second - just DAYS before they'd need to have all the final clips filmed for the show! When they don't return... the crew ends up filing missing persons reports for both of them.

I'm not sure I actually liked ANY of the characters in this book, especially as more and more secrets were revealed, but I just had to know what was going to happen and who was behind it!  But I liked how it was based on a TV show and how they even incorporated online social media - specifically a subreddit with fans of the show and amateur sleuths who thought they knew what was going on.  I never really did quite figure out "whodunit" but there were so many twist and turns on every page it was hard to really pin anything down.  Maybe you'll have better luck than I did.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated.

This book in fact entertained me. I love a good thriller. I came for the cover and left with a feeling of just oooof. I'm going to recommend this book to everyone.

Thank you so much for this ARC!

Wow, so glad I didn't get persuaded by some of these reviews. This was the complete opposite of a DNF for me!

This was a fast paced, light thriller with the fun backdrop of a reality show. I find that I've been really pulled towards thrillers that revolve around social media/influencers/fans, etc. so if you enjoy that, you will appreciate this book!

Fun glimpse into: 1.) life in Vermont and the characters you may meet in a small town. 2.) The world of home renos and the expensive price tags that can come along with it - literally.

The POV's were so crucial to the story and I enjoyed the mother/daughter relationship. There was no fluff, no repetitive scenarios, overall a great read!

Thank you to the author and publisher and Net Galley for providing a free ebook ARC of this in exchange for my review.

I was hopeful when I started this one, based on the description and the other reviews, but I had to check (a few times) to see that I was actually reading this book and hadn't gotten confused or downloaded the book wrong. I really didn't enjoy this at all - and it didn't feel like a cozy mystery to me.

This is a 2 star, "it was ok" read for me. Maybe for those who like reality tv shows/ home improvement and less into mysteries might enjoy it.

5 things I love about my human…

1. He leaves the room to fart.
2. He picks up the dog poop
3. He has sat through countless hours of the housewives.
4. He barely complains when I forget to feed him.
5. He does his own laundry.

Happy Valentines Day to those who celebrate and cheers to those who don’t!

I promised Craig, I would give him my undivided attention without a book in my hand tonight…

What he doesn’t know is that I put melatonin in his beer 🤫

We Love To Entertain

This is the book I cuddled up to on Valentines Day and I don’t have a single regret . I was looking to get my pulse racing one way or another and this book delivered !

The suspense kept me going and I was invested in figuring out where Holly and Robert disappeared to. A few times I thought I had it figured out but I was wrong each time .

This book kept me on my toes and completely consumed from start to finish . This is one you don’t want to miss! Due out April 25, 2023 ! I strongly suggest you pre-order!

Teaser :

Holly and Robert Barron are attractive young real-estate investors and contestants in a competition run by To the Manor Build, the nation’s most popular home renovation app. With millions in product endorsements and online followers at stake, they’re rehabbing a Vermont home they scored at a bargain price into a chic hilltop estate ideal for entertaining.
It’s all camera-ready laughs and debates over herringbone tile until Holly and Robert go missing hours after their picture-perfect wedding—leaving behind a bloody trail.
Suspicion falls quickly on Erika Turnbull, the Barrons’ twenty-something assistant—eager, efficient, and secretly in love with Robert. Did Erika let her misguided passion turn her into a murderer? So claim the townsfolk of Snowden, Vermont, who still haven’t forgiven her for a tragic accident back in high school.
But Erika’s mother, Kim, is not about to let small-town gossip and a cop with an axe to grind destroy her daughter—again. With time running out and their own lives at risk, the mother-daughter duo set out to find what really happened to the Barrons. First, though, they’ll have to confront the vengeful former owner of Holly and Robert’s estate, ruthless reality-show producers, and a secret that might bring their own house down.

Quite the little mystery we have with this one! This is a fast paced and clever look behind the scenes of a reality show home renovation competition. It's also a very timely and appropriate look into the pitfalls of social media, influencers, and reality television and a reminder of how we, as flawed human beings, really do have the ability to screw up any good thing that might come our way. Human nature always prevails and is truly the reason why we "can't have nice things". Good grief, when did I become my parents?

On a separate, and truly picky note, this needs a good re-look by an editor/proofreader because there are many instances where you can tell an edit occurred but words got left in or not rearranged properly. I guess because I'm so darn perfect myself, I feel it is my duty to point these things out, lol.

An extremely quick, easy read, but without much depth or true thrills. It was fine to just pass the time, but the characters were not memorable and I predicted some of the plot too. I will probably forget it very soon. Still, that won't deter me from looking out for more of this author's works, I definitely see the potential here.

Placeholder. Will update when the Harper Collins union new contract is finalized. Thank you again to the publisher for the copy.