Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

"I wonder if anyone’s ever stood up in the middle of a restaurant to ask if there’s a therapist in the room."

Jess has been caring for her half-sister Tegan since the day 10 years ago when their mom walked out on them. Jess has successfully lived in her bubble protecting herself and doing everything she can to protect Tegan from any further hurt ever since. However, everything changes when a podcaster shows up on their doorstep to finish a story she started about a famous con-man. The man her mother ran off with all those years ago.

I have seen a lot of reviews that say this is a “departure from Kate Clayborn’s normal work” and I have to disagree. We have swoon worthy romance, well developed characters struggling to overcome issues from their past and a lot of big emotions. This is a romance and it has great pacing and lovely found family. Kate can write a broken character who grows and changes and comes into their own so well. I love how she can drip emotions onto the page with her words.
I had some difficulty connecting with the characters in this story, and I know it is related to a book pet peeve of mine. The main character puts a ton of weight on the actions of her mother, of course. But I just can’t stand my characters wrecking themselves for shitty parents. Jess’ inability to open herself up to trust others however, I can relate to. And again, Kate gives you a satisfying character arc as Jess grows throughout the story. Be patient with her.

"I don’t want to know you for the story. I want to know you for myself.”

Adam is of course wonderful, and has past pain of his own. I found him to be so very kind hearted and patient. He is devoted from the jump. One thing is for sure, Kate Clayborn writes a great book boyfriend.
The mystery and side plot are an interesting addition to this story. I think fans of true crime will appreciate this aspect a lot. No murder involved.

This won’t be my favorite by hers, because ugh, Georgie! But I enjoyed it and I think others will fall in love with this book.

“I’m always going to have your heart, Jessie. Because you gave it to me so completely, and yours taught me how to make my own."

Many thanks to NetGalley and to Kensington Books for the digital review copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Other Side of Disappearing is a romance, but it's also a book about the ways that life can break us and how love isn't always quite enough to put us back together without some good therapy and support along the way.

It follows Jess who's had to raise her younger half-sister ever since their mother disappeared. She's done her best to protect her younger sister from everything about that disappearance, including its possible connection a popular podcast about a con man.

Enter Adam Hawk, who's working for the podcaster who produced that story all those years ago. Who has just learned that Jess's mother might be the key to finishing the story. He's got his reasons for working in journalism, pieces of his past that he wants to turn into a story. He just has to get through helping his boss tell this one first.

I often struggle with dual POV Romance novels because the voices don't sound different enough, or I don't care as much about one of the characters to want their perspective. But Jess and Adam both jump off the page from the moment they start telling their stories, and I was sucked in immediately. The writing style differentiates them while still feeling cohesive, showing us the ways in which they're complimentary as a couple, the ways they're the same and how they're different.

This isn't just a love story, but also a bit of a mystery. A road trip seeking answers that Jess never really wanted, but is grudgingly letting her younger sister pursue. The Other Side of Disappearing is perfectly paced, keeping you rapt with attention for the story the podcast wants to tell and the romance unfolding right alongside it.

I also love that romantic love didn't have to solve everything here. I won't give too much away, but let's just say that Clayborn lets both characters have real issues and lets them deal with those issues in realistic ways that aren't just "love conquers all."

Obviously, I highly recommend this phenomenal book to just about anyone. I think fans of podcasts like Serial and the massive spree of true crime that came in its wake would especially enjoy this one with its podcasting/journalism angle.

A beautifully written book that tore my heart out the whole time, but I was still never wanted to finish and leave these characters behind.

While there is a dual POV and thread of romance, I feel like the larger takeaway from this book is more about personal growth than the romance. I appreciated too that there was no love heals all, deus ex machina, ending. There is the 80% plummet, but it is resolved through growth and therapy rather than just love heals all. Both Jess and Adam have a lot of baggage, but the depth and nuance that we see their backstory through rounds these characters out and made their journey that much more real and heart-tugging to follow. There is also the complex relationships with the other characters (sisters, parental abandonment, mentor/employee) that makes this more than just a romance, but instead a story of two fully realized characters.

I also especially loved how podcasting (especially true crime) is given a nuanced take in this book rather than the carte blanche rejection or acceptance of it, even the argument of where does it fall within journalism as a whole is more nuanced than I expected.

This is a book that has layers and depth that while left me with a raw heart, also picked it up and wrapped it a story that is human to its core which is something I've grown to expect from Kate Clayborn's books and this one was no different.

Happy release day to TOSOD!! Kate Clayborn's writing is like candy. She writes so beautifully but also it completely shatters me, and her style of writing is really like no one else's. The premise of this story was very interesting, and I think it tries to say a lot about a lot of different things — about podcasting, morbid curiosity, and mental health. I really loved the way Jess and Adam communicate, but one thing I would have wished for is a little better pacing. Overall, this was a lovely story, and Kate Clayborn really does have the most beautiful and heartbreaking love confessions!

Kate Clayborn has quickly become one of my go to authors, after loving Georgie All Along, I knew I would like this one. I kind of went into this one blind but I am kind of glad I did, the premise is really cool. I love back and forth chapters, Jess and Adam's banter in the beginning had be reeling, a little enemies to lovers trope is one of my favs. I just wanted to keep turning the pages! A little fun, a little mystery, I felt all of the emotions reading this one, and could connect with Jess as her little sister went behind her back to contact Salem. I am the oldest child and have 4 younger siblings, the connection Jess and Tegan have because of all they've been through was really heart felt and I loved that part of it. It will quickly become another best seller I'm sure! Looking forward to more from Kate in the future. Thank you for letting me read this amazing story!

Deeply moving and layered with a gamut of emotions and characters that were messy and real, I had to put it down a few times because there was so much to take in.

For a decade Jess has put her life on hold to raise younger half-sister Teagan after their mum abandoned them to join a con man, the subject of a popular true crime podcast. She's reluctantly compelled to accompany her sister, podcast host Salem and her intern Adam on a road trip to uncover what happened to her mum.

There were so many delightful, quiet moments where Jess and Adam just get and see each other. Jess is very insular, brittle, yet has a hard carapace. She refuses to express herself. Adam gently draws her out and gives her lots of space. While there's an instant connection when they first meet, theres is a slow-burn with lots of quiet, unnamed pining as Jess resists opening herself up. Adam, too, is also broken. The death of his best friend and teammate led him to going viral after publicly condemning hypocrites who bullied his best friend.

Kate Clayborn excels in this compelling story about a complex sister relationship, parental abandonment and somehow manages to combine a swoony slow-burn romance. There's so many adjectives to describe this book - heartfelt, poignant, absorbing. All the characters felt so real. I cannot highly recommend this book enough.

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Hairstylist Jess Greene has spent the last ten years raising her younger sister Tegan after their mother disappeared with notorious conman Lynton Baltimore. Jess has carefully guarded this secret from everyone, including her sister. When Tegan discovers the truth, she contacts podcaster Salem Durant, the woman who made Baltimore and his story famous. Tegan wants Salem’s help finding her mother and Salem wants access to new information on the story she never quite got to finish. It’s a shock to Jess when Salem and her fellow journalist Adam Hawkins arrive on Jess’s doorstep, unwelcome and uninvited. Jess is livid, but Tegan is insistent on joining Salem and Adam on a three week road trip to retrace her mother and Baltimore’s route after their disappearance. Reluctantly Jess joins the group in an attempt to protect her sister from what they might find. As they begin their journey, Jess finds herself drawn to Adam, a former star football player whose goal is to tell the story of the best friend he lost to mental health problems. The two make a connection, but Jess has guarded herself from the world for years and might not be able to open herself to the man who could destroy her carefully controlled life. Especially when a road trip designed to find answers just keeps leaving everyone involved with more questions.

Kate Clayborn’s The Other Side of Disappearing is a beautifully written story, poignant and heartfelt. Jess and Adam are two deeply wounded people learning to cope with loss, betrayal, and pain. Prickly, closed off Jess has retreated into herself and allows no one to truly see her. Grief stricken Adam screamed out his pain to the entire World via social media. They’re complete opposites, but they balance each other perfectly. Adam’s kindness and solid, thoughtful personality are the perfect counterpoints to Jess’s sharp edges. Watching them draw together and just be themselves, to sink into a tenderness they haven’t received from anyone else was so satisfying and romantic. Clayborn has written a moving story about healing, family, and finding the person who sees you for who you really are.

i got an arc from netgalley and the publisher!!!

i’m having a hard time articulating my feelings about this book. overall, it was good, but i feel like there were certain details that kept it from being great for me. first of all, i like the cover, but i dont know if it fits the book imo. i was invested in the mystery, but i wasn’t sure about salem’s character. i had unresolved feelings about her. i also had some unresolved feelings about jess and teagan’s relationship. i know it would have been unrealistic for everything to be perfect at the end, but not having everything tied up with a perfect bow is not what i want from a romance! i appreciated the more serious aspects, mostly, like the discussion of bipolar, and how jess raised teagan. i also appreciated the lack of a baby and marriage in the epilogue. one thing i did want from the ending, though, was for the third act conflict to revolve around the mystery rather than the relationship. i would have preferred that.

I’m a big Clayborn fan from her beginning. But while I did enjoy this book, it was not a favorite for me. And to be honest I’m not sure why.

This revolves around two sisters who were abandoned by their flighty mom (who took up with a grifter). The older sister Jess raised Tegan, her half sister. Now Tegan wants to find their mother and enlists the aid of a podcaster who interviewed the man 10 years before. Thus begins a cross-country adventure with the sisters, Salem (the podcaster) and Adam (her assistant). Adam also has a personal story that he’d like to produce (with Salem’s approval) about his best friend’s mental struggles and subsequent suicide.

While this was a good story about what family means, what courage means and what strength means, I just didn’t connect with these characters as well as I wanted to. But still, a good book.

My sincere thanks to the author, NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing the free early arc of The Other Side of Disappearing for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

4.5 stars

I was hooked on this story from the very beginning. Clayborn has a distinct style of writing, and her overuse of phrase may annoy some while read more poetic to others (me!), but there is no doubt that she can tell a story. I apologize in advance for bouncing around with this - three days later and I'm still processing how wonderful this book was.

Jess gets tied up in a cross-country trip with a podcast host and assistant in an effort to protect her sister as the story gets too close to home. If you're a true crime fan, you'll be hooked into the mystery of it all and I have no doubt you'll enjoy this. There are parts of me that wanted more information/resources on the very real issue of sports, mental health, and brain injuries, but I recognize that gaining information on the topic was not Adam nor the author's purpose. Telling a story, whether it was of Lynton Baltimore, Cope, or Jess & Adam.

The inner battles Adam and Jess are facing throughout the story are beautifully exposed and Clayborn writes emotionally complex characters without it feeling overly heavy or trite. Her skill for conveying an emotional mood is so skilled, I had secondhand discomfort for Jess at one point I could cry. Lines such as, "I'm a beating heart on legs, unimaginably worse off than I was before I heard her, saw her like this" hit me so forcefully I found myself re-reading passages just to get to it again. Adam catalogues everything he possibly can about Jess, desperate to hang on to anything she'll show him, and it's water in a desert, it's so incredibly sweet.

By the end of the book, if I didn't love it already, this line alone would've done the trick (IYKYK), "we both make the exact same Midwestern exclamation of surprise, quiet opes as we steady ourselves."

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Jess raised her little sister Tegan for last 10 years after their mother disappears with an accomplished con man. Now Jess is 31 and Tegan is ready to go off to college. Jess is coerced to go in search of her mother by her sister along with podcaster, Salem and her producer Adam. As they follow clues from state to state and discover things about their mother..they find things about themselves.

Let me start this review by saying I’m a huge Kate Clayborn fan, and many of her books are in my top 20. Unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me. I understand what Kate was trying to do here, and I liked the premise, but the romance AND the mystery plot both fell flat for me. I felt that the story had so much angst, but no reason for any of it. The mystery of where Tegan and Jess’ mom went was not very compelling and I wish there had been more detail and intrigue when it came to the Lynton Baltimore storyline.
The romance also was lacking for me. The characters fell in insta-love and I couldn’t really understand what they saw in each other. They barely interacted and then acted like they had the most amazing connection. Adam was a huge simp, which was kind of cute but also just didn’t make sense based on what we see from Jess who is basically an ice queen with very little likability.

Kate’s writing is always beautiful and she knows how to describe things in a way that almost feels poetic, and I know a lot of people will love this book. It just wasn’t right for me, but I think it’s still worth giving it a chance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kate Clayborn writes with such attention to detail, and so much emotion that I can see and hear every character clearly, every expression, every word spoken. Her stories are deep, and thoughtful, nuanced, and beautiful tributes to the human spirit.
Her characters are realistic beyond measure. I’m in awe.

Jess has been looking after her sister since their mother disappeared. Adam shows up with his journalistic partner at her front door looking for a story. I loved how this novel explores what happens when we miss someone so deeply, when we disappear into the responsibilities and daily grind to the detriment of ourselves. Beautifully written.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

can’t do a full review right now bbut cause I’m crying so hard omg this book.

I wasn’t super sold on the “lust at first sites” vibes but what I think it is is more about two people who are so hard shelled, grieving, lonely, finding an immediate understanding. Seeing each other. And that really becomes clear as the story goes on.

And this is a romance but it is also a story about sisters. And utterly broken and lonely people.

“I’m always going to have your heart, Jessie. Because you gave it to me so completely, and yours taught me how to make my own. But I think—I think I need to give yours back to you now. I think you need it, because I think it’s high time you get to share it with someone else.”

GOOD FUCKING LORD.

A ro-mystery? A first for me. I appreciate the dual first-person point-of-view and the podcast transcript inserts. Very open-door, if that's your preference. I gave it three stars because I thought the ending was a little rushed, Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 & 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | 𝐄-𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤

𝕍𝕚𝕓𝕖𝕤:
🚗 𝑅𝑜𝒶𝒹 𝒯𝓇𝒾𝓅
👭 𝒮𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑒𝓇𝒽𝑜𝑜𝒹
🏈 𝐹𝑜𝑜𝓉𝒷𝒶𝓁𝓁 𝒫𝓁𝒶𝓎𝑒𝓇 𝐿𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝐼𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉
🎙️ 𝒯𝓇𝓊𝑒 𝒞𝓇𝒾𝓂𝑒 𝒫𝑜𝒹𝒸𝒶𝓈𝓉
🏖️ 𝒮𝓊𝓂𝓂𝑒𝓇 𝐿𝑜𝓋𝑒
✨ 𝒮𝑒𝓁𝒻-𝒟𝒾𝓈𝒸𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝐓𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥. 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐭𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥-𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬, 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐱 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭-𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞, 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲.

𝕊𝕪𝕟𝕠𝕡𝕤𝕚𝕤: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐟-𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐓𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧, 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝—𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧, 𝐋𝐲𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐀𝐬 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐩𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬—𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐱-𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐦 𝐇𝐚𝐰𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬—𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐩. 𝐔𝐧𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐓𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐧-𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐨𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐲𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐓𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬-𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧… 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐧 & 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬’𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫.

𝐓𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧 (𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐥.

🧡 🧡 🧡 🧡 🧡

𝐻𝓊𝑔𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎, 𝒦𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝒞𝓁𝒶𝓎𝒷𝑜𝓇𝓃, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒦𝑒𝓃𝓈𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓉𝑜𝓃 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝑒 𝑒-𝒜𝑅𝒞 𝒾𝓃 𝑒𝓍𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝒶𝓃 𝒽𝑜𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓉 𝓇𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌!

Kate Clayborn writes such a deeply emotional romance without making it loud or over the top. The characters are always locked up in some way, holding onto some thing that is impacting their lives.
They are beautiful and nuanced and there is always at least one line, that makes me put the book down for a second and breathe. A line that makes me feel like she’s amen seen and side my deepest fear ir most private thought.
I loved that this book is more about family and how sometimes, it’s not what everybody else defines it as. How sometimes a small town can be a painful place full of judgy “bless your heart” people who don’t know how to help different.
This book is quiet and beautiful and also deafening in how a parent can give you baggage that’s not yours to carry.

Jess and Tegans mom abandoned them when they were younger and for a con man. Adam and Salem are doing a follow up podcast and all of a sudden the girls are thrust into finding the truth. For a shorter book, it dragged for me and I found Jess to be pretty obnoxious at points. I feel like I wanted to know Adam and his friends story more. Salem and Tegan I really enjoyed as supporting characters. This was a romantic mystery more than anything - 50/50 split.

A mystery, a love story, and a vulnerable story about all of the ways in which we disappear and offering hope that we can come back - all mixed into one.

This book feels hard to describe, but so worth the journey. First, you have Jess - 31, a big sister-cum-parent. She's shut out the world for years, focusing on raising her sister Tegan after their mother ran off. Tegan, 18, is old enough now to want some answers. She's reached out to Salem Durant, famous podcast host, linking their mother to conman Lynton Baltimore- the subject of her initial podcast that took the world by storm. Then there's Adam. Adam is currently Salemn's assistant, looking to learn about podcasting and get his 'in' to be able to produce his own story about his friend and former teammate's mental health struggles and unfortunate death. Together, they embark on a road trip following the only clues they have to Jess and Tegan's mother's whereabouts - the five postcards she sent Jess years ago.

This plot sounds like women's fiction, but let me reassure you that the romance vibes are strong here. Adam is just the right kind of generous, kindhearted man to help Jess let down her walls just a little, finally letting someone into the life she's kept so private for the last ten years. He's got a wonderful protective streak when it comes to Jess's heart. They're good for each other. As someone else with walls a mile high, I appreciated his "gentle giant" personality and the fact that this was dual POV so that we were able to be inside of both of their heads during this journey.

This is a beautiful romance with mystery, emotional vulnerability, and beautiful character development (particularly for Jess, but honestly, for all four lead characters). I worried a bit as we approached the ending, but I needn't have feared - Kate Clayborn's writing continued to shine, and she handled all of the loose ends and maternal drama genuinely and satisfyingly, which might be a surprise for some. Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this gem early.

Vibes: true crime podcasts (critical), soft hero/hard heroine, complicated families, and dropping those defenses even when it's hard

Heat Index: 6/10

Ten years ago, Jess and Tegan's mother disappeared--with her con artist boyfriend Lynton Baltimore, made famous by a popular podcast. Now, the podcast's creator is on their doorstep with her protegee, Adam. They want to find Lynton; and Jess and Tegan could be their key. The last thing Jess wants to do after raising her sister on her own is go down this rabbit hole. But if Tegan is going, so is she; and as they unravel their mother's secrets, Jess finds herself more exposed than she's ever been before... and, even more horrifyingly, opening up to Adam (and his massive shoulders, perfect for crying into).

I was a little worried by the premise of this book. Don't get me wrong, it's a great idea--but was it going to be women's fiction? The answer: nope! This is a great example of how to write a book that has a big plot, and has well-developed characters beyond the two leads... while still being a romance. That's something that used to be way more of a norm, but I've noticed lately that it seems to have become all or nothing. You're either all focus on the leads, no plot and paper-thin supporting characters, or the romance gets crumpled up and it's women's fiction. (Which is fine! Women's fiction is fine! It's just generally not my thing.)

Trust Kate Clayborn to give you all the feelings about EVERYONE involved, along with a thought-provoking and twisty-turny concept, while never sacrificing the strength of the love story. I was so invested in Adam, a truly good dude who isn't without his own sore spots, slowly worming his way into Jess's heart. And Jess is simply a great heroine--wounded and tough and a bit angry but also desperately holding it together for the sister she's raised. I loved watching them fall in love. In fact, this is probably my favorite Kate Clayborn book so far.

Quick Takes:

--I am very vocal about finding a lot of good guy heroes boring, and that is because "good" often seems to translate into "perfect" or "completely toothless". Adam is a great example of how to write a good guy hero correctly. Kate Clayborn generally knows how to write about good people who aren't perfect and are compelling.

Here, Adam is essentially a gentle giant with great intentions in the long term... Who still compromises his morals initially. (Not for long! and I would say that she could've pushed him to compromise those morals for a bit longer, but I get it.) And he doesn't always handle everything perfectly, and he's not always smooth, and he's interesting and hot and kind of the boyfriend I feel is ideal without being PERFECT.

Also: his ears go pink when he's embarrassed, and he is definitely a bit embarrassed about his Bigness. Like, he's always bumping into shit because he's so Big, and that's embarrassing, you guys!!! This is. So important to me.

--I'm so into the Eldest Daughter Syndrome Stuff, as an eldest daughter. Jess and Tegan's relationship is so great, sitting in that space between parent and sibling, and at a really awkward point (as Tegan just turned eighteen). I found Jess deeply relatable, and her prickliness makes perfect sense... while still getting in her way.

Honestly, Jess's character growth is the type of thing I don't think heroines are allowed to do enough? It's introspective and difficult, and I absolutely loved where we ended up.

--There's a supporting character, original podcast creator/Adam's mentor Salem, who went in some really different directions. I kind of loved having a character who was like... not malevolent, but not wholly good, too? Who was selfish, and not an ideal parent, and a LADY?

In general, the commentary on true crime fandom stuff and podcasting is so good. I think we've definitely reached this point where true crime podcasts have really dipped heavily into exploitation. Of course there are good ones! But let us be real. I loved the way that she confronted this being both a story and Jess and Tegan's lives. And, in addition, how knowing that early on conflicts with Adam's sense of morality.

--As a random note... I've noticed recently that a lot of romance novels, even those by people I so love, have parents do some really shitty stuff, and then shove in this reconciliation with their kids at the end. I think this has to do with the need for an HEA. But like. You can have an HEA that involves acknowledging that your parent is shitty and doesn't deserve forgiveness. Trust.

All I'll say is that I really loved how Clayborn handled the parent stuff in this book.

The Sex:

Kate Clayborn always leans more towards the romantic than the explicit in her sex scenes, though they are open door. There are a few scenes in this book, and they're reeeeally sensual. I loved the way she wrote the dialogue during sex scenes, and like, the sexiness of Jess and Adam sneaking around on this road trip with her teenage sister right there. Ooh, it was hot.

Insightful, romantic, and challenging in some ways, The Other Side of Disappearing really impressed me. I already liked Kate Clayborn, and this only made me more excited about her future work.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.