I love a good murder mystery book especially when there is a little romance thrown in like Red Notice, but this did not do it for me. I felt like there were too many directions it could go and I just did not like Jackson as a character. There were a few twists towards the end, but not enough to make up for the other parts in my opinion.

"Sounds Like A Plan" by Pamela Samuels-Young and Dwayne Alexander Smith is an intriguing novel about two private investigators teaming up to solve a case. The book's premise is engaging and reminiscent of the exciting, humorous atmosphere in Stephanie Plum and Finley Donovan novels, featuring thrilling scenes, mysteries, unexpected twists, and lively banter. However, some readers may find Jackson's character overly misogynistic, making certain parts of the book challenging to read. Despite this, the story picks up momentum and delivers several surprising twists, making it worth sticking with till the end.

Thank you to Pamela Samuels-Young, Dwayne Alexander Smith, Atria Books, and Netgalley for providing an advanced reader's copy of this book. Sounds Like a Plan is on sale July 9th, 2024.

What a fun and fast-paced romp of a mystery! I will say I went into this book thinking it was more a romance with a mystery subplot instead of what it really is which is the opposite. Definitely don't read this for the romance because you'll be edged through the whole book!

I love a book with multiple POVs, so I think it's even more fun when those different POVs are written by different people. It definitely gave the characters distinct voices throughout the book and added a fun perspective this book might not have had otherwise.

A fun murder mystery was just what I needed, and this fit the bill. It had some excellent twists that I almost couldn't guess at, and it was written similarly to a lot of the interesting murder mystery movies that have been coming out lately.

I can't wait to see if these authors partner for a second book! Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for my ARC!

While this seemed like a fun mystery and romance read, I did not enjoy this book. I was definitely intrigued by the mystery surrounding our missing person and there was plenty of action and twists with that. But the mystery felt like it was going in so many directions and it was never going where you thought it would. And yes you obviously don’t want the ending to be easily predictable but all the different leads became a little too much. But the main reason I did not like this book was the sexist comments and thinking made by Jackson. His character was so annoying and had a misogynistic comment almost every chapter.

Overall I did not like this book.

Honestly, this book was so hard to get through. The idea of the story is great, it sounded so fun to me. Once I started reading it, the fun was gone. The dialogue between the characters and when they were thinking to themselves was so disheartening. At times the dialogue and its misogynistic under AND overtones were weird, out of place, and quite frankly tone deaf.

This book follows two competing private investigators who are hired for the same case. Mackenzie and Jackson realize they must work together in order to solve the case. The premise of the book is great – it felt very James Bond vibes with the action-packed scenes, mystery, and twisty turns on their case. I enjoyed the way the authors wove in action, but kept it real with how the two characters faired in the aftermath of the scenes – it brought humanity to the character rather than them simply being PIs.

I wasn’t always vibing with everything that came out of Jackson’s mouth. Like he said some things that I had to stop and reread because I wasn’t sure I read it right. It was confusing, like his part on ChatGPT, or overtly misogynistic.

The romance in the book is minimal. The readers are only given one scene that explores the characters' physical relationship. I wish we were given more on how their relationship developed after the case was closed. It seemed rushed when there was a three-week jump, and we had no insight into how they were grappling with their feelings and desires for each other. The ending of the book does leave it open to continue the series with the couple working together.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and its take on a private investigator story. I wish it had more development of Mackenzie and Jackson’s relationship, as there were repeated slow-burn moments that made it a point in the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I love the premise of the book “Sounds Like a Plan” and the mystery plot line was really great. There were a lot of twists and turns after Mackenzie and Jackson get hired to find the same girl and as much as they start of on the wrong foot they quickly realize they are better off working together instead of against each other. Especially when people that were involved in their case start dying and they know they could be next. There is some character development of the MMC’s and when they aren’t fighting they have good chemistry.

Having said that I found there wasn’t much development of the relationship between the two of them and Jackson would often treat Mackenzie really horribly. The last disagreement they had was bad and hard to read. With all the fighting it was hard to see how they could be falling in love and the ending left things really vague. If you like a closed door mystery/spy romance this book is for you but don’t expect too much from the romance part of the book while reading it. I enjoyed parts of this book but it’s not one that I will reread.

This book was fun. So much banter 😍. This book is fast paced, fun and exciting. You never know that’s gonna happen next in this wild case. Jackson & Mackenzie are both badass private investigators on a case that will keep surprising you.

From each of their POVs they make up nicknames for each other “pretty boy”, “miss hotness”, “hot chocolate”, “mac attack”. So cute! The chemistry and banter is so good.

0.5🌶️

I really loved the concept of this and wanted to like it, but holy hell Jackson was awful. Reading his POV ruined the entire book. The misogyny flying out of his mouth was unreal and made the entire book just unenjoyable. The mystery was interesting but all the murder felt unneeded.

This was a cheesy & fun murder mystery meets romantic comedy! It gave me similar vibes as the movie Glass Onion and made for a pretty quick read.

I did almost DNF around 30% because it seemed like the plot was done despite being so close to the beginning of the book. I’m glad I stuck with it because the stakes got higher and had a few twists that I didn’t see coming.

The romance was teased throughout the entire book so it was kinda disappointing when nothing came out of it. Maybe there’s a second book coming with more of that? While I would recommend it, don’t do it for the romance.

Thank you to the authors, NetGalley, and Atria books for sending me an early copy!

I'm sorry, I decided to DNF this book as I could not stand the MMC, a bit too misogynistic. The premise was fun.

SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN is a thriller romance about two rival private investigators who are hired for the same case and end up teaming up to get to the bottom of it. The premise sounded so promising and I loved the thriller aspect of it—in fact, if the book had just been a thriller with little to no romance, I probably would've rated it much higher. As it is, calling it a romance does feel like a bit of a stretch. The action in this book was engaging and I was really invested in finding out what happened, which was ultimately the only reason I pushed through to the end.

The story is told in dual POV chapters from the perspective of our main characters: Mackenzie Cunningham, an investigative journalist turned PI, and Jackson Jones, an ex-cop. The tension between them is just as strong as their chemistry, and as they team up to work the case, they start to fall for each other.

So far, so good, right? Except Jackson, along with pretty much every other male character in the book, is a rampant misogynist. Now, if it had just been the other male characters, it might be one thing—but when the romantic MMC is being misogynistic toward the FMC at every turn, it's a little harder to digest. I really tried to stick it out and see if maybe, just maybe, this was a tool to show his growth throughout the book—after all, Mackenzie doesn't shy away from calling him out on his B.S. But alas, he just continued to be sexist throughout the whole book. I mean, he spent an entire chapter deliberating over whether he should've slept with Mackenzie when she was wasted, or whether he did the right thing by walking away.

Mackenzie was a great FMC. She was smart, funny, driven, proud but still willing to own up to her mistakes. If it had just been a book about her, I know I would've loved it. Unfortunately, Jackson kind of ruined that.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and authors for this ebook arc!

This was not a book I would normally see at a store and pick up but the description caught my eye. I'm not a big thriller/mystery fan, but this book looked like a romance that had thriller elements to it, but it was lacking in the romance department for me. Overall, I can see this a lot of people enjoying this, but it was not exactly my cup of tea. I think I struggled with the dual authors but it gave the book a unique tone. I will say in 2024 we should not be making some of the "jokes" that were made.

Themes/Tropes:Private Investigators, Action Packed, Mutual Attraction, Missing Person Case, Running for your Life

BIPOC
Dual POV
I need this to be a movie- I read this book so fast because it felt like I was reading (watching) a Mr and Mrs. Smith action packed story. There was a little romance, a lot of tension, bad guys trying to hunt people down and it was a GREAT time.
I really enjoyed that the authors voices blended together well- the POVs were well done and I could tell when I was switching characters. The side characters were fun- there were some plot twist that I did not see coming AT ALL. Needless to say I stayed up until midnight to finish this book... I needed to know what happened.

This book was everything that I didn't know I wanted in a book. I enjoyed that the characters didn't just look for the case they were doing- it went a little beyond that and made the story more exciting. I really enjoyed the banter between the MCs and that there was sexual tension, but it wasn't really acted on because the MMC was a gentleman. I always love a badass FMC that can take care of herself and this book definitely had that.

Thank you Atria for an eARC
CW: suicide, murder

This was a super fun, dual POV, romantic suspense novel that sees two rival PIs forced to team up for a chance to win an assignment with a big payoff. What ensues is lots of action and forced proximity goodness with tons of chemistry between the two leads and a swoony single dad MMC I couldn't help falling for myself!

I loved that this book featured older BIPOC character and gave off Mr & Mrs Smith and The bounty hunter movie vibes in all the best ways. Great on audio and highly recommended!! Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon.Audio for a complimentary digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

This is a cute romcom / mystery . I enjoyed the dialogue between the leads but I did find the mystery a little too convoluted and yet predictable 🤷🏼‍♀️

A trope-y rom com of sorts told alternately by Mackenzie and Jackson, PIs who have been hired to find Ashley. This has a lot going for it, starting with the clear voices of both characters thanks to the dual authorship. At the same time, there's also a lot going on. And sometimes the voices, especially Jackson's are less than engaging. There's banter, lots of banter. Can these two solve the case without strangling one another? Of course they can but it's the getting there that's the challenge. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A bit too over the top for me in spots but it might make for good travel reading.

Overall I enjoyed this novel.
This is definitely a softer mystery/crime novel with an undertone of romance. I liked that there were BIPOC and LGBTQ+ themes, but lord. When I read “difficult for them to deny the sparks flying between them.” I expect SPICE. I’d give it a 1.5/5 on the spicy scale, and mostly because they talk about areolas and grinding with underwear on.
On the other hand, there were some great action scenes and I thought the plot was engaging. Both Mac and Jackson were likeable characters as well as a couple of supporting ones. I wish there was a little epilogue with Roxana.
I did enjoy this book’s twist and thriller/crime plot, but it feels marketed as a chick lit novel, but it’s more of a cosy mystery to me.

Sounds Like a Plan is the action-packed story of two Black private investigators thrown together on a missing persons case and then get framed for murder.

The book is written by two co-authors and uses a dual POV style, where both main characters, Mackenzie and Jackson, get to share their perspectives on each crazy event that unfolds. (I can only imagine how fun it must have been to write this way!)

The story features an enemies-to-lovers trope but turned out to be very light on steam. I would have preferred more, but if you aren’t into that then this is a good choice for you.

Overall, I give this book a solid 3/5 stars. The premise is fun and the pacing is good. I can see this book becoming a series (like Janet Evanovitch’s bounty-hunting Stephanie Plum novels), and I’d be interested to see what other crazy scenarios this PI duo comes up against.

Thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Thank you to Atria for my advance electronic copy via NetGalley. My opinions are my own.

Jackson Jones and Mackenzie Cunningham are two intelligent, skilled Los Angeles Private Investigators from different backgrounds and with very different approaches. When they find themselves working the same case for the same client, at first they seem to be stuck in competition and running in circles. But when things take a disturbing turn, they find themselves working together and running from a shadow force intent on destroying them. They need each other more than ever if they are going to get to the heart of the lies and expose the truth before it's too late.

This was just what I needed! There is a hard-boiled and snappy vibe peeking through (especially at the beginning), but it's a modern, not-noir, sex-positive (open-door) work of detective fiction with clever, snappy dialogue and realistic protagonists you want to root for from the start. The dual-perspective absolutely crushes it and drives both the plot and character development forward, providing realistic backstories and insight into their growth as individuals and as a team. An added bonus was that not only does it deliver on the romance and mystery, but also on the action scenes! I love that the two, different detectives slowly grow to respect and then trust each other as the investigation progresses. Los Angeles and its environs are portrayed by experts, so much so that I felt like I was home again. This has got to be a series-starter, and I cannot wait for the next one!

Triggers: cheating, rape, sexism, racism, domestic abuse, sexual assault