I'm sure patrons will enjoy this, however it didn't keep my interest. Didn't really care about the characters. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

The Plus One

Get Lit ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

I was hooked early on, but as I got to the second half of the book, it started to drag, and the suspense died out.

Things I liked:
✅ Luxury Resort in Cabo
✅ Bride and Groom found dead
✅ Two wealthy Indian families
✅ A whodunit that I didn’t guess but also didn’t surprise me

Things I didn’t:
👎🏼 Too many characters
👎🏼 The main character, “the outsider,” had no real motive. I thought there would be a connection as to why she was watching these two families, but there was nothing to personally link her.
👎🏼 Too many clues that threw off the reader annoyingly

Unfortunately this was a major let down for me. I did not care about a single character. The MC was awful and annoying. The plot and story just dragged.... I appreciate the opportunity to rate and review this book in exchange for my honest review.

🏝️ WILD DESTINATION WEDNESDAY review 🏝️ featuring “The Plus One” by SC Lalli!

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤🖤/5

Radhika Singh and Raj Joshi are all set to get married at a luxury resort in Cabo. This week long wedding will be a union of two wealthy Indian-American families and said to be the most extravagant event of the year.

That is UNTIL the bride and groom are found murdered in their private Villa … and everyone on the guest list and resort premises become suspects!

Shaylee Kapoor is the girlfriend of one of the best men and has had a plan in place for months to get close to the Joshi family. She stays at the resort after the murders in hopes of untangling all the Joshi family dirty secrets and lies and uncover who murdered the happy couple.

But will staying at the resort make Shaylee a target?? Does she know too much about the powerful family that makes her disposable?

Thank you kindly to @sonya_lalli @williammorrowbooks @harpercollinsca @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on August 13, 2024 and is perfect for locked room thriller lovers and fans of White Lotus and Nine Perfect Strangers!

Shay doesn’t know how her wealthy boyfriend Caleb really lives. I mean, unlike her poor life as a student, he comes from old money and has super wealthy friends. When he invites her to Mexico to attend his good friends, Raj and Radhika’s wedding, she knows she’s out of her league. But when the bride and groom are murdered, she has no idea that all of her plans are going to come crashing down.
I don’t want to fly into spoil territory, but there was a lot more going on with Shay than I imagined. What did she hope to accomplish? The answers might surprise you. Shay tries to play Nancy Drew and figure out what the possibly corrupt police can’t.
I didn’t love the explanation for why she was here. I’ve also never been so committed to ensuring justice is served, so it might’ve been a me issue. I was, however, invested in figuring out the identity of the killer. There was definitely more than one potential suspect, but alas, I settled on the wrong one.

This book hooked me right from the start with the intrigue surrounding nearly every character. It unfolded at a great pace so I finished it quickly. The only plot point I didn't quite understand was the room access wristbands. It seems to me that technology like that would have serial numbers for each device and they'd be able to tell which wristband was used with a timestamp. That was easily dismissed for me though because I was enjoying everything else.

The Plus One is a twisty novel that follows “Shay”, (Shaylee Kapoor), as she joins her wealthy boyfriend to the destination wedding of the century! Two business moguls coming together in matrimony, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico! Until both the bride and groom are found dead and everyone is a suspect.

This novel was definitely a heavier read than my usual, involving the Mexican cartel, dirty business practices, drugs, and murder. I didn’t go into this book expecting it be as in-depth as it was, or I would’ve adjusted my expectations. That’s not to say it was a bad story or anything, just know it’s a very involved story with lots of branches to sprout off from.

The storyline itself was likable! I enjoyed how the characters were from all different backgrounds and didn’t fit into a “mold”. I found the details to be precise and very well thought out. There were a lot of details to lead the reader astray, but also plenty to keep them clued in too. Overall an unpredictable read that is worth 4.5⭐️!

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for this ARC.

Attending a wedding at a resort in Cabo as the plus one to a VIP guest sounds amazing on paper. What could be better than a luxurious and all-inclusive suite? It has all the makings of a dream vacation…until the future Mr. and Mrs. turn up dead.

That’s a fast and effective way to put a damper on a weekend getaway.

When Shaylee “Shay” Kapoor accepted the invitation to attend the extravagant wedding of the very influential Radhia Singh and Raj Joshi, she anticipated it would mean a few days of pretending to fit in with the social elite her boyfriend Caleb is so seamlessly a part of. When R adhia and Raj turn up dead in Raj’s bed, things take a darker turn than Shay could have imagined.

While everyone seems quick to blame the couple’s death on drugs, Shay knows there is more at play due to the secrets she has been keeping.

This fun, fast-paced thriller is guaranteed to create a solid choice for a beach read for any genre fan. Shay, while flawed, is an intelligent and intriguing protagonist; it is refreshing to have someone who isn’t blonde and blue-eyed leading the way. Shay is complicated, interesting, and smart – a perfect combination when it comes to a protagonist. The best thing about her is that she is open about her flaws, creating a sense of trust with the reader. This makes it easier for the audience to feel invested in the story, and, as a result, will make for a fun read for fans of smart thrillers.

What a wonderful thriller! Told by a single, reliable narrator, this book just swept me in and held me until the surprising end. I am now a huge fan of this writer!

A double murder at the wedding of the year.. I had to know more!

This was a wild one, set in an exclusive resort in Mexico, celebrity wedding that never was. Shay is thee as the Plus One, the girlfriend of the best man. But there is so much happening under the surface with these 2 families. It was to be the most lavish and expensive wedding ever, with days of celebration. Now there are only questions, and fingers being pointed. Who wanted them dead and why?

A locked room murder mystery with plenty of twists. Certainly kept me turning the pages. A fun read full of unlikeable characters.

Thanks so much to William Morrow for my advanced copy of this book to read. Publishes on August 13th.

Wow. This is my favorite book I’ve read so far this year. And might be my favorite for the entire year.

With a single POV throughout the book and beachy luxury vibes, this was such a fun read.

It was so well written and pulled me in straight from the start. There’s enough twists that you’re the perfect amount of intrigued, but not too confused and it never felt like it was “too much”.

This was the first book I’ve read by this author and I’m already dying to pick up another title of hers.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for this ARC.

Overall this was a pretty good thriller. There was enough mystery to keep me intrigued. It did struggle a little in pacing. The first 25% was really well paced. Things seemed to slow down and drag a little for the middle. Then picked back up in the last 25%. I don't think this hurt the overall story but during the middle slow down it felt like there was too much going on that just wasn't necessary.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Plus One was a fantastic thriller! I felt like I was at this fancy resort wedding as well. There were twists and turns and I didn’t predict the ending so all the stars!!!

Shaylee "Shay" Kapoor is invited to the wedding of the year in Mexico for social influencer Radhika Singh and billionaire Raj Joshi. However upon arrival to the hotel all hell breaks loose because the bride and groom are murdered.

Follow Shay in her investigation of who could have done it and the twists and turns, which I loved.

Thank you #NetGalley for the advance copy!

I received an advanced copy of this book from William Morrow via NetGalley.

This book promised a thrilling weeklong wedding extravaganza set in a luxurious Cabos resort, culminating in a shocking murder mystery. However, I felt the reality fell short of my expectations.

The story centers around the opulent wedding of Radhika Singh and Raj Joshi, an event meant to unite two influential Indian-American families. The week, coined "R&R" for rest, relaxation, and celebration, quickly spirals into chaos when the bride and groom are found dead with gunshot wounds to the head.

Enter Shaylee “Shay” Kapoor, an outsider dating Raj’s best friend, Caleb Prescott III. Shay finds herself amidst the unfolding drama, staying by Caleb’s side as the investigation begins. The police suspect a drug cartel hit, but with the resort’s state-of-the-art security, it seems impossible for the murderer to have entered without a key. With only a few people having access to the room, Shay must untangle a web of lies to discover the truth.

Despite the intriguing premise, the book failed to deliver on its promise. The plot, heavily laden with drug references, felt disconnected and poorly paced. I found myself struggling to stay invested in the story, largely due to the lack of compelling characters. Unfortunately, none of the characters were likable or relatable, making it difficult to root for anyone or care about their fate.

Overall, this book was a disappointing read for me. The excitement and suspense promised in the blurb were sorely missing, replaced by a tedious and unengaging narrative. This book didn’t live up to its hype, leaving me feeling underwhelmed and uninterested in the outcome.

Shaylee has just been invited as a "plus one" to THE wedding of the year. Two billionaire families will be throwing an ultra-lavish Indian wedding at an exclusive resort in Mexico. She's only recently started dating Caleb, so she is thrilled to be able to join him for his best friend's wedding. Things take a huge turn when the engaged couple end up dead and Shaylee's boyfriend just may be the killer.
This book took me a really long time to finish. The premise was good and it definitely kept me guessing as to who the killer might be. However, it just seemed to take way too long to finally wrap things up. I wasn't a fan of Shay, or any of the characters for that matter, I feel like we never really got to know them on a deeper level. The story kept jumping around between different scenarios and the ending was just too neatly wrapped up. This was my first book by this author, and while not my favorite, I do look forward to reading more by her.
Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’m not gonna lie, at the beginning of this book I was shocked at how quickly things went from 0 to 100 and how it got to investigative for me, BUT then I got so invested in trying to figure out what happened along with our FMC, Shay. It was really like reading through a movie and I enjoyed how you were really Shay’s mind trying to piece everything together to see how it fit and who did it.

There were times I felt like the story was drawn out, but it added to feeling like you were really going day to day in figuring out what was happening. Wasn’t necessarily a quick read, but an intriguing one.

Needless to say all my theories were wrong, I’d make a bad detective😂

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for offering an e-ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

What a page-turner! Imagine hiding your intentions for the sake of attending a lavish wedding, only to get caught up in a more significant event with much more profound consequences! S.C.Lalli had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I especially loved using the wedding program, as it hints that things would only get worse.

The use of class, racism, white privilege, and fractured female friendships was perfect. Not once did I feel like I was being beaten over the head with what S.C. Lalli was trying to convey, which is either way, capitalism will continue to cost us lives, even amongst the ones benefiting from it the most.

Really enjoyed this fast paced who dun it with unlikeable characters. I loved that they dove right into it at the beginning with a double murder at a wedding. I was back and forth the whole book never quite sure of who the murderer was until the final reveal. There were a lot of layers and the added complexity of the narrator not really being who she said she was. Would definitely recommend this as a quick summer read!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Okay I am absolutely going to reread this via audio when it is out because I need to hear this narrated to me. I was not expecting the big reveals, twists and turns, and I know people will be on the edge of their seats reading this one.