4.5 stars. I did a combo of this book, with the e-book and the audiobook. The narration by Jacqui Bardelang was awesome. It was very easy to tell the voices apart and the pacing was perfect.

I found this story to be refreshing in that it had a unique storyline. Both MC's are Asian, but the story takes place in Australia. The characters in the audiobook had neither an Asian accent or an Australian accent. Khin is a journalist who is writing an exclusive about Tyler, an American movie star. Khin is to follow him around while he works on his latest movie. On the set one day, Khin is accosted by a strange man and Tyler comes upon them. Things go from bad to worse and they are left in a situation that they are determined to hide from the police. The two get closer (and secrets are shared) as things get more heated and more and more people are drawn into the mess. Khin's knows they have no future together, but her article doesn't seem all that important anymore to her compared to her feelings for Tyler...neither does hiding the truth.

This was a fresh voice (the author's debut novel) for a romantic suspense. I really enjoyed it and hope to read more by this author. Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the copies. All thoughts are my own.

I thought this was an intriguing read. I enjoyed the audio quite a bit as the narrator was wonderful to listen to. I loved the premise of a romantic suspense with a touch of murder. I liked the characters since it felt as though Khin and Tyler would never work in the real world because Khin is a journalist and Tyler is an actor and based on history, they shouldn’t be a match. But each were different than I expected and they really connected. I didn’t love that Khin didn’t just tell the truth but I guess then we wouldn’t have a story. How the rest of the plot unfolds was good and I definitely enjoyed the ending.

Thank you to the publishing teams for the review copies! I also want to highlight the excellent voice acting by Jacqui Bardelang—the audiobook was well-produced and enjoyable to listen to.

Overall, I Did Something Bad checks many boxes for a fun romcom but felt somewhat lacking in focus, particularly in terms of chemistry between the main characters. The standard third-act miscommunication felt especially off in this book; the accusations following a kind of insta-love didn’t seem fair, given the brief timeline and the initial setup of their relationship.

At times, the plot veered into a mystery that didn’t feel necessary for developing the romance, leading into some fun but forced romantic action/escapades, followed by a prolonged third-act miscommunication. The writing and dialogue occasionally felt underdeveloped and repetitive, which was particularly noticeable in the audiobook format, limiting my overall engagement with the story.

However, I really loved the secondary characters and the way the story highlighted the importance of friendships—how friends know you and have your back. I only wish the book had leaned more into the rich setting, fully developed the secondary characters, and taken more time to flesh out the central relationship.

Thank you to St. Martin's Publishing Group and NetGalley for this ARC!

3.5 Stars!!

I was really intrigued with the advertising for this one. A romcom with a murder mystery? It sounded so fun. The romcom part really worked for me. I loved the celebrity vs journalist plot. I was eager to see how they could figure out the murder and remove themselves from being suspects. However, I found that the romcom and murder clashed at times instead of flowing. The murder mystery plot seemed to get forgotten a bit in the middle, and then the ending just didn't work for me. The ending was wrapped up too quickly in my opinion and it made the mystery useless for the plot. It made me think that maybe this should've been a romcom only and the murder mystery could've been a separate book.

Overall, this was intriguing but something about it just didn't work for me.

DNF at 20% - I picked this one up because the premise sounding interesting, but it started off a bit ridiculous and was heading toward too insta-lovey, and I just found myself not wanting to continue reading. I think this is one of those books I could easily listen to while doing chores, but I just didn't feel invested in the story after "the incident."

I loved the idea of this book, and while I found the murder aspect to be a bit glossed over, I loved the main characters and their story.

The premise of this book was cute and had potentially, but ultimately, I struggled to finish this one. I found the characters to be irritating and not very likeable (probably because they made dumb decisions and their actions felt reckless and far-fetched). I didn’t mind the budding romance, but the storyline was so unrealistic and the ending was frustrating enough to make me drop this to 3 stars.

I love the idea of this book. A rom-com with murder? Great! However, I think the author tried to use too much humor to downplay the death. Meaning, the MCs were cracking jokes about the death either that night or the very next day (too soon, either way). The situation simply wasn’t taken seriously enough. The FMC was almost assaulted and committed a crime, but she’s more concerned with having the hots for a movie star? #priorities

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy.

There was romance there was mystery and there was murder...

Khin is a freelance journalist who has just been handed a job that could change her life and secure her a position at Vogue Singapore. All she has to do is shadow a movie star for 2 months and write an article about him... seems easy enough right? Tyler, the movie star in question is not what she expects at all. Why is a previously very private celebrity even agreeing to any of this? He has his reasons... Her first day on the job takes a turn when a man attacks her and he ends up dead. But who is this man? Why did he sneak on to the movie set? And why does it appear that he was very interested in Khin?

This was like rom com with a side of cozy murder mystery. The murder was never really the focus of the story it was more about Khin learning that she needs to accept help and can in fact depend on others and that no matter what she does life just isn’t perfect and sometimes things just happen and plans fall apart but it’s not in fact the end of the world it’s just life. She drive me a bit crazy with her inability to accept that she needed help and that she should take what was offered.

The only downside to the book really because it was fun but it was the end. Well more like it was ye olde 3rd act break up. It was kind of ridiculous because Khin was hired to do a job at no point did she stop doing that job even when her feelings for Tyler changed. So him getting mad about the literal job she was hired to do was kinda dumb. I mean I guess the break up helped move Khin along in her journey but it just didn’t make sense. Otherwise I really enjoyed this book.

I Did Something Bad by Pyae Moe Thet War
Pub Date: 10/7/24
3.5 stars

Khin is a reporter who’s just been giving the job of a lifetime for an amazing magazine: an exclusive with Hollywood star Tyler Tun. For a month, Khin will be on set in Myanmar with Tyler as he films his newest movie so that she can learn everything about him, interview him, etc. However, things quickly take a turn for the worst when a strange man follows Khin and she acts in self defense, with Tyler as her sole witness. Scared to go to the police and worried this man was targeting her, Khin and Tyler have to figure out how to navigate their respective careers to protect each other.

I loved the concept, until I started reading it. Then it just felt familiar. The first 15% was quite similar to other books I read, and this made it hard for me to get interested in the book. Then it took its turn, and things do pick up in a good way. But I could never fully get into this book and found Khin’s fears unrationzaled (although having never been in such a situation myself, they could’ve been completely valid and I not know). The conclusion tied things up a little too nicely for my liking as well, but overall it is a well written book. It just wasn’t a win for me.

I Did Something Bad follows journalist Khin, who is assigned to report on world-famous actor Tyler Tun. While Khin is initially looking for a Vogue-worthy scoop, she soon learns that Tyler is holding something back. After a late-night encounter with a stranger gone wrong, Tyler and Khin swear each other to secrecy. Is Tyler truly as golden as he seems or does he have a dark secret?

I Did Something Bad is a lighthearted and fun rom-com with a touch of murder. Khin and Tyler have a hilarious and relatable banter between them. I enjoyed the deeper thread of Khin’s abortion story coverage, as this is an issue that women face all over the world. Tyler is very sweet and earnest. Tyler and Khin also both have strong connections with friends and family, which was beautifully portrayed. I liked learning about Myanmar as well!

Readers who enjoyed Finlay Donovan Is Killing it (Elle Cosimano) and Dial A for Aunties (Jesse Q. Sutanto) will love I Did Something Bad. I’m looking forward to reading what Pyae Moe Thet War writes next!

Thank you to Pyae Moe Thet War, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It’s mind boggling that this is the debut novel written by the author. The writing is captivating, well executed and seamlessly engaging. I would definitely pick up future books by this author.

Early on I knew I was going to like this book. I was easily pulled into the story as it flowed off the pages. The story drifts off in an unexpected direction that had my mind boggled at first but quickly weaved effortlessly into the story.

The characters were well developed and the chemistry between the two main characters, the storyline and the setting were uniquely written. This felt distinctly different from many other rom-coms I’ve read. It was an unexpected pleasant surprise. I find myself wanting to read more about Khin and Tyler (and May!).

Thank you to NetGalley. The publisher and the author for my early advanced digital copy.

"I Did Something Bad" opens with a Devil Wears Prada-eque editor hiring journalist Khan for a coveted role. Typically focused on more challenging stories, she is to cover actor Tyler Tun for two months with a no-holds-barred cover story article.

Surprised and drive, Khin gets started - and some unfortunate circumstances make the coming weeks like nothing she could have guessed.

A bit celeb drama, a bit romance, a bit mystery - just made this a great book to read. I liked the character development and dimensions as the book progressed.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's for an ARC.

When journalist Khin Hlaing is asked to cover Tyler Tun’s celebrity profile, she is thrilled by the opportunity and what could potentially follow. She has never done a celebrity profile before, her main interest being on writing articles that bring social awareness such as her underground abortion clinic piece that drew a lot of attention. As she starts to shadow Tyler on set, she is attacked by a man who seems to have targeted her. Tyler steps in to help and ultimately they end up killing the assailant. Choosing to cover up the murder rather than have it derail their careers, Khin and Tyler embrace the forced proximity that will help keep their alibis intact.

I was quite intrigued by the plot and how the author would integrate a murder into a romance and quickly became invested in the story - mainly for how they would get themselves out of the situation. The romance aspect was cute, in a insta-love kind of way. Ultimately, while I enjoyed the uniqueness of the novel. I was left feeling like the genre might have been slightly misleading and the plot to be stretched far past the believable mark.

✵𝖬𝖺𝗇𝗒 𝗍𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗄𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝖲𝗍. 𝖬𝖺𝗋𝗍𝗂𝗇'𝗌 𝖯𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌 ＆ 𝖭𝖾𝗍𝖦𝖺𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗒 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗀𝗂𝖿𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗆𝖾 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖠𝖽𝗏𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾𝖽 𝖱𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋’𝗌 𝖢𝗈𝗉𝗒 𝗂𝗇 𝖾𝗑𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗇𝗀𝖾 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝗆𝗒 𝗁𝗈𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗍 𝗋𝖾𝗏𝗂𝖾𝗐.✵

DNF @ Page 65

I'm sorry, but I can't believe that one of the biggest actors in Hollywood and an acclaimed journalist are just going to cover up a killing that was done in self defense. How was that the most logical assumption to jump to? Wouldn't Khin also have evidence on her since the man attacked her? Right off the back, Khin annoyed me in this, so I can't see how there could be any believable chemistry between her and Tyler in this romance.

Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for providing this ARC to me!

I got a thriller / romance combo with I Did Something Bad. It is the story of a journalist, Khin, with an assignment to write a cover story on a famous actor but the two of them get embroiled in a crime in the process. I don’t want to give any spoilers but this book was so much fun. I always love a famous person / regular person love story but these two characters were so much more. So much depth, so many layers that got peeled back as the mystery and the romance blossomed. There were twists and turns with fun romcom vibes mixed in and the back stage look at life of a movie star.

Heat Factor: Nothing yet
Character Chemistry: What chemistry?
Plot: Khin is writing an in depth profile of international superstar actor Tyler Tun. And then they kill someone. Oops.
Overall: I really tried with this one

When I read the first chapter of this book, I must admit that there was some internal groaning. It appeared that I had, once again, requested a copy of a book with that writing voice I find intensely irritating (see my review of Four Weekends and a Funeral by Elle Palmer). However, I decided to give this one a chance because 1) at least the forced proximity was because of a job, not a stupid decision and 2) it’s set in Myanmar.

I’ll talk about #1 first, because that misconception quickly went by the wayside. (Sidenote: maybe I should reread the blurbs of the books I get before I actually start reading them.) Because, yup, Khin and Tyler end up in a closer forced proximity situation than they otherwise would as subject and interviewer when they kill a guy—and then decide that the best course of action is to pretend it didn’t happen, even though the guy (a stranger) attacked Khin.

Now, their reasoning for not going to the police brings me to #2, in a roundabout way. Khin tells Tyler they can’t go to the police because they have no proof it was self defense and they are brown people who killed a white guy, and that the guy’s home country would pitch a fit and demand someone be punished. Basically, international racism. Which, fine. But I found it notable that Khin doesn’t mention police corruption, given that Myanmar ranks extremely low on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index.

In fact, I found it notable that the author hardly mentions anything about the political situation in Myanmar. The one thing that comes up is that Khin had previously written a profile about an underground abortion provider for Time Magazine (abortion is illegal in pretty much all cases in Myanmar). Now, I don’t expect every book to talk about politics, but given that there was a military coup there in 2021, followed by a crackdown on protesters and various human rights abuses—and given that not that many romance novels written for an American audience take place there—I found this omission surprising. Would a woke Hollywood studio making a woke Hollywood blockbuster starring Asian actors really film on location there? I don’t know.

In general, I am in favor of separating the artist from the art. However, this doesn’t mean that when the artist’s views bleed into the art, I ignore them. While this is Pyae Moe Thet War’s debut novel, she published a collection of essays in 2022, and the Goodreads reviews are something else. Basically: the author comes from a privileged class (her father is in the military). So it makes sense that she wouldn’t critique the system that has given her a huge leg up, and would, in fact, write protagonists who are also extremely privileged—but in ways that seem normal to American readers. You know, things like going to college in the US and working as a journalist.

The point of that long tangent is that I felt pretty ambivalent about the portrayal of Myanmar in this book…which meant that that particular component of the story wasn’t enough to override my irritation at the narrative voice, which continued to just not work for me. Especially once they got into the covering up a murder and investigating why that guy targeted Khin portion of the story—because that could be a serious suspense story, but Khin and Tyler are just doing weird banter about Legally Blonde. I don’t even know.


I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. We disclose this in accordance with 16 CFR §255.

This review is also available at The Smut Report.

Thank Netgalley and publisher for Arc
— Why I was Attracted to this book :
The Description I was looking forward to a romance mystery
— What did you like about this book:
I like that it was set in a location other than the US. It was a fast read for me.
— What you didn’t:
I’m not going to sugar coat it I struggled for the first 24% of the book like I could not get into it. The Main FMC was not completely likable and I felts she just. Passed judgement on him before even getting to know him. Or maybe it’s just me. 
Then they get into this serious situation and it’s like they don’t take it seriously at all. For a person that watches Law& Order SVU (yes that was mention in the book) it’ like she didn’t learn anything from it.
— Would you recommend:
No I don’t think so it was one that I will forget about fairly soon
— Would you read this author again:
I’m not against giving authors more then one try

I love this new trend of combining contemporary romance with murder - not "romantic suspense" but where romance is more prominent and there is a lighter tone to it. That's what this book was and I really enjoyed it! I appreciated the Myanmar representation as this is not something I've read before. And of course, the "celebrity/normie" trope is a favorite. Khin and Tyler had great chemistry, and I loved the slow burn and the building of trust between them under such heightened circumstances.

I went into this book expecting something smart, funny, or at the very least something fun.

Instead, this book was essentially a series of poorly thought-out decisions. Logic was tossed out the window far too often, and I did not find myself relating to the female character in any meaningful way. After all the good she’s supposedly done and the trauma she endured, I should feel something. I should be rooting for 100%. Yet I only felt detached.

The romance unfortunately fell a bit flat for me as well. I didn’t dislike Khin and Tyler, but I also didn’t love them together either. They’re like room-temperature water on a hot day. It’s fine, but it doesn’t feel like it quenches your thirst the same way as a tall cold glass of water would.

Basically, I finished the book with an over sense of meh…