Member Reviews

This series is the definition of a romantic comedy! So many twists and turns, ups and downs, and amazing writing and brilliant characters. I would definitely recommend this and to read this series in publication order to get the absolute best reading experience!

Was this review helpful?

This is probably more like a 2.5 stars I'm rounding up. I read the first book and then Netgalley was nice enough to give me the 3rd, so I skipped the 2nd. It didn't seem necessary given that I caught up pretty quickly.

While the first book is fun and entertaining this one just feels little too silly. It's still fun and high energy and lots of things going on, but I found myself caring less because it just felt a bit too silly. I ended up skimming through the last 50% or so.

I LOVE Lucy Score's work typically but I probably wont continue with this particular series.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for this review!

Was this review helpful?

This series is fun, quick and delightful. It's a romantic comedy paranormal mystery with such awesome writing. The characters are funny, quirky and absolutely lovable. If you are looking for a book series that will make you laugh for hours this is it! It has such wonderful banter and I loved every second of it! Love this series!

Was this review helpful?

DNFed at 61%
This book had potential but the over the top stupidity of most of the characters is just so annoying and immature it kept pulling me out of the story. This reminded me of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series and it was close to having a similar kind of humor and character set but it really just fell short for me. I was intrigued enough throughout the book to continue reading it but at this point it feels like the story is going no where and even if it does have a destination, I don’t care anymore 😭
Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for this arc

Was this review helpful?

This is possibily the most bizarre book I have ever read which is both a positive and a negative.

To be completely fair to this book and the author, I have not read the first two Riley Thorn books, and unlike some other series I have read, this book does not stand well on its own because of the incredibly convoluted back story and massive cast of characters who it was very confusing at first to parse out how they even knew or were related to each other.

From what I gathered though, Riley Thorn is a psychic, her partner Nick Santiago runs a private detective agency, and for the past several years his best friend's sister Beth has been missing which has caused Nick to put nearly his entire life on hold and spend most of his resources on finding her. During this search for Beth, Riley loses her psychic powers and has to do her best to help Nick solve this without that valuble resource.

The very early surprise about Beth was definitely very surprising as well as incredibly silly. The entire book was incredibly silly and full of all sorts of various jokes, many of the juvenile variety, but not necessarily bad. Some of it was actually laugh out loud funny. My only complaint about the humor is there were so many random jokes and asides that sometimes it was hard to follow what was actually going on. I was also a little confused by the side quest jobs that the employees of Nick's detective agency were doing and I think those little side stories were primarily there just for the sake of showing how ridiculous all of these people are.

Overall I do like cozy, goofy mysteries that don't take themselves too seriously, and I likely need to read the other books that came first to fully appreciate this. It is cute though and I think the author Lucy Score is excellent for not being afraid to be silly.

Many thanks to Bloom Books and to NetGalley for this ARC to review. This review is my honest opinion.

Was this review helpful?

This is the third book from the Riley Thorn series.

I just adore how unique yet incredible this series has been.
I LOVE that Riley is a literal black cloud with her unfortunate luck.
Nick is a little grumpier than normal as he pretty much obsesses over a cold case that continues to haunt him.
Riley and Nick's life together is far from normal although they make the BEST team. Nicks on the hunt for Beth who he now believes is not dead. Riley is coming to terms with her abilities and using them more generously. Mix in family personalities, the next-door geriatrics, pets and more... what a mix of characters.

This is just a feel good, mysterious adventure, with psychic abilities and talking ghosts sprinkled in. From the drama to the jokes, I was literally laughing out loud.
You won't be disappointed with this one, cannot wait for the next.

Thank you, Lucy Score, Sourcebooks, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for the honest review.

Was this review helpful?

You absolutely cannot go wrong with this book series! The mysteries are good and not easy to solve from page one. The characters are quirky and super entertaining. There's nothing but true love, laughs and lots of steam between Riley and Nick. I find these books to be the best kind quick fix. Read these for a fun storyline that ticks all of the rom-com boxes. I am on board for book #4 as soon as it comes out!

Was this review helpful?

That was some craziness (as usual with Riley Thorne and her friends). It was very interesting to find out what happened to Beth after she disappeared. I think that type of crazy fits in very well with this crew.

Thanks you NetGalley and Bloom for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you so much to NetGalley and source books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I cannot get enough of Riley forward. This is just a fun, enticing, mystery series, that I hope goes on forever.

The third installment in the series finds Riley and Nick settling into their new home while Nick fully immerses himself in the search for Beth.

For whatever reason, Lucy decided to leave Riley without her abilities in this book, will, for the majority of it, at least. And that was the only thing that I really truly hated. This is supposed to be a mystery psychic novel series you took out half of the key components. But it was still a fun good time and I will plan to continue with the series.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a review.

This one was my fave! I went back and read book one (since I read book two first), and Nick and Riley are living in their own house. It was such a good payoff for them both emotionally and the story between them as well as their friends and families. I love Riley and Nick's roll-with-the-punches mentality and their cases and unique and funny! These books are great summer reads for fun and adventure with some romance!

Riley Thorn and her hot, tattooed, private investigator boyfriend Nick Santiago are all moved in to their new fixer-upper. Not only do they finally have their own place, they also haven't found any new dead bodies on the premises.
Yep. It looks like summer is over and so is Riley's bad luck. Or is it?
When Nick gives up sleeping and showering to obsess over the cold case that still haunts him, his intrepid business partner Mrs. Penny is calling the investigative shots. It's every bit as bad as you can imagine.
Meanwhile, Riley has her hands full fixing up the crumbling crime scene they call home and setting boundaries with the breaking-and-entering octogenarians next door. You know. Normal stuff.
But normal comes to a screeching halt when Riley is abducted by a stranger, and her psychic powers go on the fritz. To make matters worse, it becomes clear that Riley's new house guests are either in trouble or are trouble after bad guys deliver a warning with a severed finger.
Can Nick and Riley solve the case the old-fashioned way before they all end up in pieces? Or will a surprise birthday party, a dog doody bandit, an accidental arson, and a blast from the past be too much for them to handle?

Was this review helpful?

I am so fucking obsessed with these! This book is even funnier than the last; I don't know how Lucy does this. Reading this was like watching a sitcom.

Was this review helpful?

The Blast From The Past is the third book in the Riley Thorn series. Lucy Score is one of my favorite authors and this series keeps getting better and better! This one had me laughing out loud and kept me entertained throughout the read. I highly recommend you read the Riley Thorn series by Lucy Score…you won’t be disappointed!!! I’m so excited to read the fourth book and can’t wait to share my thoughts. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Oh my goodness what a funny story that will keep you entertained and turning the page from beginning to end. This is the third book in the Riley & Nick series. You really need to read them in order to understand the complexity of each character and the dynamics they bring to the story.
Not only funny, this story had some good twists and turns. A great read for sure!
Thank you NetGalley and Bloom Books for my ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Was this review helpful?

Lucy Score’s newest novel continues on the journey of psychic Riley Thorn. Now moved into a fixer upper with boyfriend Nick, she’s trying to balance the responsibility of her abilities, her socially unaware senior neighbors, and fixing up a crumbling and smelly house all while Nick is obsessed with a cold case. To try and save their relationship, she decides to solve it on her own.

I did not read the first two books, which was just a lack of research on my part, and I think it would have been beneficial to read them first. I caught on eventually but you really jump right in to the characters, so much so it felt like I opened to the middle of a book. Again, not the authors fault but definitely a mistake on my part!

I am not typically into the paranormal, but have enjoyed Lucy Score in the past and wanted to give it a try. Overall entertaining but it was more humor than the mystery I was expecting.

Was this review helpful?

I loved the first one, second was okay but this one was great! It was funny and loved the plot. So many twists and turns I didn’t where it was going to go next!

Was this review helpful?

4 stars. I’m so happy Riley and Nick are back with a new adventure and more shenanigans. And that Lucy decided to give us a 4th book in this series! I know the Knockemout books are her most popular, but I think the Riley Thorn books are my favorite from Score. As I’ve said in my other reviews of this series, the mystery itself is a standalone… but there are a lot of characters and a lot of relationships. I do think readers will enjoy this one more if the my read the preceding books first. Out of all 3 books, this mystery probably ended up being my least favorite (maybe because it's by far the shortest of the bunch, but that said, as much as I loved books 1 and 2, I'm not convinced they needed to be as long as they were)… but the shenanigans, as always, were on point. Not sure I’ve read a series where I’ve loved the secondary characters as much as I love the ones in this series. One of the things I love about all the books in this series, and especially The Blast from the Past is that it is really fast paced with lots of laugh out loud moments. And that ending... THAT ENDING. The way Score sets things up for Book 4 has me BEYOND excited, and book 4 will be one of my most anticipated reads of the year. All in all, I’m not sure there’s much more for me to say other than I really enjoy this series. If you like your mysteries with a little bit of ridiculousness (ok a lot of ridiculousness), some pnr-esque magic, and some romance as well, then you should check out the Riley Thorn series (think Dial A for Aunties or Finlay Donovan books but with a psychic). This book is a solid edition to the series and I look forward to the next release.

Was this review helpful?

This is the third book in the Riley Thorn series. Although this could be read as a stand alone, it really is best to read. In order as the character development takes place prior to this book. This book has too much fluff and silliness for my enjoyment, however I was intrigued with the mystery aspect. If you’re looking for a silly, unserious book, this is for you! Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for the ARC in exchange for my honesty review.

Was this review helpful?

I LOVE THIS SERIES!!!

Thriller/mystery, comedy and romance all together. Put reading this book at the top of your to-do list.

Thank you @Netgalley for the opportunity to read this E-arc.

Was this review helpful?

This is definitely a series that you want to read in order. Picking up where The Corpse in the Closer left off, Lucy Score takes us on a hilarious romp with all our favorite characters. And I do mean characters. You’ll laugh, hold your breath, and laugh again. Well, until you get to the end of the book. Then you’ll be off googling “when does book four come out” then checking your calendar. Here’s hoping you are closer to July 16, 2024 then I am.

Was this review helpful?

I love everything Lucy Score writes, so it's no surprise that I also enjoyed this book. I'm convinced she can't write a bad book. That being said, the Riley Thorn series is different from most of her other work. I love the variety of quirky characters and the developing love story between Riley and Nick while also adding an element of mystery and suspense. In this book specifically you get more interaction from the side characters, which I loved. I also love that while there's the supernatural aspect with Riley's gift, it doesn't seem so far fetched that these people couldn't exist in real life. If you haven't read The Blast from the Past (or any of the Riley Thorn books), do so immediately! 😉
Also can't wait to read the next book in this series, coming out in July!

Was this review helpful?