This was not what I was expecting. It definitely has more of a romantic suspense vibe to it and also gives the same feelings of an insta-love trope in a romance novel but set in a mystery/thriller. It was strange. Everything in this book felt underdeveloped and rushed and I hated that this was another thriller that used mental illness as a plot device. Hard pass.

Had moments of suspense and some twists and turns but not a fan of the female protagonist, who does some questionable things that don't really make sense. I wish the ending was more shocking but it's more on the meh side.

Thank you to NetGalley for this E-ARC.

I really struggled with this book. It was kind of blah. I had a hard time physically reading so figured I’d give it a try on audio. I still struggled. I’m not sure if it was because it was British writing that I had a hard time following along or if it was just the way it was written. No fault of the author obviously. Could just be that I had a hard time following the writing style.

Anna is a ghost writer for a man whose wife just passed away. Everything is a little confusing and nobody really knows who’s behind the death. I’m also a little confused honestly. So this is as good as the reviews gonna get.

There is something incredibly special about an approval that you were pining over. For me, It was You Can’t Hurt Me.

All of my friends were deep in discussion over Emma Cook’s debut novel and as I listened, I could feel myself getting way too excited. How could I get my hands on this sure to be, 5 star read?

Well, I prayed to the book gods, I asked my book fairies for assistance, and I did a little rain dance.

Low and behold, my approval came!

Yes!!! I'm one of the cool kids!

There is no shortage of twists and turns all while narrating a perfectly executed storyline. You will be introduced to characters you will like and some you will hate, but hey that's how these thrillers roll. The pace is set, the conclusion is satisfying, and all in all I am left with a major book hangover.

Check out this teaser:

Meet Eva, who can’t feel pain, and Anna, who can’t escape it.

Everyone has heard about the case of Eva Reid. Ever since she was born, she’s felt no pain: she can get a paper cut, break a limb and even give birth without feeling a single thing. Her story has long captivated the minds of reporters and researchers—including Dr. Nate Reid, Eva’s husband and acclaimed scientist, renowned for his work in the Pain Laboratory. Also among them is Anna Tate, a ruthless journalist with a dark past of her own.

When Eva is suddenly found dead inside her home, it raises a flurry of questions about the last night of her life—and who might’ve been involved. Anna finds herself growing increasingly obsessed with Eva’s case: her protected, painless existence, her promising career as a psychotherapist, and especially her toxic relationship with the alluring Dr. Reid, whom Eva met and married as his former patient. But what other secrets could they be hiding?

When Dr. Reid embarks on the process of writing a book about Eva, an opportunity arises for Anna to work on it alongside him. As she slowly inserts herself into their home to uncover what’s fact and what’s fiction, shocking discoveries await her—and not everyone may come out unscathed…

I love psychological thrillers. This was far too slow to get going. I put down multiple times and almost did not finish. I usually do not mind if characters were not likeable..... but the plot just dragged. It felt like psych jargon than a novel.

You Can't Hurt Me is a quick read - thriller. It was ok but not a fast paced, page turning, thriller. It's pretty slow until the last third or so.

Personally it wasnt one of my favorites but if you like slow burns this may be for you!

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love psychological thrillers. Unfortunately this one just fell short for me in the thrilling aspect. The characters were not likeable and the psychological thrilling aspect took way too long as the plot just dragged. It felt like psych jargon than a novel.

I want to start off by saying that I have no idea what this book is about. I just know that title had me wanting to read this book.
Yes I haven’t read anything from this author before. But definitely won’t be the last book. The twists and turn with each chapter. Yes this book took me little bit longer to finish. But I didn’t want to rush through this book. Considering how crazy all the secrets that our characters were keeping. How connected they were.
Anna is a ghost writer for Nate a man who was married to a woman who had a medical condition who couldn’t feel any type of pain. Who had a died of a heart attack. Or did something or someone cause Eva to have that heart attack.
I really enjoyed this book. I am highly recommend this book.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. The pain aspect was interesting, but I couldn't get into the characters and the plot was super slow.

This book will suck you in from the first chapter. I'll definitely be looking for other books written by this author.
I love thrillers that keep me guessing!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

I did not love this book. I was hooked early on and lost interest mid way through. I persevered and finished the book which I’m glad I did since I liked the ending.

As a nurse, this book was a "must read". I couldn't help but feel that Dr. Reid took advantage of Eva. He married her and then "used" her as a science experiment. Because of this, I think I started off the book disliking him in general. Anna is a typical journalist and pushes the envelope, interested in the truth and willing to put herself at risk in the process. Overall, this is a good psychological thriller and I'd recommend it to anyone interested in psychology and thrillers!

A journalist becomes the ghostwriter for a doctor who wants to write a memoir.

The doctor's wife is dead, and may or may not have been murdered.

The doctor researches pain and how to deal with it, His wife had a rare disorder where she could not feel pain, a perfect guinea pig for tests and medical research.

I like that the book is not medically technical, so that it doesn't lose the focus of the story.

This book contains murder, romance, family secrets and more.

HOOK: Eva can't feel pain, Anna is shrouded in it. Eva turns up dead; Anna becomes obsessed. Enter Anna's relationship with a problematic Dr. Reid. What's real and what isn't?

REVIEW: It had a compelling question: why is Anna willing to go through, well, everything to complete her task? It had enough oomph to keep me reading. The ending was a little mid, but I still got there because I needed to know the answers.

RATING: 3.5, rounded.

I really enjoyed the story, characters and plot. This was a quick and easy read. Thank you for the advanced copy. Would recommend

This book started off intriguing and I was immediately sucked in. Then it didn't take long to lose interest. I honestly figured most of the twists early on and ended up skipping most of the book. Where I picked back up I wasn't lost at all. It went exactly as I expected. I think fans of The Silent Patient will really enjoy this story. It wasn't for me.

I featured this book in a new release video prior to publication and was very excited to read this twisty ass book. The description promises A LOT of secrets from literally everyone. I also love stories about married couples and this one is interesting because it's from an outside perspective. Will update when final review posts, but I'm expecting 5 stars!

A fast-paced intriguing read that was a lot of fun. This book does have an unreliable narrator so if that isn’t your thing you might not enjoy, in the case of this book it worked for me and I had fun with it. My biggest drawback is the ending, it wasn’t exactly how I wanted to see things end and I would have preferred things be a bit tighter. I did see a few negative reviews online and i do disagree with most.

You Can't Hurt Me was an easy read - not my favorite of the year but would recommend for an easy thriller! Would read another book by this author in the future.

You Can't Hurt Me is a fast paced read, one that kept me guessing. This was a dark, haunting read that I really enjoyed. The strong plot kept me reading late into the night. I was surprised that this was a debut!