Really great story line, honestly thought this would end up like any other horror movie where you goon a trip with someone you don't know.

The plot was great, did not see the curveballs coming, and honestly, kind of surprised about the ending and the secrets that were kept.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 3 ⭐️

All spoilers are marked as spoilers on my StoryGraph review. This book’s description caught my eye and I was excited to read what I assumed would be a tense road trip thriller and/or a small-town mystery. Unfortunately it was more of a contemporary fiction and had many elements of an opposites-attract romance. There were many plot points that felt way too far fetched, such as Mikki, a grown woman with real life tragic experiences, being gullible enough to hop in a car on a cross country road trip with an absolute stranger. Additionally, I felt that the author focused too much of the plot on Mikki’s time in FL and her relationship with Chris and the actually mystery elements/plot twists felt rushed and kind of misplaced after reading so much about Lark’s relationship with Heath, her daughter Dove, and the found family with Nini, as well as Mikki and Chris’ awkward romance-ish vibes.

I was really hoping/expecting that this would be a proper thriller. That said, this author’s writing is solid and flowed easily (though the book could have been a bit shorter). Any readers that are more open to a contemporary fiction with some mystery elements sprinkled in will enjoy this.

Oh just WOW!! Another fantastic read by Jessica Strawser. A definite go-to author for me and she delivers big time! Where to start? The characters were awesome. Every single one of them. Easy to love or love to hate. Great setting. Easily identifiable and a joy to sink into. Fabulous secrets, lies and reveals. Had no idea who to trust.
Thank you NetGalley and jessica Strawser for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the copy of Catch You Later by Jessica Strawser. I loved how the book started and the friendship between Mikki and Lark was great. It felt like it took a long time for anything exciting to really happen, and some of the background in the past timeline was just filler. I enjoyed learning how everything was connected and thought the reveal was good, but a little predictable. I still liked reading this book because the writing and characters were great.

Mikki and Lark were best friends but when Mikki leaves with a stranger after a night shift and does not come back. Things are forever changed. Eight years later the stranger comes back... Lark now wants answers. This book had some intense moments and kept me reading but it was also drawn out and could have been shorter. I did enjoy it overall.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Catch You Later releases October 22, 2024

2.75

Mikki and Lark were best friends, roommates, and coworkers who grew up in the same small town off of an interstate.
Nearly eight years ago during one of their night shifts at the Travel Stop, Mikki was entranced by a random stranger that walked in, and on a whim, said yes to accompanying him on the remainder of his road trip and being a plus one to a wedding.
Stuck in a town she’s always yearned to leave, and approaching the age of 30, Mikki is convinced that this is her last chance to get outside of the city limits before the birth of Lark’s baby and further decline of her grandmother’s health.
But what happens when your best friend leaves for a weekend and never comes back? When you finally come to terms with what happened and get your life back in order, only for the man behind the wheel to come back to the same travel stop looking for her eight years later?

The premise was intriguing enough for me to pick this up, and the writing was good, but for how drawn out the story was, the reveal just wasn’t shocking enough to lift me off my feet like I was hoping it would.
I also have a hard time believing that the grandmother was able to keep such an elaborate secret when such a large part of the plot was reliant on her experiencing early stages of dementia.

A fun adventurous read. A puzzle with many different pieces to tell the story of a friend that goes a road trip with a stranger and the what the friend that is left behind will do to find her.

This gripping novel follows best friends Lark and Mikki, whose lives change forever after a stranger arrives in their small town. Eight years after Mikki's sudden disappearance, Lark is rebuilding her life, but the past resurfaces when the stranger returns, stirring up old suspicions. The suspenseful narrative kept me hooked as Lark unraveled the mystery, risking everything to uncover the truth about that fateful night.