Oh, this was such a fun read! I loved everything about this one! From the PNW setting to the book about books to the cozy mystery romance premise. Plus, we get some hysterical humor throughout the story!

The premise is definitely a wild one! We follow local Seattle author, Kate, who was invited to her ex-fiancé’s wedding with a note from the new bride-to-be’s aunt saying it would be worth her while. Curious to know why, Kate decides to attend. And it's not just a wedding, it's a wedding weekend and being held on a private island off the San Juans in Washington. Then she runs into her “the one who got away,” romantic regret, Jake, upon arrival. Things are already off to an awkward start to the weekend for Kate when the night before the ceremony, the bride is poisoned, and the whole situation echoes the plot of one of Kate’s mystery novels. With no way off the island, a storm brewing overhead, and a potential murder on the guest list, Kate decides to pull a page from her own books and sleuth her way to the truth.

From the very beginning, I was hooked. I loved Kate’s energy and personality. She was so quirky and awkward, but such a joy to follow. And once Kate starts investigating, that’s when things start to get even more entertaining. Kate reminded me of a mixture of Velma and Shaggy from Scooby Doo. Her energy of wanting to solve this, but having almost no idea what she’s doing as she stumbles across evidence. Seeing Kate put the pieces together and make the connections from the research for her books was fun to watch! And her inner mantra, “What would Loretta do?” the main character of her mystery series was adorable. This Loretta persona Kate had created helped her discover what happened, even if Kate was kind of a terrible detective.

And then there’s a bit of a second chance romance between her and Jake, the hostralian. Watching them interact was so cute and fun. His constant teasing towards her and her oblivious nature to the flirting were incredibly entertaining. And the few moments they steal to be intimate… Oh boy! It gets a little steamy!

The mystery itself was enjoyable too! I didn’t know what to expect or who could have done it. Every time I had a suspicion, new details came out and unraveled that train of thought. The whodunnit and the details around it all were wild! When it all was said and done, I just went “damn.” This was not one I could easily predict at all. But I loved watching it all unfold.

If you enjoy cozy mystery romances and books about books, I highly recommend picking this one up!

I love a murder mystery, I love a romance taking place at a wedding, and this book was the perfect combination of both. Kate was the most perfectly messy FMC, and even though sometimes I found myself rolling my eyes at her inability to stay sober long enough to execute her plan, I was rooting for her the whole time. Her relationship with Jake, and their simmering chemistry together, was so fun, and I loved the ending of the book! A great fun read, 3.75, rounded to 4⭐

*Thank you again to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

"She Doesn't Have a Clue" by Jenny Elder Moke is what you want if you ever wanted your mystery-thriller book with a cozy rom-com. It's fun, doesn't take itself seriously and a quick read.

This just was not the book for me. I was excited by the premise of murder mystery meets rom-com, but that's where the excitement ended for me. I did not finish this book, I read about 25% and felt no desire to pick it up. For what I read, I think it needed more editing before publishing.

I had high hopes for this book because I love thrillers and romance but the combination didn't work here. The romance felt shoe horned in. I didn't like the random cuts to Loretta's point of view, it made the story more confusing. 2.5 stars

From the start, this book was silly and full of confusion in an endearing way. I liked the mystery and following Kate along as she discovered what really happened. The mystery component was well-done because I didn’t guess it along the way, so it kept me interested in what might happen next. The romance between Jake and Kate was not as believable to me, and I didn’t really buy them as a couple based on the development we got. I was especially annoyed by the 3rd act argument. Overall, I found this a lighthearted mystery full of high jinx more than a romance book. That felt very subplot, more of a distraction for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC!

a murder mystery themed rom com with characters set in the publishing/author industry, sign me up for it!!!

in this story, you’re following our FMC Kate who is a best selling murder mystery author., and has just been invited to her ex-fiancés wedding to the girl he cheated on her with. once she gets to the boat to take her to the private island where the wedding is taking place, she ends up being stuck with an ex-coworker (of sorts, they wrote a book together), Jake, that she had a major crush on.

you follow through witnessing all these twists and crazy things happening on the island and you truly feel like you’re working alongside Kate and Jake to figure out what’s going on on this island all while they rekindle the romance they had been secretly pining for all along.

this had me laughing out loud (and looking crazy while doing it), had me swooning at the cute moments, had my jaw actually on the floor while Kate was making these revelations, and honestly, i kind of saw myself within Kate.

Kate has her main character she writes about, Loretta, who is a badass woman, and Kate doesn’t think she herself is that type of woman, so she asks herself “what would Loretta do?” in order to try to think of her next move. she was never sure of herself, but she wrote that in her main character, so it was really nice to see her find that feeling within herself.

also, might i add, Jake is Australian. thank me later

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for the arc of this one in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me. I wish it was a bit more mystery and less rom-com. It just felt cheesy and overdone to me.

I feel like the writing was ok but it didn’t do anything to grab my attention.

I hope others love this one.

Romance and Mystery all in one? What’s not to love?

I love the interwoven book excerpts and felt like they tied into the story nicely! The comedic parts were great and I laughed out loud a few times! Overall the story is cute but felt a bit unbalanced—like there were too many plot lines and I wanted more of the FMC’s development at the end!

I look forward to future titles from this author!

Ahhhhh this was just such a great read. I just didn't want this book to end and I was sad to turn the last page. I'm so excited to see what's next from this author.

"𝐈'𝐝 𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐇𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠."

She Doesn't Have a Clue is a delightful mix of romantic comedy and mystery!

When author Kate Valentine attends an island wedding of her ex fiancé, the last person she expects to run into is the one-who-got-away, Jake Hawkins. Add in a storm that cuts off communication to the mainland, the discovery of a dead body, and a ton of bitter resentments, equaling a weekend to remember. Jenny Elder Moke created such a funny story, with such gems as "𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫? 𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭?" and "𝐇𝐞'𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐒𝐢𝐦 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐈'𝐦 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐞'𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝.” I felt Jake and Kate's chemistry right away, and loved the build-up from former friends to fake dating to romantic partners (especially in those spicy scenes!). Their team-up to try and solve who is sabotaging the wedding, why someone would be killed, and why Kate is being set-up made for an interesting mystery. Plenty of suspicious and colourful side characters with a slew of motives means there is no lack of suspects, leading to a satisfying resolution (even with a wild cougar chase!). Sometimes Kate is a bit of a hot mess (I’m not sure how she functions as an adult on a daily basis) and I didn't love the third act argument - it was hard to understand how Kate and Jake could bounce from feeling connected to anger so quickly, but I cheered when they ultimately shared and showed their true feelings.

She Doesn't Have A Clue is a slightly absurd, humorous romance-mystery. I'd love to return to these characters, so I am very excited to see there is a continuation novel featuring Jake's brother, Charlie coming next year. Thank you to Minotaur and NetGalley for the ARC!

Clever and fun! Super enjoyed the mystery and the fact that Kate was an author of a mystery series! Too fun!

- Solid 3. Cozy Mystery Vibes. There was family drama, murder, mystery, betrayal, a who done it type vibe but also a rom com sense & a little extra spice. Almost a story within a story with her alter ego. (She’s a best selling novel writer & the murder/mystery happening is the plot to one of her books!)
She went to her exes wedding (with the girl he cheated on her with) but then ended up getting with the guy she originally wanted before her ex fiancé, GEEESHHHH. She was a mess!

Thank you NetGalley for a chance to ARC read this romcom/cozy mystery.

I mostly enjoyed this lighthearted romcom with some mystery elements. It was a fun, quick read for me. I also loved the destination wedding setting of a private island off the coast of Seattle.

The main character, Kate Valentine, is a mystery author. In a way, Kate uses her fictional sleuth, Loretta, as a way to help solve the murder.

While this book had some funny moments, it veered into slapstick territory when Kate knocked over the bride…twice! Plus, it had a few Weekend at Bernie’s elements with dead bodies. I thought the bedroom scenes were a little bit awkward and some of the phrases were killing me like, ’her mouth was so wet it almost hurt.’ What does that even mean?

I alternated between the audiobook and reading the physical book. The audiobook narration was excellent, and I thought the MMC‘s Australian accent was performed perfectly!

3.5 rounded down

I really enjoyed this and will definitely be recommending it. The juxtaposition between reality and Loretta’s world was well done and easy to interpret which was which.

Jake and Kate made for an entertaining partnership and eventual relationship. The mystery of it all was fun to read as well and even though it was pretty predictable that’s not a bad thing because it was still fun to read

Attending a wedding on a secluded island in a gorgeous mansion sounds like a dream. And it is, until absolutely everything goes wrong—namely, the man getting married is your not only your editor, but also your ex-fiancé. The woman he’s marrying is the salt of the earth ✨and✨ the one he cheated with. Cue the sad violin and gear up for some truly unending drama.

Kate is a mystery writer in a bit of a slump who takes the “write what you know” thing a little too seriously. Crazy that she was shocked when her ex-friend and longtime crush, Jake, admits that he’s known someone who is ✨”eerily” similar to him✨ in her books is, in fact, him. It’s not a shock to anyone, in fact.

The main character of aforementioned novels is a “bartender by day, detective by night”—even fictional characters don’t need sleep—who she channels constantly for advice. “What would Loretta do?” Probably mishandle evidence, since that seems to be a theme.

Chaos ensues when the bride is poisoned in a manner very reminiscent of Kate’s books. Don’t worry, they don’t follow that little nugget for very long. Then, finally, it almost starts to get good when another guest is found dead.

The blurb read like a thriller-romance with a bit of a comedy, but ended up being way more cheesy rom-com with an un-refrigerated body, and had me screaming “someone, please stop handling evidence and call the cops!” No one actually considered it, I think.

I enjoyed the chemistry between Kate and Australian hottie, Jake, but the plot sagged in the middle and it started to drag. I’m glad that ended up being a huge part of the plot since the whodunit wasn’t a massive mystery. The secret passages were a hit, I would have had a blast wreaking all sorts of havoc frolicking through those things.

Overall, it was fine. I liked the chemistry between Jake and Kate, and I loved the setting. Plot-wise it dragged and there were a few things that drove me a little nuts. Again I say: why did no one mention calling the police!? And why did no one smell the would-be (should have been) ✨rotting corpse✨??

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, the author, and netgalley for the ARC!

This was a fun and easy mystery to read! The main character was quirky and the other side characters were a good mix that made for an interesting list of potential suspects. While this book had some surprises the main who done it surprise was a little too obvious for my liking, but it was still a fun and cute read!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel. I could not get into this story and was not able to finish.

Attending the Ex fiancé’s wedding? Guaranteed drama! Adding in an Australian to the mix is like giving candy to a baby. I admit the intrigue of the mystery paired with a romance is the thing that hooked me. It felt a little disconnected to be honest, though. I would definitely recommend if you’re looking for a different kind of romance than the typical stories coming out lately.

She Doesn't Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Moke is a fun combination of mystery and romance. Kate is an author of murder mysteries and bumps into an old flame while on the way to her ex-fiancé's wedding. I enjoyed the mystery aspects of this story more than the romance. Moke did an excellent job writing all the different characters. This was a fun read and I'd definitely pick up any other books the author writes.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.