I am loving this genre mashup that many authors are finding success in. This has romance, mystery and suspense and really can’t be labled as a specific genre. There are some heavier topics discussed which I think added some great social commentary. The murder plot was a little far fetched but I think it worked as this book didn’t seem to take itself so seriously. The audiobook was well narrated so I would highly recommend that format.

Excuse me while I obsess over this new release from Pyae Moe Thet War!

This was my first experience with this author and the narrator for the audio book. I'm actually hoping that Jacqui Bardelang will narrate everything I listen to from here on out. She's simply incredible.

Okay back to the book.

I realize that I should have known where this book was going based on the description, but I guess I forgot about that? I don't know but I was not expecting the turn that this book took and I loved it that way.

This romcom was fun and at the same time interesting and different. I was hooked from the very beginning and really enjoyed the characters.

If you love romance but need something a little different, pick this up!

Goodreads review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6930336243
Instagram review: https://www.instagram.com/p/DBK--H_pC0C/

I Did Something Bad is an excellent romcom with thriller vibes mixed in. I love a genre blend, and this one does it well while maintaining the humor and heart of a romantic comedy.

This story is told from a single POV. The female MC is fantastic for going on this journey with. The other characters are detailed and full of life.

The setting and the plot is well done, believable, and engaging.

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, which was well done by a single narrator, at 1.75x speed (my normal audiobook listening speed is 1.75-2x speed).

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced audiobook copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
I enjoyed both the book and the audiobook. I thought this was a fun mystery romance novel. I would read more books by this author in the future.
Many thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

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Khin is supposed to get a story on Tyler Tun, Hollywoods hottest movie star when he returns to Myanmar. Tyler is very private and doesn't want to talk to Khin but one night when he finds a man following Khin in the park, he intervenes to protect Khin. They can't go to the police and start to work together to protect themselves.

This story was just really not for me. I would not say it is a swoony rom-com, but I did enjoy the journalist/movie star storyline. There was a bit of romance and some mystery.
3.5/5

A romcom in which the main characters bond over accidental "murder"? What's not to like? I listened to the audio of this one and really enjoyed it!

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an alc!

i was pleasantly surprised with this debut — it was a great murder mystery romcom, and i’m excited to see what the author will write next!

It was fun. But was it good? I am just not sure. Too many things seemed unrealistic. The characters were well described but I just never felt like I connected to them. I found that Khin went from being a very strong character to being very weak. Maybe that's just life.

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

This was a very fun listen! I loved the storyline, it was romance, mixed with contemporary fiction and had a murder mystery. This book tied together journalism, acting, Asian representation, friendship bonds, and I enjoyed the writing. I thought it seemed a tad too long in some parts but besides that this was a great audiobook!!

✨I Did Something Bad ✨

Khin is living in limbo, trying to find her footing as a freelance journalist after her divorce when she’s offered the assignment of a lifetime: two months doing a celebrity profile on heartthrob movie star, Tyler Tun, while he is home shooting in Myanmar.

Unfortunately, on the first day of shooting, Khin ends up in a sticky situation in the dark at a deserted park. Thrown together, Khin and Tyler try to coverup the death of Khin’s attacker and grow inevitability closer on the adventure that follows.

This was a fun adventure romance that is enjoyable as long as you can suspend belief. There are some heavier themes included: divorce, attempted sexual assault, murder, abortion, and misogyny. It felt a little jarring to have so many of these themes alongside the love story. It made the romance harder to believe and I struggled to connect with Khin and Tyler’s chemistry, especially with Khin’s inherent distrust of Tyler throughout.

While this was not for me, I hope others who can suspend belief enjoy the adventure!

The audio was fun, with great narration, variety of voices and pacing. Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC! My opinions are my own.

I liked I Did Something Bad for the most part. I think that it didn’t really successfully be both a murder mystery and a romance. The romance kinda fell flat with everything else going on. That being said, I still enjoying reading the book even though I don’t think it worked very well in the end?

The narrator was great.

Thank you to SMP Romance for the advance reader copy and to Macmillan Audio for the complimentary audiobook. These opinions are my own.

Khin receives the opportunity of a lifetime. If she does well writing a profile on move star Tyler Tun, she will get a full time job at Vogue Singapore. She wants to get a scoop and plans to shadow him for two months. But on the first day on set, a man dies when she tries to defend herself. And Tyler helps her.

This book is very much an example of the cover up is worse than the crime. I think the author needed to do more work early on explaining why Khin could not go to the police. In the beginning parts of the book, it all took a lot of suspension of disbelief. But as we learned more about her past and her previous targeting by the police, her actions made much more sense. I think the pacing would have worked better if those parts were explained earlier. The mystery could then have solely focused on who the man was.

And such a different choice would have left more room for the romance. I really wanted to believe in Tyler and Khin. But often, their romance played second fiddle to the mystery plot.

I loved the Myanmar representation in this book, and I hope to read more from this author. But I wanted a bit more here.

The audiobook format helped to keep me engaged. I enjoyed listening even when parts of the plot weren't making as much sense for me.

This was quite a surprising read for me!

We get Khin’s POV , she’s a journalist assigned to follow a hot celebrity (Tyler) for two months to get a story on him, in order to get a job at Vogue.

Khin & Tyler have just met when Khin is threatened by a man. Tyler steps in to save her, but now they harbor this terrible secret together that they don’t feel they can take to the police.

I loved reading about Khin & Tyler, their chemistry, their backgrounds. The narrator did an absolutely fantastic job bringing Khin to life! This was a fun cozy suspense/romance that I will definitely recommend.

Thanks so much to MacMillan Audio & NetGalley for my ALC!

#MacAudio2024

I unfortunately DNF'd this around 45%. The audiobook narrator was great, but I could not for the life of me get past the nonchalance of the murder. The tone was so off and came across like, "Hehe oops I murdered someone! Worst day of my life!" Then next day Khin casually just starts falling for/lusting for Tyler?

Nothing brings you closer like the cover up of a murder, I guess? Too far fetched for me.

Macmillan Audio ALC
This was such a fun romance that also packed in lots of seriousness, without it killing the vibe. Khin was such an easy character to like. I was invested right away in her feature of Tyler Tun. I'm a sucker for a famous person romance, so I knew from early on that this would be a winner. What set this romance apart for me, though, is the inclusion of a murder and what the characters do about it. I think this was a great way to explore what trust and vulnerability look like. The author was able to explore so many different topics this way without it feeling heavy handed or preachy. I loved all of it and was able to listen in a day. The narration was also superb. She did great voices for all the characters. I can't wait for this author's next book next year.

Khin Hlaing is in limbo. Recently divorced, living in an impersonal condo, and feeling claustrophobic in the same city as her ex, the freelance journalist needs a change. A high profile cover story on one of Hollywood’s hottest actors tied to an opportunity for a full-time staff position at Vogue Singapore could be her way out of this rut.

Tyler Tun is known for keeping things private, but he has offered Khin two months of unfettered access while he is in Myanmar shooting a film and visiting family.

Ever the dedicated reporter, Khin starts being able to read his tells early on. She may just find her chance to learn about the real Tyler Tun. After an incident occurs on set that binds the two of them together, they start to grow even closer.

How and where should that line be drawn between Tyler and Khin’s professional and personal relationships?

And what will happen to them with that shared dark secret looming over their heads?

At a glance:
- Single POV
- Celebrity romance
- Myanmar setting
- Asian characters
- Secrets, secrets, secrets
- Freelance journalist who typically tackles heavier topics
- Popular movie star poised to become the next James Bond
- Supportive friends and family
- Recent divorce
- Slow burn
- Kissing only on page

I got engrossed in this one pretty quickly but struggled a bit trying to pinpoint the tone of the novel. I’m all for swoony romcoms, romdrams, or full-out dramas, but I had a tough time finding the balance in this one. In the end I wish there had either been more development in all of the areas or that some things had been trimmed back to let others shine.

I enjoyed the narration by Jacqui Bardelang. Bardelang tackles various accents in the audiobook and paces the narration well.

I received an advance copy of the audiobook from Macmillan Audio. Review opinions are my own.

3.5⭐️

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.

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.

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.

📚 #BOOKREVIEW 📚
I Did Something Bad by Pyae Moe Thet War
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / Pages: 327 / Genre: Romance
Audiobook Narrator: Jacqui Bardelang
Duration: 11 hours 48 minutes
Release Date: October 8, 2024
🥳#HappyPubDay!🎉

Khin is a freelance journalist who just scored a dream assignment. She’s to shadow heartthrob actor Tyler Tun for two months as he shoots his newest blockbuster hit. Her job is to write a profile piece on this very private celebrity and get the scoop on what he’s really like, who he’s dating, and if he’s going to be the next James Bond. And then, she accidentally murders someone, he helps her cover it up, and that’s how their relationship blossoms. And believe it or not, it’s all incredibly romantic and hilarious. I loved it!

Thank you, @Macmillan.Audio and @NetGalley for my free copy of the audiobook. Jacqui Bardelang did an excellent job narrating it. #MacAudio2024