I absolutely picked this up because of the "Brooklyn 99 meets Charm Offensive" catnip bait of two of my favorite narratives. And to a degree it does deliver on elements of that, but in the clunkiest way possible. Both the murder mystery and the romance storylines develop on alternating tracks with massive infodumps. The Brooklyn 99 elements are expressly called out in the narrative by the protagonist (literally compares his boss to Captain Holt) which immediately makes me think this was originally B99 fanfic, and the Charm Offensive elements are circumstantial at best (vaguely Indian protagonist and love interest with anxiety). I'm always irked by a single POV in romances, but this being a murder mystery I can almost look past it because there is an element of "am I crushing on a murderer" element. But that just made Jack kinda bland ultimately, with only Rav to root for. And honestly, he felt like too much of a patchwork doll of a character for me to relate to. His Indian-ness is incidental, comes from a massively privileged background, literally wearing brand name bespoke suits to work, and we're supposed to think of him as a queer, POC wunderkind a la Jake Peralta? Come on! That said all the elements in play are all things I enjoy so even a mediocre, debut novel attempt to create this specific mashup was silly and escapist enough that I managed to finish it. Even though I've read oodles of fanfiction that does this way more masterfully and satisfyingly.

This book manages to be a really good suspense novel and a super swoony romance. I absolutely adore Rav & Jack. But it’s everything about this book that works so well together. I was hooked to the writing from the start. I can hardly believe this a debut novel, I will be screaming at everyone to read this.

Thank you to NetGalley, Saint-Martin’s Press and the author Erin Dunn for the advanced reading copy. All my opinions are my own.

What’s not to love about this book?! It has a murder mystery, romance, LGBTQ +, it’s atmospheric and unsettling at the right times. This book was a good palate cleanser (I usually read fantasy). 10/10 would recommend.

(4.5 Stars!)
A fun, romantic mysterious...murder?

For fans of The Charm Offensive, sparks fly between a homicide detective and a soft spoken rock star...who just happens to find himself in the middle of a murder investigation. Oops!

I really enjoyed this read! Despite the very different plots, it feels very reminiscent of The Charm Offensive in its writing style and lovable characters.
Not only is the murder mystery elaborate and intriguing, the slow burn romance is fun to follow alongside. Both MCs are fleshed out with detailed backstories - that come back to haunt them! And the worldwind of celebrity and a New York City setting made this one feel fun and expansive.

why not a 5 star? I think sometimes the pacing was off whether a slow middle to give space/time for the murder mystery AND the romance but also a kind of rush ending to make it all make sense.

Overall, I highly recommend throwing this read into a beach bag and enjoying it!

READ FOR:
- LGBTQ+ Representation & Romance
- Murder Mystery / Crime Solving
- Celebrity Romance
- Mental Health Awareness
- Complicated Family Dynamics

Thank you to the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you Netgallery for this ARC!

Rav is a detective in New York City who gets put in charge, with his partner Will, on a murder case. He meets Jack, the hot lead singer of a popular rock band. He develops a crush on him, only one problem, he’s also one of the suspects of his murder case.

What draw me to read this book was when I saw the words Brooklyn Nine-Nine in the description, it’s one of favourite shows. Sadly I did not see why they compared it to Brooklynn Nine-Nine, nothing about this book reminded me of the show. They both have detectives but that’s as far as similarities go. I would remove that in the description.

I liked how Rav talked about his struggles as a cop and how his department treated him like a DEI hire. It was also refreshing to see a cop being aware and understanding why people don’t trust him. Rav wasn’t mean or angry when people mistreated him because of his job. He totally understood and I appreciate it this change.

I did like the murder mystery part of this book. I liked that we slowly try to find the who and the why while the romance was happening. It wasn’t a huge plot twist or anything like that but I still very much enjoyed it.

The characters, I wish they were more developed. I didn’t grow attached to any of the characters in this story. I didn’t care if Rav or Jack got together or not. Jack felt so nonchalant towards Rav, it didn’t make me believe in the love story. Rav’s and Jack’s backgrounds were also not mentioned a lot. I would of loved to learn more about their families. Especially Rav’s father, his lordship.

This is a very heavy dialogue book, not a lot of descriptions. And when there is descriptions they aren’t great. “She’s like the female version of Captain Holk”. I hate it when they use other tv shows or movies characters to describe a person. What if I hadn’t seen the show? I would have no clue how the character is. Or another one “Will looks like a off-brand Tom Brady”. It feels like a cheap way to describe a person. They also do it with buildings, the author describes the recording studio as a “Nondescript building” Out of all the buildings in this story, I would of imagined this one would be worth describing.


Overall I did enjoy the book and I would still recommend it.

this was perfection! the mysterious plot with a hint of romance was the perfect atmospheric read and i would def recommend picking up this book during spooky season for the best vibes!!

I'm rounding up from 4.5. A fun romantic suspense story hit all the right notes. Rav is a talented detective, son of royalty and an American model. Jack is a rock star who is dealing with the loss of a friend and a unscrupulous record exec torturing his soul. They meet when that record exec is murdered. Jack is a suspect and Rav is the head detective. Sparks fly, but the me investigation puts a damper on any hope of more. The story takes some twists and turns. Rav makes some decisions that endanger his career in hopes of solving this case he was removed from and getting his man. The story was refreshing and well done. Both main characters were satisfying although I'm not a fan of the "avoiding to give you a break from the drama I bring into your life" nonsense, but I'd still recommend this to anyone looking for a good read.

This book was so much fun. A rockstar mystery led by a swoony British detective with a hefty side of romance. The mystery elements of the story were interesting with the plot twisting and turning in a way that felt realistic while also unpredictable. The romance was also super sweet and felt genuine, with minimal spice. The side characters were great too! I loved Rav's detective partner and hacker friend Aisha and Jack's bodyguard Mo was great. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Oh god! This book was literally SO SO SO FUN. These two are the cutest characters I've read in a long time! Such a good book, left me wanting MORE!!

As a fan of both romance and thrillers, I was delighted by both the satisfying central love story and the twisty murder mystery in He's to Die For. There's a brooding lead singer, a posh NYC detective (sure, just go with it), stalkers, multiple murders and murder attempts, hacking, and more than a few swoony moments.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this genre mash-up and even found myself rationing how much I read at a time so that it would last longer. Full disclosure, I did read this when I was a bit distracted, but I was genuinely surprised by many of the turns that the central mystery took and didn't see the end coming.

Highly recommend this one to both fans of mysteries and romance!

Unfortunately I was not the biggest fan of this one. I really loved Rav, but Jack did nothing for me. He did not seem to care at all about Rav, and his excuses for giving Rav mixed feelings just seemed silly to me. The romance was closed door which is fine. I could not for the life of me try to care about the murder mystery aspect of this story. Maybe because I just did not care for Jack.

What a great début from Erin Dunn! Rav is a young gay NYPD homicide detective who hails from British wealth and prestige (cue designer suits!). His current case is the murder of a record exec and he soon finds himself falling for the main suspect: a hot rock star! While Rav was head over heels, Jack was definitely interested, but it's not so instant between them. At time I thought Jack was leading Rav on, but soon learned his grief, anxiety and insecurities were holding him back. I was most definitely rooting for Rav and Jack!

The murder mystery aspect really added to this book and it was neither easy-breezy for the reader to solve, nor so convoluted that it was impossible. I was on the right track, but didn't have it fully solved and it was satisfying.

This is definitely a good pick if you are looking for an easy read, but with some intrigue and emotional depth. I found myself wishing a little series could be made with Rav's character, but not sure how that would happen with the romance aspect.

Thank you to Erin Dunn, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I have it rated at 4.5!

An incredible love story between two MMC mixed with a murder mystery.

I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about this one. Because I liked the romance, I really did. Rav and Jack were cute together. But, I dont think i loved the mystery aspects? I'm not a fan of thrillers or mysteries to begin with, so that's on me.

I do think this book could've done with a bit more refinement, though. 320 pages for a romance is pretty standard, I wouldn't have wanted it to be much longer. I do wish, though, that we had gotten a bit more about Rav's background. I wanted to know the deal with His Lordship and how that heritage affected Rav. Neither character was super fleshed out, and it left their romance as cutesy but not particularly impactful. So while I enjoyed He's to Die For, I think I'll be leaving it at 3 stars because I don't see myself remembering it or feeling the need to reread.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Rav and Jack were sooooooo freaking cute!

The fact that this was a murder mystery did not take away from the romance between them while also keeping me entertained by the plot. It was a perfect mixture of both romance and mystery.

This definitely gave Brooklyn 99 vibes and I loved that! It was funny at times and it kept you guessing.

I definitely didn’t see the plot twists nor did I guess who was behind the murder.

It’s definitely a must read if you enjoy your romance with a side of murder. The plot hit just right and both Rav and Jack were very likable.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc.

Overall I really enjoyed this book! The characters were unique and likable and the romance between Ravi and Jack is amazing and I appreciated the pace of their relationship and that it wasn't an instalove situation. Also the mystery kept me super intrigued and made we want to keep reading.

What a great story. The mystery/cop drama was really good with twist and slow revealing of the suspects. And the romance with two great characters in cop Rav and music star Jack was so well written you had to root for them! Highly recommend.

I was kind of worried about this one, because I’ve never been a fan of cop romances in the past, but the premise sounded so good I couldn’t pass it up. And I’m glad I didn’t! I was swooning and giggling and kicking my feet, and while I guessed some of the twists, a few really took me by surprise. Such a good, fun read!

This was a fun read to get lost in! The mystery was great and the romance was sweet and well done.

Thank you to Netgally for the ARC!

The setup of the book is absolutely hilarious, and my expectations were extremely high going in. I wish it had been first-person/Rav’s POV rather than third, as I just didn’t find it as immersive. I ended up stopping at 11%.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.