This book is so... spongy!! I can't think of a better word... The whole book is weird like a sponge but you can’t help getting satisfaction from squeezing it… Kate is... a lot. She is a walking catastrophe. I seriously don't understand why she went to the wedding of her ex.. And that was the least bad idea she had in the whole book.

So Kate is an author and her ex is getting married in a lavish affair on a private island… It gets worse when the bride-to-be is poisoned and all signs point to Kate doing it.

She can’t help trying her hand at amateur sleuthing. The characters are all insane… They are all really colorful. I think the best part of the whole book is how well all the characters were written. I can see where the book was going with the sleuthing and romance but it was all a bit awkward haha. It was a train wreck of a book but I couldn’t help clinging on for dear life and wondering what was going to happen next.

The writing was awesome. I shook my head at how dappy Kate is and I wish I had connected with her a bit more, she felt like the kind of person I would avoid haha but I actually enjoyed the heck out of this book. The audio narration was quite brilliant. I have never read a book quite like it and I definitely need more of it. It was an epic debut novel.

4.25 stars

Yeah I’m still thinking about this book so you know it’s gotta be your next book!

Thank you @netgalley and @macmillanaudio for my gifted ALC

Out now

A fun combination of romance and mystery. I had a hard time following sometime between what was in her head and what was actually happening on the page which made it harder to get into. The characters were fun though! Narrator did a great job and the Australian accent really added to the fun of the story!

Title:She Doesn't Have a Clue
Narrated by Sarah Mollo-Christensen

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐️/5

A fun, entertaining whodunit with a touch of romance.

My review:
Thank you to the publisher, the author, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love a good whodunit with a romance, and this was a quick, enjoyable listen. While I prefer closed-door romances and skimmed past the sex scenes, I still appreciated the balance between mystery and romance.

The narrator did an excellent job capturing the different characters, which made it easier to follow the story. I especially liked how the mystery and romance intertwined, with the suspenseful moments naturally leading to romantic ones.

Overall, this is a great choice when you're in the mood for a lighthearted mystery that’s engaging and entertaining without being too heavy.

What I disliked about the book:

Open-door romance (a personal preference)

Too much language; if this is going to be labeled a cozy mystery, it needs less

Macmillan Audio ALC
I love a good whodunit with a romance, and this was a fun, quick listen. It does take a while to get to know all of the characters, but after figuring out who was whom, I was good to go. And I think the narrator did a great job at handling this cast of characters and capturing each one individually, which helped me figure that out quick enough. I thought the romance and mystery were nicely balanced, and I loved how the mysterious situations encouraged the romance ones to happen. And I loved how this was second chance which I think works well with a mystery. This is a fun mystery when you're wanting something not too serious, yet completely entertaining.

Cozy mystery plus romance? What’s not to like? This was a fun book to read and left me trying to solve who was the culprit along with Kate. I wasn’t right of course but fun nonetheless!

Thank you to @macmillanaudio for the gifted copy!
This was so much fun! A cozy mystery mixed with a romance- I am the ideal reader. My two favorite genres. This did not disappoint! The mystery was interesting, there were a lot of potential ways it could have gone, and it ended satisfactorily. I could absolutely see this as a series and I hope we get more! The romance between Jake and Kate is electric - their chemistry was excellent. The narration was superb. I ate this up! Fans of Finlay Donovan & Everytime I Go On Vacation Someone Dies will love this!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this audiobook! All opinions are my own!

This was a very fun read full of mystery, drama, and the cutest romance. Our FMC can be a tad annoying at times with how much of a clue she really does not have, but then you remind yourself that's the beauty of the story. She is funny, quirky, and has a spirit that lights up the whole book.

I really enjoyed the romance of this book, particularly that it wasn't a insta-love situation and that they were people who truly knew and saw one another. It was sweet and sometimes hilarious and rarely made you want to scream to get a clue about it all.

The mystery was intriguing and left you wanting to know more immediately. I did enjoy the aspects of the plot twist and the way everything wraps up, but you'll have to see for yourself.

If you're looking for a fun mystery read, this is the book for you!

I love tropey books and Jenny Elder Moke's adult debut, She Doesn't Have a Clue is full of them in the best way.

Kate Valentine is a murder mystery author invited to her editor/ex-fiance's private island wedding. The weather? Dark and stormy. The perfect setting for a mysterious death, family infighting, and a shocking inheritance-based reveal. I expected everyone to have a motive. I expected a end of act one body drop. I expected an end of act two body drop. The secret passages and unraveling backstory, putting a bullseye on multiple characters and suspicion on even more were excellently paced but again, expected. This book did everything right and hit every beat I want out of a murder mystery. What I didn't expect was to also enjoy the other genre the book was written with in mind: romance.

From the classic 'oh no there's only one bed' romance trope to competing exes and years-old miscommunicated feelings, Kate Valentine may have a sleuthing sweater and a mind for murder, but she doesn't have a clue when it comes to relationships. Fortunately, she's a bit more successful as an author and live-action crime solving sleuth. This book is a little mystery mad libs (at times it felt like we were spinning a wheel of random things to throw in and landing on ideas like loose deadly cougar and prohibition) but it all worked for me.

My only complaint is that the chapters are interspersed with chapters from Kate's own murder mystery books, which was a bit confusing on audio, but once you get used to it the book flies and you're left asking why this was an adult debut to begin with. I want more Kate Valentine!

Thank you to @netgalley and @Stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @macmillian.audio for a free download of the audiobook.

"She Doesn't Have a Clue" offers a fun blend of murder mystery and rom-com, set against the backdrop of a chaotic, high-profile wedding. The premise is intriguing, with Kate Valentine, a mystery writer, finding her own life mirroring her fiction.

The potential suspects are suitably shady, and the romantic tension between Kate and her past flame, Jake, is enjoyable. However, the pacing felt uneven, with moments dragging as I waited for Kate, a supposed expert in mysteries, to connect the dots. While the banter and romantic missteps were charming, I sometimes wished for a more proactive protagonist.

Sarah Mollo-Christensen's narration is a definite highlight, bringing the characters to life with distinct voices and capturing the tonal shifts seamlessly. Ultimately, the story was entertaining, but the slow burn of the mystery and some character inconsistencies kept it from reaching its full potential.

3 stars

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #stmartinspress #macmillianaudio #shedoesnthaveaclue #smpinfluencers

I think I have a new favorite author guys, and the best part is that she's a local one!! She Doesn't Have a Clue is Jenny Elder Moke's adult debut and I couldn't have loved it more. It's a romance wrapped up in a cozy mystery and once I started, I knew immediately I would finish it in one day and I did. I loved the setting on a private island off the coast of Seattle (I literally just read another book set on a private island so that’s a theme), and I instantly fell in love with Kate and all of her quirks. The romance between Kate and Jake is quite hot, and there are a couple of rather spicy scenes in the book as well.

The audiobook is narrated by Sarah Mollo-Christensen, and I have to say she did a fabulous job. She really brought Kate’s character across and her Australian accent for Jake was perfection. I would fully recommend the audiobook knowing that Mollo-Christensen made me love the book even more than had I read it because she was so perfect as the voice of these characters. I did not have the whodunnit figured out and loved that there were plenty of suspects and family drama. This brought to mind a game of Clue which is my favorite game, and I think it would be awesome to see onscreen!

Read this if you enjoy second chance romance, hidden rooms in a lavish location, and lots of characters!

My Spice Rating: 🌶🌶
Audiobook Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I voluntarily listened to and reviewed an advanced copy of this audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley!

Chaos ensues when mystery writer, Kate Valentine, finds the bride poisoned at her ex-fiance’s wedding.

She Doesn’t Have a Clue is a stand-alone mystery. There is a romantic side-plot that is featured heavily throughout the storyline.

This one has a little bit of everything. It’s not quite a cozy mystery but not really romantic suspense either. Overall, it’s a very entertaining story. The FMC is delightful. I don’t know if the author is planning for a series but I’d love to see more of this character down the road. I really enjoyed this author’s style of writing. She managed to squeeze in some humor to offset the more dire scenes. The pace of the mystery itself is well-balanced and it definitely kept me guessing to the very end.

I highly recommend the audiobook. Sarah Mollo-Christensen does an excellent job with the solo narration. Her performance was so engaging and she did well capturing the emotion of both the mystery and the more romantic side of the book.

She Doesn’t Have a Clue is Jenny Elder Moke’s debut mystery novel. While this is the first book that I have read from this author, I hope to read more of her work in the future.

I adored this book! Escapism at its finest, this humorous tale that's equal parts thrilling mystery and quirky romance is an utter delight! With surprising, unpredictable twists, a colorful cast of characters, and a lavish destination wedding setting, Moke's book is further buoyed by the narrator's expressive performance. She perfectly captures each character's voice and flawlessly transition's between them all add to this book's already high entertainment factor.

I enjoyed the premise of this book. A writer is invited to a wedding where a murder takes place. Strangely through things are happening like the plots of her mystery books she writes.

I struggled with the main character. She seemed a bit to flighty to me and I wanted to shake her on multiple occasions. I found myself drifting a bit while listening to this book. I did enjoy the storyline so gave it 3 stars.

✨ She Doesn't Have a Clue ✨

If you want romance with a cozy mystery and alllll the clue vibes, you will enjoy She Doesn't Have a Clue. This audiobook was such a fun listen! I loved how Kate, the main character, is attending her ex's wedding and get's herself in over her head trying to solve murder. There were so many crazy, fun characters and I was so excited when she comes across a romantic connection along the way.

Sarah Mollo-Christensen narrated this audiobook and did a fantastic job. She brought all the different characters to life in such a fun way. She even threw in a few accents here and there.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one! It wasn't a typical read for me, but I'm so glad that I went for it.

Check it out if you like:

✨ Cozy Mystery
✨ Second Chance Romance
✨ Friends to Lovers

📚 Book: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With a charmingly messy wedding, a dash of suspense, and a whole lot of cute, this book keeps you hooked from start to finish. Kate Valentine’s journey through a mystery that mirrors her latest novel is full of laugh-out-loud moments, sizzling chemistry with her ex, and twists you won’t see coming. It’s the perfect blend of romance and whodunit, with a quirky cast of characters that will leave you grinning!

A mystery novelist does her own sleuthing when a lavish wedding weekend for a member of her publisher's family goes terribly awry in this romantic whodunit.

I loved the premise of this book and thought there were a lot of hilarious scenes, especially involving Kate and her co-author crush Jake. I think most readers will swoon over Jake, a hot Australian surfer who writes travel guides. There's lots of funny banter and LOTS of steam between him and Kate. Unfortunately, I just could not get invested in this one. It seemed like it couldn't decide whether to lean more into the mystery of who poisoned one character and murdered another, or whether to focus on the romance brewing between Kate and Jake. It could have worked, but it just didn't for me. And a scene near the end that involves a wild animal was just too off the wall for my taste.

The audiobook narration was EXCELLENT. Not every North American narrator can pull off an Australian accent, yet Sarah Mollo-Christensen nailed it. She also did a great job of capturing the chaotic vibes that unfold.

She Doesn’t Have a Clue was a romcom / mystery about a mystery author who ends up at her ex-boyfriend’s wedding on a remote island and gets embroiled in a murder. Real life and her books get mixed up, romance blooms with a former crush who happens to be there (I still don’t understand why they were all there…), and just wacky stuff happens. It was over the top and a little nuts but pretty light and fun.

I initially loved the setting and cozy vibe, but the romance consumed too much of the plot line for me

This book is an absolute delight—a perfect blend of Murder, She Wrote and Clue! Kate Valentine, a bestselling author of the Sterling Mysteries series, has a knack for turning her own life experiences into inspiration for her beloved detective, Loretta Starling. When she’s invited to her ex’s wedding on a secluded island off the coast of Seattle, she unexpectedly reunites with Jake, a longtime friend and former crush, during the ferry ride over. Old misunderstandings about their past friendship—and what might have been—resurface, adding an extra layer of tension to the weekend.

But when a shocking murder occurs, Kate puts her amateur sleuthing skills to the test, using the knowledge she’s gained from writing mysteries to help solve the case. As she and Jake work together to uncover the truth, the island’s quirky wedding guests keep them guessing at every turn. Along the way, past miscommunications are unraveled, secrets come to light, and romance begins to spark once more. A fun, lighthearted mystery that kept me hooked from start to finish!

Thank you to NetGalley for this free advanced audio copy—I am leaving this review voluntarily.

She Doesn’t Have a Clue by Jenny Elder Mokel gives cozy mystery vibes while also being a romantic comedy. Kate Valentine is a successful murder mystery writer who is traveling to an island for her editor/ex-fiance’s wedding weekend. That in itself gives the story major Murder She Wrote undertones. Kate’s background as a mystery writer is actually my favorite part of the story. Kate often draws strength and confidence from the protagonist of her bestselling series Loretta by asking herself “What would Loretta do?”

The romance part of the story was the less appealing part of the storyline for me. It has a few open door scenes that in my opinion were unneeded and distracting from the mystery plot. I honestly skipped through those scenes so I could get to the more interesting part of the story.

Sarah Mollo-Christensen’s narration was well done. She was able to effortlessly voice the diverse cast of characters including Australian hunk, Jake.

3 stars for a fun and cozy mystery/romance. If you like those genres you will enjoy this one. Thanks
to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for giving me the opportunity to listen and give my honest review.