I love a good old fashioned murder mystery, and this book‘s packed with unexpected twists and turns. My theories changed daily. When Rowan Gallagher’s recent ex boyfriend turns up dead outside her place of work, all fingers seem to be pointing at her. It’s a race against time to find the murderer, and she’s got a whole host of people on her list, but it seems that someone is determined to blame her, as well as spook her. She finds herself trying to keep her daughter safe, while trying to keep her daughter’s father out of jail, yes, the plot thickens. There’s a whole host of suspense in and amongst, oh, and a haunted house too. Fantastic characters, a truly nail biting storyline and a couple of furry friends rallying round the family. Oh, and lets not forget all the secrets and lies. Who can Rowan trust? The story is told in multiple POV’s. I absolutely loved it, I’ve got to say I was completely hooked from the get-go. Rowan is definitely my kinda girl.

This is definitely my favorite brand of thriller. I loved the story, the setting, the mystery, the characters!! The different POVs we got were all so interesting, the characters are all so different and so likeable. I loved that we got a teeny little romance as well. This was so much more than just your standard thriller, I would recommend to fans of First Lie Wins or fans of Sally Hepworth. Overall, really liked this and definitely recommend! Thank you netgalley for the early copy :)

Dying to Meet You is an intriguing, unique, and complex thriller. The storyline sucked me in and had me trying to figure out what happened along with the characters. It was fun learning more information and trying to put the pieces together. Rowan is a great main character. She's a smart and skilled architect with a difficult job. She hasn't had the best luck with men, so she's a little hesitant to trust people, men in particular. She also doesn't have the best of luck. I enjoyed learning about her past and seeing it come back around. She's a single mom just trying to do her best for her daughter. Natalie is your typical moody and sometimes rebellious teen. I liked seeing her help her mom to get some answers. With the whole mystery aspect of the story, it was hard to know who I should/could like. Therefore, I was slow to form opinions until I had more information. I did really enjoy another character after I learned more about them and felt it was safe to do so. It was an enjoyable and interesting read! *I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

A gripping thriller with twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end. This book left me a frightened about the people I think I know.

What sets this thriller apart is the depth of character development that Bowen can achieve while also unraveling a satisfying murder mystery. I barely put this book down once I started it and found myself just as invested in what happened to Rowan as I did in figuring out who killed her mysterious ex-boyfriend. Highly recommend this one!

This is one of those books where I didn’t love the main character, but really liked the book.

I think that Rowan was kind of a lot. I mean…the plot description does say that she sees herself as a mess. I saw her that way as well.

I did like her ex and her daughter.

I was not a all surprised by the who of everything, though the book was still suspenseful.

Honestly, it really was a good read and it kept my interest throughout.

I happily requested an ARC of Dying to Meet You after recently reading The Five Year Lie. I love Sarina Bowen's style and was extremely excited to snag her newest book. As with The Five Year Lie, I loved the East Coast setting and fast-paced plot. Needless to say, I could not put this book down!! Dying to Meet You will be the perfect summer read of 2025!

I really enjoyed this book. My first time reading a book from Sarina Bowen. This book was entertaining and full of twists and turns I didn’t expect. I would recommend to a friend.

I thoroughly enjoyed Sarina Brown’s The Five Year Lie. It was a book that stayed with me! I was pleasantly surprised to discover that she writes romances; I’ll definitely check out some of her other works.

Now, let’s talk about this book. I would rate it around 3.75 to 4 stars. The author’s writing style was engaging, and I was excited to read it. However, the pacing was a bit slow at times. But the ending was a great! It was fast-paced and effectively tied up all the loose ends.

One thing that I didn’t love was the lack of character development. None of the characters really stood out to me, and I found it difficult to get invested in their story. However, I did find Harrison and Rowen’s relationship to be very sweet.

I hadn't read a thriller in awhile and I enjoyed this a lot. It's interesting to bill it as a "domestic thriller" because of the mansion setting and also Rowan's family situation. I've consumed a lot of media over the years that cover Magdalene Laundries, but perhaps none in the US and I had actually thought it only related to the homes in England and Ireland. It was fun, despite tough content, which is why I read thrillers (and romance).

I know Sarina Bowen from her Brooklyn Bruisers series, which is a quintessential hockey romance read—and I was pleasantly surprised to see this title, a thriller (with a side of romance). Another great guilty pleasure read!

This book is fantastic!! It kept me guessing for such a long time, it gave me hives, made me bite my nails, kept me neurotically passing the pages, wanting to know what happens. I was angry for Rowan as the detectives kept trying to pin her, and angry at Rowan when she snipped at Harrison. I hurt for Natalie in her yearning to have her father in her life.

The book grows in crescendo as the evidence keeps on turning up. It was a very thrilling read and totally recommend if you need a book to occupy your head completely. House chores gone out of my mind, I wanted to know whodunit!

📖✨ I’ve been ‘dying to read’ (sorry I had to 🫣) "Dying to Meet You" and wow, what a ride! From the get-go, it had me totally hooked. The story unfolds with just the right amount of mystery and suspense. 😲🔍

I liked that we not only got Rowan but also Natalie’s POVs—it kept things fresh and surprising! And that last chapter 🤯

If you're into mysteries and thrillers, definitely give this one a read.

#BookLovers #MysteryReads #ThrillerTime #DyingToMeetYou #GoodReads

*4 Stars*

ARC kindly received for an honest review.

I've been keen to read this as I loved Sarina's first thriller novel last year. This one took me a little bit to get into (possibly just me not feeling the reading so much lately), but once I did, I was so curious to find out what on earth was going on. There are plenty of characters at play here, and you definitely question many many things. A few different POV's as well which helps add layers to the story without over complicating it. I actually figured out who our mystery killer was, but the reasoning and more depth to who they were had me guessing until the end. I hope Sarina keeps writing thrillers as she's got a great writing style with these and I'll keep coming back for more.

𝑺𝒚𝒏𝒐𝒑𝒔𝒊𝒔
Rowan is an architect and single mom to teenage daughter Natalie, and is currently working to restore an old mansion for a wealthy family in Portland, Maine. Rowan just went through a breakup with recent love interest Tim Kovak, which goes from bad to worse when she finds him shot to death in front of her workplace, a few days after their breakup.

Rowan becomes a suspect in the murder case and is adamant she has no idea what happened to Tim and starts doing some investigating of her own to try to find out what happened him. Things quickly become even more complicated when Natalie’s dad gets out of prison and arrives on the scene.


𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘
I was quickly drawn into this one right away, and it was the perfect read to start 2025 with! This is Bowens second thriller and I sure hope it won’t be her last! Not only was I engrossed in trying to figure out who Tim’s killer was, but I was also super invested in finding out what would happen in Rowen’s personal life once her OTHER ex came back into the picture. This one doesn’t hit the shelves until 5/13/25 but you definitely want to add it to your TBR now!

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I was so excited to read Dying To Meet You because it was a different genre for a romance author that I always enjoy and this story was a fun, engaging read. When Rowan’s boyfriend ends their relationship, she finds herself tracking him on a phone app and decides to follow him one night. She finds him dead and what follows is a twisty, whodunit with multiple suspects and surprise connections galore.

In addition to the thrilling suspense in this story, I loved watching the development of Rowan’s relationship with her daughter, Natalie and her daughter’s father, Harrison. The character growth for all three added to the dimension and helped me really connect to the story. There are so many secrets to unravel throughout this captivating mystery and I enjoyed trying to figure out the clues. Dying To Meet You was a satisfying, suspenseful read and once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down.

this is such a good book! It is scary and eerie, makes you wonder if the men in your own life are who they claim to be.... It was chilling and kept me tense while reading. The twists and turns were good, I liked it and it kept me entertained!!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

I love when one of my favorite romance authors switches up genres and writes a thriller - AND does it successfully not one but TWO times! Dying to Meet You was a fun and thrilling read. It had my attention from the first page and kept me intrigued the entire I was reading it. I loved how the plot was set up. The mystery unraveled in an entertaining and suspenseful way. The multiple points of view were great and added to the suspense of the story. One even managed to surprise me a bit when it probably shouldn't have. If you enjoy mysteries and thrillers, I recommend Dying to Meet You. It's a lot of fun. I hope Bowen continues the thriller streak after this book.

I will read anything Sarina Bowen writes. While she’s typically a romance author, I’m loving this thriller/mystery era she’s been in! I read her previous book Five Year Lie and loved it and I think she outdid herself with this new book! I loved it even more than the first.

Dying To Meet You kept me on my toes the entire time. I kept trying to figure out the murder and the ending really surprised me. I thought it was so creative and well done! Honestly this would make for such an amazing book club pick.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for the free eARC!

Rowan is single mother, and an architect who is working on restoring a mansion in Portland, Maine. She had been dating Tim, an investigative journalist, for a few months when he suddenly broke up with Rowan. A few days after that, Tim winds up murdered outside of the mansion that Rowan is currently working on restoring.

Rowan finds herself becoming a suspect in this murder, and she has to start investigating on her own, because the police insist that she, or her former boyfriend, and ex-con, Harrison may be involved.

This was a very good read! Very likable and relatable characters, and nothing that’s too wild or unbelievable. It’s very grounded, and had a very satisfying ending. Definitely recommended!