This book is about a friendship, or a sister-ship, ride or die kind of friendship. Kayla and Zorie are so co-dependent on each other, they can't decipher good decisions from bad. Working at a hotel as housemaids, swiping paper products and food just to get by while still barely covering rent, they decide to start stealing gifts and letter boxes from local weddings. Until one wedding goes totally awry and has them on the run from the police across three different states.

The scenarios in the book are downright hilarious. While you can't imagine it happening in real life, you know you have a friend or know of someone who keeps making bad decisions over and over and over again. When you have nothing, digging out of the whole seems like the worst up hill climb that you'll do anything to survive, and that is exactly what the author depicts in this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Love You to Death by Christina Dotson tries to serve up a deliciously messy “unlikable” protagonist, but I found myself more frustrated than entertained. So much of the chaos felt avoidable, and instead of feeling propulsive, it just grated on my patience.

If there were one word to describe this book, it would be unhinged! This thriller revolves around the ultimate toxic friendship and I frequently found my jaw on the floor due to events that occurred in the story.

If you love thrillers about toxic relationships and with Thelma & Louise vibes, then this book is for you!

At no point did I anticipate any of the happenings in this book to go down the way it did. This wasn't just a wild ride it was pure chaos! The mess had messier mess! I wanted to root for Kayla and Zorie but I just couldn't. Not one good decision was made between the two of them. Everything they did made their situation go from worse to worser! I ate this book up. I finished it in two sittings. I just had to know what they would do next and what the outcome would be. I spent the entire book questioning their loyalty to each other. Look up toxic female friendships and there should be a pic of Kayla and Zorie. Think completely unhinged Black Thelma and Louise but darker. This would be a great movie or limited tv series. My only gripe is that if they were gonna make such terrible decisions the whole entire time then they could have at least beat the breaks off Candice. The nerve of her to send that wedding invite to the prison *huge side eye*. Would recommend. I was highly entertained. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC.

I do enjoy crime-y type books and this one had the interesting aspect of characters on the run as well. What made it difficult was that Zorie was so unlikeable (I know you're not supposed to like her, but it was hard to find a redeeming quality) and Kayla continued to make bad decision after bad decision. The story was fun but it was a little hard to root for them. 3.5 stars for me

This book has a killer premise—two best friends crashing weddings and accidentally getting tangled in a murder—but the execution didn’t fully land for me. Kayla and Zorie are chaotic, funny, and loyal to a fault, and their friendship is definitely the heart of the story. The road trip plot is fast-paced and full of twists, but sometimes it felt a little too over-the-top, and I struggled to stay grounded in the emotional stakes.

Still, Dotson’s voice is sharp and original, and I appreciated the dark humor and commentary on race, class, and survival. It’s messy, bold, and definitely memorable—I just wish the pacing and character development had been a bit tighter

This was such a fun, wild, and fast paced read. I loved how unapologetically messy these two characters were, and the way their bond really drove the story. The tension builds quickly, and I found myself flying through the chapters to see how their journey would unravel.

It’s a thriller full of grit and dark humor. While I did wish for just a bit more depth in a few of the twists, overall this was an addictive ride that I couldn’t put down.

You can really feel the struggle through this book. It’s a good trip through trying to stay straight and survival.

Candace is a hoe.

Read the book to find out why.

Kayla do better girl!

This book was not at all what I expected, but that is not a bad thing! I thought this book was outstanding! I loved the way it was written, and it held my attention until the very end! Zorie, an extremely troubled individual, took Kayla down a dark path and convinced her to participate in things that she would never normally do. This book shows you that you can know someone their entire life and still not truly "know" them. This book kept me on the edge of my seat and always wanting to know what craziness was going to happen next! I think this would be an awesome book club selection. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, and I want my book club friends to consider it as their selection sometime in the future.

An enthralling combination of the modern, Just One of Them Days, and the old school, Thelma and Louise... but darker!

Kayla and Zorie have been best friends, ride or die, since they were kids. One night of bad decisions leaves them with a record and working a dead-end job that can't pay all the bills. So they develop a scheme to crash weddings and rob the happy couple of their gifts and money. They decide to do one more heist, and it goes incredibly wrong. Now they are on the run.

How well do the girls really know each other, and will they always be ride or die?

A well-paced girl-on-the-run story, with shady characters and dire circumstances. A complete page turner.

Well worth the ride!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for eARC.

Love You to Death had a strong start with spirited dialogue and the dynamic between Kayla and Zorie keeping me engaged. The setup of two Black women navigating risky heists added intrigue, and the tension built nicely as their getaway escalated.

However, the story lost momentum halfway. The plot became predictable, and some character choices leaned heavily on stereotypes. Zorie’s recklessness felt exaggerated at times, making the friendship more toxic than believable. While the first part was compelling, the later sections dragged, and the story didn’t fully capitalize on its unique premise.

Thanks to Bantam and NetGalley for the ARC.

With an interesting premise, the first part of this book grabbed my attention. Kayla and Zorie work as housekeepers for a hotel, and at first, everything seems fine. Then Kayla gets fired, and everything spirals after that. It's bad decision after bad decision, and Zorie tries to convince Kayla that none of these things are her fault. It was a perfect example of a toxic friendship. This book was super frustrating because I wanted to root for Kayla, but she just kept making horrible decisions.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

3.5/5

These chicks got on my nerves lol.

This book was such a wild ride that had my pressure up. This book was a mixture of Thelma and Louise and Set It Off. Both Zorie and Kayla got on my nerves. They acted like teenagers rather than women in their late twenties. This book does highlight the workings of a codependent friendship. I won’t lie it was a little over the top, but it worked with keeping the reader engaged.

The writing itself was great, very intriguing and fast paced, but the story wasn’t my favorite. This is likely a story that will stick with me because the characters pissed me off repeatedly. This was a solid debut and I expect this author will get greater with time.

Thanks to Ballantine and NetGalley for the early digital copy of this book.

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Love You to Death is a fast-paced thriller that gave me serious Thelma & Louise vibes. If you love messy, complicated, and downright unhinged women who make one bad decision after another—you’re in for a treat.

Kayla and Zorie aren’t your typical wedding crashers. What started as a thrill and a quick payday spirals into something much darker when their latest heist goes horribly wrong. Suddenly, they’re not just guests sneaking into receptions—they’re fugitives making national headlines as the “Wedding Crash Killers.” From Georgia to the bayou, their road trip is packed with danger, betrayals, and a bloody trail that tests just how well they really know each other.

This book is sharp, chaotic, and engaging from start to finish. It’s the kind of story where you can’t look away—even as Kayla and Zorie keep digging themselves deeper into trouble. The toxic friendship dynamics and the nonstop tension made this an entertaining ride, and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for what Christina Dotson writes next.

Dotson delivers a fast-paced domestic thriller filled with secrets, obsession, and a creeping sense of dread. The story pulls readers in quickly with its sharp prose and the unsettling dynamics between characters. The tension builds steadily, with just enough twists to keep you questioning motives and truths. While some reveals may feel familiar to seasoned thriller fans, the execution is strong and compulsively readable.

Love You to Death by Christina Dotson is wild, twisted, and I’d give it 5 stars. Kayla and Zorie are broke best friends who crash weddings to steal gifts—but one night they’re at an antebellum-themed party as the only Black guests, and things go horribly wrong when Zorie accidentally kills someone and they become national fugitives. Now they’re on a crazy road trip from Georgia to the bayou, leaving a bloody trail and raising a nationwide manhunt. One thing I liked most was how real Kayla’s voice sounded—and how you could feel her stress, fear, and desperation. The other thing I loved was how the story makes you keep questioning your loyalty to these women, even as they keep making terrible choices. The book’s dark humor and nonstop action make it feel like the wildest, most dangerous road trip you’ve ever taken. It’s messed up, fast-paced, and hard to shake off when you close the back cover.

Two toxic besties that keep getting into some MAJOR trouble. I mean killing spree type of trouble, and can’t seem to make good choices…if that seems like a great choice of read for you then this is the story for you! I grew to resent and dislike both MCs, not caring if they lived or died but maybe you will think better! Some of the plot twists did make me go “oh wow or oh interesting” but for the most part, this book is just about two teenage driving around the country aimlessly and wrecking car after car lol

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC for exchange for my honest opinion.

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Thank you for allowing me to read this book as an ARC.
This book started out really good. I loved it and was intrigued. Then it started turning into a remake of a violent Thelma and Louise. The ending was good again but the middle parts were way too far fetched and drawn out. I got bored and was wondering when it would finally be over. The protagonist felt too "dumb" imo and with zero willpower, the friend was just way too annoying.
Overall it was a great idea for a book but it just was drawn out way too long.

What a wild ride! This was like watching a horrific accident that you just can't look away from. In a good way though. I'll be honest, there is not a single likeable character but I'm not sure they were supposed to be likeable. I definitely had fun reading this and liked the story more as it went along. At first I was just frustrated by the 2 main characters but later I understood more and it made more sense. Overall, I liked this book and would definitely recommend.

I had a hard time with this one because it was centered around a friendship but the friendship was so toxic it was hard to believe they would ever be in the same room with each other. I never felt like we got a firm grasp on why they were friends at any point in their life.

The ending was disappointing. There was little intrigue and with no characters to care about there was not a lot to pull me into this book. It would have been nice to see any scene where they seemed to have a happy or “normal” friendship.