Finders Keepers is exactly the kind of story I love—a fun, flirty romance that touches on a lot of themes that tend sneak up on you with their resonance. On the surface, this is a story about two friends reconnecting to search for treasure, like they did in their teens. Beneath the surface, however, it’s a story about forgiveness and learning to let yourself have what you want, outside of other’s expectations. I also really loved the way the transcript of Julius Fountain framed the story!

There is a depth to the storytelling in Sarah Adler’s work that I always look forward to and respect, and Finder’s Keepers is no different. I really enjoyed this read and anticipate it’s going to be one of 2025’s top reads for me!

An entertaining estranged childhood best friend to lovers rom-com mixed with treasure hunting and small town charm. Sarah Adler does not miss!

This one was cute. I really enjoyed the treasure hunting plot. I really enjoyed Nina and Quentin together. This one just felt a little drawn out. I also found the interview sections between chapters to be a little odd.

Liked it!!! But not as much as happy medium that I rated four stars. I was exited bc I’ve hiked at Catoctin a few times before so reading this story as its primary setting was so cool - but some parts were a little dry for me. Enjoyed the friends to lovers & the overall fun & easy plot. Thanks Berkley for my arc!

Finders Keepers is a delightful second-chance childhood friends to lovers story that will have readers kicking their feet with delight! When Nina Hunnicut hits rock bottom, living back at home with her parents after the sudden loss of her job and a breakup, she is stunned to see her childhood best friend moved back in right next door. Turns out Quentin Bell's life hasn't quite turned out how he expected either. When Quentin proposes to restart their old childhood search for a local legend's buried treasure, Nina reluctantly agrees. What starts as a search for buried treasure ultimately ends up uncovering their old flames and the scars left behind.

Sarah Alder does it again with this adorable second-chance childhood friends to lovers romance. With laugh-out-loud banter, slow burn tension, and plenty of twists and turns to keep the pages flipping, this book is a great quick and easy read! I was between 3 and 4 stars for this one, but one of the last minute plot twists just didn't land for me which brought it to three .5 stars.

Overall a great quick and fun read!

2.75⭐️
I love Sarah Adlers other book, there is always lots of humor and appreciate the unique/quirky storylines. I was excited for the treasure hunting premise of this book and my favorite friends to lovers trope.

But while it was very clear that the MFC Nina has Anxiety, her inner monologue was making my anxiety flare up. She questioned every single thing going on. Talking through all the scenarios in her head was just too much for me.

The romance itself was too childish. While it made sense as youths, they didn’t learn from any of their mistakes as adults. They continued to lie and hide things from each other. Even the steamy parts felt a little juvenile.

The treasure part was interesting, but I did want a little more from it. Take out some of Nina’s long winded thoughts and put in more hunting.

There are definitely some funny and heartwarming parts, it just wasn’t a love for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley publishing for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Mrs. Nash’s Ashes is one of my all-time favorite romance books, so I was SO EXCITED for this one. Adventure x treasure hunt x second-chance childhood best friends???!!! ABSOLUTELY!

I so related to Nina’s struggles with feeling lost and behind in her career (a little too real). The way that Sarah Adler portrayed Nina’s anxiety spirals in this book was INCREDIBLE. It bothered me so much at first until I realized that it bothered me because I do the same🥲

I really enjoyed the portrayal of Nina and Quentin’s friendship and the very relatable ways they both could’ve saved each other a lot of heartache had they not been angsty teenagers. There was a tiny bit too much non-communication, but I usually have that complaint about romance books so it really didn’t bother me too much. I also loved the interview transcripts that were sprinkled throughout! That was a really nice touch to bring the past and present together even more.

This book was an absolute delight! This second-chance romance comes with an adventurous twist, a treasure hunt that keeps the story engaging from start to finish. Sarah Adler perfectly captures the charm of a small-town setting, creating a world that feels warm and lived-in.

The banter between the two main characters is sharp, fun, and full of chemistry, making their dynamic both entertaining and heartfelt. Their second-chance romance is handled with just the right amount of tension and sweetness, keeping me rooting for them the entire time. The mix of romance, humor, and mystery made this a standout read.

I can’t wait to read more from Sarah Adler. If you love witty dialogue, lovable characters, and a touch of adventure in your romances, this one’s for you.

Huge thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an advanced eGalley of Finders Keepers in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Pub Date: 17 June 2025
Rating: 3.25 stars ★

“‘Because for me the treasure is you, Nina. And it always has been.’”

I was really excited to read Finders Keepers after falling in love with Adler’s Happy Medium. Finders has the same quirk, wit, and genuine connection between the love interests as Happy Medium, and returning to such fun writing after reading a heavier novel was exactly what I needed.

Right off the bat, the sparks between Quentin and Nina are strong, and something a lot of modern romances struggle with is making a believable couple. These two are sweet together, and the scenes where Quentin is “the Moon” talking to her in that cheesy french accent was adorable! Their love story over the course of this book just hit the spot, perfect Hallmark movie-esque cheese.

Unfortunately, I think the treasure quest plot got buried (no pun intended) under the romance and character development. This secondary storyline was what drew me in, but because we got virtually no information to solve it ourselves or be just as invested as the characters, I found myself not caring about it. And another HUGE unfortunately, while the final treasure reveal made sense and was cute, it also felt like this book was kind of a waste beyond the love story.

If you’re looking for a low-stakes childhood best friends romance story with good spice, smalltown vibes, and banger lines such as “The problem with living inside the stories we tell ourselves is that sometimes it obscures what’s real and in front of us all along,” then Finders Keepers should absolutely be on your TBR!

Oh my goodness this was such an adorable love story! I literally finished this book in one day because I couldn’t stop reading/thinking about it!

3.75 stars for this one rounded up -- I really enjoyed it! I thought the concept was so much fun, and after loving Mrs. Nash's Ashes a GREAT amount, I was very excited to read another book by Sarah Adler.

The concept of this was awesome, fresh and different from really any other romance I've read! I loved the childhood friends-to-lovers, second chance romance, forced proximity -- sooo many good tropes!! I really enjoyed the banter all throughout this book and the decades of history that connected Nina and Quentin. They knew each other so deeply and their history really informed the present, especially once they started flashing back to when they were teenagers, when they were best friends and crushing on one another without ever knowing!!! Drama!!!

Some of the writing was a bit choppy for me, and at times I felt very frustrated by the repetitiveness of Nina's inner thoughts and self-doubt. It showed up so many times that I was having a hard time connecting to her, but I still really enjoyed her as an FMC, and thought Quentin complemented her very well. It just felt that her anxiety and all the things that had just gone wrong in her life were overshadowing everything else, and it was annoying me. I also really dislike miscommunication in romance books, so that frustrated me as well. Those are just two things that will always irritate me - lack of communication and too much overthinking.

The slow burn and tension was AMAZING in this book!! From their childhood crushes creating literally decades of lead-up, to the slow way they finally allowed themselves to be with one another, it was so well done. And having them be literally sharing a wall?! So fun!!

Overall, a fun flirty read and a great concept!! Would recommend for a quick summer rom com! Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing for the opportunity to read this eARC!

2.5⭐️

Sadly this one really missed the mark for me :( I really loved Mrs. Nash's Ashes by the same author it was cute and had more depth than most rom com books. However this book did not have the same spark and joy that I got from that other book.

This is a second chance childhood friends to lovers. It's not my top trope but I do enjoy books with this premise. These childhood friends are on a treasure hunt after being estranged for a few years. Something happened between them and that stopped being friends. The premise of this book is cute and should bring adventure/mystery to this book. Unfortunately it never really delivered and failed to launch. I found the treasure aspect to be boring and bring much to the story.

Besides the treasure hunting part falling a bit flat, I just never really felt chemistry between the two character. I felt the romance was very one sided and it was kind almost instalove for one side and you constantly heard her inner monologue about it.

I'll continue to read books by this author because her first book was so special.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

Thank you Berkeley and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review. Going into this book I had a feeling this wasn't for me. I'm not a fan of childhood friends to enemies to lovers. Especially with these characters because they were just too young to know better (like 15, love of your lift? Really? I may be a bitter gen xer, but I just don't think the caliber of 15-year-old boys has gotten better.. Plus this had a whole treasure hunt plot. And I just did not get a good sense of these two characters, both past and present.

Thank you for the ARC!

I fell in love with Sarah Adler from the first page of Mrs Nash’s Ashes so I was so happy to get an ARC of her third book. This was a lovely read. I’m not the biggest fan of childhood friends to lovers stories but this also had a second chance aspect to it. I liked the characters and Nina having a bit of a coming-of-age-in-her-30s. As a fellow DMV resident, it’s always nice to have local stories too.

The treasure was my favorite part of the story though. Just like with Mrs Ash, Adler has a unique ability to tie in old stories with the main story to enrich the characters and story.

I’d def recommend this.

I greatly enjoyed this one!! Nina was such an endearing heroine. One thing I really enjoyed was her tone of voice throughout the book & in particular the fact that I could tell the difference from Adler’s other novels — each heroine is uniquely herself and has their own voice.
As someone with raging anxiety and who uses the worst case/best case scenario on the daily, I both thought it funny and humbling to read Nina’s thought process from an outside perspective. Because of my personal perspective, it made it that much easier for me to connect to Nina and understand her actions.
Quentin!! We love him. He is funny and witty while also being rather vulnerable and mushy inside. It’s a clear representation of what growing up in a dysfunctional family can do to a child.
Watching these two “fail” in their lives was horribly relieving and a gentle wag of Adler’s finger at us readers. Failing at life? Impossible. Pick yourself up and try again — in fact, you may end up where you were supposed to be all along.
At the end, the advice given was shockingly impactful for me because I see so much of myself in Nina. And I know that I’ll be grabbing the physical copy upon release to remind myself over and over again.

Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute second chance romance between 2 estranged best friends that meet again after they are both back home after being fired from their respective jobs and dumped by their significant others. They decide to resume the treasure hunt that broke up their friendship when they were 16 and of course they end up falling for each and finally talk about what happened the night their friendship ended when they were kids. This was a fun fast read.
Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Cute story of almost something finally becoming the thing they wanted all those years ago. A treasure hunt at the local castle brought Nina and Quentin together as teens - almost - and tore them apart. Years later, they’re both home licking their wounds when Quentin proposes they resume the treasure hunt. This tale is sweet and sappy and has the happy ending I wanted!

This story was cute. I like a second chance romance trope. Nina drove me a little crazy at times. As a whole enjoyable and quick read.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Since reading Adler’s debut, Mrs. Nash’s Ashes, I have been a fan. This book was delightful. A satisfying friends to lovers, second chance romance. Nina and Quentin have great chemistry and banter. The “treasure” hunt was a fun way to move the plot along, giving them a reason to keep seeing each other. I loved Nina’s parents, especially her mom. Such a sweet story!

Finders Keepers was so fun! This was my first Sarah Adler book and I will definitely be reading others from her. The story starts with an interview of the man who hides a treasure on his property. Then we meet Nina, a washed up 30yr old, who ended up home after some fall out with her job and boyfriend. We find out that Nina’s childhood best friend, Quinten, is living next door to her again and the hilarious rekindling of their friendship ensues. Banter, competition and a treasure hunt leads our FMC and MMC to face their feelings for each and learn to overcome their fears of not being good enough for each other. Nina’s mental health rep was so well done, I was very empathetic to her because I have been in her place. Quinton was so sweet and such a cinnamon roll with Nina. I loved this story, the amount of millennial nostalgia in this story was fantastic. Monty python, S club 7, cheap old navy flip flops, modest mouse, franz Ferdinand, RadioShack…so good! The only thing that I wish we had was a Quinten POV, I would have loved to see more of his thoughts during some of the scenes (like that perfect window scene 🤭), otherwise I have no notes. This book was laugh out loud funny and cozy with a hint of mystery. Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for this amazing ARC opportunity.