I very much enjoyed this book. Interesting that it is a mystery, but also successfully includes some romantic plots as well. Best of both worlds! Once again, Ellen Meister does not disappoint.
Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is not so bad murder mystery ( when you look at the cover, you’re expecting romance or romantic suspense but mystery and crime investigation parts overshadowed the romantic parts of the book), but in the middle I started to lose my interest and felt like the story lost its direction, turned to the darker sides with so many drug use and sex tapes. But the ending was deliciously entertaining so let’s give three solid Switzerland stars. (Yes, I think I’m gonna move there at the end after reading so many books: which I didn’t love but also I didn’t hate as well.)

Let’s take a quick look to the plot: Struggling young actress Dana is having real hard time, jobless, her life turns into a real mess but then her lucky stars give her a new opportunity, a shopping channel hosting job which could help her start over and focus on her career. But she finds herself trapped in a murder mystery because star host of the channel is dead. And yes, side romance part starts as she meets with the charming detective investigates the murder. So this is promising start but as I mentioned before, the progression is not quiet satisfying for me and Dana is not likeable heroine. She annoyed the hell off me at the most parts of the book.

But the twist that got of my spider senses radars gave me a quite satisfying ending. It was really good and I even thought to give four stars but unfortunately heroine’s irritating characteristics made me stick with solid 3!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin/Mira for sharing this ARC with me in exchange my honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of Love Sold Separately!

I really loved this book. It was like a cross between a romance and cozy mystery with out the baking and pet detectives.

Dana and Ari are my favorite couple that I’ve read about. The playing hard to get even if it didn’t say that’s what they were doing. You can tell Ari was playing it. The murder/suicide twist was shocking and well.. twisted.

If you’ve ever seen the movie sucker punch with Emily Browning, where a young girl copes by retreating to an alternative reality when she gets on stage to dance. That how I envisioned Dana as soon as she stepped on set. That seems like a weird comparison but I loved the movie and I love this book so it makes since to me. 😝

Very easy book to read. I speed through this book. Kept me very entertained!

I didn’t totally love the plot of the book because I was unsure of what my focus was but the writing was fantastic and I was able to get through this book quickly and with ease which is my favorite kind of read. This is definitely a beach read and I will he recommending it to others.

This story was pretty good!
I was very interested in the mystery. It was a fun twist in what I've been reading lately.

I did not find it particularly realistic, but that doesn't bother me very much. There was also quite a bit of recreational drug use. Casually mentioning that she smoked a joint doesn't bother me, but I felt it was a bit over the top.

The characters were fun and well developed. I enjoyed reading this story. I recommend it for anyone looking for a good way to spend an evening.

The story is well written so far. Even though it’s a love story with a “rich man poor girl” setup, I dont cringe while reading it. I’m hooked instead. There’s something special in it for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book.

This is a tough one, it's an odd genre of romance mystery...? While Dana is hard to connect with in the beginning, being a pretty unlikable main character, I did find myself invested in the murder mystery.
While this is supposed to be a romance novel also, I find that takes a back seat to case, and solving the mystery.
While this was kind of an awkward read, the synopsis sounds great and I liked it well enough.

This is a fun mystery, made even better with a couple of romantic subplots. I loved the glimpse into the world of home shopping channels. Very appealing main character/amateur sleuth. This will be a great book to recommend to readers who enjoy mysteries with a generous dash of romance and humor.

OK, this book started out ROUGH. In the first half, I seriously contemplated DNFing it at least three times. Dana was super unlikable to me and the plot started super fast. The instantaneous (and I'm talkin' INSTANTANEOUS) romance between Dana and Lorenzo was jarring and unwelcome. Dana just made absolutely awful decisions-- one, to get involved with a coworker on literally HER FIRST DAY ON THE JOB, LIKE SHE WASN'T EVEN ACTUALLY HIRED YET, then to almost immediately after place her new (big break, super important) job on the line to participate in something she knew was in breach of her contract? That was just plain stupid and made me resent her for it.

I ended up skimming most of the descriptive text, and I was still able to get the entire story through mainly dialogue. I'm always a bit hesitant about romances that are longer than 350 pages, and I think this is a good example that justifies my hesitance, because a lot could be cut down. Once I hit about the 60% mark, I decided to just finish the book, and it did get better! I got more interested in the murder case and the one truly redeeming aspect of this book was the relationship between Dana and Ari! I liked them SO much more than Dana and Lorenzo and I thought the ending was good. This definitely won't be very memorable for me, but in the end I'm glad I was able to bump it up to 2 stars!

Love Sold Separately was definitely a fun read, and honestly deserves more like 3.5 stars. Dana Barry lands a new acting job at The Shopping Network - a gig that promises some much-needed exposure and financial stability - and becomes embroiled in a suspected murder almost immediately. She also meets two very different, and very attractive men: the convicted felon sound tech and the detective on the case. Dana is a well-meaning, sometimes lovable and certainly relatable, screwup, with a irreverent sense of humor and a sharp eye.

I must say, the love story really seemed to matter the least of the various threads Meister puts into this book, and I really didn't feel invested in where it went. The murder case was more intriguing than I thought it'd be, with plenty of potential suspects and motives; Meister layers in some surprisingly beautiful writing about insecurity and family relationships; and imagining the behind-the-scenes at a shopping network was really fun. Quick aside: Why do so many people know or care about this third tier shopping network? I also really loved Megan, the sidekick best friend whose path I'd happily dive into further; her scenes and those involving Dana's family often helped to ground a story with some sincerity amidst an absurd plot.

If you're looking for a quick, fun read with a bit of mystery, pick this one up when it's released in August!

I struggled as I began this book, really wanting to like it. And then it got better, a lot better, but still not enough that I could recommend it to Library Reads. It felt choppy especially at the beginning, and I was frustrated with the heroine's use of weed and her ex's prescription. Still, I like reading about actors and they way Meister writes about how Dana got into this mode for her audition and later her job. I liked the mystery, and I didn't guess the outcome though I did become suspicious of several people before their reveals, which is good. The solution was a little unlikely, even given the motives and characters. So a mixed bag of 3.5 stars, but I liked it enough to show that as a 4.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and digital ARC of this book. This is my first time reading anything written by Eleen Meister and I was rather pleased with it. This is a great murder mystery with just the right dash of romance to put a nice little bow around it. I found myself trying to figure out who the "killer" was and I'm always happy when I'm surprised at the end. This was a truly good read and I would recommend it to all my friends If I had to say one think I didn't care too much for was the pill usage and how she would justify using only this "one time" when it actually was a couple of times. But all in all this was a nice good read that makes me want to find other books by Ellen.

* Thank you to Harlequin and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advance copy of this book *

Love Sold Separately is a fun love story with a unique twist. Dana Barry is a struggling actress who lands a dream job as a host on a television shopping channel. What begins as a seeming simple rom-com quickly changes as Dana is thrown into the center of a mystery at her workplace. With the aid of handsome cop Ari Marks, Dana is determined to find the truth.

While this romantic mystery had a synopsis that hooked me, I feel like it fell flat.

I know that this is one of those books that either you love it or you don’t, and I just didn’t. Here’s hoping for Ellen Meister that I fall into the minority.

Three stars for the premise.

Dana has been unlucky in a lot of things: love, a job, and family. When the opportunity comes for her to audition for the Shopping Channel as one of the hosts, she leaps at the chance to make a name for herself. But when THE host of the Shopping Channel is murdered, she finds herself being pulled deeper and deeper into the mystery. Why does everyone seem to hate the now ex-host? Why is the gorgeous detective constantly trying to blame her equally gorgeous male friend and coworker for murder? And who is the real murderer?

I really enjoyed Love Sold Separately, more than I expected I would. It kept me guessing right up to the end! I actually thought I had figured out the murderer...and then I didn’t. Kudos to the book for keeping me on my toes.

The characters were all fun in the book. I have to say, it really had me guessing which guy Dana would end up with as well. I had my personal choice, and I’m glad Dana went with the guy I hoped she would.

Also, this book really gave us one of the best lines ever: “...he has a nose like the Statue of Liberty.” A perfect description, I’m sure, and one that made me giggle. Is it the size of the nose? Was it a perfectly sculpted nose? Was it green? Okay, I’m being silly now, but really, that was a great line that is surprisingly descriptive.

I definitely recommend this book if you love romcoms and murder mysteries! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book as an eARC.

I truly, truly hate doing it but I have to DNF this at approx. 40%.
I really have nothing against this book and don’t really have anything specific to criticize, I just don’t think it’s for me. The 40% I read, I pretty much binged in one fell swoop, took a break to talk to a friend, went to start reading again and just felt like I couldn’t remember anything that had happened. I didn’t connect with the main character and while the synopsis is what originally had me interested, it just fell flat for me. It was fast paced and an easy read, so I can definitely see the appeal and would recommend others try it. Unfortunately it’s just not for me.

The premise of the book held some real promise: a romance combined with a murder mystery. I thought Dana's character was fun and quirky. However, the romance that was supposed to be developing between Dana and two of the male characters was not believable. There was no chemistry in either of these relationships. The murder mystery was fun (a bit like a Jennifer Cruisie novel), but the male characters were flat and the romance never really went anywhere.

I really enjoyed this mystery romance. There were multiple twists in the plot and an enjoyable storyline following Dana's career as a saleswoman with The Shopping Channel. I was really rooting for her sales numbers throughout the book! This would be a great vacation read for when you want a distraction from everyday life.

I really enjoyed this romcom/mystery novel! It kept me guessing and I didn't want to put it down! Great read!

This turned out to not be my thing. It had me sold based on the description, but the characters felt weird to me. I don't even remember how it ended. I'm sure there are people who will read this and love it, but it wasn't for me.