I feel bad, but I just didn't like this one! I'm going to blame it on me this time though. I think I've just discovered that I'm not a big fan of the thriller/romance genre confusion, I needed to know what kind of story this was supposed to be. But that's just me. The writing was light and fun, so I'm not gonna blame this one on the author. Huh.

This novel was a tough read and not a favourite for me. More of a YA suspense than a romance in my opinion. The main character was incredibly spoiled and completely un-relatable which definitely shaped my view of the entire book. In saying that, I took a long time reading this and lost interest quickly. Note that I only finished it because it was an advanced copy and I wanted to give my review.

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my thoughts as my honest review.

I like mystery/thrillers and romance so I thought I would give this one a try. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. It was a nice change of pace. I struggled to get into this book in the beginning, but I liked the quick pace the second half of the book. I would recommend this for a romance reader that needs something a little different.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a cross between a cozy mystery and a romance. I really liked the couple in this.

This was not my favorite book and I struggled to push through it. One issue that really bothered me was the feeling that the characters should have been better fleshed out. The book, as a whole, just felt like it was trying to do too many different things poorly as opposed to a doing a few points incredibly well.

2.5. The writing is decent and the drama is fun and soapy in parts, but I couldn't connect to the characters at all. In fact, I probably connected the least to the main character, Dana, who is an immature woman who can't seem to keep a job and reacts in ignorant and/or cruel ways to the people around her; it's tough to root for someone who got fired from a Hot Topic for telling "emo" kids that "they generally wound up on hospital beds at some point." Also, she has little-to-no chemistry with her love interests, straight-laced, brooding detective Ari and bad-bound sound engineer Lorenzo. Additionally, there's some sketchy stuff going on with how Meister writes about race and mental illness that didn't help how I felt about Dana...

For some strange reason, during this time of quarantine, our television keeps on defaulting to the Home Shopping Network. After watching Netflix or my recorded shows, the screen reverts to these ecstatic women selling horrible jewelry and crazy vacuum cleaners (that I have almost decided I need). So, I enjoyed this book for the behind the scenes views of what it is like to work on a shopping network. Dana, the main character, is beyond immature and self-sabotaging. I could see where her character alone would be enough to turn off some readers to this book. But, the light mystery and description of an industry I know nothing about was enough to keep me engaged.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I just couldn't get into it. It wasn't right for me. While I do read a lot of romance, this just didn't seem to be up my alley. It might be better for other people!

I really tried to get into this book. It just didn't hold my attention. This book may be for others, but not for me.

The cover of this book caught my attention, and the description intrigued me enough to request a copy to review. Although I immediately felt a bond with the main character, Dana, the first half of the book moved slowly, and I kept feeling like I had to force myself to pick it up again. That being said, I’m really glad I stuck it out because the second half of this book was wonderfully interesting and I could barely put it down. I wasn’t able to figure out the twists and turns before they happened, and I found myself really rooting for the characters. It was a satisfying read and I would recommend it to friends with the admonition to keep reading past the first half.

3 for neutral, I tried to get into this book and finish it many times, but was not able to do so. Will update if able to enjoy at a later date, but thinking this one is just not for me.

I thought this was a cute fun fast read! This was my first book by Ellen Meister. I gave this book 4 starts because I would tell others to read this book as well.

Dana’s Barry is trying to re-vamp her burnt out acting career when she lands a great gig on the home shopping network. Suddenly, Dana finds herself in the middle of a murder-mystery and drama filled work environment. Dana seems made for her new role and has no trouble spiking sales on the shopping network, but her personal life is much more complicated when her new love interest is one of the top suspects in the workplace mystery. Riding along with Dana as she tries to follow her heart, improve her career, stand up to her grumpy family members and solve the murder mystery makes for an engaging novel. While occasionally I struggled to keep up with the characters on the home shopping network and follow the unraveling of suspects, Dana’s story kept me engaged. Love Sold Separately is a fun and entertaining novel - part drama, women’s fiction and party mystery.

A sincere thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a fun, cute book book! A little bit of everything I love. A bit murder mystery mixed with a sprinkle of romance. Our main character Dana, is a struggling actress in New York City. After getting hired from her job in retail, she gets the opportunity to audition for a job in at a shopping network while simultaneously getting thrust into a murder investigation. The ending was a bit lack luster for me, I wish there was something more to the final reveal. But, I really enjoyed this read and would love to read the finished copy once it’s released. Thank netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this before it’s published.

Exciting, with murder and intrigue and romance. It was a quick read, with lots of fun romps and adventures. The end leaves a bit to be desired, but overall, a solid read.

This was a really fun book that made for light, enjoyable reading despite all the drama! I really related to Dana, and was rooting for her success in her career and love. It definitely kept me guessing, and I read it in less than 24 hours because I just had to see Dana through her story. I am also such a sucker for workplace romance...

The synopsis sounded so great and I was eager to read Love Sold Separately.

Unfortunately, I ended up putting this book down around 12% and decided to not finish it.

Dana is high and drunk when our story starts. She's 29 years old and had just been fired from working at a retail store. Her friend comes over and tells her to get ready, she's going to audition for a shopping channel spot. Dana then pops a pill before leaving the house.

I've read plenty of books with drug use in them, but this book just struck the wrong chord with me with Dana's immaturity and casual drug use. And then she had the audacity to be whiny about being the "loser" in the family.

The other thing I didn't care for is how Dana walked in to her first day on the job and immediately everyone is telling her gossip. She didn't even know those people, and the other thing is that the majority of people don't just gossip like that without knowing who they're talking to.

All in all, I thought the writing itself was fine and if it weren't for the plot going the way it did, I would have for sure finished this book.

I'm always living for a sweet contemporary. And this is exactly what I wanted. It was cute but also had some emotional things in it that made me cry a bit. I loved it.

This was a quick murder mystery/chick lit. My main hang up was the ending. All of a sudden Dana has these relationship fears with her new beau (no spoilers) based off previous relationships. These aren’t brought up at all throughout the story and it came out of left field at the very end. But ultimately was a fun story to read on a lazy weekend!

#NetGalley #LoveSoldSeparately



This book is killing me. I just want to stop reading. At 7%. Again at 10%. And just about every time I take a break from reading it. I am basically spite reading at this point because I like to finish books I start.

I don't like the main character Dana. She's rude, immature, judgy and so, so selfish. She also seems to be a low key addict, which is really bothering me. I usually don't mind drug use in books, but hers has a desperation to it that one only sees in addicts. She can go to job interview without drugs. Lunch with her family needs OTC & alcohol. Doing her job well (and sober) requires a joint as a reward. It goes on (and on!).

I also think her motivations are insane. She's trying to exonerate a person she JUST met 10min before the murder happened. First bc she likes him, then bc he has a kid. 🙄 She is not this selfless!

I think I just need a list:
> She manipulates her BF into thinking she wronged her by getting her an amazing job.

> She jeopardizes this job by doing the one thing her contract forbids. She justifies this by thinking she is helping a marginalized person (white savior alert!)

> She tries to piss off her Dad because he thinks she's immature. When he acknowledges her accomplishments, she fights with him.

> She's 29! I read about 60% of this book assuming she was 22! The only reason she announced her age was to reject a 25 YO b/c he didn't have enough life experience.

The only character I can tolerate is Ari Marks, the detective investigating the murder. He seems to see that she is a flaky moron and it's annoying to me that he is warming to her bc her powers of observation are just SO amazing. 🙄

The other love interest is Lorenzo. I don't have any problem with this guy, but he seems to painted as a bad guy. He's just a person who has priorities other than Dana. Her anger with him is stupid, immature and wildly unjustified. No surprise there.

Her assistant Ollie follows this "hapless foreigner" trope I just can't get with. Sherry, her boss is painted as a mean career lady. Miss me with this BS... The book is unending, but when it finally concludes, it is a rushed let down.

The cover is super cute and inviting, the premise is funny and interesting. Points for trying.