I tore through Lovering’s earlier book, “Too Good to Be True” and listed that as one of my favorite thrillers of 2021. Therefore, I was so excited for this follow-up, “Can’t Look Away.” The buildup was great and I thought it was leading up to something very sinister and exciting, but it really didn’t. Perhaps I came in with the wrong idea, but I was expecting a thriller and this reads more like a domestic drama. As a result, I kept waiting for some more thrills that didn’t really come up and was left feeling a little bit disappointed at the book’s end. This book follows a couple, one who is obsessed with one of the parties of the couple, and how their lives progress over nearly a decade. I’d anticipated some more thrilling intrigue with this premise, but just found it to be okay and a bit underwhelming. 3 stars ⭐️. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley.

My Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/ 5

This is a multi POV story essentially about obsessive love and how it can endanger and hurt those that you care about. Shifting between two different timelines, Molly meets lead singer Jake Danner at a concert in the 2010s while he is performing and they fall in love quickly and they both ride the wave of his rising fame and success. He even penned “Molly’s Song” for her - their biggest hit to date. Skipping to present day, Molly is living in the suburbs married to someone else, finding it difficult to fit in and meet new friends until she meets yoga student and newcomer Sabrina. It is clear early on that Sabrina has other motives and many secrets that link to Molly and Jake’s past.

This seems like different books at some times. I expected this to be a thriller, but it is really more of a soap opera/ drama. I enjoyed the love story of Molly and Jake - and there is so much drama with Sabrina and her secrets. Also Sabrina’s story was promising and I was curious to what all the fuss was about over Jake. I was disappointed with the lackluster ending. There was so much more potential to Sabrina and even Liz’s storyline! It is a quick read and pretty easy to follow throughout.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Spice Level: 0/5

I have mixed feelings on this one. Overall I enjoyed this domestic drama but I never got on board with why the drama started in the first place. That piece was a little for fetched for me but I still liked this story and character development. I liked the multiple POVs, I especially liked the early days of Molly and Jake.

After quickly falling for a rockstar on the rise, Molly knows she should be cautious with her heart. Despite her better judgement, Molly can’t help but fall for Jake Danner and he seems to love her just as much. Nearly a decade later, Molly is living in the suburbs with her daughter and husband, Hunter, when she becomes friends with her new yoga instructor and neighbor, Sabrina. They become fast friends, but Sabrina seems to have less than generous motives.

I loved this one! I found the writing to be so addicting that I couldn’t read it fast enough - I just needed to know what was going to happen next. I am a sucker for books told from multiple POVs and this one was done well. I knocked off half a star because I didn't totally love the ending - I felt like it was very rushed and we didn't get the vengeance we deserved! I won't say more as to avoid any spoilers, but that being said, this is the perfect summer read as it’s intriguing, fast and mysterious.

4.5/5 stars!

This pretty nutso book was SO FUN. It reads like a thriller, but no one dies and no crime has been committed. Instead, we encounter twist after twist as we bounce from 2013 Brooklyn to 2022 Connecticut. At first, it is unclear how the characters and timelines are related, but as we slowly get a clearer picture about what is going on, the fun truly starts.

The book is about obsession, jealousy, long-held grudges, and the pains of having creative and famous boyfriends. It can be a bit silly at times (the main character Molly is woo-ed by her front man boyfriend first through eye contact while he's on stage and then through playing her a Blink-182 vinyl in this apartment like it's Otis Redding or something). But I could not put it down over the long weekend, and relished in the absolutely bonkers ending. If you need a page turner that is easy to digest, this is the pick!

Can't Look Away is the epitome of thriller classics. A heroine to root for, a long ago love interest, secrets too dark to reveal...except they are! If you're looking for your next awesome read...look no further...it's Can't Look Away!

Love in your twenties. Do you ever really forget and move along? When you think you did someone/something comes along to change it all. Exciting story of love and obsession.

Do you want to read some high school-level drama, except populated with adults with lots of money and zero worries in the world?

You're in luck.

Molly and Jake, a writer and musician respectively, lock eyes one night at one of Jake's gigs, and the next thing you know, they're a couple. Of course, it doesn't last long, because this sort of love usually doesn't. Molly, irritated that Jake wants to work more on his music than on their relationship - because it has to be one or the other, it certainly cannot be both in the world of Lifetime movies (which, fair warning, this is). What I find interesting is that anyone who has an artistic bent - like Molly, supposedly a writer - could not understand another person with an artistic bent not wanting to give up their art.

But that's all academic, because they break up and go their separate ways.

Years later, Molly is now married to Hunter and has a five year old who loves Frozen. I totally get the latter; my nieces were obsessed with it. Much as I adore Idina Menzel, every time there was a reference to the movie, all I could hear was Idina singing Let It Go, and it was a bit of an overload.

Molly, Hunter, and their little girl live in a wealthy enclave amongst other similar families. Molly's having trouble fitting in with the other wives in the neighborhood, until Sabrina shows up. She's married, but her husband has not yet joined her. Molly hits it off with her immediately, and from there, the two are pals. We then get the usual Lifetime-esque interactions between the wives who have always had money, before they married their wealthy husbands, and the duo of Molly and Sabrina.

The narrative is told by rotating through Jake, Molly, and Sabrina, and it doesn't take long (or a genius) to figure out one of them is a psycho stalker. There isn't a lot of suspense to be had in the book, but there is loads of "woman perceives another woman has wronged her and seeks revenge" drama going on.I'm not generally a fan of those, but swank enclave drama does interest me somewhat, so I did finish this to its disappointing and ultimately unsatisfying ending.

Everything wraps up neatly, bow on top. If you like your thriller-wannabes or drama-filled tales ending very tidily, or if you're a big fan of Lifetime movies, this is your book.

Warning: there is a lot of swearing in this book, with the f bomb going off every 20 seconds it seems. I read mysteries, hardcore thrillers, and things of that nature, so I wasn't put off by it. If you're sensitive to it, you might want to give it a pass.

Two stars out of five.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review copy.

Romance meets thriller & I’m here for it! I loved the switch between past & present, I feel like the author gave good descriptions & I got interested in the story right away. This book was full of exciting twists & I liked that they weren’t typical & easy to guess. This book was fast paced & made me not want to put it down!

good summer read good summer read!! fast paced and I was like omg what is happening here?!?!?!??! there was a couple of twist but something made me look for more into the book!

4 out of 5 stars. Solid summer read!

Really enjoyed this book! Fast-paced page turner that I couldn't put down and kept me guessing!

Thank you to Carola Lovering, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

#NetGalley #CantLookAway

3.5

Storyline was intriguing… a couple’s eyes meet at a concert. One is a singer, the other in a crowd. They can’t look away and this starts their love story. But, some people should know when to give up. At some point in this story, I was annoyed with each character. But, the story dragged me in and kept me turning the pages. Drama throughout! I thought it would be more of a psychological thriller. Ending was not what I expected. Enjoyable enough, quick read. Will definitely give this author another try.

Thanks to Ms. Lovering, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC. Opinion is mine alone!

Can't Look Away by Carola Lovering is a suspense novel about Molly, a writer, and Jake, a singer. They fall in love and are together for a while, but Molly leaves Jake when he prioritizes his music above their relationship. Many years later, Molly is married to Hunter, and they have a daughter together. Then Sabrina enters the picture, and she starts getting close to Molly. But, does Sabrina have ulterior motives? And where is Jake now? This book was just okay for me. I felt like I was just waiting for something interesting to happen while I was reading; and while there were a couple of twists, they just weren't enough to make this book anything more than a three-star read. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Can't Look Away ~ Carola Lovering.
This is a story about obsessive love.. Molly, an aspiring writer meets Jake, a wannabe rock star at his concert and Jake can't look away. He tracks Molly down and they start dating. Only Jake's rock star life style and his infidelity destroy what could have been a happy future. Nearly a decade later, Molly is happily married to Hunter and has a little girl. But a chance meeting with a newcomer to town, changes everything Molly believed was true. This book was enjoyable and I didn't see the twist coming, however I didn't care for a few of the characters. But maybe I wasn't supposed to. I was very satisfied with the ending, so it's definitely worth getting to the last pages. I think it wrapped up nicely, albeit not perfectly.

A thank you to Netgalley for sharing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'll be honest, I didn't much care for this one and it didn't just work for me. I really liked the author's previous books and was expecting a suspenseful psychological drama, but instead got a girly drama that felt rather sophomoric. I did not like the either woman, and I never enjoy books female character who feel the need to snag the a man (in this case the same one) in order to complete them. Maybe it's sophmoric of me, but a little too gag inducing. I prefer strong independent chicks - and if they partner up with another strong independent person to be an actual partner with, all the power to 'em

I loved this book. While it's marketed as a Mystery/Thriller though, I would say it's actually more of a romantic drama with a few elements of suspense.

The style of writing was easy to consume, and it had excellent character development. I was super intrigued by the entire evolution of Molly and Jake's relationship and learning how they ended up where they were in their lives in the current day. As a music lover, I also enjoyed all the references.

There were a couple of predictable moments, but they didn't hinder from my enjoyment any less. I definitely recommend and am now interested in going back and reading Carola Lovering's other work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in return for a honest review. Can't Look Away is definitely a wild ride of emotions, twists and turns, and of love. Even though this book is considered a domestic thriller, you can really feel the love thay flows through this book. Even if that love is royally messed up.

Can't Look Away is about a cast of characters with a long and turmoil past. You see these characters at their worst and their best. You see them love and hate and grow up. It's hard not to root for them. Even Sabrina and her crazy tail.

Molly and Jake definitely had that first love thing going on to the point where it was heartbreaking. But their relationship was one-sided and at some points toxic. I was so glad to see that Molly was able to find her soul mate in Hunter. He's the real MVP of this story.

The twists and turns of this story were a little predictable, but they didn't take away from the story. You seriously become invested in these characters so much that it's hard not to feel for them. They make dumb mistakes but grow from them in the end. It was refreshing to read something that I connected with on a personal level.

Nothing in this story seemed too over the top, but some of this story was slow and repetitive. I also would have liked to know more background information about Sabrina to learn why she turned out to be who she was.

I've noticed this novel had a lot of mixed reviews but I went into it with an open mind.

I've really enjoyed this author's previous novels and from the description, I thought this was going to be another hit for me. I think I liked it more than some reviewers did. Maybe it just hit me at the right time.

I thought it was an entertaining read about young love and relationships.

I'm not sure how I'd categorize this one. Maybe romantic domestic psychological suspense? Either way, I enjoyed it and look forward to more from this author.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, though not as much as Tell Me Lies. I’m not a big romance reader, but I totally get the “eyes met through the crowd and that’s the moment my life began” story. And that’s what happens to Molly and Jake. Told in two different time periods, we see them meet way back and then see them today.

As an aspiring musician, Jake tends to be the typical male rockstar more often than not. Eventually, Molly has had enough of his behavior and leaves him before he returns from his current tour. Throughout all of this, lurking in the background, is Sabrina, the woman Jake left to be with Molly.

Now, both Jake and Molly are married to others and living decent lives. We don’t get the full story of why Molly left Jake back then until the recent storyline, but by then Sabrina has wormed her way into Molly‘s life as her best friend. I suppose I understand that part. What I don’t get at all is Sabrina‘s next move and how she thinks that her plan is going to be the closure she feels is needed.

In summary, there are definitely some edge of your seat moments with this book. I suppose there’s always going to be “that one” who’s going to make everything a mess for their own selfish desires. Not an original story by any means but a decent read. 3.5 ⭐️’s rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of this book. My review is voluntary. #CantLookAway #CarolaLovering #netgalley

Can't stop reading...this book was fabulous. Love this authors writing style. Just enough information is revealed to make the reader feel like they are figuring out the plot on their own...brilliant. Can't wait to pick up another book by this author.