This book took me somewhere I hadn’t expected it to, but I certainly enjoyed the trip.

This book has it all: drama, romance, and psychological suspense. In all honesty, I was in my happy place while I was reading Can’t Look Away. It had everything that I love in a novel, and I was hooked right from the beginning.

This novel is about young, all-consuming love. When Molly and Jake’s eyes meet at one of his band’s shows, their connection is instantaneous. With Molly being an aspiring author and Jake being a musician and songwriter, their creativity feeds off of their passionate relationship. Their relationship had its share of peaks and valleys, and boy, did I feel all of the angst, tension, apprehension, and butterflies.

The book it told from the past and the present from different characters’ perspectives, over the span of nearly a decade. There’s nothing better than getting into the minds of the various characters, seeing what makes them tick, witnessing the lengths that they will go to in order to get what they want, and feeling like a fly on the wall in their lives.

Where this story crosses many genres, I was never certain where the author was going to take this story or her characters. I never really trusted any of the characters. My suspicions were always on high alert, and I sat on pins and needles, filled with apprehension through all of the dysfunction while I waited for everything to be revealed.

Can’t Look Away hit the mark for me. It was a titillating page-turner about love, jealousy, and obsession that made my heart race in the best way.

*5 Stars

𝗖𝗔𝗡‘𝗧 𝗟𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗬 is a love story that explores the hold of a first love long after the relationship has ended with drama, suspense, and secrets thrown in as well. It’s a quick read that kept me engaged throughout. I enjoyed the dual timelines and multiple POVs. The character development was great and I was satisfied with the ending. Another great read from Carola Lovering that you should definitely add to your list!

WOW! Thankfully I got the ebook and audio ARC of this one, because once I started I could not stop. Although not actually a thriller in my eyes, it was some really intense suspense with a lot of craziness thrown in.

Molly Diamon meets Jake Danner when he's a rising rock star. He's playing at a local bar where Molly goes with a friend and their eyes lock and sparks fly! He pursues her and she is smitten.
There is the little fact that he had a girlfriend, but he tells her that wasn't working and that he had already begun the breakup process. They fall hard and fast and their love is intense. But his career is on the upswing, and life with a rock star isn't all wonderful. Allegations of cheating, communication issues, and too much time apart push Molly into the arms of another man who she had struck up a friendship with along the way.

Fast-forward a few years where Molly, Hunter, and their daughter, Stella, live in a quiet, although exclusive, community where she isn't sure she quite fits in. She loves her husband and daughter, but friends are few and far between. Then she meets Sabrina at her yoga studio and they quickly become BFFs. There's much more to Sabrina than Molly realizes.

Things from her past are about to come back into her life in a big way and Sabrina definitely has her own agenda where Molly is concerned. Molly's world is turned upside down. Secrets come out, people resurface, and we are along for this out of control ride!

Molly isn't perfect. Who is? But Sabrina is definitely one of those characters you will love to hate and the lengths she will go to in getting what she wants will amaze you!

Finished this one in a day!

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for my advance copies in exchange for an honest review!

3.25 rock star obsession stars

The main characters in this one are Molly Diamond and Jake Danner. Molly is an aspiring writer and Jake is on his way to becoming a bona fide rock star. Their eyes meet one night at a concert and then the romance starts, Jake even writes a hit song about her.

The book hops around in chronology and storytelling so we get teasers that the couple doesn’t have a happy ever after ending. And what often happens with rock stars? Obsessed fans! In Jake’s case, an old girlfriend just cannot let Jake go and she is dedicated her life to having him, no matter the cost.

Years later, we know that Molly is happily married, teaching yoga, and has a precocious daughter, and we slowly learn the details of how she’s ended up in Connecticut. It’s still a struggle for her to fit in so she’s excited to make a new friend in Sabrina.

With themes of the one you left behind, being famous not really making you happy, and creative muses, this one was an entertaining read, albeit an over-the-top ending.

I went into this one mostly blind, thinking it was going to be a thriller. This is probably one of the few times I was happy to be surprised that it wasn’t a thriller. Did it have some thriller aspects? Yea- a crazy jealous ex girlfriend who wants to “get revenge” on the girl who stole her man? HOWEVER, this book is more so women’s fiction. It’s a book about lost dreams, growing up, fame, relationships. It’s about being caught between two worlds- the just finished college and the world is your oyster feeling, and the married, settled down and new family stage of life. I actually really enjoyed this book! I can’t wait to read more from this author!

What’s it about (in a nutshell):
Can’t Look Away by Carol Lovering is a domestic suspense novel that tells the story of Molly Diamond, Jake Danner, and Sabrina – how their lives connected, intersected, and impacted each other.

Initial Expectations (before beginning the book):
The cover of Can’t Look Away is of an eye peeking out of a gap, giving me total peeping tom vibes. The blurb calls it a sexy suspense novel which I find intriguing and supports the peeping tom vibe of the cover.

Actual Reading Experience:
I think that my initial expectations were very close to my actual reading experience. I’m not sure how much of a thriller it is, but I did enjoy the suspense and the many twists, turns, and revelations in this story. I was hooked from page 1 and stayed focused on the story until the last page, leaving me with a creepy feeling once I took in the full ramifications of it. I do love a creepy ending!

Technically, the story is told through three points of view – Molly, Jake, and Sabrina – but only Sabrina’s chapters are in first-person narration. I think using this technique kept the suspense so high throughout the story. Sabrina’s mind and thoughts are very concerning in many senses of the word. I was always worried about what she would do next. If I knew anything, I knew that she was highly unpredictable.

The telling was a bit confusing initially as the story switched through timelines and points of view fairly quickly. Though I enjoyed learning the back story and all the secrets that came from that, I struggled to follow along at first. Eventually, I got used to the flow and found it much easier to follow.

There are only a very few things to figure out in this story, so mostly it is the type of tale you’ll want to just sit back, enjoy the ride, and marvel at the way lives intersect and impact one another.

Characters:
The relationships between the characters are even more important than the individual characters. An assortment of healthy and unhealthy pairings each bring their own challenges and secrets to this story. The characters are pretty well developed, particularly Molly, the main character. We know a great deal about her past and how it worked to form the many layers that make her the complex person on the page. She is relatable and even likable.

To Read or Not to Read:
If you are looking for a novel full of suspense with a solid romantic plotline, Can’t Look Away by Carola Lovering is just what you are looking for.

Can’t Look Away by Carola Lovering is an engaging, dramatic story. It’s classified as a thriller but I feel like it’s more domestic drama. At times, I wanted to shake Molly but more because I could actually see being her friend and advising her to do the opposite of what she was doing. Her choices may not have always been the best but she was always trying to do her best. I was surprised by a few things that happened in the book. This is my second book by Lovering (the first being Tell Me Lies, which is being made into a show) and her writing is always dynamic. The back and forth between the two timelines kept me totally invested and I was happy with how Lovering had these characters end up. This was a fun book to read.

I am not sure how to categorize this book, the closest I can think of would be a domestic suspense. We are following two different points of view and a few different timelines, our main characters are Molly and Sabrina. Molly meets Jack in 2013 and they had a relationship while hi band was just taking off now in present day she is married to Hunter and living in a small town in Connecticut. Molly is struggling with her life and not fitting into their new town when she meets Sabrina. The two quickly become friends but Sabrina is keeping secrets and when they are revealed both of their lives will change. I really enjoyed this one and once I started I could not put it down. The story was fast paced and I didn't have any problems when we jumped back in time. I have another book by this author and I am excited to read it after enjoying this so much. Thank you St. Martin's Press for my gifted copy for review!

4 1/2 stars

I absolutely inhaled this book. I toggled back and forth between the ebook and audio version so that I was reading or listening to it all the time. The story has some obsessive behavior in the storyline and I definitely had an obsession about this book myself.

The book is told in different timelines by three different people's point of view. I would definitely classify it more as women's fiction with some great twists as opposed to mystery thriller. This story was definitely more about love and how it can build you up and then turn around and break you. It was beautiful, angsty, raw and real. Then there some other tweaks thrown into the storyline that just took it to the next level of creativity. This was completely in my wheelhouse. I loved it.

Our main character is Molly and the majority of this story is told from her perspective with some others thrown in as well to balance the storyline and give other pertinent information. Molly fell in love with a rising rockstar when she was young and living in New York. The relationship was tumultuous and gave her highs and lows. Now, years later, she's married with a daughter but still thinking about the one that got away. I'm not telling anything more. All I can say is this book is addictive. There were a few things I found far-fetched...but hey, it's fiction so I went with it.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: I loved the narration. There was a different narrator for each person's point of view which makes it so much easier to follow. I thought the audio lent itself well to this storyline and style of writing. 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

Carola Lovering is quickly making her way to my favorite authors! I was drawn in and kept interested the entire time. Within the vein of Colleen Hoover, she makes you feel for the characters and want to know what happened. I am impressed with her writing style and want to read more.

Can’t look away by Carola Lovering was a second chance novel that pulled me in from the very first page. The plot was overall fascinating and I did enjoy the story; however, there was some themes that seem minute to the story and were over done. Certain words, references, a lot of branding - it becomes a bit of a distraction.

I learned my lesson and no longer read the synopsis of a book before diving in because sometimes it just gives too much away, but the short and sweet of it is this is a romantic/domestic suspense that follows the evolution of Jake and Molly's love story over a decade. It's not a thriller, so don't go into it with those expectations.

I enjoyed it overall as the story alternates narration between three points of view and the past and present, providing a full picture of the characters' emotions and motivations over the years. We get a look at young love and the one that got away, with plenty of drama, jealousy, and lies thrown in to add some tension.

If you like a bit of drama and manipulation, pick this one up. It's entertaining and will keep you turning pages.

Thanks St. Martin's Press for my advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Can’t Look Away is described as a suspense novel but romantic drama is a better description. There was no suspense, all of the twists were obvious if you’ve read this kind of book before. I enjoyed reading about the love triangle between Molly, her first love Jake, and her husband Hunter. I could have done without Sabrina and her story as it added nothing to the plot. I would have loved for Hunter and Molly’s story to have been more fleshed out like her story with Jake was. Fans of Carola Lovering’s previous novel, Too Good To Be True, will enjoy this one.

Can't Look Away is my first from Carola Lovering but certainly will not be my last.

Molly, Jake, Serena: past, present. All three characters are intertwined in a dramatic tale. Serena first dated Jake but that didn't work out. He starts dating Molly right after and the rest.... you won't be able to look away from the pages to watch this unfold.

I had the pleasure of reading and listening to this read. After I hit the 30% mark, it was hard to stop reading and figuring out where Lovering was going. She makes you feel certain things about her characters that dives you into captivating scenes. If you like domestic dramas, this is the story for you!

Much more romantic suspense than mystery/thriller, but once I adjusted my expectations, I found this very engaging!

I love the twists and turns in this book, and it did not disappoint. I'm looking forward to the next one from Carola!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC copy of Can't Look Away by Carola Lovering! I did not like this one as much as Too Good To Be True because I felt it was less thrillery and leaned more into women's fiction.

I was thoroughly enthralled in this stalker-like obsessive story written from the person stalking’s POV as well as the people she is attempting to “ruin.”

I couldn’t wait to see how things were related and how they would evolve. I liked the whole relationship-with-a-rockstar vibe. I thought it was a good take on how that would probably be.

I was ready for the big thriller climactic scene… and yet, there wasn’t one. Not really. In the end, really not much changes from the beginning. The whole story could have never happened and everyone would be just fine and dandy. The only thing that changes in this book is feelings.

This isn’t a thriller. It is not psychological suspense. It’s more of a romantic drama - and that was disappointing. This was the story of finding out whether Molly should be with the man who broke her heart or the man who fixed it.

The title was appropriate. I just had to keep reading knowing something big was coming. Even though it didn’t, I couldn’t look away.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the early copy!

In 2013, Molly Diamond is enjoying life in New York City. She’s working on her MFA, has a circle of great friends and she's excited about what lies ahead. Her life changes when she meets Jake Danner, the lead singer/songwriter in a band that had just secured a record deal. They fall deeply in love and Molly becomes his muse. And Jake encourages Molly to pursue her dream of writing a novel.

In 2022, Molly is living a nice life in an upscale Connecticut town. While she still thinks about Jake, Molly is married to handsome, successful Hunter and has an adorable daughter who is about to turn six. While struggling with fertility issues, Molly enjoys teaching yoga and while a bit lonely, manages to put up with the snooty women of Flynn Cove, who look down at the couple for not joining their fancy country club. When Sabrina moves to town, Molly believes she has finally found a friend. But mysterious Sabrina seems to already know everything about Molly. What is her true agenda? And as Jake is about to release a new album in his quest for a comeback, Molly is forced to face her feelings about her first great love.

Can’t Look Away is a combination of domestic drama, romance and a bit of mystery with some suspense. It is a story about lost love, friendship, jealousy, obsession and the choices we make in life and its consequences. I recommend checking out Carola Lovering’s new book. It might make you wistful for your earlier days, when life was filled with endless possibilities in career and love.

GUYSS, this drops tomorrow and I am telling you, now is the time to preorder this, request it from the library, or add it to your TBR for June. This was fantastic.

This is my first Carola Lovering book just she gave me a Colleen Hoover level love story, with a lot of thrill and suspense. I think domestic type thrillers can be really really difficult to pull off but this one did it perfectly. At times, I was like "omg I love this romance book" and then BAM I was reminded some really freaky stuff was happening!!

This was so layered, and gave me so much to love. Also peep the last slide for probably my favorite quote of the year. I mean it's giving Grey's Anatomy "He's not the sun, you are" type of feels.

Seriously, go read this book. I can not recommend it enough! This is definitely the book of the summer.