Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: April 25, 2023
The home competition show, “To the Manor Build” pits together real estate contractor pairs who each are responsible for building their own sprawling manor. The winner gets all costs covered by the network, and all the fame and fortune that comes with it. When Holly and Robert pair up, they can’t avoid the attraction and soon the insta-famous couple are streaming their wedding, filmed on the very grounds of their newly built home. When the two leave abruptly to start a clandestine honeymoon, no one raises a red flag until deadlines are due and neither Robert or Holly have been heard from in days. Missing and presumed dead, the public instantly targets the couple’s assistant, Erika, who has a mysterious past of her own. Erika’s mother, Kim, is the small town’s mayor and she knows her daughter has made mistakes, but she couldn’t possibly be responsible for the disappearance. However, when no one else believes her, she sets out on her own to prove her daughter’s innocence.
Sarah Strohmeyer came onto my radar with her novel, “Do I Know You?”, her first adult novel after penning several YA novels, and I was eager to get the chance to read her newest work, “We Love to Entertain”.
I am an HGTV addict so I loved the home renovation plot for this novel, and Robert and Holly were the perfect couple to feature on a show like this (vapid, shallow and completely unrelatable). Erika is more likable and Strohmeyer keeps an intrigue about Erika, teasing the secrets of her past without fully revealing them until the final chapters. The novel is narrated almost exclusively by Erika, with tidbits from her mother, Kim. Each chapter opens with a blurb from Holly and Robert’s blog, mostly written by Holly, meant to allow readers to get to know the reality stars, in all of their millennial-speaking glory.
“Entertain” has piles of suspenseful twists and turns, and Strohmeyer easily pulls her audience along from one plot twist to the next. Considering all of the characters and changes in perspective that the novel allows, the flow is seamless and I flew through the pages.
The ending is as it should be, providing a satisfying conclusion with no loose ends. This is a suspense novel for the modern reader, full of influencers, social media “personas” and reality TV but with enough background depth to make the novel digestible and actually enjoyable. Strohmeyer delivers a clever, modern and unique dose of high velocity intrigue with “We Love to Entertain”!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-arc copy in exchange for my honest review. At the start of this book, I thought it was going to be a win for me, but it fell short. I think the writing style just was not for me. It was a good predictable mystery with an unlikable protagonist. Just could not stay vested in the story but a pushed thorough. A 3 star.

Enjoyed this book. Entertaining and loved the reality tv aspect of it. Will certainly watch for future books from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Paperbacks, and Sarah Strohmeyer for the advanced copy of We Love to Entertain in exchange for my honest review.

This was pretty entertaining, though I found one of our female main characters, Erika, super unlikeable and honestly pretty hard to root for. I won't spoil anything but considering where her storyline ends up I kind of had a hard time getting invested.

The ending felt a little rushed and I would've liked to see certain aspects and storylines explained a little better, but overall it was fast-paced enough that I never felt truly bored.

We Love to Entertain will be on US bookshelves April 25!

This started off really good, but as we delved more into the multiple POVs, I started to lose interest. The mystery spun off into and became uninteresting once the couple disappeared. It gave small town Fargo mystery but it just wasn't captivating enough. Still, I powered through and although the ending left me unenthused, I didn't regret reading it.

We love to entertain really did entertain me. Thank you so much for the ARC. I had a really good time reading it.

Thank you, Harper Perennial and Paperbacks and NetGalley, for an advanced copy of We Love to Entertain.

This one took a turn that I did not see coming! A great twisty thriller! I enjoyed this one thoroughly! I'm a reality TV fan, and I love all that behind-the-scenes stuff. This was the first thriller I have read with that premise, and it was amazing. It also takes place in a kind of remote small town which is another great setting since everyone knows everyone's business but sometimes the reader is left guessing. The chapters were just the right length. Definitely recommend this one!

Holly and Robert Barron are turning their home into a low-carbon footprint yet over-the-top high-brow estate as contestants in a home renovation reality TV series. Their perfect wedding is filmed on the grounds of the estate, but it's what happens after the cameras go down that gets the ball rolling on this wicked thriller. Holly and Robert go missing after Robert tells their assistant, Erika (our main character), that he's decided to take Holly on an impromptu honeymoon. He reassures Erika that they'll back before the big house reveal for the TV show. When Robert and Holly appear to have gone missing and the evidence is stacking up against Erika, what will she do to try to find her employers and save herself?

It started out really promising and read the first 1/4 of the book pretty quickly. I like the idea of mixing social media with books, comments online, etc. By the middle of the book it started to drag. The couple's personalities were annoying and the other characters could have communicated more and resolved a lot of the issues. The ending felt rushed and predictable.

Eekkk this one was not for me! A hot mess express!! I was bored after 20% in. Some may like it though.

I found the premise of this book intriguing and I enjoyed the look into small town life in Vermont. The mystery itself was engaging - especially for lovers of HGTV. The characters were a little hard to like and made some strange choices. I felt like Kim and Erika needed to communicate with each other and with the police. Tammy was a lot of fun!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Paperbacks for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Harper Paperbacks for approving my request to read this ARC. I was scrolling through NetGalley one day, saw this cover with its intriguing, eye catching title and immediately hit the request button!

Characters: 4
Atmosphere: 5
Writing Style: 7
Plot: 4
Intrigue: 6
Logic: 10
Enjoyment: 4

<b>Characters</b>
I'm mostly conflicted on feelings for the characters we meet in this one. I liked our main characters okay, but I never really felt strongly for either of them. Honestly, Lucky the Grumpy Goat was the best character out of this whole entire thing, lol.

<b>Atmosphere</b>
We spend the majority of our time in the house that's being remodeled for the reality tv show competition, the town clerk's office and Erika's apartment. There were a few descriptions of the small town of Vermont, but not much and nothing to make it stand out from other small town settings in the Northeast. That said, our atmosphere was just filled with the busy work that goes into renovating a house. There wasn't any real tension, as no one knows if Holly and Robert are missing or just on their honeymoon. Only Erika is worried, but she's so busy with making sure all goes according to plan with those house so that it's ready for the Big Reveal the following week, that she doesn't have a whole lot of time to think deeply on it.

<b>Writing</b>
Here is where Sarah Strohmeyer shone. I really liked her writing style, which is what kept me moving forward with this story. When I read a thriller, I want the writing to be easy to understand, something I can read quickly as these typically are a bit faster paced. I do feel like the ending was a teensy bit rushed, I would've like more of a slower reveal or perhaps spent a little more time with the characters as events played out.

<b>Plot</b>
Too-good-to-be-true couple Holly and Robert Barron go missing, right after their wedding. These two are in the midst of a huge home renovation competition for a reality TV show with a lot of money on the line and it's not looking good for the home team in current rankings. It's a familiar trope, sure. It's a trope I happen to love and it of course drove me through this book, start to finish.

<b>Intrigue</b>
It was textbook predictable. I don't say that lightly - I'm easy to fool with red herrings and misdirects, but I called this one from the beginning. There was a couple curve balls I didn't see coming, but those were small details.

<b>Logic</b>
Another area where the author nailed it. This entire book, with all its information regarding property, renovations and even reality TV, all made sense and were explained in an easy to follow way. There were never any instances where I was left hanging as to what something meant or had to Google something I felt might be important to the story. I feel this is important as I'm not familiar with property laws or fixing up houses. My experience begins and ends with what I've watched on HGTV. I appreciated the author taking the time to make sure readers understood what was being talked about or actions being performed.

<b>Enjoyment</b>
Okay, so it's nothing I haven't read before and yes, I figured almost everything out early on - I still enjoyed reading it. I flew through it - this largely was due to just how well written it was. While I don't have a desire to reread it, I <b>will</b> be reading more by the author. Just because this one was only a "I liked it" doesn't mean the author won't have a top tier read hiding up their sleeve in another of theirs for me!

#WeLovetoEntertain
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity read and review this novel. I enjoyed the suspense and the idea of the plot. Sarah Strohmeyer is a wonderful writer and the book is reflective of this.

Thank you to the author Sarah Strohmeyer, publishers Harper Perennial and Harper Paperback, and as always NetGalley, for an advance digital copy of WE LOVE TO ENTERTAIN.

Kim is the clerk of courts for a small mountain town, and her daughter Erika charms her way into being a director's assistant on the set of the home improvement TV series, set to film locally for the new season. But when the hosts, Robert and Holly, and then Kim's daughter Erika, go missing, Kim has to take stock of her own secrets involving the very house being remodeled for the show, and the hosts' secrets. It couldn't just be coincidence the would hire a young girl that looks just like Holly, could it?

Maybe you can tell from the description I provided, but this story is a bit convoluted. It's still fun, I really love Kim's development, but it meanders. It moves slowly, also. Not every storyline calls for an aggressive tone and pace though, and this one did okay at a plod. I do wish there had been more evidence connecting the information given with the resolution, however. I was very surprised at the end, but in the wtf kind of way! I still enjoyed this one.

Rating: 💒💒💒 / 5 weddings
Recommend? Yes
Finished: March 26 2023
Read this if you like:
💜 Mary Kubica
🏚 Real estate design
🤷‍♀️ Mystery thrillers

Unfortunately this book did not work out for me. Generally, I was struggling to get into the writing style. Part of this was because of the unconvincing voices of the two main POVs and strange word choices for the characters internal and external dialogue. I also felt like choosing to give Erika and her mother's POVs as the main perspectives was a strange choice, as I didn't feel like they had the most interesting stories to tell.

Thank you to the publisher for granting me access to an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Uggggh. I'm sorry, I just don't know how I feel about this book. I was honestly annoyed from page one. I love HGTV and thought the premise sounded fun, but it was all just so obnoxious. The chapters that were basically Holly and Robert's blog posts were so cringe. *They* were so cringe. I almost DNF three or four times.

I didn't care about any of the characters. Not a single one - though, that's not true, I'd absolutely love to have margaritas with Tammy. Otherwise, I didn't care who was found, what secret Erika's past holds, or who ended up with the house in the end. And who the hell ended up winning To the Manor Build?? I hope it was Joel and Sean 🤞

I wanted to like this one, but it was a convoluted mess that not even the most skilled HGTV flipper could fix.

Thank you to NetGalley, and Harpers Perennial and Paperbacks for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Robert and Holly are entered into a home building/decorating reality show. They might just win. That is until they disappear after their wedding at a crucial time in the competition.

Where did they go? Why would they leave at such a crucial time? Did they go willingly?

Erika, the couple's assistant is left to pick up the pieces in the meantime.

Some thoughts:

Erika who is pushing 30 acts much younger.
Characters make ridiculous choices.
Erika has a secret from the past that isn't much of a secret.
Very fake, just like reality shows.
Predictable.

A good book, but not what I was expecting from this author.

Thanks to netgalley and Harper Paperbacks for the arc

What starts as a home renovation co-workers to lovers story turns dark when the stars of To the Manor Build, Robert & Holly, leave town the night of their wedding. Erika, their personal assistant, is left to figure out the mystery of where they disappeared to as the "honeymoon" to Montreal seems to be a ruse. As Erika digs deeper into the couple, she discovers secrets, threats, and inconsistencies that leave her wondering if she really knew the happy couple at all.

Readers will enjoy the experience of trying to figure out if Robert, Holly, and Erika are victims or perpetrators of a slew of crimes and possible murders.

Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harpers Perennial and Paperbacks for the ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I am a big fan of Sarah Strohmeyer’s chick lit books so I was very excited to see she’s been writing thrillers. Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me.

The book is very predictable, which wouldn’t be a bad thing, except it feels like the entire book is spent building up to “something” and when it ends as you expected it’s a let down. There were also big clues mentioned in the beginning of the book that are never mentioned again and it just felt like she wanted to include them but then couldn’t figure out how to incorporate them into the story’s end. Overall, the book left me unsatisfied and towards the end I had to force myself to finish it.

If your interests intersect at the corner of HGTV and thrilling mystery then this book is for you.

The story centers around a team of people working with a couple who are renovating a house for a tv show competition. It is told through multiple POVs, predominantly the couple’s assistant Erika and her mom Kim. There is suspense, there is tv drama, there are Reddit threads. It’s hard to say much else about the plot without giving anything away, but I overall enjoyed this book.

For me, some of the main characters’ choices were nonsensical and hard to rationalize, which made me dislike and distrust them. That makes the book frustrating at times. But, hey, they like to entertain and I was entertained.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Perennials and Paperbacks for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book was a phenomenal contemporary read, and totally takes advantage of everyone's current love of reality TV (and associated subreddits). Following Holly and Robert's renovation of a small old cabin--and turning it into an energy-efficient dream home after they acquired the property at a tax sale, there is literally drama on every page. From the "did they actually buy the property legally?" to the "wait they evicted someone?" to their disappearance, to the letters, to so much more. This book has it all--suspense, thrill, and I had no idea who the real villain(s) was/were for most of it.

As an actual (elected) assessor in New England, the sideline story with the Listers was absolutely hilarious to me (and hit a little close to home), and I could picture each of them with their clipboards clomping through houses taking stock of what it held inside, and then holding incredibly adversarial hearings at town hall. Solid addition to the book that really made it feel straight out of a small town.

Toward the beginning, I really questioned why Kim had a storyline--she definitely comes across initially as a total busybody mom with her nose in everyone's business. Obviously that opinion changed after Tammy came to town and the two of them became thick as thieves for the greater good. I also felt like Erika was being set up from the beginning. Was she? Read and find out!

Now that I've finished the book, it's left me with the lingering question of "who was the worst of the villians?" And I'm not sure I can answer that. Pretty sure the comparision list is equally long for any/all of them despite the villainous acts being completely different!