Search History's premise intrigued me. The unfettered access that social media can offer to people toes a dangerous line -- when does due diligence cross into obsession? How much research about a love interest is too much? One of the wonders of dating is that you learn about a person on their time. First date small talk develops into questions about interests, experiences, family dynamics, dating history, etc. All of the information comes through the lens of the other person. Sometimes, the filter of learning about a person from themself leads to more questions. Did that breakup happen as they said it did? Did they intend to keep dating that person before whatever relationship-ending event happened? Are they actually ready for the relationship for which they claim to be?

Amy Taylor's debut tackles all of the above and then some. When Ana flees Melbourne after a breakup, she is sure dating is just as terrible as she thinks. Then she meets Evan, sweet Evan who dismantles some of her biggest dating fears. But then she searches his name online and she learns something he hasn't chosen to share yet -- his last girlfriend died. Once she discovers this, Ana becomes obsessed with his ex and their relationship, digging deeper and deeper until she starts to question Evan and why he hasn't told her about his dead ex.

This novel is engaging and I think it's very honest about the downsides to social media and the impacts on our relationships. Particularly, I think this story makes some solid points about comparison, the fact that relationships, as portrayed on social media, is a curated practice, and the general fears we experience when we realize there's more to a person than they're willing to share with us.

Overall, I enjoyed this but I felt it veered a little too far into "telling" rather than "showing" by the end. I would've liked to see more active conflict. I recognize that much of the driving force came from the passivity of scrolling social media, rather than interacting with the other person in the relationship, but I would've liked to see how the internet-generated neurosis fed into how she interacted with people.

Thought this was a clever and timely book! As someone in a committed relationship I’m shears so curious about the dating world right now and this was satisfying!

I really enjoyed how relatable this story was and is a great debut by the author.
I personally found it challenging to relate to the characters and found Anna too self destructive for it to be enjoyable

This book made me so happy to be engaged to someone I met irl, because online dating sucks!! This book was such a fun play at it though and I really enjoyed it!

Be careful when you go hunting for something because you just might find it.
I thought Ana was too obsessed with Emily and it ruined her relationship with Evan.
I was disappointed to learn something about Evan.
It’s an decent read.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded

Ana needs to touch grass. Maybe delulu isn’t the solulu.

I walked into this book blind solely because I just didn’t read the plot prior. But I loved how oddly relatable this book is. I cannot even tell you the wormholes girlies would go into when investigating people even when one of us shows the slightest interest in someone.

While this story was an interesting plot and it was cool to see Ana’s mindset into dating Evan, the middle of the book was a bit of a lull. However, I still enjoyed this book.

Thank you, Netgalley and Random House, for the ARC!

I would like to thank NetGalley and The Dial Press for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

I didnt think i was going to enjoy this as much as i did! it was a really honest reflection on modern love and modern dating in the digital world. I think the main character was sort of pitiful but it made her loveable. I enjoyed the ending and how it all tied up. Overall thought this was going to be forgettable but was very pleasantly surprised!

Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for a the chance to review Search History by Amy Taylor. This book fell flat for me. The characters were insufferable. It might be because I'm older and never did online dating, but I couldn't relate to this book.

This was a good read. The more I read the more I realized how sucky it is to date in this ridiculous digital age! Amy did a great job with the story telling in this one.

Search History was sort of all over the place for me. At first I didn’t realize what I was reading. I didn’t understand if it was a mystery or a romance. The first portion of the book set it up to sound like a mystery in my opinion. I lost interest by the middle of the book so it took me a little bit to pick it back up. The beginning and the wrap up was great. The rest fell flat for me.

this book seemed like it wanted me to hate our love interest and to feel defensive of our posited-as-normal protagonist, but i felt quite the opposite. these behaviors aren't normal or emblematic of modern life, and i felt watching our main character internet stalk, be nosy, fan her jealousy of a dead person, and justify her own behavior in the name of a vague feminism was the creepiest bit of all.

This was a good read - I really enjoyed this book. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

This book is such a hidden gem! It took me awhile to finally pick it up (despite being the one to request it...) but once I did, I could not put it down. It's a little longer than I would normally like, but I finished this in no more than two settings. As someone who normally loves to savor the books she reads, especially when they're four or five star reads, that's saying a lot!

There were so many things to love about this novel, but what it boils down to for me (and what I tell my friends when they ask for a recommendation), is that this is a painfully accurate description of the anxiety anyone feels when dating in the age of social media. I was uncomfortably cringing through so many parts of this book simply because I had been in the main character's shoes far more times than I'm willing to admit. As a happily married woman now, I can reflect on the moments I've spent googling my exes, their exes, their families, their criminal records, you get the picture... I can't believe this is a debut novel but I'm so glad I found it and will recommend it to anyone who is or has been coming of age in the digital age.

I tried reading this many times but couldn’t get into it. Unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. Giving it 3 stars as to not being down the book just because I lost interest

Fairly predictable rom com but it was still a good read that I enjoyed. But I'm not sure if I would want to read more by this author.

The idea of this was interesting, but the delivery left some to be desired. I ended up skimming the last bit.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

The writing is solid, creating a vivid atmosphere, but the plot is a mix of captivating moments and predictability. Characters are well-developed, though some lack depth. Pacing fluctuates, making it a decent but not outstanding read.

This was a good read for anyone alive today who has googled a new friend, new coworker, or new love interest (which is essentially everyone). It shows the dangers of formulating theories from the internet and believing everything you see or read, and how that affects real life relationships and blurs the lines between reality and what is merely on the screen in front of us.

Ok so I totally thought this was going to take a MUCH darker turn given what happened to the ex.

Ana has moved from Perth to Melbourne following a breakup and is looking to start over. She has a new job, meets a new guy, Evan.

But she obsessively stalks Evan online and learns his last ex died in a hit and run. She becomes obsessed with this relationship and the ex girlfriend. However anytime she tried to get Evan to talk about his ex, he shuts down and pushes Ana away.

Eventually some truths come to light that give a new perspective to all Ana found online.

Maybe spoilery, but at the end I wonder if Ana learned her lesson as there’s a spark of a new flame.