This book was a great surprise! I found the beginning a little slow, but once the action started moving, I was hooked. It was much more dynamic than I expected and the plot was lots of fun to get through. And the story behind the heist (is that the right term for it?) was much deeper than I anticipated. I do think this was much more plot driven than character driven, but I still enjoyed the eventual love story (I’m going to call this one more idiots-to-lovers than friends-to-lovers because the pining was so obvious). The ending was very sweet, and I love seeing such a supportive couple.

3.5 stars

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Here for a Good Time is an adventurous romance. Poe and Zwe are the best of friends and Poe decides to treat Zwe to a last minute trip to Sertulu Island at a very fancy, very expensive resort. Poe is having a bad case of writers block while working on book two after having an extremely successful debut book and having Netflix buy the rights to it. She thinks this vacation will help her get a start on the novel. Things start to go bad, horribly bad on this vacation from hell. This book contains action, adventure, and romance all rolled into one story.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Poe is struggling to write a follow-up to her bestselling debut novel. Frustrated and looking for inspiration, she books an island vacation for herself and her roommate/best friend Zwe. The resort is paradise and they end up being the only ones staying there due to a glitch in the booking system. Their picture perfect vacation is flipped on its head when they awake to gunshots in the night and try to sneak away unseen to find help, learning about themselves and each other along the way.

I love a romance with some action (not necessarily the bedroom kind), and this was a great blend of both! Pyae Moe Thet War is a genius and blending romance with mystery and suspense. This book's gripping plot and Poe's inner thoughts propel the story so you might end up reading it all in one sitting!

When you genuinely wanted to like a book. I was looking forward to this one because I love a good friends-to-lovers trobe, and those are packed with so much TENSION and I love it because when they FINALLY get into their deep feelings its like the whole book explodes. This book did not do that, Poe is so childish, I was about to say something that was going to blow the lid off the whole book had to hold back that’s how annoyed I was, and Zwe is another hot mess. Clearly these two have feelings and all they do is bicker. The scenario was a little off, being in an island on holiday and then the hotel being held hostage and you run off to a remote area somewhere else??? And there was no legit chemistry between these two, by the time they acted on their emotions I was drained because of their childishness. Maybe its me but this book was NOT for me.

This was a fun, action packed romantic suspense, friends to lovers story featuring a best-selling author in a slump and her bookstore owning, math geek bestie and roommate who go on vacation and find themselves kidnapped. Good on audio narrated by Jacqui Bardelang and perfect for fans of authors like Sarah Desai. This works as a standalone but also has cameos from the MCs in the author's debut. I'm excited for the next book by this author! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio and digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Poe wrote a best seller and picked up a movie deal for her first published book. While she worked hard to get published, she lost something as she is trying for her next book. So worried about letting her new fans down and being a one hit wonder, she is starting to feel desperate. In a spur of the moment late night decision, she books a fantastic get away to a remote all inclusive resort to be pampered and try some new things. But Poe can't go alone, she is taking her roommate and best friend Zwe, along for the ride. It was supposed to be the time of their life, but they ended up hiding from the team that has taken over the resort for unknown reasons.

Here for a Good Time is a fun concept. Remote Island, friends to lovers story as the main characters expose some of the secrets they have been hiding. Poe has constant doubts about her talent and how she is going to live up to the craze that is around her. She is grasping at straws to find a new story and has been alienating the people around her. She has been a bad friend to Zwe and a poor daughter to her parents in the last year. As they run for their lives Poe has to come to terms with some hard truths and get past some of the fears she has been harboring and not expressing to the people who have always been her biggest supporters.

If you connect with this book is really going to depend on if you connect with Poe. She is in a bad place and a little needy. She also has some unrealistic expectations for Zwe to always back her up. They are going to need to clear the air if they are going to stay friends, let alone become more. I struggled with Poe, I struggled with Zwe and half the time I thought Poe's expectations of Zwe were so unreasonable. She talks about living together still when they are old but doesn't put two and two together that if she doesn't make a move Zwe will find someone to have a life and a marriage with.

The pacing was a little strange and the infighting between Poe and Zwe felt a bit forced for my tastes so there were parts of this books that just didn't read right in my head. That could be a miss on some of the cultural aspects as they were Asian and I'm an American.

There are cute moments in the book though and it all wraps up in a pretty fluffy ending. This was my first read by Pyae Moe Thet War and she is probably not my cup of tea. But, if you are into Asian culture reads and don't mind a little infighting, this could be for you.

First thank you to st martins press and NetGalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 3.75 stars

Synopsis: Poe is an author who has been best friend with swe for years. She decides to splurge and take them to an island getaway after getting the advance for her second book. However the trip does not go as planned when they are taken hostage

What u liked: this book has great representation, the premise is unique and interesting and a great location.. there are parts that are really great and lived them having to get away at night and some of their banter. However if you think about some parts like should Poe and swe be together, you might see some cracks in the execution. I think it is a good book and could be polished to be better.

3.5, rounded up. I love the representation here--a Malaysian author writing about Malaysia and a Southeast Asian island, with many allusions to the author's potential real life--and appreciate the suspense Pyae Moe Thet War builds. The relationship between Poe and Zwe is also fun and filled with chemistry (though said chemistry is inconsistent). I do wish Zwe were more fleshed out, and I don't love the "exes-as-plot-devices" piece, but overall it's a quick and fun romance.

2.5 ⭐

LIKED:
- I think the genre bending of this book is interesting It’s a rom-com with a thriller aspect, and that is pretty unique. I’ll discuss later how I didn’t find it to be that successful in its execution, but I can commend the idea and fresh take for the romance category.
- The social commentary on international gentrification is interesting. I wish we’d gotten to learn more about the island of Sertulu throughout the book, but the author was already trying to do too much so I get it.
- It’s really refreshing to have a traditionally published romance from a major publisher take place somewhere that isn’t normally seen. It was very cool to have the home of these characters be in Malayasia and take place across Southeastern Asia. Western audiences are so used to the typical “western” settings (North America, UK, Australia, etc.) and it’s important to showcase the genre being just as relevant across the globe
- I love this cover. I wish it was a *bit* more indicative of the heavier topic of armed hotel takeover, but I don’t really know how that would work visually.
- I’m torn on the title. I think I like it? But I don’t know if it’s actually that great of a fit. I think I mostly like the way the title looks on the cover itself more so than the illustrative nature of the words themselves.

LAMENTED:
- This romance does not work. These two seem like they don’t even like each other. Despite being friends for like two decades. And I’m the universes #1 fan of friends-to-lovers, I’m the first to excuse flimsy friends romances. But Zwe had more chemistry with Leila, honestly.
- Poe was so unbelievably immature. I like an unlikeable FMC, but this wasn’t unlikeability, it was just childishness, both in her actions and in her perceptions. I did not like being in her head and I wanted her to actually have growth, which she did not.
- The thriller aspects of the book were…odd. The pacing was lackluster and then the third act was where, expectedly, everything came together but it was so…nothing? One minute the criminals say one thing but like two pages later they change their minds? Tension whomst.
- There were a loootttt of repetitive lines. After the criminals were unmasked, they kept saying “if only you hadn’t seen our faces, nothing bad would be happening to you!”. So many times. Like we get it.
- The twist was unbelievably flat. It was very easy to figure out and underwhelming.

LONGED FOR:
- More focus on the connective tissue of the romance itself
- Better pacing/build of the tension (both romance and plot)
- More dimensional characters

How Long Do I Think They’ll Stay Together? : I think they will gte married and then grow to hate each other and realize that they actually were better as friends and the idea of being together was more appealing than actually being together in the end

Will I read the next one? : I own the first book from Afterlight, so I will read that. I’m not fully turned off by the author, like I said, the genre-bending was fun. I think I need more time with her work.

I absolutely fell in love with the author's other book, I Did Something Bad, and I was expecting to be similarly excited by this one. Sadly, this book truly fell flat for me. The relationship between the MMC and FMC was childish and annoying, lacking a romantic build. I didn't like their characters, nor how they spoke to each other. Also, the hotel glitch seemed unrealistic, as did their being at this hotel.

This was a fun best friends romance! Their friendship and banter had me laughing out loud, and I loved the tropical island setting.
Once these masked ladies took over the island, and Poe and Zwe were on the run, I had a ton of fun with them trying to survive. And Anthony, I loved that guy!
This was a slow-burning romance, and I loved the moment when Zwe finally declared his feelings!
I had a great time with this and loved it from start to finish. I'll definitely read more by Pyae Moe Thet War!

Poe has the author life she's always dreamed of (best seller, Netflix series), but her fiance has dumped her and she is having acute writer's block. She decides that she needs a luxurious getaway with her best friend since childhood (and one time crush) Zwe. While the resort is perfection (although a bit empty as they are the only guests) their time there is suddenly a different kind of adventure when masked terrorists take over the resort and the two run to the woods. Can they escape and can they finally figure out their feelings for each other.

This one is really hard to rate for me because while I love the author's writing style and her characters, this story was a little far fetched for me. I enjoyed it while I read/listened but it felt a bit absurd at times. I love the audio for these books, I find them so entertaining and the narrator is perfect and I think that helped me enjoy this one. The humor in the writing makes these true rom coms, and the adventure in her stories gives them an extra layer. I did think it was funny that the terrorists were wearing my perfume (Jo Malone's wood sage and sea salt) - because I thought it was not that popular. Her last book was really fun, this one was a bit too off the rails for me. However, when her next book is published I will be there just as excited as I was when I grabbed this one.

3.75 stars

Thank you to St Martins and NetGalley for the ARC to review

The writing was so funny at times, I loved it. Really great rom-com with adventure. I read it in a day. How many times have we overlooked the person standing next to us.

This book was a quick funny quirky read. I enjoyed both main characters and the premise was unrealistic, it was very entertaining!

You keep going. No matter what. No matter how long it takes, you keep going like you always do.
~
I just need to be promised an early Pyae book every summer for the rest of my life, okay? SMP and Pyae, do we have a deal? I am absolutely obsessed with her writing style and how she unfolds her stories, making them humorous, action-packed, mysterious, AND romantic, all at once, and I just have a such a blast reading them and immerse myself into the vivid settings she paints. Here For a Good Time was just that as we ventured to a private resort on the island of Sertulu, and wow, I was right in the water with Poe when she was learning to snorkel and felt my own ankle twinge at a very certain point (iykyk) and it felt like watching a movie unfold in my mind as I read. The mystery? Spectacular as always. I thought I had an inkling early on, then was quickly taken in different directions as the story went on and wow the actual reveal was great and so realistic and brings awareness to something that I wish there was more awareness of. And following a writer trying to overcome her writer’s block and instead ends up solving a mystery? What a breath of fresh air. Poe and Zwe had a wonderful dynamic and the banter was top tier, as were their disputes and their…near death moments, because you know, every mystery needs at least one, right? And the side characters! Romances are on the shorter side and sometimes it’s hard to invest the reader into characters that don’t get a lot of page time, but not in this case because I was so involved in ALL of them and kind of want a five years later novella to go after the epilogue. AND THE CAMEO!! I will not spoil, but it made my day! This is my very long and rambly and loving way of saying this book releases in a week and you NEED it like you need air, I promise!I

This is the second book I’ve read by Pyae Moe Thet War and she has officially earned a spot on my must-read author list!

Here For A Time is a FOUR STAR blend of thrilling mystery and humorous romance. I read part of it and listened to part of it, and once again, I’m so grateful for a narrator who can bring the story to life in a way that makes me feel even more connected than reading alone.

That said—this is a light mystery, so go in knowing it’s meant to be fun, not overly serious. Some moments are a little silly, but that’s part of the charm! It’s an entertaining, escapist read that’s a nice palate cleanser from the darker, more intense thrillers.

This delightful story releases August 26th—meaning you can pre-order it right now!

Thank you NetGalley, Pyae Moe Thet War, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the early copies of this perfect escape-from-the-real-world in exchange for a review!

Poe and Zwe didn’t want to ruin their friendship!

Writer Poe Myat Sabei was feeling the imposter syndrome since her first published book was an international bestseller and resulting Netflix contract with her struggle to write her next book with a serious case of writer’s block. Poe figured out that a maybe a change would help to break the writer’s block with a fancy vacation with her best friend Zwe Aung Win at a high end resort.

Poe never expected them to be the only guests at the resort after a booking glitch and it would be invaded by some masked women that were angry at the resort and they would be captured trying to escape the island.

Poe and Zwe had been friends forever but being captured made them realize that they were actually in love and they wanted a future together more than just being friends.

I loved the beginning and the end of the story but the middle felt a little flat.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from the author and NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 that I'm rounding up to a 4. Also that cover is great!

Here For a Good Time follows best friends Poe and Zwe, whose friendship has become slightly strained due to life getting in the way. With the success of her first book, Poe decides to book an all expenses paid trip for the two of them in a beautiful secluded island. Sure the price may have been a little steep, but seeing as she can now afford it, this is her chance to reconnect with her best friend, so she clicks that booking link without much thought.

What Poe isn't expecting, is to show up at an empty island- there was a glitch in the system that jacked up the prices so high that no one else but them are in the entire resort. Just as she's beginning to see Zwe as more than a friend, they get thrown into chaos as a masked group takes over the resort, and they have to stay hidden.

If I'm being perfectly honest, I liked the first half of the book way more- before the masked women enter the story. Though it's a big chunk of the book, I'm not entirely sure it was necessary. Poe and Zwe could have had conflict without it- there were a hundred different other ways they could have been put in life or death situations at the resort instead.

I also thought the chemistry between the leads was lacking. Especially in the second half, you were well aware it was building but it took a backseat to the action going on that it didn't really feel earned, which is unfortunate since it's supposed to be years in the making.

It also bothered me that Leila AND Julia were used as plot devices to show Poe's jealousy - one (Leila, since she was actually relevant to the plot) was more than enough, and Julia never even got a resolution. Zwe was texting her right up until leaving on vacation and then she was never relevant again- it was never resolved.

I think that making this into a dual POV would have really helped to ground the story a bit more, as Zwe wasn't as developed as I would have liked him to be.

All that to say, I still really enjoyed this book. The author definitely has a way with words and the story flowed pretty seamlessly. One of the big plot twists was pretty obvious from the beginning, but it was still fun seeing Poe and Zwe figure it out. I'll definitely be reading Pyae Moe Thet War's future books!

Thanks NetGalley for this eARC!

Here for a Good Time starts strong with a fun, high-concept premise: a bestselling author with writer’s block escapes to an island with her best friend—only for their peaceful retreat to be interrupted by a group of armed, masked women. What follows is a romantic adventure filled with unexpected twists, emotional undercurrents, and a surprising dash of suspense.

Pyae Moe Thet War’s voice is energetic and witty, and the book shines in its unique blend of rom-com and thriller. The setup is clever, the pacing brisk, and the themes of creative burnout and emotional vulnerability resonate well.

However, the tone can be uneven at times. Some readers may find the chemistry between the main characters a bit underdeveloped, and the suspense elements occasionally strain believability. While the concept is inventive, not all emotional arcs land as fully as they could. Still, this is a fresh, fast-paced read for fans of unconventional romance, messy heroines, and stories that don’t follow a predictable path. And that's why you're here, for a good time!

Poe Myat Sabei has the publishing career that any writer would kill for: her first novel sold at auction, became an international number one bestseller, and is being turned into a Netflix film. But now on deadline for her second book, Poe is facing a catastrophic case of writer’s block. The solution? Book a two-week getaway to an exclusive island resort for her and her best friend Zwe where she’ll undoubtedly be inspired to write her next bestseller.

But the vacation of their dreams disintegrates in a flash when the resort is taken over by a group of masked women who are very armed and very angry. As they try to leave the island before the group can track them down, Poe and Zwe suddenly find themselves facing the kinds of conflicts that only come up when, well, you’re trapped in a life or death situation on a remote island with your (hot) best friend.

Loved it. Cannot wait to read more from the author. Will recommend to others.