Kayla and Zorie crash weddings as a quick heist, but they're now the only Black women at an antebellum-themed wedding. Kayla has an arrest history thanks to a teen prank, so she's at a disappointing job. Zorie and the wedding crashes are the bright spots in her life, but the thefts have started getting risky. For this wedding, their getaway turned lethal. They're now the “Wedding Crasher Killers” on the national news. Their escape plan leaves behind a bloody trail from Georgia all the way to the bayou. As past grudges resurface, Kayla realizes that the best friend she thought she knew is more dangerous than she could ever have realized.

Kayla's life is not great to start with, and it gets even worse when she's fired from her job for a mistake she made. It goes downhill from there, given that she and Zorie scrape by from paycheck to paycheck and by selling off stolen wedding goods. Their last score goes wrong very quickly, since neither is a professional thief, so they take off running because Georgia has the death penalty. Any stroke of luck quickly gets turned around into something worse, adding to their (and our) tension and panic. It's like watching a car wreck in slow motion: we know it's going to end badly, that it's going from bad to worse, but we can't help but watch to see how truly terrible it gets.

While Kayla and Zorie were always close, their myriad hurts since early childhood shaped them into people who don't feel like they can rely on anyone but each other. They look for quick scores, and their quick tempers mean they turn on each other as often as they turn on others. It's sad and horrible at turns, with cascading long-term effects for everyone involved.

A sleigh ride of a read. Kayla and Zorie have been BFFs since forever, with Zorie a sister in all but blood. Now in their early twenties, the consequences of things have caught up to them and they're living on the margins working as maids at a hotel and robbing gift table at weddings to pay for rent and food. And then in an instant everything goes sideways when Zorie runs over the maid of honor at a wedding they've robbed. Now the pair are on a wild journey to New Orleans to see Zorie's aunt but the violence amps up and Kayla wants out. But can she leave Zorie? Zorie has always been impulsive but now she's frightening and this forces Kayla to think not only about the future but also their past. Kayla makes one bad decision after another as she follows Zorie even when she knows she should not. It's an intriguing look at how someonecan be swept into madness. Zorie is thoroughly horrible and irredeemable (sorry but no). This is bold, propulsive, and you might want to turn away. Certainly you'll want to say no, just no more than once. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It was a page turner for me.

Through the heartaches hiccups, and mishaps, these ladies keep their Thelma and Louise energy. What a ride! It kept me hooked from the beginning.

When best friends Kayla and Zorie crash an antebellum themed wedding and are the only two non-white guests they should have known it was doomed from the beginning. Kayla felt that the only way to try to turn her misfortunes around was to do this one last heist. But when the wedding turns deadly the two best friends have to go on the run. Kayla soon realizes her best friend is not who she thinks she is.

This book was an interesting read but not my favorite read. Thank you to netgalley and to the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion

Kayla and Zoire have made a habit of crashing weddings and stealing gifts, but they swear the next one will be their last. Unfortunately, their final heist takes a disastrous turn, sending them on the run. As they try to escape the fallout, their situation only spirals further out of control. This fast-paced read will have you shaking your head at the chaos that follows them every step of the way.

thank you Ballantine for the review copy!

less a tidy thriller and more a raw, gritty, spiraling survival story—a dark, unraveling Thelma & Louise with ankle monitor energy. Kayla and Zorie, former inmates turned hotel housekeepers, grabbed me early; their loyalty, bad options, and worse decisions feel painfully real. I loved the emotional groundwork we get—especially around Kayla’s family—but I wanted more actual growth as the chaos escalated. Once the “one last wedding” scam detonates and the two go on the run (Georgia → Alabama → New Orleans), the book becomes relentless: sharp writing, escalating tension, and increasingly unhinged situations you cannot look away from…even when you want to yell at them. The midsection repeats some cycles, and the ending felt rushed, but the ride? Wild. Messy. Uncomfortable. Unforgettable. Go in expecting moral gray, trauma, poor choices, and survival at every level—not a puzzle-box thriller—and you’ll be rewarded.

3.5 stars - Wow. What a ride. ‘Love You to Death’ is an emotionally raw and gritty survival story that reads more like a psychological reckoning than a traditional thriller. Prepare yourself for something heavier and messier; think a dark and desperate Thelma and Louise that’s coming apart at the seams.

At its heart, this is a fight-for-your-life survival story for our main character, Kayla; not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. The story deeply explores the bonds of friendship, specifically, the dangerous nostalgia that can blind you to how much people have changed and what you excuse due to long-standing ties and loyalty. Simply, it poses the question: Are the friends you once needed still good for you now?

And while the book is an addictive one, the middle does begin to feel a bit repetitive with our characters falling into the same patterns and struggling with the same turmoil. With this book there’s a real sense of hopelessness that permeates the pages, and while you want to root for Kayla to make the right decisions, she can be frustrating and is not for those who need the less flawed “good guy” to root for. Despite her flaws however, I found her to be authentic and compelling (though I do love a good morally gray character).

Overall, I found this one to be more of an emotional read at its core with an adrenaline rush shell. It’s about trauma, choices, and survival in every sense of the word. Ultimately I recommend it, but with the caveat that it’s not your typical thriller, so go in ready to feel uncomfortable.

If you've ever doubted that women can be monsters, you'll think twice after this book.

Kayla and Zorie have a complicated, toxically codependent friendship. While they've absolutely had each other's backs, when things go wrong during one of their wedding crashing thieving heists, Kayla learns a side of Zorie she never wanted to see. They go on the run with Kayla trying to fly under the radar and Zorie going off the rails if it means survival on her own terms.

I wanted to love this but it went past where I could suspend my disbelief - I kept yelling for Kayla to DO SOMETHING. Zorie is a wild ride of a character and she'll break your heart a little, but Kayla has the potential for so much and it feels like she never gets a chance, or doesn't take it when it's in front of her.

There were some twists in their story I didn't see coming, and the end is painful on many levels. There's absolutely the possibility that this just wasn't for me.

What started out as a madcap buddy story turned into so much more! It was nonstop action and an exploration of unhealthy friendships. I found myself getting so frustrated with Kayla so many times but do we really know what we would do in her shoes? This was a very good read!

This novel started off so strong - I was fascinated by the lives of Kayla and Zorie, two best friends who have been hotel housekeepers ever since they were released from prison. We get a glimpse into Kayla’s family life and feel a lot of empathy for the shitty situations she finds herself in. I really appreciated the emotional depth given to these characters. However, as the story goes on, this depth kind of dead ends. I really wanted more character growth from this pair!

Desperate for cash, Kayla and Zorie decide to crash one last wedding, but everything goes desperately awry and the two end up on the run. They make their way from Georgia to Alabama to New Orleans and encounter one unhinged situation after the next. Reading this was a wild ride, but after a certain point, I wondered what the point was. I wanted more from the ending, too. It felt rushed.

I enjoyed elements of this story and the author’s writing style, though, so I would definitely give her next novel a chance. This one just wasn’t a standout for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This book will be out next Tuesday, July 22nd!

I featured Love You To Death in my July 2025 new releases video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5JWYTfUVq4, and though I have not read it yet, I am so excited to and expect 5 stars! I will update here when I post a follow up review or vlog.

"...I love the chaos as much as she does. Maybe I do. Maybe I crave it. Need it. In a strange way, chaos is where I find control."

Chaos is a great way to describe this book! It's chaotic in the best way with a fast-paced plot and near constant action.

In this book, we follow the toxic friendship of Kayla and Zorie, as one bad decision after another has them on the run from the law. From Georgia to Louisiana, their "ride or die" bond is tested as Zorie descends into madness, dragging Kayla down with her.

I enjoyed the writing style a lot with this one - it was fun and filled with dark humor. I literally laughed out loud several times, which I rarely do with books.

Overall, I loved this book and I think it would do well in a film or tv show adaptation. If you like thrillers and reading about (violent) toxic besties, I think you'll like this book! Looking forward to more from Christina Dotson in the future <3

I was unable to finish this book and thus will not be posting a full review. I found this infuriating -- I understood the momentum of bad decisions but this just made me angry. Thank you for the opportunity.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A wild ride through toxic friendship and terrible. This book is an adrenaline-fueled, emotionally messy thrill ride that grabs you from the first chapter and doesn’t slow down. Kayla and Zorie are the definition of “ride or die,”emphasis on die. Their loyalty to each other is fierce, but it’s also destructive. What starts as a petty crime spree quickly spirals into something darker, bloodier, and way more complicated. You’ll be yelling at them for their awful decisions one minute and then flipping pages like your life depends on it the next. The writing is sharp and fast-paced, and the tension is relentless. The characters aren’t exactly likable—okay, they’re kind of disasters—but they are unforgettable. I couldn’t look away, even when I wanted to. Definitely like a train wreck! Perfect for: fans of dark thrillers, messy friendships, and morally gray characters who make you question everything. If you’re into chaotic road trip crimes and stories that aren’t afraid to get a little ugly, this one’s worth the read.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for advanced copy, and I give my review freely

when it's moving with the action, it's great. but you never get too much of a chance to care for Kayla and from minute 1 you can tell that Zorie's a bit off. 3.5 stars. tysm for the arc.

This novel was crazily unhinged.

Zorie and Kayla go on the run after an... unfortunate incident.

Kayla acts on her impulses (to her financial detriment) and Zorie is just sociopathic. It was really hard to like any one of them to be honest, but the novel was non-stop and I kept wondering how this would play out in the end.

The author did a great job in creating their dynamic. I enjoyed reading how they reacted towards each other and others while on the run. It was a fast paced novel until the end.

I recommend this to anyone that wants to read a Bonnie & Clyde -esque book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for allowing me to read this novel ahead of its release.

Really enjoyed this wild ride of a ride-or-die friendship story.

Love You to Death is a fast-paced and suspenseful story about Kayla and Zorie, two best friends whose cash-grabbing wedding crashing habit (they crash weddings, hit the wedding money box, and flee) accidentally turns deadly. They face a choice: own up to what they did, or flee.

They choose option B and take off on a dangerous, gripping, and blood-soaked tour from Georgia to Mexico, all the while watching news reports about themselves.

If you read Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch, it has a similar feel. The story has twists and turns and looks at the way one decision can send you down a path there' no escape from, and Kayla's ever changing perceptions of Zorie and their relationship. It's book that really keeps you guessing about where the story is headed, and there's a surprising reveal at the end.

I stopped reading about 30% through. I couldn't quite tell where it was going, but it seemed like things were just going to keep getting much, much worse and they already started out really bad. This main character doesn't even seem to deserve everything happening to her and it just keeps piling on and I'm not enjoying it at all. So, I'm just going to move on. I'm sure other people who can handle more stress and horrible things happening to people who continue to make dumb decisions might enjoy this more than I did.

Love you to death follows Kayla as she goes on the run with her best friend Zorie after a deadly accident. This book was incredibly difficult to get through. These are the two most dislikeable characters that could ever exist. They kept making illogical, illegal, and deadly decisions over and over again. There were many many chances for them to make the right decision in this book and in their lifetime yet at every chance they would make the glaringly incorrect one. I could not relate to or sympathize with the narrator at all. This was a tough book to finish.

Received an ARC via NetGalley.

I didn’t particularly like the characters but this hooked me in all the same. You don’t know whether to root for or against them, bc their choices just get worse and worse. But following them on their journey as they try to outrun the consequences makes this difficult to put down. It’s so tense!

I think the dynamic, in its complete dysfunction, was compelling too. I get why Kayla couldn’t turn her back on Zorie, even as she got worse and worse, but I was still hoping she’d make better choices.