Many thanks to Berkley for the digital review copy. Now, let's dig into the details.

Finders Keepers Synopsis

Nina Hunnicutt wasn't ready to lose her job, her boyfriend, and her house in the same week. But that's exactly what happened, sending her back to her childhood home to regroup. The only problem? Her estranged childhood best friend is back in the house next door, and he wants to resume the very treasure hunt that tore them apart. The reward money might be worth it... if Nina can ignore just how much she's still attracted to the adult version of her former best friend.

Finders Keepers Review

Ahh, my friends. Childhood friends to lovers is my absolute jam, and I'm pleased to report that Adler absolutely nailed it with this. You can feel both the hurt from the friendship falling apart and the ease with which Nina and Quentin settle back into old dynamics, existing right alongside one another. The banter? Bantering. The slow burn? Simmering. The pining? Immaculate.

The treasure hunt premise is a little bit wild, but it works because it harkens back to something they did together as kids. Plus, the way it resolves (no spoilers) felt realistic to me, bringing it back to earth at the end.

I also appreciated the side characters that bring the small town to life, slowly helping us and Nina realize her hometown can actually be a great place to live, not a prison you try to escape from.

This is one of those books I loved so much, it's hard to put into words. Finders Keepers just falls perfectly within my personal wheelhouse of well-written slow-burn friends-to-lovers and I absolutely sank into it with delight. I highly, highly recommend Finders Keepers to just about anyone!

Synopsis: Nina and Quentin were childhood best friends and neighbors who bonded over a local eccentric seltzer magnate’s mysterious treasure hunt. After a falling out, they haven’t spoken in over a decade - but now they find themselves living back in their childhood homes. They resume their treasure hunt and may even rekindle their romance, too.

Thoughts: This was a cute romcom! I really enjoyed the adventurous aspect of the treasure hunt, and the excerpts from the interviews with the sarcastic and eccentric man who planned the hunt added a fun element. Nina was a hard character to relate to, but I did appreciate the mental health representation. Quentin, I liked a bit more, but honestly just didn’t feel much of a connection to the characters. I think with a bit more character development and a bit less miscommunication this would have been even better - still really enjoyed it though! A note on the audio: this was my first audiobook narrated by Mara Wilson, and she was great! Super entertaining listen.

Read this if you like:
🏴‍☠️ treasure hunts
🏴‍☠️ second chance romance
🏴‍☠️ childhood friends to lovers
🏴‍☠️ neighbors
🏴‍☠️ small town
🏴‍☠️ depression/anxiety rep

Just as with Sarah Adler’s other novels, I found myself on a journey as I read this novel. Nina and Quentin have both had a bit of bad luck and this story is about fixing the things that have gone wrong in their own lives as well as trying to navigate to a place where they can have a future together. Their seventeen years apart meant they were definitely not the same people they were in their teenage years, but at times it actually felt like they had the emotional combined age of a seventeen year old again. I got a little frustrated at their miscommunications but ultimately they got their act together, solved a mystery and still fell for each other doing it in a way that was interesting and enjoyable to read.

The playful banter and chemistry shine in this adventure romance, pairing up childhood rivals who have crushed on each other in the past. I will openly admit that I did not care about the treasure hunt element one bit - it weighs down the beginning - but I started to really enjoy the story once the focus shifted to the present day relationship. I loved Adler’s first two books, so I knew that she was capable of writing some great relationship development, and this one got better and better once it hit its stride. It’s still her weakest work, but the connection between the characters is based on a rich and complicated history that made their interactions feel more meaningful. If you’re interested in the treasure hunt, then chances are you’ll have a fun time with this romance.

The story follows Nina, a woman whose life is falling apart. She just lost her job and realized that her longtime boyfriend never cared about her much. Forced to move back in with her parents temporarily, Nina is humiliated when she discovers that her childhood rival is visiting town as well. Nina and Quentin used to push each other as kids, constantly competing in a playful way until messy teenage feelings tore them apart. Back in town together as adults, Nina and Quentin reconnect and continue searching for the treasure that they used to hunt as kids. When those old feelings resurface, things get complicated.

I really loved Adler’s first two books, so I went into this with a lot of excitement. I didn’t expect the treasure hunt to get so involved, and I can’t say that I was a fan of that. I also struggled with Nina at first and the level of miscommunication/assumptions between her and Quentin. But once the story got going, it was a lot easier to get into. It’s lighthearted and playful in some moments, serious and contemplative in others. I liked the nostalgic elements and the way Quentin and Nina built on their past relationship. They’ve both grown a lot in the years apart, and are able to approach their feelings differently this time around. Readers who love childhood friend romances are sure to find those elements a win. This one sits between three and four stars for me, but I’m definitely excited for more from the author.

This was a solid 4 stars for me. It started slowly and took a bit to keep my attention, and when it did I was completely charmed. I admit, I was not all that interested in the format of the records/interview between chapters detailing the eccentric property owner, but the treasure hunt and research surrounding his estate that was the central plot plot for bringing Nina and Quentin together again was really fun. I loved the dynamic between the two main characters and found this overall to be a very charming and fun and heartwarming story, with a satisfying romance and great spicy scenes.

Sometimes in romances where one character is down on their luck it always seems to be the woman, and I liked that Nina and Quentin were both in similar circumstances when the story begins. The whole “old friends now estranged but working back towards friendship” dynamic was so fun to read.
The callbacks that they have to their childhood/preteen/teen years is absolutely endearing. Although it’s not told in past/present format or with any flashbacks, the author does a great job of making us feel the depth of their friendship as kids/teens. There’s a really beautiful feeling of camaraderie between them as kids, even just told in present recollections.

All in all, while the treasure hunting dragged on a bit, the chemistry and relationship between Nina and Quentin was so perfect that for me it held this book together beautifully.

This is my first Sarah Adler book and the premise sounded like the perfect summer read.
Sadly I'm not quite sure what to make of the story. There were parts that were cute and I wanted Nina and Quentin to figure out their issues and their future and yet I didn't feel invested if they made it or not. I found Nina needy and annoying. I started skimming through all her scenarios because it just seemed like overkill. I liked Quentin better until I didn't.

The pacing was too slow for me and the treasure hunting aspect also fell flat. The whole story just felt choppy. I'm giving this one 2.75 stars, rounded up to 3 stars for good reads. I think this will still be liked by many but I thought it was just okay.

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley for the chance to read this early in exchange of an honest review.

*friends to lovers
*treasure hunting

Ohhhh the childhood friendship to lover trope. I do enjoy these types of stories BUT often find they suffer from miscommunication which was of course the other trope here too. Overall this was an enjoyable romance with a fun sub-plot with the treasure hunt.

Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler is a sweet, second chance, slow burn romance between two estranged childhood friends. Both Nina and Quentin have returned to their childhood homes after becoming single and unemployed. Nina is a bit unsettled being around Quentin again after he broke her heart and ghosted her when they were 15. He wants to forgive and forget and finish what they starts all those years ago - to find the hidden treasure left by an eccentric billionaire tycoon nearly a century ago; which ended their friendship all those years ago.

The conflict involved a lot of misunderstandings and strange decisions on behalf of both characters, but ultimately it turned out to be really sweet and heartwarming so I didn’t mind too much. Their banter was so great and Quentin especially made me laugh a lot. The estate setting was fun and it was enjoyable reading the bits about the late owner and all of his eccentricities. This was a fun second chance romance with a side of mystery.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
#Berkley #NetGalley #FindersKeepers

I love Sarah Adler books. She writes the most relatable hot mess characters. I fully identify with them. She also knows how to pull the hear strings. If you haven't read any of her books what are you even doing with your life?

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the arc and to PRH Audio for the ALC.

Sarah Adler has done it again! Sarah's books always put a smile on my face and this one was no exception. I loved the chemistry between Quentin and Nina. Furthermore, Mara Wilson is back to narrate the third book by Sarah Adler and at this point I can't imagine anyone else narrating these beautiful and hilarious books! So what would I change about this book? Absolutely nothing. The only complaint I have is that i can't rate this book more than 5 stars! Trust me, go pick up this book today and you will fall in love, just like I did! <3

I just finished Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler for my book tour for @berkleypub and here are my musings.
Nina is licking her wounds and heading back to her childhood home.. Only to find the house next door is not empty…But has Quentin Bell, her ex best friend and secret crush. Radio silence for years but their friendship seems to have stood the test of time and the treasure hunt they started all those years ago is still calling to them… Can they work through the hurt they both harbor?

Cute Romance
Friends to lovers
Childhood friends
Treasure hunt
Old Mystery
Second Chance
Small town

These are the exact ingredients needed for the kind of romance read, all romance readers need… on any given day.

I loved the dynamic between Quentin and Nina. I love romance reads that have romances bloom from childhood friendships. I love the added bit of mystery with the treasure hunt. It gave us something else to focus on that wasn’t just the will they won’t they tension that the book had in spades.

I also loved the small town vibes that were going on. I thought the book alternating between the man who set the hunt and the present day was clever. I wasn’t so sure about the flitting back and forth at first but it really gave the book a much needed dimension from the source of the hunt opposed to the duo finding the answers along the way.

I loved the writing. It was clean and well paced. I think the author did an awesome job of keeping the mystery and romance simmering at equal levels. I do wish the ending had been a bit splashier… What they found at the end, while very sweet, was a bit of a let down too.

I did think the HEA was a nice touch though and I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

4 stars! This little gem of a book is available today! So go grab your copy!

(I think the cover is excellent by the way!)

Thank you to @netgalley and Berkley Publishing for my gifted copy. I have massively enjoyed my tour spot!

I really liked the idea of this book. I will say though that the cover implies they use a treasure map and have to dig for the treasure, and neither of those things happen in the book (maybe that seems like a trivial complaint, but it sets the reader up to expect a certain kind of book, which this isn't). The treasure hunt kind of takes a back seat to the two main characters getting reacquainted. I was hoping for more of an adventure, with twists and turns and clues to follow and side quests and quirky characters along the way. It kind of has those things, but it's more of a small-town romance (not that there's anything wrong with that, it just wasn't what I expected). I love small-town romances, but unfortunately this town didn't really come alive for me. My archivist side (one of my favorite librarian disciplines, though it's not my current professional focus) loved the idea of old interviews and researching in archives, but I thought the actual transcripts took away from the story instead of adding to it. I also didn't particularly like the two MCs (especially the FMC, who was always making up stories and then believing they were fact without any evidence -- which, sure, we all do that sometimes, but she seemed to completely lack any awareness that that was what she was doing, so she never grew from it). Overall, I loved the concept for the book, but didn't always love the execution. But I know there are readers who WILL love it, and I hope they find it.

“Well, last time we did this, we lost our friendship.”
“Yeah. And maybe this is how we find it again.”

Thank you Berkley for the eARC & Penguin Random House Audio for the ALC! All opinions are my own.

✦ tropes & stuff:
✨ childhood friends to strangers to lovers
🏠 neighbors
🌟 treasure hunt
🔗 forced proximity
💜 (brief) fake dating
🌳 small town
🐢 slow burn
💖 single 1st person pov

📝 mini blurb:
After many years apart, childhood friends Nina & Quentin decide to pick back up where they left off in a treasure hunt, giving them both a fresh start in life, and with each other.

•┈••✦ review ✦••┈•

🎧 audio/ebook | ⭐️: 4.5 | 🌶️: 2 |

💭 what I loved about this one:
- their competitiveness with each other
- that window scene 🤭
- “Moon” & his accent 😅
- every time Nina gets flustered and loses her words around Quentin 🤣
- how they rebuilt their connection & trust with one another

🙃 what didn’t quite work for me:
- nothing really stood out for me, it didn’t hook me at the beginning and I had to re-read the first 10 chapters to get into it

🎧 audiobook thoughts:
Mara Wilson is lovely, I enjoyed her narration for all characters voices (including male voices!)

Nina has just broken up with her boyfriend, been laid off from work, and is now moving back into her childhood home with her parents. What she doesn’t expect, is to find Quentin, her childhood next door neighbor, also newly single, to have moved home as well. Nina and Quentin haven’t spoken since they were fifteen due to a falling out, and this is not who Nina was expecting to see upon moving back home in her thirties.
Nina and Quentin reconnect, and go off on a hunt for a treasure hidden in their hometown, one they’ve been searching for since they were kids, and what led to their falling out as teenagers. Will they be successful at finding the hidden treasure, and will it be worth what they think it could be? Or will the search end without treasure and disappointment?

I thought this book was very cute, and enjoyed the banter between Quentin and Nina. It was entertaining to read about different adventures on their treasure hunt, always wondering where it would lead. I also appreciated watching them grow as friends, and as individuals, both trying to figure out their next steps in life, professionally, and personally.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

This book seemed interesting, but ultimately it wasn't the book for me.

My issues stem from Nina's overall frenetic demeanor. I understand that she has an anxiety disorder and it has manifested itself in an obsessive need for control, but as someone who also has an anxiety disorder, it was hard for me to read her inner thoughts because they just made me more anxious than anything. It was a difficult position for me to be in because I really wanted to enjoy the book, but I felt like I couldn't because the whole experience was making me anxious.

Additionally, I really disliked Quentin as a character. I felt like there wasn't a satisfactory resolution between the two of them for why they hadn't spoken to each other for 17 years before he tried to dive back into the relationship. It felt very confusing for me (and for Nina) to not have that closure until much later in the book, and as a result, I felt like I couldn't really get involved in his character throughout most of the story.

Not a bad book, and I know many people will enjoy it, but definitely not the story for me.

Cute. But altogether forgettable. I wish the mystery would have been more.... mysterious? A fine beach read.

I do love a Sarah Adler book! This was nostalgic and cozy with a little summer adventure with your childhood crush. Can’t get much better than that! I was giggling and kicking my feet the entire time.

Sarah Adler's Finders Keepers is a gem! This is her third romance, and her first, Mrs Nash’s Ashes was a DIK here at AAR. In this story, she combines a character driven romance with a secondary plotline about an eccentric billionaire who leaves a treasure hunt in his will. This whimsical storyline gives our protagonists something to do as they try to reconnect after seventeen years apart.

Nina Hunnicutt and Quentin Bell have both moved back at home after they suffer disasters in their personal and professional lives. Nina is an academic and archivist who has just lost her job, her boyfriend and her apartment. With no savings or work prospects, she is back in her childhood bedroom, dealing with her too-exuberant mother and too-remote father as she regroups. Similarly, Quentin has been working as a lawyer in France and loses his job after his engagement ends. This sends him back to Catoctin and his childhood home, right next door to Nina.

The book opens with an article from 1938 about the last will and testament of local business magnate Julius James Fountain, who left his home, Sprangbur Estate, to the city of Catoctin, Maryland, along with a mystery treasure, which has never been found. When they were teens, Nina and Quentin had worked together to try and find the treasure, but one night they got caught on the estate by the police, and Quentin left town and ghosted Nina. They haven’t seen each other since.

I’m not a big fan of romances where all the problems stem from something that happened when the protagonists were teenagers. In this case, there’s a bit of that, but their friendship also broke up at a time when other challenges were happening to each of them – and at such a critical moment, they lost each other as well. Nina recognises that at the time, Quentin’s leaving was only one part of her struggle, but it still affected her ability to trust and believe in herself, and was a major contributor to an anxiety and depression spiral she is still dealing with. Nina thinks:

it wasn’t losing Quentin himself that made that fall and winter so awful so much as losing the steadiness of having him around.

The story is told entirely from Nina’s point of view, and her internal voice is very funny, wry and self-aware, but mental spiralling is a real issue for her. We can see how it holds her back and prevents her from really seeing Quentin – as the man he is now. She also compartmentalises herself: Ambitious Nina, Badass Nina, and these labels erode her self esteem.

As they are both back in Catoctin looking for jobs and taking stock, Quentin persuades Nina to work with him to try and find the treasure. Their adventures are interspersed with transcripts of interviews that JJ Fountain did towards the end of his life and these provide the context for the mystery and the treasure hunt. Over the summer, they explore the Sprangbur Estate and reconnect with their pasts, the town and its possibilities. We gradually find out what happened to Quentin, and why he ghosted Nina.

Sometimes … not intending to hurt each other isn’t enough to keep it from happening anyway.

The romance is whimsical and quirky, and although there are some tough moments, overall it’s a light-hearted and gentle read. Sarah Adler is protective of her characters, and while they do face some tough times, it’s a romance wrapped in a warm hug. Nina is a lot, it’s true, and as we are in her head all the time, we get all her introspection. Too much? Not for me, but then I gobble up this stuff. Quentin is vulnerable too, and not nearly as afraid, so they are such a good pair. Finders Keepers is a wonderful read if you love a warm-hearted, low-angst romance!

3.5 rounded up.

I enjoy this soooo much more than Adler's other books. It has some of the same corny humor that I found grating in her first two books, but I think it works better in a story about two childhood best friends. Jokes that feel immature make sense in the context of old friends sharing childhood inside jokes. My main criticism of this book is that I wish Nina and Quentin communicated better. By the end, I was tired of them not being honest with each other. Overall, though, I was charmed by the story and had fun reading it.

I’ve head so many rave reviews about Sarah Adler’s books, that I requested and was excited to be approved for this one.

Nina and Quinten have been friends and next door neighbors as children. Unfortunately, a misunderstanding left them estranged for over 15 years. Now in their 30s, they find themselves at a crossroad in both their professional and private lives and once again find themselves living next door to each other. Their friendship is rekindled and a treasure hunt they obsessed about in their youth becomes a focal point.

This book sounded like a fun read, but constant miscommunication seemed to weigh it down and proceeded to frustrate me. I could understood the obsession of a treasure hunt in adolescence, but found it odd as 30 year olds focused on solving it. I did enjoy the MCs separately with their issues, but I just wasn’t sold on their strong attraction. I loved Nina’s mom! While this was a miss for me, I look forward to to reading this author again.

Thanks to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.