Oh my goodness this was such an adorable love story! I literally finished this book in one day because I couldn’t stop reading/thinking about it!

3.75 stars for this one rounded up -- I really enjoyed it! I thought the concept was so much fun, and after loving Mrs. Nash's Ashes a GREAT amount, I was very excited to read another book by Sarah Adler.

The concept of this was awesome, fresh and different from really any other romance I've read! I loved the childhood friends-to-lovers, second chance romance, forced proximity -- sooo many good tropes!! I really enjoyed the banter all throughout this book and the decades of history that connected Nina and Quentin. They knew each other so deeply and their history really informed the present, especially once they started flashing back to when they were teenagers, when they were best friends and crushing on one another without ever knowing!!! Drama!!!

Some of the writing was a bit choppy for me, and at times I felt very frustrated by the repetitiveness of Nina's inner thoughts and self-doubt. It showed up so many times that I was having a hard time connecting to her, but I still really enjoyed her as an FMC, and thought Quentin complemented her very well. It just felt that her anxiety and all the things that had just gone wrong in her life were overshadowing everything else, and it was annoying me. I also really dislike miscommunication in romance books, so that frustrated me as well. Those are just two things that will always irritate me - lack of communication and too much overthinking.

The slow burn and tension was AMAZING in this book!! From their childhood crushes creating literally decades of lead-up, to the slow way they finally allowed themselves to be with one another, it was so well done. And having them be literally sharing a wall?! So fun!!

Overall, a fun flirty read and a great concept!! Would recommend for a quick summer rom com! Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing for the opportunity to read this eARC!

2.5⭐️

Sadly this one really missed the mark for me :( I really loved Mrs. Nash's Ashes by the same author it was cute and had more depth than most rom com books. However this book did not have the same spark and joy that I got from that other book.

This is a second chance childhood friends to lovers. It's not my top trope but I do enjoy books with this premise. These childhood friends are on a treasure hunt after being estranged for a few years. Something happened between them and that stopped being friends. The premise of this book is cute and should bring adventure/mystery to this book. Unfortunately it never really delivered and failed to launch. I found the treasure aspect to be boring and bring much to the story.

Besides the treasure hunting part falling a bit flat, I just never really felt chemistry between the two character. I felt the romance was very one sided and it was kind almost instalove for one side and you constantly heard her inner monologue about it.

I'll continue to read books by this author because her first book was so special.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

Thank you Berkeley and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review. Going into this book I had a feeling this wasn't for me. I'm not a fan of childhood friends to enemies to lovers. Especially with these characters because they were just too young to know better (like 15, love of your lift? Really? I may be a bitter gen xer, but I just don't think the caliber of 15-year-old boys has gotten better.. Plus this had a whole treasure hunt plot. And I just did not get a good sense of these two characters, both past and present.

Thank you for the ARC!

I fell in love with Sarah Adler from the first page of Mrs Nash’s Ashes so I was so happy to get an ARC of her third book. This was a lovely read. I’m not the biggest fan of childhood friends to lovers stories but this also had a second chance aspect to it. I liked the characters and Nina having a bit of a coming-of-age-in-her-30s. As a fellow DMV resident, it’s always nice to have local stories too.

The treasure was my favorite part of the story though. Just like with Mrs Ash, Adler has a unique ability to tie in old stories with the main story to enrich the characters and story.

I’d def recommend this.

I greatly enjoyed this one!! Nina was such an endearing heroine. One thing I really enjoyed was her tone of voice throughout the book & in particular the fact that I could tell the difference from Adler’s other novels — each heroine is uniquely herself and has their own voice.
As someone with raging anxiety and who uses the worst case/best case scenario on the daily, I both thought it funny and humbling to read Nina’s thought process from an outside perspective. Because of my personal perspective, it made it that much easier for me to connect to Nina and understand her actions.
Quentin!! We love him. He is funny and witty while also being rather vulnerable and mushy inside. It’s a clear representation of what growing up in a dysfunctional family can do to a child.
Watching these two “fail” in their lives was horribly relieving and a gentle wag of Adler’s finger at us readers. Failing at life? Impossible. Pick yourself up and try again — in fact, you may end up where you were supposed to be all along.
At the end, the advice given was shockingly impactful for me because I see so much of myself in Nina. And I know that I’ll be grabbing the physical copy upon release to remind myself over and over again.

Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute second chance romance between 2 estranged best friends that meet again after they are both back home after being fired from their respective jobs and dumped by their significant others. They decide to resume the treasure hunt that broke up their friendship when they were 16 and of course they end up falling for each and finally talk about what happened the night their friendship ended when they were kids. This was a fun fast read.
Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

Cute story of almost something finally becoming the thing they wanted all those years ago. A treasure hunt at the local castle brought Nina and Quentin together as teens - almost - and tore them apart. Years later, they’re both home licking their wounds when Quentin proposes they resume the treasure hunt. This tale is sweet and sappy and has the happy ending I wanted!

This story was cute. I like a second chance romance trope. Nina drove me a little crazy at times. As a whole enjoyable and quick read.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Since reading Adler’s debut, Mrs. Nash’s Ashes, I have been a fan. This book was delightful. A satisfying friends to lovers, second chance romance. Nina and Quentin have great chemistry and banter. The “treasure” hunt was a fun way to move the plot along, giving them a reason to keep seeing each other. I loved Nina’s parents, especially her mom. Such a sweet story!

Finders Keepers was so fun! This was my first Sarah Adler book and I will definitely be reading others from her. The story starts with an interview of the man who hides a treasure on his property. Then we meet Nina, a washed up 30yr old, who ended up home after some fall out with her job and boyfriend. We find out that Nina’s childhood best friend, Quinten, is living next door to her again and the hilarious rekindling of their friendship ensues. Banter, competition and a treasure hunt leads our FMC and MMC to face their feelings for each and learn to overcome their fears of not being good enough for each other. Nina’s mental health rep was so well done, I was very empathetic to her because I have been in her place. Quinton was so sweet and such a cinnamon roll with Nina. I loved this story, the amount of millennial nostalgia in this story was fantastic. Monty python, S club 7, cheap old navy flip flops, modest mouse, franz Ferdinand, RadioShack…so good! The only thing that I wish we had was a Quinten POV, I would have loved to see more of his thoughts during some of the scenes (like that perfect window scene 🤭), otherwise I have no notes. This book was laugh out loud funny and cozy with a hint of mystery. Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for this amazing ARC opportunity.

I believe Sarah Adler sprinkles some sort of intoxicating drug within the pages of every one of her books. I squealed and kicked my feet the entiiiiiire time for this one. Like her previous novels, she layers a bit of a two for one story deal - a second chance romance AND the untangling of a decades' old mystery.

Former neighbors and childhood best friends, Nina and Quentin, are back in their hometown seventeen years after their friendship blew up in high school. Both of them are down on their luck, having lost their jobs and relationships along the way. Nina doesn't know what to think about Quentin, the former gangly goofball that she knew in her youth is long gone. Soon, the formerly confident woman is finding herself tripping left and right around the man in front of her - the very same one she was starting to have feelings before everything went to hell in high school. The glue that brings them back together? Spend their abundance of free time with a renewed search for a fortune hidden somewhere in their small town by the mysterious and deceased seltzer entrepreneur, Julius Fountain - continuing the same hunt that ruined their friendship all those years ago.

The banter, the hilarious inner monologue of our FMC, the slow burn...it all had me savoring every chapter. I just adored these two characters so, so much, but when Quentin said, "well, ho there, howdy, and good morning to you" mimicking Nina's utter loss of words around seeing him again, I was sent straight over the edge. Trust me, when you read it yourself, you'll know and squeal too.

Many thanks to Berkley Publishing Group, NetGalley, and Sarah Adler for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I loved Mrs. Nash's Ashes so when I saw Sarah Adler's newest release I had to get my hands on it! While I enjoyed the banter between the two main characters and their childhood friendship was like a warm hug, I felt like more could have been done with 'treasure hunting' plot of the book. It left me feeling wanting and felt like a missed opportunity. There was a lot of internal dialogue, which made sense as the FMC was finding her new self, but it began to feel repetitive. Overall, I still enjoyed the read and might recommend to others.

This author is new to me, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything else they publish. I loved the story and the characters. The pacing of the story was great and the characters were relatable.

I’m such a sucker for second chance romances and best friends to lovers so this book was right up my alley! Quentin was my dream book beau, and Nina felt so relatable that I couldn’t help rooting for them both.

Based on the cover/description I was really hoping for some more treasure hunting/Indiana Jones energy, so I was a bit disappointed when the plot focused more on rebuilding Q and N’s friendship. However, I really liked reading the progression of their relationship from estranged friends to lovers.

I’ve always liked Adler’s writing style; I find it easy to digest, well done, and funny. Some of the phrases in this book I don’t think will age well (ex. “not on my bingo card”), but it’s not obtrusive enough to make me super conscious of it.

This was such a fun, quick read that had great pacing and kept me engaged throughout. I loved the banter, the side characters, and the treasure hunting theme. Would definitely recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5 stars

Another adorable romance from Sarah Adler. This heartfelt romance is about two estranged best friends, Nina and Quentin, find that their long-abandoned treasure hunt might be the key to a fresh start and to finding love.

I adored this book. Such a sweet and interesting story with an absolutely adorable romance at the center. I loved that Adler went the romantic adventure route this time and that aspect was very interesting. The characters were lovable and the dialogue was perfect.

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

Nina and Quentin were childhood best friends until a blowup and a move tore them apart. Now they’re both back in town, staying on either side of a duplex and trying to put their respective lives back together. When Quentin proposes resuming a long ago hunt for actual treasure, Nina reluctantly agrees. But spending time together again may bring up some long-buried feelings, if not actual buried treasure.

This was charming. I enjoy a romantic adventure story (blame Romancing the Stone). I liked Nina and Quentin and was rooting for them both, even though they were awfully slow to figure out what was really happening between them.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

3.5 ⭐️ An easy small town, second chance romance. Loved the banter and friends to lovers aspects. Nina’s character was a little annoying at times.

Sarah Adler’s books are perfection! I love the romance aspects but she always gives us more than your average romance read. I really enjoyed this one! It felt like a cozy spring read!

Finders Keepers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read this book if you like:

-Childhood best friends to lovers, now in their 30s
-Treasure hunting
-Glimpsing into a treasure hiders reason for hiding the treasure
-FMC with generalized anxiety disorder
-Character growth after major life events
-Quirky MMC
-Fun & funny banter
-Slow burn & spicy scenes
-Unexpected endings

As a female also in her 30s with GAD, I really resonated with this character and kept saying to her, I’d be thinking the exact same thing girl! This was such a beautiful love story between two characters who hadn’t spoken to one another since they were 15 years old because of drama surrounding the first time they started hunting for this treasure. Now coincidently back in their childhood duplex homes due to major life events, they’re back on the hunt. There’s a ton of character growth going on as they reflect on their teenage past and the time they spent apart growing into adults. You also get a glimpse into the past learning more about the man who hid the treasure, why and also his own character development. A beautiful love story of finding yourself and finding love with lots of laughs, tears and unique spicy scenes along the way! (p.s. if half way through you think you’ve figured out the ending, keep going, you’re wrong!) I can’t wait to check out what else @sarahadlerwrites has written!

#sarahadler #finderskeepers #netgalley @netgalley #romancebooks #anxiety #treasurehunting #bookreview #bookrecommendations #friendstolovers #bookstagram