A perfectly imperfect ending! While it wraps up nicely, it's not a perfect shiny package. While this was in essence a dark romance, it had the suspense of a thriller with an in-depth look at the body restrictions society places onto us, particularly women.

Please ignore this review, all opinions are my own!

Delightful combination of mystery and thriller, would definitely recommend as a beach read this summer.

I had such a great time reading this book! I loved the critique and attempt to take down the wellness industry, even if I didn't agree with the methods, that occurs in the story, The story was engaging and I had a hard time putting the book down.

This is a great book for those who enjoyed the Kitty Collins books.

This book sent me to the moon. It was cute. Bantered and the ending was amazing. Never saw it coming. This felt like an amazing love child of all my favorite thriller books

Overall 3.75 ⭐️

This book was cute but sometimes the pacing made me a little bit frustrated. I think it could’ve used a bit more editing for parts that seemed to drag or could’ve been omitted entirely. Other than that it was an enjoyable read and if it was a series I would definitely consider continuing it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for my review.

4.25 stars!
Every time I had the “I got it!” feeling things would swerve just enough that I had to rethink what I knew. I did guess a few of the twisty moments but I ultimately never knew exactly how it was gonna end which was fun.
The writing was done very well and kept me intrigued the entire time from start to finish.
There was also just enough romance added in so it didn’t over power the main plot but you still got those romantic moments between the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc for my honest review!

I wanted to like this book, but there were no characters with redeeming qualities. The author seemed to want to write a suspenseful book with some summer beach read thrown in, but the mystery was convoluted and the information given throughout the novel didn’t build up like a typical suspense novel.

I wanted to DNF this book but I kept going, hoping it would pay off in some way. It never did. By the end I was excited to be rid of the characters and not have to think about them any more.

While the novel has some overall good themes, I think it fell short of being something I could recommend to others.

Beautiful, fit, smart, on the surface Lily Lennox appears to be the perfect seasonal employee and lifeguard of the exclusive Riovan Wellness Resort that celebrities, influencers, and the wealthy flock to in the pursuit of healthy “wellness”. While physically matching the social media curated brand look of the resort, Lily hides a hidden motive for her annual Caribbean summer job. A lifeguard when on-duty, vigilante killer of toxic and problematic people off-duty, her fifth year at Riovan starts out like every past summer. That is until an attractive and charismatic guest Daniel Black starts asking the wrong questions, complicating her annual tradition as well as causing her to question her actions, motives, and her hopes of “saving people.” Despite this novel being classified on paper under the romance genre, A Killer Getaway has so much more to offer outside of a possible tropical summer romance. Blending elements of the mystery thriller, crime thriller, literary fiction, and of course a bit of romance, Sienna Sharpe has crafted an extraordinarily well-rounded and ambitious Women’s Fiction/Contemporary drama story that was a consistently smart and compelling page-turner for me.

Perhaps it’s an intentional strategy for marketing purposes, but interestingly despite its cover design, synopsis, and listed genres suggesting a romance read, for me A Killer Getaway is more appropriately classified as women’s fiction crossing over into the thriller genre. I went into this novel expecting a Mr. and Mrs. Smith style killer to romance trope with a lot of romance and spice (the serial killer romance FMC is a premise that really got my attention), but what I actually got was something far more nuanced, intelligent and ambitious. While there are certainly a few open bedroom and romance scenes, the bulk of the story is a character-centered one focusing on Lily plotting her annual kill and the past events that led her down this unorthodox path in life. Lily’s investigations, plotting of possible targets, and evading of Daniel’s too close to home influence are important, but Lily’s backstory, feelings of grief and fury, and the “why” all of this is happening are the most crucial points of the story. This is first and foremost a character piece full of excellent character work and narration that’s only enhanced by Sienna Sharpe’s balanced pacing and perfectly crafted plot. While this story wasn’t what I thought I signed up for, I was nonetheless thrilled with what I got and could not put this novel down. From start to end the story is a rollercoaster of surprises and although I was able to predict most of the plot twists surrounding Daniel’s character and role, I constantly had no idea how the story was going to end, which is rare and exciting for me.

While A Killer Getaway’s hook can either be the romance or serial killer elements, Sharpe’s true strength in the story is her consistently strong character narration and development. From the very opening chapter, Lily’s anger and disgust with misogynistic and gross men or the unspoken stressors women are subjected to on a daily basis in public has been done before, but the way her thoughts and internal logic are presented is incredibly relatable and effective, not to mention humorously sassy and unhinged. If you ever felt wronged by someone and wanted to get revenge in a flight of imagination, Lily Lennox and Sienna Sharp see you. Throughout the novel, I was constantly impressed with how Lily’s feelings and reactions were portrayed, which only grew more ambitious once the novel started exploring her backstory and pain that she carries with her. Even more impressive is that Lily’s character isn’t as simple as merely being angry, frustrated and impassioned. There’s a level of restraint and control, keeping it together, deluding others with a façade, not to mention her pain that balances out the anger that makes her far more compelling to read about. Various flashbacks and clues are woven seamlessly in and out of the events in the present and Sharpe’s placement of key reveals is spot-on. How the past events also shaped her interactions and hesitancy around Daniel and her difficulty of trusting others is also explored. Over the course of the story, Lily’s past connection to the Riovan as well as her past relationship with Jessica are experienced, but even veteran mystery thriller readers are likely to be pleasantly caught off guard by the ending Sharpe nails. I have a feeling that romance-focused readers will likely the romance towards the end to be a bit rushed or underwhelming, but I personally thought it to be narratively appropriate and well-suited to Lily’s no-nonsense personality.

When it comes to Lily’s serial killer premise and her summer stints at the Riovan, there are several themes that connect to every event or point in the story. These themes include the dangers and unhealthy obsession with “wellness”, the complex and often overlooked victims misrepresented by the justice system, even the inner demons of those deemed attractive on the surface (Sharpe does an admirable job with humanizing characters in this area). Does Lily’s removal of toxic people at the Riovan “save” people from them and make a difference or is the metaphorical blood on her hands just an excuse for her taking revenge out on others, acting as both judge and jury unchecked. As the story progresses, besides the solid chemistry and very good mental and verbal sparring between Lily and Daniel, both have different views of justice and serve as appropriate foils to each other. All this to say, A Killer Getaway is not just about angry revenge kills, it’s incredibly smart, insightful, and very mature compared to similar stories in its genres.

While the Caribbean setting and appealing romantic interest makes A Killer Getaway an easy summer vacation read recommendation (Daniel is described as a slightly nerdy 5 o’clock shadow wolverine with reading glasses), it has so much more to offer and a lot of meaningful things to say. But even when the novel is delivering sharp social commentary (sorry, couldn’t resist the pun), its character work and cohesive story are never sacrificed or diminished in the process, an unfortunate trend I’ve noticed with many popular recent works. The only potential drawback is that for readers who are looking for typical romance specifically, the romance is important to the story and as a plot mechanism but is not the main focus. There’re other elements of romance involving Jessica, but the content is more in the realm of literary fiction rather than contemporary romance. However, for all other interested readers interested in any of A Killer Getaway’s other narrative elements, this is an excellently crafted novel that’s definitely worth a read.

I really enjoyed this book overall, and it was a fun read! I love a good serial killer fmc and the little plot twist towards the end was so good! It was a little slow for me at first, but once it got my attention I couldn’t stop reading.

This was such a good book. I loved the story and the writing so much. The characters were great and the story flowed smoothly. Will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

I wasn't too sure what to expect when I got this ARC from NetGalley--I honestly just loved the cover and title. But, I really enjoyed it! It felt like a nice palette cleaner from the solely romance books I had been reading lately. Given the plot, it's obviously a litttttle darker than a straightforward romance but it wasn't too graphic/dark. Would definitely recommend, especially for a good summer read ◡̈

A Killer Getaway was an intriguing thriller full of twists set in a beachside, luxury resort with a disturbing underbelly and a dark history. Since I hadn't heard about this book before reading it, even in close POV, Lily kept me guessing about her intentions. While her layers of love and heartbreak made a compelling foundation for her return to the Riovan Wellness Resort and her actions there...

The chemistry between Lily and Daniel was electric as they are both intense characters. I enjoyed their passion and their connection as well as the undeniable obstacles to their relationship. It was a well-structured romance arc within this thriller, and it fit well in Lily's character arc.

There was an interesting thread in the book about 'wellness' and how that concept can be manipulated to create a culture of body shaming. I appreciated how the author wove this commentary into the narrative and how she took a clear stance on it. It not only added to Lily's purpose, but it addressed how some weight loss beliefs can still be toxic and harmful.

All in all, this was a satisfying read. I think it would be delightful to read poolside or beachside. You might glance around wonder if someone is there for a different purpose...

*This is an arc review

This book was so intriguing to me! I loved the premise of a female killer. What a unique take on this story!

Lilly's backstory was absolutely heartbreaking and you can almost understand why she is doing what she is doing. I found myself rooting for her even though what she was doing was wrong. I wanted her and Daniel to "work".

The ending was *CHEFS KISS*

I finished this book in under 24 hours because I could not wait to see how it ended and the ending did not disappoint. I loved this book and this author will definitely go to the top of my automatic reads list!

4.5 stars*

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars

Honestly I’m not sure how to feel about this book. The plot moved forward quickly and kept me entertained, but the tone was confusing.

First of all, the marketing feels wildly misleading. The cartoony cover and pithy tagline don’t relate to the content of the book very well. This is a much darker read than implied. I was expecting something with a little more humor and there’s none of that to be found here. However, at some point, the author feels like she’s trying to lighten it up and shoehorns in a romance. These parts feel like they came from publisher notes, and don’t really seem to fit the original intent of the book.

It also bothered me the way the characters behave isn’t consistent and is pretty realistic. This can be explained away for the main character sake as she is clearly mentally unwell, but makes less sense on the love interest part. They jump into being in love far too quickly, and then at the end he brushes away her being a murderer, as if it’s just some offbeat personality quirk.

This was an amazing thriller. I loved the concept and the setting of the resort. Lily was such an interesting character and I liked how the reveal about her backstory and life up to present moment was gradual right up to the end. The story was so compelling and I really loved how it depicted the “wellness industry” and its predatory nature. Daniel was an intriguing romantic interest and the ending was *chef’s kiss*. Can’t wait to recommend this one when it comes out!

A revenge thriller set in paradise. Told through two timelines, a woman returns to a wellness resort to seek vengeance for a lost love and have a killer vacation. Overall it was ok. The wellness part was really cringe for me and took me out of the story.

Fun, fast-paced, romance mystery novel. This is the perfect read to take to the beach or poolside. I blew through it quickly, the characters were well developed and the plot kept my attention.

Received this book from @bookmarked and something about it drew me in immediately. Release date isn’t until August 12/2025 but I HAD to read it and omg!!! It is so good!!! It’s a revenge story mixed with some love. Our FMC is out to destroy the health retreat that she feels killed her ex. She has been going for the last 5 years to attempt to enact her revenge…. On her 5th year while choosing her next victim she encounters a very very interesting journalist…by interesting I mean hot 🥵. Will they fall in love…..??? Will she continue her quest for revenge….?? Will she get caught???? Is every one who they seem to be??? So many questions and the answers are crazy!!!
I honestly can’t recommend this book enough it was addicting. From the moment I started I couldn’t stop. Lily is enrapturing. What a thrilling ride!
Thank you so much for the ARC Source Books Landmark!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher. This was a fun read that would make a great beach read. I’ve enjoyed both of Jenna’s novels that I’ve read.

What a great summer read!
Fast paced, held my interest because I just “had to know”, from beginning to end.