⭐️⭐️Review⭐️⭐️
📖 Title: Dying To Meet You
🧍‍♀️Author: Sarina Bowen

This was a quick, gritty, and fun domestic thriller! With
well fleshed-out multiple POV’s, wealthy people behaving badly, and a boyfriend who is not who he seems, the follow up to Sarina Bowen’s debut the The Five Year Lie, is definitely worth read!!

Did I mention there is a historical piece woven in centered around a haunted old mansion that at one time housed young, unwed mothers? And a second chance romance? Annnddd a heartwarming, mother-daughter duo ?! This book checks all the boxes - can’t go wrong here. Happy publishing day!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you you to #Netgalley and#HarperAudio for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you HarperAudio and NetGalley for the ALC of Dying to Mee You by Sarina Bowen. This one is harder for me to review, I liked it but it’s not something that will stick with me. The story follows a single mom, who’s working as an architect restoring a giant mansion. Her boyfriend is found dead in the parking lot of said mansion after breaking things off with her. Suspicious?? I’d say. The story is definitely slower moving with the MC trying to find the connection to her boyfriends death and the hotel. I really liked the multiple POVS it kept things fresh and interesting. What I didn’t like was the narrator pronounces WH words without the “W” so “when” sounds like “wHHHHen” and it’s rather distracting. I think I would of enjoyed it more if I read a physical copy.

ALC in exchange for an honest review for net Galley and Harper Audio.

This is my first book by Sarina Bowen. I definitely enjoyed this one. I loved the three perspectives throughout the story. I also did not expect the twist in the end.

Rowan has been hired to refresh an old Wincott mansion that used to be a home for girls with a shady past. When her boyfriend breaks up with her and is found murdered … by her, her life starts to fall apart.

Natalie, Rowan’s daughter, has been keeping secrets from her mom. One about her former boyfriend and another about her father.

Coralee, works for Mr. Wincott. She is trying to decide how to tell her boss that he got her pregnant…

Rowan keeps finding so many questionable things about several people connected to the murder ans the mansion. It nearly drives her mad. This one kept me on my toes until the very last chapters.

I also loved the story that evolved between Harrison, Natalie and Rowan. So good.

Sometimes, in between twisty true crime podcasts and dense literary thrillers, you just need something that lets you breathe while still keeping you guessing. Dying to Meet You hit that sweet spot for me—a murder mystery with bite, family dynamics, and a little romantic tension to keep things interesting.

Rowan Gallagher is a single mom, an architect, and absolutely spiraling over her ex (we've all been there). She's the kind of character who makes some questionable choices—like tracking her ex's avatar around Portland—but you're still cheering for her. Even better, the story isn't just about unraveling a whodunit—it's also about the messy, layered bond between Rowan and her daughter. That mother-daughter dynamic was the standout for me, and I found myself surprisingly invested in their relationship.

The audiobook narration is spot on. Kathleen Early and Caitlin Kelly gave distinct voices to each character, and not in a "wow, they tried" way—it actually worked. You could feel the age difference, the emotional nuance, the tension. It made the alternating perspectives believable. I never once had to double back to figure out who was speaking.

This was my first Sarina Bowen read, mostly because I've avoided her more traditional romance catalog (it's just not my typical genre), but now I'm a bit curious. If she keeps writing mysteries with snappy storytelling, I'm in.

Dying to Meet You is a fast, fun listen. Highly recommend it if you're looking for an audiobook with decent pacing, great narrators, and just the right amount of edge to keep you hooked.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for an advanced reader's copy; all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC opportunity!

I really enjoyed this! The web was woven so deep and all over the place but it was so well written and it was easy to follow. Beatrice gave me weird vibes from the jump but i thought it would go a slightly different route.

This was a great thriller!

This was okay. Based on the description, I was hoping there was going to be more of the stalking the ex-boyfriend storyline. That was only like 2 minutes of the story. There weren't any crazy twists, either. I guess I just wanted more drama in this. I really didn't care what was going on at the mansion, which was basically the whole mystery.

I did really love the cover. The audiobook was also well done. I liked that it was easy to tell whose POV each chapter was, since the different narrators had distinct voices.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

Rowan Gallagher is a busy architect and single mother to a teenage daughter. She is in the process of restoring an allegedly haunted historic mansion for the Wincott family. The mansion itself has a rough history; it seems like it was a home from unwed mothers and the Wincott’s were not always doing what was best for the mothers or the babies.

Being a single mother is tough, especially when you are also in the dating pool. The novel opens with Rowan getting a little too curious about what her ex-boyfriend is up to, and checking his location on her phone. I loved how the author created the character who was very much like you or me…you best bet I would also be checking out the location of my ex!

Rowan does find her ex, but he is not with another woman. He is alone, and has been murdered. She, of course, becomes a suspect. And, unbeknownst to Rowan, the father of her daughter (an ex-con!) is also in town. He becomes a suspect as well.

There are multiple timelines narrated in this novel. Three narrators in the story; Rowan, her teenage daughter, Natalie, and a mysterious pregnant secretary from the past. All the voice actors are wonderful; I really felt like they were believable characters and was rooting for them.

Halfway through the novel, I was convinced I had figured out the murdered…but I hadn’t! I was pleasantly surprised about the final twist.
And as to whether or not the mansion is haunted…you’ll have to decide that for yourself. Things are not always what they seem, and the same goes for the people in this novel.

Four stars from me! I highly recommend Dying to Meet You!

Thank you to Harper Perennial for this ARC version.

What a thrill ride!
I enjoyed this one. There is a little bit of a dip in the middle with the pace but I was invested in the outcome that I don’t mind much.
This is the second book I’ve read by this author and I plan to continue to follow her future work.

Loved a touch of the second chance romance included.
I’m still not sure I understand why the bad guy did what they did.

Devoured!! kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. Plot was gripping and full of unexpected twists that made it impossible to put down. The pacing was perfect, fast enough to keep the tension high but with enough depth to develop intriguing characters. The ending was just enough of a twist to have my gasping, but the climax was a little bit of a let down. That was the ONLY reason I gave it 4 stars, it would have been 5 if the climax had hit a little better.

I thought this was just okay.

I had really high hopes for this since I've read other books by Sarina Bowen (although they were a different genre) and enjoyed them.

I really did not like any of these characters, I found out main character to be so paranoid and without much reason. I found her daughter to be so incredibly obnoxious. And I did not get the hype behind that guy, he just felt so random. (Technically, he wasn't random, he's the father of her daughter. But he felt random! He just shows up and is suddenly a part of this story while also not really being in the book at all. Felt very weird.)

I also found this mystery to be really flat and it was barely followed. The relationship drama (that I did not care about and was not made to care about) was WAY more the focus of this book and that is not what I wanted. It was just so slow that I kind of forgot that there was even a murder/mystery element to it.

I was disappointed by this because it had so much potential and I just wanted so much more from it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review! My Goodreads review is up and my TikTok (Zoe_Lipman) review will be up at the end of the month with my monthly reading wrap-up.

This audiobook was a little too much of a slow burn for me. I kept waiting for something thrilling to happen.

I think the narrators were what truly kept my interest in the book. Even though it was slow, the narration and the dual POVs kept it going for me. I listened at 1.75x and it was a good flow.

The ending POV was a great addition to the story. Throughout, I was expecting a bit more “haunted house” vibes, but I wasn’t getting that. So the ending was a nice touch!

I did also enjoy the romance aspect of the storyline. I’m a sucker for old flames!

All in all, it wasn’t a bad audiobook but it just wasn’t for me.

Dying to Meet You is a domestic thriller set in Portland, Maine. It revolves around the Wincott family and their legacy. There are many secrets, numerous twists and turns as well as a wide variety of characters. This audiobook was narrated beautifully by this fabulous trio of voice actors: Kathleen Early, Caitlin Kelly and Sarah Mollo-Christensen. Kathleen Early was absolutely brilliant as Rowan and Beatrice. Caitlin Kelly was superb as Natalie. You could feel her eyes rolling at times. Sarah Mollo-Christensen was outstanding as the somewhat flighty secretary Coralie. They portrayed all of the characters perfectly.

𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗖𝗞 𝗣𝗟𝗢𝗧 𝗣𝗘𝗘𝗞
Rowan, a single mom and architect, is restoring a historic mansion in Maine. After a recent breakup, she discovers her ex has been murdered - and she’s the prime suspect. As she tries to clear her name, she uncovers secrets about the mansion, her ex, and her own past.

𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗢𝗣𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗢𝗡
The start pulled me right in. I liked the setup, the multiple POVs, and Coralie’s chapters were all kinds of odd.

The full cast audiobook was a great listen - each narrator brought something unique, and it really helped the multiple POVs pop! Looking back, that might’ve been my favorite part of the whole experience.

Rowan’s a solid main character: successful in her work, a bit messy in her love life, and doing her best as a single parent. She felt real and easy to get behind.

But about halfway through, the story leaned hard into the romance. The second-chance stuff was so sugary sweet it made it tough for me to stay focused on the mystery. I’m so not a romance girlie!!

There’s talk of the mansion being haunted, and the old-money family being awful - so structurally this is a thriller, but the vibe is romance, so I really struggled to connect.

𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗?
I think this is a great option for fans of slow paced suspenseful romance. In fact if it had of been categorized that way, I think I’d have been less disappointed with the direction and overall vibe.

Thanks to @HarperAudio and @Netgalley for access to this advance readers copy

I've always loved Sarina Bowen's romance novels. This is the first time I've read one of her mystery/thrillers and I loved it. She has a way of pulling you into a story and make you really care about the main characters.

This was a wonderful mystery about our protagonist Rowan who was suddenly broken up with by her boyfriend. After realizing she is still sharing locations with him on her phone, she sees that he is driving around her neighbourhood. So she decides to go for a walk, and finds that he's parked at the historic house she is renovating and dead. This story has man twists and turns that keep you guessing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Audio for the the advanced listener copy. The audiobook has a full cast and is wonderful to listen to. this is a great beach read. I highly recommend.

This had me hooked from the very beginning. I did guess the ending, so maybe a tiny predictable, still very enjoyable.

this was just okay for me. some parts pulled me in, others totally lost me. i did like the darker themes. especially the whole baby selling element, but i kept waiting for it to dig deeper into the wayward school and it never really did. felt like a missed opportunity. also, the title is kinda misleading?! i went in expecting something totally different. not a bad read, just not one that’ll stick with me.

3.25

setting: maine
rep: n/a

this was ok, not quite as compelling as Bowen's first foray into the genre and there wasn't much surprise going on here. I don't think Coralie's POV added enough to the story to be worthwhile, and I didn't find Natalie too compelling either - I'd have preferred if this was solely from Rowan's POV. I liked Harrison, but there was a lot of build up to a quick resolution - literally until about 95% of the way into the book rowan wanted him out of the house. if I hadn't been listening to the audio it's the kind of book I might easily have put down and never got round to picking up again.

This book hooked me hard from the first chapter. Rowan Gallagher is a single mom, an architect, and now—unfortunately—the prime suspect in her ex’s murder. What starts as a tense domestic drama slowly morphs into a layered, high-stakes thriller that had me turning pages way past bedtime.

The Maine setting gave off major gothic mansion + small-town secrets vibes, and I was here for it. The tension builds beautifully, and Rowan’s voice felt authentic—sharp, funny, anxious, loving—all at once. You really feel her fear, especially with her daughter in the mix.

Some twists I saw coming, but others totally blindsided me in the best way. And while the romance subplot isn’t front and center, it adds a nice touch of warmth to balance out the darker elements.

Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell or Megan Miranda. Definitely recommend if you like thrillers with heart and heroines who refuse to be helpless.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC audiobook!

Overall I really liked this book. I started to figure out some things halfway through, but I would recommend this to friends.

Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audio book in exchange for an honest review!
This is my favorite book by Sarina Bowen (so far). The audio was awesome! I loved all the different narrators and the story kept me guessing until the end. This wasn't necessarily a scary book, but it is one you'll want to devour. If you're into domestic thrillers, check this book out! If you like audio books, the audio version is fantastic!