4.25 Stars!

This was a really solid domestic suspense debut novel!

It follows Margo on her journey of buying a house in the crazy house market and how far she will go to get the home of her dreams.

This was a wild ride following how unhinged Margo, the female main character, gets. The pacing and ending were both really good. And at only about 270 pages you can fly through this one- super bingeable!

The characters are not likeable at all, but with the direction this story goes that is exactly what you want.

Overall an enjoyable story and can’t wait to read this author’s future work!

3.5
This was a fun ride if you're looking for a high stakes house hunt! Margo and her husband Ian are desperately trying to buy a house but the market is so hot they keep getting outbid, and they do have a budget to adhere to.

What comes as a stroke of luck, Margo learns about a house soon to be on the market and it's a dream. She decides to take it upon herself to get herself in a position get under contract before it hits the market and competition moves in.

Margo goes to extreme measures to make this happen. I mean, it got to a point of needing a bowl of popcorn as I continued to read! It was engaging and I was cringing for her at times. There were some decisions made that I didn't think were all that realistic, but I went with it. There was a slower portion in the middle but the ending quickly made up for that. Phew.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celedon Books for the gifted e-arc and physical ARC of this book.

Anyone who is a buyer in the housing market can certainly relate to this witty take on a desperate buyer willing to do whatever it takes to be the "Best Offer Wins." Fast, fun read that will entertain you until the end.

READ THIS BOOK!

BEST OFFER WINS does not hit shelves until November, but if you have NetGalley, push that request button to read now! If you don't have NetGalley, this book is worth creating a profile. Thank you to my publishing partners @CeladonBooks for my early copy.

This story arrived in my inbox at the perfect time. Ben and I closed on a home earlier this month and while our house hunting process was nowhere near Margo's, it was stressful, so I sympathized with Margo's erratic behavior (to a degree!), in locking down her dream home.

Margo was a fun character to wear. While I would never act the way she did, it was enjoyable to live vicariously through her diabolical plans, even if I did want to thwart her a time or two. The story was fast-paced, Margo's voice flew off the page with humor, sarcasm and snark. She was the classic bad behaving character, who you still rooted for from start to finish because she was relatable.

I also picked this story up to celebrate and support a debut author who wrote a woman character of Asian representation. The cultural parallels were laugh out loud relatable. The 5% interest rates were cute. Ours is much higher!

Margo Miyake wants it all- the husband, the house, the perfect child. You can't say she hasn't tried- and lost- but by the time 11 bids have been chosen over hers, she experiences a touch of frustration. It's slightly hard to delve deeply into this one without spoiling it, but it was such a unique perspective on a crime thriller. There are moments where you're almost waiting for the next moment with bated breath, lost in the landscape of whatever genre you were meant to be reading. I think, especially for a debut, Best Offer Wins does a brilliant job existing in the space alongside other books on the sheer fact alone that it is SO multi-faceted and nuanced. A sparkling gem of insanity, femininity, misogyny, expectations, and love and hostility, this book helped changed the landscape of how I view this sort of thriller novel in general. For someone who grew up impoverished and constantly in comparison with others, I could relate so so well to Margo (IYKYK) and yeah I consider this one to be quite glowing. Thanks so much to the author and Celadon for the chance to read the eARC!

This book SUCKED in the best way. I bet you can tell when I was reading just by looking at my smartwatch data over the last few days because it probably looks like i was sprinting. I was STRESSED. I'm not a big thriller reader and generally find them pretty boring and/or silly, so it was fun to be so electrified by this story, as ridiculous as the plot may be.

Margo is desperate to find the perfect home, but it's been pretty much impossible in the ultra competitive housing market. When she gets a tip that a house will be on the market soon, she scopes it out to see if it's a possibility. What she finds is the perfect home. She can envision her unborn children growing up there, future holidays, and get togethers with friends. I mean, there's even a tire swing. In Margo's mind, desperate times call for desperate measures. But just how far will Margo go to get her dream home?

I could definitely relate to the feeling of desperately wanting a home, but being unable to compete with multiple offers. We went through this ourselves years ago. Margo definitely took things to the next level, and as crazy as she was, I was still rooting for her. Best Offer Wins is dark, funny, clever, and delightful. I was immediately invested and finished the book in no time. I can't believe that this is the author's debut novel. I can't see what she has in store for the future!

An unhinged protagonist who seeks the perfect life . This debut was entertaining and you will want to keep reading to see how it unfolds. I have to note that her inner thoughts about those around her are gems! A morally corrupt treat!

Over the top and delicious. Is it unrealistic? Yes. Can I see this actually happening after house hunting in Nashville? Also yes.
Best Offer Wins follows Margo while she makes some truly unforgivable decisions to secure her dream home. Every scene played out in my head like a movie, and this book would make a great one!
Thank you so much to Celadon Books for my copy. I devoured it.

I didn't really know what to expect when I started this, maybe a woman who really wants a house and does crazy things to make sure she gets one? While I was right somewhat, this went above and beyond "crazy". I liked the inner monologue we get from Margo and how the author walks us through how she is thinking. This was a really quick read too and I enjoyed every page!

4.5 stars. Totally bingeable, fast paced and wildly entertaining read! I loved that the whole story was told in first person narrative, through the voice of the main character Margo. It started off a bit slowly, letting us into her head piece by piece and by the end, this woman turned out to be completely unhinged! But dare I say, I kind of loved her! It's weird to love a character who is so crazy. I mean, in an insanely competitive housing market and after missing out so many times on houses, Margo would stop at nothing to get the house of her dreams. This includes being completely obsessive, being a bit of a stalker, infiltrating people's lives, trespassing, sneaking around, manipulating others and no matter what, she refused to give up. Her obsession was almost a bit comical at times and even though she was totally creeping me out, I was almost rooting for her. I really wanted to see if she would end up getting the house!

This is the author's debut novel and I thought it was really great. If you like domestic suspense, this will be right up your alley. I look forward to future books from this author because her writing totally reeled me in! It was dark, yet witty, cringey in the best way and totally twisted. Highly recommend!

I'm pretty certain I just read one of the next big domestic suspense/thriller books of the year. Immediate 5 stars from me! Margo, the FMC, is as unhinged as ever and is dead set on getting her dream home--I freaking loved every second of it. Best Offer Wins is full of twists and turns and the snippets of info we learn along the way are masterfully wrapped up by the end of the book. The end of some thrillers feels like such a letdown, but not the case for this one at all. Real estate, stalker vibes, domestic drama, and a side of dark humor... I can't wait for y'all to get your hands on this one!

P.S. We'll also eventually get to see everything play out on screen too!

Thank you to the publisher (@celadonbooks) for the chance to read this eARC via @netgalley!

I’ll be genuinely shocked if this book doesn’t get turned into a series!

Did I like it? Honestly, I’m not even sure how to answer that. Margo is absolutely unhinged, and the housing market can be just as wild—I can totally see how someone might snap. This story is completely over the top, which is exactly why it would make for fantastic television.

Will I recommend it to friends? I’m on the fence.
Would I watch the series? Absolutely—without hesitation.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for this ARC.

BEST OFFER WINS was a razor-sharp thriller about the lengths one will go to get their dream house.

A thriller about the housing market… in THIS economy?? I couldn’t put it down. The competitive landscape of real estate is literally the stuff of horror and I’m obsessed with how the book shows the dark side of the picket fence lifestyle when it goes from a dream to an obsession. Anyone who’s battled the war that is real estate will laugh out loud at the unhinged antics and sharp advantage the character carves out for themselves to stand a chance at buying a home in an affluent D.C. neighborhood. Margo falls into an obsessive spiral and I was on the edge of my seat at the conniving strategies and blackmail she leans into to secure her dream house in the dream neighborhood to complete her dream life and stomp out the dozens of previously failed bids. Just when I thought Margo couldn’t get more unhinged, she made my jaw drop over and over again. The message is simple: do not underestimate the power of a scorned woman on a mission. Her actions might be ~slightly~ exaggerated but her internal countdown and checklist of “having it all” is very real and every woman will understand the pressure and pain behind the things that keep Margo up at night.

I’ve held down the fort on crappy apartments for a decade so I was nervously sweating just thinking about the house buying process and what I’ll have to do to get one. But now I have Margo to thank for some ideas to get ahead! The whole time I read this I kept thinking about the Netflix show “No Good Deed” and how they have similar vibes. I used to work in publicity for a living so the tidbits about Margo's job and the team dynamic made me chuckle. I’m so excited BEST OFFER WINS has already been confirmed to be developed into a Hulu series and I can’t wait to see Margo and her wild house journey on the big screen.

This book was everything I could hope for and I can’t wait for more people to read it!

Thanks @celdaonbooks and @marisakashino for the advanced digital copy and for putting on a super fun BEST OFFER WINS challenge for readers. I am ready!

What a ride! Eighteen months after moving into a tiny apartment and starting the search for their forever home, Margo and her husband lan have reached a breaking point. Multiple offers - many above asking or in-cash - make it seemingly impossible to leave their cramped space and start their family in a desirable neighborhood. But, Margo's desperation means she's willing to do.. pretty much anything to land the house of her dreams.

As someone who just bought a house and can relate to the feelings associated with the tense process, I found this book incredibly enjoyable. It's equal parts hilarious and poignant, and you don't have to be a home-buyer to relate. Though, it might persuade you NOT to enter the housing market if you haven't already.

Kashino is fantastic and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from this author. The book is filled with engaging, witty writing and keeps you wondering what in the world will happen next. Oh, Margo..

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I wanted to like this so much but I just hated it. The narrative voice was just too an obnoxious for me. I couldn’t even get through it. It just got way too political for my taste. It might be for others but unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. Hard pass. Sorry!

Again, Celadon Books has picked its next perfect new novel to showcase, Best Offer Wins. Riveting, suspenseful, with multiple twists, Best Offer Wins keeps the reader moving to the shocking ending.

Margo wants the perfect life (marriage, baby, and home), and she will do anything to achieve it. She finds a beautiful home in her budget with all the amenities and manipulates the situation to become the sole bidder in a tight market. Even her husband can’t stop her from doing the impossible—sneaking inside, befriending the owners, bribery, and treachery. Margo breaks all the rules, and the reader will gasp at her boldness.

Author Marisa Kashino keeps readers intrigued with the edginess of the characters and the fast-paced plots. I enjoyed her take on the housing market and the buyer’s dilemma. I thank Celadon Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review Best Offer Wins. #NetGalley #Best Offer Wins #Thrillers

This book was absolutely crazy, unhinged and absolutely hilarious. It was really good, I had such a great time devouring this one. This story is just so addictive and it's impossible to put down. It is really unique and original and I am here for it!

Wow. I read this book in two days - and I have a toddler! It was completely unhinged, but I took in every word. It’s absolutely relatable when it comes to house hunting. My husband and I bought in 2022 and had so many people turn us down. We actually bought off market - luckily! While I would not go through the extremes Margo did, I understand the frustrations. Really great book!

One of the strong points of Best Offer Wins is the contemporary urgency of house-hunting, from price to mere availability. It will remind some readers of the crazed nature of house hunting in 2006 or 2007 just prior to the big crash in 2008; in that market realtors would pick up clients and drive as fast as possible to a house the minute a listing came up but there still would be a line of cars and realtors would refuse to allow another realtor/client couple into a house with them in case that first realtor's client wanted to put in a bid. A similar frenzy is taking place in this novel's Washington, D.C. setting, and first-person narrator Margo Miyake is not handling it well. Although readers might relate to Margo as a Lululemon wearing female and perhaps even understand Margo's feelings of being left behind on the cusp of turning thirty-eight as all of her friends settle in to lovely homes where they've started a family, there is something irritating about Margo's personality. Margo feels competitive even with so-called friends, and she mentally calls other women bitches or describes other women with their children as mousey when they say anything that does not align with what Margo wants or would like. In fact, Margo not only wants to keep up with the proverbial Joneses, she wants to outdo them. Margo even laments that her size 4 [derriere] might be approaching a 6 as she feels anger towards the size zero hot yoga instructor. Eyeroll on this since a size 6 is far from obese, and I'd bet that the vast majority of female readers won't be anywhere near a size zero either. It was details like that along with the anger that always seems to be boiling beneath the surface which might prevent greater levels of sympathy for the character of Margo. One lesson that readers might learn from Margo is to slow down and really think through decisions; for example, Margo's husband Ian had questioned Margo's insistence on selling their start home and moving to a tiny apartment during the Covid pandemic when more space and a private yard could be valuable. Shouldn't some room to move and peace of mind be a little more important than starting a no-holds-barred savings for a big-home down payment? However, Margo doesn't seem to even like her husband at this point, so she is not about to concede he might have been right about anything. What DOES Margo like (it certainly wasn't her family life or being the only Japanese-American kid in her area without her own tennis court)and will anything make her happy ? The point at which this book went from a three-star experience to a four was when the married male couple (owners of the latest home that Margo thinks she must have) are repulsed at Margo's stalking but also turn out to have something questionable in their background, sending Margo on a witch hunt.