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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.

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Best Offer Wins was the kind of book I didn’t realize I needed until I tore through it in a weekend—darkly funny, wildly relatable, and just unhinged enough to keep me glued to the page. Marisa Kashino takes something as everyday as house-hunting and turns it into a high-stakes, laugh-out-loud psychological rollercoaster.

I saw way too much of myself in Margo Miyake—her stress, her spiraling logic, that desperate yearning for stability and space. Even as her choices grew more questionable, I couldn’t stop rooting for her (and occasionally cringing in secondhand embarrassment). The satire is razor-sharp, especially in how it skewers the madness of the real estate market and the pressure to “have it all.”

Kashino perfectly balances humor and tension, and I genuinely didn’t know what Margo was going to do next—which made the read all the more addictive. It’s a deliciously bold debut that somehow manages to be both unsettling and comforting at the same time.

I already want to recommend this to every friend who's ever scrolled Zillow past midnight.

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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What would you do for your dream home… and how far is too far? 😏

Thank you, @celadonbooks @netgalley, for this ARC.

The FMC, Margo, is definitely unhinged 😅, but she knows exactly what she wants, and how to get it. It was wild watching the lengths she would go to for her dream home. Knowing her upbringing and the challenges she faced  made it so easy to root for her. The methodical planning, the risks she took, and even sacrificing part of her self-worth made this such an addictive read. I guessed part of the ending, but some twists still had me saying, “Damn, Margo!” 😆
Overall, a fun and gripping debut from @marisakashino 🎯.

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4.5 stars.

Many thanks to @celadonbooks for this wild ride page-turner of a domestic suspense read!

It starts off slowly but the tempo just builds and builds as we begin to know Margo, a thirty-seven-year-old publicist in Washington, D.C. who, with her husband, is house hunting amidst the hot housing market. When Margo finds the perfect house in the perfect neighbourhood, she does whatever it takes to be the successful buyer. And I do mean whatever.

This is one unhinged ride reminiscent of the Gone Girl vibe. I loved the first person POV (Margo’s) as I got right inside her head. The pacing is excellent and I couldn’t put the book down. I inhaled it in a day. The ending was so good!!!

This is yet another debut novel and I am so impressed. I think this book will be big this fall. Fans of gripping domestic suspense with an unhinged, obsessive female main character: don’t miss it!!

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𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐈'𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭'𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞.

I intended to read the first few pages to see if this would be a contender for my next read, and before I knew it, I had finished the entire book. It was a pretty stark commentary on the pressure that comes with having your entire life planned, and life just won't cooperate.

Margo Miyake and her husband Ian sold their house during the pandemic and made a nice profit. They assumed they would move up the property ladder and get closer to their dream home, but interest rates have soared, and they've been stuck in a one-bedroom apartment for 18 months. Perfect properties have come and gone eleven times, each one lost in a frenzied bidding war that far exceeded their budget. So when Margo gets a tip about the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood coming on the market soon, she becomes absolutely obsessed with buying the home before it's publicly listed.

Anyone who has ever felt the allure of an open house and imagining your belongings in a stranger's space will understand Margo's actions. She begins with some light snooping around the property and successfully feigns being lost when one of the homeowners comes home unexpectedly. As her desperation grows, her actions become increasingly unhinged, and yet she successfully manages to ingratiate herself into the owner's lives. Just when she thinks her daring plan is going to work, there's an abrupt shift, and she and Ian are now persona non grata.

I never could have predicted the direction the plot would go, and it was WILD. I completely understood Margo's attachment to the house and supported her dogged determination to get it, especially when...well, that's venturing into spoiler territory. This book is nuts in the best of ways, and the ending was abrupt yet so satisfying. You're going to want to pay attention to Margo's backstory because how it played into her character arc was utter perfection.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for this thrilling early read. This title will publish November 25, 2025.

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What a read. I was not expecting this to go the way it did and I really enjoyed this quick read. All the claps for Marisa Kashino on her first novel!

Best Offer Wins follows Margo and Ian’s exhausting house hunt in an insanely tough housing market while trying to find a place in DC that checks all the boxes. When Margo’s agent gets a heads up on a new house that will be listed, Margo takes it as a sign to do whatever possible to get the house of her dreams.

This book was so relatable following the COVID pandemic. Housing, vehicles, let’s face it; literally everything is an impossible market. This is a fast paced thriller that kept me turning the page. It has a great climax and I couldn’t put it down past about 40%! Margo is really *something* and quite the character to get to know through this book.
Fast paced, but still well written.

Big shout out to the Celadon reader program for the ARC, my favorite publisher for a reason.

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I’m probably going to end up rating this book higher than I probably should—because holy moly Margo is abhorrent. And yet, I couldn’t put my darn Kindle down once I got going!

So Margo—she starts off as this smug condescending affluent professional and her antics are just so incredibly cringey that you just can’t look away. I got so much second hand embarrassment, but I just had to know what she was going to screw up next.

But then she turns absolutely diabolical and you still can’t look away. There are no morally gray areas here—she is no good and you know it, even as she piles blame on everyone but herself and that dumb little dog (yeah, I said it—the attachment there was just creepy). Seriously, this gal needs to go to therapy for her anger issues. Is this that “feminine rage” that’s all vogue these days? Please, this gal is living in PRIVILEGE and her misery is a CHOICE—if only we all had a million plus for our home search…

So my recommendation? I have no idea. I think a lot of people will love this. I’m not sure I would read more from this author. The writing is solid, but if all her main characters are like Margo? I might have to pass. But I did devour this book, so who knows where my brain is anymore?

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I will be kind about this even though I don't want to be. I found this to be an absolute ridiculous mess. I don't even know where to start. First, we get it, the author knows how to use the f word. Classy. I don't mind cussing in a book, but I was reading the e version so I just had to see how many times the f word was used because it was really starting to get annoying. Sixty six. Sixty six times, she felt the need to use it. Now, the plot. So far fetched and ludicrous, it didn't stand a chance of being believable. Again, I can suspend belief where need be, but this was absolutely insane. Finally, the author seemed to want to cram in several political opinions of her own when it was not relevant to the story. I am all for politics in a story if it is actually related to the plot, but authors love doing that nowadays. They just have to cram their own beliefs down the readers' throats, hiding behind a character. And they seem to really slam every cultural issue and potential problems in one story. Pick one or two. It doesn't have to be everything you can imagine. I appreciate the opportunity from the publisher, but this was really bad. Margo was an absolute mental case and downright sickening. I hope the author didn't expect us to feel sorry for her at any point. The fact that she was never held responsible for ANY of her wacko actions was frustrating.

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Eighteen months and 11 lost bidding wars into house-hunting, Margo Miyake gets a tip about the perfect house, in the perfect neighborhood, slated to come up for sale in one month. She will do ANYTHING to win. She kind of went crazy. Stalking, trespassing, etc. She really wants the American Dream. There were some slower parts. Liked the twist. This was funny and dark overall. I really enjoyed the overall story and thought it was fresh and new. 3.5 stars.

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Wow! This was one twisty unhinged book that I loved. Margo is frustrated as she keeps putting in offers houses and keeps getting told they went with another offer. She hates being in an apartment and is bound and determined that this time will be different. She loves this house and figures if she can just get the inside scoop and get an offer in before it goes on the market life will be better.

Her plan doesn't work but she pivots and comes up with another way to make her dreams come true.

I liked that this was off the rails crazy and unpredictable. I just loved Margo in this book.

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Haha. This was a fun one. What would you do to make sure you got the house of your dreams? After dozens of losing offers, Margo learns of new house that is going to market. It’s not just a new house, it’s THE house. Her perfect dream home. But it’s sooo perfect, she knows there will be sooo many offers on it. She can’t lose another one.

She becomes obsessed at getting this house before it hits the market. Stalking, trespassing, and more! Nothing is off limits. The funny thing is, regardless of what this women does, weirdly you still want her to get the house.

I really enjoyed this one and flew through it. I could wait to see.

I loved the twist however, the ending was soo rushed and I was a little disappointed.

Thank you Celadon and NetGalley for the gift copy to review.

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Best Offer Wins
How far would you go to achieve the “American Dream”?
There’s no line Margo won’t cross to grab her dream life as she sets her sights on a certain house in a specific neighborhood . As she gets desperate to win the bidding wars, she resorts to trespassing, stalking & spilling secrets.
This tense psychological thriller was amazingly addictive! 5 stars

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Y’all I absolutely LOVED this one!! Margo (our FMC) starts off totally relatable, she’s just a woman trying to buy a house in an impossible market (iykyk) and then homegirl slowly slides into being completely unhinged, and I was 100% along for the ride! The way her logic unravels is both hilarious and unsettling, and by the end, I was rooting for her while also wondering if she needed professional help

The twist? I honestly did not see it coming. I thought I had a handle on Margo, but she was playing 4D chess the whole time. Oh and the ending?! I really think girlfriend is going full-send! (And yall I kinda want to be friends with her??)

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Best Offer Wins
Author: Marisa Kashino
Source: NetGalley
Publication Date: Nov. 25, 2025

Best Offer Wins is an interesting take on the current conditions of the housing market. In other words, this book is off the charts in lunatic behavior. Margo is trying to purchase a home in her “perfect” neighborhood while trying to get pregnant with her exhausted husband. After losing out to other buyers with the dreaded “all cash” offers, she finally goes straight to crazy town with a plan to seal the deal on her dream home. It is hard to describe this plot, but I sold real estate for over 35 years, and this was a stretch even though the premise was interesting. You never know what someone will do to get their forever home. 3.5 solid stars.

#BestOfferWins @marisakashino @celadonbooks #CeladonReader #househunting #dreamHome #desperation #mystery #thriller #WildPlotTwists #WomensFiction @netgalley #unhinged #netgalleyReviewer#bookish #wearebookish

I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this novel.

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As someone who has a weird strong connection with the housing market, both having family members in real estate, having worked in the vacation rental industry and also being obsessed with Home and garden shows this book looked awesome.

So the book starts off really strong and then the pacing begins to slow around 30 to 50% and it does drag a bit I will admit.

I also felt that there was a lot of additional descriptions and scenes of Margot being in her home that we maybe didn’t completely need. It didn’t seem like every single page was necessary and so I feel like the book was ever so slightly overwritten.

This book is still excellent and I’m giving it five stars still because it captivated me. It kept me going. I was giggling. I was surprised it gave me all the things that I want to have a thriller is it my favorite thriller ever know but my standards for thrillers are also stupid high, and I don’t know what my favorite thriller ever even is.

If you want a good thriller, just pick this one up it’s really wonderful. It’s gonna make you laugh and it’ll also make you go. “What the heck?”

Thank you so much for this ARC! I appreciate the opportunity to leave honest feedback voluntarily.

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I thought about asking my psychiatrist for a higher dosage of my anxiety meds when I was reading this.

I hate Margo so much, but I was still rooting for her, (view full review on Goodreads with spoilers if you've read the book.)

Overall, it was entertaining, and I am writing this review at 3:26 in the morning.

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This mystery thriller is full of dark humor. Margo thinks she could be happy if she could just find the perfect house and then she could get pregnant. But that’s not working out for her, so when she thinks she’s finally found the perfect house, she does everything to get it. Yes, she does do crazy things you couldn’t dream of. Her husband can’t believe her level of obsession. When did she become so unhinged?but he has crossed the line himself. This is one over the top, I can’t believe what I’m reading story.

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I read A LOT of thrillers and this one was truly compelling. I love the sass Margo has throughout, her commentary to the reader made me snicker out loud. But what truly struck me is how gradually the story unfolded in a way that felt totally realistic (for a thriller). As someone who bought a house in 2020, I totally related the absolute madness of the experience and could see how we all have a little Margo in us when trying to buy in a competitive market. Mostly I just loved how engrossed I became in this story, I genuinely couldn’t put it down, I had no idea where it was headed, and I loved it!

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loved it!! such a fun and unique thriller I cant believe this is a debut, hope we get lots more books from this author

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As someone who recently experienced the cut-throat process that is house hunting, I totally emphasize with doing whatever it takes to win a house! This was such a clever idea for a book, made even better by the well written characters, shocking reveals, and surprise twists. This was such an addictive thriller that I read it all in one day because I couldn't put it down! There were even some really funny moments...what does it say about me that I laughed out loud at the ending?! 😅

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