Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Nic Stone writing an adult thriller and giving P-Valley vibes? Say less! But... I kinda wish she had said more. Let me explain.

I love when authors give us multiple lenses of the same moment—characters sharing their POVs on the same scene always adds depth. I also appreciated the flashbacks that added context, but I found myself a little confused at times. In earlier chapters, flashbacks were clearly marked with “Before,” but later on, those transitions from past to present weren’t smooth or obvious. I had to go back and reread to figure out what timeline I was in, which got frustrating. Tiffany D. Jackson does this type of back-and-forth really well, and honestly, I wouldn’t have minded a TDJ x Nic Stone collab here—TDJ might’ve helped sharpen the structure a bit.

Another challenge: keeping up with the characters. Between club names and government names, it got a little hard to track who was who at times.

The journal entries that come in toward the later part of the book were a new perspective that I liked, but the timing felt off. At no point did we get any indication earlier in the story that the original writer was keeping a journal. Maybe those entries could’ve been weaved in earlier—between past and present chapters—since they were also dated. That way, we could’ve gotten that third layer of perspective much earlier. I’m not sure, but placing them toward the end felt a bit awkward and sudden.

And finally—the ending. Without spoiling anything, let’s just say the “Lovely Ladies” deserved their final dance (not literally, but if you know, you know). The story needed more closure, and we didn’t really get it.

This isn’t a bad book. In fact, with some refinement, it could’ve easily been five stars. I finished it in a day, and I really enjoyed the characters and the puzzle pieces that brought “Lucky Charm” together (you’ll get it when you read it). But it’s not one of my favorites from Nic. I’m giving it 3.5 stars, rounding up to 4—because I know what she’s capable of.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Boom Town.
This mystery takes place in Atlanta when a stripper goes missing
The plot is set in a seedy neighborhood where the women are often found to be demoralized.
The story illustrates how some women are treated in the sex industry and the unbalanced treatment overall
A good book overall.
3 stars

The premise was engaging enough, but I just couldn't get into this novel. I love love love this author but the pacing just never took off the way it should've. The characters weren't too fleshed out and all of this mixed together just made the story feel clunky overall and that's a shame because I feel like there was some initial intrigue of the disappearance that takes place in the beginning of the book. I'm open to rereading when the book releases to revisit my feelings about the ending.

There are going to be readers who just love this book. It is fast-paced, dangerous, and twisty. I am just not one of those readers.

Boom Town grabbed me from the start. I liked the characters, the story, and the consistent nods to feminism amongst the sex worker industry.

The story centers around three erotic dancers, Lyriq, Luck and Charm, all employed—not simultaneously—at Atlanta’s hot strip club, Boom Town. Luck has been missing for some time, and while Lyriq has missed her for the duration, she isn’t prompted to really search for Luck until Charm also goes missing.

In so many ways, this is a story about the power imbalances of working-class Black women and wealthy white men. It is sad, angering, and utterly readable. It’s also extremely sexually graphic.


Overall, I enjoyed Boom Town and flew through it in less than 24 hours. Recommended.

Favorite quotes:
“ …lemons-to-lemonader that she was…”
“ They creeped me the hell out, Bibles did: people shaping their entire existence around a text written at a completely different time in a completely different part of the world just felt weird to me. The Constitution gave me a similar ick.”

I really wanted to love this but unfortunately this didn’t land the way I thought it would. The plot seemed a bit clunky. I would’ve loved to be introduced to the characters a bit more before getting into the disappearance of the characters. I believe that would’ve gave the story a more emotional pull. I loved the idea I just wish it would’ve had a different execution.

Going into this book, I didn’t know what to expect of this setting because I haven’t read anything similar, but Nic Stone’s adult thriller debut does not disappoint! I really enjoyed the multi-POV, and the time jumps added a good level of suspense. I was kept guessing until the super satisfying ending! Looking forward to more from this author!

Wow! I love thrillers but this was a first for me. Follow multiple characters through a story about exotic dancers that go missing . I’ll be recommending this one for sure!

I love Nic Stone as a YA author, so it was no doubt that I loved this adult novel. It was an eye opening insight!

I feel like I’m struggling to write this review, but I could probably sit and discuss it all day….but here goes nothing….

I consider myself a die-hard Nic Stone fan, she’s never missed the mark in my book…and that fact still remains for her first adult novel. However, while She didn’t miss, she didn’t hit it as effortlessly as I’ve come to expect. The book pulled me in from the opening, but I truly struggled with keeping the characters straight in the beginning. The multitude of names and alias made it difficult to distinguish how many players were really involved. The flow of the beginning was also impacted by the narrative jumping from past to present in the same chapter with no clear indicator of the why (“thinking back, daydream, etc.). Ultimately, by “part 2”, I was able to make sense of it all and commit to knowing the fate, and reasoning behind all of the interactions. Part 3 wrapped it all in a nice cute bow and made things come full circle.

I didn’t get the intent the publisher referenced in her letter, or felt like a read a novel that highlighted the disparities in looking for black girls/women compared to other races, but I did feel like the concept of valuing intuition and being aware of the how vulnerable we leave girls when we turn our backs was highlighted.

There is probably nothing that this author could write that I wouldn’t read and love. I swear she could write a dictionary and I would think it was the most interesting thing I’ve ever read. This book which is her first adult novel really had me thinking about canceling my plans for the day so that I could finish the book. It is part murder, mystery, part, bad ass chick book and part social commentary, but altogether so interesting and engaging.

When two of her friends go missing lyric decides that she finally has to start investigating what has happened to them. All three women worked together at Boom Town strip club and all three have had massive trauma in their lives that has played a major role and who they are, who they trust, and who they want to be. All of the women in this story are bad asses who have been screwed over by men time and time again, but who want to support each other even if it feels like it might be too late to do so. There’s also a really important message in here about how missing black and brown women are often treated in the news versus white women, especially when they go missing or something happens to them. It’s also a reminder that regardless of what a woman does for a job, regardless of what anybody does for a job everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect

I can’t recommend this book enough there are so many twists and turns that even when you think you have it figured out you really don’t. It was a great read and would be an amazing beach read for the summer.

I saw this book being advertised for fans of P-Valley and I was immediately sold. Thankfully, this book did not disappoint. We follow Lyriq as she tries to find a friend that's gone missing, especially after another stripper they know also vanishes. The book goes from there and it's a wild ride from start to finish. I loved the characters and the pacing of this book. I will say a lot of heavy themes are covered so make sure you're not reading something that could potentially trigger you.

Nic Stone’s Boom Town offers an electrifying premise: a missing stripper in Atlanta sets off a chain of revelations that expose the power dynamics, racial realities, and social stigmas surrounding sex work in one of the city’s most notorious Black strip clubs. What really worked for me was the depth of the characters and the unapologetic commentary around sex work and race. The women felt real—flawed, fierce, and layered. Stone captures their world with a kind of gritty empathy that’s rare and refreshing.

That said, the book didn’t land everything it aimed for. The theme of Black women’s invisibility—especially those in stigmatized professions—was hinted at but not fully realized. The setup was there: missing women, little institutional concern, an entitled man believing he could take what he wanted because of the work they did. That’s a tragically familiar reality. But the story didn’t lean into the lack of police or public response in a way that truly underscored the societal neglect. We’re told the women are missing, but we don’t feel the weight of no one looking for them. That disconnect weakened the social commentary for me.

The mystery aspect also fell a bit flat. While the premise is dark and compelling, it didn’t feel suspenseful so much as it did inevitable. The resolution lacked tension, and I expected more complexity, especially given the emotional weight of the subject matter. It’s less a whodunit and more a tragic unveiling—and maybe that’s the point—but as a thriller, it didn’t quite deliver.

On a personal note, I wasn’t a fan of the diary entries used to explain key parts of the story. I tend to prefer when those revelations are woven into the main narrative rather than tacked on as a separate device. It felt like the most important parts of the story were told instead of shown, which disrupted the pacing and clarity, especially in the final stretch of the book.

All in all, Boom Town succeeds in humanizing women in the sex industry and painting a realistic picture of their lives and relationships. But the plot itself left me confused and underwhelmed by the end. I appreciated what the book was trying to say—I just wish it had said it more clearly and powerfully.

I love a good mystery and while the opening chapter set a great scene, what followed was a train wreck. Stone fixated on eroticism rather than actual plot. I do not need to read about how a character’s intimate parts “glistened”. Yes, the setting lent itself to sexuality, but it seemed to be hyperfocused.. I’m not a prude by any nature, but I could not connect with the characters on any level. I didn’t find it anything close to a Gillian Flynn novel. Thank you to NetGslley and Simon and Shuster for an advance copy, but this one definitely was not for me. This review is my own opinion.

Boom Town by Nic Stone is a gripping twisty story of two exotic dancers who go missing and a third who commits to solving the mystery of what happened to them. Throughout the novel we get various perspectives, slowly revealing what happened before and after each woman goes missing.

It focuses on the intriguing world of strip/dance clubs, sisterhood, survival and safety. This is Nic Stone’s first adult novel. Stone highlights the sights and sounds of Atlanta.

The issues that the book brings up are the social commentary of racial and sexual power dynamics, the invisibility of Black women.

This book was not my ususal read and it took a bit to get used the seedineess of the story. it was well written and anyone who likes those kinds of books will enjoy it. This book does talk about important topics like human trafficking, which is very real but not talked about too often in books.

*thanks to Netgalley & the publishers for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review*

Nic Stone’s deep dive into the darker parts of ATL are relayed with the kind of authenticity only a true ATLien could deliver. Fans of sharp, razor edge thrillers will gladly come along for the ride in the author’s adult (and it’s Adult with a capital A, y’all!) debut!

Stone artfully strings readers along with dueling POVs and timelines with punchy dialogue delivered amongst seedy, neon backdrops juxtaposed with crisp, beige-facade of the Beltline, and finally brings in local lore (thanks for acknowledging Oscarville!) about Lake Lanier’s deadly, sordid origins.

Nic Stone's adult debut carries the same weight she brings to YA without the limitations of the genre. Stone spins a compelling tale of ex lovers in dangerous circumstances and fun twists that keep the readers on their toes.

I went into Boom Town by Nic Stone blindly, and it ended up being a great book to kick off the summer! I wasn’t expecting it to be a steamy thriller, but when Lucky, a dancer at Boom Town, goes missing and then Charm also disappears, the search is on to figure out what happened to them. The storylines of the various characters are tightly interwoven as we unravel the mysteries behind their disappearances. My favorite part of the book was learning about the dancers, their other jobs, and where they came from. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon Books for the ARC!

Thank you, Simon and Schuster for providing the copy of Boom Town by Nic Stone. If you have read Stone’s YA books you already know she is an amazing writer and this thriller for adults is no exception. I was immediately drawn into the story, even though the details of what goes on in the strip club were more ‘adult’ than I was expecting. The characters were intriguing and I loved learning the connections in the end. If you love thrillers, this book is a can’t-miss read! 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.