I definitely don't think popcorn-thrillers are for me. I'm not a fan of dialogue that pretends to be badass but is actually cringey or dark comedies in general. With that said, I did enjoy getting to know the characters. They were entertaining, funny, clever, and the growing friendship they found within each other, while expected, was still heartwarming and enjoyable, although they could be a bit irritating at times.

I have also realized I'm also not a cozy mystery person, so the fact that this turned into a revenge plot that eventually became a journey about self-reflection was not really my cup of tea. It was a bit disappointing to be honest.

I also felt like this book could've been a bit shorter. I was ready for it to be done and the podcast transcript just seemed like it was adding something to the story that wasn't really relevant.

I also didn't find the writing to be that....developed? mature? I didn't really connect with the writing, but it was tolerable enough to get through.\

As for the narration, I did not care for it. It genuinely sounded like a 14-year old girl. So I my mind kept forgetting throughout the book that these characters were not teenagers or pre-teens. I don't know why a narrator that sounds so young was selected for this narration, but it didn't do it any favors.

I don't believe I'll be reading the rest of the series, but I know some friends who would enjoy this.

This was a really fun book. 3 ladies, all played by the same man decide to play pranks on him to mess with him. Unfortunately, dude ends up dead and all of a sudden these gals are the suspects.

I LOVED this. I think it was the perfect mix of quirky and murder-mystery. First off, I liked that it was one POV until the very end; I think having all people involved would have been too much. The explanation of who the murder was and how they went about things were so good and I didn't see it coming until right before. Awesome book and would definitely check out more if/when this becomes a series.
As for the audiobook, I think the narrator did a great job! I appreciated that her voice didn't change too much for characters where it'd be a sidetracking or awkward.

I loved this book! The friendships, the John Tuckers Must Die aspect, the lighthearted chaos! I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did and the narrator for audio was A+. Three girls dating the same man decide to prank him only to discover him murders. They all have motive and a crime scene riddled with their DNA so the only thing to do is to solve the murder before they are the ones stuck going down for it. I was thoroughly entertained! The main character Kat can be quite irritating at times but overall I truly enjoyed this audiobook.

Fans of Finley Donovan will enjoy this cozy mystery with a fun cast of characters. It was entertaining but not too serious which I really enjoyed! The audio narration was well done and I would recommend listening to this.

Thank you, NetGalley and Harlequin Audio, for this digital copy in exchange for an honest review. I thought this book was a fun read. The narrator did a phenomenal job and really brought the characters to life. I did find the beginning and ending to be super interesting, but the middle took me a while to get through. I ended up listening in chunks, which could have impacted my reading experience. I did enjoy the writing and characters. I found the main character to be very interesting and helped keep the mystery. I honestly did not see the ending reveal coming at all! You'll love this if you enjoy a humorous spin on the mystery genre.

A wickedly funny and wonderfully clever murder mystery that starts with a plan for revenge and ends with a race to find a killer.

When three women discover they've all been dating the same man, they team up to plot the perfect, over-the-top revenge. Their plan, however, ends before it begins... now they need to track down the real killer! With a perfect balance of LOL moments and a great plot with twists, this book will keep you guessing until the very end.

Thank you NetGalley, publisher and author for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I was surprised how much I liked this one. Moe than a mystery, it's a feel good look at relationships between women who society would say should hate each other. The characters weren't super deep but grew through the course of the novel.

I didn't solve the mystery and didn't see the twist coming. I did root for all three women.

Thank you for the ARC. I purchased for my library and will share widely.

This was very different from what I’m use too! I enjoy it enough to finish it. But don’t think I will read the rest of the series when it comes out! I do wish there was more than one narrator thought. Sometimes I got lost!

This was great! The reader was the perfect choice for this novel. I really enjoyed listening to the dialogue between the characters.

This was such a fun murder mystery, that gave me Finlay Donovan vibes! The narrator did a fantastic job with all the characters and I found it an easy and engaging book to listen to.

Kathryn Hu (or "Kat," to her friends and erstwhile lover Tucker) is a postdoc researcher at Harvard who seems to have a string of bad luck. The one bright light is her boyfriend, who brought her donuts to the lab to brighten her day, and whom she decided to surprise at his condo in return. The surprise was all Kat's: she barged right into the middle of Tucker's proposal to another woman. Kat figures out who this mystery lady is, they decide to take the vacation that Kat had planned to go on with her and Tucker... only to find him there with a THIRD woman! This dude sucks! But in the midst of breaking into his condo and pranking him, the trio finds Tucker dead. Who killed him? Who really was Tucker Jones? And what has Kat gotten herself into?

Man, I really, really, REALLY wanted to like this book. That cover! That setup! But this book... is not good. It is very very overwritten--we know that Kat is going to find Tucker with another woman in short order, but somehow it takes endless pages of her internal monologue to get there. The pranks are beyond puerile and I suddenly felt like I was reading a YA novel with way too many curse words and discussions about male genitalia. There's a whole subplot involving a stupid podcast that was beyond ridiculous, and there's a romance with the lead detective that is very clunky and concludes in an abrupt, confusing way. I guessed whodunit halfway through and was right, so, the twists aren't so surprising, either. I will say that the audiobook narrator was excellent-voices were great, differentiated and well performed. It's not her fault that the source material was so thin. The best parts were honestly the conversations Kat had with her mom, who had perhaps caricatured suggestions about how her first-gen daughter should handle herself but came at it with a good heart. Those interactions genuinely made me laugh and felt real. The rest of it? Meh.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for a complimentary audio copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Nik’s Review
💩 The Ex-Girlfriend’s Murder Club by Gloria Chao
🕵️ Genre: Mystery
🎧 Audiobook Length: 9hr 47min

📖Read if you like:
Revenge plot
Girl power

📕 Story Premise:
Kat thinks she landed the perfect boyfriend. Tucker is attentive, loving, and super supportive. Only problem is that he’s all those things with Lauren and Olivia too. After the three girls find out about Tucker’s infidelity, together they make a plan to get revenge. How far will these girls go to get back at the man who broke their hearts?

Final Verdict: ⭐️⭐️💫
I almost DNF multiple times. The writing was little cheesy for me and felt like it was geared more to Young Adult. It just wasn’t my cup of tea. The beginning was interesting enough, giving me John Tucker Must Die vibes. I couldn’t wait to see the revenge plot these girls would stir up together. I was kind of disappointed about the childish pranks they ended up choosing. I was hoping the Podcast parts of the novel would make this a super fun audiobook, but I actually disliked that the most. The ending had a good little twist that boosted my rating from a 2 to 2.5 stars.

This audiobook had me laughing out loud. The narrator did an excellent job of bringing each of the different characters to life. This humorous book was not what I expected! 3 women find out they are ultimately dating the same man. When they band together to come up with the ultimate revenge, they did not expect that they would find his dead body. While they ultimately try to solve the murder and not be blamed for it (via an over-the-top podcast host), these women find friendship among the chaos that their ex left behind.

This wasn't exactly the mystery I thought it would be when I picked it up, but honestly I loved it so much more because of that. This was hilarious and didn't always fit the mold. There was a twist towards the end that was great, but I did not see coming. And spoiler the girl does not end up with the guy. At least for now. Can't wait to see a second book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the opportunity to read Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club by Gloria Cho. I really wanted to like this book and gave it a fair chance, getting through 71% before ultimately deciding to DNF—which I NEVER do with ARCs.

While I appreciate the idea behind the story, I struggled with both the characters and the plot. One of the "girlfriends", Elle, felt underdeveloped, and her motivations for getting involved in the revenge plot never fully made sense to me. Many of the characters tended to fall into predictable patterns, and the dialogue often felt formulaic—especially when there' a moment of silence: heavy personal backstories were revealed in ways that didn’t feel organic.

The plot itself also felt overly convenient or cliché at times, with elements of mystery and humor blended together in a way that lacked depth or originality. Even moments meant to add romance or levity, like the dynamic with the detective, didn’t fully land for me and sometimes felt out of place given the serious circumstances.

Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me, though I’m sure readers who enjoy light, cozy mysteries with a mix of drama and humor might connect with it more than I did.

This audio was SO fun! The narrator did a phenomenal job of voicing each of the characters. I also felt like listening to this book added to the humor of the book. I’m not sure I would’ve found it quite as funny if I had read it.

The twist was fairly predictable, but it was still fun getting to the end point. I loved the focus on female friendships. I loved watching these three strangers become so important to one another. I liked that the romance was the focus of this book - the friendships were.

Thank you for the opportunity, I absolutely loved it! As a scientist myself I love that in the story. It was such a fun twisty read. I liked how it blended humor with suspense, and the characters felt sharp and entertaining. The pacing kept me hooked, and overall it was a really enjoyable thriller with a fresh spin.
Side note, for me having a good narrator is also very important, and the narrator was also very good.

Although this is a new to me author, I just couldn’t get into this one right away and it was definitely a me problem.

This was a good story. I enjoyed listening to it. The plot was interesting. One wife, two mistresses, an BF
a dead guy. The events are interesting. There is a crazy twist at the end.