2.5 stars

Maybe my expectations were too high going in or I was looking for a different type of book but I did not particularly vibe with this. I think if you REALLY love true crime and are mentally prepared for the heavier emotional topics then, this may be for you.

Personally, I spent the book mostly bored and/or frustrated with most if not all the human characters in this romance (Lenore was great, love a good literary cat). Phoebe was somewhat of an unlikable protagonist for me and Connor was a lovably insufferable little brother minus the lovable part. And Shani's only personality trait was her hard pushing a self-help book on grief which I found borderline inappropriate and kind of obnoxious. Sam was unproblematic as a romantic interest but a bit uninteresting so I wasn't particularly invested in the romance.

All and all, it was meh; not the worst romance I have read but it didn't make the list for steamiest romance either. I will give props to Thompson though, at least she didn't take the PG-13 route and actually included some smut.