Read And Revel

What it’s about:

This romance thriller is all about Poppy Roe, the Princess of Pop. Her past, her demons, and the plots against her. As she becomes trapped onboard the most luxurious ship in the world, sailing into international waters as the game of murder and destruction follows her she must find who she can trust and who is another pawn. With luxury, steamy romance, and mayhem around every corner, she must learn for the first time what it means to have someone to protect even if they think she’s a monster. 

What I thought:

This book was not at all what I expected. Reading the info and seeing the genre set as “romance” set me up to be pleasantly surprised by how the story would unfold. I’ve read Kate Callaghan before, especially her cozy romantasy, so I was nervous to see something come out that was so different, what I would personally define as more of a thriller than anything else. She nailed it, leading me through twists and turns, and giving me a wholly unexpected ending. 

• Character Development

We see character development only with our 2 primary characters, as they break through their past trauma and reasons for withholding trust begin to protect others out of love and need for community. It’s a parallel journey, which I enjoyed. 

• Setting and World-Building

The author did a great job bringing us into this world, some with exposition, but much through the current thoughts and actions of what’s happening in real time. 

• Strengths and Weaknesses

The biggest strengths to me are the consistent believability of the various characters motivations,  the consistent moral and heart pulling in different directions, and the way the author left us guessing and trying to solve the plot right along with them. My only critiques would be a few threads from characters that were left unresolved, but those were minor and served the thriller well overall. 

Tropes:

Enemies to lovers, forced proximity, wrong things for right reasons, multi POV. 

Did the Book Pass the “One More Chapter” Test?

I read this book in less than 24 hours because I just couldn’t put it down. Every time I thought I guessed the villain I was thrown for another loop. 

Number of Emotional Roller Coasters: 4

They will they/ won’t they left me constantly needing to find out more. 

Perfect snack pairing: Sushi, champagne, and a strawberry milkshake. 

Level of spice: ⅗, some very spicy scenes, not overly graphic. 

Unique bits I love:

Seeing the motivations of actions, the twisted world of elite Hollywood, and people coming together from the most unlikely of places made this world heartwarming and pulse pounding.