Alicia Thompson

Turns out that reading nothing but true crime isn't exactly conducive to modern dating—and one woman is going to have to learn how to give love a chance when she's used to suspecting the worst. PhD candidate Phoebe Walsh has always been obsessed with true crime. She's even analyzing the genre in her dissertation—if she can manage to finish writing it. It's hard to find the time while she spends the summer in Florida, cleaning out her childhood home, dealing with her obnoxiously good-natured younger brother, and grappling with the complicated feelings of mourning a father she hadn't had a relationship with for years. It doesn't help that she's low-key convinced her new neighbor, Sam Dennings, is a serial killer (he may dress business casual by day, but at night he's clearly up to something). But it's not long before Phoebe realizes that Sam might be something much scarier—a genuinely nice guy who can pierce through her armor to her vulnerable heart underneath.

Love in the Time of Serial Killers

Sarah Campbell

I’d never admit this out loud, but sometimes I was grateful to people who were automatic huggers. It took the pressure off me to initiate anything, and it felt nice, being embraced, even for a few seconds, by someone you cared about.

Turns out that reading nothing but true crime isn't exactly conducive to modern dating--and one woman is going to have to learn how to give love a chance when she's used to suspecting the worst. PhD candidate Phoebe Walsh has always been obsessed with true crime. She's even analyzing the genre in her dissertation--if she can manage to finish writing it. It's hard to find the time while she spends the summer in Florida, cleaning out her childhood home, dealing with her obnoxiously good-natured younger brother, and grappling with the complicated feelings of mourning a father she hadn't had a relationship with for years. It doesn't help that she's low-key convinced her new neighbor, Sam Dennings, is a serial killer (he may dress business casual by day, but at night he's clearly up to something). But it's not long before Phoebe realizes that Sam might be something much scarier--a genuinely nice guy who can pierce through her armor to her vulnerable heart underneath.

Emma Wolfe

I don't regret giving you my heart, Phoebe. I just wish you'd taken more care with it.

I'd need at least a half hour on You- Tube University to figure that one out, and then I'd probably kill my phone battery, too.

I was tempted to get back in the car, to drive to a local gas station and sit in the parking lot for one full podcast episode, then circle the block a few times before pulling into the driveway again. 

Samantha Huster

I am Phoebe. Phoebe is me. I honestly love the FMC in this book so much. Her obsession with true crime and literature along with her dark humor and sarcastic quips felt very relatable. Thoroughly enjoyed this very well written exploration of being afraid of love more than you’re afraid of serial killers

so fun to see my own paranoia personified in a rom com leading lady

kels

The story of Phoebe and her true crime obsession turned doctoral dissertation and Sam who is simply adorable was such a fun read. 

I loved them. The side characters are great too and I liked following Phoebe on her journey of figuring out life. 

Megan BV

The story of Phoebe and her true crime obsession turned doctoral dissertation and Sam who is simply adorable was such a fun read. 

I loved them. The side characters are great too and I liked following Phoebe on her journey of figuring out life. 

What an amazing read. It had all of my favorite things: humor, romance and all the true crime references. But it also touched on personal matters that I think a lot of people go through and I found myself relating to more than one chapter in this book. There were time I laughed out loud and time I felt my heart breaking with the characters. Just an all in all good book and I hope many others will give it a chance. 

Yareliz Velez

Good enough romance novel, not the direction I was expecting it to take. Thought they would play more into her paranoia to add more comedic value. But still enjoyable. 

Jessica Van Wart

It took me days to decide to write my review because I honestly have no idea what should I write. I mean, this book was not bad but not good either. You got what I mean? The cover and the burb got me. But as I read this book, the main character always made me go like— Oh, God. You are so oversuspicious?! But it is still understandable because there are so many pop culture references to serial killers, so yeah. But still, I didn’t expect this book would turn this way, but the story wasn’t what I wanted.

Honestly not any better than any other modern contemporary romance book. Phoebe was annoying and I didn't much like her, the character development sucked. It would've been a much better book if Sam ended up being a serial killer after all lol.

Lizeth Garcia

I don’t think I’ve ever loved a main character more than I love Phoebe. I could relate to her on so many different levels and I think I might have fallen in love with her character just a little. The humor and romance in this book were my favorite parts, I loved all of the different relationships, this was just a fantastic book.

Megan Leprich

I found it very hard to get into the book. I LOVE the cover art. Unfortunately, I just found the book very boring. Nothing special. Just an average romcom. I started to skim through it at the end because of how bored I was. I wish I got more into it. I wasn’t terrible. Just an average rom com read.

Bookworm

Kept me entertained but it wasn’t an amazing storyline. Just a classic little romance book with a few unique themes that made it a little more interesting. 

Tori Albin

In a world obsessed with true crime documentaries and podcasts, where people on social media task themselves with trying to solve gruesome murders before the police, where women are warned in all the ways they need to protect themselves from being attacked - can you blame a girl for being paranoid about serial killers? Not really, no.

I really wanted to love this book, the premise enticed me but unfortunately, I was left a little bit disappointed. The beginning was set up perfectly ambiguously, you could've been reading the start of a horror/thriller novel just as much as you could've been starting a romance novel. A young woman, Phoebe, moves back into her childhood home after her father passes away - a place she hasn't lived since she was a teen. Her father wasn't the best of dads, slow to show love, quick to rage, a gaslighter who was prone to violently throwing bowls of jello at the floor and her brother chose to live with him after the divorce? Plus there's a creepy man next door who wanders around at midnight barefoot and hauls stained drop-sheets out of his garage to dispose of. Her brother, the neighbor, a stranger - anyone of them could've been a murderer!

 a romance, not a horror/thriller and therefore, the not-so-creepy-actually-cute guy next door is not a potential murderer but a potential summer fling - or more...

The use of true crime and horror in this book was okay, the dissertation topic Phoebe is writing is super interesting, well described and clearly well researched by the author, Alicia Thompson. But I wanted thrill and excitement, I wanted a 

 potential serial killers to lovers story line. I wanted Phoebe to be so neurotically obsessed with writing her paper that she could barely tell reality from fiction but instead this just read like 

 by Emily Henry, and unfortunately it was not quite as good as that book.

Sam was an adorable love interest, he's sweet and very kind, shy and nerdy, and the banter between him and Phoebe was super cute. The side characters stories were well fleshed out, Alison, Conner and Shani were all there own individual people who were fun, corny and beneficial to the story. Phoebe was flawed, self-deprecating and frustrating. She clearly needed therapy from past and fresh traumas inflicted by her parents (who clearly also needed therapy - multi-generational trauma at it again) but she became more likable as the story went on, which I think was the point - she relaxed a lot more around Sam, once she finally accepted love is possible and that not everyone gets divorced or murders each other.

Overall, a nice cute romance, great for a palate cleanser between actual horror/thrillers, or epic fantasies in my case - but unfortunately lacked a bit of oomph. This could've been something really unique and interesting, and I'm sad it didn't end up being that but was still a good read in the end.

Genevieve 

In a world obsessed with true crime documentaries and podcasts, where people on social media task themselves with trying to solve gruesome murders before the police, where women are warned in all the ways they need to protect themselves from being attacked - can you blame a girl for being paranoid about serial killers? Not really, no.

I rated this 3.75 ⭐s

I really wanted to love this book, the premise enticed me but unfortunately, I was left a little bit disappointed. The beginning was set up perfectly ambiguously, you could've been reading the start of a horror/thriller novel just as much as you could've been starting a romance novel. A young woman, Phoebe, moves back into her childhood home after her father passes away - a place she hasn't lived since she was a teen. Her father wasn't the best of dads, slow to show love, quick to rage, a gaslighter who was prone to violently throwing bowls of jello at the floor and her brother chose to live with him after the divorce? Plus there's a creepy man next door who wanders around at midnight barefoot and hauls stained drop-sheets out of his garage to dispose of. Her brother, the neighbor, a stranger - anyone of them could've been a murderer!

Except this is a romance, not a horror/thriller and therefore, the not-so-creepy-actually-cute guy next door is not a potential murderer but a potential summer fling - or more...

The use of true crime and horror in this book was okay, the dissertation topic Phoebe is writing is super interesting, well described and clearly well researched by the author, Alicia Thompson. But I wanted thrill and excitement, I wanted a proper potential serial killers to lovers story line. I wanted Phoebe to be so neurotically obsessed with writing her paper that she could barely tell reality from fiction but instead this just read like Beach Read by Emily Henry, and unfortunately it was not quite as good as that book.

Sam was an adorable love interest, he's sweet and very kind, shy and nerdy, and the banter between him and Phoebe was super cute. The side characters stories were well fleshed out, Alison, Conner and Shani were all there own individual people who were fun, corny and beneficial to the story. Phoebe was flawed, self-deprecating and frustrating. She clearly needed therapy from past and fresh traumas inflicted by her parents (who clearly also needed therapy - multi-generational trauma at it again) but she became more likable as the story went on, which I think was the point - she relaxed a lot more around Sam, once she finally accepted love is possible and that not everyone gets divorced or murders each other.

Overall, a nice cute romance, great for a palate cleanser between actual horror/thrillers, or epic fantasies in my case - but unfortunately lacked a bit of oomph. This could've been something really unique and interesting, and I'm sad it didn't end up being that but was still a good read in the end.

I had a terrible time getting into this novel, so I opted to listen to the audiobook to keep me in pace. For some reason, I found it hard to get attached to the characters. I loved the idea of this, but the story was missing something. I did not care if the couple ended up together, nor did I really see HOW they fell in love. It all felt fast, and I didn't necessarily feel their connection. I would've appreciated more storytelling on that front, and more about the character's father and the abuse that they seemed to have suffered from him. This was only briefly touched, despite the note at the beginning of the book making me think that there was going to be more discussion about it. Overall, it was an enjoyable book, just nothing I'll think about ever again, and will be gone from my memory in just a week.

Nash

I had a lot of fun reading this book. The very first thing that grabbed my attention was the title. I'm pretty sure there's more people like me out there but I have a deep love for romance novels and also thrillers and true crime. I spend my free time from adulthood and books, listening to true crime podcasts and occasionally watching documentaries. So, when I read the title I said ''I need to read this asap". I think that our main character in this novel is an odd ball, which is why I love her. The very first thing she thinks when a handsome stranger offers her help is that "He probably wants to murder me". She even gave him a news-worthy-serial-killer name. It is truly hilarious. 

I felt the whole story to be wholesome and clever. There are a lot of facts about crimes included, which is incredibly good. No one want just random lines written about something that truly happen and that it was devastating to a lot of people. 

The romance portion was incredibly good. Spicy when it had to, swoon-y when it was appropriate. I would love to read more from this author and definitely will be looking forward to it. 

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley for the opportunity.

Gillian Rose

This was a lot of fun. So many references to my own childhood and life. If I had a complaint, it would be that the serial killer thing was resolved much too quickly and the romance was a tad too instalove for me. But that's a nitpick because I did like Phoebe and Sam. And Phoebe reconnecting with her brother and his wild plans for proposals was sweet. I also think it tackled grief pretty well. A solid effort, will read more from her.

I had really high expectations for this book and while I really enjoyed it, the main character was not cohesive enough for me. It almost felt like one person wrote most of the pages and then for the romance part someone else wrote. 

I thought mixing the true crime fascination was a fun twist and combined two things I really enjoy. 

A few spicy scenes, but doesn’t take over the whole book. 

I had really high expectations for this book and while I really enjoyed it, the main character was not cohesive enough for me. It almost felt like one person wrote most of the pages and then for the romance part someone else wrote. 

I thought mixing the true crime fascination was a fun twist and combined two things I really enjoy. 

Grumpy/Sunshine 

🌶️🌶️🌶️/5 

A few spicy scenes, but doesn’t take over the whole book. 

Leisha Chadwick

i’m in two minds as to what i think about this! i felt like i was doing my degree all over again which i hated btw but the fluffiness of the writing was quite a nice change from the morbid, dark literature that i usually read. i genuinely really enjoyed the quirkiness and modern feel of the authors writing style but i feel like it just needed more? there was no real build up & i was waiting for something that just never really happened.. i just had bigger expectations for it but it still wasn’t the worst 

(ps i am very much here for the office references✨)

brianna

Jennifer mitchell

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

This book is the epitome of the word fine.

It was really just fine. I normally write reviews with what I loved about the book and what I didn't, and I'm really struggling to do that for this book. There wasn't anything I really disliked about it, but there also wasn't anything I really loved. 

The story follows Phoebe, who is writing a dissertation about true crime. She temporarily moves to FL to pack up her dad's house and ends up meeting the next door neighbor, Sam. At first she thinks he may be a serial killer, but quickly realizes he might just be an actual nice guy.

My main gripe with this book is that it felt really repetitive. Phoebe spends at least 50% of the book writing her dissertation, which is cool! But also, I signed up to read a romance novel, not a PhD candidates dissertation. There were also a few unnecessary plot points that interrupted the flow of the story. It wasn't so bad that I stopped reading altogether, but it definitely slowed down my reading speed and made me put the book down at various times.

But overall, the story was cute and there were some moments of good chemistry between the characters. I thought the plot was fun and original (it was the reason I requested the ARC in the first place). I just didn't think this book was memorable. It was simply fine.

Olivia smith 

This was a cute book! I love the main character as she reminds me of myself. Too scared to meet new people and date because I’m a true crime junkie. It was an enjoyable read overall ☺️

Courtney

Arielle Anderson

** spoiler alert **
           2.5 but rounding to 3. There was so little romance. The joke of serial killer neighbor dragged on for so long. Ending felt rushed.

Claire Murray

I love this book so much! Phoebe is different from your average main character in a romance book, but that’s what makes this book so special. She starts extremely closed off from all relationships, and then realizes being vulnerable with old friends, her brother, and next door neighbour doesn’t have to lead to a inevitable doom. Having true crime wrapped up in the storyline was so unique!! i seen a lot of negative reviews saying “he should have ended up being a serial killer in the end as a twist” and to those people i say, you do realize this was a romantic comedy right?

😐 this was the most boring blandest book ever and I feel so bad for saying this but it just was. 

So much inner monologue and hundreds of pop culture references.

I read it up to page 100 then I skimmed the rest of it because I hate DNFing books. 

The FMC Phoebe was irritating me a bit and made me cringe I just couldn’t handle it.

Gabriela Kondratyuk

😐 this was the most boring blandest book ever and I feel so bad for saying this but it just was. 

So much inner monologue and hundreds of pop culture references.

I read it up to page 100 then I skimmed the rest of it because I hate DNFing books. 

The FMC Phoebe was irritating me a bit and made me cringe I just couldn’t handle it.

book 23 of the year done. not so bad. not so great. 3/5. it was fun but i feel it switched very quickly. no leading up to the relationship just jumping straight in. i liked the idea and the true crime references. just wish it was conveyed differently

Love in the Time of Serial Killers

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