Obviously, the premise for this novel automatically captured my attention. Not to mention, I LOVE listening to audiobooks that blend like this one does with its podcast. Definitely an interesting listen especially since it has a cast and not just one person reading. 

With that being said, this book was… mediocre in my opinion. I didn’t guess the ending, but I wasn’t invested enough in the characters to truly care, I guess? what was going to happen by the end. Benny gave me hardcore “unreliable narrator” vibes the whole entire novel, so I literally distrusted everything he said. Pull in money into the situation (aka the multi-million dollar deal they were about to sign for their podcast), and EVERYONE felt unreliable. Which, I’m sure, was the point, but man, it was exhausting. 

So, our characters. I didn’t really like Joy that much even though everyone talked about how much she was loved. She felt like a pushover or a follower or just… I don’t know, plain? Benny had a criminal past mentioned once (presumably to make him seem more unreliable), but other than that, it felt like Joy was a lot of his personality. 

The story itself unfolds and brings more to the table than the characters did. I liked a lot of the twists and turns and the past vs. present that was going on. Following the leads to eventually see what really happened at the end was much more satisfying that listening to the two MCs do their podcast, and then have Benny speculate about and pine over Joy. 

Overall, while this story was pretty cool in its setup, premise, and audio for those who chose to listen instead of read, it wasn’t as satisfying of a story as I wanted it to be. Definitely 3 or 3.5 ish stars. I rounded up to 4 for social platforms just because I liked the ending and how unpredictable it was. 

Source: Book of the Month Pick

(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Audible, which gives you two free audiobooks of your choice!)