ARC Review: We Were Never Friends by Kaira Rouda

 

Sisters? Forever. Friends? NEVER. Who knew a reunion weekend could be so deadly?

Meet the sorority sisters of Theta Gamma

Roxy Callahan Gentry, the ruthless former sorority president and current hostess who has painstakingly choreographed every detail of this weekend—even matching the cocktails to her couture—to prove that she remains their undisputed queenAmelia Dell, the widow drenched in old money and alcohol, with her big pot-stirring spoon and uninvited boy-toy in towJamie Vale, the double-legacy pledge, straight-A student with no sparkle, now a top cardiologist with a picture-perfect family—and a well-guarded bad habitBeth Harrison, the scholarship student who never quite fit in and was only admitted because her best friend Sunny insisted that the two were a package dealSunny Spencer, the carefree and beloved friend to all, or so it seemed—until she wasn'tThey've been summoned to Roxy's luxurious Palm Springs vacation home to celebrate the engagement of her son to Beth's daughter. But the refurbished 1920s estate is eerily reminiscent of the hotel where tragedy struck during Spring Break twenty-five years ago. Long-simmering tensions and shocking secrets begin bubbling to the surface like bodies—because while the weekend was supposed to be about celebrating the future, it's not so easy to bury the past…

For fans of Shari Lapena, Mary Kubica, and B. A. Paris, We Were Never Friends is an unputdownable, riveting train wreck full of dark humor and bad behavior.

Title: We Were Never Friends

Author: Kaira Rouda

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press

Expected Publication Date: February 3, 2026

Review:

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I love a good twisty story. And I wanted to really love this one. So many points of view (I enjoy a book like this) and lots of things happening (as per usual with a mystery) but I just could not connect with any of the characters and the plot line seemed a bit too forced for me to suspend my disbelief and watch it happen.

I was in a sorority, I totally understand how friendships work within that realm. And I also understand you're certainly not friends with all your sisters. So this aspect of the story, the friendships that are a bit fraught with tension, makes sense. I definitely had sisters I wasn't friends with but had to interact with and maintain a good rapport with in order to keep things copacetic.

The character development was quite stilted in this story. While you had more than one POV, they were not particularly distinct. And I didn't connect with any of the characters or truly care about them throughout the story.

The introduction of something that happened years ago was interesting and definitely added to the mystery of the story. And how it was playing definitely made me wonder if things happened exactly the way the ladies remembered it.

There were a lot of loose ends in this story that didn't truly make sense. Plus things that happened that seemed just too elaborate to be true. And the writing was choppy. This made the pacing uneven, as well. I pushed through to the end to see if my prediction was correct and I was halfway right.

The main idea of a reunion for an engagement celebration was odd to me. Why would anyone do that? Especially if they haven't seen each other in so many years, why would they want all these people involved who didn't even know their kids? Plus, we barely see those characters in the story. How do we not when the entire reason for the get together is their engagement?

Finally, at the end we get ANOTHER POV out of the blue. A character we've never met and have zero background on. Had it been a twist on one of the other POVs, then I would have said ok, this makes sense. But it was just strange and odd in it's placement within the chapter of another character. Why do that? Why not give that character their own chapter? It just made no sense.

If you're looking for an over-the-top fluff piece with characters who are mean, self-centered, and have zero development throughout the story and a plot line that is truly a train wreck,  pick this one up and give it a try. Perhaps you'll enjoy it more than I did.

Author:

Kaira Rouda is a USA TODAY and #1 Amazon and Amazon Charts bestselling author of contemporary fiction exploring beneath the surface of seemingly perfect lives. Her suspense novels include BEST DAY EVER, THE FAVORITE DAUGHTER, ALL THE DIFFERENCE, THE NEXT WIFE, SOMEBODY'S HOME, THE WIDOW, BENEATH THE SURFACE, UNDER THE PALMS, THE SECOND MRS STROM, WHAT THE NANNY SAW and JILL IS NOT HAPPY. Her next novel, WE WERE NEVER FRIENDS, is out February 3, 2026.

She lives in Southern California with her family and is at work on her next novel. Visit her webiste, KairaRouda.com for more. Connect with her on Instagram and Pinterest: @KairaRouda; and on Facebook at Kaira Rouda Books.

If you'd like to host Kaira at your book club, please reach out through her website KairaRouda.com

Sign up to receive a monthly email from Kaira with exclusive sales news, book excerpts, sweepstakes, and giveaways at: kairarouda.com/signup/

ARC Review: Sybylline by Melissa De La Cruz

Three teens infiltrate the magical ivy league in this heart-stopping dark academia romantasy, the first in a young adult duology from #1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz.

Raven, Atticus, and Dorian have dreamed of attending Sibylline for as long as they can remember. But when the magical ivy league rejects them, the friends’ plans of a future together studying the arcane begin crashing down.

Until they decide to steal an education.

Getting jobs on campus, they sneak into lectures and swipe forbidden texts, dodging the administration’s watchful eye. In the quiet of night, in the thrill of secrecy, their magic awakens. And so do long-buried attractions that turn their friendship into something more.

But like magic, love can create, and it can destroy. As unrequited feelings and resentment threaten to fracture their bond, the trio discovers an insidious magic that has sunk its claws into Sibylline, killing students and corroding the very bones of the university. Now the three intruders may be the key to saving the institution from wreckage . . . if they don’t wreck one another first.

Title: Sybylline

Author: Melissa De La Cruz

Publisher:

Expected Publication Date:

Review:

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

What drew me in initially was the cover of this book, it is EXQUISITE. This is definitely a case where I judged the book by it's cover. It's what drew me in to read the blurb to see if I'd like it. Then I read the blurb and it was magic and dark academia and mystery and I was sold. Melissa De La Cruz has been hit or miss with me with her books but I really felt like I connected to the theme of this one and needed to see where it would lead,

The book started out strong. I was really liking the relationship between the three main characters: Raven, Atticus, and Dorian. I loved their close friendship and was excited to see them grow and develop throughout the book. I was waiting for the background or maybe some flashbacks to show how their tight friendships developed. Unfortunately this did not happen and they were all very flat, generic, and uninteresting. Much of the book is focused on how each character has a thing for the other character creating a throuple type situation that felt forced. They go from A liking B who likes C to all of a sudden being polyamorous without the journey of really getting there. Zero chemistry between the characters or development of the romance between them. And, while I'm all about letting characters explore who they are, since there's barely any development it was hard to really connect with the characters or feel for them in any way. Throw in the fact the characters are college age but certainly do not act as such and it made it even harder to try and find any depth to them. I'm all about people experimenting and finding themselves. I love to see diversity in books. But there was so much focus on each of the characters being obsessed with another it got in the way of the plot and story line. It was messy and totally frustrating to read on the page.

The premise of the magic system was interesting at the beginning. I was excited to watch the world build and see how the system was created. But, honestly, that development never really happened and it remained shallow throughout. There was zero background as to how the magic evolved/came to be. Why the world was the way it was. Who was important. And so much more. The pacing was fast but because the plot was lacking, I never really saw where the story was going or why it was getting where it was going. The story was bogged down by the romance. It's a shame because underneath all that romantic fluff lies a plot that could be quite intriguing and fun but remained one-dimensional. Add to this the fact that there is a ton of telling and barely any showing and it just drew the short straw when it came to remaining interesting. I pushed through in the hopes it would maybe evolve and get better but it, sadly, did not.

Then there is one scene where the three are together creating a threesome. This seemed so out of place for a YA book. Not only was it out of place, but one of the characters was barely conscious when it happened! I was actually shocked to read it and totally uncomfortable with the content. It was totally jarring. And it's not that I don't like spice, I actually love it and read it often. But I was literally shocked when it happened on the page and was not closed door at all. I know upper YA can be more racey, but there wasn't even a lead up, it just kind of happened. I feel like had this been edited appropriately, we would have never seen such a descriptive scene in the book. Was it put in for the shock factor? I'm not really sure but it just didn't fit for me. And my rating quickly dropped a star because of it.

I can see the ending leads to another installment but I do not think I will be moving forward with reading it. This book started out as a solid 4 stars for me and I was hoping it would continue to become a 5 star read but it slowly deteriorated down to 3 and ultimately ended up at a 2.5. This book could have been so much more than it was. Such a great premise of magic and interesting dark academia overshadowed by too much worry about who loves who and how they will never have that love returned.

2.5 stars rounded to 3

Author:

Melissa de la Cruz is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of many critically acclaimed and award-winning novels for teens including The Au Pairs series, the Blue Bloods series, the Ashleys series, the Angels on Sunset Boulevard series and the semi-autobiographical novel Fresh off the Boat.

Her books for adults include the novel Cat’s Meow, the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and the tongue-in-chic handbooks How to Become Famous in Two Weeks or Less and The Fashionista Files: Adventures in Four-inch heels and Faux-Pas.

She has worked as a fashion and beauty editor and has written for many publications including The New York Times, Marie Claire, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Allure, The San Francisco Chronicle, McSweeney’s, Teen Vogue, CosmoGirl! and Seventeen. She has also appeared as an expert on fashion, trends and fame for CNN, E! and FoxNews.

Melissa grew up in Manila and moved to San Francisco with her family, where she graduated high school salutatorian from The Convent of the Sacred Heart. She majored in art history and English at Columbia University (and minored in nightclubs and shopping!).

She now divides her time between New York and Los Angeles, where she lives in the Hollywood Hills with her husband and daughter.

 

Most Anticipated Releases January 20, 2026

 

These are the titles I am excited to see release this week!

Catch Her If You Can (Big Shots #4) by Tessa Bailey

Love me some Bailey. This story was so much fun. I got to read it early and you can see my thoughts HERE.

Cross Your Heart and Hope He Dies by Jenny Elder Moke

I got to read the first installment in this series a while back and was surprised by how much I loved it. I got to listen to an early copy of this and I loved it just as much. See my review HERE.

Our Ex's Wedding byTaleen Voskuni

I got to participate in the blog tour for this one through Berkley. You can see my post that went up yesterday HERE. This one is definitely a cute rom-com.

Improbably Meet-Cute Second Chances by Various Authors

I am loving the Amazon shorts. Especially when the stories come from some of my favorite authors. Definitely give these stories a try. I got to read them early and you can see my thoughts right HERE.

What are you looking forward to reading?

Blog Tour: Our Ex's Wedding by Taleen Voskuni

 

Two people who can’t stand each other must come together to plan their mutual ex’s wedding in this new romantic comedy by Taleen Voskuni, author of Lavash at First Sight.

Ani Avakian was supposed to be the Bay Area’s premier Armenian wedding planner by now. But after a huge blow to her business, she’s determined to redeem herself by taking on the biggest job of her career: a wedding for an indie movie star. The wedding is set at a stunning Armenian-owned winery, and Ani is eager to connect with the owner, who she’ll be working closely with. But then she actually meets him. Sure, Raffi is ridiculously hot and charming, but he’s also insufferably smug. Though the real gut punch comes when Ani meets the happy couple—because the actress’s fiancée is none other than the woman who shattered her heart two years ago: her ex-girlfriend, Kami.

All Raffi Garabedian has ever wanted is to make his father proud. Taking over the family winery should be his dream come true—but its first major event is off to a rocky start, thanks to one irritating(-ly beautiful) wedding planner who challenges him at every turn. He’s shocked to find that they have one thing in common, however: their mutual ex, Kami. Despite the record level of awkwardness, they’ll have to work together to make sure this wedding goes perfectly. But first, they’ll have to deal with the tension sizzling between them—before it turns their ex’s nuptials into a full-blown disaster…or something much more scandalous.

Title: Our Ex's Wedding

Author: Taleen Voskuni

Publisher: Berkley

Expected Publication Date: January 20. 2026

Review:

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for supplying me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

When I read the blurb for this book, I was hooked. I love titles that include diversity and this one had a whole big bunch of it. Cultural, yes, but also gender related. It checked a lot of boxes for me. And I was pleasantly surprised with the story.

Ani Avakian's wedding planning business is in debt after she was scammed. When she's contacted by an Indie movie star, she has no clue it's her ex-girlfriend's fiancé. To make matters even worse, the wedding is taking place at a new Arminian winery run by Raffi Garabedian, known to her as a playboy. She just needs to make it through the wedding and get paid so she can get her business back on track. 

I really enjoyed how this story was set up. Lots of angst from the main characters. Some miscommunication which I don't always love but which fit well with the story. And a slew of fun side characters. The plot kept me engaged and kept the pacing fast. There were moments when I couldn't help but laugh but also emotional moments that had my heart hurting for the main characters.

I love a good slow burn and this story had that in spades. There was a lot of push and pull between Ani and Raffi and it built the chemistry between them at a great pace. 

Voskuni infused a nice amount of culture into this story. I didn't know much about the Arminian culture so it was nice to have this introduction and learn a few things. I noticed some similarities to other cultures. The author also infused a queer component into the story. 

If you're looking for a charming romance with unique characters and plot that will have you smiling and rooting for the main characters to finally find each other, give Voskun'is story a try!

Author:

Taleen Voskuni is an Armenian-American writer who grew up in the Bay Area diaspora surrounded by a rich Armenian community and her ebullient family. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in English and currently lives in San Francisco, working in tech. Her work has appeared in Cleaver Magazine, The Bold Italic, and Cal Literature & Arts Magazine. Other than a newfound obsession with writing romcoms, she spends her free time cultivating her kids, her garden, and her dark chocolate addiction. Sorry, Bro is her first published novel.

Fat Stack Friday January 16, 2026

 

Check out the goodies I got this week!

NetGalley/Edelweiss/Booktrovert:

Beth Is Dead by Katie Bernet

This one was available on Booktrovert. It's already been published but I'm looking forward to reading it!

Off The Record by Sara Goodman Confino

Read now and I heard good things about this author's first book so I grabbed it!

Kindle:

Holidays With the Wongs: The Complete Series by Jackie Lau

I'm in my novella phase so I jumped on this one that was suggested in one of my groups. I've read one book by this author and it was just ok. Hope I like this one better. Trying to read stories that go along with the year/holidays.

Grace & Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman

I keep seeing this one posted and people loving it. I know it's past Christmas but I'm thinking I may read it soon. Or maybe I'll make a folder for my Christmas reads for this coming December!

Pirate Queen by Elizabeth Briggs

I saw that this author sadly passed back in December. She had a pretty big following. She has this up as free so I grabbed it to see if I'll like her writing and then maybe buy her books to support her family.

Once Upon a Bookshop Series by Alice Hoffman

I'm loving all the novellas I'm finding. I love Hoffman and these have hit the spot. I just have one more to read!

Home for the Hoidays Series By Various Authors

More novellas to fill my plate. I'm excited for these but may save them for the holiday season!

The Wedding Set Up by Sonali Dev

Another novella! Are you surprised. This will slide into my rotation after I'm finished with the Hoffman stories.

Woman Down by Colleen Hoover

I've kind of grown out of Hoover, to be honest. But I cannot help but get her books and read them. Maybe this one will surprise me.

Racing Hearts by Grace Newman

Give me all the F1 romance. Some are great, some fall short. Fingers crossed this one works for me!

In The Mail:

Her Hidden Fire by Cliodhna O'Sullivan

The publisher sent me a copy of this. I didn't even remember that they had already done so! So now I have two. The ARC does not have those cool edges. I would love to be sent a finished copy when it's published. Looking forward to reading this one. Since I have two, I think a giveaway might be in order!

What did you get?

ARC Review: Love and Other Brain Experiments by Hannah Brohm

 

Perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood and Christina Lauren, a STEM academic-rivals-to-lovers rom-com set at a New York conference about two neuroscientists who are forced to pretend they’re dating, leading to unexpected chemistry and a heartfelt journey of self-discovery.

Neuroscientist Dr. Frances Silberstein has success on the brain. As a grad student, she was offered a job by her brilliant boyfriend, but determined to make it on her own, she turned it—and him—down. Now, stuck in postdoc purgatory with no job security and no personal life to speak of, Frances is desperate to make a breakthrough. Her best shot is a summer conference packed with her field’s leading scientists. The only problem? It’s organized by her ex, who has found the success that’s eluded her. But backing out is not an option, because Frances desperately needs to network to save her career.

Enter Dr. Lewis North: her perceptive, meticulous, and inconveniently attractive rival. When their academic sniping gets mistaken for flirtatious chemistry, Frances doesn’t deny it—putting her integrity and career on the line. As soon as her prefrontal cortex is operational again, Frances realizes she needs to keep up the charade, or risk everything she’s worked for. Faking data is out of the question, but fake dating? That might just be the solution she needs.

But as Lewis starts to make her reward centers spark and a major setback has Frances questioning everything, she must confront what she’s willing to chase—for love, for science, and for the future she thought she wanted.

Title: Love and Other Brain Experiments

author: Hannah Brohm

Publisher: Atria

Expected Publication Date: February 3, 2026

Review:

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

If you throw a book at me that in any way reminds me of Ali Hazelwood or is compared to her AND Christina Lauren, I'm gonna grab it and hope to gobble it all up. That was this book. The blurb was so promising and definitely gave me vibes of two of my favorite authors. Plus, I really love any books that are grounded in STEM. STEM characters are always quirky and fun.

Frances is definitely a quirky character. While she's super smart, you can see she really has a hard time in social situations. This is often the case with characters who are grounded in academics/science. Like most characters I've read in this type of situations, she finds herself unable to know what to say much of the time. Or she doesn't say the "right" thing because it's just not how her brain functions. I did see it, I really did. But I wish I could have seen it more. I wish I could have been shown how this truly affected her. There was a lot of telling about her anxiety or how she wasn't sure how to act here or there. But I don't want the characters to tell me about it. I want to see it. It made it hard to connect with her or truly like her and be invested in her story.

I liked Lewis a bit more. Though I think I would have liked him better had I gotten his POV. It was a bit hard to understand him or feel for him when it was only Frances telling us about him. For me, a rom-com really needs to have both points of view to hit the mark. I have read a few that were not that I enjoyed but for the most part it's so much easier to understand the story when both characters are showing you their side. Also, he flipped a bit too much between being grumpy and then suddenly turning nice.

The tension between Lewis and Frances is understandable given the story line Brohm presents. But it remains a bit of a mystery throughout the story and made it hard to understand how deep their rivalry actually went. Or to even make it totally believable. Is there miscommunication (often times my most hated trope)? Yes, there is. But at the same time there's barely an attempt to resolve it.

My favorite part sof this book were the meet cute, fake dating, and the tackling of sexism in academia. The meet-cute solidified for me the character's overall personalities and I was hoping to see more of this throughout the book. But then it was not carried through and I didn't get the same vibe between them once the story started to unfold. The story definitely reminded me of The Love Hypothesis by Hazelwood. It has an extremely similar vibe. I can see how Brohm's story was influenced by that title. A little too much, if you ask me. I wanted it to be a bit more unique, but it wasn't. However, the fake dating part of the story was done fairly well. Practice kissing, calling each other pet names and acting the part around others, and then the muddled feelings which ultimately leads to real feelings and confusion. Brohm absolutely tackled academia being geared toward the male genre. She did a good job of showing how it is hard to be a woman in this profession.

Like Hazelwood's books, you can see this book was written by someone in STEM. The overall tone just jumps off the page as such. And I do love this idea. But unlike Hazelwood's stories, I just felt like this one was missing all the right elements to make it funny and entertaining. It felt like the author was trying to hard to have it be a Hazelwood story. It was fun and nerdy but needed more character development to make me feel invested in Frances's story. I struggled to truly connect with or care about the characters, Overall it was worth the read and I do think people will find it entertaining. And, seeing as this is the author's first book, I would give her writing another try in the future to see if she figures out how to flesh out her characters and make her storyline a little less clunky. Her writing has a lot of promise for me.

Author:

Hannah Brohm penned her first novel when she was a teen, and yes, it was about vampires. After studying psychology in university and graduating with a PhD in neuroscience, she rediscovered her passion for storytelling and swapped writing articles about brain science for swoony romance novels. Born and raised in Germany, Hannah lived in Portugal, the Netherlands and New York City before moving to London, where she now lives together with her husband and an ever-growing collection of books and handknit sweaters.

Review: Famous Once by Jane Green

 

From New York Times bestselling author Jane Green comes an unforgettable tale of redemption and reunion, where the echoes of rock and roll fame and the secrets that came with it lead a mother and daughter back to each other.

Former model Astrid Lane lives a quiet life as a caterer, far from her days as rock star Callum Blake's famous wife. When a retrospective about the 1970s music scene sparks renewed interest in that era, Astrid's estranged daughter Zara reaches out about a podcast discussing her father's career—and a long-buried tragedy that changed their family forever.

After a mysterious break-in at Astrid's cottage, mother and daughter find themselves drawn into an unexpected collaboration. Through a collection of old recordings and shared memories, they begin piecing together a story that's far bigger than their family's past. What they uncover will shake the foundations of rock music history and the powerful people who shaped it.

But amid the investigation, something unexpected blooms. As Astrid and Zara work to unravel decades-old secrets, they find themselves building something they'd both given up the chance to be mother and daughter again, this time on their own terms.

Title: Famous Once

Author: Jane Green

Publisher: Amazon First Reads

Expected Publication Date: February 1, 2026

Review:

Thank you to Amazon First Reads for providing me with this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own. 

I'm really loving reading novellas. While I love full length books, sometimes I'm just looking for a short story to consume. This hit that spot.

This is my first title from Jane Green. I'll need to look into her other titles to see if there is anything I might be interested in reading.

I enjoyed this story. For me, the characters were not as fleshed out as I would have liked them to be. While it's a novella, I know it's possible to grow characters in such a setting. I had a hard time connecting with them. The relationship between Zara and Astrid was nice. It would have been nice to get a bit of what Zara got from her famous father, Callum.

The plot overall was nice. I can see this as a longer story. It had the recipe of a story that could be great but fell short for me. A lot of background was glossed over and it caused me to not understand the story and characters as much as I think I could have if there had been a bit of a deeper dive into all of it.

I did enjoy the writing and can see where I might enjoy longer stories from this author. I will have to look into her more to see what else she has written and if those stories are something I want to consume.

Writing a short story that is complete is definitely not an easy task. While I enjoyed this enough, it just didn't feel complete to me.

Author:

Jane Green's twenty first novel, Sister Stardust, is out April 5th 2022.

She is the author of eighteen previous New York Times Bestselling novels, and known as one of the world's leading authors in women's fiction, with over ten million books in print, and translations in over 25 languages.

Previous novels have included The Beach House, Second Chance, Jemima J, and Tempting Fate.

She joined the ABC News team to write their first enhanced digital book— about the history of Royal marriages, then joined ABC News as a live correspondent covering Prince William’s wedding to Kate Middleton.

A former journalist in the UK, she has had her own radio show on BBC Radio London, and is a regular contributor on radio and TV, including as well as regularly appearing on television shows including Good Morning America, The Martha Stewart show, and The Today Show.

Together with writing books and blogs, she contributes to various publications, both online and print, including anthologies and novellas, and features for The Huffington Post, The Sunday Times, Cosmopolitan and Self. She has taught at writers conferences, and does regular keynote speaking, and has a weekly column in The Lady magazine, England’s longest running weekly magazine.

A graduate of the French Culinary Institute in New York, Green is bringing out her first cookbook: Good Taste , with Berkley in October 2016.

She is a storyteller for The Moth radio hour on NPR,
and lives in Westport, Connecticut with her husband and their blended family. When she is not writing, cooking, gardening, filling her house with friends and herding chickens, she is usually thanking the Lord for caffeine-filled energy drinks.

Most Anticipated Releases Tuesday January 13, 2026

These are the books I'm excited about releasing this week!

Woman Down by Colleen Hoover

I'm so on the fence with this author. There were a few stories I really enjoyed by her but then there were more that I just found lacking. This doesn't keep me from continuing to read the stories she puts out. I'll give this one a try and see how it goes.

The Lust Crusade (Raiders of The Lost Heart #3) by Jo Segura

If you love Indiana Jones and romance, check out this series. It is super cute. I had so much fun reading all of them and got to read this one early. You can see my thoughts HERE.

How about you?