Experiments in Offline Dating had me completely charmed in the beginning. After reading one too many thrillers, a lighthearted rom-com about a dating disaster traveling around Ireland with a grumpy sheep farmer sounded like exactly what I needed. And honestly, for a while, it was.

I loved traveling through Ireland with Maya and Tadhg, and the matchmaking adventure was easily one of my favorite parts. I especially loved learning in the acknowledgments that Kat MacKenzie actually traveled to Ireland and attended the matchmaking festival in Lisdoonvarna. Knowing that made me appreciate the setting even more because you can feel that experience on the page.

Where I struggled was with the romance. Maya and Tadhg had this great love/hate tension in the beginning, but somewhere along the way it felt like we jumped from you drive me crazy to I REALLY want you without enough in between for me to feel that transition. Then the tension returned, disappeared again, and I found myself repeatedly trying to reconnect with a romance I'd been really invested in at the start.

I had a hard time connecting with Maya at times, too, but I think my biggest frustration was that the story would set up moments I really wanted the characters to unpack... and then we'd move on. Meanwhile, other parts seemed to linger. Beautiful Ireland, I love being here, but can we please talk about what just happened?!

That's really what it came down to for me: this book somehow felt too long and not long enough at the same time. I wanted less time in some places and so much more in others, especially when it came to the emotional development and follow-through. By the end, I had resolution, but I didn't quite get the payoff I'd been waiting for.

That said, I didn't dislike this book. There were plenty of sweet and funny moments, I loved the setting, and there was so much potential in the premise. I also loved MacKenzie's Work in Progress, so I'll happily read whatever she writes next. This one just wasn't quite the match for me.

3.5 stars out of 5

Thank you to Avon Harper Voyager and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Full review coming soon

★★★★

Pretty Dead Things was a solid, fast-paced thriller set in the world of small-town Texas pageants, complete with catty pageant moms, wealthy families behaving badly, old secrets, and the unsolved death of pageant queens past.

I tandem read the physical book with the full-cast audiobook and absolutely flew through it. I especially liked that the secrets weren't just there for the sake of a twist. Things left unsaid and buried over the years had very real consequences, and those untold truths managed to destroy lives.

I also loved the meaning behind the title. Cut flowers may be beautiful when they're given to you, but they're already dying. They're just "pretty dead things." It's a simple, morbid little observation that fits a story so focused on beauty, appearances, and everything ugly hiding underneath.

Overall, this was a good, entertaining thriller with a strong premise that kept me reading. It may not be one of my standout thrillers of the year, but I definitely enjoyed the ride. And apparently wealthy Texans behaving absolutely unhinged is becoming its own thriller subgenre. 😂