Author: Carola Lovering
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Format: Kindle and Audiobook ARCs
Narrators: Caitlin Davies; Karissa Vacker; Zachary Webber
No. of Pages: 320
Date of Publication: June 14, 2022
My Rating: 4 Stars
From the author of Tell Me Lies and Too Good to Be True comes Carola Lovering's Can't Look Away, a sexy suspense novel about the kind of addictive, obsessive love that keeps you coming back––no matter how hard you try to look away.
In 2013, twenty-three-year old Molly Diamond is a barista, dreaming of becoming a writer. One night at a concert in East Williamsburg, she locks eyes with the lead singer, Jake Danner, and can’t look away. Molly and Jake fall quickly and deeply in love, especially after he writes a hit song about her that puts his band on the map.
Nearly a decade later, Molly has given up writing and is living in Flynn Cove, Connecticut with her young daughter and her husband Hunter—who is decidedly not Jake Danner. Their life looks picture-perfect, but Molly is lonely; she feels out of place with the other women in their wealthy suburb, and is struggling to conceive their second child. When Sabrina, a newcomer in town, walks into the yoga studio where Molly teaches and confesses her own fertility struggles, Molly believes she's finally found a friend.
But Sabrina has her own reasons for moving to Flynn Cove and befriending Molly. And as Sabrina’s secrets are slowly unspooled, her connection to Molly becomes clearer––as do secrets of Molly's own, which she’s worked hard to keep buried.
Meanwhile, a new version of Jake's hit song is on the radio, forcing Molly to confront her past and ask the ultimate questions: What happens when life turns out nothing like we thought it would, when we were young and dreaming big? Does growing up mean choosing with your head, rather than your heart? And do we ever truly get over our first love?
MY THOUGHTS:
Obsession is the name of the game for Carola Lovering's newest book, Can't Look Away. Desperately in love with Jake Danner, a singer in a band, the two have an intense relationship. At some point in their relationship, they have a bad breakup, but Jake's love for Molly was so powerful that he wrote a song about her and that song has never stopped being played everywhere. But, the pair end things for good and don't see one another for nearly ten years.
In fact, Molly is now marries to Hunter and Jake is partnered with Sabrina. Molly and Sabrina become fast friends. Before I continue, I will mention that this book deals with the sensitive issue infertility. For Molly, she and Hunter have a beautiful little girl, and are struggling to get pregnant again. For Sabrina, she is longing to get pregnant with Jake's child. Perhaps it is this shared grief that bond both women together.
Now, this book is about obsession. Who is the one dealing with it? Is it Molly, who not only ended things with Jake, but has married and has a daughter. Or is it, Sabrina, and if she the one obsessed, then who is the object of said obsession? What a conundrum. In fact, page after page in this thrilling book by Carola Lovering, there are multiple layers explored when it comes to the unhealthy subject. So, someone Can't Look Away, and who would that be?
This brilliant book is written from three perspectives, and this brings about the past and present and how the relationships were formed. In dramatic fashion, secrets and lies abound, presenting the reader with a thoroughly intense story. As I listened to the audiobook, with three narrators, each taking on the role of Molly, Sabrina and Jake, this made the book truly impossible to put down.
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
Please enjoy the following YouTube video review -
Carola Lovering is the author of the novels Tell Me Lies, Too Good to Be True and Can’t Look Away. She is a graduate of Colorado College, and her work has appeared in New York Magazine (The Cut), Marie Claire, W Magazine, National Geographic, Outside, and Yoga Journal, among other publications. Her novel, Tell Me Lies, is currently being adapted into a television series for Hulu that will air in 2022. She lives in Connecticut with her husband and son.
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