Fiction Review: We Love to Entertain

I have been reading new releases to prepare for Booktopia 2023! That's a fabulous annual book event held in Vermont the first weekend in May (next week!!), where readers and authors hang out together--tickets are still available! (Click Events and scroll down to the bottom.) Here's my summary from Booktopia 2022.The first book I read for Booktopia back in March is now available: We Love to Entertain by Sarah Strohmeyer. I enjoyed this tense thriller set, appropriately, in Vermont.

Holly and Robert are the "it" couple on a new house renovation reality show, To the Manor Build. Robert's father is a famous real-estate mogul, and following in his footsteps, Robert buys 80 acres of beautiful Vermont wilderness super-cheap when its owner fails to pay his taxes. He and Holly, who has the opposite background and was homeless as a teen, are working together to build a luxury home on the property. This reality show is a contest, and Robert and Holly are competing with two other pairs. Each contestant needs a hook for their build, so Robert and Holly's house will be super eco-friendly without giving up any luxuries (think geothermal heating for the fancy outdoor patio and pool). The winners, determined by viewers, will get their entire build paid for. During the renovation, Robert and Holly fall in love and livestream their wedding with the beautiful Vermont autumn as a backdrop. But, after the wedding, the couple goes missing. Are they really off on an impromptu honeymoon in Quebec the week before the final reveal? Or did something more sinister happen to them? Robert told their assistant, Erika, a young local woman, they were leaving on a quick honeymoon, but as the days go by, and the producers get more and more upset, the press and their followers begin to wonder if something happened to the beautiful couple ... and the police begin looking at Erika.

Besides being a twisty mystery, this novel is all about our modern world of reality TV, instant celebrities, social media, and the never-ending pursuit of more followers. The tension here grows the longer that Robert and Holly are missing. Police and Holly's mom, who works for the town, are looking into the property's previous owner and following other leads. There is plenty of suspense in this thoughtful and fast-paced thriller that kept me engrossed right through the last pages.

338 pages, Harper Paperbacks

HarperAudio 

Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.

 

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This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:

 

Alphabet Soup Challenge - W

Literary Escapes Challenge - Vermont

 

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