Rating: 4 for summer ridiculosity and mystery
My Thoughts:
Alice Chen does not necessarily stand out. She is a middle school teacher, mathematics whiz, devoted daughter and uber competitive A personality. In other words, she is not a reality TV natural, but her fiancee, Daniel, has signed them up for a coupleʻs competition that could solve all of Alice's financial problems. Her mother is getting treatment for cancer, and on a middle school teacher paycheck, Alice needs to make an unnatural decision to leave her mother and secretly go to an island for this competition: Dawn Tay's Inferno.
Her fiancee is like a puppy dog. He is sort of clueless and functions on whim versus loyalty, but of course Alice Chen's high school rival is going to show up with a smoking hot partner. So predictable, but so much fun. The murder mystery just puts this summer read over the top!
I started this book just as my son 2 went on his own reality show adventure so this whodunit, rivals to lovers, romp where producers create the drama for, well drama sake, really informed the kinds of questions I would ask him (through his wife) regarding the interviews, "scripted conversations," and the competition itself. I devoured this. Unfortunately, my son is still away and still surviving in the show, so the stress level has not gone down yet. Still, this was a fun summer distraction.
From the Publisher:
Alice Chen doesn’t believe in true love, but she does believe in cold, hard cash. Buckling under the weight of student debt and her mother’s medical bills, Alice will do anything to make bank–even star on Dawn Tay’s Inferno, the hot new reality TV show designed to push couples to their breaking point.
The show is Alice’s chance to sip cocktails on the beach and win a cash prize of a million dollars. But when her fiancé cheats on her with another contestant, Alice is faced with a choice: go home in defeat or fake date the other newly single contestant—who just so happens to be her high school rival and sworn nemesis, Daniel Cho.
But all’s fair in love and reality TV, and Alice isn’t the only one who will do whatever it takes to win. When a dead body turns up, Alice and Daniel are faced with uncovering the secrets of the cast and crew to catch the killer–all while playing the loving couple on camera. As the show spirals out of control, Alice must crack the case and confront her true feelings if she wants to make it out alive.
Starring a murder mystery twist, plenty of reality show drama, and a thrilling romance, this debut by up-and-coming Asian American writer duo Kara Loo and Jennifer Young is the ultimate beach read.
Publication Information:
Authors: Kara Loo and Jennifer Young
Publisher: Quirk Books (June 3, 2025)
Print length: 387 pages
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