This cover is gorgeous and fun, the blurb looked intriguing, unfortunately it is not formatted enough for me to be able to read on my ereader.

I’m adding this one to my TBR and will look out for it in stores!

A romance mystery with suspense! Alice Chen is a strong female main character and she leads herself on a beachy escape, the romance comes when she finds a partner to compliment her, not support her. Alice joins a reality tv show to earn money for her mother’s cancer treatments with her fiance, Chase. Alice believes they are the shoe-in winners, but this romantic comedy turns into a murder mystery very quickly.
Great enjoyed! 4/5 stars.
Thank you for the ARC opportunity

Romance x mystery is a cool premise! I wish they had focused a little more time into the mystery, it felt a little weak in my opinion.

I wanted to love this one so badly, but it was just too messy for me...despite how hard I tried, I couldn't like Alice, which made it hard to like the rest of the book. I don't fundamentally think she changed or grew as a person throughout the book, even with everything happening to her. The introduction of the murder mystery felt late in the plot, and in conjunction with the reality TV storyline just felt like way too much happened all at once in a way that was difficult to follow. That being said, this book absolutely reads like a reality TV show on paper, and the competition was interesting. The reality TV parts were funny and tongue-in-cheek, but I think the book would have been more fun if the authors had leaned into those aspects more.

Alice Chen needs money - and going on a Reality Show for couples may be her best chance of winning $1 million dollars. But things get more complicated when her high school rival and a dead body show up.
I really enjoyed this book! It was both a romance and a murder mystery, and the setting on a tropical island made it feel like a great beach read. I loved Alice as a character and felt really invested in her getting her happily ever after. I thought the romance was very believable, the mystery felt possibly a little rushed, but I still found it very enjoyable. Overall this was a great lighthearted read to relax with!
I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Let me start by saying I WANTED to love this so much, and I did have a good time reading it for the most part, but then I couldn’t ignore the problems any longer. I do think a LOT of people will have fun with this, especially if you like its comp title (see below). My biggest issue is the pacing... the whole book is supposed to take place over 11 days, and WAY too much happens in it to be believable, even suspend your disbelief believable. Also, this book pitches that there’s a murder mystery... That doesn’t start until 60% through, which then leaves it rushed. The characters had some potential but then just didn’t feel developed in a way that made sense. I didn’t realize it had two authors till I started this review, and now I’m wondering if that and a lack of a strong editor to focus the story is what led to it feeling all over the place at times. My rating just kept dropping as I read on :(

Some “If you liked” style comparisons: Dial A for Aunties is a good comp title with general reality TV vibes thrown in.

This book really ticks all the boxes:
Fun in the Sun ✅
Steamy romance ✅
Murder mystery ✅

At first I didn’t think the romance/murder mystery combo would work but it really did. At times it did feel a bit rushed and I found the FMC a little annoying at the beginning.

However, the book kinda gave me scooby doo vibes with romance to tie it all together.

I finished this in one sitting and couldn’t put it down!

Thank you NetGalley/quirk books for the opportunity!

This is the most captivating book yet filled with romance and mystery. Would recommend to family and friends.

This book is a mashup of "So We Meet Again" by Suzanne Park (high school rivals meet again in adulthood and romance sparks = the male leads name only differ by one letter too! ), "I'm Not Here to Make Friends" by Andrew Yang. (A group of young adults on a reality game show) and the "Dial A for Aunties" series by Jesse Sutanto. (Maybe a little bit of the "Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery" series by Mia Manansala the character set is similar in terns of LGBTQ+ representation)

The book reads more like a romcom as the mystery suspense doesn't fully kick in until close to half way through, and it slowly builds up from suspicious occurrences on the set to murder. The last half of the book is also when it turns up the "intensity" but upping the instances of swear words and adult content interactions.

I think I would give the book a 3.5. The book had two instances of descriptions of what would be considered "adult content" as well as several instances of the using the f-word. If it were a movie, which I could easily see it becoming one, I'm guessing it would probably be closer to an R rating as is, but could easily be adapted to PG-13. Like mentioned above, the first half was pretty light (PG-13), and then it becomes R. I guess murder is stressful?

Here’s a cleaned-up version of your book review:

Review of Alice Chen’s Reality Check by Jennifer Young and Karen Loo

I enjoyed the premise of the story, where couples battle for a chance to win a million dollars. After Alice’s partner cheats on her, she is unexpectedly paired with a former high school rival, Daniel. However, they don’t have to “act” like a couple for long—sparks quickly start flying between them.

Soon, the competition takes a deadly turn, and Alice and Daniel find themselves risking their lives to solve the mystery. At first, I found Alice’s personality and attitude toward Daniel a bit frustrating, but once she came to terms with her true feelings, she became much more likable.

Overall, this was an entertaining read—perfect for the beach!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quirk Books for providing this book, with my honest review below.

I loved reading this romance/comedy/adventure/mystery book. Alice Chen’s Reality Check is the grown up version of a romantic escape that I’m sure countless people wish for in a sea of stories where the female main characters have to lean on men to find their strength. Alice Chen doesn’t need to do that - she’s brilliant and when she sets her mind to something she will accomplish it, but the beauty of this story is that she does find a partner who supports her and inspires her to challenge herself to be better every day.

With a great setting, a couples reality show, we see Alice decide to uncharacteristically join the show in order to try to win money to support herself and her mother since finances are stretched thin by her mom’s cancer treatment. Alice believes that she and golden retriever like fiance Chase are the ultimate contestants due to her brain and his brawn. Unfortunately things don’t quite go to plan and Alice has to team up with her high school quiz bowl nemesis… and solve a murder. Incredibly funny and dreamy, this story keeps the reader engaged to the point that the mystery aspect is just a bonus since the quirky characters and storylines are just flawless. Truly a comfort in book form.

I am usually not one for reality tv books or whatever trope you would call this but I am a sucker for fun murder mystery types and I really freaking enjoyed this one. It was light, funny, and with a nice touch of thrills.

This book had it all! I really liked Dial A for Aunties and this book was along that line. It had reality shows, makeups, breakups and everything in between! I loved the fake dating as well as even a murder mystery was thrown in! If you want it all in a book be sure to check this one out! You won’t regret it