The plot of this book was unlike anything I’ve read before. The basic premise- an accidental run-in with a celebrity ending in romance, sure we’ve seen it before. The stalker isn’t overly original either. But the way it’s written as a mystery and less like a romcom had me hooked.

The writing was odd in some places. There are a lot of deep dives into some topics that honestly take away from the book. They add unnecessary detail. The emphasis on the biking, the description of the mountains/PNW, the technicalities of the brewery.
There’s also unbalanced descriptors of Sammy’s hair compared to the physical descriptors of any other character. Some verbiage was strange (like the teenage daughter referring to her soccer coach as “the coach”) and didn’t flow naturally. Especially dialogue.

The twists were great. The antagonist wasn’t super obvious, and there were a handful of red herrings to keep you guessing.

CAWPILE Score 55
3.9 Stars

Being this my first ARC ever, I tried really hard to like it. And I thought I might. I like that the main characters were grown up people not just naïve teenagers. BUT… I felt bored. And pretty much lost in all the descriptions of houses, gardens etc. 25% through and nothing actually happened. Maybe it just didn’t meet my reading mood, I might give it a try again, but for now DNF 😢

Intoxicating Pursuit was a good debut for author Missy Bloom! I really enjoyed this book! I've never read anything by this author before and I really enjoyed this book. There's spice and story. Can you imagine dating your celebrity crush and feeling like everything is falling into place but yet everything begins to fall apart. shocked by the ending!

I enjoyed it and will read another book from this author.

Thanks to Netgalley for the gifted eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a good debut! I definitely think that there was a lot of good about this book, but there was also some improvements that could be made. The mystery aspect was really well done, and I didn’t guess the ending immediately, as I often do. My biggest issue was the language choice and the excess of descriptions of the scenery/setting. It felt a bit like some aspects were glossed over, and then we got a full description of a house.

Overall, taking into account that this was a debut, I enjoyed it and will read another book from this author.

I really enjoyed this book! I've never read anything by this author before but does she have a way with words! Descriptions in this book were just so beautifully written and interesting. Very easy to picture in my mind and sound beautiful. Makes me want to look these places up to see how real they are! I love a book that has some spice but also has an actual story to tell. This book definitely kept me on my toes. I did not see the ending coming and the suspense was great! Sammy was living every woman's dream dating her celebrity crush while also living their worst nightmares as well.