I have a feeling that Iliana Iliana Xander could be the next Freida McFadden. She certainly is someone to watch.

Mackenzie's mother, an incredibly successful author, dies in an unfortunate accident. After the funeral Mackenzie finds a letter in her car. The envelope shows 'Love, Mom', and the letter ends with 'This secret will now be yours'.

The characters, the premise, the effortless flow of the story pulled me right in. It's dark, it's twisty, head-spinning and absolutely riveting. I can't wait to pick up another of Iliana's books.

I really enjoyed this book! It’s the perfect summer thriller/mystery with lots of exciting twists!

I loved how all the mysteries were tied off, there were no loose ends.

Mackenzie was an odd character, I felt there could have been more development of her relationship with her mom. The way she described it felt very childish at times, without enough depth to it. However, I did like her character, as well as EJ.

This book came to a new satisfying ending and I’m glad I read it. Would definitely recommend!

This is one of those books that you will either love or hate; me? I didn't love it and I didn't hate it but I did find it enthralling.

This is a hard book to review as it did take me a while to get into it but once I was used to the writing style, I became totally invested in the story and desperately wanted to find out who was sending the letters.

The story cleverly unfolds through dual perspectives and multiple timelines, slowly revealing a family falling apart under the weight of trauma, secrets, and lies. While I did see a couple of twists coming, others completely caught me off guard.

Whilst this book might not be everyone's cup of tea, I really enjoyed it and many thanks to the author, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this intriguing and enthralling book.

Dnf 50% read was enjoying this until lost flow and it all became rather disjointed. The body of the work is a fast pace though and tension building.

I’m not really sure how I feel about this book; I didn’t love and I didn’t hate it. The general storyline was a good one but most of the twists were too obvious and there were parts of the story that were glossed over and could have done with more depth, it was almost like a first draft. A decent thriller but there are better ones out there.

When Mackenzies mother, E. V. Renge, a famous author, dies in suspicious circumstances the police open an investigation. After the funeral, Mackenzie begins to receive handwritten letters from her mom, each one revealing more about a dark secret in her mom’s past. Mackenzie and her best friend begin to work together to find out about these hidden mysteries.
This was a very entertaining thriller. It was easy to read and kept me hooked. I loved the plot twists… which I didn’t see coming at all, and it had a great ending. The only negative comment I’d make was that I found the last part of the story rather rushed, but, overall, an excellent read and well worth recommending.

I had seen this book posted by the author so when I saw it available to read as an arc I jumped at the chance and I am so glad I did!

This is one of the best thrillers I've read recently. My jaw is still on the floor. Dark, emotional, and gripping - this book will completely mess with your mind.

The letters Mackenzie receives unravelling the truth was a unique and interesting way of telling the past. I was completely immersed and desperate for the next letter. Pairing this with Mackenzies digging for the truth, it was a really gripping read.

"Want to know a secret? Love, Mom"

I don't want to say too much in my review as I don't want to accidently spoilt anything. I made so many annotations of my thoughts throughout and I am desperate to dissect this with someone who has read it.

The short chapters make it fast paced, and it flows seamlessly between the past and present. I was on the edge of my seat, as anxious as Mackenzie to find out what happened.

I loved the premise of talent being a curse, and art being therapy. It was beautifully weaved through the whole story. This authors writing absolutely captivated me and I will eat up anything she writes.

Thank you to Michael Joseph for this advanced copy.

Blog post and IG posts to follow

I had heard so much hype about this book that I was absolutely thrilled to get a ARC.

Unfortunately this book was not for me.

The writing is quite disjointed, add to that the pacing doesn’t have a clue what it was doing and a great deal of the pages are filled with long repetitive conversations. There was even a moment where I had to check if this was a YA novel.

Probably the last time I listen to the book world on social media.

Thank you for allowing me to review this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. A thriller that had me hooked from the beginning. Mackenzie, receives a letter from her dead mother, setting her on a path to discover the truth. What happened to her Mum.? How well did she know her? Were her books about true events? So many questions, so many secrets. I was surprised by the ending. A gripping story.

I was unsure of this book at first but, I did find it held my attention beyond chapter three. I would not read further chapters unless I found myself wanting to know what happens to believable characters. I found it a little irritating that I could work out the twists and turns because they were really predictable. However, all in all, this was a gripping, suspenseful thriller even though it dealt with sexual abuse and rape. I recommend this if you enjoy a thriller which looks into family affairs and has a conclusion where everything is tied together. I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Penguin books uk, for supplying me with an ARC

A dark,emotional, and twisty debut novel,a slow burn that kept me guessing until the final chapters.
Told from dual POVs and multiple timelines,that slowly reveals a family unravelling at the seams.
Trauma,secrets,lies, and some shocking revelations with some twists I called early but others that surprised me.
The grandmother was a stand-out character adding a chilling psychological edge that added strength to the story.
There are a lot of questions raised about just how well we truly know our family, a few twists were slightly unbelievable but overall a solid debut,I'll be looking out for what the author writes next.
Thanks to Netgalley and Michael Joseph Penguin Random House for the Arc.

When Kenzie receives letters from her (dead) mother, who was a bestselling novelist, she unravels a network of lies, secrets and tragedy.
She never got on with her late mother but finds herself sucked in and intrigued by the mystery, which she sets out to resolve with her friend.
Set in small town USA, this was an interesting, undemanding yet gripping novel, full of twists and turns and good and bad characters and an unexpected direction and a climactic ending.
It was a clever story and great plot, which would work well as a film or TV series. However, as a reader I wanted to know more - there were characters and parts of the story I felt were underdeveloped. It felt like a YA novel (maybe it was) and lacked a bit of depth.
For this reason I'm giving it three stars..
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance review copy of Love, Mom.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Right from the start it grabs you and pulls you into the story. Mackenzie's mum has just died and yet she is receiving notes from her. As she reads the letters she follows the breadcrumbs and discovers twist after twist!. Great book! Thoroughly enjoyed it and would highly recommend it. 5 stars

A compelling drama that I very much enjoyed. I also appreciated the succinct conclusion there's nothing worse than being left wondering about some aspect or other. Unusually for a drama of this type I actually liked the majority of the characters and the plot was interesting.

Not really sure how I feel about this book. Bits of it were good and I enjoyed but a lot of the time it felt predictable and annoying.

Thank you to #NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

When Mackenzie's best-selling author Mum dies, she begins to receive mysterious letters which appear to be from her Mum's diary. Is it a prank from an over zealous fan, or are they genuine diary entries? And if they are real, who is sending them? What are they trying to tell her?
This was quite a quick read for me, I think because the writing style is quite simple and the chapters are short. I enjoyed the different POVs which were easy to follow and the letters kept me intrigued. There are a lot of twists, some I saw coming and a couple I didn't. I had an inkling about the big reveal halfway through, but was still shocked when I got to it! Once all is revealed, this becomes quite a dark story.
The ending deserved a little bit more as it did answer all the questions I had, but came across as a little rushed. Overall, an ok read if you're looking for something easy going.

Such a brilliantly twisted story, this is almost impossible to put down as you follow Kenzie in her quest to uncover the truth.

Love this book. I was invested in it from the start. Nice small chapters that makes it a quick paced read. Lost of twists. 4.5 stars

▫️ Dysfunctional family drama
▫️ Murder mystery
▫️ Dual POV+ timelines
▫️ Fast paced w/ short chapters
▫️ Psychological thriller
▫️ Debut novel
▫️ Diary entries
▫️ Popcorn thriller

What an absolute PAGE TURNER 👏🏽

Dark, gripping and FULL of twists & suspense, this was so incredibly bingeable, with super short chapters (literally a few pages long) that almost always ended on a cliffhanger & had you reading just a few more.

The characters were real and relatable: I LOVED Mackenzie with her little gothic heart and black lipstick & her entire family gave me major Addams family vibes (and were about as dysfunctional.)

The rollercoaster of intricately plotted twists had me hooked from the very first chapter to the very last and I read this in just a couple of sittings. The way I GASPED at the end of part one and instantly had to give my partner a recap of the book so far so he could enjoy the twist with me (I saw it coming a mile off but it was SO freaking satisfying!!) I also thought it was very clever the way part two followed on from the letters we read in part one 🙌🏽

I highly recommend this if you’re looking for a super fast, fun popcorn thriller that you can fly through and/or are a fan of Freida McFadden!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5

𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡𝑜 𝑃𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑢𝑖𝑛 𝑅𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑚 𝐻𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑒 & 𝑁𝑒𝑡𝑔𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑑𝑣𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑖𝑛 𝑟𝑒𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑛 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤. 𝐴𝑙𝑙 𝑜𝑝𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑜𝑤𝑛. 𝑅𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝐼𝐺 (@𝑟𝑒𝑑ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑏𝑜𝑜𝑘𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑙) & 𝑆𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ.

@currentlyreading__
Book 34 of 2025

Thank you to the publishers, the author and @NetGalley for the advance copy of ‘Love, Mom’ due for release on 17th July.

I really didn’t know what to expect from this but being a regular reader of Freida McFadden, this was very similar in style. A really straightforward story but with so many twists and turns you almost get whiplash!

‘Love, Mom’ follows the story of Mackenzie Casper whose best-selling author mother has just passed away in a tragic accident. Her mother wrote tales full of thrilling drama which people are obsessed by and now Mackenzie’s life is similarly full of drama as she receives an envelope containing diary entries and letters. A few days later another arrives and then another. Mackenzie finds herself delving into her mother’s life before she was born and trying to unravel the secrets of her family. Similarly, as a reader I was also intrigued and desperate to unravel the secrets of this tightly woven plot. A really exciting thriller and it definitely won’t be the last Iliander Xander I read.


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