Quick Synopsis – When Roxie makes a tongue-in-cheek wish to live out the plot of her favorite author’s next novel, she has romance in mind—namely, the sweet, safe, swoon-worthy storylines Anna Matthews is known for. It should be a dream come true when her wish is granted and she finds herself swept into a first date with a handsome stranger who seems designed to take her breath away.

Except for one little hiccup: That handsome stranger tries to take her breath away. Literally. With a knife. The thing is, Roxie may be the new Anna Matthews protagonist—but this time, Anna is writing a crime thriller.

Thrown into a perilous genre she’s never read, Roxie is desperate for help. So when her escape takes her straight into the path of Grant Hoffman, an anxious English professor with a convenient love of crime novels, she decides that kidnapping a grown man is a small price to pay for her own survival. Together, Roxie and Grant navigate a madcap story in which the lines between fiction and reality blur. They’ll find out if they have what it takes to make it to The End—or maybe even Happily Ever After.

Song This Reminds Me Of – Love is a Battlefield by Pat Benatar

Premiere Date – July 21, 2026

Bookshop Link – If Books Could Kill by Kate Eberle

Content Notes – There is violence, blood, light gore, a person burning alive, and ya know thrilling elements.

Rating – ⭐⭐.5 out of 5

Review – This book had a lot of potential, but it just wasn’t there for me. The concept is funny. Roxie is a little aimless in life. She works temp jobs just long enough to save up for her next adventure. She constantly tries to convince everyone that she just loves the adventure. She’s 30, flirty, and thriving guys. Right after she leaves he most recent temp job she sees a busker selling wishes. Honestly, I was a little worried this was going to be a one wish willow situation, but thankfully it wasn’t that gruesome. Roxie wishes to be in her favorite romance author’s next book….only her favorite author’s next book is a thriller.

Again, this seems like a really funny premise, but the whole thing is just too corny for me. I did love the meet cute though, she meets Grant when she steals a car and it happens to be an Uber he’s in. Once together, they determine that they’re stuck in a crime thriller. Good thing Grant loves crime thrillers and is an English professor! Though honestly, his love of crime thrillers is never really helpful, and Grant is a pretty unwilling participant the whole book. Also, Roxie makes it pretty clear that her favorite romance author write’s pretty steamy romances and this book has zero steam. I thought there would be more than just kissing. Even though the book they’re stuck in is supposed to be a thriller, it’s more of a rom-com murder mystery.

There were so many opportunities for this book to lean a little more romance or a little more thriller/mystery, instead it stayed in like an awkward middle area. There were some genuine, sweet moments between the characters, like when Grant and Roxie are trying to find a serial killer at a romantic B&B and fully creep out a dude staying there. The guy eventually tells off Grant and Roxie letting them know he WILL NOT sleep with them. That gave me a little chuckle.

This wasn’t my favorite, but if you want something kind of cheesy and quick this is your book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Viking Penguin for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.