The Book:
Can’t Look Away by Carola Lovering
Published June 14th 2022 by St. Martin’s Press
Date read: June 10, 2022
The Characters:
Molly
Jake
Sabrina
Hunter
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
In 2013, twenty-three-year old Molly Diamond is a barista, dreaming of becoming a writer. One night at a concert in East Williamsburg, she locks eyes with the lead singer, Jake Danner, and can’t look away. Molly and Jake fall quickly and deeply in love, especially after he writes a hit song about her that puts his band on the map.
Nearly a decade later, Molly has given up writing and is living in Flynn Cove, Connecticut with her young daughter and her husband Hunter—who is decidedly not Jake Danner. Their life looks picture-perfect, but Molly is lonely; she feels out of place with the other women in their wealthy suburb, and is struggling to conceive their second child. When Sabrina, a newcomer in town, walks into the yoga studio where Molly teaches and confesses her own fertility struggles, Molly believes she’s finally found a friend.
But Sabrina has her own reasons for moving to Flynn Cove and befriending Molly. And as Sabrina’s secrets are slowly unspooled, her connection to Molly becomes clearer––as do secrets of Molly’s own, which she’s worked hard to keep buried.
Meanwhile, a new version of Jake’s hit song is on the radio, forcing Molly to confront her past and ask the ultimate questions: What happens when life turns out nothing like we thought it would, when we were young and dreaming big? Does growing up mean choosing with your head, rather than your heart? And do we ever truly get over our first love?
Jake dated Sabrina before Molly. Sabrina schemed to break Jake and Molly up by sending Molly a picture of him kissing some random girl (who she paid to kiss him). She also befriended Molly’s old roommate Liz to get information on them.
After Jake and Sabrina got back together, she convinced him to move to Flynn Cove. It all came to a head at Stella’s birthday party. Sabrina was planning on getting Jake to realize that Molly had cheated on him, but Liz showed up unexpectedly and gave her away. Stella sang a song and Jake realized she was his. Sabrina tried to out Molly, but most of the important people (Hunter, Molly’s mom and best friend) already knew that Stella was Jake’s. Sabrina pushed Molly down the stairs and she lost the baby she was pregnant with.
When she was pregnant with Stella, Molly wanted to keep the baby but didn’t tell Jake because she didn’t want to force him into giving up his music career. Hunter was in love with her and didn’t care that she was pregnant with Jake’s baby.
Molly chose Hunter. She and Jake said a heartfelt goodbye and acknowledged that they would always love each other, but Hunter was her husband and she wanted to stay with him. Hunter forgave Molly for kissing Jake, and they decided to keep trying for another baby.
The Ending:
Jake broke up with Sabrina when he realized how crazy she was. Sabrina got pregnant via a sperm donor. Jake wrote Stella a song (Molly let him become a part of Stella’s life).
The Review:
I went into this one expecting a thriller, based on the author’s previous book (and my judgement of the cover). Can’t Look Away was more of a women’s fiction novel with a little suspense. Actually, it read a lot like a Colleen Hoover novel, so if you like her you’ll love this!
I was very impressed with the way the author wrote these characters. Throughout the story, I couldn’t figure out which of the characters I liked and was rooting for. There’s an obvious love triangle (square?) situation, and I was constantly changing which man I wanted Molly to pick. Molly was complex and well-developed, and while she certainly made some questionable decisions, it was in a realistic and understandable way. I can’t say the same for Sabrina, but she was a really fun trainwreck to watch. Especially once her lies all caught up to her–I was cringing on her behalf.
In regards to Lovering’s other books, I liked this one more than Tell Me Lies but not as much as Too Good To Be True. I would definitely recommend it, though!
Audio Review: Unsurprisingly, I loved the audiobook. Can’t Look Away was narrated by Caitlin Davies, Karissa Vacker, and Zachary Webber. Zachary narrated November 9, and I’ve listened to many productions by Karissa Vacker and a couple by Caitlin Davies. Each felt like a good fit for their characters, and I love a full cast because it makes it so easy to keep the separate perspectives straight.
Check out my reviews of Carola Lovering’s previous books, Tell Me Lies and Too Good To Be True.
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