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mhor's review against another edition
3.0
The stories are creative, I’m just not a massive fan of her writing.
Interestingly Penelope who was the author of this story in book 2. Is a character in this one.
Interestingly Penelope who was the author of this story in book 2. Is a character in this one.
aldarakamey's review against another edition
4.0
What a sweet romance was this book, from the start the characters have a build identity that makes the story so interesting and good to read, highly recommend it for those who love romance.
thereadervee's review
4.0
The book follows Miranda and William. Miranda is an aspiring artist and a lead singer in a local rock band. William is an accountant that owns his own business. Their uncles are married to one another, so they’ve known each other for a long time without really getting to know one another. Until tragedy strikes… Miranda’s main piece of art is stolen from their uncle’s apartment, along with a famous painting they were hoping to sell to purchase their dream little cottage. Miranda and William team up to investigate the losses and end up spending a lot of time together.
This book was a genuine, feel good, and sweet romance with no spice. A rom-com with a sense of mystery - because who the heck stole the paintings? This book has an insanely slow burn between our two “main” characters. The team work they use kinda gives the forced proximity trope vibes, since they’re spending so much time together to accomplish a common goal until it eventually leads to something more. Another trope that we see? Opposites attract.The book is written in first person through Miranda’s point of view, and it’s written really well. She’s an emotional person, and you can feel her emotions flooding off of the pages. Kathy Strobos did an amazing job to really grasp the characters, give the conflict that was needed to push this story forward and keep it moving.
This book was a genuine, feel good, and sweet romance with no spice. A rom-com with a sense of mystery - because who the heck stole the paintings? This book has an insanely slow burn between our two “main” characters. The team work they use kinda gives the forced proximity trope vibes, since they’re spending so much time together to accomplish a common goal until it eventually leads to something more. Another trope that we see? Opposites attract.The book is written in first person through Miranda’s point of view, and it’s written really well. She’s an emotional person, and you can feel her emotions flooding off of the pages. Kathy Strobos did an amazing job to really grasp the characters, give the conflict that was needed to push this story forward and keep it moving.
zooloo1983's review
4.0
I fell in love with Kathy’s writing when I discovered Is This For Real? It was lovely to see new characters in this book but also to see characters from Books 1 and 2 (still need to read book 1!!)
The focus of this story is Miranda and William. I love the whole will they or won’t they as 9 times out of 10, you know they will. But as I always say it’s the journey we go on which makes us fall in love with the characters, with this outing we had a bit of drama with someone stealing artwork! How audacious!
It did take me a few chapters to get into this book as I didn’t really gel with Miranda at the beginning. After a few chapters, I began to adore her and her quirky ways, and being an accountant I couldn’t help but be protective of William!!
There is some insecurity in the characters due to their past which felt so real as we watched the events unfold. And I got behind the characters and I wanted everything to be ok in the end. I sped through the pages as we watched the duo as they investigate the person behind the mystery.
A slightly different tale by Kathy but it worked. I loved the characters I love the side characters like Uncle Tony and Tessa. I just love this series and I cannot wait to jump back in and see who we follow next. Kathy gives you a story you didn’t realise you wanted until you read it!
The focus of this story is Miranda and William. I love the whole will they or won’t they as 9 times out of 10, you know they will. But as I always say it’s the journey we go on which makes us fall in love with the characters, with this outing we had a bit of drama with someone stealing artwork! How audacious!
It did take me a few chapters to get into this book as I didn’t really gel with Miranda at the beginning. After a few chapters, I began to adore her and her quirky ways, and being an accountant I couldn’t help but be protective of William!!
There is some insecurity in the characters due to their past which felt so real as we watched the events unfold. And I got behind the characters and I wanted everything to be ok in the end. I sped through the pages as we watched the duo as they investigate the person behind the mystery.
A slightly different tale by Kathy but it worked. I loved the characters I love the side characters like Uncle Tony and Tessa. I just love this series and I cannot wait to jump back in and see who we follow next. Kathy gives you a story you didn’t realise you wanted until you read it!
donnareadathon2021's review against another edition
5.0
The story
Artist Miranda sings in a rock band and works as a waitress and bartender to make ends meet while she hopes to support herself from her work as an abstract painter. Three of her paintings are due to be shown in a prominent art show when the unthinkable happens and one is stolen. The “caper”, a mad dash to try figure out who has the motive and opportunity to steal this painting, has Miranda paired with William, the nephew of her Uncle Tony’s husband. Will they be able to find the painting, and will they be able to resist the obvious attraction?
My thoughts
I adored Kathy Strobos’ Partner Pursuit debut and it’s follow up Is This For Real? In this third instalment in the New York based series featuring loosely connected friends, I loved how there was absolutely no formula to the connected stories. Caper Crush delves into the world of abstract art, and is a romance-tinged whodunnit story. Similarities include the strong backdrop and intimate knowledge of New York City, a deep dive into a topic (in this case the art world and lost artwork, detective-ing), and an awesomely entertaining read. This story had me hooked! ❤️
I read an eARC copy courtesy of the author.
Artist Miranda sings in a rock band and works as a waitress and bartender to make ends meet while she hopes to support herself from her work as an abstract painter. Three of her paintings are due to be shown in a prominent art show when the unthinkable happens and one is stolen. The “caper”, a mad dash to try figure out who has the motive and opportunity to steal this painting, has Miranda paired with William, the nephew of her Uncle Tony’s husband. Will they be able to find the painting, and will they be able to resist the obvious attraction?
My thoughts
I adored Kathy Strobos’ Partner Pursuit debut and it’s follow up Is This For Real? In this third instalment in the New York based series featuring loosely connected friends, I loved how there was absolutely no formula to the connected stories. Caper Crush delves into the world of abstract art, and is a romance-tinged whodunnit story. Similarities include the strong backdrop and intimate knowledge of New York City, a deep dive into a topic (in this case the art world and lost artwork, detective-ing), and an awesomely entertaining read. This story had me hooked! ❤️
I read an eARC copy courtesy of the author.
booknerdy2020's review
4.0
CAPER CRUSH By Kathy Strobos
Miranda is an out and out artist. She is a member of a band and she is a painter as well. Trying to make it big in the art world , her paintings are to be displayed atan art gallery that can do wonders for her. But somebody stole her painting. Now steps in William who's uncle is married to Miranda's uncle. They together start to investigate as to who stole the painting and why.
Miranda is an out and out artist. She is a member of a band and she is a painter as well. Trying to make it big in the art world , her paintings are to be displayed atan art gallery that can do wonders for her. But somebody stole her painting. Now steps in William who's uncle is married to Miranda's uncle. They together start to investigate as to who stole the painting and why.
valeberumeng's review
3.0
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book!
Let’s start with the basics. The book is set in New York City (which I love) and it’s about an art theft. An artist and an accountant decide to pair up and start investigating the art theft. The artist, Miranda, is a ginger with a very bubbly personality. The accountant, William, is the extreme opposite. As the story goes by, a spark of romance appears between them. Will they solve the mystery? Will they end up together?
Honestly, I liked the premise of this book and I think the idea of having art theft as the main problem was great. The book was trying to give mystery and who-is-guilty vibes BUT it failed to give. Why? Because the guilty one was announced when the investigation first began. Literally, the first prime suspect was the one who orchestrated the theft. Because you already know *SPOILER* Edmund did it, the rest of the book feels looooooong as they’re only trying to catch him.
I liked the opposites attract romance but I hated when the miscommunication and jealousy trope showed up. Miranda’s stalking? William’s insecurities? NOPE. That’s how you kill a perfect couple in a romance book.
As an eager contemporary romance reader, I can say this book was kinda good and that’s it. I cannot say it didn’t hook me up sometimes but I felt it was eternal.
I originally gave it 2.5 stars but I added 0.5 bonus points for the diverse characters and the LGBTQ+ representation.
Let’s start with the basics. The book is set in New York City (which I love) and it’s about an art theft. An artist and an accountant decide to pair up and start investigating the art theft. The artist, Miranda, is a ginger with a very bubbly personality. The accountant, William, is the extreme opposite. As the story goes by, a spark of romance appears between them. Will they solve the mystery? Will they end up together?
Honestly, I liked the premise of this book and I think the idea of having art theft as the main problem was great. The book was trying to give mystery and who-is-guilty vibes BUT it failed to give. Why? Because the guilty one was announced when the investigation first began. Literally, the first prime suspect was the one who orchestrated the theft. Because you already know *SPOILER* Edmund did it, the rest of the book feels looooooong as they’re only trying to catch him.
I liked the opposites attract romance but I hated when the miscommunication and jealousy trope showed up. Miranda’s stalking? William’s insecurities? NOPE. That’s how you kill a perfect couple in a romance book.
As an eager contemporary romance reader, I can say this book was kinda good and that’s it. I cannot say it didn’t hook me up sometimes but I felt it was eternal.
I originally gave it 2.5 stars but I added 0.5 bonus points for the diverse characters and the LGBTQ+ representation.
elegantfantasy_blogs's review against another edition
4.0
“What’s with you and disguises? This isn’t normal.”“I’ve never pretended to be normal,”
Miranda is an artist who has been planning on selling her paintings in an Art Exhibit but the painting gets stolen. She's determined to find the thief and somehow her uncle's partner's nephew William also gets involved in helping her figure out who is the culprit. While Miranda & William work together, she stats to see him in a new light. I absolutely loved the banter between them, just a few pages into the book and their dynamics put a huge grin on my face. The mystery surrounding the thief was also engaging but I wish I could see more of William & Miranda being a couple. The ending felt too abrupt and left me without a proper explanation of what exactly happened to the thief, whether he was charged or not? NGL, that was really disappointing, but I liked the plot and the characters. So this was a solid 3.5 star read for me.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review
Miranda is an artist who has been planning on selling her paintings in an Art Exhibit but the painting gets stolen. She's determined to find the thief and somehow her uncle's partner's nephew William also gets involved in helping her figure out who is the culprit. While Miranda & William work together, she stats to see him in a new light. I absolutely loved the banter between them, just a few pages into the book and their dynamics put a huge grin on my face. The mystery surrounding the thief was also engaging but I wish I could see more of William & Miranda being a couple. The ending felt too abrupt and left me without a proper explanation of what exactly happened to the thief, whether he was charged or not? NGL, that was really disappointing, but I liked the plot and the characters. So this was a solid 3.5 star read for me.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review
thewoollygeek's review
4.0
Caper Crush is the third book in a series, but can be read as a stand-alone as I did and I loved it without having read the previous two books. This is a wonderful fusion of mystery and romance, our leads Miranda and William are just so cute, it’s so nice to see Asian representation too in William being Japanese American, it’s nice to see more representation for Asian people in romance. I love a slow burn romance and this definitely hits its mark, William is so reserved and I love how this fits in with Miranda who was awkwardly shy (I love these awkward moments in a romance, but so much more in a slow burn). I mean you have the karaoke date singing “Barbie Girl” how cute do you want to get ? it’s so freakin’ adorable I was almost squealing for them.
This is definitely my kind of book, it’s so uplifting to read, funny, Miranda is just hilarious, I had tears of laughter so many times. The mystery was good, I loved the fact even this had humour, I mean that opening and the dressing up to act as bait, just brilliant , although I would have liked a bit more detail, but that’s the nit picker in me (and the obsession in me I have to know why to everything ! I can’t watch an unsolved crime show it drives me insane
This is definitely my kind of book, it’s so uplifting to read, funny, Miranda is just hilarious, I had tears of laughter so many times. The mystery was good, I loved the fact even this had humour, I mean that opening and the dressing up to act as bait, just brilliant , although I would have liked a bit more detail, but that’s the nit picker in me (and the obsession in me I have to know why to everything ! I can’t watch an unsolved crime show it drives me insane
coffeebooksandescape's review
5.0
“Are you going to share?”
“If I was eating a Snickers bar, would you ask me to share?”
“No,” he says.
“So just because M&Ms come in individual bites, I have to share?”
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮
I just want to start this review by reiterating that I love Kathy Strobos’ writing. She is incredible at writing feel-good romance, and this will be the 3rd book in her New York Friendship series, and honestly it’s my favourite of them all. It wasn’t your basic romance, because there was an art theft, and a lot of the book was based on “who dunnit”. Kathy made the step into mystery seemingly easy, and I think it fitted perfectly.
So yes the plot was extremely compelling, and so were the characters. William is just my favourite! He comes across so broody at first, but he’s actually a fun-loving guy that can have a good time, and romantic too! Miranda was so confident in her feelings too, and I think any reader would go out on a limb for her. I just love this duo so, so much!
Back to the plot again, like woah! I guess these kinds of things do happen with art in real life, but the whole story was extreme, like if that happened to me I’d be wallowed up in a hole, not off investigating! Go Miranda and William!
I highly recommend to anyone who loves a good old chick lit romance! Kathy will always be a favourite author of mine!
“If I was eating a Snickers bar, would you ask me to share?”
“No,” he says.
“So just because M&Ms come in individual bites, I have to share?”
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮
I just want to start this review by reiterating that I love Kathy Strobos’ writing. She is incredible at writing feel-good romance, and this will be the 3rd book in her New York Friendship series, and honestly it’s my favourite of them all. It wasn’t your basic romance, because there was an art theft, and a lot of the book was based on “who dunnit”. Kathy made the step into mystery seemingly easy, and I think it fitted perfectly.
So yes the plot was extremely compelling, and so were the characters. William is just my favourite! He comes across so broody at first, but he’s actually a fun-loving guy that can have a good time, and romantic too! Miranda was so confident in her feelings too, and I think any reader would go out on a limb for her. I just love this duo so, so much!
Back to the plot again, like woah! I guess these kinds of things do happen with art in real life, but the whole story was extreme, like if that happened to me I’d be wallowed up in a hole, not off investigating! Go Miranda and William!
I highly recommend to anyone who loves a good old chick lit romance! Kathy will always be a favourite author of mine!