General Fiction (Adult)/Humour & Satire/Mystery & Thrillers
Pub date: 21 May 2026
My rating: 3.5/5 ⭐️
Summary:
SHE’S A FAN
Melody runs a fan account for TV’s hottest regency romance actor, Griff Beckett. But when one of the photos she posts shows Griff in a romantic position with an unknown woman, angry fans turn on Melody and accuse her of the ultimate fan betrayal: posting a fake picture.
HE’S A CELEBRITY
Hurt and angry, Melody sets out to prove the photo is real and their favourite actor is no longer single…until, instead of a girlfriend, she finds a missing person report.
AND HE’S…KIDNAPPED SOMEONE?
It should be a job for the authorities, but nobody will take Melody seriously. She’ll have to team up with her internet friends, and a (distractingly sexy) journalist, Levi, to save the day.
Can Melody solve the case, save the girl, and get her dream man in the process?
Trigger warnings:
- murder
- misogyny
- human trifficking
- assult
- sexual assult / dubious/ non-con
Review:
“It’s your basic save the cheerleader, save the world situation.”
I do enjoy a good genre blend, this book however felt like it was never really sure what it actually wanted to be. The blurb and the cover made it seem like it would be more of a cozy mystery, or a rom-com with some noir elements. This was definitely heavier on the noir with some levity sprinkled throughout (definitely more so in the first than the second half)
The last third was definitely my favourite and the addition of various excerpts at the start of each chapter a delightful extension of the plot.
Some side characters did feel a bit like caricatures (unsure whether that was on purpose), I wish we knew a bit more about Levi, and I feel like there was a Priya/ParlezVous connection that got lost on the cutting room floor (which is a shame).
As someone who was very deep into certain fandom a few years ago I did enjoy Mel for the most part.
All in all, a fast read with some good twists and turns, good pace, a decent commentary on fandom culture (albeit a bit on the optimistic side of things) and a nice bit of unintentional (at first) vigilantism.
Also, I’m not sure if they’re included in the finished copy of the book, but content warnings should really be there.
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