Love and Other Conspiracies by Mallory Marlowe
Contemporary Romance
August 20, 2024 by Berkley

Review by Angela

I’m always up for something new and fresh, and a contemporary romance featuring a web series producer and a paranormal conspiracy theorist who fall in love while investigating Area 51 and looking for bigfoot seemed to fit that bill perfectly.

Hallie Barrett is a producer at a company that produces Buzzfeed like content and is kind of in a funk. After breaking it off with her ex, who also happens to be a co-worker, her self-esteem is at an all-time low and she just knows her position at work is precarious. After receiving the greenlight for a pilot of her own, she has just a few days to find the perfect show idea. While perusing different forms of media she stumbles across a late-night show featuring a conspiracy theorist and is dazzled by his presence.

Hayden Hargrove is a cryptid expert with his own podcast and agrees to meet with Hallie to discuss starring in her new web series. After the first-time taping, it becomes apparent that he needs a co-host, and Hallie, as a skeptic, is the perfect person to play off his impassioned defense of his beliefs. The show becomes a hit, and their relationship slowly grows as they get to know each other and spend time together.

This book is fun. There is a perfect mix of humor and tender moments. The relationship building is well done. Both of the main protagonists have issues they need to work through– Hayden’s grief over his father’s death and relationship with his mother, and Hallie’s distrust in relationships and her own choices, as she works to heal after an abusive relationship. I liked their banter and chemistry. The skeptic and believer pairing worked for me, they played off each other so well and I really enjoyed the scenes of them out and about searching for cryptids and hoping to see ghosts in old hotels were entertaining.

All in all, this was a great debut. Quirky and fun, but also sweet and tender. I quite enjoyed and look forward to reading more from this author.

Grade- B