If Love Could Kill

by Katie Bohn

All's fair in love and . . . murder?

Mara, Hollywood make-up artist, has always dreamt of finding the kind of love promised by her favourite romantic comedies. But after years of false starts and crushing disappointment, she's given up on her own happily-ever-after to focus on her career.

So when an old director friend enlists her to makeover the celebrities invited to his murder mystery weekend, Mara gladly agrees. Beautiful tropical island, an easy job: win-win.

To Mara's horror, also invited is her ex: Austin. Gorgeous, tattooed, trouble-but-worth-it Austin. After the actor left her heartbroken, she swore to never let him get close again. But when one of the group is found dead, their weekend of fun and games turns deadly serious. Mara is forced to work with Austin if they're going to make it out alive - even if her heart doesn't survive.

Amidst a cloud of suspicion and tropical thunderstorms, can love strike twice?

READERS LOVE KATIE BOHN'S ROMANCE IS DEAD

'A page-turning mystery and a sweet, sexy romance all in one' ALICIA THOMPSON

'Witty and captivating' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ READER REVIEW

'[An] incredibly fun combination of spice and chills!' SIENNA SHARPE

'A perfect blend of romance and mystery' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ READER REVIEW

'One-hundred percent fun!' CARLIE WALKER

Genres: Romance

374 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 18, 2026

Reviews

[ciara]

Glass Onion if the sex and silliness was cranked up to a million x

[abs · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank you to netgalley for the arc! i’d give this 3 and a half stars if i could.

‘if love could kill’ takes the classic tropes from a murder mystery novel and adds a heavy dose of romance to make a fast-paced, enjoyable and somewhat quirky read. it follows mara, who becomes trapped on an island with her ex-boyfriend and others, when a murder mystery party turns real. the story also focuses a lot on film sets, with all the characters once working together on them, and as a movie lover myself, i liked reading those details and moments. i didn’t love the ending reveal, it seemed to be brushed over and solved pretty quickly and i would probably have liked to have stayed with the characters just a little bit longer in the aftermath.

last year ‘romance is dead’ by katie bohn was one of my favourite reads of the year and though i didn’t enjoy this one as much, i am 100% a fan of katie bohn’s work and am excited to see what she writes next.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining mix of romance and crime.

It gives off the vibe of Glass Onion mixed with a romantic comedy, honestly, though the crime element feels like it's being glossed over in favor of the romance. Which isn't necessarily bad, it's well-written, but I expected more of a balance.

There are a few stories within the same circle of people being slowly unveiled at the same time, which I really enjoyed. There's the main mystery, the main couple's original love story and the rekindling of feelings at present, and some side plots within the group present in the villa. It's all very nicely interconnected and the flashbacks, which are meant to explain some things, are well-done and sensibly timed.

I'm particularly fond of how the FMC is established. We get to know her personality through her being the narrator, of course, but also through her preferences and details to which she pays attention. She's very consistent and far from perfect.

I don't have a lot of details to talk about here, but the story is light and entertaining, despite the crime component, and that's a great mix I really liked in general.

That being said, I'm sort of sad there isn't more focus on the mystery of what’s going on in the villa. It's not completely ignored, but there wasn't enough to make me want to play detective the way crime usually does.

I also don't like the lack of proper communication as the main conflict. Once, okay, I can stomach, but don't do the same exact thing twice. That's just stupid. And the second time was even worse, because they haven't talked about at all before she decided for herself what his behavior meant and didn't even try to discuss it. Yes, it was resolved, but only because they didn't have a choice and that's annoying. They wouldn't even end up together if that one scene didn't happen, and I'd like a stronger foundation for a couple I'm meant to cheer for.

When it comes to the final plot twist - AKA who's the killer - the main villain seems to have a complete personality change after being caught, and I’m personally not a fan of that. There was literally no need for them to turn into a weird psycho and I'd enjoy it much more if they stayed true to the character they were established as. The transformation was too out of place.

I'm also annoyed at the lack of a proper label on Goodreads and NetGalley as romance + suspense/mystery/crime. It's clearly not just a romance or general fiction.

Overall, I enjoyed myself on this ride and would recommend, regardless of the downsides.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for letting me read the ARC!

[Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars
I was such a fan of Katie Bohn’s debut, Romance Is Dead, with it perfectly blending romance and what is essentially a slasher taking place on the set of a horror movie. So, I was really intrigued to see how she would handle a murder mystery.
Sadly, this didn’t work for me.
The romance wasn’t it. I didn’t buy why they had broken up in the first place and then they get back together almost immediately, despite Mara saying how badly he treated her.
There are points when there is a literal killer on the loose and all they can think about is kissing or having sex. Which, I mean is a good way to distract yourselves, but why was Austin so against Mara trying to work out what was happening? That felt quite odd and maybe was a misdirect to make us think that he was responsible, but it was glaringly obvious that he couldn’t be the killer.
Even the flashback chapters, with us finding out how they became friends and then more than friends, were just okay.
As for the murder mystery itself, it quickly became apparent that it wasn’t capturing my attention at all.
I simply didn’t care who was responsible and why, so when the killer was revealed it all felt a bit anticlimactic.
Basically, I felt like I was going through the motions the whole way through, and maybe it’s because I read quite a lot of stories where they’re trapped on an island with a killer, but this was nowhere near as suspenseful or engaging as those.
Keith’s surprise for them also felt pretty lame at the end too.
I will say, I would still be up for reading more from Katie Bohn, but this one just didn’t work for me.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

This is a murder mystery background to a romance story. Our main character is a make up artist who is invited to the island home of a famous director to do make up for the guests of a murder mystery weekend he’s throwing. She gets a horrible shock when her ex boyfriend is there. She’s spent a year trying to get over him and wasn’t at all prepared to interject with him. Things get much worse though when the first dead body turns up.

Early on, I wasn’t sold on the romance. There was too much animosity, and too much pain for the main character for me to root for the male main character as a love interest. However, the author did manage to win me round which surprised me. I wasn’t expecting to root for them as a couple, but I did in the end. It took quite a lot of explaining of what happened behind the scenes of their break up, but it worked.

The murder mystery was intriguing. I was a bit shocked by some of the bad decisions of the characters, especially since they knew there was a murderer about! But that’s where some of the fun came in. This novel does intend to be quite light and silly rather than a serious murder investigation. There was plenty of intrigue, reveals and secrets unraveling to keep us entertained!

An enjoyable murder mystery/romance!

[Amy :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC 💕

First and foremost: I really enjoyed this!!
It definitely gives Knives Out vibes with the private island, murder mystery vibes.

We follow Mara, a makeup artist, who is joining the cast and crew of a movie she worked on on a trip to the directors private island for a murder mystery party. But to her dismay, her ex boyfriend and the lead actor of the movie is also there.

I like the tension that her ex being there added to the story but I think Mara forgives him a bit too quickly. She just takes his word for it and doesn’t ask for any proof which seems naïve.

I enjoyed the whole cast of characters (Gianna is my personal favourite) and the dynamics between them all. And the flashbacks that slowly reveal how Austin and Mara got together and why there’s tension between certain other people.

The ending felt like it needed maybe a bit more foreshadowing but also made complete sense???

So for me this was a 4⭐️ read and I recommend it to anyone looking for a fun romantic suspense (if it can be classed as that)

[Emma F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mara Moore is travelling to an island to work as a makeup artist for film director Keith. He’s hosting a murder mystery party with cast members of his recently completed film. A film she was makeup artist on. The only problem is her ex, actor and commitment-phobe, Austin Hayes (who she was told wouldn’t be there) is there too. Add to that a murder and no way to contact anyone or get off the island. The weekend is turning out worse than she could ever imagine. So obviously her plan is to team up with her ex to try and solve the murder!

It’s your typical tale of friends to lovers to exes to trapped on an island with a murderer and realising the feelings are still there a year later. Over the course of the novel we get flashbacks, to how the friendship between Mara and Austin grew and became more. It has a vintage murder mystery feel, you could almost imagine Poirot or Miss Marple being guests at the party too. Overall a good read.

[Corinne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Quercus for this arc.

This was such a fun read. A second chance romance while stuck on a private island in a sort of locked door murder mystery was definitely the entertainment I needed. The flashbacks to the past were also nice to have included to give context to how they all got here without just being told between characters.

While the issues with their romance previously did seem to be due to miscommunication that wasn't really the case in this book and so definitely wouldn't be a reason to not read this book.

The mystery was good, there were points throughout the book where I could picture all of the characters being the murderer but there was enough throughout the book that you could solve it if you wanted to.

Overall, a lot of fun and would be especially good to read by a pool or the ocean over the summer. I'm definitely becoming a fan of Katie Bohn's books.

[Verity Thornhill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Netgalley ARC Review

I loved this! And after posting this review, I’ll be off to get Katie’s other book - Romance is Dead.

Romance books are my bag, but I also love a murder mystery (I grew up devouring Murder She Wrote and Diagnosis Murder) so this combo of romance and suspense is perfect for me!

Mara is a Hollywood makeup artist. An old director she worked with, has invited her and the cast of a previous project, to a murder mystery weekend on an island. She’s all ready to refuse the invitation, fearing that her ex-boyfriend, the gorgeous actor Austin, will be there. She accepts when she’s told he can’t make it. Cue her arriving on the island to find Austin there.

But things get infinitely worse when people start dying, and Austin and Maya have to work together to to stay alive. Sparks are firing, but will they make it off the island in one piece?

[Lra]

Mara solo iba a una fiesta temática a maquillar a los artistas y pasarla bien y olvidarse de todo por un rato. Pero lo que empieza con música, alcohol y gente atractiva se arruina cuando alguien aparece muerto y la noche se vuelve un desastre.

De pronto ya no se trata de divertirse, sino de entender qué pasó y sobre todo, en quién se puede confiar. Porque todos vieron o esconden algo y nadie parece completamente inocente.

Mara intentara mantenerse al margen, pero es imposible cuando cada cosa que descubre la mete más en el problema. Y lo peor es darse cuenta de que el peligro no terminó con esa primera muerte, apenas estaba comenzando.


Gracias netgalley por el ARC.

[readingismy_happy_place · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did I pick this up at 7pm and not stop reading till I had finished by 10pm yes yes I did have I already ordered Kate Bohn other book yes yes I have!
I really enjoyed this one it’s a book you literally just fall straight into and can’t put down!
It had everything I love murder a mystery, second chances a little romance. Such a good read.
I adored Mara and Austin so much as well as Gianna I liked how much guessing I did with the who done it I was completely wrong. I truly enjoyed this and can’t wait to read the next one

[Kimberly Carrington-Fox · Rating 2 out of 5]

La premisa me parecía fantástica, algo tipo novela de Agatha Christie pero con historia de amor por medio. El problema es que el desarrollo, para mí, no ha estado a la altura. Ni la parte de suspense ni la amorosa mantienen la intriga y, además, tampoco están bien integradas. Y el sexo, viendo el resto de la trama se ve un poco fuera de lugar. También reconozco que no he conectado nada con la protagonista, con lo que era difícil disfrutar más la lectura.
Como con todo, no hay nada como leer y opinar por uno mismo, esta es solo mi opinión.

[☆Laura☆]

Es el segundo libro que leo de Katie y la verdad no creo que su estilo de escritura sea para mi.


Lo de los asesinatos fue muy meh, se supone que la trama se centra en este tema, pero en realidad todo gira en torno al romance. La relación no me gusto, al final no entendí que le vio a Austin.