The Acts Of Life

by Kristin Mulligan

Sibling rivalry is a killer.

Sam and Stella are closer than most brothers and sisters. Born only minutes apart, they're both best friends and lifelong adversaries.
Sam's not worried about who's living the better life. So what if his law degree isn't getting much use, his last relationship was a failure, and he spends most weekends hungover. Despite Stella's nagging mockery, Sam is happy.

But Stella is happier (and she'll be the first one to tell you). She has a skyrocketing career and imminent engagement to look forward to. And if she's too busy climbing the corporate ladder to focus on friendships, what does it matter? All she needs is her twin brother.
There's never been a threat to the sibling hierarchy... until Harper. Sam's unexpected one-night stand has the potential to be more. So why isn't Stella happy for her brother? A rivalry like theirs has its challenges- after all, portraying the perfect life isn't easy. And in their final act, Sam and Stella's darkest secrets and true selves will be revealed. No one knows you like your twin, right?

Genres: Romance, Thriller, Mystery, Romantic Suspense, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Mystery Thriller

482 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 25, 2021

About the author

Based in Southern California, Kristin Mulligan writes stories that blur the line between heart-pounding suspense and heartwarming romance.

Her two romance novels are open-door and full of steam and spice. The Acts Of Life features sibling rivalry, secrets, and a jaw-dropping twist, while Grounded delivers laugh-out-loud moments, emotional depth, and a swoony touch of forbidden love.

Her novella series, Holidays & Homicide, twists familiar holidays into dark, suspenseful tales. The series includes I’ll Be Alone for Christmas and A Christmas to Die For , two chilling Christmas stories steeped in secrets, mystery, and murder. Her newest novella, Crazy Little Thing Called Love , is set around Valentine’s Day and explores obsession, terror, and a kidnapping that will keep readers guessing until the very end. Each title stands alone and can be read in any order. The next installment is tentatively scheduled for release in April 2026.

Fueled by a genre-hopping imagination and far too much cold brew, Kristin is also an exhausted boy mom to the fastest five-year-old you’ll ever meet. She works full-time, and when she’s not chasing her son around, she’s stealing quiet moments to catch her breath and write a few more words.

Reviews

[Kristin Mulligan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am I rating my own book 5 stars? Hell yes. I figured 1 star for each year it took me to write. Because this took everything I had. Thousands of hours of writing, editing, loving it, hating it, and eventually realizing I have an amazing story to tell that hasn’t been told before.

The Acts Of Life has it all: steam, humor, romance, and a twist you haven’t seen before, I promise!

While I know I can’t please every reader, I’m so thankful if you gave it a chance, even if it wasn’t for you. Being an indie author with a debut, self published novel isn’t easy. But I’m so proud of this book and hope it entertains your socks off.

[Lauren Read Rover · Rating 5 out of 5]

As Rhianna once sang, “HOW BOUT A ROUND OF APPLAUSE? A STANDING OVAAA-TION!”

Shhhhhhhhh!! Do you hear that? It’s the glorious singing of the angels up above, in the choir of literary heaven, as I write this glowing review! My eyes are leaking saltwater and my heart is soaring as I say with a beaming smile – this book is a work of sick, TWISTED, delicious, SMUTTY, wicked literary GOLD, deserving all of the stars… ALL OF THEM! Please hold a moment as I attempt to gather my thoughts and write a review that will do this book justice…

Full transparency: I was expecting a nice, little story about sibling rivalry between twins Sam and Stella… BOY WAS I WRONG! This book is about sibling rivalry AND SO MUCH MORE! This book has S-T-E-A-M that had me blushing in the most delicious way, it had earth shattering secrets, devious betrayal, wicked revenge, plot twist after plot twist that left me struggling to get oxygen into my constricted airway as I was physically SHOOK!

The Acts of Life is written in the BRILLIANT format of Act 1, Intermission, Act 2, and Encore. I say brilliant because quite frankly, readers have absolutely no idea what they are in store for within the pages of this wicked little book. Act 1 was great but once I reached Intermission, I screamed and slapped my forehead (I have the throbbing, red handprint to prove it!) because the story did a complete 180 (iykyk!) and I was forced to finish reading the book in one sitting! *inhales deeply and tries to catch breath*

I am in absolute awe that this is Kristin’s debut novel because dare I say it…. The characters and the shocking plot twists were totally reminiscent of our queen, Colleen Hoover. Yep… Kristin is an outright force to be reckoned with. This book and her immense talent is a gift to readers everywhere. Please, PLEASE, please do yourselves a favor and prioritize on your TBR – YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED. I SOLEMNLY SWEAR.

And… SCENE!

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness that was insanely good! This book had everything, mystery, suspense, romance, and a bit of raunch all roll up into a nice package. I loved it and this was the author’s first novel. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next. A pleasure to read.

[Brittany Beck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book truly had it all - thriller, romance, and plot twists down to the last page! One of my favorites of 2021!!

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it a thriller?
Is it a contemporary romance with a LOT of heat?
Is it a mind messer?

Hmm… not sure I can categorize this at all except to say well done Kristin on your debut novel. The Acts of Life is an easy one to read as long as you go into knowing there’s a whole lot of steam 🔥 (I’ve put trigger warnings in the comments).

Sam & Stella are twins who are at very difft points in their lives. Stella is used to being the centre of Sam’s life since their parents died, and Sam is a playboy with a heart. I’m not joking when I say there’s lot of steam; the whole first half of the novel is that. But the further you get into the story, the more the creepiness crawls through the pages.

3.5 stars rolled to 4


Warning: mental illness, manipulation, sexual conversations, explicit sex acts, death, suicide

[Marisha (MarishaReadsALot) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here is a list of things I knew about The Acts of Life before picking it up:

-It is written by a fellow Bookstagrammer
-It is WILDLY popular with the Booksta crew

And that's it. That's all the things. I highly highly recommend going into this one blind!

5 brilliant stars. Wonderfully written. Spicy. Suspenseful. With a couple moments that will literally make your jaw drop.

And that's all I want to say because I want you to all be as mind-blown as I was!!

[Rebekah Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book: The Acts of Life by Kristin Mulligan @read.it.and.sleep
Published: May 25, 2021
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

My oh my, I cannot believe that my friend Kristin wrote a book. Not only that she wrote a book, but that she did it while working full-time and even finished it while pregnant with little Will on the way (I could barely get out of bed during my third trimester, but Kristin FINISHED her book 🤯). I am absolutely amazed by you, Kristin, in every 👏🏻 single 👏🏻 way 👏🏻.

If you haven’t seen this book yet—where have you been (?!?!?) because it’s seriously been ALLL over bookstagram—you are missing out on reading something amazing. The Acts of Life is structured in such a unique way (Act 1, Intermission, Act 2, Encore) for a novel, which I loved, and what I loved even more is how it makes so much sense for the story. Read it. You’ll see.

I don’t want to say anything about the plot because I am so scared of giving anything away. I think it’s best to go in knowing very little about the overall story, so that when you get to the twist you will be absolutely shocked (which you definitely will be)! I’m telling you—this twist you will NOT see coming.

The Acts of Life seriously has it ALL. You want drama? You’ve absolutely got drama. You want steam? Boy, does this book ever have STEAM 🔥. You want sick and twisted? You’ve got sick and TWISTED. This book has alllll the suspense you’re looking for—romantically and thriller-y. It honestly has something for EVERY reader.

Please, please, please take a chance on Kristin and pick this one up. You want to know Sam (even if his bro-ness is over the top). You want to know Stella. And you definitely want to know Harper.

And Kristin.. Thank you for giving me an early copy of your book to read and for bein oh-so patient with me when my dog ate my kobo. I love you and am now patiently awaiting the sequel 😉🤞🏻

[Erin • erinsgottaread · Rating 4 out of 5]

if you’re a fan of
✔️romantic suspense
✔️unexpected twists & turns
✔️indie authors
✔️scream-worthy endings
✔️lots & lots & more steam

This book is for you! I mean WOW, that took turns and dark roads I didn’t expect.

I will be thinking about it for awhile - the last 200 pages were unputdownable! It’s unlike anything I’ve read before.

Thank you to the author for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review.

[kay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Picture this: I’m scrolling through GoodReads and I find a review of this book. I’m reading it, and the person who wrote the review mentions the book is similar to Verity. I buy the book because of this and go into it with high expectations. The first 300 pages of the book is literally just these two people having sexy time. Finally 330 pages in, something underwhelming & extremely predictable happens. That’s where I ended it. I was so. damn. bored. Never again.

[Shelby (catching up on 2025 reviews)]

Rating and review to come 💕

[Carol C | shelfie.queen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
As soon as this book was compared to Cruel Intentions, I immediately hit "buy now". This was a seriously compulsive and intense page turner! You will start this book and be unable to move from the couch until you are done. THE ACTS OF LIFE follows twin brother & sister Sam and Stella who are very close and have an interesting sibling rivalry. When Sam meets Harper, will Stella be happy for her brother as Sam & Harper deepen their relationship? Guys.. the steam. the twists & turns. the drama. All come together to make this unputdownable and SO easy to binge like your favorite TV show. Well done!

[Cortney Walton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was explosive in all the best ways.

I couldn’t put it down. It had everything you want in a book: romance, steam, thriller vibes, mystery, and fantastic twists.

I’m still thinking about it and I finished it this weekend. That’s a great sign of a phenomenal book!

[Rachel Lampert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my new favorite book. Wow was I blown away by the twists and turns this story took me on! I cannot wait to see what comes next for Kristin. What an achievement for a debut novel. Would recommend to anyone needing a book to get them back into reading or that loves to read a fantastic book!

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first 206 pages of this book on a Tuesday night, starting just after 8pm, which was so stupid of me, I know…the next day I couldn’t wait to get off work to finish the rest.

I can’t tell you how much I live for a first person male narrative. I don’t know why, but it’s true…and this one was done really well. I loved the steamy romantic suspense and the dynamics between Sam and his buddies, his reluctance to let himself fall for Harper.

The dynamic between Sam and his twin sister, Stella, however, drove me nuts, especially throughout the first act. And that first act felt like it dragged on longer than necessary…but as soon as the intermission bomb hit, I was back in the game and the pace kicked back up.

That said, I definitely preferred the first act to the second…I can’t quite pinpoint it, but I didn’t really care for Harper as a narrator and while it was interesting to see her perspective, it also felt long and in some ways repetitive (which will make sense once you read—I’m not sure how to explain that without giving anything away, so I’m leaving it at that…)

I have to admit, the ending was frustrating too…I’m pretty sure my copy was missing some pages cuz there’s no way Mulligan did me dirty with an ending like that, right? 🤬

Overall this was a strong debut novel and an enjoyable read. The Acts Of Life is out now, and available in KindleUnlimited!

★3.5 stars, rounded up to 4★

[Cortney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always say that I love going into books blind but sometimes reviewers make comparisons to movies or books that (you don’t realize until you’re reading) are basically spoilers.

As much as I tried to stay away from reviews for this one, I saw a comparison to a popular movie and couldn’t get it out of my head. For the first 200 pages or so I was a little annoyed because the comparison was spot on and I was so sure I knew what was coming. But then, there was a twist that blew that comparison out of the water and had me rethinking everything I had just read.

And then another one.

And another one.

I nearly threw this book across the room at the end because…🤯😳😆🤭…iykyk.

The Acts of Life is part domestic thriller with complex sibling relationships and part contemporary romance with all the steam you can handle. It’s almost 500 pages but don’t let that deter you, it’s totally bingeable.

[Lindsay Lourcey · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

What a wild ride.

I went in blind, only knowing that it was getting rave reviews on bookstagram, and it did NOT disappoint!!

Romance, steamy chemistry, the feeling that something is amiss, lots of twists and turns, the ENDING 😳…I honestly couldn’t put it down.

This fully pulled me out of the reading slump I’ve been feeling lately and I would highly highly recommend it to anyone who needs a pick-me-up!

[tasya ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Fate brought us together. I need you more than you realize. I just want you to love me.”

no way. no freakin way. no way this book is going to leave me with that cliffhanger. nah. i want to know what happens next. i. need. to. know.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ Definitely go into this book blind- I did, and I’m so glad I did. Part romance, part suspense, this book is quick and fun to read. Kristen is an incredible writer, and I was immediately impressed by the well-executed plot. At times, the dialogue among the men (particularly when talking about women) got a bit crude, but I guess that that’s (sadly) how some grown men are 🤷🏻‍♀️. Kristin, please make some sort of sequel, even if it’s just a novella, because ambiguous endings…. 👀

[Katie Hanson · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first 60% of this book was hard to get into. The main character was not easy to enjoy. The back half was interesting, there was a big plot twist that kept me engaged and speed reading to the end. Intriguing concept with great bones and a unique structure, but overall, not for me. It’s a well-liked book though for others, so it might be worth giving a shot if you like steamy thrillers.

[Carrie Beamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK! I freakin loved this book so much! This book has it all, it's a thriller and a romance and twisty as hell. Like major twists!
One of my favs so far this year! I love crazy ass characters and tons of steam! Bravo to Kristin Mulligan. Now get this sucker made into an audiobook ASAP!

[Virginia Cúneo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me. I think the plot is really good, with twists, romance, suspense and interesting characters. But the writing didn't work for me, especially Liz's POV. The detached narration made me feel disconnected from the story. I also got a bit bored in the first third of the book, when nothing really exciting happened (at least not from Sam's POV, who is telling the story at that point). And I think the theme of mental illness could have been better exploited.

[MiMi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good

Okay I know for a fact I’m not the only one who has started a book, put it down for a couple of days because how busy I am, then find myself thinking about “so-and-so”. Then to realize that “so-and-so” was a character in said book?! Because of this a book will get 3 stars immediately. At this point the rating can go either way.

I really enjoyed this book and the title itself speaks volumes. You just never know. Trust and honesty goes a very long way and it’s difficult to let your guard down. Rest assured, this book will have you keeping your guard up and locked away. Wow very good debut novel.

[Raini Leveen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I loved the first half of the book and the second half of the book had me hooked until the end. I would love to give this book five stars but the only reason it is rated lower for me is because I did not think it was necessary to retell the whole story from a different point of view. I would have preferred to have the plot go further in a different perspective rather than scene by scene retelling the story. Overall I’d say it’s a 4/5 stars.

[Chip Pons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y’all. This is the one. The Acts of Life by Kristin Mulligan is the book I didn’t know I needed in my life. So much so that I IMMEDIATELY added it to our September Steam and Scream Book Club selections as an add on the second I finished it.

The Acts of Life gets all the damn stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ HANDS DOWN.

Read this if you:
-Secretly are turned on by semi frat bro #masc energy 🥵

-Love being subjected to life-altering twists

-Are intrigued by a totally normal twintastic relationship

Me while reading: Aroused. Annoyed. Semi-confused. WHAT THE LITERAL F! Oh no she didn’t…Kristin!! What did you do???

For me, The Acts of Life checked ALL the boxes that make me a happy reader. The steamy & passionate chemistry between our leads. The dual perspectives. The twist that literally gave me whip lash & had me sitting on the floor utterly confused about what I just read.

Truthfully, the biggest shock for me is that this is a debut novel. Kristin writes with the authority of a seasoned pro…someone who effortlessly weaves a tangled web our characters find themselves in…one that I was utterly & completely trapped in as well. Truthfully? I didn’t want to be set free.

This was the first time in a minute where I’ve read from the perspective of such a hetero bro…Sam exuded confidence & cockiness & man, did I live for the moment that was rattled by the complexities of Harper 🤯

While this book was long, at almost 500 pages, I raced through it in one sitting - messaging Kristin along the way. After selecting this as our supplemental pick this month, I’ve LOVED getting play-by-play reactions from everyone reading this one.

This one will be hard to top this year…honestly, it’s firmly cemented as a contender for one of my favorite reads of all time! Seriously…read it ASAP so I can say I TOLD YOU SO!

[Hannah Gabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a pleasant surprise. Fans of Verity, this one’s for you!!

Sam has trouble with commitment... that is, until he meets Harper, the perfect girl. However, his overly competitive twin sister, Stella, isn't thrilled about his newfound happiness. Overly competitive and borderline sociopathic, Stella is obsessed with having the better life. Despite their differences and geographic locations (Sam lives in San Fransisco and Stella lives in Los Angeles), the two have always remained close - bonded by the tragic loss of their parents in their adolescence. However, when tragedy strikes, shocking secrets come to light that force Sam to question everything he thinks he knows about both his sister and his newfound love.

The first half of this book book reads like a charming (yet steamy) romance novel. The writing style combined with the scenery felt reminiscent of The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory. However, a major bomb is dropped at the half-way mark and the book turns from sweet romance to psychological thriller… forcing the reader to reconsider everything they’ve just read.

I went into this one more or less blind and I think that definitely added to my enjoyment…just take my word for it and pick this one up! Not only is it a perfect read for spooky season, but the author is a fellow bookstagrammer! She self-published The Acts of Life, her debut novel, in September (for those keeping track, Colleen Hoover also self-published Verity) and I would love to see her book picked up by a major publisher (and obviously want to read all future books) - so help a sis out and go buy it!

[Alicia || NeverBoredWithABook || · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 STARS
Ok, stop what you’re doing. Open your Amazon App. Type on “The Acts of Life.” Click Add to Cart and proceed to checkout because you need to buy this book! I repeat. You. Need. To. Buy. This. Book!

Combining my two favourite genres, thrillers and romance, The Acts of Life was an absolutely perfect meld of everything I love about both types of books. It had chemistry, steam, questionable yet realistic characters, suspense, secrets, and some major “wait…what?!” moments. I even found myself laughing out loud several times. There is truly something for every reader.

While this is a long one at almost 500 pages, it was not a slow burn. It was a propulsive read and Kristin’s masterful storytelling was that of a veteran author. The way everything was connected and came together was perfect. The only reason for the 4.5 rating instead of 5 was I just wanted a couple more pages after that ending. But perhaps I’m getting greedy.

To put it simply- I have honestly never been more impressed by a debut indie book. There has been so much hype all over Bookstagram, and this book deserves every bit of it.

[Kayla Betancourt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked that it was super easy to read I got through it pretty quickly whenever I had a chance to read it. But on the other hand it lacked so much detail that what I liked about it was also what ended up making this just an okay book for me. It wasn’t bad it just wasn’t good..
and I didn’t read this for the sexy scenes nor did I think it had any but the fact that it did and I felt so cheated from it was the worst part. It was mentioned once in more detail but the rest of the parts would just mention it after the fact.
I expected the role Stella had in causing the tragedy between Sam and Camilla so that wasn’t a shocker to me but I was not expecting the Harper twist.. it made sense after finding out but I wasn’t even looking at her to be one of the plot twists of the story and I love when I’m caught off guard so points for that! I even started to change my mind and started seeing this as a 3/4 star book..BUT then I got to the ending and got so upset at how it ended. Left on a cliffhanger to a book that is a stand alone, are you KIDDING? The least we deserve after all that was seeing Harper’s truth unfold.

[Jordān · Rating 5 out of 5]

✨𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄✨
📚 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲
📝 𝗞𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗻
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
480 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀

𝗠𝗬 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦:
This book, you guys, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸. It created such a 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 that I was feeling serious emotions while reading it. I was instantly thrown into this dark, twisted thriller? I’m not totally sure. From the jump I knew where the story was leading, but I typically can predict this type of stuff. Did it make it any less of a good read for me? No. Because there was so many little things here and there that I just didn’t expect and I loved that! The first act was definitely my favorite part about the book. Well, maybe that’s not true, maybe my favorite was the 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴. (IYKYK)
I can’t wait to read the next Kristin Mulligan book, thoroughly excited for it.

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘:
❤️‍🩹 suspenseful romance
🏫 psychological thriller
🥸 twist galore
🌶 steam
🔪 verity vibes

⚠️ trigger warning: mental health issues, suicide, infidelity

[Michelle Durant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it in a night. The twists!

[Anne Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I am not much of a romance reader. So in the first half I felt the book was a bit slow for me. However it certainly picked up and I couldn’t put it down. I can tell you there this is a twisty book all of which I didn’t see coming! Fabulous book written by a fabulous author!!

So what do we have here? Sex, romance, sex, mystery and some family drama!! Read this book!!