Nothing Serious by Emily J. Smith

Delusion, Red Flags, and One Very Unlikeable Heroine…

Edie Walker is 35 years old and has been hopelessly in love with her best friend Peter for years. When he briefly becomes single, Edie believes it’s finally her moment—until Peter meets Anaya on a dating app. Anaya is everything: gorgeous, brilliant, warm. Even Edie admits she might be a little in love with her. But then Anaya is found dead, and Edie becomes convinced that Peter, the last person to see her alive, is innocent. So begins Edie’s misguided personal investigation—not just to clear Peter’s name, but to finally get the guy.

Here’s the thing: Edie is utterly unlikeable and painfully delusional. From the moment she introduces Peter, my red flags were on high alert. She insists on defending him and “seeing the good in him,” but what good? Everyone around her despises him, and frankly, I don’t blame them. The narrative keeps reminding us that he once saved her in college, but that doesn’t give him a lifetime pass on being a terrible person.

Edie is supposed to be 35, yet her actions and decisions are bafflingly immature. She stumbles through the plot making reckless, often unbelievable mistakes that made me want to scream. It’s not just that she’s flawed—it’s that she’s frustratingly foolish in ways that strain credibility.

The only reason I didn’t DNF this book was sheer morbid curiosity: would Peter finally go to prison?

This book didn’t just disappoint me—it actively infuriated me.

RATING : 2/5