Death to Valentine’s Day by Catherine Cowles @catherinecowlesauthor @mallonerin @connorcrais @brilliancepublishing #TheImprobableMeetCuteSecondChances #DeathToValentinesDay

the setup…
It’s Valentine’s Day, exactly one year since Maia St. James caught her cheating ex-boyfriend in the act. The last thing she wants to do is be among people let alone go to a party. But her two best friends talk her into going with them to a Death to Valentine’s Day masquerade ball at a mountain lodge. When she sees the ex coming her way at the party, she grabs a masked stranger to help her with a distraction…a sultry kiss. But this man is no stranger. He’s Decker (Deck) West, the brother of her ex and that kiss ignited something for both of them.

the heart of the story…
For a short story, this has the weight of a full length novel, covering quite a bit of the backstories and fleshing out the characters pretty well. It was enough that I really liked both Maia and Deck and despised Jackson (the ex and Deck’s brother). And, toss in a little murder mystery (someone got killed at the party) and there is a lot of meat on these bones.

the narration…
Erin Mallon was delightful as Maia and Connor Crais, one of my favorites, did triple duty not only as Deck but two other major characters. Loved their performances!

the bottom line…
I highly enjoyed this story, despite the murder mystery taking a weird turn. This is my first by the author, though I own two of her bestselling books. Her writing style works for me so I’ll bump those up. Meanwhile, this was a win for me.

Book Info

• Release Date: January 20, 2026
• Series: The Improbable Meet-Cute: Second Chances #5
• Narrators: Erin Mallon & Connor Crais
• Audio Length: 2 hours, 9 minutes
• Publisher: Amazon Original Stories

Listen to a Sample!

Goodreads | Amazon | Audible

(Thanks to Brilliance Audio and NetGalley for my complimentary copy of the entire collection. All opinions are my own.)