Book Review: Hate and Other Acts of Fiction by Megan
Official Synopsis: Sadie Stockton has the almost-perfect job leading tours through the former home of her favorite author, the enigmatic recluse Hazel Wilmont. But when the owners of the Wilmont House announce plans to increase the estate’s revenue by hosting an overnight murder mystery set in a cocktail lounge, Sadie is less than thrilled. Yet again, Hazel’s legacy is being tarnished by the fictitious, decades-old rumors she poisoned her husband(s).
Worse? The new tour will mean working with none other than Ryan Pearson—local mixologist, owner of Pearson’s Pub Crawls, and Sadie’s long-standing professional rival and personal regret. She can’t stand him. Or his smug grin. Or his boastful T-shirt declaring his pub crawl the city’s number-one rated tour. And no, she doesn’t still think about their short-lived, meaningless college fling. Ever.
With a potential promotion on the line, Sadie must play nice with Ryan in order to make the “Mixtures & Murder” tour a success. But over late nights and cocktail tastings, all clues indicate a reigniting attraction between the two. And as new discoveries at the mansion unfold, Sadie is forced to confront her own narratives about Ryan, about Hazel, and about the past she’s tried for years to bury.
Sadie Stockton has been hosting nightly tours at the Wilmont House for years, hoping to help stop spread the misinformation about the infamous author Hazel Wilmont. Sadie has spent a lot of her life using Hazel's books to find comfort and tries to share that with others. But when her college hookup turned rival shows up on Sutton Island, with a bar crawl tour that keeps out doing hers, she is determined to keep proving that she is better at the job. That is until the director of the Wilmont Mansion decides to do a joint tour, a murder mystery party hosted at the mansion overnight, that involves history from Sadie, drinks made by Ryan and a storyline by the eccentric Simon. Sadie doesn't want to work with Ryan, but she knows if the event is a success, she might be promoted to director.
But Ryan is a problem, well at least Sadie wants to see him as one, but it turns out he is really helpful, always there and incredibly handsome. As they continue to work together to plan the event, while also being the hosts, they decide to act on the feelings that have been lingering since they hooked up freshman year of college. These feelings start to become more complicated for Sadie when she starts to realize that maybe she doesn't want this brief hookup to end...but is determined not to be the one to be heartbroken.
My biggest gripe with this book is how annoying Sadie can be at times. For being someone who is solidly in her 20s, she has a lot of things she hasn't worked through from her childhood that make her seem annoying at times. She doesn't trust Ryan's feelings for her, she doesn't trust that her mom could date again happily, and overall she is scared to be left behind. But these feelings make her push back a lot and question things in ways that really pushed me sometimes. As the main character, I was hoping that some point that Sadie would figure out that she was kind of being a monster, but it took until her being really outrageous and having to talk it out. I am happy that there is a point she has a deep conversation with both her mom and Ryan and how that clears things up for her, but I just wish it happened sooner within the text.
For the rest of the story, I liked the underlying mystery in the house itself. The scenes for the murder mystery were really great and Sadie has a really solid group of friends. I really enjoyed Ryan as a character and he handled his own parental issues. Sadie's best friend Eric was also a great addition to the story because he was the one who was the least scared to call out her shit. Overall, this book was enjoyable and I think I would have liked it a lot more if I found Sadie less annoying.
I rated this book 3 out of 5 stars!
Hate and Other Acts of Fiction comes out November 10, 2026!
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