Dangerous Impulses

The Naturals #5

by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Naturals are BACK! #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Lynn Barnes delivers the highly anticipated new installment in her beloved Naturals series.

Cassie Hobbes joined the FBI’s Naturals program at seventeen because she had an incredible ability to read people. Since then, Cassie, fellow profiler Dean, emotion‑reader Michael, lie‑detector Lia, and statistical genius Sloane have caught serial killers, outsmarted masterminds, and saved countless lives.

Now, eight months after the most twisted, traumatizing case of their lives and still dealing with the psychological fall-out, the Naturals decide to take on a joyful mission for playing matchmaker. With Christmas fast approaching, how hard could it be for an emotion‑reader, a deception detector, two profilers, and a statistician armed with a wealth of data on romantic relationships to secure a happily ever after for two people who are already very obviously in love?

Turns out…very. Because to bring their FBI mentors back together, the Naturals will first have to solve the mystery of why Special Agent Veronica Sterling can’t let herself have the very thing she wants the most. Profiling a profiler is tricky business, and it soon becomes clear that to solve this mystery, the Naturals need to uncover the past. Add in a puzzling series of interconnected crime scenes, an UNSUB with a fondness for snow, and a cold case on the verge of heating up, and it’s shaping up to be a killer Christmas.

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Young Adult, Romance, Fiction, Contemporary

352 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 2026

About the author

Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who mostly goes by Jen) was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has been, in turn, a competitive cheerleader, a volleyball player, a dancer, a debutante, a primate cognition researcher, a teen model, a comic book geek, and a lemur aficionado. She's been writing for as long as she can remember, finished her first full book (which she now refers to as a "practice book" and which none of you will ever see) when she was still in high school, and then wrote Golden the summer after her freshman year in college, when she was nineteen.

Jen graduated high school in 2002, and from Yale University with a degree in cognitive science (the study of the brain and thought) in May of 2006. She'll be spending the 2006-2007 school year abroad, doing autism research at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Reviews

[lena ♡⸝⸝]

pre - read
THE DAY HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF MY YEAR 👹


this book has restored my will to live.

[Pierce Samuel ✞︎]

GOD IS GOODDDDDD

Dude y'all don't understand

WE'RE BEING FED

I feel like JLB is Paul Revere delivering the good word

DEAN REDDING HOW I MISSED YOU

ALSO IN THE WINTER??? Y'all I am a SUCKER for winter-murder-mysteries (ERASED fandom, wya???)

I do NOT apologize for the man I will be once this comes out

EDIT: THE COVER IT OUT Y'ALLLL 🗣 Is it bad that I'm using color theory to analyze the green chosen (I'm an art nerd who is way into mysteries I fear...)

[ava ★]

OMG IS THIS REAL??? YAYAYAYAYYAY OMG A NEW NATURALS BOOK YAYAYAY IM LITERALLY SCREAMING IM SO EXCITED 🤭🤭🤭 HEHE IM THE FIRST REVIEW OF THIS LMAOOO

[Uswah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I honestly think this book should’ve been a novella 🙂‍↕️ It was a good, cutesy read, but at the same time, some parts felt a little forced 😭

I had such high hopes for this one because I loooved The Naturals series 🥹🥹 So, ofc, I was beyond excited to read this book. Unfortunately, it just didn't live up to my expectations 🫠 All that waiting for barely anything?? 😭

I needed more, yet the book seemed more focused on dragging out scenes 😭 The irony!!! Like, I wanted this book to be shorter, but I also wanted more from it. LMAOOO.

Still, I love these characters so so much 🥹🥹 No one could ever make me hate them, and it felt so good to revisit them and spend time with them again 🥹🫶

Thanks to my love, Salma, for reading this with me 🥹🫶 I genuinely had such a good time reading it alongside you. MWAHHH 💋 ILYSMMMM.

Overall, it was a decent read 🙂‍↕️ A lovely little trip down memory lane, but it definitely could've been better 🥹🫂

Yea, that's it guys. Love y'all 🫶🖤💚

—————————————————
⋆🧩˚｡⋆ pre-read ⋆🧩˚｡⋆

Buddy reading this with my love, Salma 🤭🤭 We’ve been so excited and waiting for this book forever 🖤💚 Can’t wait to meet all the characters again 🙂‍↕️👀

[Salma (inactive) · Rating 2.75 out of 5]

⤿ rating: 2.75/5
⤿ age: 13+
⤿ spice: none

I'll try to keep this review short because that book was such a money grab. This book started as enjoyable, and then it just went downhill. It was going nowhere at all; this book could have been executed in a much better way—or not at all.

JLB has said that this book will focus on Briggs and Veronica. Guess what? They weren't there enough. We didn't even get the elevator scene. I would have preferred a novella with just their POVs rather than a grandmother and teenagers meddling in their relationship. They overstepped so many boundaries, and I wish Briggs and Veronica weren't so forgiving. I really don't like Nonna; she is incredibly nosy.

This book also barely had any Dean scenes; it was mostly just Lia and Michael's toxic situationship. Don't get me wrong, I love these characters, but I still needed more Dean and Cassian scenes. At least those two have a better dynamic.

This book had two plot lines. One was very rushed, and the plot twist was kinda... meh. It was glossed over after that, and I was like, "That's it?" And the other plot line was also barely mentioned. Uswah and I kept wondering about it because the author barely discussed it.

However, I love all the characters. Judd, Briggs, and Veronica will always have a special place in my heart.

── .✦ 𝓕𝓲𝓷𝓪𝓵 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼: Overall, as much as I am disappointed that this was a miss, I was very happy to see these characters again.

«────── « ⋅ʚ♡ɞ⋅ » ──────»

˖ ֹ੭୧pre-read:⊹ ࣪ ⑅

IT IS FINALLY HERE. People think I'm reading this for Dean and Cassie when I'm reading it for Briggs and Veronica. Gimme more of them. I really hope this book doesn't disappoint, because I love that series so much. Buddy read with the sweet Uswah🩷

I loved reading this series, but adding more books to a series always scares me because it sometimes feels like a money grab. Pretty sure that was the case with TIG. Hope it's not the same case for this one as well 😭

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ the naturals
✦︎☆┇ The Naturals - 4 stars
✦︎☆┇ Killer Instinct - 3 stars
✦︎☆┇ All In - 4.5 stars
✦︎☆┇ Bad Blood - 5 stars
✦︎☆┇ Twelve - 2.5 stars

[shania]

who's going to tell jennifer lynn barnes that it's okay to end a series

[seeraaa ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

"𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅.
𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑."






I found this book boring and, honestly, unnecessary. 😭 Even the case itself wasn't nearly as compelling as the ones in the previous books. I was expecting more mystery, more suspense, and more excitement, but unfortunately, it didn't deliver.

Maybe part of the problem was that this book revolved around Sterling and Briggs, but what the Naturals did was absolutely unacceptable. Like, what business do you have meddling in other people's lives??? 😭 In the very first chapter, I was literally like, WHERE DID THIS NONA COME FROM??? 💀 And breaking into their apartment? They went WAY too far. Briggs and Sterling have been so forgiving and tolerant of them that the Naturals seem to have completely forgotten what boundaries are.

One of the biggest reasons I feel this book was unnecessary is that we already know from the novella that Briggs and Sterling are married and that she's about to give birth. So what exactly did this book add to their story? I would have much preferred a book set many years later, taking place after the novella, so we could catch up with the Naturals, see how much they've changed, and find out where life has taken them. 🥹

I used to like Michael so much more, but honestly, his behavior in this book was unbearable. And his relationship with Lia? Probably the worst part for me. Even by the end, things hadn't improved nearly enough to make me feel better about them. 😭

And Cassie. She and Dean are still dealing with so much, and I wish we could have seen more progress for them too. 💔

I'm actually wondering whether there will be more books in the series, especially considering what happened at the end. I'm torn because I enjoyed this series SO MUCH, and I genuinely love these characters, but at the same time, I think I'd rather it ended here than continue just for the sake of having more books.







˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ 𐙚 ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ 𐙚 ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ 𐙚 ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖






⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡ |𝑃𝑟𝑒-𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑
⤿ happy release day!! 🥳 I love this series sooo much, i hope this book doesn't disappoint me🤞🏻💚





˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ 𐙚 ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ 𐙚 ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖ 𐙚 ˖ ݁𖥔 ݁˖



OMG I’M SHOCKED!! I’M SCREAMING. 😭😭

[Ashley (new account: neartothewildheart)]

dragging it

but i'll read it anyway

[asra⭑.ᐟ (hiatus)]

THE SCREAM I FRICKING SCRUMPT OH MY DAYS
I CANNOT WAIT HOLY SHIT

[zeinab]

i resurrected from my hiatus for this book. jlb i fricking love you.

[luna ♡]

I'M SCREAMING?!?! GAHHHHHHHHHH

[Saranya]

Pre-release:

HOLY MOLLY! This comes out on my birthday! Also, this is a sign for me not to procrastinate and start with book 2 ASAP.

[Joud {mh hiatus}{there's escape in escaping}]

#not - out - yet...

AAAHHHHH I LITERALLY CANNOT WAITT!!! I AM SOOOO EXCITEDDD!!! I'M IN LOVEEEEE!!!
I LOVE JLB SOOO MUCH AND I CAN'T BELIEVE THERE'S A NEW ADDITION TO THE SERIES!!! CASS, DEAN, SLOANE, MICHAEL AND LIA MATCHMAKING BRIGGS AND STERLING??! COME ON!!!!

[ellie]

luckiest fans alive i swear

[hads :]]

PRE-READ

OMFFFGGGGGGGGGGG HOW DID I JUST FIND TS OUT!!! LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[Amelia {semi-ai}⊹₊˚‧࿐ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This felt like homee I love this series w my whole heart🥹💞 And I finished it in like 6 hours too!

⋆˚࿔ 𝒑𝒓𝒆-𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 ｡𖦹°‧ ࣪
AHHHHHH YAYYYY I FINALLY HAVE THE BOOKKK!! I‘m sosoososo excited to finally read thisss🤭💞 I alr know this is gonna be sososoos gooddd🙂‍↕️💐

[sophia_thesecond (in my noah kahan era)]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OMGGGGGGGGGGGG

[caleigh]

jennifer lynn barnes write a new series challenge (impossible)

[juliette [beth mccarthy’s version][school ia]]

Update:
OK BUT THE COVER!!!!!!! THANK U G-D IT MATCHES THE SET I HAVEEEEE

Preread:
WHAT DO U MEAN MY ALL TIME FAVE SERIES IS ADDING A BOOK??????




what do u mean its lwk a Christmas romance 😭😭😭 as long as there’s an unsub tho…gah







ig…well…just…get…it…and…withhold…judgement…till…after…reading…it



The name tho 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ I cannot WAIT for the cover 🤭

[nadine]

screaming. crying. pre-ordering.

[annotated by Noi (in & out)]

I’m sorry?! What’s this??? I'm probably hallucinating as it's currently 4 AM

[Belle₊˚⊹♡ (for keeps ∞♡)]

🧩Prerelease:

OH WE ARE SO BACK. WE’RE GOING BACK TO MY ROOTS AND I CANNOT WAIT TO SEE MY FAM
AGAIN 😭✊🏼

[lili · Rating 5 out of 5]

what do you mean i’m already done with this book😭 i had the best time reading and couldn’t put it down, i hope we get more books after this one because i do believe this series could go on and on without any readers getting bored with it!!

i loved going back into this universe and seeing some of my favourite characters again, sloane is still the cutest girl in the world and i am so obsessed with her!!! cassie and laurel’s relationship was one of my favourite thing about this book and the christmas scene made me tear up i won’t lie :,) also cassiedean are still everything to me they are so perfect i love them!!!! so!!much!!!!!

i am so happy jlb decided to write a new book for this series and hopefully so many more!!!!!

[Essie ౨ৎ]

AAAAAAAAAAAH IM SO EXCITEDDDD dont let me down jennifer 🥺🥺🥺

[Lyla Joelle :) · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

This. Was. AMAZING!!

This is basically a five star—there was just one thing that took in down a .25…. (We’ll talk about that later)

*~Characters~*

Cassie: ahhhh I love her sooooo much. I can’t even describe it.

Dean: AHHHHH MY HUSBANDDDDD (he has upgraded to the husband level). I will say, I didn’t remember how quiet he is. Likeee I’m just saying, Cassie and Dean had their moments but they didn’t kiss…which made me sad. And they didn’t share there love for eachother in public/around the naturals besides a bit of hand holding.

Sloane: loved her! Like always.

Micheal: this guy 😂.

Sterling: I remember not liking her in the series but now I do!

Briggs: Ive always liked him—same goes with Judd.

Laurel: I loved her soooo much 🥹. She was funny, and…scary…

Nona: oh my goodness 😂 she was HILARIOUS! Perfect touch to the naturals!

Celine: I hated her…cus she was the reason this is a 4.75…

*~My thoughts~*

I mean, it’s the naturals—if I didn’t enjoy this, I think I would be worried about my mental health. I was absolutely hooked from the second I started reading this!

I did feel like there wasn’t much thrill. Like nobody died! I mean, I’m glad buttttt I needed some more murder mystery action 😭. Like there was only a few “You” chapters!

I did love the Briggs and Sterling parts tho—even if it took over the murder part.

*~Age rating~*

12+! More language then I remembered but it’s all mild. Then as I said, the main characters didn’t even kiss—but they do share a bed a few times, tho it’s just sleeping.

Now, I wasn’t aloud to read this book.

Well, I was, but then Celine and Sloane kissed.

And as a teen Christian, I don’t like to read gay/lgbtq characters or content in books—and this had a three scenes and a lot of mentions.

The first 100 pages were fine—though it’s obvious that Sloane has some sort of secret involving relationships. Then she comes into Cassie’s room and says that She and Celine kissed and then there was a scene right after that where and Cassie were talking about it—which I skipped. I was very scared I would have to stop reading this—but after talking to my mom and maybe or maybe not shedding some tears…she said unless it got worse, I could keep reading and to make sure I put this in my goodreads review 😂.

So I kept reading.

It was fine—it was very obvious that they had affection for eachother—and there was one or two lil mentions here and there but it wasn’t terrible.

Then under 50 pages left, they got dared to kiss eachother, then with like 10 pages left, they kissed again. Which, I only kept reading it cus there was only a small amount of the book left.

So, just as a warning to my fellow Christians, this does have lgbtq characters in it, so beware. (If you want page numbers lmk)

And because of it…this was probably my last Naturals book 😭.

*~Overall~*

Overall, this was amazing! I loved basically every second of it! Whether I recommend it or not is tricky, cus I recommend the WHOLE naturals series—but obviously the Celine and Sloane stuff…just read with caution.

This may have been my longest review ever, so thanks for reading! lol 😝.

*~Post Read~*

Im SOOOOOOO sad this has to come to an end.

RTC!

[Fernanda (ivyfer_isreading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parent trap but instead of kids it's traumatized, complicated and crime-solving young adults. Ah, there's also a side of murder solving to spice things up.

[Manahil Sultan]

MY LIFE IS OFFICIALLY COMPLETE.

[Temi 🧸 ✨⋆⭒˚.⋆. · Rating 4 out of 5]

forever my comfort series, that's family 🥹

[lana ౨ৎ ( semi ia )]

no fucking way omg i need this

[vivi]

pre-read:
IT'S OUT EVERYONE RUN

~ pre-release ~
there are no words to describe how excited i am for this.