Member Reviews

No spoilers from me! But know that this one has more than one twist! Jane, who self diagnosed herself as a sociopath, falls hard for Thalia when they meet on a bus to Oxford, where they're both in a graduate level writing program. Oxford is a turning point in both of their lives, one that lingers in Jane's mind even as she marries Ted and settles into life as a "mid-list" lit fic author. This moves back and forth between the Oxford days and the present when Jane travels from her home in Oakland to New York where Thalia, now a successful author, is appearing at a book convention. What happened at Oxford all those years ago? Where has Thalia been all this time? Sutanto wisely trickles out details but honestly, I never guessed the secrets. I really enjoyed the small Oxford details as well as the bits of insight into the publishing business. Sutanto's got mad storytelling skills that bring you into Jane's world, keep up the tension, and make you turn the pages. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Great read.

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I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I had no idea what to expect going into I’m Not Done With You Yet, but based on prior experience with Jesse Q. Sutanto’s work, as much as I enjoy the Aunties, I’ve generally enjoyed her darker thrillers than the works that were more comical in nature. And this just might be her best work to date in that vein. This strikes the perfect balance: it’s not lacking in humor, in fact it’s full of dry wit, but it’s also dark and dysfunctional in just the ways I love books like this to be.
The characters gripped me from the first pages, and I love how they’re both messed up to varying degrees, with them both being (or being perceived by themselves or others to be) sociopaths. There’s a bit more nuance to Jane’s character, with her even going on a journey of questioning her APD status, however, there’s no question she also has some antisocial and obsessive tendencies. Thalia, meanwhile, is like an onion that you keep unraveling and find more mess with each layer you peel back: she’s manipulative and calculating, and she’ll pretty much do anything to get her own way, even murder, and she seems to enjoy the fact that Jane is obsessed with her a little too much, using it to her advantage at several points, something which Jane only finds out later. But Jane is able to bounce back as well, and the two have a fascinating battle of wits.
The plot was compelling, and I enjoyed piecing things together from Jane’s perspective, while watching Thalia match her. Narratively, I love how the text also aided in the twist of who Thalia was, with some information being vaguely presented early on, but making more sense in context later when more is revealed.
However, like many thrillers, there’s a twist, and I loved this aspect the most. While the interplay between Jane and Thalia forms the primary part of the narrative, especially in terms of how Jane enables Thalia’s behavior, things take a turn as a certain secondary character begins to assert themselves more and more in the narrative, and proves a worthy conniving rival for Jane and Thalia. My jaw dropped when their actions were revealed, because they seemed fairly unassuming up to that point.
I loved this book, and would recommend it to lovers of psychological thrillers.

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Thank you to NetGalley, author Jesse Q. Sutanto, and Berkley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

This was wild!! I have been all about a good thriller lately, and I'm Not Done with You Yet definitely surprised me in many ways. I flew through this book and was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Sutanto wrote a truly gripping and engrossing read that was super fast-paced and kept me hooked in the whole time. Several times I thought I had something (or someone) figured out, I ended up being surprised. There were certain aspects about the book I didn't love quite as much, such as I felt it was almost a bit homophobic in ways? I didn't like how Jane kept saying that she wasn't into women. I also felt that the book was a bit messy and could use some better clarification and structure in certain parts. However, this book exceeded my expectations of wanting a juicy thriller, so I'm bumping it up to 4 stars from 3.5 because I truly did have a great time reading this!

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I received a gifted galley of I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET by Jesse Q. Sutanto – thank you to Berkley Publishing, PRH Audio and Netgalley for the opportunity to provide an honest review.

I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU YET follows Jane, a very unhappy young woman and a self-diagnosed sociopath. Once upon a time she was an aspiring writer, attending a Creative Writing program at Oxford. There she met Thalia, a woman who immediately draws the socially awkward Jane into her orbit. Everything was great until a horrifying event breaks them apart.

In the present Jane is married to a man she can’t stand and her writing is mid level at best. When she sees news about Thalia’s best seller online it sounds like it is written about their once upon friendship and Jane is determined to reconnect with her best friend.

I am continuously amazed at the variety that Jesse Q. Sutanto is able to write from sweet YA, to funny romcom, and then this… a very dark and twisty story! I was hooked right away and really pulled into Jane’s story. She is definitely socially awkward and the ‘not quite right’-ness she’s identified in herself definitely comes across well on the page. It was easy to see how she was pulled into Thalia’s sunny demeanor and why that relationship was something she grasped onto.

This is a story where I think you want to go in not knowing too much. I had a lot of fun going along with Jane and Thalia on this very twisty ride. This is a book that left me wanting more, but in the best possible way! It definitely is dark and the friendship would definitely qualify as toxic, but I had a fantastic time with it!
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“When did you first realize you’re not normal?” What an opening statement!!

“I think it’s next to impossible to exist in this world as someone who identifies as a woman and not be enraged time and again. This book is the result of all the anger and bitterness as the inequalities of our society.” This quote from the acknowledgments is 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

Told in multiple POVs and dual timelines, this book kept me on the edge of my seat! I couldn’t get through it fast enough. I had a hard time finding a likeable character, but that worked for me! I was messaging Jesse as I was reading saying how much fun it was to read the character Jane! She is… a lot!! 😂 Inside her mind is a mess and a treat, filthy, raunchy, witty, self deprecating. I imagine she was a blast to write! The untidy, unexpected ending just made it for me! I immediately messaged Jesse after I finished and then preordered this one! I need a copy for my shelf, I mean the cover 😍 It’s out August 22nd! Thank you @berkleypub for my gifted copy!

Thank you Laurie Elizabeth Flynn for encouraging this book!! Jesse was made to write psychological thrillers and we are all so lucky you pushed her to dive into the genre!!

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I loved this book so much. It was chilling and twisty and delicious. Highly recommend. Jesse Sutanto is so, so talented in how she can write in multiple genres!

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I really wanted to love this book but unfortunately, it was mediocre to me; I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. The book reminded me so much of Yellowface (which I just read and thought was fantastic!) but in reverse. The book was soapy but it dragged a bit. I really liked the premise but thought it could’ve been executed a bit better.

The book is told in multiple POVs and in dual timelines. What Jesse does well is that she made all of the main characters so unlikeable so it was really hard to determine who was good and who was bad. The book had a couple twists in there that I didn’t see coming so that was fun.

I’M NOT DONE WITH YOU releases on August 22. I highly encourage you to check out the book — perhaps you’ll enjoy it more than I did! 3.5⭐️

Thanks so much, @berkleypub and @prhaudio, for the #gifted book and complementary audiobook in exchange for my honest review!💕

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Fantastic! I liked the story so much. The writing was very smooth, the characters well defined and the storyline mesmerizing. Eeny meany-miney-mo, quess which is the psycho. My aunt was a psychologist for troubled teens and she told me once it terrified her how many budding psychopaths our society was birthing. That was 20 to 30 years ago. If you like thrillers and are looking to try a new author, I would highly recommend Jesse Sutanto.

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Interview with the author forthcoming from Kirkus / August edition

This novel is a fun and twisty thriller about the publishing world. It’s exciting to see Jesse Sutanto’s entree into women-driven thrillers

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I’m Not Done with You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto is a stand-alone suspense thriller. I have read and enjoyed all of Jessie Q. Sutanto’s books. I did read this new book, with some mixed feelings, which I will detail later in this review. The story revolves around Jane Morgan, who has always considered herself as a sociopath, even in her early years as a child, with a mother who treated her badly. The story switches back and forth in the current time, where she is a struggling novelist and married; and in the past (9 years earlier) when she attended Creative Writing classes at Oxford.

It is at Oxford, where Jane meets Thalia, who in a very short time, finds herself totally obsessed with her. Thalia befriends the quiet dark Jane, as well as everyone at the school who adored Thalia. Thalia was everything Jane admired, beautiful, charismatic and self-confident; something Jane lacked, always always angry at others. We also meet Ani, who also becomes close friends with Thalia, most to Jane’s annoyance. Jane loved her time at Oxford, with Thalia; until one night when Jane helped Thalia out of a terrible incident, and she has never seen Thalia again until the present time, nine years later.

Jane’s marriage to her husband, Ted, she is not happy, as he is irritating, and she feels trapped; as well as struggling. with the budget. Jane has written two novels, which were not very successful. She sees an advertisement of a New York convention, showcasing the author, Thalia Ashcroft, with a new bestseller. Jane is determined to reconnect at convention in NYC, and will stop at nothing to attend, the SusPensCon event. When Jane was at the University at Oxford, she had the magic touch to write stories, and she wanted to get those vibes back when she met Thalia again.

When Jane manages to push her way into seeing Thalia again, everything changes; as Thalia welcomes her; including Thalia’s sister-in-law, Ani. But things are not what it seems. I’m Not Done with You Yet turns into a twisty cat/mouse plot, with dark twists, shenanigans, that keep you guessing until the end. My mixed feelings revolve around the lead characters, especially Jane, who for most of the book, I frankly did not like; and I also felt the first half did drag a bit.

I’m Not Done with You Yet was an interesting story line, that picked up in the last third of the book, being fast paced and exciting, with some major twists. I am a fan of Jesse Q. Sutanto, but where her other books were fun & entertaining, this one was more of a thriller.

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Psychological thrillers aren't always my cup of tea, but I'm glad I took a chance on this one. (I'm also a sucker for anything set in the publishing world.) Plenty of twists and drama kept me turning pages late into the night. This is very different from Dial A for Aunties and I'm super impressed with Sutanto's range! I'll definitely be recommending this. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

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Give me a book with a sociopath as one of the main characters and I’m all in, there’s something about a character that just owns who they are, even if it’s dark and disturbed that just really works for me. This book flips back and forth between present day and nine years ago when Jane and Thalia first meet. I get annoyed when there’s some big secret from the past timeline sometimes, especially when the author draws it out to the point of torture but that didn’t happen here which was so refreshing. You find out at an appropriate time what happened in the past and then the story really began to move along at a rapid pace for the remainder of the book. I really liked the direction the author took and was surprised at many of the twists, super solid and well executed. If you like thrillers with unlikable and dark characters with interesting plots try this I had a lot of fun with it.

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This book had a Fatal Attraction/ You feel to it, but at times I felt like Jane’s obsession with Thalia was a little too over the top. I also felt the beginning lagged a bit as it was setting things up.

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Jesse Q. Sutanto!!!! The genre queen!!! She stole my heart with Vera Wong and left me mind blown with Jane & Thalia. This is a twisty cat and mouse game that leaves you feeling one way and then changing your perspective a second later to then change it back to what you were originally thinking.

She nailed what I am coming to love in thrillers that are releasing which is the obsession trope. With dashes of toxic friendship, mental health and a career in publishing/books. I loved the dual timeline of Jane and Thalia friendship beginning to the present day. It had good pacing and the end snuck up on me quickly!

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I feel like there’s not a lot I can say without either misleading people or giving things away. There are some pretty wild twists, including one that took the story I thought I’d been reading and turned it on its head and made me re-evaluate everything I’d read up to that point. I was feeling so-so about the book up until that point – Jane's narration made me uneasy – but from that point on I loved it, so if you’re on the fence about it I can recommend sticking with it until part 3. The book also provides an interesting exploration of sociopathy, obsession, and toxic friendship. I will say that if you don’t like books with an unlikeable narrator/main character, this is not the book for you. This story is rife with them.

4.5 stars, rounded down to 4.

Representation: POC characters, characters with mental illness

CW: Toxic friendship, obsessive and psychopathic first-person narration

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Sociopath: a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience.
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Jane Morgan is living a lackluster life with her boring husband and her mediocre writer career. When she sees a NYTimes article about her best friend from college coming out with a new book based on their friendship, it sparks something in her she hasn’t felt since Thalia disappeared from her life years ago. All Jane wants to do now is find Thalia and be around her again, but, like in college, a death ruins everything Jane has planned. All she wants to do is be the best friend she can to Thalia…can’t she see that?
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Wow. I’ve loved @jesseqsutanto since I read Dial A For Aunties (my favorite cozy mystery ever) and I also adore her YA books as well, but this adult thriller was not only a new genre for her, it’s actually bumped up to my favorite of Sutanto’s. It kept me guessing and on the edge of my seat the whole time. Did I want to stay up late to finish & see how it ends? No, I HAD to. This is sure to be a hit when it releases August 22!

CW: death, murder, misogyny, physical assault, blood, prison

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This one is told in dual timeline, which I think added to the storyline.

Jane and Thalia met nine years ago while attending a Masters program in writing at Oxford. Their friendship was fast and very intense. It's alluded that something happened, although we don't know what, but they haven't seen each other since then. We are taking along on that timeline.

Currently Jane is married to Ted, but it appears to be a strange relationship. Jane is a struggling author. She stumbles upon the fact that Thalia is now a NY Times best selling author and her book appears to be based on their story.

Jane finds that Thalia will be at a Con in NY soon and decides she is going. And then the story really takes off.

I wasn't sure what to believe in a lot of this one and the twists were wild!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for allowing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jesse Q. Durango is really out here just trying to corner every aspect of the mystery/thriller genre and I am here for it. This dip into suspense, while vastly different from Dial A for Aunties or Vera Wong, is still a wild, exhilarating, fun ride. I love books that make me go “oh! Of course!” when I figure something out, and I had that a couple of times in this book. And the characters weee just so delightfully twisted. A nice, quick, thrilling read.

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I'm giving this three stars, even though I DNF it. It is probably a good book, just not one for me. The book revolves around Jane, who is a sociopath. She is married, but her husband is portrayed as controlling and manipulative (but since the narrator is unreliable, who knows?). She is in love (still) with Thalia, who was in her creative writing master's program many years ago. She decides she'll get to New York to see her at a conference, no matter what she has to do.

I love Sutanto's other books, but this was just too dark for me. I like my books to convey some sort of hope, and this one just depressed me.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.

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I love the title and the cover of I’m Not Done With You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto. That’s what grabbed my attention in the first place!

This book centers around the toxic friendship of Jane and Thalia, who were close friends back at Oxford. The problem now, many years later, is that Thalia is a famous writer and Jane is an author who is struggling. This is a dual timeline of the women’s friendship in their university days and the current day.

Jane is unhappy. A struggling midlist writer whose novels barely command four figures, she feels trapped in an underwhelming marriage, just scraping by to pay a crippling Bay Area mortgage for a house—a life—she’s never really wanted.

There’s only ever been one person she cared about, one person who truly understood her: Thalia. Jane’s best and only friend nearly a decade ago during their Creative Writing days at Oxford. It was the only good year of Jane’s life—cobblestones and books and damp English air, heady wine and sweet cider and Thalia, endless Thalia. But then one night ruined everything. The blood-soaked night that should have bound Thalia to Jane forever but instead made her lose her completely. Thalia disappeared without a trace, and Jane has been unable to find her since.

Until now. Because there she is, her name at the top of the New York Times bestseller list: A Most Pleasant Death by Thalia Ashcroft. When she discovers a post from Thalia on her website about attending a book convention in New York City in a week—“Can’t wait to see you there!”—Jane can’t wait either.

She’ll go to New York City, too, credit card bill be damned. And this time, she will do things right. Jane won’t lose Thalia again.

A twisty, dark novel that is out on August 22!

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