Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The premise of the book drew me in but once I started reading it, I just couldn’t get into it at all.

I enjoyed reading this novel. April and Essie are both working behind the scenes on a television show. They have a falling out in their friendship and do not see each other in many years. Essie goes on to become famous as a television host and April set out to make independent films. When Essie is caught on tape and becomes cancelled April offers her a chance to star in her new film. The novel explores all the ways we treat celebrities and fame and how women are treated differently. There are lots of twists and turns as secrets are exposed. Enjoy

I enjoyed the beginning of this book, but felt like it was a bit too long so struggled to finish it.
I do like the authors writing style so will try another book someday.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC

Helen Monks Takhar, you speak my love language and I will forever be a huge fan of yours.

You also have a pretty fun last name to say 🙃

I’ve read every thriller imaginable. The cheating husband, the evil children, the woman plagued with amnesia……..but nothing and I tell you nothing has ever been written like Nothing Without Me, to date .

Nothing Without Me, is completely original to anything I have ever read and has left me transfixed on what this book just put me through. I might just have to read it again to make sure I did not miss anything .

I’m left with a massive book hangover and can not stop thinking about this book!!!

Takhar, is in the big leagues when it comes to skill and execution of the perfect book.

If you are looking for a book to blow your mind and satisfy your every bookish need, look no further, Nothing Without Me, will quench your ever loving murderous need .

Check out this teaser :

Fame is a deadly game. . . .

April Eden is about to have the night of her life. After years struggling uphill as a female director, her debut movie The Vanished Woman is up for a major British film award, placing her firmly on Hollywood’s radar. Her leading lady, Essie Lay—a fragile but magnetic former TV host—is on the cusp of a stunning comeback after being canceled for a disturbing scandal.

When Essie messages April saying she can’t face the ceremony, April heads to Essie’s palatial London mansion, Lotus Lodge, to convince her to enjoy their big night together. But upon arriving, April is faced with tragedy: Essie’s body is floating in her swimming pool, all signs pointing to suicide. Panicked, April activates Essie’s team—her put-upon sister/manager, Janine, and her wily agent, Jonathan—expecting them to do damage control while she heads to the awards ceremony; she’s devastated yet determined to do what she can to protect Essie’s legacy.

But by the time April returns to Lotus Lodge to face the fallout, Essie’s body has vanished. Was Essie actually murdered? Is this an elaborate hoax or publicity stunt gone wrong? And why does April start receiving unsettling messages, trying to pin the blame on her?

Taut, twisty, and deliciously page-turning, Nothing Without Me examines the high price of female fame, how far some will go to climb the slippery ladder of celebrity, and the unbearable pressure of being the woman everyone wants to be.

I decided to DNF this book halfway through. I just struggled to connect with the characters and the choices that were made.

I found this to be a bit long, though it was an interesting story. April and Essie have known each other for many years, friends of a sort, April is a film writer/director and cast Essie, who's career had derailed, as the leading lady. The film is up for a major award and before April goes to the award show she gets a frantic call from Essie, April and her boyfriend go to Essie's house and find her dead in the pool. The story goes back in time to cover the events leading up to that night. It's all very well told, the expectations from Essie's father that she succeed in acting puts undo pressure on her. This was a good depiction of two women who would do anything to succeed, I enjoyed the story just wish it wasn't quite as long. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Randomhouse for the ARC.

An enjoyable graphic novel. The mental health representation was excellent and the story was interesting. The best part was the illustrations.

Nothing Without Me by Helen Monks Takhar is a clever slow burn mystery!
A fantastic story, exhilarating plot with well developed characters.
This book is filled with mystery, suspense and shocking moments.

Thank You NetGalley and Random House for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I dislike pretty much every single character in this book. I don't think I'm supposed to like any of the characters but I really did not like them.

This book was okay it was a very slow burn and it took a little while for it to get interesting for me. (I also hated the app that I had to read this in but that's not the book's fault) I understand the author wanted to give us some backstory in the beginning but I kept wanting to get into the real story and Essies's body doesn't disappear until about a quarter way through the book. Then it still took a little while for me to get fully invested.

I did still enjoy the book overall though.

Essie’s body has vanished. Is this an elaborate hoax or publicity stunt gone wrong? Essie is an actress who is on again off again friends with April, a debut director. Their relationship is told in fragments from both the past and the present, and by both Essie and April's POV. This makes for a lot of jumping around in their complicated history and I admit I had a hard time connecting to the story until I hit the halfway point, at which point I couldn't put the book down. April comes across as both highly intelligent and incredibly gullible and I had a hard time believing she would not call 911 when she finds Essie's body in the pool. She exhibits more questionable behavior when it is discovered that Essie's dead body is nowhere to be found. Eventually the history between April and Essie is revealed, along with a plot twist I found even more unbelievable than April's behavior, that actually brings about an incredibly empowering end to the book that I rather enjoyed. Surprisingly. For this I'm giving the book 3 stars. Helen's writing style flows nicely and is easy to read and I would be interested in reading any future work of hers.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very slow book to get into for me. I don’t know why, but I found it hard to follow at first. Maybe it was the characters having similar names, or just the different POVs and timelines.
Anyway, took me a second to get into but I feel like once I hit around page 200, I gained some traction and took off. I enjoyed it in the end. I felt like it was a slow burn, and then it ended rather abruptly though.
It was an interested and confusing ride.
April is a producer and has a new film that’s sure to win all of the awards stating, Essie Lay. Coming back from a hiatus due to being canceled, Essie is ready for her return to stardom. Or is she? When April finds Essie dead in her pool on premiere night what on earth will happen next?
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

An enjoyable read that delves into the dark side of celebrity. The plot was clever with realistic and flawed characters.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This story took me on an unexpected ride, because not only does the plot hold many twists, but it also made me think about the differences in how men and women are treated by society (especially celebrities), and how they treat/support each other. Told from the perspectives of director April Eden and the star of her debut film, Essie Lay. The two women knew each other years ago when they were both starting out in the industry, before Essie made a name for herself as TV host, but after an incident that is not revealed until later in the book, they never see each other again until April reaches out to recently disgraced and "cancelled" star, wanting to convince Essie to star in the film that April feels she wrote "for" her former friend. The story moves between multiple timelines in the distant and more recent past, as well as the present, which starts the night of the British film awards at which the two women have been nominated for best actress and best director. April and her boyfriend go to Essie's house to check on her before the ceremony after Essie sends April a message that she can't face the ceremony, only to find April floating in her pool. April is devastated, but her boyfriend convinces her to leave Essie for someone else to find and to continue to the awards ceremony --to not let this spoil the night. Thus begins a well-paced story full of surprises, which I won't give away by saying anything more!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this read. This was a good read. The cost of fame...just wow is what I say to this. This was told in present day and as well as several years prior and it was well done. The cost to get what you want was really shown in this book. Are you willing to risk it all??

This is a dark suspenseful story that is fast paced and well-written. The ending was good. I would recommend this! Special Thank you to Random House Publishing, Helen Monks Takhar and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy prior to publication in exchange for an honest review.

April Eden, after years of struggling as a female director, is finally getting her due. Her debut movie The Vanished Woman is up for a major British film award, placing her firmly on Hollywood’s radar, and her leading lady, Essie Lay—a fragile but magnetic former TV host—is on the cusp of a stunning comeback as well. However, the night of award presentation, Essie messages April saying she can’t face the ceremony. April heads to Essie's house to try to convince her to go, but is shocked to discover Essie's body floating facedown in her pool, all signs pointing to suicide. April panics and leaves, planning to go to the ceremony and act as if Essie was just unable to attend, and then "find" the dead body the next day. However, when she goes back the next day, there is no body......Essie has disappeared. April doesn't know whether Essie was actually murdered, if this was a publicity stunt gone wrong, or what exactly is happening. And why is she receiving messages that are trying to make her look guilty?

I really enjoyed this author's previous book "Such a Good Mother", so I was excited for this newest book. Unfortunately this one was not for me. It was a slow burn for the entire book, and I just could not relate to any of the characters. None of the characters were likeable, and that is always a deal breaker for me....I always need someone to root for. Overall, I give this a 2.5 rounded up to a 3.

Wow. So much happens in this book. I guess I would have to say the overwhelming theme is women empowerment. A lot of twists/reveals. Some I sort of guessed but not completely. I enjoyed this book a lot more than her last one.

Confusing. Chaotic. Convoluted. I think this was supposed to be some kind of revenge fantasy novel or an expose on how women are treated in Hollywood or by the media, but it was such a mess, I'm not even sure what I read. Lots of internal dialogue, lots of loose ends, and lots of unrealistic actions by the characters. It was ridiculous that one of the "mysteries" was an anonymous note to Essie signed by "J" and literally every single person in her life other than April had a name that started with J. And then, in the end, it didn't even matter. It was also never explained why either Essie's or April's families treated them the way that they did. I think April's family cut her off simply because she was a girl instead of a boy?? I thought there would be some big reveal about why, but no, another loose end. Also, in three or four instances, the author describes a man's lips as "muscular"? Ew. And then the ending was completely over the top and unbelievable.

This was my first from this author and it was a pretty fun read. The story is set in the glitz and glamorous world of the movie industry. April is a struggling director who has FINALLY gotten her big break with The Vanished Woman. The movie is up for both Best Director and Best Actress. The actress being Essie Lay, a former TV star who was cancelled due to a scandal of some sort. She is on the verge of her big comeback if April can keep her in line. April's work is cut out for her when she arrives at Essie's mansion and finds her floating in her pool. What the heck happened? Suicide? Accident? Murder? Publicity Stunt? Sort of hard to figure out because the body disappears! Soon April becomes a suspect, and the craziness begins. This is a dark, crazy sort of thriller where it can get pretty unbelievable, but just ignore that. I had fun and that's what reading should be for me. I would read more from this author, Helen Monks Takhar

Thank you to #NetGalley, Helen Monks Takhar and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC. All Opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Instagram and other retail and social media sites upon publication.

Nothing Without Me
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Helen Monks Takhar

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Random House Publishing and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: April Eden is about to have the night of her life. Her debut movie, The Vanished Woman, is up for a major British film award, placing her firmly on Hollywood’s radar. Her leading lady, Essie Lay—a fragile but magnetic former TV host—is on the cusp of a stunning comeback after being canceled for a disturbing scandal.

When Essie texts April saying she can’t face the ceremony, April heads to Essie’s palatial London mansion, Lotus Lodge, to persuade her to enjoy their big night together. But upon arrival, April is faced with tragedy: The woman's body is floating in the swimming pool, all signs pointing to suicide. Panicked, April activates Essie’s team expecting them to do damage control while she heads to the awards ceremony. She’s devastated yet determined to do what she can to protect Essie’s legacy.

But by the time April returns to Lotus Lodge to face the fallout, Essie’s body has vanished. Was she actually murdered? Is this an elaborate hoax or a publicity stunt gone wrong? Why does April start receiving unsettling messages trying to pin the blame on her?

My Thoughts: This story was not like one I have read recently. It discusses some ugly truths in today’s society. Women writing movies in a man dominated field with the rules dictated by men. Social bullying that can ruin life’s, or at a minimum, severely impact a person’s life. Lastly, how ugly and out of mind fame truly is. The author delves into this topics with a no holds barred approach, in a realistic and authentic approach with a dark and disturbing twist. Essie comes from a wealthy family with all of the support, where April is estranged from her family. April is envious of Essie and wiggles her way into her life until an incident places a wedge between them. Fast forward two decades and a viral video has destroyed Essie’s reputation and April asks her to star in her debut movie. Movie is finished and it is opening night. April receives a cryptic text that Essie will not be at the award ceremony. Upon arriving at her mansion, she finds Essie floating in pool with signs of a suicide. April panics contacting Essie’s team and expecting they would do damage control while she is at the opening. Yet, when April returns, the body has disappeared. Here is where the mystery starts, what happened to Essie?

The story is narrated in the present time and backtracks to the past, when our MCs originally met. The relationship between the two main characters is toxic, definitely unusual, which kept me intrigued, and interested. The author’s writing style was suspenseful, thought provoking, and provided an intriguing account of an industry that is male dominated and absolutely takes women for granted. There was some stretching of the characters and the ending that I could not get invested in. However, overall, an enjoyable read. Our characters endure far more than they should, the price women pay to be in the film industry is extraordinary. The lies, betrayal, gaslighting, and being exploited at a high cost to a personal mental stability is beyond measure. When the truth emerges, it made me both sad and angry at the same time.

This is definitely a slow burn thriller that is captivating and gripping. I would recommend picking up or borrowing from your library today.