When CASSIDY, recovering from a recent breakup, moves to LA, her friend, LEXIE uses her connections to help Cassidy land a dream job working as an assistant to a famous Hollywood couple, NATE and MARISOL STERLING.

With short hours, fantastic designer clothes, and access to the pool, Cassidy is in heaven, and she quickly becomes involved with the couple, learning all of their secrets, and even witnessing (i.e. spying on) their heated arguments and passionate makeups.

As Marisol becomes increasingly busy with her acting career, Cassidy often finds herself alone with handsome Nate. Soon she feels an overwhelming attraction to him. But when one of the couple is suddenly murdered, Cassidy becomes the number one suspect.

This character-driven psychological drama is a slow-burn, which builds in intensity. The story is told from Cassidy’s point of view, with dual timelines: the present and a few weeks in the future. While the reader is aware early on that there is a murder, the murder and victim are not revealed until very near the ending, at which point the action moves to a very swift conclusion.

I did enjoy this story and I remained engaged throughout. However, I will say that the overuse of the f-word detracted from my enjoyment. There were also several steamy scenes, which I don’t 𝙪𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 like to see in my thrillers, but they did seem to be necessary in this particular story! The conclusion came as a surprise.

I think May Cobb might just not be for me. I LOVED her first book, but her follow ups have fallen a bit flat. This one definitely built up the tension and suspense, but the whole plot happened in the last 20% of the book. Unfortunately, it just has not lived up to the hype which was Cobb's first thriller, which I will continue to recommend and love.

This is a spicy guilty pleasure of a thriller incorporating all the toxic relationship triangle vibes with a bit of stalker qualities and some fun twists! Cassidy takes a leap from Texas to Hollywood when her BFF lands her a personal assistant job for a celebrity couple. She finds her smack dab in the middle of some hot mess crazy that is definitely Hollywood style. It’s a fun twisty thriller with a murder at the center and lots of cray cray drama going on and I was there for it page by page! Definitely an entertaining and steamy read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own. @BerkleyPub @BerkleyRomance #BerkleyPartner #Berkley #BerkleyBookstagram #BerkleyBookTok

This was a super fast-paced book. I finished it in under two days. With that being said, I think The Hunting Wives is still my favorite May Cobb novel. I do think that this would also make a good movie or mini series adaption.

This was a fabulously juicy beach read and I think that May Cobb is a very underated author.


Many Thanks again to NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Cassidy is getting over a heartbreak, living in Texas when her friend sets her up with a job in LA as a personal assistant to two big Hollywood stars so she can get a fresh start away from heartbreak. Once she arrives, she is greeted by Marisol and Nate Sterling and begins her new job. Marisol is beautiful and bubbly and so nice to Cassidy and Cassidy is smitten with Nate. Soon, Marisol ends up bonding with Nate over reviewing scripts when he asks her for a favor - to spy on his wife. Things turn crazy from then on.

This one is hard for me to review. I'm not sure if July has just been too busy or what but it took me a long time to read this one. It has an interesting plot and I wanted to know what happened but it was a slow burn and I didn't particularly like Cassidy. A few of the twists were unexpected but I'm not sure how much I liked them and the ending left me a tad bit confused. It was entertaining and I could see this being made into a movie!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own. 3.5 rounded up

This is one of my favorite book covers for 2024! I love May Cobb and couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of her newest release.

THE HOLLYWOOD ASSISTANT falls very middle of the pack in terms of thrillers that I've read so far this year. I enjoyed it, but there were some things that held me back from loving it. This story felt similar to some others that I've read, so it was a little predictable. This was a quick read that I finished in less than 2 days. I really liked the ending and didn't see it coming!

4.25/5 - rounded down

Thank you Berkley Pub for the advanced reading copy!

SYNOPSIS -- Cassidy Foster is desperate to start fresh and, when given an opportunity to do that in LA, she takes it. As assistant to the Hollywood couple Marisol and Nate Sterling, Cassidy settles in quickly to her new job and the perks, including time by the pool and Nate's willingness to let Cassidy read scripts for him. As an aspiring writer, she's thrilled to be given this insight into Nate's career and get her foot in the door... not to mention Nate is sexy and enticing, blurring the lines for Cassidy even further. As she learns more and finds out that the Sterlings might not be as perfect as they seem, Cassidy becomes an easy suspect when one of the Sterlings is found dead, and she's determined to figure out what really happened.

This was the perfect, salacious, summer thriller, right from the start! Almost gave me Verity vibes at times, and I was so here for that! This book certainly didn't feel like some-400 pages; it went so quick and I absolutely devoured it. I ended up listening to the majority of this one on audio, simply because I couldn't be bothered to put down the story when I couldn't sit and read anymore -- that's how you know it's great, and the narrator did a phenomenal job. There were some great twists throughout the book, and surprises at every turn. Every character was infuriating in their own way, and as I kept reading I grew more and more suspicious of each of them for different reasons. This book was reminiscent of a few others - IYKYK - but with shocking revelations that made it unique. Honestly, perfect if you're looking for a quick summer read that will take your breath away!

Hello to a must read author! Cobb once again brings some juicy goodness to a delightful thriller. It has celebrities, obsession, affairs and so much more. Yes please.

Oh how I love to get lost in a MAY COBB book & THE HOLLYWOOD ASSISTANT was square in my dark + messed-up sweet spot.

There’s something so wonderful about a book being the exact right book you needed in the moment. I tore through this one, finishing the last 100+ pages in one page-turning sitting.

We meet Cassidy, fresh off her move from Austin to LA, as she’s starting her new job as the Personal Assistant to Hollywood director Nate Sterling and his model-turned-actress wife Marisol. Cassidy is getting paid a lot of money to spend her days making trips to the grocery store, picking up scripts for Nate and reorganizing Marisol’s designer-filled closet.

She’s quickly welcomed into their lives, sharing dinners and drinks, swims in the pool and becoming a confidant. When Nate learns Cassidy’s a writer he asks her to do coverage for his scripts - read them and provide a summary. She’s thrilled at the opportunity, hoping it will take her one step closer to her dream career.

But the glamour and glitz of Hollywood are just a facade for secrets, lies, deceptions and dangerously alluring offers. Cassidy finds herself drawn into the Sterlings’ world and has to ask herself — How far she is willing to go to get what she wants?

The book centers around very tight cast which made for such an intimate experience. At times I almost felt like I was eavesdropping on their conversations, peering through the bushes and getting a behind the curtain look into the life of this Hollywood couple.

I love a rich people behaving badly story. MAY COBB delivers another twisty mystery and adds some more sultry scenes with a noir vibe. The setting is perfectly painted (I’ve never been…but now I feel like I have). And as always there something I unexpectedly wholeheartedly connected to — this time it was HS bonfire parties in the woods.

MAY COBB is the perfect writer if you’re looking for a bingeable read, with delicious characters and plots that will twist you and keep you on your toes.

In The Hollywood Assistant, a recent transplant from Texas gets a job as an assistant to an actress and her producer husband and is quickly immersed in their lives full of secrets and deceptions. This was such a fun, juicy book. I loved the way it slowly unfolded but the entire time, it was clear something terrible was going on and the assistant was going to be caught in the middle. The kind of book where bad decisions are made but you need them to be made for the mess to continue. I also loved all of the LA references, especially since most of it took place not too far from where I live. It was a really fun, fast-paced page turner of a summer read.

I have been looking forward to reading this book for awhile now and I finally got to read it and let me just say, I haven't read a thriller that quick in a long time. This book was awesome and it was a super fast paced. First things first, the short chapters which was a plus! Then just the whole story outline was well written and kept you wanting more. I was so curious about what was going to happen with Cassidy,Nate and Marisol. The story had so much mystery behind it and you never knew what was going to happen next. Then of course the twist, oh that twist I did not see coming!!

Def a great way to end it and I hope everyone gets the chance to read this one soon!

May Cobb is a reliably great author who is skilled at writing a twisty and suspenseful thriller, and a writer who is having her stories adapted to the screen. I liked A Likeable Woman very much, and I am going to read Hunting Wives this summer.

My problem with this particular book was the unlikeable characters. I have had this issue before with Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, so am I supposed to rate the book on its skillful storytelling and leave out my disdain for the unreliable narrator fueled by drinking who has a somewhat questionable or sordid history? I am new at this, so forgive me if I cannot consider that this is one of my least enjoyed tropes. I probably will continue to read all the stories with this trope anyway. I can’t seem to avoid it.
Writing and plot get a 4.5, and overall due to my dislike of the unreliable narrator- 3.75/5 overall for my reading. I should say it takes so much skill as an author to make me despise someone so thoroughly.

I did really love the ending of this one, it was so satisfying.

Readalikes: Girl On a Train, Woman In The Window, Woman In Cabin 10
#newbooks #arcreading #bookstagram #bookreviews #thrillerbooks #suspensebooks #unreliablenarrator

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rounded up

Cassidy is feeling stuck in life. So when her best friend, Lexie, is able to use her connections and get her a job as an assistant to Hollywood couple Nate and Marisol Sterling, she jumps at the chance. At first she is wooed by the great pay and free clothes, but things get even better when Nate starts paying extra for her to read some scripts. But as time passes she starts to fall for Nate, and then realizes there were deeper reasons for why she was hired.

This is the third book I have read by this author and it was definitely my favorite. While some of the twists felt a little farfetched, I thought it was a fun story and the perfect read to get me through a six hour flight.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Hollywood Assistant follows Cassidy Foster, a twenty-something, who snags a job as a personal assistant for Hollywood producer, Nate, and Marisol, his model/actress wife. But the facade of a seemingly perfect relationship is shattered when one of them ends up dead and Cassidy is the prime suspect.

This was a fairly predictable read, albeit a light and fun, popcorn thriller. The MC, who happened to be a very unreliable narrator, was beyond cringe, and I felt so much secondhand embarrassment for her. That aspect also added to the entertainment because I was waiting to see what other outlandish and poorly executed plan she would try next. Overall, I enjoyed this book. However, I would have preferred if there wasn't a twist after the twist as it felt unnecessary.

A desperate woman becomes a personal assistant for a hot Hollywood couple and it seems that they are trying to use her as a pawn in their dysfunctional relationship. She gets way too invested. I was told that this was a sexy book that included a threesome. Fake news. May Cobb does shocking summer fun in an over to top way (Hunting Wives, Summer Darlings), but this one was just a snooze.

When Cassidy moves to Hollywood to become an assistant for a famous director and his model/actress wife, she feels like she’s hit the jackpot. But as time goes on, lines get blurry, relationships get complex, and secrets become uncovered. May Cobb is the queen of writing suspenseful stories with unreliable narrators, and even though I know that, I wasn’t expecting some of the twists and turns along the way. I could not put this book down, it read like a soap opera with all of the Hollywood drama and every time I thought I knew what was coming, there was a new twist or a new layer that I wasn’t expecting. With all of May’s books, I feel it's best to go in blind to get the full impact. Just be ready, you won’t want to put this one down.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Mystery • Thriller • Crime Fiction
Forbidden Relationship • Obsession
Published • 9 July 2024

Thank you to @berkleypub for the free book!

Happy Thriller Thursday. I am officially in my thriller era. I tore through my first May Cobb book in a buddy read with @bookinonthe_dl

Unassuming Cassidy Foster is fleeing a bad breakup when she lands a gig as personal assistant to one of Hollywood’s private power couples. Marisol Sterling, burgeoning Latina bombshell and wife to Nate Sterling, quickly befriends Cassidy. Disturbingly, Cassidy also finds herself in a fatal attraction situationship with Nate - her very married employer. Before long Cassidy is in the middle of the crosshairs in a compromising position — all innuendos intended. Will she be going down for murder? Everyone has secrets...

This would be a great poolside read. A fast-paced page turner where you can’t look away from the train wreck. I’m interested to read The Hunting Wives next to see how it compares.

Read if you enjoy: voyeurs, stalkers, scandals, romance subplot, lifestyles of the rich and famous, obsessive behavior, unreliable characters, shocking twists.

THE HOLLYWOOD ASSISTANT a totally unhinged thriller and I loved it!

Cassidy leaves her life behind in Austin, Texas, for a fresh start in California. She has been hired as a by The Sterlings, a Hollywood power couple. Marisol Sterling needs a personal assistant and Cassidy is ready for a change.

She starts off as an assistant but soon Nate Sterling, a director, asks her to start reading scripts and summarizing them for him. She loves the extra work and shines in her new role.

But all is not as it seems behind the glittery facade of the Sterlings’ marriage and soon Cassidy doesn’t know who she can really trust. Everyone seems untrustworthy! And soon it becomes clear that even Cassidy herself is an unreliable narrator.

This is book very much like Freida McFadden’s writing style and pacing, so to me, it’s a great summer read. It’s an unhinged, wild ride that will have you guessing all the way to the end!

Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Short synopsis: Cassidy is hired as a personal assistant for two affluential people in Hollywood.

My thoughts: This was such a fun bingeable story! I love a book with a celebrity, and this was a bit different because we get the POV of the personal assistant. It was fun to see their world through her perspective.

Cassidy was a bit socially awkward, especially around the gorgeous and wealthy Sterlings. And the Sterlings, well they are a bit whacko, but they throw money at her like it’s confetti so I don’t blame her staying around.

I did have a couple guesses as to what the ending might be, and while I was somewhat right watching it unfold was so much fun. And the couple of flashback moments kept me completely enthralled in the story.

Read if you love:
- Juicy domestic suspense
- Celebrity assistants
- LA Setting
- Spying and secrets
- Film industry

When I read the synopsis for The Hollywood Assistant by May Cobb, I knew I had to get my hands on it and I read it while on a trip recently. I always love the story of an assistant who either sees something she/he shouldn’t or becomes involved in something, or in this case, gets tangled up with a famous couple.

Cassidy Foster is heartbroken, stuck in life, and getting a little too obsessed with plants. Then when a well-connected friend becomes sick of Cassidy’s moping and gets her a gig with a famous Hollywood couple, Marisol and Nate Sterling, Cassidy jumps at the chance to move to sunny LA.

The Sterlings are warm and welcoming. A perfect couple. All Cassidy has to do is be available a few hours a week for errands. In return, she has access to luxury: Designer clothes. A sparkling pool. Great pay.

When Nate takes interest in her, asking her to read scripts he’s written, Cassidy thinks this could be the key to kick-starting her writing dreams. As their business relationship grows, so does their attraction. Nate is sexy and talented, and Cassidy can’t believe her luck. Clearly, Marisol doesn’t know what she has. Maybe that’s why the two are always fighting when they think Cassidy isn’t around.

But Cassidy learns she was hired for a different purpose. The Sterlings aren’t the perfect couple. Marisol isn’t the perfect wife. And when one of them is found dead, Cassidy becomes the perfect suspect.