First thank you to Berkeley and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5 stars

Synopsis: Cassidy recently moved to LA and got a job as a personal assistant to a power couple. As she takes on more responsibility, the husband gives her more attention in more ways than one. When one of them is found dead, she becomes the prime suspect but did she do it?

What I liked: this is a great thriller I loved the Hollywood setting and the power couple. Cassidy is a fish out of water figuring out Hollywood and what is acceptable. Nate and marisol the couple she works for are able to use her newness to their advantage several times. Her best friend Lexi is out of town so she has to learn by herself. It has plenty of twists and turns that made you say what and judge what happen. This is exactly what I want to read in the summer. Great setting and characters.

May Cobb's delicious brand of unputdownable thrillers strikes again! Page after page the story weaves in the exact opposite direction you were anticipating, resulting in the finale I had to reread to make sure I was seeing the correct things! This has all the glitz of Hollywood but with Cobb's southern charm from her previous works.

This book was crazy town. I mean that is what Hollywood is, right? Beneath the glitz and the glam. The masses wanting the same thing, money. This book is all about control. Who has it, who thinks they have it, and in the end, finding out who actually had control. The ending blew me away, I honestly did not see that second twist coming and I-Loved-It! May Cobb has a way of writing that makes me sink down into my cozy couch, knowing I will not come up until the final sentence is read. This book is fantastic. It kept me on my toes, had me thinking one thing, when the opposite was occurring. I always say I would be an amazing detective, but her books make me doubt my abilities.

Cassidy Foster is suffering from her last breakup. Her boyfriend was cheating on her and left her spiraling and feeling out of control. Thankfully her best friend, Lexie, has her back. She has found a job in Hollywood. They have always dreamed of both moving there and now it is finally happening. Cassidy has a job as an assistant to Marisol and Nate Sterling. Nate, a well-known producer with money coming out of his ears, and his wife who is waiting for her big break. The first day Cassidy steps into their fold, she knows she has found her job. They are amazing. Beautiful, as everyone in Hollywood is. Thoughtful, kind, and oh so giving. As the days go by little things start to feel weird about the two of them. There is some disconnect between the two, trust issues, and a good amount of yelling. Cassidy at this point is now caught in their web. When the police knock on her door, she is at a loss for what happened between them. Will she be able to figure out the truth before she is put behind bars?

This book is about obsession, which leads to compulsion, stalking, and everything in-between. How lust can take you on a dangerous journey without you even realizing what you are doing. The characters are fantastic, and they make you want to keep reading. I just love May Cobb's books and I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next! Thank you to May Cobb and Berkley Publishing for my gifted finished copy.

May Cobb does it again. After absolutely loving THE HUNTING WIVES but bring a bit disappointed by her last book, I’m so happy to report that this one was so much fun. It’s a complete guilty pleasure read and I flew through it.

This book is:
🔥sexy
🎥set in Hollywood
🔍a murder mystery
🎭filled with drama

This author's previous works were unputdownable, yet this one I could've simply put down.

Cassidy is given the job of a lifetime with a rich hollywood executive and his wife. She is tasked with simple errands for the pair. Things begin to get complicated when she hears arguing, a slap and the husband enlists her help reading scripts. Lines get blurry on what her job is suppose to be, and what she obsesses over. The ending was bit of a stretch.

While not my favorite by this author, it was entertaining.

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley

What a twisted and spicy book! I loved May Cobb after reading The Hunting Wives a few years ago so I was thrilled to dive into her latest novel, and it did not disappoint. I went in completely blind and had no idea what I was getting myself into. This book has a little bit of everything from spice, embarrassing celebrities, desperate wannabes, and lots of unexpected twists. I found myself glued to my Kindle because I needed to know what exactly happened and who did it. May Cobb does an excellent job bread crumbing the crime so you know just enough to keep you interested but not enough to keep you from feeling confused. I thought I knew what happened and I was very wrong. I did not expect the last two twists, what a mess!

One caveat, May Cobb sure knows how to write an unlikeable female main character. At first, I loved our girl Cassidy, but she quickly became the worst. She grew incredibly desperate, unrealistic and unhinged. Even though I was cringing at almost everything she did by the end of the book, it wasn’t enough to keep me from reading/learning what happened.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and continue to be impressed by May Cobb’s ability to create these dark and twisty stories.

Thank you so much to Berkley & NetGalley for the eARC!

🎥𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐘𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐀𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐓
𝔱𝔥𝔯𝔦𝔩𝔩𝔢𝔯
🗓️July 9, 2024
𝕄𝕪 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: 𝟝 𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤! ★★★★★

🤏𝚃𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚝..Cassidy starts working for a famous director & his wife & quickly realizes these people are bat shit cray….

🎥🎬🔪🎥🎬🔪🎥🎬🔪🎥🎬🔪🎥🎬🔪🎥🎬🔪

🌷𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚢...this is my first May Cobb book! So glad I got an advanced copy of this one because I loved it! I love rich people behaving like insane people, but also making it look like they are completely normal! Fav trope right now!😆 Cassidy is the assistant & she is someone you will relate to…she’s socially awkward, escaping a bad relationship, yet she has secrets herself, but still so likable! 🩷Then her bosses. Lawd. All this money, but so many problems. Mo money mo problems. 💰What makes this one extra special is the twists & the fast pace. If you like books that unfold like an actual movie & are deliciously addictive then this one is for you! 👌So fun! 🤸

May Cobb managed to capture the elegance and creepiness of celebrity with this book and I was genuinely on the edge of my seat burning my way through this twisty plots. The story hits all of the fun beats you expect in a summer pot boiler, but the characters are more layered and sympathetic than you expect in a book this wild.

I think this is my favorite May Cobb to date! When Cassiday is offered a dream job to be the assistant to a Hollywood screenwriter and his actress wife, she jumps at the chance to work for them. The money is good and the work is easy. In fact, Marisol, her boss is more like a sister than a boss. When Cassiday is asked to read some screenplays for Nate, she and Nate get close. Only then does Nate reveal he thinks Marisol is cheating. Nate asks Cassiday to follow Marisol and see if she can get proof of the affair. But what Cassiday finds is so much worse!

Count on May Cobb to bring the deception, obsession, and spice. THE HOLLYWOOD ASSISTANT, her latest novel, moves the action from her signature setting of East Texas to L.A. and the home of a Hollywood director and his actress wife, whose star is currently rising. At first, they appear to have a flawless life and enviable relationship, but new assistant (and aspiring scriptwriter) Cassidy Foster quickly discovers that Marisol and Nate Sterling are hiding some serious issues, and before she knows it, Cassidy is in way too deep. This is the kind of steamy suspense novel that's best read poolside. Pure summer reading entertainment through and through.

TALK ABOUT A TWIST!

Thank you so much Berkley for the gifted ARC!

If you're a fan of the whole 'rich people behaving badly' trope, then add this to your list because they're really rich and they're really bad.

The way this book was going, I thought I had it all figured out and was starting to think "I think I've seen this film before, and I didn't like the ending"(IYKYK), but was shockingly and HAPPILY surprised that this was a new and fresh spin!

There was definitely more sexual content than I typically expect in a thriller like this so I was surprised by that. So be warned.

This was my first May Cobb book and I can see why she has such a huge fan base!

This will be available on July 9th!

DELICIOUSLY SCANDALOUS!!!
Cassidy moves to LA to nurse a breakup after BFF, Lexie found her a great gig. To be an assistant to Marisol and Nate Sterling. A crazy Hollywood couple that may seem perfect but is not what they seem.
Filled with love, lies, stalking and loads of drama. The Hollywood Assistant is a perfect juicy Thriller to pick up this summer.

As the saying goes, "if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is". In this story, the narrator, Casidy Foster is given a pretty sweet job as an assistant to a Hollywood director and actress, Nate and Marisol Sterling. The gig is easy with menial tasks like grocery shopping and organizing closets. Other than being paid, Cassidy reaps other benefits, such as a hefty load of designer clothes from Marisol, and screenplay reviews from Nate (with the bonus of more money). Things begin to get dodgy when Nate starts asking Cassidy to spy on Marisol, as he believes she's cheating.

While a good part of the story takes place in the past, there are occasional parts of the story set in the present, when it is clear that something bad happened to one or both of the Sterling’s. Is Cassidy responsible? Given her odd behavior and growing obsession with Nate, I wouldn't have been surprised. BUT, it was also clear along the way that Cassidy was being manipulated by at least one person. Who and why took some time to discover.

At one point, Cassidy's actions were so stupid, I wanted her to be arrested solely for being an idiot. She made so many bad decisions, which don't look good when whatever crime was committed is investigated by the police. However, the author put such a huge spotlight on Cassidy, that I figured there must be an alternate villain in the mix, who has done a great job of using Cassidy's foolishness against her. And there are not one but two twists in the revelation. One surprised me, the other surprised me only in the timing of it.

Overall, this was a clever story with a good pace, and well-timed surprises. If you are looking for a new thriller, check this one out!

I’ve been a huge fan of May Cobb’s since I read The Hunting Wives. Needless to say, this book was one of my most anticipated books of 2024.

This one felt different than her other novels. Certainly not in a bad way, and truthfully, I think all of her books are different from one another. That is to say, she has her own writing style, but they all hit differently and I appreciate this about her. While The Hollywood Assistant isn’t my favorite May Cobb novel, that torch goes to The Hunting Wives, I enjoyed it immensely. It was a bit cringey at times; the protagonist was pretty needy and over the top. But that only added to the drama of the story for me. And boy were there some spicy scenes in this book! 🥵🌶️

And of course, there was a deliciously twisty ending. Definitely recommend this one, book friends.

When Cassie’s best friend finds her a sweet gig working as the personal assistant to a famous couple in Hollywood, she jumps at the chance to move to LA. After a recent breakup, she’s sad and bored anyway. The move will be good for her.

Turns out the job is super easy, too. The couple, Nick and Marisol, are kind and they both take to her quickly. All she’s gotta do is run errands and they pay her handsomely for it. But when Nick begins to show a little too much interest, and she begins to overhear heated arguments between the couple, Cassidy starts to wonder what’s really going on in their marriage. Before she knows what’s happening, she finds herself tangled in their messy life, discovering she wasn’t hired to be a personal assistant, but for other reasons. And when one of them turns up dead, Cassidy is the number one suspect.

This one comes out July 9th! Thank you to @netgalley, @berkleypub, and @maycobb for the chance to read an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
This may be my new favorite book of Cobb’s! This is just what I needed with plenty of drama, secrets, spice, twists and turns. While reading this it totally reminded me of those dramatic, sexy daytime soaps that I use to be guilty of watching 🤭 but I loved every minute of it! I blew through this book so quick, as the story sucked me in and I absolutely NEEDED to know what happened next. The characters are all sketchy and unlikeable, but I think that was the point with this one. I loved to hate them all. Cobb is the queen of writing a fun, twisty, addictive, drama filled guilty pleasure thriller that hooks the reader in from the start-and she definitely did not disappoint with this one🙌🏻 If you are looking for a thriller that is sure to take you on a wild ride-this one is for you.

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
✦Unlikeable, sketchy characters
✦Drama, secrets, spice mixed in with your thrillers
✦Plenty of twists, turns, and suspense
✦A book set in Hollywood that plays out like a dramatic, sexy daytime soap🤭
✦An addictively sexy, fun and wild ride


𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫4.5/5

This is my first May Cobb book and I can see why the author has a loyal following. I am truly impressed by how the characters came to life so quickly. I feel like I understood them quickly and they epitomized Hollywood shallowness. These were not people I would be friends with but reading their drama was entertaining. While we know there has been a murder, we do not know the victim for the majority of the story. This fact helped keep me invested because this one comes in at 400 pages. There are plenty of secrets and people behaving badly, and the story leans into the melodramatic and sexy vibes of Hollywood. There was a lot going on in this one and was happy with the twists at the end, which pulled the story together nicely for me. I will definitely be reading more of May Cobb.

Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

It appears that aspiring novelist Cassidy Foster has hit the job jackpot. Cassidy, who is dealing with a broken heart, is encouraged by her dear friend Lexie to leave Austin and join her in Hollywood. With Lexie's helps, Cassidy secures a position as an assistant at the Malibu residence of actress Marisol Torres and her husband, director Nate Sterling. The job offers excellent pay, minimal workload, and the added perk of receiving Marisol's unwanted designer clothing. But that's not all. Nate soon asks Cassidy to read and provide feedback on the screenplays he receives. However, as a series of flash-forwards reveal, something very bad will occur in just four weeks.

The Hollywood Assistant by May Cobb is delicious, crazy, sexy summer fun. Is the story over the top? You bet. It's a fast-paced, addictive, twisty, mystery thriller. It might keep you guessing, you might figure it all out. It really doesn't matter - it's a wild ride as the ideal job completely unravels.

4.25 stars.

I gobbled this addictive story in a day! All priorities went out the window once I started reading, furiously flipping through the pages, needing to know what happens next. This was my first May Cobb story and won’t be the last! I enjoyed this story, about a personal assistant, who gets caught up in the glitz and Hollywood glamor of working for a power couple, who are a mess behind the scenes. For all my detective sleuthing, the twist shocked me and the reveals at the end satisfied. A quick read that held my attention the entire time, made me empathize with the characters, particularly Cassidy, who turned into a surprisingly delightfully unreliable narrator, and then made me question what I just read when everything blew up. The only thing that nagged was that these people drank cocktails and wine and then nibbled on a cheese plate with fruit and honey, but no bread, no substance! No wonder they leaned quickly into their terrible choices - they were always drunk!

This one wasn't as good as some of Cobb's others, but it was still enjoyable. It just wasn't propulsive. The subject matter was super interesting, so was the setting and premise.

The Hollywood Assistant has everything we've grown to love from May Cobb: morally ambiguous women, constantly building suspense, and riveting sensual tension running through almost ever scene.

Cassidy takes a job opportunity in LA after navigating a painful breakup and feeling a loss of direction with her career and life in general. Her friend Lexie connects her to Hollywood It Couple Nate and Cassidy, who need help running errands and completing some basic housework each week. At first, their marriage seems charmed, but Cassidy starts to witness cracks in the relationship when she witnesses a few nasty fights. At the same time, she's finding herself drawn to Nate as he asks her to help with some of the scripts he's reading through. Just as Cassidy starts to believe she lucked out with her job placement, and she might even have her own way into writing in the industry, one of the couple is murdered, and Cassidy finds herself as the main suspect. Can she navigate her way out of her precarious situation?

This sultry thriller is told with Cobb's sharp attention to cinematic details, and it really feels like you are transported to LA with Cassidy. The twists at the end won't be at all what you expected, and the Epilogue will leave you questioning everything you just read.

Fans of soapy, sexy thrillers, this one is for you!