*I Need You to Read This* had an intriguing premise that drew me in, but unfortunately, it didn't quite meet my expectations. The story follows Alex Marks, who takes on the role of her childhood hero’s advice columnist after the shocking murder of Francis Keen. This setup held a lot of promise, but I found the execution left me wanting more.

While the concept of exploring the impact of Francis's advice on Alex's life was interesting, the pacing felt off, and I struggled to connect with Alex as a character. The tension built around the mystery didn’t quite hit the mark, and I was left feeling unsatisfied by the resolution.

I appreciate the effort that went into the storytelling, and there were moments of insight, but overall, it just didn’t resonate with me as I hoped it would. Still, I think there are readers out there who might enjoy this tale of intrigue and self-discovery.

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books and the author for an ARC of this book.

I love the premise of this book. It was refreshing to read a thriller with a premise that I never read before. How did it be beloved advice columnist become murdered and how is her new replacement connected… And why is she now becoming threatened as well?
I love the characterization. Each character was so well hash out that they were incredibly easy to picture and intuit their next moves. Alex, our main girl, and new Dear Constance was hard not to love.
My problem with the story and the only reason I dropped a star was because of how the story wrapped up. I love the twists and how much sense all the little pieces made put together, but it felt so rushed with having two huge plot lines and only 250 or so pages . Don’t get me wrong. I loved both plot lines, but I felt like neither was given the amount of space needed to adequately and best serve each.
I would read another Jessa Maxwell book and recommend this to anyone looking for an engrossing quick read. There’s still new plot lines to discover y’all!

As for my ratings :
Excitement level: 5
Ease of reading level: 5
Overall rating : 4

what a great, twisty and turny read that pulls you in from the jump! Alexis such a relatable main character, dealing with mental health concern, low self esteem and imposter syndrome that many of change relate to in some way. Alex is highly relatable, but a main character you definitely learn to love and get to see her routines that help protect herself from the world. This read is better suited to go in blind, really helping you follow the story without preconceived notions and getting to full immerse yourself.

I was excited to read this book, as I loved her last book. This is a very different kind of mystery, much more of a thriller than her first.

Alex moved to New York several years ago to start a new life. She is shook when her childhood idol, Francis Keene, is murdered. Keene wrote the popular advice column, Dear Constance. On a whim, Alex applies for the job, and gets it. It pays much more than her current job of copywriting, and even though she feels like a fraud, she takes it.

Her office is in a different wing of the newspaper office from everyone else, and she gets a strange feeling working there alone. Her boss is an interesting man, but she rarely sees him, and others seem to resent her. Her assistant is scared of everything, but then again, so is she.

Alex's story slowly unfolds as she begins to be Dear Constance, and you start to understand her choices. There are definitely some twists I didn't expect, and while I didn't love this book, I would recommend it for those looking for a twisty thriller that leaves you a little unbalanced.

The Devil is in the details. In this story, this is quite literal and in many cases, terrifying. The twists and turns are maddening along with the rich plot development that leaves the reader needing more. Any excellent who-dunit for the current true crime generation of readers.

I need you to read I Need You to Read This.

I really liked The Golden Spoon so I was excited to read this one.

This was another book I read in one sitting. I was gripped by the story. I loved the advice columnist aspect of it and how all of the parts of the story came together in the end. This would make an amazing movie or TV series. Such a great book!

I suggest going into this book blind. It's fun and twisty while also easy and engrossing. Perfect for a quick mystery!

4/5 ⭐️

The cover on this one and the blurb made me want to read this one. It did take me a little while to get into it because the beginning is a little slow, but once things got going I was able to finish and appreciate the story more.

Like other reviews stated, I think if I had started this read knowing less, it would have been a more thrilling read. I rated this 4/5 stars because though I figured out "whodunit" in my mind a little over halfway, it did not impact my overall feelings about who it was.

Thank you to the publisher and the author for this ARC! The premise of this story (and the cover, hello) immediately were intriguing to me - when I saw it posted on Netgalley, it was an instant request kind of choice.
However, I was granted this book several weeks ago and it has taken me that long to read and to finish. Unfortunately, this book was less than thrilling and fell on the flat side for me. It definitely teetered on the side of cozy mystery for most of the book, which is fine, but unfortunately I was mostly bored.
I loved the author's debut, but this one was a miss for me, sadly.

A well-loved advice columnist is murdered in her home and replaced by a young Alex Marks who has always been a fan of the column and believes this to be her dream job, until she begins receiving threatening letters.

This slow burn thriller had an intriguing premise but the execution fell a little short for me. As someone who reads mostly thrillers this just didn’t have the fast-paced, suspenseful vibe a great thriller has. It was captivating enough to want to finish and know what happens and how the characters all come together but it was put-down-able for me. It felt like there was more of a focus on character development than suspense building, action and twists.

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell
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After a popular advice columnist is murdered, Alex applied to be her replacement for the “Dear Constance” column. When she gets the job she doesn’t immediately start investigating her predecessor’s murder, but after a couple discoveries she can’t help looking for answers.
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What I liked:
-I loved all the mystery surrounding this book: who killed Francis, and why? Why is Alex so interested in Francis, and what do we need to learn about her past? I couldn’t wait to find out the answers to these!
-I adored how Alex’s closest friends were a smart mouthed waitress and a grumpy retired guy.
-The suspense was a slow build to a crazy few chapters that were pretty tense!
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A solidly enjoyable mystery/thriller. I think I liked the Golden Spoon just a bit more, but I Need You to Read This was a pretty great follow up book!

I really enjoyed this book. I read it in under 24 hours and I literally kept turning the pages. Three stars for me means it was captivating and I would recommend it. I felt that the plot wasn’t anything extraordinary, but it did have a few twists that caught me off guard. I loved Raymond and Janice’s character kinda gave me like the elderly sleuth vibes. The ending was also really great.

I found the first half of this book intriguing however toward the second half it became a little to predictable. The twists at the end of the book were easy to see from a mile away. Overall I thought this book had a lot of potential, however it just didn't deliver. Not a favorite, but I would be interested in reading from this author in the future.

Thank you for an ARC copy of this book to review!

When the story started I was really intrigued, but as the story progressed I found that the story ended up falling a bit flat. I didn't find that the twist was really a twist & felt predictable. I think this could be a great book for someone who is wanting to start reading more mystery/thrillers. I think because I read a lot of books in that genre is why it felt more forgetable to me.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

"I Need You to Read This" by Jessa Maxwell is an intriguing thriller with some of it told through “Dear Constance” letters. The characters are well-developed, and mostly likeable. While the emotional depth and themes are there, the pacing seemed slow in some parts but rushed in others, mainly towards the end. It took a little while for me to get into the book. Overall, it was a fun, quick read that effectively captured the complex relationships with the characters, though it could benefit from a little bit more cohesion. A solid 3.5 stars for me.

This was spoooky. I do wish it would have been a little longer at times, I feel like the characterization could have been stronger. I found it hard to root for the main character at times because I didn't know much about her. As always, I LOVE a New York City setting and this one did not disappoint.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell. This novel is a unique blend of mystery and introspection, with an engaging premise that promises intrigue from the outset. Maxwell's writing is crisp and draws you in, but the pacing felt uneven at times. The central mystery kept me curious, though some plot points lacked the depth and complexity I was hoping for. The characters were interesting, but I found it hard to connect with their emotional journeys fully. Overall, I Need You to Read This offers an intriguing read, though it falls short of being truly gripping or unforgettable.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This murder mystery was different, and I really enjoyed it!
Quickly paced and well-threaded with twists, I Need You to Read This was character-driven and possessed an intriguing darkness....which I appreciate in a thriller. Some twists were anticipated, but I still received the needed relief in the end when issues were resolved. All in all a good read. Would recommend.

I thought the premise of this book was fascinating, but it fell flat to me. The characters were flat, and I didn't feel like I was reading a mystery/thriller book because the majority of the time, Alex was talking about being stressed about the job and thinking she wasn't good enough. The book started slow and remained slow the whole way. Towards the end, it wasn't shocking to me, there was no twist, nothing that kept me wanting to find out more.

I did enjoy the newspaper/writing career and the setting in New York. The writing and setting were cozy, and I loved the cover. I think this will be great for readers who want to get into the mystery/thriller genre.

Thank you to Jessa Maxwell, Atria book, and NetGallery for providing an ARC.

I was really intrigued with the premise of this story - I loved the mystery of how Francis died and following Alex get involved without fully meaning to. The story has a very dark side to it and I loved the Dear Constance letters that were inserted throughout (I kind of had an idea of what was happening though). I did feel like I couldn’t fully connect with the characters in this one, I think I was hoping for a bit more of a cosy mystery and got a bit more of a thriller type book.