The Golden Spoon was fantastic and when I saw the author had a new book I was super excited to read it. It didn’t capture my attention right away but I read on and the story expanded and developed. I was entertained and liked the twists. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really liked the main character and the display of mental health issues that are common. I thought it was accurately portrayed. I also enjoyed the twists even though I felt one was a bit obvious but the author did an amazing job. I loved the ending !

Mystery novels under 300 pages should not be boring. I'm almost impressed.

Imagine getting your dream job because the previous employee was murdered, which is not exactly an ideal situation, but Alex is ready to escape her old job. When she takes over an advice column dear to her heart, she's determined to make her predecessor, Francis Keen, proud. Until she starts getting threatening letters. Alex doesn't know if the sender is someone from her past coming back to finish a job, Francis's killer, or someone new entirely. All she knows is she needs to find out before it's too late.

This was more of a character study than a quick mystery to breeze through, but it left me wanting in both aspects. Alex is a frightened woman who has serious trauma, dealing with OCD and anxiety. The book follows her trying to process and break through these struggles, but it's written so oddly. As someone with OCD, the overall representation was written well. However, a specific life event is making her OCD crippling to her quality of life. It's not revealed why Alex is so frightened or the extent of the trauma, so she just comes off as overtly paranoid a majority of the time. Her mental struggles, while valid and well-written, were presented in a way that made it hard to understand and connect.

You can piece Alex's mysterious past together, but that took away from the main plot: who killed Francis Keen, and who is trying to kill Alex? On both fronts, you are getting clues agonizingly slow. The rest of the time is spent in Alex's head. Nothing happened til the last 15%, but the "big reveals" gave me severe second-hand embarrassment. Alex's previous intense caution is thrown to the wind despite her incredibly vulnerable state, and she makes stupid decisions that lead to cheesy villain monologues. I couldn't physically restrain myself from rolling my eyes at times.

This isn't bad, and it's a relatively easy read to get through, but I don't know if it's worth the time. If you like mysteries based on characters overcoming anxieties, you might like this one, though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own!

(Review has been shared to Goodreads and Storygraph as of March 3, 2024. Review will be reshared on previous mentioned sites and Amazon, Goodreads, and Tiktok upon publication in August.)

This one was entertaining but lost points due to how frequently I was struck with "that's not how the real world works" moments. I'm aware this is a work of fiction, but there were definitely moments that took me out of the story. I will say that while most of the twists I saw coming, one gobsmacked me.

Imagine landing your dream job, but it quickly turns into a quest to solve the murder of the woman who gave you the courage to uproot your life and start over. That’s the predicament Alex finds herself in, while trying to not get killed in the process. I Need You To Read This is not only the title but my recommendation. Thank you Jessa Maxwell, Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this ARC.

Jessa Maxwell’s second thriller has done it again! I actually read this book in one 12 hour drive across Virginia! I felt like I needed more substance to the Dear Constance column, I found myself wanting more letters and yes, even though the book cover is absolutely amazing, I think the title fell flat, let me explain, after reading this wonderful book, maybe Dear Constance should have been the title. Idk just spitballing here.

Dear Constance is a famed advice column in the Herald, a newspaper in NY. When Francis Keen, the columnist is murdered everyone mourns, well maybe not the murderer.
When The Herald announces that it will be replacing beloved Francis, no one is more upset than lonely copywriter Alex Marks. In a drunken stupor she decides to apply for the job and surprisingly gets it. Now struggling with catching up with thousands of letters and emails, she starts getting threatening letters, are they for her or were they intended for Francis. Join Alex on a mission to find Francis’s killer along with the dark past that Alex is hiding from everyone.

This book follows a woman who applies to take over the job of an advice columnist. The book starts slow at first, but picks up about halfway through. There are two main “mysteries” the reader is trying to figure out: who is after Alex and who killed Francis? The former is slowly revealed throughout the book with Dear Constance letters as we learn more about Alex’s past and the latter is the main focus of the story as Alex investigates. I felt like one storyline was well flushed out; whereas, the other had a very rushed resolution. Alex’s character development is strong as she is brought out of her shell. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It had very strong writing and would be a perfect rainy day read. (4.25/5)
**This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**

Although, this thriller was a bit of a slow burn, I felt it was absolutely satisfying! This was a fun, twisty read that had me guessing till the end. I did enjoy the author’s previous book, The Golden Spoon. So I was super excited to be able to receive an ARC for this one! This one definitely topped their first book.

Alex’s move to NYC was supposed to be a fresh start and a new beginning. But she is stuck in a dull and mediocre job doing pharmacy copywriting. Things change when she sees a job listing for a writer to replace the popular, Dear Constance column. What a total dream job for Alex! But there is a darkness behind why they need a replacement. The original writer for the column, Francis Keene, was murdered while she was alone at her beach house. The murder is still unsolved and a huge shock to all of Francis’s fanbase. Alex decides to apply on whim and before she knows it, she is hired for the position. Soon Alex’s anonymous lifestyle is in the spotlight, and she receives threatening letters. She is wrapped up into investigating who is sending these letters, as well as who murdered Francis. Will Alex be able to make it out alive?

What I enjoyed:
- this was a twisty one! I did not expect what happened to happen. There were plenty of times my interest was piqued by trying to piece together everything.
- The writing style! I love this authors work and how they weave a story together.
- I thought the concept of a help column was a fresh take on the thriller genre. I actually enjoyed reading the letters along side Alex
- Alex’s found family!
- A lot more but I don’t want to spoil it!

Overall, a solid mystery/thriller read! 4 stars out of 5 stars. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest!

Well first thing I love nyc so this was the perfect start for me in the book. The cover is beautiful and original. I liked the flow of the book but it seemed like there could have been more action involved. Also why so many letters I feel like there could have been more plot and less letters but thats just my opinion. Overall I really liked the book and would recommend it to my friends who love this style of book.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of I Need You to Read This.

I wasn't a fan of the author's first book, The Golden Spoon, but I was willing to give her a second chance.

Now I kind of wished I hadn't.

No one needs to read this. I definitely didn't. The book is less than 300 pages but it felt like much longer.

First, there's nothing original or unique about the premise.

We have another mousy, socially awkward and psychologically damaged woman who is scared of her own shadow with secrets from her past.

What else?

When the job opportunity of a lifetime comes up to step into the shoes of her favorite advice columnist, Alex Marks accepts the position.

But, nothing is as it seems when she begins to receive threatening letters, perhaps relating to the murder of the former columnist. The killer has never been caught.

Alex Marks is not an interesting or compelling character; stuff happens to her, not the other way around. She's fearful and prefers to live inside her plastic bubble.

Not surprisingly, since she's hiding from her past. She's boring, lives a strict routine, hangs out with a few people at a cafe, but has no life.

The writing is fine, but also wordy, the narrative a dull, tedious slog, not unlike The Golden Spoon.

We get plenty of exposition as Alex settles into her new job but nothing really happens until the last two chapters.

The letters to Dear Constance are background material for why Alex idolizes Francis Keen, the woman behind the Dear Constance column, which was useful, but also too much telling.

Not to mention, I didn't care about Alex so I didn't care what or who she was running from.

I figured out who was threatening Alex from the start, and some of the twists hinged on coincidence which I despise as literary devices in books.

The big reveal on who killed Francis' is an afterthought and explained in the last few pages. But the reader will nearly forget about Francis after pushing through the tedium of the pages before it.

The point of the story is that a mousy woman with the personality of a doormat finally understands she deserves friends and happiness and needs to find her self worth and have better self esteem.

Been there, read that so many times.

Alex Marks has been blending into life in New York and feels secure in her routine and obscurity, safely hidden from her past. But her heart is broken when her hero, advice columnist “Dear Constance” is tragically murdered. When Alex lands a job as the new Constance, she is both excited and terrified that the spotlight will bring old ghosts back to haunt her and put her in the path of the original Constance’s killer.

I loved this book! The twists were twisty but not totally implausible. I made some predictions which were correct but I was still excited as I pieced together the clues along the way. I know a mystery is good when I flip back to a past chapter to double check something that now has a new context!

The chapters are short and I kept telling myself, “one more chapter” and then staying up way too late reading half the book.

As a bonus, I just really liked the main character. She was smart and strong but also had immense empathy for other people (making her a great advice columnist). I really cared about what happened to her.

Highly recommend this if you’re looking for a tense mystery and need a change from the same old domestic thriller (I sure do, yawn). It’s a win for me!

Book: I Need You To Read This
Author: Jessa Maxwell
Publisher: Atria Books
Pub Date: August 13, 2024

This was such a fun read! I loved the premise and reading the letters that were sent into Dear Constance. It’s very fast-paced and I think I read it in two sittings. And I’m always here for the short chapters. The characters were great…I strongly disliked Jonathan in the beginning and then loved him by the end. I only gave it four and half stars because I was a little disappointed in the direction it went. I wanted the focus to stay on the advice column and the newsroom drama and less on “Lost Girl.” But overall it’s a fun mystery that has several twists you won’t see coming. I haven’t read Golden Spoon yet but I have put it on my TBR. Jessa Maxwell is a new auto buy author for me. Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is August 13, 2024.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is August 13, 2024.

Started off really strong and really had some suspense but it is kinda slow so by the end I felt I wanted to just get it over with. The plot is interesting and had a couple good twists.

5/5 stars! I really liked this book. I loved how engaging the plot was!! I was on the edge of my seat and it felt so much like a Freida McFadden book! thank you to NetGalley for the arc, please check this out when it releases!

Alex cannot believe her luck when she is given the opportunity to take over the Dear Constance advice column in the New York Daily Herald. Is it a bit of a red flag the last Constance, Alex's idol Francis Keen, was murdered? Yes, but surely that won't impact Alex…or the dark history she herself escaped.

As Alex finds herself more ensconced at the Daily Herald, she starts to realize not everything was what it seemed with Francis, and figuring out who murdered her predecessor is of the utmost importance before she herself meets the same fate.

Alex makes for a fun protagonist, as it becomes clearly early on she is harboring a big (albeit somewhat predictable secret). Add in some quirky supporting characters and the result is an entertaining, borderline cozy mystery.

Fans of the author's earlier work The Golden Spoon should enjoy this book as well, since the author stays relatively true to her voice. This would make a nice beach read.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this advanced readers copy. I could not put this book down. After famed advice Francis Keen is murdered, Alex Mark's gets hired on as her replacement. With secrets of her own to keep hidden, Alex also tries to figure out what happened to her predecessor.
What I loved about this book was how the characters really kept the plot moving. It never got stale and kept me engaged the whole time. I really loved there advice columns in bedded between some chapters.
I really liked the ending. There were a couple of twists and I liked that some were predictable while others were not. It really kept me guessing. I'll definitely be recommending this book when it comes out.

Overall, this was a smart and uniquely atmospheric quick quick read, though there were times when the narrative voice was inconsistent.

I was excited to get an advanced copy of I Need You To Read This, by Jessa Maxwell, as I really enjoyed her first novel, The Golden Spoon. I think that this one was even better.
Alex Marks has just applied for her dream job, to be an advice columnist , Dear Constance, in a large New York newspaper. She grew up reading the column and connected deeply with the former writer, Francis Keen, whose recent shocking murder has stunned everyone at the paper. Alex is thrilled to learn that she got the job, and dives right in to try and replace the beloved former Dear Constance, but soon starts to receive threats that may be related to Francis’ unsolved murder.
There’s a lot more than meets the eye to Alex Marks, and as she dives into the paper’s mystery we learn about her back story and why the threats may be very personal.
This book is very fast paced and interesting, with the dual mysteries unfolding at the same time. I loved Alex, along with her only two oddball friends in the city, and their amateur sleuthing. There are plenty of suspects, but the mysteries resolve well and overall I enjoyed the book a lot.
Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader copy, look out for this one in August on 2024, I highly recommend!

Thank you so much to Atria Books for the ARC!

What. A. Fun. Book.

This was the absolute perfect palate cleanser I needed after some long and heavy books lately. I absolutely FLEW through this one. I read from about 33%-100% in one sitting because I couldn't put it down and I had to know what was happening!

This book is about a young girl, Alex who gets chosen out of hundreds of applicants to be the new advice columnist for a major newspaper and answer all "DEAR CONSTANCE" letters. She takes the job with some hesitancy knowing that the former columnist was brutally killed in her own vacation home. Alex takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of what happened with her predecessor while also excelling at her job and helping all who seek advice from her.

This was told party in "DEAR CONSTANCE" letters which I loved as it helped the story remain so effortlessly readable.

I had theory upon theory for how things would play out in this one and was wrong on all accounts and pleasantly surprised by the twisted ending!

I truly think this will be a huge hit!

This will be available August 13th!

4.5 rounded up for GR

I do NOT need you to read this.

I finished the book. Well, technically, I finished most of the book. I ended up skipping a seemingly endless supply of Dear Constance books that, while important to the plot in the end, were a repetitive and overwritten slog to get through. Up to you if you read them all, but you can just read a few of them and the end of the book will still make sense to you.

The most interesting characters were relatively minor. The major characters were dull and lifeless. The advice column stuff was utilized incorrectly.

And nothing – absolutely nothing – happens until the end of the book.

I like the cover, though.

• ARC via Publisher