This one sadly didn’t work for me. I enjoyed Maxwell’s debut, The Golden Spoon, and I was prepared for another slow burning, cozy-ish mystery with her newest release. Sadly, this was way too much of a slow burn for me.

The story is intriguing and I loved the advice columnist element! Unfortunately it just wasn’t a plot I personally found entertaining and the big twists/revelations towards the end were either predictable or fell in the category of silly as opposed to shocking.

Overall, not for me but that’s not to say many other readers won’t enjoy this. I do think the author did a great job representing mental health struggles such as OCD, anxiety, and perhaps PTSD.

4.5 ⭐️

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley!

Now this is a thriller! I’ve struck out so much lately with thrillers, but this one has redeemed them for me. I definitely need you to read this if you like thrillers. Not a 5 star because some little parts are predictable, yet there’s still a twist that caught me off guard.

📚 Book Review 📚

Title: I Want You To Read This
Author: Jessa Maxwell @jessamaxwellauthor
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

**TRIGGER WARNING: domestic abuse/violence**

Wow! This novel had me planted in a chair, not moving, for hours at a time. I seriously couldn’t put this one down for anything.

This story centers around Alex, a woman living in NYC. On a whim, she applies for a position to replace a beloved newspaper advice columnist who was killed months earlier. Alex has a special connection to the late newspaper writer (I won’t describe how in an attempt to avoid spoilers). Alex gets the job, and a slow burn of a mystery begins.

This book played out in a surprising way; not one that I expected. It was unique and original- my favorite type of story. It was cleverly thought out and plotted, with rich and interesting characters. I can’t say much more about the plot without ruining things…just pick this one up and dive in! I loved every minute of this reading experience, and highly recommend it when it hits shelves on 8/13. I hope it gets in many readers’ hands!

**Side Note: I started my review with a trigger warning for domestic abuse. I would imagine someone who is a victim of this would have a very difficult time reading this book. On the flip side, however, it may actually prove to be comforting and therapeutic. To anyone that’s a victim of domestic abuse, you probably want to tread lightly with this one.

*Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks for this advanced copy. This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Pub Date: 8/13/24.

A fairly interesting thriller. It reminded me of reading a Mary Highins Clark book when I was young. Did feel like a bunch of 'stuff' just tossed together. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

This was such a nice thriller read. Definitely an easy read I scooped it up quickly, but I enjoyed every second. Some of the twists I saw coming and some I did not at all especially the biggest one (if you know you know) the romance was cute, and it was fun to read something set in my city in a corporate world. I would definitely recommend this book and don’t understand the criticisms. I think it kept me intrigued and gave me that slight anxiety of a suspense throughout. The pacing was fine and I genuinely enjoyed this.

The protagonist is a copywriter in NYC who takes a drunken bid at becoming the next advice columnist for the ersatz NYT, only to try to solve the murder of her predecessor, which is complicated by the protagonist's own ghosts.

The suspense novel in this is better than the mystery novel, and the author lays out some excellent scenes of ordinary terror. The mystery is incredulous and the romance is perfunctory, though cute enough that I'll allow it. The most unrealistic thing in the novel is the city itself, which seems to be populated by only twelve people. That and the way that the author describes buildings as composed of extra-spacial Lovecraftian geometries gives the impression not of someone who has not been to New York itself, but has hear tell of these things called 'cities' and the wondrous legacy media that emanates from them.

I liked the twist, but I also think that this book is an odd example of providing too much and too little information. The core secrets are downright telegraphed in the character descriptions, while the proverbial ticking bomb itself is never shown, making the finale a sort of diablo ex machina.

Still, the strong scene work carries the book and makes it a good read, even as I think that it ought to have picked a lane and stuck with a singular plot with the others as flavor.

My thanks to the author, Jessa Maxwell, for writing the book, and to the publisher, Atria Books, for making the ARC available to me.

The ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

(Link to be edited in when review is published closer to publication date.)

This second novel from Jessa Maxwell is another hit! I quite enjoyed it and could definitely see this one making it to the screen as well. The reveals didn't blow me away, but I also wasn't able to guess them either, and I felt satisfied with the direction things went and how the story played out. The short chapters made it a quick and easy read, and the plot was fun just like her previous. I very much look forward to future releases from this author!

Thank you to Atria Books for the advance copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Altria Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued by this idea of having a story revolving around an advice columnist's murder. Alex Marks (with secrets of her own) sees that her childhood hero, Francis Keen, is brutally murdered with the murderer never found. Francis was the woman behind the famous advice column, Dear Constance, and her words helped Alex through a dark time in her past.

When a job posting seeks Keen’s replacement, Alex impulsively throws her hat into the ring, never imagining she’d land the position. Against all odds, she secures the role. Almost immediately she begins to receive strange letters at the office, and starts questioning what is really going on here. With some sleuthing on her own, she comes to the devastating realization of what happened.

This was an enjoyable quick read, although the pacing was a little slow for me at times. I would consider this to be a slow-burn mystery or a cozy mystery. For those of you who like to read books where something just doesn't seem right and like the suspense of wondering how the story line is going to play out, this one will be for you.

Throughout this book I kept thinking of the fantastic 2003 romcom Down With Love, a wild fantasy in which a girl moves to New York City, gets her book published to fame and fortune, moves into the most spectacular apartment I've ever seen, and gets to bang Ewan McGregor in his prime. What Down With Love had going for it was that it acknowledged the candy-colored wish fulfillment of it all (it also had Ewan McGregor in his prime). I Need You to Read This, on the other hand, has a girl get a job in which she gets $125,000 a year to write one (1) advice column weekly, and then she hooks up with a hot banker, and then she runs around with her two weird friends from the diner she goes to every single morning for breakfast (what? girl get yourself a toaster and a Keurig) to try and sort of desultorily solve a mystery, and we're supposed to be all like "a series of normal events is what I'm reading about here for sure". She then works incredibly late every single night, I guess spending 10+ hours a day reading letters because she has to pick the PERFECT ONE or she'll get fired and die, or something. Also her taking over this advice column is absolutely huge news, because you know how the millennial and younger demographic is out here buying newspapers because they are all utterly lost without Dear Abby.

So with regard to the salary point, this also made me think of E. Jean Carroll, because I remember reading that, at the time of her leaving in 2019, she made $125k a year to write one advice column a month for Elle magazine, a job she held for 26 years. And I wonder if this author also read that, and was like, "Ah yes. That, obviously, is the standard base salary for a print media advice columnist. That is the salary that a writer in her late twenties would receive starting with her very first day on this job she has no prior experience doing. This is at least partly because of how relevant newspapers are. Journalism: the career for people who want to make absolute piles of cash."

There are some interesting plot elements here, I kept turning the pages, and the pacing wasn't terrible. I have just been cursed lately with a run of novels wherein I'm asked to suspend disbelief so egregiously that it's like, maddening. They say you have to read good books to write good books, but I think it's also actually important to have...basic experience, like...existing in the modern world. They also say write what you know, and I'm not expecting these novels to have protagonists who are novelists (please, let's actually not do that), but if you're not drawing on your own life experience at all you at least need to go to google.com, type in "advice columnist salary", and go from there. Glassdoor if you're feeling fancy and you're trying to log in (Glassdoor, quit hassling me to log in!!). God. Whatever. Anyway!!

My thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

This one was a quick and fun read. The protagonist, Alex Marks, and some of the minor characters were endearing. The writing varies from surprisingly expressive for a run-of-the-mill mystery novel to weirdly convoluted ramblings. My main issue is that the plot was unrealistic (even for a mystery-thriller), and I guessed all of the plot twists. Usually, I mark mystery books that suffer so as a 1-star read - *however* - the story is cute and cozy enough for me to judge it slightly more favorably. This is definitely a book for people newer to the genre, looking for quick and light stories, or cozy mystery fans.

Rating this as a 2.5 stars rounded down to 2. Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC!

I wasn’t a huge fan of this author’s previous book, but I definitely enjoyed my time with this one. The plot really kept me engaged and I enjoyed following all of the characters through it. Definitely will be recommending!

Fast paced mystery! Kept me guessing until the end. Although it only got a 3.5 ⭐️ from me. It’s worthy the read!

Thanks to Netgalley for access to this ARC. I really enjoyed this story by Jessa Maxwell. The twists and turns were a mix of predictable and very surprising, so I liked that I could solve some of the mystery myself, but still had twists that I wasn't expecting. The pacing was good throughout and the various layers of the story aligned nicely for the main character.

Alex, Free-lance writer fan running from a past applies as a replacement after the advice columnist she adores is killed, Great I deal.

Told in alternating timelines, with letters to "Dear Constance", I began to wonder if maybe Constance had ignored the wrong letter and if the past Alex was running from was just a guise.

Great idea, but that's about where it ends for me. I found the supporting characters a little too contrived, a few too manner secrets and an incredibly slow pace until the end when everything is very, very quickly solved, everyone ending up exactly where they should be.

This one was a miss for me. But I did like the cover with the bloody fingerprint on the key, so I would likely have picked it up based on the cover at least.

3 stars. Much thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the eArc in exchange for my honest review.

I Need You to Read This was a great example of a fresh and suspenseful thriller.

I loved the dual timelines that were weaved together in this book. It felt like two mysteries unfolding at the same time, and I was never completely sure what was coming next. I was entertained and consistently surprised, which is all I really need from a thriller. As long as I'm invested and flipping through the pages, I'm happy as can be.

That being said, I did notice a plot hole (the main character's ex boyfriend tried to kill her but reported that she had attempted suicide; however, during the incident she had sliced his whole face open so it seems unlikely that first responders would not look into this further? Or at a minimum that this would have flagged to his sister that there was more going on?) and I felt some of the issues were resolved in a strangely quick way (i.e. the way that his sister swaps sides in the course of a few minutes).

I did enjoy Jessa Maxwell's writing a lot and would definitely try more by her in the future.

*Note: Bookstagram review of this book scheduled to be posted effective 3/27/2024.

This is my second Jessa Maxwell book, and I have to say I found it throughly enjoyable.

Alex Marks is starting over in the Big Apple and happens to stumble upon a job writing as an advice columnist, filling the big shoes of Francis whose untimely death left the position vacant. Buckle up for mystery and twists and some creepiness. However, the dynamic between Alex, Janice the waitress, and Raymond the gruff toast-loving ex-cop is funny and entertaining.

I would recommend this to anyone with a love for mystery and suspense. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced copy.

After reading and thoroughly enjoying The Golden Spoon by this author, I was immediately curious about I Need You to Read This. The concept of: the fan of a recently murdered advice columnist getting to take over the job, really enticed me. But, after the initial plot setup, I found myself losing interest. I wish there had been more time spent on Francis instead of certain side characters and the pacing felt a little slow for the majority of the book. Also, I felt the romantic element was unnecessary. That being said, I still enjoyed my time reading this one and when we did focus on Francis, I was the most entertained. All in all, it just wasn’t what I was expecting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for providing me with an advanced digital copy!

Confession time — I am a sucker for advice columnists. They are my favorite thing to read in the newspaper. So when I saw this thriller, which follows a murdered advice columnist and the young woman who has been hired to take over the murdered woman’s job, I knew I had to pick it up.

I will say, I was expecting the advice columns to have a bigger role. There were only a few mentioned that were answered. I was also expecting the murdered to be the focus, and while it definitely was, I would say it’s mostly a story about the new columnist, Alex.

I was able to predict two of the major plot twists, but I also read a lot of thrillers and enjoy trying to figure out whodunnit as the story progresses.

I’d definitely recommend this one, and I’m totally going to read this author’s first book <i>The Golden Spoon</i> which got a lot of buzz when it came out last year too!

<i>this ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC! This was an enjoyable thriller with an interesting premise.

Alex, stuck in a boring job and her own limiting routines, has always looked up to famous advice columnist Francis Keen. Months after Frances is brutally murdered, Alex applies on a whim (and a bottle of wine) to be her replacement. To her surprise, she is hired. To her greater surprise, she begins to unravel the mystery of who murdered Francis Keen while facing danger from her past and her present.

I enjoyed reading this book! Alex’s role as an advice columnist felt unique and interesting, and there are a few secondary characters who add depth and humor to the plot. The book moves quickly, and I enjoyed being along for the ride. I did find the twists, a little predictable, and while some characters were fully fleshed out, there were others that I didn’t feel received as much development. Overall, however, it was written in an engaging way and I was always excited to read just one more chapter.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me an advanced reader's copy to enjoy!
This was an excellent read and I was so excited to get the opportunity to be enthralled by! The main character Alex, gets a chance to write for her favorite column Dear Constance and then gets caught up in a game of cat and mouse and has to solve a murder before she becomes the victim herself.