I had the opportunity to read Mess by Michael Chessler, courtesy of Harper Perennial and NetGalley. I chose this book because I typically gravitate toward male authors in genres like Horror, Thriller, and Mystery, so I thought it would be interesting to try something different with urban fiction and contemporary romance.

I started reading without remembering the author’s name/gender, and right away, I was struck by the writing style—it’s blunt, clinical, and surprisingly grumpy. This was not at all what I expected from a contemporary romance, and I found myself both puzzled and intrigued. The protagonist, Jane, was especially hard to pin down—she’s self-absorbed yet self-deprecating, and this made it difficult to connect with her.

Jane is a "professional organizer" (though her kleptomania and clear frustration with the job make this title feel fraudulant), and she seems to dislike nearly everything about her work—except, of course, for throwing away her clients' memories. Her behavior is often inconsistent, and I found myself wondering if the author intended it this way. For example, she mocks a man for collecting Transformers (insisting on calling them "dolls"), yet finds it sweet when a mother wants to keep her children’s old projects. She criticizes an assistant for not knowing her toddler's clothing size but feels sympathy for a family that gets a wheelchair for their dog. Jane’s contradictions were enough to make her a frustrating character to read about.

About three-quarters into the book, I realized the author was male, and things started to click. It made sense why Jane's boyfriend, who "couldn’t measure up to her unrealistic expectations" (i.e., not hiding important financial decisions from her), was written as a saint-like figure. This portrayal of him as the victim, despite Jane’s valid grievances, felt a bit one-sided.

The female relationships were similarly underdeveloped, with each woman seeming to fit a specific stereotype. Meanwhile, the men were generally written as understanding, people-pleasing types with "valid" reasons to be frustrated with Jane. While Jane is far from a perfect character, it felt like she was never really given a fair shot, and this made her hard to relate to.

In the end, I finished *Mess*, and I’m giving it a 3.5-star rating. I certainly appreciated having a character that left an impression, even if it was in a less-than-positive way. However, while this book was an interesting departure from my usual reading choices, it didn’t leave me eager to explore more romcoms by male authors anytime soon.

I was excited to read this based on the description, however it felt very lifeless and did not keep my attention throughout the story. I'm sorry but I would not recommend this book. I have left this review off my goodreads because I have never had a bad review to leave on an ARC and it felt wrong to do morally for a free book I received.

I really tried to get into this one, but halfway in and I just don't feel connected to the characters with it being written in the third person. I thought with the chapter being a characters name, we'd get that characters POV but that's not the case here.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy!

Based on the synopsis and cover art I was really looking forward to this novel. About a quarter into it, I just couldn't connect with either main character. Sorry, but it's a DNF for me.

I really wanted to like Mess, but ultimately did not. This book reads more like a series of cynical observations than a fully developed story. The protagonist, Jane, is relatable in her anxieties (career dissatisfaction, body image struggles, the question of motherhood), but her inner monologue often veers into long-winded rants that -- to me -- felt more like the author’s personal musings than genuine character development.

The pattern of negativity toward the women in Jane’s life got to be a bit much after a while, though the mother-daughter dynamic had potential. However, it was more told than shown. I did find the way the author portrayed relationship between Jane and her boyfriend to be a breath of fresh air.

While Mess captures some real and relevant struggles, it ultimately felt more like an outlet for social commentary than a compelling novel.

Thank you to HarperCollins and Netgalley for the ARC!

I had a really tough time with this book. At every turn it felt extremely negative towards women. The way they spoke, the way they were described by the main character, and most moments in between.

I was extremely excited for this book given its summary, but it’s hard to see how the two are related to each other given the extreme differences. It was a shorter book, I had hoped pushing through I would eventually find the excitement I had when I first read the summary but I didn’t.

I appreciate the ARC and the opportunity to share my thoughts.

A beautiful mess! This struck a chord. Part of me really resonated with Jane - building walls to protect herself, only to wake up and realize she's in a confinement of her own making; forcing order amidst chaos rather than embracing the unpredictability of life; clinging to rigidity and cracking from the pressure. Watching her evolve and let go of her defensive mechanisms felt like a sigh of relief. The flashbacks of her childhood and relationship with Teddy were intriguing and well paced. Setting the story in LA, alongside the rich and famous, was a compelling backdrop that really highlighted points of Jane's personal development. I loved how witnessing others inspired her own growth.

I really liked this book, but something prevented me from loving it. The language was insistent at times, using such advanced words it took me out of the narrative (I love learning new words, but it felt clunky). I craved more revelation on how Jane's upbringing affected her current experience. And I had mixed feelings about her ending up with Teddy. It might have been empowering for her to find herself on her own.

"It was a compulsion she both hated and treasured, a way to quantify things. Even if the number of pounds displeased her, the certainty soothed. It was an entirely objective measure. But of what, exactly."

"While all of this may not have sparked joy - that was a ludicrously high bar - it sparked calm and contentment."

"Wasn't duality quintessentially Buddhist? So perhaps someone could simult be both a repellent chaotic mess and enlightened?"

"To ve more generous to kther people, she needed to be more generous to herself. It was so obvious, yet it still felt like a revelation."

"In theory, empathy was humanity at its best, but in reality, it was an open invitation to misery."

I was initially drawn to this book: the beautiful cover and captivating synopsis immediately caught my attention. Unfortunately, that proved to be the high point of my reading experience.

Despite the promising situations and adversities the characters face, they ultimately fell flat for me. The portrayal of wealthy characters relied heavily on tired stereotypes and seemed to force conformity to societal archetypes in a way that simply didn't work.

The writing itself was problematic, with too much telling rather than showing and numerous missed opportunities for deeper development. While the premise had significant potential, the execution didn't deliver. Overall, this book unfortunately missed the mark for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-Arc!

DNF at 40%. I wanted to love this book, the overall idea of it sounds super interesting with a professional organizer being a mess in their personal life. Based off of the description I thought this book would have a bit more "fun" to it. The writing was quality, I just couldn't stand the main character. Her pessimism about everything and unwillingness to grow was really difficult to read. I was hoping it would get better or I would find some more redeeming qualities about out main character but I just couldn't. I felt like I gave it a good effort but unfortunately its a DNF for me.

Michael Chessler, please do not ever write in a female voice again. You clearly don't understand the gender or how we think.

Also, the blurb promised fun and Real Housewives energy. This book is the opposite.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

I started the book with an open mind, but found myself losing interest in the story fairly quickly. It was very slow moving, so maybe just not my cup of tea.

I was really excited for this book based on its premise, but unfortunately I couldn't connect with it. The main character comes off as difficult to connect with. While she’s supposed to be a professional organizer with a cynical, no-nonsense attitude, I found her to be a bit of a snob, making it hard to empathize with her.
The book felt disjointed, and I couldn't figure out what the actual point of the story was.

While I appreciate the concept and thought the story had potential, it didn’t come together as well as I’d hoped. It’s not the book for me, but I do think some readers might enjoy it if they appreciate a different approach to this kind of narrative.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for the e-Arc.

i wasn't really a huge fan of this book. i liked the concept but the writing seemed choppy and it made it very difficult to get through, i also don't like women fiction written by a men it makes me uncomfortable and it's weird that it is marketed that way to me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was mildly excited to read this book. The author was new to me, but I grew up with a label maker-wielding mother who loved the Container Store. I also loved a Christina Lauren novel centered around Hollywood agents, so I thought the setting would be fun.

But this book was incredibly dull and I despised the third-person narrator, Jane. I had to push myself to keep reading to give a full review.

The author had a horrible Frank Herbert-esque habit of choosing the longest and most obscure word or phrase when the context easily called for something simple and light. Example "The virtual world was scaling a nauseatingly steep exponential growth curve, and viral inanities were proliferating even faster. Another manifestation of the disease of indiscriminate abundance that was infecting everything." Is this a light, fictional novel or a gloomy psych textbook? "A useless agglomeration tethered by sentimental attachments." Ugh.

Jane has an opinion on everything and will go off on mental tangents detailing each client's past, their collecting habits, and how it relates to her boyfriend or her mean mother. Oh, and her brother has a "progressive disease". He's only seen in flashbacks or discussion and I was disturbed by the author using a disabled adult as a line item prop to give Jane mommy issues.

Jane Brown (even her name is dull) blushes often, weighs herself every day, resents her live-in boyfriend's carefree nature, and thinks she is better than practically everyone. She does yoga but doesn't like being told she's trying too hard. She thinks celebrities are a waste but knows all their movies. She claims to be a romantic but doesn't appreciate her partner's good qualities or learn from him.

Plenty of male authors can write women well. This Author's Note says he wrote with Chelsea Handler. Clearly, that work didn't translate to a fictional character. The dialogue is vapid, clunky, and entirely expositional like a cheap sitcom.

She had some redemption when she started trying to find good in people, actually talking to her colleagues instead of judging them as vapid and admitting that she STEALS from her rich client's houses. Like she feels she deserves a memento from each job. Honestly.

This story had lifeless characters, no sense of LA, and was clearly placed in 2019 for laziness. The author wanted to work within the pre-pandemic world but wanted to end with a sense of foreboding around the corner.

This one was a bit of a mixed bag for me. Mess definitely lives up to its name—chaotic, raw, and full of messy emotions. The writing has a sharp, edgy quality that works well, but at times, it felt a little all over the place. Some moments really hit, while others left me feeling disconnected. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either—it had its moments! If you’re into stories that embrace the chaos of life, this might be worth a read. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

I had high hopes for this book and I was sadly disappointed. The main character was very dull and the story did not keep my attention at all.

This book seems really cool, I loved the cover and was eager to read however I couldn’t connect to the fmc and there was no plot. Jane the fmc is insufferable, cynical and she steals from her clients with no backstory. Each chapter is a new client with her being judgey when she is an organizer/cleaner (think Marie Kondo method) I wouldn’t recommend this to my worst enemy! Please change the tone of the fmc

Based on the synopsis, this should have been a really good book but I knew from the first chapter I wasn’t going to like it. I hate a long winded author and my god was this painfully so. Even worse? The characters were all dull as dishwater. So it’s just dense, boring paragraphs about denser, boring characters.

This sat on my Kindle for probably a month because I just couldn’t bring myself to pick it up but I finally DNFed it at 25%.

This book was hard to get into and the main character just wasn't that interesting. I get the overall message though.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the arc!

The synopsis of this sounded soooo good, unfortunately the good of this book ended there.

You follow Jane, a professional organizer and the most insufferable person you’ll ever meet. I usually deeply enjoy unlikable characters but she just fell flat in every area. There was no romance and she was just downright such a miserable person and it was awful to be in her mind. There was no drive in her or interesting characteristic. Her kleptomania had no substance, no background or anything that helped the story or her. She needed a therapist, because she had absolutely no growth the entire book.

Jane was, simply putting a cynical, judgmental, loathsome character. The entire book fed into basic stereotypes of what people think the Hollywood elite are like and was downright brutal to women in some of the scenes with how Jane viewed them. I feel like the author had some sort of bad experience with someone in the entertainment industry and decided to write a book with horrible writing. The authors voice just felt pretentious and instead of trying to get a real point across just came off as off-putting and arrogant. The entire book was lacking every department, story development, characters, writing and the overall tone of the book.

Overall, an extremely disappointing ready that had so much potential to be good but was once again failed.