(3.5/5) If you liked Sophie Kinsella's 'The Burnout' - I think you'll like this one even more!!!

There's a trend in literature right now to talk about truly messy women who need work, and I'm all for that. I think we need more of these imperfect women working on themselves without overnight revelations! The real work takes time, and Chessler's 'Mess' made me feel pretty good about how far I've personally come.

Hihgly recommend if you're in any kind of situationship / feel like you're floundering a bit? Or maybe if you just need to understand that friend, co-worker, sibling whos just a litttttle bit of a mess.

**Removed stars because I found myself skipping through a bit. I feel that about 75 pages could've been edited out and still held onto the spirit of the novel.

**Thank you to Harper Perennial for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤

I loved the cover and the book sounded fun, but I was so wrong. This gave me the ick and I just couldn’t get into it. I did not connect with the fmc and didn’t enjoy the book at all. I trudged through it, but I hated every minute then finally decided to DNF. I do not recommend it.

Thanks NetGalley and Harper Perennial for the e-arc. All opinions are my own and freely given.

DNF at 10%

As someone who loves cleaning and organization, I was looking forward to this book. Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. We start with our FMC, Jane, who was extremely judgmental and seemed to hate other women. In just the first chapter alone, she judged her female client for her disorganization, the way she talks, and her parenting. It got to the point where she went past being jaded to being downright cruel. The final straw for me was when we learned that Jane constantly steals, and it isn't treated as if it's a problem, or even given an explanation. I feel like the description was completely misleading from what it truly was. As a result, it was unfortunately not for me.

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Perennial, for the ARC!

DNF - this is not a novel that will do well with a female audience. It was too much ranting and gender bias, and it lacked plot and connection.

This book was funny. As someone with a chaotic mind that wants to be organized, this hit home. I related a lot to the main character. It was insightful and overall a good time.

The synopsis of this book sounded so good! I also thought the cover was cute! I thought I would really relate to the main character but she’s was honestly insufferable. It made it hard to get through the book. But I was able to finish. I don’t think this book was for me. I’m glad I got the opportunity to read it but I don’t think it’s one I’d pick up again.

Thank you NetGalley, Michael and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks for the eARC!

Publication Date: August 12 2025
Rating: ✨✨

#Mess #NetGalley

Unfortunately I struggled with this book. The concept sounds great and the book cover was cute but I just could not get into the main character.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Raw, honest, and emotionally resonant, Mess peels back the layers of what it means to rebuild from the inside out. Chessler writes with unflinching clarity and just enough humor to make the pain bearable. It’s messy in the best way—real, human, and deeply affecting.

This felt more like a platform for the author's cynical worldviews than a fully developed story. The constant overexplaining and heavy-handed observations made it hard to connect with the narrative. I also noticed a troubling pattern of negativity directed mainly at women, which became frustrating. That said, the dynamic between Jane and Teddy, as well as the mother-daughter relationship, had some genuinely well-written moments. Ultimately, it read more like social commentary than fiction.

About 35% in, this is a DNF for me right now. I may come back and finish it at some point in the near future, as I didn’t completely dislike it. It’s just a bit slow.

I was not a fan of this book. It was difficult to continue reading the entire book because it was not grasping my attention. I also did not like that each chapter was about a different person. It lacked a storyline, which would have made me more interested in reading. This is unfortunate because the blurb made the book sound great.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was initially drawn to the book by the gorgeous cover and intrigued by the premise!! Seemed like a promising spin on reality TV (books??) but this book was messy and not in a fun way. The FMC was truly insufferable and I couldn’t find her enjoyable or relatable. Also, it felt like the author just used the thesaurus feature as much as possible when writing as there was quite a bit of unusual vocabulary to explain simple concepts.

I really wanted to love this one but ultimately decided to DNF after about 20%!

Summary:
Jane Brown is a professional organizer obsessed with order, control, and perfection. But while her clients’ homes may end up organized, her own emotional life is anything but tidy. Socially awkward, hypercritical (of others and herself), and stuck in her own rigid mindset, Jane embarks on a journey of unexpected self-awareness. As Jane steps into the homes and lives of others, her sharp critiques and social awkwardness begin to unravel in unexpected ways. Through each client interaction, Jane is forced to confront her own rigid worldview and gradually begins to open up to the messy, unpredictable beauty of being human.

Thoughts:
I know Mess hasn’t been getting the warmest reviews, but I found something quietly powerful in its pages. Jane starts off as someone who’s incredibly difficult and harsh on others and even harder on herself. Her lack of social grace and emotional awareness initially made the narrative feel a bit stilted, but as I kept reading, I realized: that was the point. Jane is someone trying to find herself, to learn how to be soft in a world she only knows how to control.

Each client she visits doesn’t just get a cleaner space, they unknowingly help Jane see a little more clearly. Whether she likes it or not, she walks away from each interaction with a deeper understanding of the human condition and herself. That progression gave the novel a quiet emotional resonance I appreciated.

The ending did feel a bit abrupt. But overall, I think Mess is a reminder that we are all works in progress, even when we think we have everything perfectly in place.

I couldn’t get into this book at all. The premise was so good but the FMC is insufferable. I couldn’t stand her, so I had a hard time caring about what happened. I did not finish because I don’t have time to spend on things that don’t bring me joy.

Unfortunately, my download of this book was not functional, but the premise still looks interesting and I hope others enjoy!

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This cover, is beautiful. The book is the direct opposite of beautiful. This twist on Marie Kondo and The Real Housewives was... just not it. Jane is supposedly a professional organizer, but in reality she's a really insufferable, disgusting, thief. She steals from every client she has and is one of the most judgmental woman I've ever read about... it's just incredibly vile and poorly done.

I can see where the author was maybe attempting to go but it just didn't work - the long winded tyrants come across as just a rant about the world and is not needed for the basis of this book. There's no growth or even true development of a character backstory, there's no romance, there's just so much negative energy being thrown around. I'm honestly a bit shocked that I finished this book.

This book wasn't for me, there were too many words that were really big and just didn't need to be there. The book didn't grab my attention and didn't seem to be going anywhere.

Im not gonna lie from page one I was kind of lost with the book. I kept going thinking it would get better but im not gonna even say there was a plot because I could not tell you. I feel like because the book was so short it was easy to not dnf but there really was no substance or anything capturing about the book.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. That being said, I'm about to be really honest.
This was not good. It was 200+ pages of... nothing.
Not a thing. The main character was insufferable for the entire book, and so was every other character.
This didn't really resonate with me at all and I don't feel that it matches the description. I also couldn't tell you the plot because I don't think it had one. I couldn't take the cynicism of the main character, and she didn't grow out of that either. This was a big miss.