The premise of this book seemed promising, but the book itself was just not good. The main character, Jane was extremely unlikeable, and it was impossible to empathize with her. The story revolves around Jane’s job as a professional organizer to the rich and famous in Los Angeles. She’s overly judgmental of her clients and uses her judgements to justify stealing from them.

Additionally, the plot felt non-existent. It read more like a series of "day-in-the-life" vlogs, following Jane from one client to the next without any real direction or development.

Michael Chessler’s writing style also didn’t resonate with me. He often used unnecessarily complex words, and at times, the writing seemed like it had been run through one of those AI thesaurus programs. While I’m not sure if the intent was to make the writing sound more intelligent, it ended up detracting from the flow of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Harper Perennial & Paperbacks, for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This felt right up my alley- the chronic over thinker of an FMC, who thrives on structure looking to take back her life and shake things up. While that is the case, I struggled to like the FMC, who ended up coming off as a snob and unlikable, in all the ways that detaches the reader.
Though a quick read, i struggled to connect and buy into the main character overall, little insight into her story to allow the reader to build off an empathic approach and failed to show a growth arc by the end. Not the book for me, but well written and appreciate the angle the author was taking and think some radars will enjoy this story!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for approving my request to read this book. The premise sounded super interesting, but the book didn't really deliver. I didn't understand or feel connected to the main character. The book kind of alluded to the main character's troubled history with her mother but never really explored or resolved the relationship. I'm also really not sure what the actual plot of the book was. After reading the whole thing, I couldn't really recall one specific plot point. The cover and synopsis really made me want to love this book but it was unfortunately pretty disappointing.

I had trouble getting into this book, was difficult for me to to keep up with the story. I was intrigued by the synopsis but the story didn’t seem to follow through.

Unfortunately, I did not like this book. At all. First, the language was way too pretentious for what this book is. I’m well read and feel that I have a decent vocabulary but I started highlighting words I didn’t know at the start of Chapter 3 and ended up with 50! The language just didn’t fit into a “lighthearted” novel about a professional organizer. While I get that the main character is cynical, it felt like the author was often inserting his own cynical viewpoints throughout and it felt like unsolicited PSAs. There is virtually no plot here and no real growth. At one point she wants to get a dog, then she decides she’s going to travel to Asia &Argentina only to walk through the door, see flowers from her guy, and “step into her future,” whatever that means. It was all over the place. I also did not like how Jane Brown (terrible name for main character too) would steal from each job. It didn’t jive with her character, who hated messiness, clutter, and seemed to want to be a minimalist. Why would she steal other people’s stuff, including kid sized overalls???

I thought the story had a good framework and premise and was sorry to see it just wasn’t executed well. Thanks for the ARC! Hope you have some time to make some changes before this goes to print.

What a sweet romantic comedy! I had a terrible time putting this book down because I loved it so much. The writing style was enjoyable to me. The plot was fantastic, and the characters got along so well. It was easy to identify with the characters. I'd suggest it to others!

This book is all over the place with the storyline. There is some overlap with the characters lives but it feels like they’re just plucked out of nowhere and don’t move the story along.

The cover makes you think this could be a quick beach read type book but then uses words like lugubrious, Teutonic, oleaginous, Brobdingnagian, anathema, and overusing of the word provenance, etc. The dialogue also feels very forced and not like real life.

The female main character Jane is very judgmental of her clients, their homes, their items. She calls Louis Vuitton bags “…nothing more than a hideous brown turd pockmarked by someone else’s initials”. For someone who used to be in the entertainment industry I feel that her hatred is actually jealousy.

What drew me to this book was the description of being Real Housewives meets Marie Kondo. I can’t say that the comparison worked for me, and this book for the most part fell flat. I kept waiting for the fun to start. Just not for me unfortunately

"Mess" by Michael Chessler had an intriguing premise, promising a sharp satire of Hollywood and the struggles of a professional organizer navigating her own inner chaos. However, while the book touches on themes of self-image, personal growth, and the superficiality of fame, it falls short in execution. The characters often feel underdeveloped, and the humor, while occasionally witty, can come across as forced. The pacing drags at times, making it difficult to stay fully engaged. While there are glimpses of insight and moments of clever commentary, the story ultimately lacks the depth or charm needed to leave a lasting impression. A decent read for those curious about the premise, but not one I’d rush to recommend.

I loved this book. I was so well written I forgot I was reading a lot of time time. It was so relatable in so many ways. There’s a little piece of every woman in this.

I deeply appreciate the publisher and author for letting me receive an ARC of this book and for that reason I muscled through it in its entirety to give an honest review. If I wasn’t reading it as an ARC, I would have stopped reading it. I chose this book because I loved the cover art and summary and I was very disappointed to find it did not live up to my expectations. Not only did I find it boring, but it deeply offended me as a woman. There was very little plot. Every chapter is the same: the main character, Jane, organizes someone’s home, spends the whole time judging them and reflecting on her various interpersonal relationships while she’s there, then comes home with a stolen item and hangs out with/talks about/thinks about her boyfriend. Every female character is judged incredibly harshly and in a way that feels inauthentic. They’re all vapid or slovenly or gold diggers, etc. without exposition around how the character’s history informed that snap judgment or understanding of how this informs the plot. Yet any time male characters are judged, it seems to reflect as more of a critique on the female main character than on that male character. Ie: she’s too hard on her boyfriend, she doesn’t know how to love him etc. The dialogue could use some work, it comes across as very stilted. Most conversations read as how men think women talk about men instead of how they actually do. This book barely passes the Bechdel test and for what?! There isn’t even resolution to her romantic relationship. Jane is subjected to almost every stereotypical trope of women (she doesn’t know how to love, she’s uptight, her mom was very critical of her, she struggles with her weight, she even can’t believe she’s crying! Because she’s a 30 year old woman who hasn’t cried since middle school!) in a way that feels very unbelievable. Given the fact that 90% of this book is her inner musings, she stills comes off as completely flat. Without any plot to move this story along, it really need a character arc and that was wildly lacking. There is some character growth, but it feels very abrupt, untested, and doesn’t lead to anything that advances the character’s goals.

mess was an interesting read that i requested because of the vibrant cover. however, it is almost always difficult to read a man writing a woman. writing style wasn’t bad though and i liked his prose.

I went into this book with an open mind despite other negative reviews because the summary sounded cute and light. But this is one of the worst books I’ve read in years. It is so negative and exhausting while also performative and judgmental. The main character is horrible, and there is no reason given for her to supposedly grow/soften — except that the author seems to think that’s his overall plot. Every woman described in this book is uniquely awful, though there is one thing most of them have in common: They are vapid and shallow.

The author clearly hates LA and celebrity culture, so I have no idea why he chose to write a novel about both. Women are far more interesting and less severe than he makes us out to be.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, which was shared in exchange for an honest review.

Mess was a cute book! I enjoyed Michael Chessler's writing. This book will definitely make you want to organize your life!

I want to start by saying this is the first book I’ve read about a woman that is written by a male author. From the get go, I already knew i was going to DNF. Why is she so judgey? And why start in that direction? It was straight negativity…

3.5/5 stars | ARC Review

This book was different than my normal picks, so thank you to Harper Perennial for expanding my comfort zone. This book follows professional organizer (think The Home Edit) Jane through different client help while she’s also just learning more about herself in the struggle of being an adult. While slow paced, it was realistically paced for someone just trying to grow as a person and improve for themselves and those they love. There were snippets that threw me, like why is she taking stuff from the clients? I get the stuff is being thrown away, but there were moments like that where character development was lacking. Overall, though, I bounced between wanting to DNF because it isn’t my usual to not being able to put the book down because I was invested in the change of pace and genre.

DNF at 30%- this wasn't for me sadly :( thanks netgalley & the publisher for the opportunity to read this, in exchange for an honest review

I thought this book was cute and I enjoyed reading it. The characters were really relatable. I would recommend it to others!

I’m gonna keep this review short but I truly disliked this book. The way the FMC is written is super sexist. She goes on to describe women as annoying, their voice is annoying, the way they dress is never good enough, ect. I could go on. I just can’t finish this book, there’s clearly an agenda being pushed here.

This was not the book for me. I was excited by the premise but once I started reading, I felt like it was hard to stay engaged in the story. There was a lot of 'telling' instead of 'showing (ie-'This action made me feel like this...', 'I found myself thinking about a specific character trait of this person..."). Also, I found the dialogue clunky and unrealistic and the constant jumping between house-cleaning clients made it difficult for me to find the plot of the story. So, overall, though I'm sure there are many people that will enjoy this story, it was simply not my style.