I Might Be in Trouble

This is the kind of book that has you googling to find out if the author woke up next to the dead body of a one-night stand. Because when main character David is an author who wakes up next to a dead body and then writes a novel about Daniel who is an author who wakes up next to a dead body...and then you loop back around and remember the author's name is also Daniel...well it begs the question! For the record—I can't confirm or deny if this was inspired by a true story, but it feels vivid and fleshed out as you read about what David is going through.

Whether it's inspired by reality or not, this novel is playful, exciting, and kept me on the edge of my seat. The characters are well developed, the dialogue is interesting, and the look into David's complicated family life and struggle to get by even as a successful author felt very real. While it took me a few chapters to get invested, once things Started To Go Down, I was absolutely sucked in and finished the rest of the book in just two days.

One of my very favorite things about this book is the relationship between author David and his literary agent/best friend Stacey. What an unlikely pair they are—Stacey being aged out of an industry she helped build and David a young up-and-coming whose second novel flopped. Their dialogue never fell into the common traps that some writers of intergenerational friendships find themselves in; the two are able to communicate and relate to one another despite and in spite of their differences.

Sinilarly, the relationship between David and his ex, Jeremy, was really refreshing and lovely. I so enjoyed how Jeremy remained steadfastly supportive of his ex, no matter what, because he cared about him. It's not a dynamic you get to see too often in fiction, and I loved it!

This isn't even getting into the twists and turns of the thriller that is what happened to the dead body that David wakes up next to, and how he turns it into his next book! The story had me in disbelief at times (no one is noticing that they're dragging a dead body through the city??), but don't worry, those moments will be addressed!!.

I really enjoyed this read and look forward to reading more of Aleman's books in the future!

Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and Netgalley for access to an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

After reading the dedication page, I had a pretty good feeling about this book and man was my gut right. Following along with David and his Stacey was like living in a late night Oxygen true crime documentary. Daniel does a great job of capturing all the dread that comes with doing something you know you shouldn’t and subsequently fearing that the consequences are constantly lurking in the shadows. I enjoyed this read and I’m interested in reading more of the authors work.

Dark comedy about a young writer in New York. This is silly and hilarious and sad and wonderful. I absolutely loved it.

At the heart of this is self-love, self-acceptance, and self-knowledge. Our MC is has been on a rollercoaster of success and failure, professionally and in love. He's unmoored in life and maybe it takes this outrageous series of events for him to sort himself out. I was with our protagonist the entire time, the hope and despair both sensible and unfounded. I found him to be extremely understandable and easy to identify with, and I love an MC who does not always achieve likability.

This should absolutely be made into a movie. Someone get that together, please and thank you.

I have loved everything that Daniel Aleman has written and this first adult novel is no different. Those first few chapters, whew. No spoilers, I promise. But Alemen has captured the true loneliness one can feel even in a world surrounded by people and a fast-moving society. While living in NYC, David finds himself trying to figure out his love life and career as a writer. Finding someone dead in your bed after your first meeting just might ruin your day, but it just gets worse. And yet, David someone uses his limited resources to figure out the next steps. As the story unfolds, which I read in like two sittings, you just cringe and feel your heart wring out of anxiety. You don’t really like all of the secondary characters but the internal monologue David has opens up a world of complexity as if you only need to hear and feel through him. I highly recommend this book and thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

I was a big fan of Aleman's previous titles, so I wanted to read this as soon as I saw it on Netgalley! What a successful transition to a new audience and title. This book was suspenseful, addictive, and just a little bit cheeky. I'm so excited for its publication so I can share it with my patrons!

Really really liked this one. It moved very quickly and the pace was spot on. I finished in about two sittings! I loved the friendship between David and Stacey- they were hilarious together.

This book has a pretty straightforward plot, but it’s really about friendships, foundations, and a little bit of grief. Light and fluffy with a lot of heart- one of my favorite kinds of books.

I will definitely be recommending this to my circle of people. 4.5 stars

I don't think I've ever loved a book that called me out this badly

There have very few adult debuts from YA authors I can say I have enjoyed, but this one - this one's different. In an amazing way, of course.

David is living the life I absolutely fear post-debut publishing, where his life falls apart and he can't write anything due to severe anxiety. So much of his thoughts sounded so eerily similar to mine it made me physically uncomfortable reading, and yet I was too thoroughly sucked into how terrible this guy's life/circumstance; it was too late for me to back out when I was already invested. My hopes for David to come out of this story OK was tying to the hopes for my future.

The story is fully self aware that it's borderlining meta so hard. An author and a literary agent trying to use book logic to hide a body is so good, because that is where the comedy shines brightest, especially when something inevitably pops out to screw with their plans. Plus, David and Stacey are such a great disaster duo; Stacey's dedication and loyalty to David is amongst the best I've seen.

But what I think is the best aspect of this book is the heart is contains. It's about the lonely people, those who never had a great foundation at the start of life and have floundering through life unstabalized and not knowing how to depend on people. It's for the writers who share all the fears that come with writing, publishing, the whole process that often leaves us vulnerable and could possibly pull the rug from underneath us at a moment's notice. Despite how much I hated it at first, it gave me a good think about myself that I've been needing.

All in all, this book is amazing, and I really hope it gets the attention is deserves once it officially releases thus coming December.

I loved this book from the beginning! It felt like each part had a whole new vibe or trope to it and it was almost like 3 books in one!

A young gay writer is struggling with his love life, family life and career. He decides to blow off steam by dabbling in Grindr for a night to take his mind off things. And boy does it! A handsome wealthy man messages him and invites him to the Plaza. They have a night gallivanting about New York City but everything takes a turn for the worst in the morning.

I loved the description of the night of torrid romance. I loved the friendship between two unlikely characters.
I loved how 50% into the book I was like how can I only be half way through? Isn't this storyline pretty much wrapped up? But nope! We get thrown into what felt like a sequel and it never lost it's depth, pace or intrigue.

I loved Aleman's writing style and will definitely be looking to read more of his books in the future.

Wildly messy and hilarious from start to finish, I Might Be in Trouble addresses the average struggles of a twenty-eight year old writer: dealing with writer's block, getting over a tough break-up, and hiding the body of the man he just slept with the night before. Of course, navigating these struggles becomes even more difficult when David is entangled with the murder investigation and thrust under a strict deadline for his next book. Weighed down with expectations, David is forced to confront his feelings of inadequacy in both his career and in his relationships with other people, discovering what it is that truly matters to him. In the end, his story serves as a comforting reminder that sometimes we don't need to have everything figured out in order to deserve love and happiness.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the arc.