I had a hard time getting into this book but I stuck with it and it turned out to be pretty good. It’s a psychological thriller and the ending was awesome! If you can get past the slowness it is worth it. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I felt like this one was a little slow for my liking. The truly just wasn't my cup of tea and I'm not sure what exactly it was missing.

Emily and Doug have been a successful couple and enjoy living a life of the super rich. Doug often cheats on his wife which Emily overlooks in exchange for their lifestyle. But, when he begins sleeping with his receptionist Chloe he has found that she might not have been the best woman to get entangled with. Will Doug and Emily be able to escape the wrath of the scorned lover Chloe or will she be their downfall.

The story line is great it just was a bit lacking to me.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Thanks to #netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. I was hooked from the start with this book. It has everything I love fast paced, twisty, dark and devious people, I couldn't put it down. #katemyles #thereceptionist #tea_sipping_bookworm #netgalley #goodreads #litsy #thestorygraph #bookqueen #bookstagram #thriller

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review The Receptionist. This was just the book I needed to get me out of my reading slump. While the characters were completely unlikeable, I was drawn into the fact that it was a domestic thriller full of sex and ambition. While it wasn't the best book I've read, I'd still give it a read.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the gifted e-ARC for review, however all opinions are my own and honest! This book mainly focused on the complicated relationship between Emily, a BOSS-lady talent agent who radiates power and strength, Doug, her CEO husband who is a liar and a cheat, and Chloe, the Receptionist at Doug’s company and also (one of) his mistresses. What unfolds next is a truly twisty noir thriller set against the glamour and grime of Los Angeles culminating in a death you truly don’t expect.

What I liked: despicable characters, fast paced writing that brings you into the story, never knowing who/what to trust, packed to the brim with drama

What I disliked: despicable characters, at times the POV was confusing, inconsistent character motivations, some plot lines didn’t feel fully fleshed out

I feel like these kind of 'sexy' noir books are supposed to be thrillers but I always just kind of find them boring and dumb. I'm not entertained. I always want something else.

It's three characters - three mentally unstable people all on power trips, a power couple and his mistress. I just...I couldn't care any less.

It's just like forced sexiness. FORCED.

Thanks anyway!

I found The Receptionist a fascinating read. Like watching a car derailing a train before they both fall off a bridge onto the traffic below. The main characters in Myles’ debut novel treat each other horribly. But that’s part of what kept me turning pages.

Emily and Doug are married. Doug and Chloe have an affair. Chloe is a psychopath. It’s a combustable combination and no one is above reproach in Myles’ investigation of what lengths people will go to preserve their careers, their reputations, and their financial status.

A tough-minded, take-no-prisoners talent agent, Emily has worked hard to get where she is. She forged a life as a top predator in the Los Angeles film industry. It’s not pretty, but it’s shiny. It’s not secure, but it’s something others admire.

Doug is a charismatic CEO with a ruthless side to his ambition. He’s also a cheater and a liar, but Emily is willing to look the other way . . . for a time.

Chloe is a struggling artist. Gorgeous and seductive, but she’s also in over her head trying to fit into the Hollywood scene. Or is she the worst of the trio? Willing to do anything to succeed? But then, isn’t that what’s been modeled for her?

Myles background in the entertainment industry lends an air of credibility to her tale, but regardless, that’s not why we read books like The Receptionist. We’re reading because of the intense drives of the characters. Everyone wants something and wants it badly, we just want to see how far they will go.

Not for the faint of heart, The Receptionist is a total guilty pleasure. Grab yourself a drink and hold on for the ride.

Emily is a well-respected, hard-working woman in the talent agency business and CEO of RFG Entertainment. She is married to Doug, the charismatic CEO of Beyond the Brand. Doug is a conceited, arrogant jerk from start to finish. Even though he has a lovely wife, he cannot stay faithful to her. Enter Chloe, Doug’s latest main squeeze, who is now his office’s new receptionist.

Next, we delve into meetings about a sketchy plan to work with one of Emily’s clients to create a wearable EEG that projects the wearer’s reactions to various stimuli. (A must-buy for people with more money than good sense.)

When Emily discovers she’s pregnant, she appears to not be sure if she’s happy or not. Doug attitude seems to be “whatever.” As Chloe and Doug’s affair escalates, she becomes convinced that he will divorce Emily and marry her. Yeah, sure, Honey.

All three main characters have crazy backgrounds and all three should be locked in a mental ward. But, then again, that’s just my opinion.

I kept reading and reading this book and wondering what the heck I was reading. But, never fear, I stuck with it as I frowned with concentration at each page. It took me quite a way into the book to finally get what Doug was trying to do with his project. He becomes crazier right along with Chloe and Emily. This is a dark book that the reader must take with a grain of salt and perhaps a large glass of wine. Reviews are all over the place and I mean no disrespect to the author, but this is a story that disturbed me almost as much as “A Clockwork Orange.” You’ve been warned.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Receptionist starts out strong. I was immediately captured when Chloe goes in for an interview with Doug's wife. There were so many things going in the back of both the women's minds that I couldn't wait to continue.

But then it just went blah. The excitement I had was diminished. Finally, the last 20 percent picked back up and is all wrapped up 12 years later through an epilogue from the daughters diary.

The book is from several point of views, all revEaling how they're all conniving human beings. That, I'm not complaining about. Isn't that what thrillers are all about ?

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Set in LA, power couple Emily and Doug don’t have the greatest of marriages. Doug is reckless in all that he does...is that recklessness about to catch up with him? Emily is a smart business woman, but chooses to ignore Doug’s philandering lifestyle, that is until Chloe enters the picture. Chloe has a dark past that rears it’s head in inopportune moments. Scandals abound and in the end it’s a fight for survival, but who will ultimately win? With a cast of unlikable characters, this book will not go down as a favorite of mine.

A deliciously fun, pure guilty pleasure. This book has pretty much only despicable characters, yet that in no way makes it less fun. I enjoyed reading about the terrible Doug, a dotcom millionaire type always running some scam or another who is also horrible to his wife. Then there’s his wife Emily, who is herself an awful person but you still feel bad for her because Doug is such a slimeball. Speaking of which, Doug is also sleeping with his totally unhinged receptionist….hence the title of the story.

I enjoyed the dark humor and the many plot twists, as well as the way the book poked fun at a lot of typical LA denizens. This book reminded me a little bit of a Bret Easton Ellis book, if Bret Easton Ellis wrote smutty books about jerky husbands who have affairs. You will find yourself turning pages at the speed of light in order to find out if Doug gets what’s coming to him.

Excellent job by Kate Myles, whose next book I can’t wait to read. Thanks to Thomas & Mercer, the author and NetGalley for this bit of salacious fun.

DNF
-This book sounded like a domestic thriller with a twist so I was intrigued. I don’t always love domestic thrillers though.
-It starts with a bang and Emily is immediately snobbish and not very likeable. She’s a very typical “mean girl” and judges Chloe when she first meets her. She continues to be someone I don’t like, bordering on someone I really dislike. In fact, all of these characters are unlikeable from Chloe randomly kissing someone’s boyfriend in a mall to Doug stating if he chooses to sleep with Chloe, he’ll have to buy her a new wardrobe. I just do not like any of them. At all.
-I also felt like I was watching/reading only bits of the story from afar instead of really being there for the details and getting to visualize what was going on. This does get better but then the timeline was also confusing at points, suddenly explaining something that happened in the past and then coming right back to present. There is not a lot of meat to grab you for a huge chunk of the beginning of the book. What are we working towards here?
-I ultimately only read about 35% because I was so floored by how unlikeable the characters were and the fact that it was just too slow for me to have motivation to keep reading.

Kate Myles delivers a super wicked tale between two women in “The Receptionist”! I was engrossed from the first meet cute, so to speak! So mean and deeply dark!
I was also in love with this cover.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
#NetGalley #KateMyles #TheReceptionist

Interesting characters, intriguing story and amazing ending....I must admit, not really a fan of affair nor I like the receptionist but dang, the story was mind-blowing!

Well that was wild! Emily and Doug want people to think they are a perfect couple but they know they aren't. She's a talent agent, he's in marketing, and Chloe, his receptionist is angry. Angry because he ended their relationship. Her revenge is part of this twisty story that also delves into other things. It's over the top and parts of it will seem familiar but it makes for a good summer read. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Know that you probably won't like anyone.

This book is so good! Being a receptionist myself I enjoyed it that much more! I highly recommend it and trust me you won’t want to put it down!!!

I'm going to keep this relatively short - so this had all the makings to be something I would really enjoy, but it just ended up being pretty middle of the road. The pacing was probably my biggest issue here - the opening scene between Emily & Chloe was great, but the rest of the story really fizzled out until the end. I didn't mind that the characters were unlikeable, it's that type of a story, but the pacing & the narrative structure (the switches were pretty jarring sometimes, to be quite frank) really just didn't work for me. I'd recommend this for those who like more domestic drama with a dash of thrills. Thank you so much to Kate Myles & Thomas & Mercer for providing an ARC in exchange for a honest review!

When Doug starts an affair with the artistic and beautiful receptionist, Chloe, he does not know her past or secrets. His wife, hardworking talent agent Emily, may find out.

I got this one because it’s called The Receptionist and I’m in administration. I thought I’d be able to relate to the character. Nope. She is totally bonkers and I couldn’t stand her. Regardless, it was still a very entertaining read. It took some time to get into because the beginning is a lot of business stuff, explaining conflicts of interest and how the companies work. It got super exciting halfway through and kept climbing. The ending was a wow moment for me. Definite summer must read if you are looking for straight entertainment.

“All my life, I’d never had a better motivator than the urge to mete out justice.”

“There’s something deeply off about this girl, more than the run-of-the-mill issues of the disorganized. Is it new, or is he just now noticing?”

The Receptionist comes out 8/1.

Oh boy, not gonna lie, it was quite a struggle to finish this one.

I had seen some great reviews by some of my most trusted book friends so I was expecting to love it too. Sadly, I didn’t. The opening was great with a very intriguing prologue and a first chapter where Emily and Chloe, the wife and the mistress, meet for the first time, but for me it all went downhill from there.

After such a promising start the story focuses only on Emily and her story the previous years, dragging quite a lot and making me lose interest pretty early on. Then the story forgets about Emily and focuses on Chloe and Doug, and it almost made me wish it would have stayed with Emily! I HATED all three characters! They were horrible people and could not, for the sake of me, find any redeemable trait in any of them. This made that I could not care less about what happen to any of them.

It could have been saved if at least the story managed to hold my attention but I found all the scheme with the data, the App Store, the money…pretty boring as well. Can we talk for a minute about Chloe’s group performances? OMG, it was so cringey! No wonder they needed day jobs! Some parts felt really disjointed, not adding much to the plot and being there only as another way to show how disgusting the characters were (the scene in the car with the driver was in such bad taste!).

The last quarter picked up the pace a little bit but was not enough to save all of the above.

With a very promising beginning, the narrative structure and some really dislikable characters made of what could have been a pretty decent domestic suspense a truly forgettable one.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Doug and Emily have been married and are now expecting their first child. Doug is the CEO of a company in charge of creating a new app, but has some sinister on-goings both in business and pleasure. Emily is a successful talent agent and when Doug sends her another one of his receptionists, Chloe to have a meeting as a favor to him, it's the last straw. She knows that Doug can't be trusted and that he must be hiding something from her. Unfortunately, Emily takes out her frustration with Doug on Chloe who is more unstable that anyone realized. This is a story of a love triangle turned dark.

I was excited about this one - I am a big "judge a book by the cover" person and between the title and the cover, I was super hooked. Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me. First of all, Doug is trash and Emily is kind of a bitch (though at times it's warranted). Chloe is all over the place and equally as unlikeable as the other two main characters. I was not invested in much of the story line as I didn't really connect with any of the characters. Towards the end I started to like Emily a little bit more, but the ending was such a let down. Maybe my expectations for this one were too high.

**Please note, I have the utmost respect and appreciation for authors and their craft. As an avid reader it pains me to leave a poor review.