The Receptionist is a well-written first novel for author, Kate Myles. I kept expecting more twists as I read because this book was listed in the thriller genre, but the plot still captured my interest and held it throughout.

The story features a successful, career-oriented couple, Emily and Doug, and Doug’s receptionist, Chloe. The author writes from all three perspectives. I felt the characters were well-developed. Their complex personalities made the book! They were all ruthless in one way or another.

I did thoroughly enjoy this read and look forward to reading additional novels from this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions above are my own.

#TheReceptionist
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I really wanted to like this book more than I did.
High powered career couple Emily and Doug could have it all, but he's too busy sleeping with all the girls everywhere, and Emily is not strong enough to set out on her own. Enter Chloe, Doug's new, young receptionist at his company. She's got plenty of issues of her own, but sleeping with the boss doesn't bother her at all.
Emily and Doug have worked their way up in their respective companies. They each become involved in a scheme to cheat a client of Emily's, which will undoubtedly become disastrous for everyone involved. Soon, Emily becomes pregnant, which complicates things. From here on out there is some excitement, but things are a bit disjointed. I struggled to finish the book because I was not invested in any of the characters and did not care enough about them to find out what really happened to each of them.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

Loved this
Dark and intense with lots of twists and turns
I loved the fact that there were characters that were patently unpleasant and couldn't wait for them to get their come uppence - fabulous !!

This was one of those stories where I hated all the characters and didn’t want to deal with any of them.

This thriller follows the lives of three different characters: Emily is a successful talent agent who works for television. Her husband, Doug, is a womanizing CEO, addicted to both sex and drugs and Chloe is his young, ambitious receptionist who work as a performance artist as a side hustle. When Doug begins an affair with Chloe, it sets off a chain of events that will affect everyone’s lives. This dark novel is a slow burn that explores ambition, humanity and complicated relationships. It snuck up on me and I couldn’t stop reading it. These are not likable characters, but they are real and nuanced the narrative asks big questions about life and the choices we make and their consequences.Thank you to NetGalley and to Thomas and Mercer for the advanced review copy.

It was.....alright.

I found it be a pretty boring read and wouldn't recommend it to a friend.

Other's might enjoy it, but it wasn't for me.

I decided to DNF The Receptionist at 35%. The storyline felt predictable, nothing new, cheating husband , the newest person is not surprisingly one of the receptionist at his office. There were red flags from the start but the wife wanted to be part of the 1% bad enough to overlook them. Each person in this triangle seem to have their own back story, their own 'reasons' for doing what they do in an attempt to justify their bad behavior. The plot isn't original and the storyline felt slow and drawn out.

This is a fast-paced, real life look at what goes down behind closed doors in LA. Some thriller aspects, some sexy aspects, definitely a great read overall.

First, I want to thank Netgalley, Kate Myles, and Thomas & Mercer for allowing me to read and review The Receptionist early. What a wild ride this was! I’m so glad I was on this rollercoaster along with (Jess) so we could experience the craziness together.

Emily is a top talent agent for talk show & reality tv. She chooses to turn the other way & ignore her husband, Doug’s, cheating ways until a surprise pregnancy happens and his beautiful receptionist, Chloe, gets in the way. But Chloe has a secret past, that while she’s desperate to forget, soon catches up with her. How far will Emily have to go to protect her life & her child’s?

I always love a good book that seems like a train wreck that you can’t look away from, with characters that are insane. I like that it was told through the eyes of Emily, Doug, & Chloe. I love getting different perspectives and points of view from different characters. I was hoping to get a little more out of the story, with just a little more shock factor. But all in all, it was entertaining and makes for a great beach or poolside read.

I was on the fence with my opinions about this book. There was some great, good and bad parts of this book. Let me explain further:

The great:
Characterization of Emily, Doug (dbag husband to Emily), and Chloe (pregnant, other woman).. They are all a bunch of over-opinionated, strong, narcissistic people I would never be friends with in real life. Toxic relations galore.
What I also enjoy, Emily trying to get her revenge against Doug, not realizing how f**ked up Chloe is as a person.
The cover , writing and overall story and a quick read.

The good:
Was not predictable, and I hate that in any book.
The ending

The bad:
Could have had more suspense/thrill moments, it was a slow burn.
Very dislikable characters

Still recommended, may read this again after publication in the future. Thanks to Netgalley, Kate Myles and Thoman Mercer publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 8/1/21

This book is full of loathsome, reprehensible characters and unhinged, scandalous dramas. I couldn’t get into the writing style. I really wanted to like it.

The Receptionist is completely over the edge. I thought all the characters were reprehensible. Lying, scheming, cheating, drug dealing, money laundering, it has it all. I finished the book but I didn’t care for it at all.

This book was an irresistible read and packed with suspense.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Every book needs an Outlier-and I guess it’s my turn!

This was a 5 ⭐️ for a couple of my GR friends who often share my taste! Sadly for me, it’s just a 3⭐️ read.

The book opens ominously-with a prologue informing us of a crime scene that has been razed.
But, destroying it couldn’t stop an eleven year old from discovering what had once happened at the the former 19472 Pacific Coast Highway.

Off to a strong start.

We are then introduced to our three despicable characters-Power couple Emily and Doug, and his latest Mistress, Chloe.

Emily’s chapters are told in the first person POV-the strength of author, Kate Myles.

We are told about what Doug and Chloe are doing and thinking in a very detached third person POV.
(He did this and he felt that) I would have preferred each character to have been written in the first person.

Emily is top talent agent, a “ hyper polished mean girl” all grown up-with a soft spot for dogs! (which I loved)
She tolerates Doug, because she enjoys their 1% lifestyle.

Doug runs his own Market Research firm and he is the kind of man that every woman seems to notice.
And, let’s just say that he notices them back.

And, Chloe, is a beautiful, but naive girl who does on site “performance art” and thinks she will find success with that, and with Doug, though she knows he is married and that she isn’t the first he has strayed with.

She confuses a gift of a Prada blouse, and his desire to “have her” in Public places for true love.

I found the Corporate shenanigans, the “performance art” and the frequent sex scenes, between Doug and Chloe, BORING.

This entire middle section of the book lacked the THRILLS I was expecting, especially after the JUICY opening scene where Chloe arrives for an interview with Emily at her talent agency!

Eventually the book circles back around to THRILLER territory in the final 25%, with a SATISFYING conclusion, but the middle is going to keep this one in the 3 ⭐️ range for me!

Still, I would be interested to see what the author comes up with next..

Thank You to Thomas & Mercer for the gifted copy! It was my pleasure to provide a candid review!
Available August 1, 2021.

Everybody has a secret, an agenda and ulterior motive. The only really likable character in this whole novel is the baby.
As usual, everyone is beautiful, skilled, never have to exercise or do any personal grooming. And it all looks so good on the outside; but underneath is cheating, in several ways, How they intersect is the essence of the story, and how each of them try to pull something over on the other is the action.
Things move along, I wanted to see what would happen next.....
The end wraps up pretty quickly and not the way I expected, so fun to read.

With no one to root for, these characters have everything to lose. And yet, in her debut novel, Kate Myles keeps you invested from page one.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

For Emily, it’s always been career above all. For her husband Doug, it’s been infidelity, drugs, and the pretty much everything other than being a doting husband. With a marriage like that, what could possibly go wrong? For Chloe, the past just won’t stay in the past. And her new job as a receptionist at Doug’s firm will make sure of just that.

This book is a lesson in unlikable characters. If you need a protagonist to root for, you’re not going to enjoy this book. I don’t think you can. But because of the unlikable characters, Myles opens the door to a world with no rules.

What is different about The Receptionist is it is not a plot driven thriller. It’s a character study on shitty people. There aren’t many plot beats, hardly an inciting incident, and the rising action falls a bit flat, but none of that really matters because you’ve gone so deep into the minds of these characters that you just want to find out where they end up.

While the plot is one you’ve read time and time again, The Receptionist gives you an inside look into the heads of the worst kind of people. And that is what makes it a compelling story and worth the read.

The Receptionist is expected to be released 7/6/2021.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great read and a well detailed plot that kept me engaged from the very start.
I really liked the well thought out characters and found them to be believable. I cannot wait to read what the author brings out next.

This story was the makings of a Lifetime Movie cliche. A seemingly happy high powered couple have to reckon with the mistakes of the husbands wandering eye. Surprise, surprise, the receptionist he cheats with turns out be nuts.

It sounds like the same movie, TV show or book we've all indulged in in the past but it turns out to be so more. It sustained my interest throughout the story but got really intense towards the last quarter of the book.

The ending was a bit lackluster, but I overall enjoyed it.

Okay. Terrible ending but forgetting that or pushing it aside, I was a bit surprised (in a good way) by this one. There were alot of dysfunctional characters you won't really like. It was a page turner but a slow burn

I enjoyed the author's clear writing. Every voice/character was different and distinct. And they're all so horrible and interesting and mostly really well developed.

It's definitely like a you have to keep reading even though you hate this characters cause you have to know what happens and how it develops and wraps up.

Still had way more potential but an interesting and decent read nonetheless

Emily, a high power agent....married to Doug owner of a market research company. Together a power couple. Emily knows Doug cheats, chooses to ignore it for the luxurious lifestyle. Chloe the young beautiful receptionist is the next woman Doug has an affair with. When Emily finds out she is pregnant and realizes just how much her husband is a scammer, liar and a cheat she decides to make plans.

Told between Emily, Doug and Chloe. I don’t know if I was supposed to like any of these characters. Trust me you don’t. I didn’t know if I was going to enjoy this book in the beginning . Trust me you will. At about 30% in I was hooked and couldn’t put it down. The crazy in this book, the audacity of its characters, the what the f moments!

Thank you for writing such a delirious maniacal little book!!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my advanced copy!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5