The Assistant by Amanda Reynolds was cleverly told through emails, diary entries, interviews and the main one social media.

Larissa is the main character and is a great social media influencer. She shares everything and anything about her life as long as it brings her the attention she craves and she Loves attention!!!!

We meet Gail and she is on a mission. This mission is to take down Larissa. The only way she can do this is to become the influencers personal assistant. Gail’s calls her, The gold digger, especially as Larissa has just married a much older, wealthier man.
Gail, knows all her Larissa's habits. As well as all her secrets and will take her down!!!

I found this book very slow to get into and I had to put it down several times then came back to it. It was a book I didn't love or hate it...........a bit like Marmite!!!

Big Thank you NetGalley, Boldwood Books for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

I did find this one a bit slow to get into and had to restart the book a couple of times. It was quite funny in parts especially with Gail getting drunk and staying in the house over the weekend when she should have gone home. I felt the style of writing a bit jarring, with chapters written as interviews or texts but once I got used to that I did enjoy the book. Quite a few twists and surprises.

This book has a great premise. I loved the storyline but I think this book needed more editing. The chapters are divided into "interviews" yet the chapters aren't written in an interview style, or any format that comes across as an interview. I've never read any Amanda Reynolds books before that I can remember so maybe it's just me not being familiar with her format of writing.

I liked the characters and the building suspense - the writing is good - I just think with a little more editing and formatting this book could be a 4-5 star read.

This book is formatted with interviews and emails along with texts. It began slowly for me but picked up in the second half.

The Assistant by Amanda Reynolds

I know many things about Larissa. I know what she eats, which must-have brands she applies to her face, and the price of each carefully selected ‘piece’ in her multi-million-pound home in Belgravia. Because Ris, as she is known to her many followers, likes to share.

And now I’m here, in her home, watching her every move. Entrusted with her secrets and running her diary from the bijou basement flat, I’m on hand to fulfill Ris’ every need. Her right-hand woman. But what she doesn’t know is why I’m really here.

I’ve put a lot on the line to get this job, and now my plan can begin. I’ve waited long enough.

Read it now!

Gail is on a mission to take down Larissa, a social media influence rand wife an older, wealthy man. Gail gets hired as her personal assistant and is privy to the inner workings of her life. Unfortunately, for all its glamour, it's not that interesting of a life. And Gail's plan is awfully slow to develop. The story unfolds through interviews with a reporter, emails, diary entries, etc. and maybe because of that kind of felt choppy and slow.

Tense, twisted and terrifying, Amanda Reynolds’ The Assistant is a juicy thriller you will not want to miss.

When it comes to online influencers, Larissa is one of the most popular names in the game. Her millions of followers await with baited breath her next post and they hang on to her every word as they try to emulate her. They buy whatever she recommends, get inspired by the wisdom she imparts and want to be just like her. Larissa’s followers think of her as having the perfect life and as being as close to perfect as it is possible to get. But, Larissa isn’t quite what she seems – as her assistant Gail knows only too well.

As an assistant to a high-maintenance influencer, Gail needs to be on the ball at all times. There is no slacking on this job and Gail can certainly not afford to take her position for granted. Gail needs to cater to Larissa’s every whim and ensure that her boss doesn’t have a single thing to complain about. Gail is very conscientious about her job. But it’s not because her career means everything to her. There is a very special reason why Gail wanted to become Larissa’s assistant and now that she knows all of her secrets, her nefarious plan can finally begin..

Gail knows Larissa inside and out and the time has come for her boss to pay for what she’s done.

Amanda Reynolds’ The Assistant is certainly not for the faint-hearted. A dark, disturbing and highly addictive thriller that will keep you up all night, The Assistant is a heart-pounding tale full of suspense, twists and turns and intrigue that kept me guessing until the final jaw-dropping conclusion.

A first-rate chiller that is a struggle to put down, Amanda Reynolds’ The Assistant is a creepy, unsettling and unpredictable page-turner I couldn’t read fast enough.

I was looking forward to reading The Assistant. The fact I enjoyed Amanda Reynolds previous books set my expectations high for this one.
A psychological thriller mainly told through interviews, diary entries and emails made for a different read. I have read other books written in very similar ways previously so I knew I wouldn't have any issues with the style. So I cleared my day and sat down to devour this book!
Gail applies for the role of social media influencer and multi billionaire, Larissa's assistant. Gail doesn't just need a job, she needs to be in Larissa's life to bring her down. But why?
I was hooked from the start. The way the story was written, and the fact that both these women are as unlikeable as each other just pulls you into their worlds. I was hanging on to every word in anticipation of finding out everything. I felt like I was almost in Gail's head as the plot unfolded, this is due to the way Amanda Reynolds has written the book.
Both characters may not be the nicest, but they are very cleverly crafted. I love a character to hate,and two of them makes this even better! A solid slow burn psychological thriller that I recommend.
Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources,Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the copy of the book.

This book was ok. Was really hard to get through. I think it was the main character. It seemed a bit similar to the way the main character talked in the maid. Took me a while to read and wouldn’t recommend it.

This is such a different, complex book full of intrigue I love that it a slow burn too because it pulls you deep and you can't resist turning the pages, so much so I had it finished in a few hours. I loved the fact they drip fed clues through different media and dual timelines. I don't want to say too much because it might spoil the conclusion of this brilliant book. I will say though if you love a dark domestic then this is perfect and one of my favourite thrillers of 2o23.

The Assistant is cleverly told through emails, diary entries, interviews and social media.

Larissa is a social media influencer who shares everything and anything about her life as long as it brings her the attention she craves. Gail is her new assistant whose soul mission is to singlehandedly destroy 'Ris.

I found myself staying up till the early hours reading it. It was intriguing, compelling and oh, so twisty.

It's a slow starter that soon picks up a steady pace , and when it does, you'll not want to put it down, I didn't until I'd finished.

Many thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for my tour spot.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Larissa or Ris as she is known is a social media influencer and Gail knows everything about her but why does she want to take her down? A physcological thriller with lots of twists and turns they just keep rolling on. I really enjoyed reading this especially the social media posts, it makes you think "Do I really want to put my life out there for the whole world to know about?". A gripping and twisty read.

I received an Arc of this book for my honest review. I wanted to like the book but I did not like the format of it. It was DNF for me. Didn’t care for how the story was presented sounded like a great plot though

The assistant was not my favourite book, but also not a bad book. Lots of pros and cons throughout, and for me it came out as completely middle of the pack.

There was a unique way of story telling, told through a collection of diary entries, interviews & phone calls. This made it feel very different and fresh, but hard to follow at times.

The plot was EXTREMELY slow, I was contemplating leaving it as a DNF. It took over a third of the book to get me even remotely interested. The characters were very boring, annoying and/ or frustrating. There was a good amount of suspense and a few twists, a lot that are in fact hidden in plain sight.

Ultimately this book just felt very dragged out and the format came off as more gimmicky and annoying.

The book is written as a series of interviews between an unnamed journalist and Gail Frost, the main character who has been employed as an Executive Assistant to Larissa ‘Ris’ Fox, cocktail waitress turned influencer married to the wealthy Hotel owner Miles Fox. The interview transcripts are in the first person from Gail’s pov and are interspersed with emails from the journalist to another unnamed person with whom she is planning a TV series based on her investigations. It took me a little while to get into the book because I kept expecting it to move beyond the interviews into standard prose but this didn’t happen. I got used to it after a while however and settled in to the story.

I was really intrigued by Gail. Her character was really well written and I kept trying to work out what her story was and why she was so interested in Ris. Gail clearly worked hard which made it more difficult to get the measure of her, although there were some pretty sneaky moments and some were excruciating! I loved the way the story unfolded, and although I had an inkling about a couple of the twists/ reveals it certainly kept me guessing, and I didn’t expect the outcome of the diary entries…

I didn’t trust Mia from the beginning and definitely felt that there were some dodgy dealings. She was well written and her character certainly increased the tension. The intrigue ramped up towards the end and we gained a better perspective of Gail’s idiosyncrasies and Ris’ problems. The theme of being desperate for pregnancy and a baby in order to mend a failing relationship was executed with real strength and the emotions were palpable. I enjoyed the ending and found it fitting, and it made me wonder what was next for the characters. This was a fresh rake on a thriller – I really enjoyed The Assistant and will definitely be seeking out more by the author.

The Assistant holds plenty of intrigue with the format being a set of interviews told my the main protagonist, Gail. We get a look inside the lives of the rich and bored. A self important woman, Ris who feels she needs a PA to run her life although her life revolves around, nails, hair and any other number of pampering. She broke up a marriage and is now the wife of a millionaire and laps up the lifestyle.

The characters are strongly written, especially Gail. I did take me a bit of time to get into the book but once I found my way around the interview concept it certainly held my attention. I wanted to know exactly what Gail was after. What was it about Ris that pushed Gail on to try and bring her down. The tension at times is palpable and I found Amanda Reynolds has created a great read that makes you jump between disliking Gail or really seeing everything from her point of view. Once you figure out who is saying what in the interviews you can settle in for a great read.

I was really looking forward to this psychological thriller, the blurb has an intriguing premise. The assistant working against her influencer employer, who appears vacuous to say the least.

Gail is an older woman who wants to bring down social media influencer Ris. Why?
She manages to get a job as her assistant & endeavours to do her worst from within the gilded cage.

The story is told via various media iterations - emails, voice mails, posts & interviews - this has been done before & if you don’t like this style of writing then I would give it a miss as it is the bulk of the book. The plot does not have a smooth trajectory with bursts of activity & twists followed by lulls of commentary. The pace follows this pattern although it does pick up from about 30% in.

Gail is obviously delusional & Ris unlikeable. I couldn’t find a hook to follow - that didn’t sit well.
I’m not sure what else to say. Is it a brilliant, unputdownable book? No, but it is a good story perhaps it is the style that grates with me. Read it & decide for yourself.

I enjoyed this book, at times I wished it was of a faster pace, but the twist and turns more than made up for a slow start.

I really liked that it is written in the form of emails, interviews and texts. I liked the ‘influencer’ aspect, but Gail annoyed me so much once we found out her revelations

I am looking forward to reading more by this author .

This was a very intriguing thriller. It was a very slow burn to begin and I did wonder whether it was going to be one for me. However the last half of the book really started to speed up and I began to become sucked into the drama. Gail was a funny character not very likeable but also very quirky. There were many twists that I didn't see coming and I am glad I read through to the end!

I found The Assistant to be an OK read. I found it to be quite slow and the characters quite unrelatable and unlikeable. I did like the format of the book with it being told through interviews etc as this is quite a fresh new approach to storytelling.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for my ARC.

My Review: Amanda Reynolds is a new author to me, so this was a new type of book. It's interesting, engaging and full of intrigue. Larissa/ Ris was a regular person, working as a waitress and then she became a social media influencer due to her marriage to a rich older man named Miles Fox. Ris reminds me of some of characters seen on TOWIE. You know the perfect illusion type? Add Gail the Personal Assistant and a number of interviews that tell the story of Number 56 set in a rich prestigious home. I love that the Author reminds the reader that we can only ever give 100%. It's a sentiment I share a lot. No such thing as 110%.