DNF @ 35% - I thought I could push my way through the bad writing and obvious cliches, but I just couldn’t do it anymore 😭😭 the characterization was non-existent or borrowed from the “hollywood” stereotypes of actors & directors, and the story itself wasn’t enough to keep me pushing through… I could tell it was trying to go the same way as THE HOUSEMAID but with less mystery behind it, but the writing style was a firm no from me… thank you to netgalley and berkley for the copy!!

Review of The Hollywood Assistant by May Cobb

I’m such a huge fan of this author personally and of her work. I was thrilled to be approved to read this one on NetGalley. It did not disappoint me, and I loved every page of it. Her characters are rarely likable, and sometimes they can even be despicable, but I am here for the drama of it all. I sped through it quickly as I always do. This one had the perfect setting and Hollywood with actors and screenwriters. And of course there’s always murder. You’re definitely gonna want to get this one.
It comes out in early July.

Synopsis:

Offered a dream job in Hollywood with a famous director and his actress wife, an insecure woman becomes their personal assistant where their secrets and lies place her in the crosshairs of a murder investigation.

Cassidy Foster is heartbroken, stuck in life, and getting a little too obsessed with plants. Then when a well-connected friend becomes sick of Cassidy’s moping and gets her a gig with famous Hollywood couple, Marisol and Nate Sterling, Cassidy jumps at the chance to move to sunny LA.

The Sterlings are warm and welcoming. A perfect couple. All Cassidy has to do is be available a few hours a week for errands. In return, she has access to luxury: Designer clothes. A sparkling pool. Great pay.

When Nate takes interest in her, asking her to read scripts he’s written, Cassidy thinks this could be the key to kickstarting her writing dreams. As their business relationship grows, so does their attraction. Nate is sexy and talented, and Cassidy can’t believe her luck. Clearly, Marisol doesn’t know what she has. Maybe that’s why the two are always fighting when they think Cassidy isn’t around.

But Cassidy learns she was hired for a different purpose. The Sterlings aren’t the perfect couple. Marisol isn’t the perfect wife. And when one of them is found dead, Cassidy becomes the perfect suspect.

This was beyond ridiculous- slightly entertaining on audio but I mostly rolled my eyes. I don’t think this author is for me.

Cassidy Foster moves to LA after a relationship that left her heartbroken and her dream of being an author remaining stagnant. She hopes things can turn around when her industry connected best friend gets her a job being a personal assistant for a celebrity couple - Nate, a high profile writer and Marisol, an actress. What starts as an easy, well paid job that includes organizing Marisol's closet and grocery shopping becomes a bit more than she thought - spying on Marisol on behalf of Nate. It begins as something Cassidy shrugs off, after all how could Marisol be deceiving her sexy, hot and successful husband?

The premise for this book intrigued me at first, but I thought the characters fell a little flat. Cassidy especially was a very unlikeable character and the plot itself felt a bit disorganized.

I think May Cobb is the perfect author for those summer binge reads - when you're poolside and just want to get sucked into a drama filled thriller!

I related her first book, The Hunting Wives, to a couple episodes of Desperate Housewives and this one is similar!

The Hollywood Assistant was all the celebrity drama I could ask for. I loved the double celebrity drama and the constant reminder that everything isn't as it seems.

I do think the unreliable female narrator is getting old in general. I thought some of the FMC's actions were repetitive and I started skimming some of those scenes.

Overall, I didn't want to put the book down and I was surprised by the ending twist. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a quick and enjoyable summer thriller.

This was my first May Cobb and it won’t be my last! This was a bit slow but it was such a thrilling ride. I loved the drama and the suspense and I felt so consumed by the three characters! I was absolutely sucked in by this twisty & spicy thriller! The second half of the book picked up the pace and I also loved the atmosphere and descriptions of Hollywood. This was such an enticingly unputdownable story.

Thank you Berkley for the ARC!

Thank you to PRHAudio for a free audiobook and to Berkley and NetGalley for a free eARC.

Cassidy takes her broken heart and moves to LA. She becomes a personal assistant to Marisol and Nate, a famous, wealthy couple. She runs errands and helps out with odd jobs and gets paid very well. She likes Marisol, but soon finds herself attracted to Nate. And he seems to reciprocate.
Nate and Marisol are fighting a lot. Then things take a turn, and Cassidy soon realizes what is going on and why she is there. Won't say more so as not to spoil it.

This one had lots of drama, and I am here for that!

Cassidy gets a job working as an assistant to a Hollywood couple. As she becomes closer with both the actress wife and movie mogul husband, she gets caught in the crosshairs of a murder investigation. Cassidy's character was frustrating. To put it simply: she was so dumb and fell for anything that I found it hard to feel any sort of sympathy for her. Cobb's thrillers always have a steamy, slow-burn edge. The action in this one didn't totally ramp up until about 75% through, but the rest moved quickly enough to hold my attention. In the same vein as all of Cobb's thrillers, this novel is packed with rich people drama. They also skew very steamy: perhaps an erotic thriller?

After a devastating breakup, Cassidy takes a leap of faith, moves to Los Angeles, and starts a job as an assistant to a famous Hollywood couple. Cassidy’s new life seems perfect, until someone is found dead, and Cassidy is the main suspect.

This was my first book by May Cobb and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I felt like I was reading a true story about the hidden life of the Hollywood elite. It’s a longer book, but I read it fairly quickly, and loved the twists.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to read!

May Cobb will always get 5 stars from me. This book overflows with the drama and spice that Cobb has become so known for. I can’t wait to enjoy the audio version of this book to truly bring the characters to life.

Thank you to Berkley and PRH Audio for the copies to review.

Another spicy doozy by May Cobb that I thoroughly enjoyed! She knows how to write a deliciously juicy popcorn thriller and I have begun looking forward to them every summer! I love that there is always a Texas tie in, and while the setting in this one was in LA, our protagonist Cassidy Foster has moved from Texas after a heartbreak and her friend helps her land a job with a famous Hollywood couple shortly after settling in. It sounds easy enough, she should just be available a few hours a week for errands and she will be fairly set. Then the husband, Nate, shows an interest in her and soon she is reading scripts for him and hopeful her writing career is about to take off. But as their business relationship strengthens, so does their attraction for each other, and Cassidy is fairly certain all is fine because after all, it’s not her fault his wife Marisol doesn’t realize what she’s missing. And the couple is always fighting so there has to be trouble in paradise, right? Right… But then Cassidy realizes she might have been hired for a different purpose, and this couple is clearly not perfect. Aaaaanddd then one of them ends up dead, and now Cassidy is suspect numero uno. Dun, dun dun…

This was a slow build for probably the first half of the book, but an awkward build because so many times I was saying GURLLLL to Cassidy as she was out of her dang mind. AND THEN… there are a couple of twists that I did not see coming and they just about slapped me upside the face. They were very well done, helped to pick up the pacing in the second half of the book, and took the ending up a notch for me. Overall I really loved this one, and I think it is my favorite of hers yet. Oh and the audio was wonderful, I thought the narrator did a fantastic job with the story.

"The Hollywood Assistant" by May Cobb is a gripping and sharp-edged novel that delves into the high-stakes world of Hollywood's behind-the-scenes dynamics, which I really enjoyed. The story follows an aspiring actress who becomes an assistant to a powerful producer, only to find herself entangled in a web of ambition, deceit, and danger. Cobb's writing excels in its portrayal of the cutthroat nature of the entertainment industry, offering readers a keenly observed critique of the power struggles and moral compromises that define it. The novel's fast-paced narrative and well-drawn characters make for an engaging and suspenseful read. "The Hollywood Assistant" combines elements of thriller and drama, providing a compelling exploration of dreams and disillusionments in the glamorous yet treacherous world of Hollywood.

This book was just not for me. I could not stand the FMC Cassidy (was she an intelligent writer & skilled script analyst or an awkward teenager??). The pacing was tough and it dragged on and on - NO need for 400 pages, esp when the murder alluded to isn’t revealed until the 80% mark. The story leading up to that is boring and uneventful.

Lots of cheesy snooping (the tree branches and curtains are always placed just so!) and cheesy dialogue ( "prolly", "ridic"", "obvy" "chica". ) gross!

Ridiculous “twists” just tossed out for shock value.
I need a good thriller!!!!! This wasn’t it.

Thank you so much @prhaudio & @berkleypub for the e @ audio copies! @may_cobb is a favorite of mine bc she does not miss
This is a story about why employment boundaries are so important.
From the first page I knew this was going to go badly for our protagonist- I just didn't realize *how* badly. This salacious, tense read kept me on the edge of my seat & I highly recommend it (or anything else by the author) for anyone looking for a perfect beach read.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for giving me the chance to read an early digital copy of this book. I always feel like I have won the lottery when I get approved for or get sent a Netgalley widget for a Berkley title (lol). This is not the first book that I have read by May Cobb, but I have to say, I liked this one even more than the last. This one was a perfect summer read. It kind of made you feel like you were reading a behind the scenes look at the secret life of a personal assistant, and I really liked it. It was the perfect book to read for the end of summer, and it was super juicy, and a twisty domestic thriller. These are the types of books that I love to read in this genre, they are entertaining and fun, and make you want to keep reading to find out what is going to happen next. I think this may be my favorite by May Cobb so far. Out now!

This took me FOREVER to get through because I kept waiting for the signature “Cobb” train wreck drama to set in and it wasn’t as exciting as I had expected from her until the last bit that was quite obvious to me and therefore not a surprise. The plot itself holds a lot of potential but I think it was the character development that made it a bit of a loss for me because I thought we left the “mousy, shy, timid female becoming a femme fatale out of absolutely nowhere” trope firmly in the late 90s. I just couldn’t believe the main character’s trajectory so it just wasn’t as enjoyable for me as it should have been. That being said, it was still a fun read that would be perfect for vacation or the beach.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Cassidy Foster is heartbroken, stuck in life, and getting a little too obsessed with plants. Then when a well-connected friend becomes sick of Cassidy’s moping and gets her a gig with famous Hollywood couple, Marisol and Nate Sterling, Cassidy jumps at the chance to move to sunny L.A.

The Sterlings are warm and welcoming. A perfect couple. All Cassidy has to do is be available a few hours a week for errands. In return, she has access to luxury. Designer clothes. A sparkling pool. Great pay. When Nate takes interest in her, asking her to read scripts he’s written, Cassidy thinks this could be the key to kickstarting her writing dreams.

As their business relationship grows, so does their attraction. Nate is sexy, talented, and Cassidy can’t believe her luck. Clearly, Marisol doesn’t know what she has. Maybe that’s why the two are always fighting when they think Cassidy isn’t around. But Cassidy learns she was hired for a different purpose.

The Sterlings aren’t the perfect couple. Marisol isn’t the perfect wife. And when one of them is found dead, Cassidy becomes the perfect suspect.

Why does Cassidy take the assistant job?

There is a lot we are going to learn about Cassidy, but at the outset of the novel we know a few things that supported her move from Austin to LA. Several months before the job offer, Cassidy had her heart broken by a man named Carter. The Cassidy we meet in the first chapter is still a wreck. “Don’t ever contact me again, Cassidy.” That was the last text she received from Carter.

Her best friend Lexie is supportive, but pushing Cassidy to move on. After months of pining over Carter and collecting plants, Lexie is ready to give Cassidy some tough love. And she does this in the form of a fresh start—a job in LA (where Lexie lives and works on film production) and a great deal on an apartment. Cassidy hasn’t spent much time invested in Hollywood since her mother left, so she doesn’t know much about Marisol and Nate Sterling, which makes her perfect for the job.

The Cassidy we meet at the beginning of the novel is heartbroken in a sympathetic way. She feels sad when she sees couples with their babies out walking at the flea market, and nostalgic when she disassembles the bed she now associates with Carter. But there are hints already that this may be a bit over the top. They dated six months, but you would think they dated six years. Perhaps that early honeymoon phase heading to a break up is worse than a longer relationship, though. A serotonin crash!

What’s up with the Sterlings?

Pretty early we can tell that there is something weird about the Sterlings (though I assume most people in Hollywood are a bit off). They are beautiful and the job seems easy, but there is a strange tension as well. Marisol’s acting career hasn’t taken off yet. Through much of the book, Cassidy is observing Marisol preparing for a big audition, and what starts as admiration quickly begins to turn to jealousy on the part of Cassidy.

Nate came across as hot and cold. Cassidy would overhear him saying things to Marisol that implied he doesn’t respect her. But Nate also would have moments where he was very complimentary of Cassidy. And if you didn’t learn it yet, Cassidy is boy-crazy! As Nate gives her scripts to review, she puts off any sort of social life to read them and give her thoughts, basking in the glow of Nate’s compliments.

Marisol and Nate’s relationship was bizarre, to say the least. Sometimes they are having intercourse in the middle of the day where Cassidy continues to stumble across them, other times they are in screaming matches (which Cassidy also continues to stumble across). Marisol’s confidence is admirable though. She’s emotional, but she’s also level. She doesn’t seem to be overly flustered by Nate and accepts him as he is. At least it appears she does.

What’s going on between Cassidy and the Sterlings?

Cassidy is a bit of a voyeur! She’s constantly watching them fight, make love, and everything in between. At first it seems accidental and as though she is embarrassed when she comes across them, but at a certain point it seems like she’s doing this on purpose. Cassidy, you little freak! I loved it.

Cassidy is obsessed with both of the Sterlings in different ways. She seems to crave pleasing them, but with Marisol, Cassidy walks the line between admiration and jealousy (veering towards jealousy as she becomes closer to Nate). With Nate, Cassidy wants the attention and attraction of a man. I was never totally sure what Cassidy expected to happen with Nate long-term, but she seemed smug when he would touch her or spend time with her behind Marisol’s back.

It bothers Cassidy that Marisol isn’t jealous of her at all, even when Marisol finds out they were spending time together somewhat inappropriately. At the same time, once things cross too far and Marisol gets cold towards Cassidy, she panics. So which Sterling is the one she would choose? Hard to say. It bothers Cassidy that Marisol doesn’t find her to be a threat, so perhaps this is a sign that Marisol is ultimately who she cares the most about. Or at least about her opinion of her.

What is the tipping point?

As this is all going on, Nate confesses that he really hired Cassidy to spy on Marisol. He is pretty sure she is cheating, and he wants Cassidy to follow her and find out. This accelerates the story, because on the first time Cassidy is following Marisol, she comes across her going into a man named Andreas’ house and sleeping with him. She can see enough to snap photos! Nate is devastated when she tells him, but Cassidy doesn’t seem to be enjoying this task.

Eventually Marisol catches Cassidy and Nate in a very compromising position in the pool (and to be fair, they definitely were on track to hook up), and she flips the switch on Cassidy. Marisol coldly dismisses her and sends her home. But the next day she seems fine again, telling Cassidy that sometimes to stroke men’s egos, you have to put on a bit of a show. That’s why she acted so angry. Marisol says this is how a woman stays in control.

Later that day, Nate asks Cassidy to go on a date. (this was actually kind of shocking—these people are famous; don’t they worry about the paparazzi?) The date is interrupted when Marisol breezes in early and lets them know she got the part. She and Nate go to celebrate, and a disappointed Cassidy goes home. On Monday, Nate tells her that he can’t see her because he and Marisol are going to work on their marriage.

Why do the police visit Cassidy?

All through the book we see snippets of Cassidy several weeks after starting work for the Sterlings worried when she sees the police coming to her door. It turns out that one of the Sterlings has been murdered—but which one?

Let’s go back a few days—after Nate tells Cassidy to take a week off, she follows Marison on her own to Andreas’ house. This time she gets full on explicit photos of the cheating, and she sends them to Nate’s phone. Cassidy is big-mad at being rejected by the Sterlings.

When the police arrive to question her, she learns Nate has been murdered. She immediately knows it must be Marisol behind it, but the police seem to suspect her. A lot. Marisol has a rock solid alibi with witnesses, and Cassidy is more confused as the investigation drags on and things heat up for her. She might actually get charged for a murder she didn’t commit!

What role does Lexie play in all of this?

I haven’t said much on Lexie because she has been in Prague the whole time that Cassidy has been in LA, but she does end up playing a big role in the story. The two keep up over text, and Cassidy even gets dinner with Lexie’s finace Harry. So Cassidy is shocked when she discovers that Lexie is unexpectedly back from Prague. How could she not know? Lexie claims it was sudden—filming had to go on hiatus and she came back for a visit.

On a girl’s night, Lexie spills some piping hot tea. Lexie confesses that she is worried about Cassidy. She thinks Cassidy is becoming obsessed with Nate (she is) and this is concerning because it is a pattern. Lexie drops a bomb on us—it turns out Cassidy and Carter weren’t in a relationship at all. They dated, but only for two weeks—not six months. Cassidy pretended to still be together with Nate for months afterwards. Things escalated enough that Carter had to file a restraining order against Cassidy for stalking him.

Yikes! Now we get why Lexie was worried about this affair with Nate. Cassidy has a tendency to get obsessed. (this was the fun kind of twist, because it had been building up that the reader was starting to doubt Cassidy’s intentions; now we know why) Cassidy can’t control herself either.

Why are the police so convinced it is Cassidy??

There are a few reasons the police focus on Cassidy, but the biggest one is that Cassidy was seen spying on their house around the time of the murder. Oh Cassidy, how will you learn to stay out of this? Cassidy swears she spotted Marisol and Nate arguing, but the police don’t believe her. It seems Marisol had a rock solid alibi and multiple witnesses to vouch for her being at a hotel restaurant.

How could Cassidy have seen her drive home and get into a fight with Nate? Cassidy is certain of what she saw. The police don’t buy it and it turns out Lexie doesn’t either. In fact, Lexie tells them about the tea with Cassidy stalking Carter, so now it seems to be a pattern. Add to that Cassidy texting Nate angrily and sending the photos (clearly taken from her stalking Marisol) of the cheating. Things don’t look good for Cassidy…

Marisol runs away from Cassidy when she tries to talk to her, knowing that the police think Cassidy murdered Nate. When Cassidy sees Marisol’s body double for acting at the house, she suddenly realizes that Marisol actually could be in two places at once, as long as one was her body double and no one got close enough to tell them apart. So which one did it? It doesn’t matter, Cassidy assumes Marisol must have been behind it either way.

The police take Cassidy in to the station and search her house. They have texts she sent Nate that make it clear she was obsessed with him and threatening him. Cassidy lawyers up and goes home, but Lexie isn’t the supportive friend she expects. Not only will Lexie not help Cassidy with a lawyer, but she now thinks that Cassidy probably is behind Nate’s murder. Ugh!

They make up (sort of) and get a bit drunk, which prompts Lexie to soften and the two go to Jessica’s house to investigate. She must be responsible, right? Jessica’s mother tells them she is on her way out of the country. That almost confirms it, right? At the Sterlings house, the two spot Jessica and Marisol together. Suspicious…

How does it end?

When Lexie goes to get a better look, Cassidy sees a text come through her phone thanking her for renting a black Mercedes convertible. The same car that Marisol drives and that Cassidy swore she saw her in right before the murder. Weird… Back at Lexie’s house, Cassidy is still trying to work it all out and snoops Lexie’s phone. She finds a photo of Nate and Lexie together taken in 2019, which was before Nate and Marisol met. Lexie is the crazy ex-girlfriend that Marisol told her was stalking Nate.

Lexie was cheating on Harry with Nate, and ready to leave Harry so they could be together. Nate ghosted Lexie after he met Marisol. Lexie was furious, and began to spy on them. She was the one to discover the affair with Andreas and send the note to Nate warning him. Things seemed fated when she saw the assistant job and convinced Cassidy to take it so she could spy on them.

When Cassidy told her Nate invited her on a date, Lexie kwas furious and came back to the states. She snuck a look at Marisol’s planner and rented the car and got the wig to impersonate her. It was actually Lexie who Cassidy saw fighting with Nate, dressed as Marisol. When Nate wouldn’t accept her threats about Marisol cheating, she strangled him and set up Cassidy to take the blame. The two fight, and Cassidy shoves Lexie off the deck into the canyon.

In the epilogue, we learn that Cassidy told her about the script Nate had been secretly writing for her, and she got someone to produce it with Marisol as the star (the notorious murder case helped). Cassidy is brought on as a script consultant, so she’s on set with Marisol every day. Meanwhile Marisol has a son named Nathaniel—adorable!

In the final scene, Marisol reveals to Cassidy that she planned the entire thing. She did in fact marry Nate for his money, but a prenup meant she wouldn’t get a cent. She hated being a kept woman (ironically the title of Nate’s script for her), so she began cheating on him. She knew Cassidy was spying on her and let her get photos of her with Andreas. Her goal was to drive Nate crazy with jealousy, so she could eventually kill him in self-defense. But it turned out, Lexie did it for her, so she got Nate’s money and became an unkept woman, just as she always wanted.

What did I think?

I don’t know what to say—this book was everything I love about May Cobb’s writing! She pushes that boundary of voyeurism in the best way. The steamy scenes that Cassidy kept peeping on even had me blushing! Cassidy is kind of a freak, isn’t she? And yet, I still was on her side at the end.

Cassidy wants someone to love her—don’t most of us want that? She responds in unhealthy ways when they dump her, and that is the obvious part I can’t get behind. But I think after everything that went down with Lexie (because let’s be for real here, Lexie was the true freak in their friendship!), Cassidy may be on a healing journey. At least I hope so! We even get a hint that Cassidy and Harry may get together (an alternate reading could be that Cassidy is now obsessed with Harry, which is an ending I would also get behind).

Lexie and Marisol were absolutely captivating characters. Unhinged, manipulative, and selfish—those are characteristics they have in common. It’s easy to hate Lexie because Cassidy was her best friend. And let’s be real, Lexie intentionally set Cassidy up to take the fall for everything out of jealousy. This is where Marisol and her differ—they both used Cassidy, but Marisol’s goal was solely about freeing herself, not locking up someone else.

That last scene with Marisol confessing how she manipulated Nate and Cassidy to get exactly what she wanted was deliciously villainous. I loved the scandal of it all! The final scene shows Marisol gorgeous and bathed in candle light, a glint in her eye as she explains how she turned herself into an unkept woman. I loved it!

Thank you Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley, Berkley and author May Cobb for this arc!

Ok. WOW! I absolutely ATE THIS ONE UP! It is exactly what I want in a juicy summer thrill ride with plenty of drama, scandal & suspense … plus one heck of a jaw dropping twist that got me & got me but good! The characters are over the top fun in a “love to hate ‘em” kind of way & every single one are passengers on the “hot mess” train … but they are so deliciously addicting & sucked me right into their crazy & unhinged world. I couldn’t get enough!

Another 5 star read from my summer stack!

Wow! This book is so full of drama, secrets and sex appeal! I couldn't read it fast enough. Cassidy becomes an unreliable narrator so you're unsure of the way things will go. Add in the twists and you've got some good surprises at the end!

Thank you @berkleypub for my book.
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If you enjoy Lifetime Movies this book will be right up your alley! Everyone in this book is a hot mess and I only liked the dogs.