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.

THE HOLLYWOOD ASSISTANT is a juicy psychological thriller that will pull you in with the glitz and glam, but keep you greedily reading with the duplicity, secrets, and salacious antics. Cobb brings to life her characters as she throws them down the rabbit hole of her making.

From beginning to end, this story was one wild ride. Cassidy is a completely relatable woman. But then, things shift in her relationship with her employer, Nate. Does she spiral out or is she being played? This is the question I kept asking myself until the very end. The layers of deceit compound as does the tension between all those intertwined in this thriller. The push and pull between what is real and what is for show makes this so good! And not one person you will meet within these pages is exactly what they seem.

Let’s face it. Cobb knows how to craft a down-right addictive read. Her ability to delve into the psyche of her characters and play around with their insecurities, struggles, and compulsions is top-notch. THE HOLLYWOOD ASSISTANT is a scintillating read that calls into question who we surround ourselves with. Honestly, it was such an entertaining book. Though, did I expect anything else from the author of THE HUNTING WIVES?

I'm a big fan of May Cobb's slightly spicy summer thrillers, and this was another great one! I also like anything to do with Hollywood/celebrities, so it was right up my alley. Great twist at the end, although I should have seen it coming as the clues were there.

This author is just not for me. I was looking for a fun, juicy summer story and this was too repetitive, long, and not interesting enough for me. Yes there is drama, but everything is just so predictable and slooooow that it didn't quite produce the desired effect. I hated every single character, their dialogue was immature and cringy (does every sentence need to start with either "Ha!" or "Hey chica" or "Heeeeyyyy". Do people really talk like that? I feel like the dialogue was trying to make the story laid back or something, but it annoyed the heck out of me. There wasn't even anything remotely interesting until about 80% and by then I could barely care less and just wanted to get the answers. There was one good twist but I didn’t care much by that point.

I'm sure people will enjoy this book, but I think this author's writing/storytelling is not for me.

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 L.A.

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.

The book centers around very tight cast which made for such an intimate experience. At times I almost felt like I was eavesdropping on their conversations, peering through the bushes and getting a behind the curtain look into the life of this Hollywood couple.

I am a huge May Cobb fan! I love that she has short chapters and she keeps you on the hook of all of her characters. This was an excellent read, and it kept me on my toes trying to figure out what was going to happen next! I read this four out of five stars.

May Cobb is a favorite for an author who writes complicated over-the-top characters who get themselves into bad situations. The Hollywood Assistant is her latest and will be a great vacation read to escape into this story. Push through the first third because once it goes off the rails is when the story gets good.

Thank you Berkeley Publishing and Netgalley for the electronic advanced copy.

Thanks to Berkley for a copy of May Cobb's newest book - The Hollywood Assistant which came out last week - July 16th! #berkleypartner #berkleyig

I enjoyed May Cobb's previous books and this one was fun but had a different style to it with the Hollywood assistant and not as much a suburban Texas feel as her other books.

This one starts slow and is slow through most of the book, so if you're looking for a fast paced book, this isn't it. I liked how it started with the fight scene but it takes until 70% to get back to that scene and I just wanted to know who died. The ending was different than I expected, and it did surprise me. I don't mind a book full of unlikeable characters, but it was really hard to root for Cassidy.

If you like Hollywood settings and a personal assistant accused of murder along with unlikeable characters you'll enjoy this book. I enjoyed reading it but it felt too long.

🎬Book Review🎬
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Summary- 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.
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Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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My thoughts- This was fantastic and I think this might be my new favorite Mae Cobb book! This book has it all and left me shocked by the twists! I loved the setting in Hollywood and how intense the sterling’s were. This one is full of twists and turns that you just will not see coming ! Cassidy was a great FMC and this one was a better version of The Housemaid in my opinion! Thank you @berkley and @netgalley
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When CASSIDY, recovering from a recent breakup, moves to LA, her friend, LEXIE uses her connections to help Cassidy land a dream job working as an assistant to a famous Hollywood couple, NATE and MARISOL STERLING.

With short hours, fantastic designer clothes, and access to the pool, Cassidy is in heaven, and she quickly becomes involved with the couple, learning all of their secrets, and even witnessing (i.e. spying on) their heated arguments and passionate makeups.

As Marisol becomes increasingly busy with her acting career, Cassidy often finds herself alone with handsome Nate. Soon she feels an overwhelming attraction to him. But when one of the couple is suddenly murdered, Cassidy becomes the number one suspect.

This character-driven psychological drama is a slow-burn, which builds in intensity. The story is told from Cassidy’s point of view, with dual timelines: the present and a few weeks in the future. While the reader is aware early on that there is a murder, the murder and victim are not revealed until very near the ending, at which point the action moves to a very swift conclusion.

I did enjoy this story and I remained engaged throughout. However, I will say that the overuse of the f-word detracted from my enjoyment. There were also several steamy scenes, which I don’t 𝙪𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 like to see in my thrillers, but they did seem to be necessary in this particular story! The conclusion came as a surprise.

I think May Cobb might just not be for me. I LOVED her first book, but her follow ups have fallen a bit flat. This one definitely built up the tension and suspense, but the whole plot happened in the last 20% of the book. Unfortunately, it just has not lived up to the hype which was Cobb's first thriller, which I will continue to recommend and love.

This is a spicy guilty pleasure of a thriller incorporating all the toxic relationship triangle vibes with a bit of stalker qualities and some fun twists! Cassidy takes a leap from Texas to Hollywood when her BFF lands her a personal assistant job for a celebrity couple. She finds her smack dab in the middle of some hot mess crazy that is definitely Hollywood style. It’s a fun twisty thriller with a murder at the center and lots of cray cray drama going on and I was there for it page by page! Definitely an entertaining and steamy read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own. @BerkleyPub @BerkleyRomance #BerkleyPartner #Berkley #BerkleyBookstagram #BerkleyBookTok

This was a super fast-paced book. I finished it in under two days. With that being said, I think The Hunting Wives is still my favorite May Cobb novel. I do think that this would also make a good movie or mini series adaption.

This was a fabulously juicy beach read and I think that May Cobb is a very underated author.


Many Thanks again to NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Cassidy is getting over a heartbreak, living in Texas when her friend sets her up with a job in LA as a personal assistant to two big Hollywood stars so she can get a fresh start away from heartbreak. Once she arrives, she is greeted by Marisol and Nate Sterling and begins her new job. Marisol is beautiful and bubbly and so nice to Cassidy and Cassidy is smitten with Nate. Soon, Marisol ends up bonding with Nate over reviewing scripts when he asks her for a favor - to spy on his wife. Things turn crazy from then on.

This one is hard for me to review. I'm not sure if July has just been too busy or what but it took me a long time to read this one. It has an interesting plot and I wanted to know what happened but it was a slow burn and I didn't particularly like Cassidy. A few of the twists were unexpected but I'm not sure how much I liked them and the ending left me a tad bit confused. It was entertaining and I could see this being made into a movie!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own. 3.5 rounded up

This is one of my favorite book covers for 2024! I love May Cobb and couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of her newest release.

THE HOLLYWOOD ASSISTANT falls very middle of the pack in terms of thrillers that I've read so far this year. I enjoyed it, but there were some things that held me back from loving it. This story felt similar to some others that I've read, so it was a little predictable. This was a quick read that I finished in less than 2 days. I really liked the ending and didn't see it coming!