This is my first May Cobb book but it won't be my last. "The Hollywood Assistant" is a juicy thriller full of twists and turns. It follows, Cassidy, a down-on-her-luck woman from Texas who moves to LA to become an assistant to a hotshot screenwriter/director and his actress wife. It's a weird set-up: the couple seem to have a fractured marriage post Covid and Cassidy finds herself in the middle of their cat and mouse games. Cassidy is a bit of an unreliable narrator and it's fun to follow as she gets more entangled with the couple. Does the plot make 100% sense? Nope! Will you root for any of the characters? Hell no! But this is exactly the kind of fun beach read you want to bring on vacation. Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the arc.

Cassidy Foster relocates to California post-breakup and takes an assistant job for a famous Hollywood Actress/Director couple whose marriage is in a questionable state. She is hired to run errands a few times a week and the pay seems way too good to be true. Of course there is a catch.

No one writes over the top, twisty, AND salacious mysteries like May Cobb! The Hollywood Assistant is a voyeuristic look into the dark side of life in the Hollywood elite. The characters are extra unhinged. They live in a town where success is everything. They lie, cheat, and steal to make it to the top and will do even more to stay there. I do wish the length was a little shorter, but I enjoyed the plot and was hooked from the beginning. The Hollywood Assistant is a fantastic summer thriller!

May Cobb Summer Solstice is now officially a yearly tradition! I read A Likable Woman on the first day of summer last year too. Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

After a disastrous breakup, failed romance novelist Cassidy's best friend finds her a job as an assistant for a Hollywood power couple Nate and Marisol. Desperate for money, Cassidy takes the job and soon becomes completely immersed in their lives. She lusts after Nate, but also likes Marisol and wants to do a great job. Nate finds out what an amazing writer Cassidy is and tasks her with reading and summarizing loads of scripts that he gets. We know from the beginning that someone dies, but we don't find out until later what happened. Nate suspects Marisol is cheating and asks Cassidy to follow her to find out. Cassidy becomes more and more immersed in their lives.

I wanted to like this more than I did, but I saw what was happening from a mile away. The book is way too long and drawn out, too many things that would NEVER happen (so much spying from behind bushes and trees and following people and hiding and spying).

Don't get me started at how much I grew to hate the main character Cassidy. I honestly couldn't stomach her at all. She just got more bizarre and unhinged as the story went on, and she acted like she was about fifteen, not a full grown adult. Every statement she makes is either filled with exclamation points or she is sooooo shy and embarrassed. Every time she is wearing clothes Marisol gave her she has to point out "I'm wearing your clothes." She alternates between acting like she is so important and fabulous at reviewing scripts and why wouldn't Nate fall in love with her to being subservient and then swinging wildly back to the other side. And she was so upset that her ex cheated on her and yet the second Marisol's back is turned she is ready to jump on Nate, who cares if he's married.

Why oh why did the pandemic need to be mentioned all the time? I thought it would come into play really but nope, it didn't, it was just annoying. And the drinking. So so so much drinking and discussions about drinking and worries about drinking too much and driving, and if you want a recipe for an old fashioned, it's given in minute detail.

None of the characters or situations are very well developed. I felt like I knew more about the contents of their refrigerator and how to make an oat milk latte than I did about the characters and their motivations.
I know tons of people liked this much more than I did, I'm an outlier for my views so if you like a good soapy Hollywood drama, this book might appeal to you more than it did me.

I like May Cobb and her writhing style so much! She writes women’s relationships so well. I keep investing in the characters more and more as I read. This one knocked it out of the park for me!

Thanks to Berkley for the eARC; all thoughts are my own.

I don't usually read contemporary suspense/murder mystery books, but decided to give this one ago.
Unfortunately, it just wasn't for me. After a few chapters, I just couldn't get into the book and found it rather slow.
I skipped to the end to see how it finished; read the last two chapters and epilogue, was satisfied with knowing the ending, and put it down.

I know other readers who loved it; so I really do think it's just not a book for me.

May Cobb is an auto read for me. This book ties with Hunting Wives for my favorite, so good! It’s twisty and feels like you’re watching desperate housewives with a gin martini. Perfect.

5/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! The Hunting Wives was my favorite by May Cobb, and I think this is either a tie or close second.

Cassidy just moved to California from Texas after a bad break up. She works for a rich couple taking care of their home, and then professional lines start to blur and someone ends up dead. I kept trying to figure out who did it, and failed until right before it was announced.
Quick, fun read.

This was only told by Cassidy, and her observations of her new employers. Cassidy starts off bright eyed and bushy tailed, then she starts to become unhinged. And I honestly couldn’t look away from her behavior. It really made think she was very unreliable as a narrator. Marisol was self absorbed, and very exhausting with her hot and cold mood swings. Nate was very sketchy to me, and I did not trust him at all. None of these characters were particularly likable, especially the Sterling’s. While Cassidy was very naive, I didn’t find her as annoying.

As the story went on, I honestly didn’t know what to think. I thought I knew what was going on, but with Cassidy being so unreliable I started to question myself. Me being the nosy person I am, I couldn’t put this down until I had answers. I was so sure I had it all figured out and I was kind of blindsided by the reveal. This is a perfect summer read to read by the pool or at the beach.

When I first started reading this book, I wasn't too wild about it. But by the end, it was like a train wreck, and I couldn't look away...or put the book down!

Cassidy has left Texas and is now a personal assistant to a Hollywood couple, thanks to a hookup from her long-time friend, Lexie. The job and her new apartment seem perfect, but when everything seems perfect, it really isn't. Cassidy may be relatable, but she wasn't very likable, at least not to me. She has an obsessive personality, which is seen when she starts interacting with Nate. She is hired to be Marisol's assistant, but her husband, Nate, discovers Cassidy's writing ability and asks her to read scripts and provide coverage. Somewhere along the way, Cassidy starts obsessing over Nate and perhaps imagines a relationship that isn't there. Or is it?

I honestly do not like Cassidy. She is needy, obsessive, drinks too much, and has stalker-like tendencies. However, the situation she is put in near the end makes part of it understandable, sort of. I can see how she could be sucked into this lifestyle since she receives castoffs from Marisol and is brought into their lives. Cassidy does some good things, but what she is pulled into later in the book is sketchy, and she should have known better and said no. But I get the feeling she is a people pleaser and doesn't know how to say no.

Now, not everything in this book is her fault. Some of the fault lies with Nate, Marisol, and even her friend Lexie. It is hard to share much because there are so many plot twists that I don't want to give anything away. Even in the Epilogue, a new truth is revealed that was surprising, at least to me. I did start to suspect the killer, but I didn't know why or how. It was just a feeling I had about this character.

Needless to say, this book was hard for me to put down, and we give it 5 paws up.

💭 MY THOUGHTS: I love that May Cobb moved her usual jaw dropping drama from Texas to Los Angeles. Hollywood was a perfect backdrop for this compelling, juicy thriller!

I love the twisted web of deception that unfolded as Cassidy begins her new personal assistant job. Cassidy’s bosses, Nate and Marisol are as narcotic as you’d imagine famous celebrities would be. But Cassidy has her own narcosis that make you second guess her account of things.

I really did not know what was real, who to trust or what was going to happen. And when some hints started to drop as to THE major twist I kept thinking “no, no that can’t be it!” Oh, but it really was. My jaw dropped! I did not see it coming.

Being a So Cal native the only thing that threw me was the references to “the 1” highway. No local would call it that, we call it PCH so it kept taking me out of the story. In the book Cassidy just moved to LA from Texas so I guess it’s believable she would know. 😂 🤷🏻‍♀️

Read for:
🤐 Secrets and Lies
🌀 Unreliable Characters
💫 Famous Hollywood Couple
⁉️ Kept Me Guessing
🏠 Forced Proximity
🔪 Murder (of course)

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5
Spice Level: 🌶️ / 5

Cassidy leaves Texas and heads for Hollywood with nothing but a broken heart and (thanks to her best friend) the promise of a job assisting a married actress & director with their day to day life. Still reeling from her cheating boyfriend’s betrayal, Cassidy is struggling to find confidence and the bounce back she needs and is hoping that a new life in LA and potentially switching gears from writing romance novels to screenplays will be just what she needs to reinvent herself.

Marisol and Nate are a gorgeous and very wealthy couple who are #goals for someone like Cassidy; better yet, they both take Cassidy under their wing - Marisol offering her loads of clothes & Nate offering the chance to review some scripts. However as their relationships develop, Cassidy sees that not everything is perfect between the couple and that they may even start to bring her in to be pitted against the other. As her attraction to Nate grows, she begins to wonder what it would be like if she were to be the newest Mrs. Sterling. But then one night things take a deadly turn and Cassidy is left floundering to clear her name with no one on her side.

I am a sucker for May Cobb’s stories about women behaving badly. I love a rich toxic character, I love a domestic situation where you’re not quite sure which one is the worst in the equation.

May did a great job building the characters with this one. I could never pinpoint who was the worst one or why I thought any given character was the worst at any given time! Every character had moments where they were incredibly likable. I can definitely see why Marisol & Nate took to Cassidy, why Cassidy was enamored with Nate, and why Cassidy wanted to be Marisol.

The plot moved quick, I don’t think there was ever a lag or at point at which I was like okay let’s get to the third act already. The twists continue up until the last page, and while I had some suspicions that turned out to be true, I didn’t nail any single thing down completely.

If I have to nitpick at anything, there were a couple of phrases and words that were overused and that is one of my literary pet peeves. It did not lessen my enjoyment of the book, but when it happens I do tend to start looking out for it.

As always, I look forward to what May gives us next.

Cassidy moves to LA to work as an assistant to a famous director and his actress wife. It's not all glitz and glam at their Hollywood hills estate and when Cassidy gets in over her head, she finds herself the suspect in a murder investigation.

May Cobb is back with the perfect summer thriller! One thing I love about Cobb's books is that she writes characters that we love to hate, and she does it so well. This book was no exception as I didn't really like Nate, Marisol, or Cassidy at all, yet I was sucked into their lives from page one and loved every juicy twist along the way. Cobb transported the reader to LA and made the life of an assistant in Hollywood seem so glamorous, that is of course, until it wasn't!

This is Cobb's first book that isn't set in Texas, and I loved this setting. When a thriller is set in Hollywood, you just know it's going to be scandalous, and this one certainly was. The pacing was a bit slow at times, but it really picked up after we find out who was murdered. There were some killer twists that I didn't see coming especially the one at the very end! If you're looking for the perfect thriller to bring to the pool, then throw this one in your beach bag!

Thank you, Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

A sizzling, tense, unputdownable thriller. I think this is Cobb at her best, and I ate it up. It is an absolute banger of a book.
💜 Rich people behaving badly
💜 unreliable characters
💜 murder, of course
💜 salacious, twisty, page-turner

I'm a huge fan of May Cobb, and her books are an auto buy for me. This was another 5 star from May Cobb!

I'm a huge fan of May Cobb's books. She writes the most juicy and compelling thrillers, and this one might just be her best yet! I devoured it! It's got Hollywood glamour, scandal, obsession, jealousy, and betrayal.

Cassidy moves from Texas to Los Angeles to become the personal assistant to a handsome, well-known director, Nate Sterling, and his gorgeous, up-and-coming actress wife, Marisol. Things are great at first until the perfect couple's facade shows some cracks. Nate takes an interest in Cassidy, and Marisol has secrets of her own. Things take a turn when Cassidy finds out the real reason she was hired, and when one of them ends up dead, Cassidy finds herself a suspect.

This grabbed me from the start. The story is told before and after the suspicious death, with questions and suspense mounting as the two timelines converge. I enjoy Cobb's writing style. She really sets the scene with this one, with pacing that keeps you on the edge of your seat while delivering some delicious twists. Every single one of the characters came alive. They were complex and exciting. They all created drama and made some questionable decisions, which just fed into the addictive quality of this book. I could not wait to see what they would do next. This was such a fun and wildly entertaining summer thriller!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the free book!

🚨Pub Day Alert 🚨

Happy Pub Day to The Hollywood Assistant by May Cobb!

Thank you so much to @berkleypub for sending me an early readers copy to review for you all!

This is my 3rd book that I’ve read by her and boy are you in for a treat! This book follows Cassidy as she moves to LA to begin again. She’s recently heartbroken and she has yet to find someone who wants to publish her writing. Through a friend she gets a job as an assistant working for this famous Hollywood couple. Is this too good to be true?

❤️Review❤️

Of the three that I’ve read, this by far is my favorite book that I’ve read by May Cobb. The writing was so compulsive to read. I could not and I repeat could not put this book down. I flew through it easily in one day. The more you read the more unhinged the story gets. What starts off so glamorous becomes so intense by the end in more than one way. Even Cassidy’s personality parallels the way the story goes. Such a great summer release that you’ll want to get your hands on!

If you liked The Spare Room by Andrea Bartz, I think you’ll also love the vibes of this one too!

4 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#Bookstsgram #NetGalley #Berkley #NewBooks #PubDay #SummerReading #BeachReads #PageTurner #NewBookRelease #2024Books #BookReview #ReadingBooks #BooksBooksBooks

Absolutely loved this , the writing the story the twists and thrills !! Love may Cobbs writing
After I read the hunting wives

3.5 stars

This book starts out way too slow. I immediately wanted to start skimming it, but I kept going. Also, Cassidy talks with too many exclamation points. So overdone and annoying. Once I noticed this, I couldn't stop seeing it.

After a break-up, Cassidy moves to Los Angeles at the urging of her best friend to become an assistant to Nate and Marisol Sterling, a famous director and his actress wife. She soon gets immersed in their life and starts spying on them, witnessing their fights and learning their secrets. Then, she learns the real reason Nate hired her and gets a little too close to Nate. She soon gets a little obsessed with the couple.

This is told in two timelines--"Four Weeks Later" and "Now." In the "Four Weeks Later" timeline, we learn that a murder has happened, but we don't know who for a good portion of the book. The plot definitely picks up for the last third of the book. (Once we learn who was murdered.) It was quite the rush to the end!! LOL

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

OMG, I just finished and man is my mind blown 🤯 (ok, that was a few days ago but I still think about it.) I loved it so much! I never expected that ending.

✔️drama
✔️and more drama
✔️mild spice
✔️unexpected twists
✔️will leave you gasping

This is the third by Cobb that I read and she is an auto-read author! This is going to make a major splash this summer! 🔥

Do you like scandalous thrillers with twists at every turn? Then The Hollywood Assistant is a must read! I love this author’s books. They stand out to me because the plots are always thrilling, and the characters are also really freakin FUN! Who would have thought that a thriller book could have fun characters? It’s not something I ever really expected in these kinds of books but hers ALWAYS have this feature. I think this is why I always come back to her novels. They are just plain FUN! Anyway, this is a juicy thriller with lots going on, but you won’t be able to put it down for a minute- I couldn’t. I flew through this one in a day because I couldn’t get enough of it. It’s so good! Highly recommended!

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗙𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗙𝗔𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗙
❥ Summer thrillers
❥ Rich people acting fresh
❥ Lots of twists

𝗠𝗬 𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

4.5 Stars

I devoured this book!

I loved the fast pace and short chapters. The plot was scandalous, suspenseful and full of twists. If you enjoy books about rich people behaving badly, this one is for you. It’s the perfect summer thriller!

I highly recommend this one and it’s definitely my favorite by this author!