I need you to read this....Jessa Maxwell, I loved this! This was a definite page turning thriller. I was very intrigued and could not put it down. I did not see the twist coming. I loved how I felt like I knew the characters!

This was a fun mystery set in the world of newspapers and advice columns, with a collection of interesting characters and a slow-build mystery that pays off in the end.

Before days of Google, I can see how valuable these "Dear Someone" corners in the newspapers. It must be the only way for some people to voice their problems and hope to find a resolution. In these days I'm thinking if you are still writing to newspapers, you must be really desperate for a connection and hope that other parties in your letters do not read newspapers.

Alex applied for "Dear Constance" corner at Herald on whim (and after couple of glasses of wine). She loved reading that section. She said she learned a lot from those recommendations when she was talking to her "friends" at the diner in the corner. And guess what? She managed to get the job. After first butterflies left her stomach, Alex started to think the untimely departure (or murder) of the previous Constance was looming over her too. With the secret she had (like any normal person), Alex started to grow worried and decided to play detective.

I definitely appreciated the inclusion of main letters to Dear Constance. It built the suspense and pointed most of us in one direction. Sometimes you love that the company you work for put your face on every surface possible and sometimes you wish they ignore your existence. Alex was feeling this dilemma more than anyone!

Oh baby I ate this up.

When long time Dear Constance columnist Francis is murdered, the newspaper she worked at only waits a few months before hiring to fill her role.

Enter Alex (Alexis) who has lived in NYC for seven years and does copy for a drug company. She has a lot of respect for Francis and can’t believe that they’re looking for someone to fill her shoes so soon. She decides to apply on a whim (and after a bottle of wine) and is surprised when she gets the job.

Quickly she realizes something isn’t right about how Francis died and she’s also getting threatening letters at work. Who is sending them and who killed Francis?

I devoured this in just a few hours and what a way to spend an afternoon. I would say this one is best read in an afternoon and once you’re hooked, you won’t want to put it down.

I Want You to Read This has a millennial protagonist with two older side characters to help her investigate. I loved the friendship between Alex, Janice, and Raymond and think everyone needs a Bluebird diner in their lives.

I’d recommend this for fans of Finlay Donovan that want something more serious and thrilling as well as those who like Thursday Murder Club.

If you’re going to choose between Maxwell’s two releases, The Golden Spoon and I Need You to Read This, pick this one!

i was so excited to read this book because i adored the golden spoon (which feels wild because that review is still sitting in my drafts folder all this time later), but this one has a much different vibe. i hesitate to call this a cozy mystery because there's some fairly graphic depictions of violence involved, but otherwise it fits into that category fairly well.

maybe it's because she's a writer (girl after my own heart!), but i love alex. she's caring, she's careful, and she's hiding something. like with any new person, it takes her a while to share her secrets, but once she does, it's clear to see who she is and how she's gotten to where she is. i also really loved her little ragtag group of diner buddies who form a sort of scooby gang to help her investigate the big juicy mystery she finds herself in middle of. i would have loved to have even more backstory and interactions with them throughout.

i liked the book overall, but i couldn't get over how predictable some things were and how unbelievable/unfounded others were. for example, a major plot element isn't mentioned until about 80% in — as far as i'm concerned, slipping critical information into a story that late is never a good move. it just felt like the fastest way out of whatever narrative hole the author happened to find herself in.

thanks to atria books for the digital copy of this book on netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for early access to I Need You to Read This, Jessa Maxwell’s second book after her debut The Golden Spoon. I enjoyed that one and recommend it if you haven’t read it!
Alex Marks lives a small life in NYC, eating breakfast daily at the diner near her apartment where she works remotely writing ads for a pharmaceutical company. She is crushed that her favorite advice column, Dear Constance, isn’t running due to the murder of the former “Constance,” Francis Keen. When the replacement job is posted, Alex looks through the application, wanting to know how the newspaper will ever be able to find a new advice columnist. She ends up filling in the application on a whim, as she crushes a bottle of wine one night. To her surprise, she is brought in and offered the role, filling the steps of her idol. But she has some concerns, considering Francis was murdered, and as she starts going through the letters looking for advice, she finds reason to believe she can solve the mystery of her death. Interspersed with letters written to Francis from one writer, Lost Girl, the book sets the stage for a twisty, creepy mystery.
I really enjoyed this one, reading it in a few different chunks. There are quite a few people to suspect as having committed Francis’s murder, from colleagues to new friends that appear in Alex’s life after she takes the new job. I had some thoughts on how I thought it would end as I was reading, some of which were right, others were way off. I really enjoyed the pacing and enjoyed how it all came together. I am already excited for what the author will do next!

Thank you, Netgalley, Jessa Maxwell, and Atria Books for the ebook! This book was great and gave "Only Murders in the Building" vibes! Great character development and one you read with Alex, Janice, and Raymond as a behind the scenes trio trying to figure out a cold case. A few twists and turns and some creep factors that'll have you turning pages late into the night!

Quick read, sometimes that’s just what you need!
While it was predictable, the plot was executed beautifully.

I thoroughly enjoyed this booked. I was hooked right away, and I felt the pacing was spot on. There was the perfect amount of suspense throughout to keep me interested and wanting more, and the ending was well done. I will definitely be recommending this book.

This book did not go the way I expected it to, and I was pleasantly surprised by that! Following writer Alex Marks as she takes over the “Dear Constance” advice column after the death of beloved columnist Francis Keen, “I Need You to Read This” is an entertaining novel full of twists and turns that leaves you guessing. While it got a little slow in the middle, it picked right up and had me hooked through to the end.

Recommend checking trigger warnings before reading this one.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you so much NetGalley an Jedda Maxwell for allowing me to read I need you to read this in advance in exchange for an honest review! I really enjoyed this story .. I gave it a 3.75 rounder up to a 4 in good reads! Review linked below!

This has got to be one of my favorite books so far this year. I won’t lie when I say it took awhile to get into, but once the plot thickened, it THICKENED! The story line was well written and the banter was enjoyable. I loved Janice and Ray! Glad I stuck it out because it was a wonderful book. 5 stars

2 ⭐️ - I wanted to like this way more than I did considering I love Jessa Maxwell’s first novel. I was so excited to receive this one early. It was a slow burn, and I found the story boring and couldn’t invested.

This one started out strong but then hit the brakes hard. Nothing was overly shocking and the MC was a tad frustrating at times

Now this book was fast paced and it has a really interesting premise but at the end of the day, it didn’t do what it promised to deliver. This is not at all about the murdered columnist. It’s barely about the crime that’s already been committed. I don’t think domestic violence should be the central lever in a thriller. Ever. This did not work for me.

SYNOPSIS
- Francis Keen wrote a popular advice column, Dear Constance, at The Herald until she was murdered. Alex Marks gets the job as her replacement.
- After starting, Alex starts getting weird letters. She also starts to look into Francis Keen’s murder & fights to keep her own past under wraps.

MY THOUGHTS
- Overall, this was a pretty predictable read.
- The second half of the book is way better than the first half of the book. It was pretty slow pacing.
- I found myself getting bored a lot. Struggled to hold my interest.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️⭐predictable & very slow. got bored a lot.

Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for this digital ARC in exchanges for an honest review. This book will be published on August 13, 2024.

Thank you Atria Books for the #gifted finished copy and thank you Simon Audio for my #gifted listening copy of I Need You To Read This! #AtriaPartner #atriabooks #simonaudio #INeedYouToReadThis #JessaMaxwell

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: 𝐈 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐓𝐨 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: 𝐉𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐱𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥
𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫: 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐚 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐧
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟏𝟑, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

4★

This was such a bingeable book! If you are in the mood for a great thriller, this is one to check out. I went into this one totally blind, and I would recommend doing the same! I really loved the main character, Alex and was drawn to her from the start. There were also great supporting characters in this one which made this book eve more enjoyable. I love a book that keeps me guessing and this one did just that. I never guessed any of the twists and this book kept me so engaged. I would definitely recommend this one if you are looking for a great murder mystery!

🎧I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Carlotta Brentan. This was my first audiobook narrated by Brentan and I really enjoyed my time listening to her. I felt like she did a great job and would definitely recommend this one on audio. I will be on the lookout for more audiobooks narrated by Brentan in the future!

Posted on Goodreads on August 12, 2024: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/144922955?ref=nav_profile_l
**Posted on Instagram - Full Review- on or around August 13, 2024: http://www.instagram.com/nobookmark_noproblem
**Posted on Amazon on August 13, 2024
**-will post on designated date

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

I saw this one advertised on tik tok and it sounded like a decent thriller for fall. I was pretty pleased with the ending, although it was somewhat expected. That said, the book is way more atmospheric than thrilling. I felt like I was constantly waiting for “something” to happen in the book but that never really came until the very ending. Heck, the opening chapter was the most thrilling part of this book; everything after was just kind of “meh”.

I’m going to give this one 3 stars. I read it in a matter of 7 hours so it’s a short, easy read but other than that I think you could take or leave this one.

Thank you to the publisher and author for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. The premise of this book was very intriguing to me as a librarian. The thriller started out with such a cozy vibe (I wanted to be Francis avoiding her work at the Cape!) that I knew I needed to drop all my other in-progress reads and finish it in one sitting. It was a gripping and twisty.; I loved it!

Meh. I feel like this sophomore effort was way too easy to figure out. Alex Marks moved to NYC to disappear. She applies for the advice columnist position job, Dear Constance, at The Herald on a whim. Frances Keene, the original Dear Constance was brutally murdered at her beach house the summer before, and the killer is still out there. Alex has her own dark secrets she'd like to keep hidden and solving Frances's murder may just bring them to the surface.

*Special thanks to NetGalley Atria Books for this e-arc.*