I went into this book blind and glad I did. It was twisty and was a good read. It wasn’t my favorite but I appreciate the early opportunity to read it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to be able to read and review this book!

4/5

Lots of twists and turns with this one! excellent redirection and red herrings to keep you from seeing the obvious. There were just enough characters to keep your suspicions shifting without losing track of who is who. I loved the side characters, great multi-generational friendships and a new look at a part of journalism! Great cozy mystery with a dash of thriller to keep you a little on edge.

This one took me a bit to get into, but once I was in, I was IN! I was able to piece together some of what was going to happen, but other parks came as a shock to me. Not only do we have the mystery of what happened to Francis, but we are also trying to figure out what happened in Alex’s past. I loved how the author used letters written to “Constance” in the past to help blend the past and present stories. This was such a fun read that was perfect for fall! I definitely recommend this one if you’re a fan of mysteries or thrillers!

Thank you to @netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for my honest opinion

When Alex takes over writing the advice column of Francis Keen, whom she has admired for years, she knows she has big shoes to fill. But as Alex dive s deep into the problems of readers seeking advice, she also finds herself trying to solve Francis’ murder.

This book is twisty and dramatic, with a touch of heart and found family as well. I’d definitely recommend this for thriller lovers who want more character development than your standard thrillers of today.

Jessa has a way of making the perfect blend of cozy mystery and thriller - I really enjoyed this one! All of the characters were quirky and fun, but a bit over the top which may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

This, like her debut novel, is a slowwww burn. It isn’t one for the readers who love fast paced thrillers at all. But she hooked me right away in the prologue and I wanted to find out what happened and couldn’t stop.

Still think her debut, THE GOLDEN SPOON, is my favorite of her novels - but Jessa is quickly becoming a favorite cozy thriller author for me!

LOVED it! I will absolutely be reading more of her books!!! What a great page turning and suspenseful book. This definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat and constantly wanting more. The twist was unexpected (which is just the best) and the writing was *chef’s kiss*. Truly a great read!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

*I Need You to Read This* had an intriguing premise that drew me in, but unfortunately, it didn't quite meet my expectations. The story follows Alex Marks, who takes on the role of her childhood hero’s advice columnist after the shocking murder of Francis Keen. This setup held a lot of promise, but I found the execution left me wanting more.

While the concept of exploring the impact of Francis's advice on Alex's life was interesting, the pacing felt off, and I struggled to connect with Alex as a character. The tension built around the mystery didn’t quite hit the mark, and I was left feeling unsatisfied by the resolution.

I appreciate the effort that went into the storytelling, and there were moments of insight, but overall, it just didn’t resonate with me as I hoped it would. Still, I think there are readers out there who might enjoy this tale of intrigue and self-discovery.

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books and the author for an ARC of this book.

I love the premise of this book. It was refreshing to read a thriller with a premise that I never read before. How did it be beloved advice columnist become murdered and how is her new replacement connected… And why is she now becoming threatened as well?
I love the characterization. Each character was so well hash out that they were incredibly easy to picture and intuit their next moves. Alex, our main girl, and new Dear Constance was hard not to love.
My problem with the story and the only reason I dropped a star was because of how the story wrapped up. I love the twists and how much sense all the little pieces made put together, but it felt so rushed with having two huge plot lines and only 250 or so pages . Don’t get me wrong. I loved both plot lines, but I felt like neither was given the amount of space needed to adequately and best serve each.
I would read another Jessa Maxwell book and recommend this to anyone looking for an engrossing quick read. There’s still new plot lines to discover y’all!

As for my ratings :
Excitement level: 5
Ease of reading level: 5
Overall rating : 4

what a great, twisty and turny read that pulls you in from the jump! Alexis such a relatable main character, dealing with mental health concern, low self esteem and imposter syndrome that many of change relate to in some way. Alex is highly relatable, but a main character you definitely learn to love and get to see her routines that help protect herself from the world. This read is better suited to go in blind, really helping you follow the story without preconceived notions and getting to full immerse yourself.

I was excited to read this book, as I loved her last book. This is a very different kind of mystery, much more of a thriller than her first.

Alex moved to New York several years ago to start a new life. She is shook when her childhood idol, Francis Keene, is murdered. Keene wrote the popular advice column, Dear Constance. On a whim, Alex applies for the job, and gets it. It pays much more than her current job of copywriting, and even though she feels like a fraud, she takes it.

Her office is in a different wing of the newspaper office from everyone else, and she gets a strange feeling working there alone. Her boss is an interesting man, but she rarely sees him, and others seem to resent her. Her assistant is scared of everything, but then again, so is she.

Alex's story slowly unfolds as she begins to be Dear Constance, and you start to understand her choices. There are definitely some twists I didn't expect, and while I didn't love this book, I would recommend it for those looking for a twisty thriller that leaves you a little unbalanced.

The Devil is in the details. In this story, this is quite literal and in many cases, terrifying. The twists and turns are maddening along with the rich plot development that leaves the reader needing more. Any excellent who-dunit for the current true crime generation of readers.

I need you to read I Need You to Read This.

I really liked The Golden Spoon so I was excited to read this one.

This was another book I read in one sitting. I was gripped by the story. I loved the advice columnist aspect of it and how all of the parts of the story came together in the end. This would make an amazing movie or TV series. Such a great book!

I suggest going into this book blind. It's fun and twisty while also easy and engrossing. Perfect for a quick mystery!

4/5 ⭐️

The cover on this one and the blurb made me want to read this one. It did take me a little while to get into it because the beginning is a little slow, but once things got going I was able to finish and appreciate the story more.

Like other reviews stated, I think if I had started this read knowing less, it would have been a more thrilling read. I rated this 4/5 stars because though I figured out "whodunit" in my mind a little over halfway, it did not impact my overall feelings about who it was.

Thank you to the publisher and the author for this ARC! The premise of this story (and the cover, hello) immediately were intriguing to me - when I saw it posted on Netgalley, it was an instant request kind of choice.
However, I was granted this book several weeks ago and it has taken me that long to read and to finish. Unfortunately, this book was less than thrilling and fell on the flat side for me. It definitely teetered on the side of cozy mystery for most of the book, which is fine, but unfortunately I was mostly bored.
I loved the author's debut, but this one was a miss for me, sadly.

A well-loved advice columnist is murdered in her home and replaced by a young Alex Marks who has always been a fan of the column and believes this to be her dream job, until she begins receiving threatening letters.

This slow burn thriller had an intriguing premise but the execution fell a little short for me. As someone who reads mostly thrillers this just didn’t have the fast-paced, suspenseful vibe a great thriller has. It was captivating enough to want to finish and know what happens and how the characters all come together but it was put-down-able for me. It felt like there was more of a focus on character development than suspense building, action and twists.

Thank you to NetGalley & Atria Books for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell
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After a popular advice columnist is murdered, Alex applied to be her replacement for the “Dear Constance” column. When she gets the job she doesn’t immediately start investigating her predecessor’s murder, but after a couple discoveries she can’t help looking for answers.
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What I liked:
-I loved all the mystery surrounding this book: who killed Francis, and why? Why is Alex so interested in Francis, and what do we need to learn about her past? I couldn’t wait to find out the answers to these!
-I adored how Alex’s closest friends were a smart mouthed waitress and a grumpy retired guy.
-The suspense was a slow build to a crazy few chapters that were pretty tense!
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4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A solidly enjoyable mystery/thriller. I think I liked the Golden Spoon just a bit more, but I Need You to Read This was a pretty great follow up book!

I really enjoyed this book. I read it in under 24 hours and I literally kept turning the pages. Three stars for me means it was captivating and I would recommend it. I felt that the plot wasn’t anything extraordinary, but it did have a few twists that caught me off guard. I loved Raymond and Janice’s character kinda gave me like the elderly sleuth vibes. The ending was also really great.

I found the first half of this book intriguing however toward the second half it became a little to predictable. The twists at the end of the book were easy to see from a mile away. Overall I thought this book had a lot of potential, however it just didn't deliver. Not a favorite, but I would be interested in reading from this author in the future.

Thank you for an ARC copy of this book to review!