This book was such a strange ride. It was so full of ups and downs and manipulation. I wasn't sure if I was cheering for the MC or if I was frustrated with her. While she genuinely had bad things happen to her, some of her decisions might not have helped some of those situations either. I did enjoy it for the most part, and I thought that all was righted in the end but the epilogue left me wanting to toss my kobo across the room.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for the E-Arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The story was a unique one and I loved being able to talk about my predictions with @littlebookontheprairie throughout. Though I didn’t find any of the characters to be likely able, I did enjoy how the book ended! It kept me guessing until the end. I give it a 3.5 ⭐️

I think anyone who reads this book will appreciate the surprises that Pip offers. Her writing style is also very fluid so most people that read it were able to do it quickly.

This was such a fun read. I picked it up and read it in an afternoon! I really like the kind of story within the story and that it was based around a writer. I found I was drawn in right away - the quick chapters, the characters, the setting, all perfectly connected together.

For me, it felt like I was reading a real life story - all of these different people trying to make it, connecting to someone who did. What that might look like. I liked the creepy vibe that we get from the stalker and not knowing what to expect.

It definitely kept me guessing. There is nothing that I don't like and the ending ugh ... like what???

This will be a easy book to recommend!!

I was hooked from the beginning, read it in 2 sitting.
Loved the first person narrative. Loved being wrong about the unreliable narrator. Loved the short chapters.
I really enjoyed this story and writing style. I received this as an ARC and somehow forgot about it. So glad I read it now, I will be reading more Pip Drysdale in the future!

Thank You Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for a Reader's Advanced Copy. I really do appreciate it so much.

When your dreams come true, you might want to be careful cause your nightmares might come true too. When Zoe Anne Wiess moves to LA to pursue her dream of becoming a big time novelist. Her future is right in front of her until she meets Zach a bartender also an aspiring actor, who she ends up falling for, who ends up ghosting her and her debut novel bombs. Three years go by, Zach rises to fame he's on Netflix on billboards and in every magazine while she falls. She now works in a flower shop, still calling herself a writing but all she does is stare at a blinking cursor. She does deliver flowers to LA's most exclusive neighbourhoods, and there he is. Zach Hamilton. It feels like no time has passed, they pick up right where they left off. Kind of feels like fate, the kind of story you would write about. Suddenly her writers's block disappears. When photos of Zach and Zoe get leaked, her name ends up in the press and her novel goes viral online. Which is fine because, maybe now she will sell some books. The problem now is that everyone now knows her name and her phone number. She now has a stalker that's following all the steps of her thriller novel.

Rounding up to a 1.5 for the ending. I honestly did not expect that ending not going to lie.

The main character was just so whiny, like oh my goodness we know your life sucks, and it's hard. Try to do something that would make it better. I felt like the story was getting a little too repetitive in some areas, I felt the story was just dragging on and on. I also listened to this via audiobook while have the physical book, but even the character in the book itself was just annoying. I should have DNFD this book. There was just alot of whining about not writing, about NDA about Zach and how she though she could trust him, also whining about her stalker. I was able to finish to finish the book because I kind of did want to know what happened. The ending was okay, kind of didn't expect it but also kind of did. I don't know if you like whiny characters you might want to read this book. Happy Reading!!!!!

This was a little bit slow, and the unreliable narrator (the main character) was so annoying. BUT THAT ENDING!?! THAT EPILOGUE!?!?!? Amazing and so worth it!!!

This book was ok, but not great.

My main issues with it were:

1) Zoe the MC is impossible to like. She keeps making the wrong decision, trying to take the easy way out of her mess of a life. Other than desperation and bad decisions she doesn’t have much of a personality

2) The transitions between the past and current time lines were a bit choppy

3) The ending was chaotic and the big reveal seemed highly implausible, even for fiction

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for providing me with an eARC of this book to read and review.

From slow burn to a header racing climax drysdale has done it again! Loved the book within a book feel.

I loved The Next Girl so I had high hopes for The Close-Up. I love Pip's writing style.

Unfortunately, it just wasn't my cup of tea and that's okay. The premise hooked me as did the first couple chapters. However, I found the MC so unlikeable, she was beyond annoying and the story was way too repetitive.

The twists were well written and kept things interesting.

Overall, it was a quick and easy thriller to binge.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC.

2.5 stars

The Close-Up is an action-packed story set in the dazzling lights of LA and Hollywood, where dreams are supposed to come true.

Our main character Zoe Ann Weiss is an expat from London who moved to LA in order to make her writing dreams come true. Only, it wasn't quite as she expected.

Zoe is, to say the least, a hot mess. She gets starstruck and involved with the wrong men and doesn't make the best decisions when it comes to dating. And, although she moved to LA for her writing career, the girl can't meet a deadline and can barely manage to get a word out on paper and she's risking being dropped for her second book contract.

That is, until the event from her first book (which bombed), a thriller titled Fractured, start happening to Zoe, in real life. And that book involved a stalker and a murderer. But creepiness aside, Zoe finally gets inspiration for her second book.

This book unfortunately didn't resonate with me very much. The MC unfortunately wasn't particularly likeable, and I didn't really like her "voice" in the first person throughout the book. I felt like the writing was a little messy and "all over the place", but that might mostly be due to the fact that the character herself had a personality a little bit like that.

However, the ending of this book absolutely shocked me and I have sooo many questions!

This story is part thriller, part mystery, part action.

Pip Drysdale is a pro at writing messy female MCs that I always end up rooting for. I’ve read several of her books, and this is probably my favourite so far.

There were so many pieces involved in this plot, and it made for a super entertaining read. I’d say the first 30% has no thriller elements, but it’s paving the way for a fast-paced story to unfold later on (and the beginning still drew me in and kept me invested).

I did predict a few of the twists, but I still found myself glued to the pages and trying to figure out what would happen next. And I was not expecting that epilogue!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for my gifted copy!

This is my 3rd Pip Drysdale book! I was definitely intrigued even though the beginning was a little slow going. It does pick up and kept changing my mind on who I thought the stalker was. I did NOT see that ending coming!

Whoaaaa I'm starting the year off with a banger !!! This is my first read by Pip and it won't be my last. I don't read many thrillers but this slow burn had the perfect amount of twists that leave you wanting more and that ending o soooo efing good!

Author Zoe Ann Weiss moves to LA to fulfil her dream of becoming a writer. Things seem to be going well until Zach, a bartender turned actor ghosts her and her debut novel tanks in the charts. As Zach's stardom rises, Zoe begins working in a flower shop, trying desperately to come up with a new idea for her next book. When she unexpectedly runs into Zach three years later, they rekindle their relationship causing her writer's block to vanish. When the paparazzi posts pictures of them online, and a stalker emerges from the shadows who begins reenacting the plot of Zoe's first book, which has a tragic ending.

The concept of this book was so intriguing to me and I was invested in finding out what was going to happen to Zoe. I listened to this one on audiobook, and the narrator did a really great job of injecting the fear into Zoe's voice during some of the scenes. I think that it would make a really fun movie or TV show. I thought the story was a lot of fun, although a bit repetitive in it's writing. It was definitely a slow burn, but picked up pace as the story progressed. It ended in a way I wasn't expecting, and I honestly don't know if I liked the final epilogue or not. I will admit it was shocking, but SO NOT FAIR.

I will definitely be checking out more from this author in the future!

What a ride this one was. Zoe, the MC, moves to LA to pursue her writing career. I mean, it's where dreams come true right? She meets Zach, a gorgeous bartender who she had an amazing three days with. But her dreams start their downward spiral when he ghosts her and her book starts to tank. Fast forward three years and Zoe is living anything but her dream life. She's stuck working as a florist with a dead in the water novel and no ideas for her second which she has a contractual obligation to. Oddly enough she runs into Zach, who is now a super successful actor and lucky for her, he remembers who she is. They casually start dating, her writer's block disappears and things seem to be turning around. That is until a stalker of Zach's starts reenacting eerie and dangerous scenes from Zoe's first book. 

#TheCloseUp had so many twists and turns that I didn't expect. I especially did not see the ending AT ALL but once I thought about it for a little bit, I really liked how it wrapped up. 

@_thebookreview and I talked about it and we both found Zach to be annoying. I really would have liked a run through of what their days together were like, three years ago. We also both found Zoe a bit too naive. She seemed to be getting her backbone back but then fell for so much so that was a bit of a let down.

I think anyone who reads this book will appreciate the surprises that Pip offers. Her writing style is also very fluid so most people that read it were able to do it quickly.

Another title that intrigued me from the outset. The fame, the struggle for success and the tension of a stalker. So many great elements were worked into this story.
I struggles with the likability of many of the characters. Truly only Greta had any redeeming factors in my mind. Having said that, I did not need to like them to see the value of their contributions.
In honesty I felt like the final twist came from nowhere. A few hints at the ending would have made it more believable.
The twists and the end totally took me by surprise. The epilogue in particular, with its social media/news format was truly a unique way to end this read.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book, and was eager to read another thriller. This book was fairly entertaining, but left me feeling unfulfilled. As interesting as the story started out being, it just fell a bit flat for me.

This book centres on Zoe Weiss, a British young author living in Los Angeles. She had previously published a book that had flopped, and had been dumped by her bartender boyfriend, Zach, around the same time. She's since struggled with writer's block for 3 years, and is working as a florist. She's stressed about trying to write another book to meet her contract timeline, and ends up delivering flowers to a Hollywood party, full of actors and socialites. It's during this delivery that she runs into Zach again, who's now a famous action movie star. They try to rekindle their relationship, but Zoe starts getting threats once they're photographed together, similar to the storyline of her first book. Zoe starts to worry that she's got a stalker now, or if it's all in her head.

This book had so much potential, but ended up fairly flat for me. The action bits were really well written, and I did start to wonder if Zoe was an unreliable narrator, but I couldn't connect with Zoe as a character. Her anxiousness and flakiness were a bit of a turn-off for me, though she did have her moments. The book did end somewhat strongly, but I just don't think this was the book for me.

THE CLOSE~UP. by PIP DRYSDALE

What a great read, I loved this.

Here is the situation:

Zoe Ann Weiss moves to LA to pursue her dream of becoming a novelist. Her whole future is wide open—until Zach, the bartender and aspiring actor she’s falling for, ghosts her, and her debut novel, a thriller, bombs.

Three years pass. Zach’s star rises—while hers falls. Now she’s working in a flower shop, still calling herself a writer while staring at a blinking cursor every night. But then she delivers flowers in one of LA’s most exclusive neighborhoods and...he’s there. Zach Hamilton. And it’s like no time has passed at all—the two pick up right where they left off.

And Zoe now has a stalker who wants Zoe gone. A stalker who has read Zoe’s novel. A stalker who is now re-enacting everything that happened in that book, step by step, against her…

This was a wonderful novel with many twists and I loved it. Highly recommend

This was published on December 3, 2024, so it is available now .

Zoe is an author in L.A. struggling to write the second book in her deal after the first was an unexpected flop. She is working in a flower shop and her Dad wants her to come home and she's considering the idea. Until she runs into Zach, an old flame, who is now famous and comes up with a new book idea centered around him. Little does she know where getting involved with Zach and the behind the scenes of Hollywood will lead her...

This book was a slow start-up, a very introspective narration, and kind of annoying until about 3/4 of the way through when it turned into a bit of a wild ride. I didn't know where it was going and it was definitely twisty. Some of the plot was underwhelming for me, which is why it was a 3 star instead of 4 but it did keep me entertained enough to keep reading.

"The Close-Up" by Pip Drysdale is a psychological thriller that, despite its promising premise, delivers a mixed reading experience.

The novel introduces us to Zoe Ann Weiss, a struggling author in Los Angeles, whose life takes a dramatic turn when she reconnects with her ex-boyfriend, now a famous actor. As their relationship rekindles, Zoe becomes the target of a stalker who eerily reenacts scenes from her debut novel.

The story begins at a leisurely pace, with extensive focus on Zoe's daily life and internal struggles. This slow build-up, while aiming to develop character depth, often feels protracted, making the early and middle sections of the book somewhat tedious. The narrative could have benefited from a more engaging progression during these parts to maintain reader interest.

However, perseverance through the sluggish beginning is rewarded in the latter part of the novel. The plot gains momentum, leading to a fabulous twist that is both unexpected and satisfying. This climactic revelation showcases Drysdale's ability to craft suspense and deliver surprises, redeeming the earlier pacing issues.

In summary, "The Close-Up" offers a compelling twist that thriller enthusiasts will appreciate. Yet, the journey to this climax is hindered by a slow start and a lack of engagement in the initial chapters. For readers willing to navigate through the monotonous beginning, the novel ultimately provides a rewarding conclusion. I would rate it three out of five stars.