This arc was provided to me by Netgally & HarperCollins

This book was a solid 4.5 for me. This book deals with one's self-image, love, loss, heartbreak, guilt, complex family relationships, judgement, friendships, growth, and so much more.

Jane Brown may organize other people's life for a living, but she is nothing but messy herself in her relationships and in her own personal life. She is very cynical with her views the world, her boyfriend, her mother, her clients, and her coworkers. But deep down despite everything, there is a part of her that finds some type of clarity with each of these different characters that come into her life. Jane is not perfect, and she never claims to be. She is not a one dimensional character. Jane is going on a journey, and while she has a very long way to go, there are small steps being made.

I have to admit, as I was reading I felt like I could envision this book perfectly as a limited TV series with the way it was structured. I went through allllll the emotions reading this book laughing to crying & even thinking how I definitely related to certain things with Jane.

My only con is that I wish the ending didn't feel so abrupt. But also, I wanted more a glimpse into her future. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this book and found it a surprisingly very emotional read for me.

I feel like the cover and description of this book were extremely misleading, the cover looks cool and the description sounds really fun.
However, I just finished this book and I felt as if I’ve read nothing.
The main character is a thief who just kinda coasts through life while making judgments on everybody and ends up exactly where she was when the book started.
Still cleaning up others lives, still making judgements, still with her just fine boyfriend.
I really can’t figure out the point of this book.

I appreciate the ARC but this book was not for me. I was intrigued by the synopsis but it didn’t hold up. The main character was not likable and her decision to steal at every job was so odd and didn’t feel like it lined up with her personality. If there had been more backstory about her, perhaps it would have helped me to understand this piece.

I enjoyed meeting some of the client characters but the back story for each, along with the need for every client to relate back to her previous entertainment industry experiences was too much. There really is no love story here at all. The book has great bones and feels like there could have been more with an actual plot but instead feels like the snapshot of 6 months of a random girls life.

Mess is a witty and heartfelt exploration of life’s imperfections, wrapped in the glitz of Hollywood and the soothing aesthetics of a well-organized closet. Jane Brown is the kind of protagonist who might initially come across as cool and collected, but her sharp judgments and insecurities give her a complexity that is both relatable and endearing. This book offers a humorous yet deeply insightful take on the things we hold onto, both physically and emotionally, and the freedom that comes with letting go. With sharp prose, charming characters, and a story that is as funny as it is tender.