Amazing taut thriller with a fantastic plot and equally fantastic relationship between characters, Jet and Billy, tell me why a thriller had me crying!? Holly can do NO wrong!

This was my fifth book by Holly Jackson, and I loved the concept. It was intriguing and easy to read.

That said, it was my least favorite book to date for a few reasons.

First, the MC wasn’t particularly likable. Not many of the characters were.

Second, the use of sentence fragments as a writing device frustrates me endlessly. It would be one thing if it were part of a character’s persona, but it’s utilized across the board for characters and the narration.

Third, while the concept was fresh, it seems highly implausible that someone on death’s door would leave the hospital within days to run around town solving crimes (while on heavy-duty pain meds and driving, no less).

I did like this book. It was good, but it could have been great.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

WHY is a thriller making me cry at 2am?!!?

Oh I LOOOOOVED this! I was admittedly not the biggest fan of AGGGTM, but I requested this on a whim after finishing another amazing thriller (The Thrashers by Julie Soto) and I’m so glad I did because this was a WILD ride. So twisty, so fun, so romantic, so traumatic, so inspiring (somehow?), so satisfying.

I loved Jet as a narrator (though I didn’t *always* love her rambling thoughts, especially when she misremembered a word) and I was hooked on the plot from chapter one. Her family dynamic … YIKES! Loved seeing her stand up against her mother and brother and Sophia, and her letters at the end were perfect. BILLY, BILLY MY GUY. I LOVE YOU. He was so heartbreakingly perfect and I wish it could’ve ended differently for his sake. Absolutely ate up the romance between him and Jet and they were 100% the reason I was sobbing in the dead of night.

I loved that I was able to piece together the mystery at the end! All the loose ends were tied up and made sense and there were no wackadoodle plot points. And even going into the final few chapters knowing, I was still having tons of fun (between the bouts of cursing Holly for doing this to me). Usually I HATE books that have endings like this, but I’m so happy with how much I loved this one! Will be going through Jackson’s backlist after this.

I’ll admit, I really didn’t like Jet at first. Just because she’s been murdered doesn’t mean she has to be a jerk! But by the end, she totally grew on me—I was even rooting for some kind of miracle to happen for her. She’s got a tough job trying to solve her own murder, and while a few things stretched believability (especially with that head wound), I was fully along for the ride.

Holly Jackson does a great job keeping the tension high and making me care about a character I didn’t expect to like. This was a fun, out-of-the-box murder mystery, and I’m glad I stuck with it.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Bantam for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was a highly anticipated release for me and it did not disappoint! Having read all of Holly Jackson's work, I have to say that this is her best work so far.
This story was funny, heartwarming (especially Billy), suspenseful, and heartbreaking. There were a lot of interconnecting parts, some of which I saw coming, but it didn't take away from my enjoyment and I thought they wrapped up well.
What truly kept me hooked was the relationship between Jet and Billy. They felt so real that, knowing what was going to happen to Jet, I was still hoping it would end differently.
This story is definitely going to be one I think about often.
Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing
Group - Ballantine for the digital review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Jet Mason is attacked and in seven days will be dead. So she needs to find out who murdered her before she actually dies. This was so interesting. I loved the writing and the characters. The pacing was strong and this was emotional, thrilling, and a bit of fun. I can not wait to get my hands on another Holly Jackson book!

Whew I loved this book! Jet has to be one of my favorite characters ever. The dialogue was realistic and hilarious. You won’t be disappointed with this one!
5 stars!

This was INCREDIBLE. I couldn't put this down I stayed up all night to finish. Holly Jackson has always been a must read author for me so I was so excited when I got the ARC. The premise of the story is that the main character has a week to find out who murdered her when she wakes up in the hospital after being attacked in her home. The story blended mystery, action, love, and heartbreak. I would recommend everyone read this. I have a feeling this will be one of my top books of the year.

Thanks to Net Galley for providing an ARC of “Note Quite Dead Yet.”

Holly Jackson is one of my favorite authors, and it was fun to read her first adult novels. If you are a fan of her YA books, this felt very similar to them (writing style) but just more adult due to more adult language and gore. It was a little slow to begin, but picked up towards the end of the novel. I enjoyed the original idea behind it: the main character trying to solve her own murder before she runs out of time. I always love Holly Jackson’s twists and plots, although I did guess one part of the twist. I had difficulty relating or even liking any of the characters, but I enjoyed the plot enough to continue through! I still enjoyed AGGGTM, as well as Five Survive more, but I liked this one about as much as The Reappearance of Rachel Price, which Not Quite Dead Yet felt most similar to anyways. If you’re a fan of Holly Jackson or original mystery plots, I definitely suggest picking this one up!

I'll read anything from this author and this book further proves it! My love from this author came from the "Good Girls Guide to Murder" series, but I've enjoyed every book since! The twists and turns were excellent and I was intrigued the whole time. I read this in one sitting!

I very much like Holly Jackson, but this just didn't do it for me. Maybe my taste is changing. Who knows.

I really enjoyed this book. The ending was amazing and I didn't see it coming which makes reading a thriller so much more enjoyable to me! Would definitely recommend it it!

If you are going to die anyway, why not try to solve your own murder before you do? Jet's doctor says she has seven days before her injuries from an attack will kill her. So, Jet gets to sleuthing on a time crunch, and with some weird medical issues.

This was a unique twist on a whodunnit. The pacing and all the false starts were excellent. So many secrets to uncover in this small town and in Jet's own family. I want to reread it immediately to find all the clues I missed the first-time binge reading it.

Thank you to Holly Jackson, Random House Publishing Group Ballantine, and NetGalley for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. On Halloween night, Jet is violently attacked by an unseen intruder and has 7 days to live, due to a catastrophic head injury. Jet has never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her former best friend turned sister-in-law, her ex-boyfriend. With the help of her childhood friend, Billy, Jet is determined to solve her own murder before her time is up.

This is Holly Jackson's first adult novel and although the overall writing did seem more complex, the characters still felt very immature/YA for their age. I loved that it is unique and told in reverse of typical stories. We first find out who is going to die and have to figure out who is the one responsible. Jet is essentially a ticking time bomb and has a very limited amount of time to find out who led to her death. I love Jet's dark sense of humor, but found her to be reckless. I had no complaints about precious Billy. Every character had their strengths and flaws, which made it a more realistic scenario. I will say that I had many suspects, but because of the twists, they kept changing. Once the story ramped up, it became a fast-paced ride. It's true, two can keep a secret if one of them are dead. History is never truly erased. It lies dormant until it resurfaces again. Although I enjoyed the final reveal, it came off very blunt. One chapter basically told it all. I think this is a solid read!

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I'm always very happy about an ARC and being able to give it a review! <3

Aaaaah omg. The moment I saw Holly Jackson’s Insta post about her new book I was like: inject it straight into my veins. I had zero hope my NetGalley request would get approved, and yet — plot twist — it did! Look at me now, living the early access dream.

I just love her writing style. And yeah, some people might read this as a YA thriller, but let’s be real for a sec: we're all just emotionally unstable 16-year-olds trapped in thirty-something bodies. So honestly? I wouldn't get too caught up in whether it's adult fiction or YA. Call it whatever you want, as long as it's serving drama and suspense.

The book starts off so intense, I was instantly hooked. I literally didn’t want to stop reading… but unfortunately capitalism said “no,” so I had to sleep and go to work like a responsible adult, lol. But I squeezed in reading time whenever I could.

Okay, but here’s what really bugged me: a 27-year-old getting discharged that quickly after brain surgery? Girl, be serious. That’s not just unrealistic—it had me side-eyeing the whole storyline. It kept nagging at me in the back of my mind like, “Uhm… you sure about that?”

Jet’s art? I absolutely loved it. Refreshingly quirky, bold, and just plain fun! Sure, I get why some people might find her annoying, but honestly? If someone told you, you had seven days to live, would you really stay calm, cool, and collected? I think her character was spot on.

This book ate and left no crumbs. From page one, I was hooked! The plot? Suspenseful, juicy, and constantly keeping me on my toes. I was playing detective the whole time and still couldn’t figure out who the killer was. When the reveal finally came? Let’s just say my eyebrows are still somewhere on my forehead. Was it a bit of a stretch? Sure. But did I eat it up anyway? Absolutely. And can we talk about that tiny little romantic subplot blooming like a forbidden flower in the middle of murder-town? Ugh, adorable. I was rooting for them so hard, even though we all knew Jet was basically doomed from the beginning. My delusional brain still held out hope for a miracle, okay?

And then… the letters. Oh my god, the letters. That final chapter came for my throat, and I didn’t even put up a fight. The way she wrote to each person, pouring out her love, her regrets, her everything — it was so raw and beautiful it made me want to ugly cry into a pillow. It gave the entire story this bittersweet, poetic edge. It wasn’t just a thriller anymore. It was a goodbye. And it was perfect.

Really enjoyed this one, great characters, a story that pulled me in, and writing that felt super easy to sink into. It was hard to put down and stuck with me after I finished.

I loved A Good Girl's Guide To Murder when I read it years ago, so I was excited for Holly Jackson's first novel for adults, and it did not disappoint. I really loved the characters in this book, and I related in many ways to Jet's character (which is perhaps unsurprising as someone who lives with her parents in her mid 20s), but I also (more surprisingly) related to Billy with his kindness and contentment with a smaller life. This was such an interesting premise, and one of the most heartfelt mysteries I have read in a while. The family dynamics and friendships were just as essential to the novel, if not more so, as the mystery itself. You know all along that Jet is going to die, and yet when it comes, it feels like an absolute gut punch. I cried on a plane and did NOT recover for the rest of the flight. Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

**First Person ARC Review: *Not Quite Dead Yet* by Holly Jackson**

*Not Quite Dead Yet* is exactly the kind of wild, twisty ride I’ve come to expect from Holly Jackson—sharp, fast-paced, and just the right amount of unhinged. I went in thinking I had a handle on the plot, but within a few chapters, I realized: nope. I was completely at her mercy, and I loved every minute of it.

The story kicks off with a bang—literally—and from there, it doesn’t slow down. The pacing is relentless in the best way, but what really impressed me was how Jackson still made room for character depth amid all the chaos. The protagonist is clever, resourceful, and just messy enough to feel real. She’s the kind of narrator I root for even when I’m questioning every decision she makes.

There’s a delicious unpredictability to this book. Just when I thought I had things figured out, it would pivot—hard—and I’d be scrambling to keep up. The mix of dark humor, danger, and emotional stakes made it feel like a thriller with teeth. And while there are definitely moments that stretch belief, I was so caught up in the ride that I didn’t mind one bit.

*Not Quite Dead Yet* is a smart, addictive page-turner with the kind of voice and momentum that makes you stay up way too late saying “just one more chapter.” Holly Jackson delivers again, and if you’re into twisty plots with bite, this one absolutely delivers.

Jet shows us how to solve your own murder! I loved the premise of being not quite dead and the temporary second chance to find your killer. Jet was fairly immature but I’m giving her a break because she was dying and a later reveal sheds light on her (incomplete) life choices.

Even though it’s labeled as YA I’d categorize this as new adult as it is a 27 year old character and she says fuck a lot. No sexual content though.

Not Quite Dead Yet captures a lot of the brilliance that AGGGTM has and I really enjoyed this book!

Absolutely LOVED this book (which is usually how I feel after a Holly Jackson book). I read this in a day and a half, it is definitely a fast-paced thriller. This was full of twists, fun adventures, and also darker themes surrounding family dynamics. I recommend this to all mystery/thriller fans!