This was some weird shiz and I loved it.
I love every novel about some twisted influencer. Why? Because it full on reminds me of Utah's toxic perfection culture and the way it tears women apart and keeps us from truly being ourselves. UGH. Personally I am more of a de-fluencer. I am messy and show it so I can relate to other humans. It isn't the popular way to be here.
Authentic people are so rare and it isn't just online. It is the culture here.
Anyway, that's why I love it. This was different though. Her assistant is creepy as hell and her husband is an absolute scoundrel.
Our Gail, the assistant, reminds me of a woman I once dealt with as an animal control officer. She let her dog bite a neighbor and then justified it with her "manners" and her upbringing. She was so certain she was superior to all of us while she was standing there all messy and crazy. Oh she was delightful and getting to know her reasons for being that creepy made my day!

I was provided an advance copy of The Assistant. I was intrigued to read this as it was labeled a "brand new unforgettable psychological thriller from bestseller Amanda Reynolds, author of Close to Me–now a major TV series. So I was excited to dive into the story. However, it was hard to follow at times. The story is told through numerous interviews, diary entries, and calls and voicemails. The main narrator is Gail, who applies to be Larissa Fox's executive assistant. Larissa is a social media influencer and the wife of an older, wealthy man named Miles. Gail knows all of Larissa's secrets.

The story was a slow burn and explored revenge; the characters were not very likable, which I'm sure was part of the point of the book. But I feel at least one character should be likable for me to root for in the story. There were times I found myself skimming the material to get to a good part. There were some twists that I did not see coming.

I may check out more books by this author to see how other stories unfold.

#TheAssistant #NetGalley @BoldwoodBooks

This was a bit of a different format in the way it was written in interview style which I found a bit confusing at first as I didn’t know who was saying what at first . It was also a bit slow at the beginning but once I got into it I found the storyline quite good . There was the surprise twist towards the end too . I would recommend this book to my audience but it wasn’t the best book I’ve read this year. Only 4 stars from me this time

I finished the book. It was just ok for me. Just slow, and never picked up. But, the ending seemed to floor me, it made the book worthwhile.

Amanda Reynolds never fails to write tense twisty thrillers.Gail was a character who really engaged me in the mystery .Once I started the Asisstant it kept me reading late into the night.Thanks#netgalley#boldwoodbooks,

Thanks to NetGalley, Boldwood Books and the author, Amanda Reynolds. This was not a book that was for me. I like to read thrillers with a pace and if they are slower they have to have an interesting story to keep me reading. This one was quite slow and I did not find it enjoyable to read. I had to stop halfway as it wasn't going anywhere for me.

Not so much my cup of tea as I am a mature reader and simply don't get the world of Instagram influencers and socialites.... The book confirmed my suspicion of these individuals being mostly self centered and I get there can be resentment growing towards these individuals who seem to think it is OK to manipulate young people's minds.
Since I did not like the main characters I could not get the usual enjoyment I get from a book that absorbs me wholly which is usually the case for me.
I may be of a generation who simply does not get it, does not want to get it but that's just me....

I’d like to thank Boldwood Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Assistant’ by Amanda Reynolds in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Gail plots to become personal assistant to Larissa Elroyd-Fox, otherwise known as Ris who’s a well-regarded social media influencer, so that she can watch her every move and eventually destroy her life while bringing down her empire.

‘The Assistant’ is told through numerous interviews, diary entries, calls and voicemails and I’m afraid I found it slow and confusing. These days a lot of novels rely on social media to base the plot and as a more mature person this is something I don’t much like. I found it hard to work up any enthusiasm for either of the two main characters who I thought were lacking in depth, and prefer to read a book with the characters talking rather than reading their messages and notes. I battled on until around half-way through and was so bored and disinterested I tried skimming through to the last few chapters hoping for a decent conclusion but I really shouldn’t have bothered. I’m always disappointed when I don’t finish a novel as I can only imagine the work the author puts into it, and in this case can only apologise that I didn’t enjoy it enough to read to the end.

I received this book from Netgalley.

I found the story a bit difficult to get into at the beginning. I didn't realise that the format of the book was the way that it is - being interviews. I loved the idea of the story but I'm not a big fan of how it was executed. I think this would work well as a movie actually, but as a story I'm not a big fan of the fact that Gail is just retelling things as they happened - instead of things actually happening. Also, because it seems like Ris isn't actually a bad person but it does seem like Gail is a bit crazy.

Although the book did get easier to read as it goes on, Gail doesn't seem like a particularly nice person so it gets a bit much sometimes. Also, I feel like a large amount of the things that happen are as a result of her trying to 'get what she deserves.'

There were some surpsising twists and turns in this story that I didn't see coming and that did make the story much better in my opinion.

3.4 stars rounded down.

I know many things about Larissa. I know what she eats, what must-have brands she applies to her face, and the price of each carefully selected 'piece' in her multi-million-pound home ion Belgravia. Because Ris, as she is known to her many followers, likes to share. And now I'm here, in her home, watching her every move.

This book is written in the form of emails, interviews and texts. The pace is quite slow for the first quarter of the book. It was also confusing and not easy to follow until I got used to the way that it's written. The plot structure is social media based. I had high expectations after reading the premise, but unfortunately it fell a bit short. The characters came across a bit flat and hard to connect to. It's not all a bad read, it just takes a while to get to the good parts.

The Assistant, the latest novel by Amanda Reynolds, follows an intriguing set-up, where we see Gail apply for an assistant role to social media influencer and multi-millionaire, Larissa. The job is based at Larissa’s multi-million pound house in Belgravia, London. But Gail has another reason for being there and her intentions aren’t exactly honourable, she is there to bring Larissa down.

There is a really tense atmosphere throughout this book. It is told mostly through Gail’s memories of her time spent in the mansion, as Larissa’s assistant, but in the present day, she is also giving an interview about something big that happened between them. There isn’t a lot of dialogue in the book. Gail is the main narrator and we are seeing everything that unfolded through her memories. I thought this was an interesting way to tell the story. You know that we are leading up to something that has happened to the characters, and I wanted to know what that was going to be.

I don’t think I liked either Larissa or Gail. I especially grew to dislike them even more, especially as Amanda takes us deeper into their story. It soon becomes clear why Gail is doing what she is doing. I wondered just how far Gail was prepared to go to achieve what she wanted. Amanda Reynolds clearly paints what is driving her, as more revelations about her past come to light. Larissa is a social media influencer, and you can clearly see how influential she thinks she is, particularly around her book launch. You can see that she thinks about no one but herself and about making her life look absolutely perfect. I could see how people could grow to dislike her, especially people who are close to her and who work for her. But what is often the case with many people, who portray this type of existence on social media, is that their life isn’t as perfect as everyone thinks it is. And this is definitely true for Larissa. There is a lot more going on in her life that she doesn’t want the public to know.

The Assistant is a tense read that I really enjoyed. I loved getting inside Gail’s head as she recounts her time spent with Larissa and both their characters are developed so well. If you enjoy a character-driven psychological thriller, I highly recommend it.

When the book starts we hear about an older woman knocking on the door of a fancy home we eventually find out this is Gail Frost and she is applying to be the assistant of an Instagram influencer and socialite name Rissa fox. Rissa is also the second Ian younger wife of Miles Foxx a billionaire hotel owner as a story goes along we find out Gail is there to find dirt on RZA because she wants to expose her for the fraud that she is and although RZA is a bit stern and standoffish after a disappointing trip to France they bond in a way only awkward people can. The story is told through interviews with Gail Frost by a journalist who we only know as A.G. and for some reason I kept imagining Ali G interviewing a middle-age woman in her basement flat. Eventually we’re alerted to a third woman who had an affair with Miles and Dooley becomes obsessed with him and imagines no one loves him the way she does and despite Rissa claiming to be pregnant she in her diary papers also says she’s having his baby. Eventually a girl named Maya is added to the mix and while everyone is getting ready for Rizz‘s book release party and Gail prepares to tell what she thinks she knows the story wraps up to be a doozy. Unfortunately it didn’t end up that way. I thought the story would end in a blast but found myself bored at the end. There were a couple of twist but nothing to write home about and I was very disappointed because I was loving this book 80% in but you win some you lose some. I have enjoyed other books by Amanda Reynolds but unfortunately this was not one of them at least not at the end. Also I found that ridiculous that this young woman is married to the 50 something-year-old man and yet barely sees him but what do I know people do strange things to have money and that’s probably one of them. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This talented and gifted author has written a cannot put down novel. The characters are realistic, and the story moves quickly. This book would make a great movie. Trying to discern the ending is almost impossible. This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Thanks to the publisher and the author. Enjoy

I knew I had to request this book when I came across it on NetGalley because I used to be an Assistant, so I was so eager to read a thriller surrounding my profession!

The format of this book is very interesting, it is made up of interviews, WhatsApp messages and emails which I thought was very clever. Also very apt for the telling of a story surrounding a Personal Assistant who could use WhatsApp and email as part of their profession.

I loved the authors writing style and thought the descriptions and references throughout the book were very accurate. The setting of the story was in Belgravia and I could really vividly picture the house that Ris lived in.

I was very absorbed in the story each time I picked it up and there were plenty of twists and turns as I progressed through the book. I also enjoyed the focus on a the two main characters, it allowed me to enjoy the storyline and build up.

I will be definitely be on the look out to read some more of @ajreynolds2 other books.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for allowing me an advanced copy of this book. I tried to get into it, but couldn't. I didn't finish it. It was kind of slow and didn't really pick up. The characters weren't really likeable, and I just couldn't get into the book. I hate to dnf, but this one I had to.

Social media themed thrillers are a new and popular genre and "The Assistant" tells the story from the perspective of the scammer rather than the victim which is the norm. Gail Frost is a woman with a mission; a mission to destroy the life of Larissa Fox, a social media influencer and the wife of an older, wealthy man named Miles. We don't find out why Gail wants to destroy Larissa for quite a while but the author does leave enough clues to figure it out before it gets revealed. Gail tells her story in the form of interviews with a reporter and occasional emails between this reporter and another person. The first part of the book was kind of slow for me and Gail's endless complaints about Larissa's large size 8 feet, her clothes, her makeup etc got old pretty quickly.

Gail is able to enter Larissa's life by forging an identity as a personal assistant and Larissa falls for it, quickly brining Gail in to handle her social media accounts and run errands. While Larissa seems vapid and lonely, Gail's complete hatred of her doesn't make much sense. There are a couple of big twists in the book and I guessed one but not the other but both are very clever. I would have liked the story to have some feedback from Larissa's point of view.. The last few chapters of the book do a good job at tying the various parts of the story together and bring the then and now chapters together to explain the plot. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

This was so unique and different to any psychological thriller I've ever read before, I loved the layout of the book between interviews, first hand experiences, diary entries, emails etc. You can never be sure who is an unreliable narrator and what POV is actual telling the truth, this makes it even more intriguing to read and I couldn't put it down. There was so many twists and turns and surprise reveals I never guessed I was kept absorbed until the end. I loved that it was all female main characters and that everyone is in it only for themselves. I did find some parts dragged slightly, mostly in Gail's POV's but I think this was meant to add to the character so I didn't mind it that much. However, if you like dark psychological thrillers that will keep you guessing I recommend this for an intriguing read.

'The Assistant' is an enthralling read that had me hooked from the beginning. We follow Gail as she takes a job as Larissa's Executive Assistant, we know from early on that there is something Gail is trying to uncover but we don't know what and Reynolds teases us with this throughout the book.
I particularly liked how Reynolds' writes this. We mostly read interview excerpts with Gail following the events of the book, this allows the reader to get inside Gail's head and I found it to be an engaging read. We also have messages to tell the story, which again add another perspective to the read and one I found to be interesting.
For the most part, the book offers an intriguing mystery which I enjoyed reading. I did think this lost its way a bit towards the end which is why I dropped in my rating. For the most part, I found this to be an enjoyable read.
Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for an advance copy.

The Assistant by Amanda Reynolds, an interesting book that I almost gave up on a couple times. Definitely not what I was expecting, but has several good twists at the end that made it worth it.

After reading the synopsis for I was very intrigued as to what it would be like and I wasn’t disappointed. A very twisty, dark and gripping read I really couldn’t work out which way it was going to go. Gail becomes influencer Ris’ right hand woman and from the very beginning you know that Gail has an ulterior motive and wants to bring down Ris. The question is why? Every time I thought I’d worked it out there was another twist! A real page turner that I couldn’t put down! Thank you to Boldwood Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.