I’m Not Done with You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars rounded up**
Jesse Q. Sutanto has rapidly become one of my favorite authors in the last few years. I’ve read 9-novels from her and IMO, she has excelled in all three major genre spaces: Middle Grade, YA and Adult. That’s impressive.
She’s a freaking unicorn!
I’m Not Done with You Yet is an Adult Psychological Suspense novel. At it’s heart, it’s an intense story of a toxic friendship.
I thought it was fun and incredibly well-plotted. I flew through it so quickly. I just couldn’t put it down!
In this story we mainly follow, Jane, a midlist writer, who is presently not exactly stoked with her life. Her marriage is passing, at best. Her career is essentially nonexistent and she feels like she is living a life she doesn’t want.
Reflecting back on her best times, her happiest times, Jane always thinks about the start of her Creative Writing program at Oxford, and of Thalia. So much Thalia.
The girls were growing very close that first year. Thalia’s friendship had a huge effect on Jane, but eventually other people started to get in between them.
Then on one particular night, tragedy struck and Thalia and Jane were there for one another. Jane assumed surviving this trauma would draw them closer together, but it actually had the opposite effect.
Thalia abruptly left school and Jane never heard from her again. Years have passed and Jane has never been able to track Thalia down. She’s like a ghost.
That is until the day Jane spots Thalia’s name at the top of the New York Times bestsellers list. And that’s the only breadcrumb she needs.
From there, Jane easily discovers Thalia will soon be attending a Book Con in NYC. Jane will stop at nothing to get herself into that Con.
Even if it means selling her worldly-possessions in order to get funds enough to make the trip. Even if it means making up a fake story to sell her husband on the idea. Even if it means dragging along said husband, who she can barely stand most days. She’s going.
Jane is excited about her mission. She’s going to find Thalia again and once she does, she’s never letting go.
Y’all, this is such a wild ride. There are a few different layers, including past and present timelines. The present, described above, provides the impetus for the main events. The past perspective follows the friendship, from their first meeting, until that final fateful night at Oxford.
The back and forth between the two timelines, beautifully builds out the bigger picture of this relationship. I was absolutely hooked. It’s so intriguing.
Sutanto writes obsession incredibly well. In a way that makes you uncomfortable, yet you can’t look away. Even though her thoughts were messed up, I was drawn to Jane. I was so willing to go on this journey with her.
The twists kept coming and as Part III began, I was floored. There was a reveal that I didn’t see coming, not from a mile away. I think Sutanto had completely lured me into thinking everything was a steadfast, linear course to a particular ending, but life is rarely that way, is it?
These characters were really well done. Not just Jane and Thalia, but also the side characters, including Jane’s husband. They felt believable.
This story kept me on my toes and engaged the entire way through. I thought it was fun that we got to follow two writers, who were at different levels of their career. This does discuss publishing a bit and I was curious how much of Sutanto’s own experiences she brought to the page here.
I do feel like I enjoyed the present timeline a little more than the past, but everything included in the past perspective was necessary in understanding what was happening in the present. Obviously, Sutanto knows what she’s doing.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a twisted and intense story of toxic friendship. Bonus points if you enjoy stories with a college setting, or stories that include insight into the publishing industry.
If you follow my reviews at all, it’s no secret that I am a HUGE fan of Jesse Q. Sutanto. I will continue to pick up every single thing she writes. Keep ’em coming, Jesse!!
Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I am really enjoying Sutanto in the Adult space. There’s nothing she can’t write!