Welcome to Litsy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
First book of 2026, first 5 star read! A thrilling, fast-paced read from the first chapter all the way to the end‼️Absolutely loved the premise of this story! What a way to start my year in books!

Each time I thought I had it figured out something new is added to the storyline, keeping me guessing. Every Holly Jackson title is just the right amount of scary for me. This was the first one where the MC was trying to solve her own murder as opposed to being hunted. I did question how fast she was released from the hospital in the beginning- setting this story in to motion but it fits with the pacing of the story and is obviously fictional.

I figured out the who fairly early on (maybe half way through?) but the why was a complete surprise for me. I loved the premise of solving your own murder and I liked how things wrapped before the epilogue - I thought that was very smart of Jackson. But this isn't for someone who needs to like the people they are reading about - this is just unlikeable character after unlikeable character after unlikeable character.

The massive Thalia in Dresden is renovating right now and it will be amazing once they are done! Despite all the chaos, I still spent a nice fortune there. My 5th graders love the Legami pens (as do I), so these are prices for an art contest we did.
Not Quite Dead Yet is set during the week after Halloween 🎃 so this fit perfectly. It‘s very fast-paced and very entertaining. Really good if you need to get out of a reading slump.

The book starts with a brutal attack on our protagonist, one that should have killed her. It's then that she learns that the attack has triggered a fatal hemorrhage that can strike in the next week. She then works with her best friend to find her killer.
I loved the premise, characters and storytelling in this book. It was definitely worth your time.

I took a journey with this book! I wasn‘t a huge fan at first as it felt very YA even though I believe this is billed as the author‘s adult novel debut. The main character, while endearing and funny, was very juvenile in her choices. It almost became unrealistic - I mean, being told you have a week to live didn‘t mean you have EXACTLY a week to live, it‘s an estimate 🤣! That being said I LOVED THE ENDING!! I can‘t say much about it but it ⬇️

Hot fucking damn. This one sucked me in! A+ to the narration.

I really thought I knew who the killer was at the beginning! Something was said and I thought I had it allllll figured out.

Nope.🙂‍↔️

Sorry Ms Jackson, but this was utter rubbish!! Especially for your adult mystery debut.

Flat characters, repetitive, and I knew I should have bailed the moment the doctors let the main character leave the hospital about 36 hours after a massive brain injury and emergency brain surgery with "change the bandages daily".

#audiobook narration didn't help the book either. But at 2.5x it was over quickly.

This was Holly Jackson's first venture into adult thrillers, and it was good, suspenseful fun. The main character sometimes made frustrating decisions and acted a little dense, but she had a good excuse. I liked her. She was snarky about her very dire predicament.

Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson. Rated 8,1/10

⭐️⭐️

Die now or die in a week? Maybe you‘ll like this if you excel at suspending belief. Idk. I love Jackson‘s YA books, but this adult debut simply felt like YA but with slightly older characters. I guess I expected the writing to be more complex, more grown up. If the plot hadn‘t sucked, maybe I would be less critical. A disappointing experience for me.

Interesting premise and was hopeful to see Holly Jackson transition from teen/YA to adult mystery author. The young protagonist is attacked by a mystery assailant leaving her with a terminal aneurism that will kill her in a week, during which time she must uncover who her attacker is. Expect a bunch of secrets in lies in her upper middle class community. Sadly, the writing is still infantile and the revelation leaves you meh. Not a fan.

I enjoyed this one, very twisty turny

Read for reading challenges

4.75/5

Well the first chapter grabbed me and I liked how the story resolved. But oh my goodness Jett‘s head is held together with wire mesh, she has no chance of survival, and my ability to suspend disbelief exploded (oh wait, I think I just punned my post🤣) soon after she woke from a coma. But you do you Jett and go all Colombo and everything 🧐. And yet, I had fun in all my disbelief!

Jackson‘s adult thriller debut is solidly entertaining with an engaging hook, a tight timeline & a unique angle. At 27, Jet isn‘t as far in life as she expected to be… living back at home with her parents with a catchphrase of doing everything “later”. This arrested development abruptly comes to a change on Halloween when she‘s attacked in their kitchen & given a week to live. So she sets out, with her childhood friend, to solver her own murder!

Well, that was intense. Maybe a little more so, because my husband has a very similar brain issue. I kinda wish I knew before I picked it up. I might have avoided this one, but once I was in it was too late to stop, so I just finished it. Solving your own murder before you die is a very clever premise.

Reading the new Holly Jackson for my first book of August. I think this is her adult debut?

Rumpel wanted me to tell everyone that she thinks this might be one of her favorite thrillers of the year so far! 💕📚 The story is so unique and we can't put it down! #catsoflitsy #rumpel

HOLLY JACKSON'S ADULT DEBUT IS OUT TODAY! 🥳🎉🎉🎉 I really love her young adult books, so I'm really excited for this one!

Jet was murdered--but she's not quite dead yet. With only days to live after a brutal assualt fractured her skull, Jet is determined to find who killed her. Whew this book was a wild ride. It took me a minute to warm up to Jet who is a bit of a privileged asshole, but I also realized eventually that I was only seeing Jet as her dying self, someone who didn't need to worry about consequences. This was a truly unique premise that worked so well!

It had its suspense and twists. I felt like the FMC was written younger than she was said to be. I think it would have worked better as a YA novel. Still a pick. Just lower.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

#ARC

This book was definitely suspenseful. I think had this been a YA book I would have loved it more. It was jarring to be reminded that Jet was 27 years old. In no way did she act like someone in her late 20s. I loved the premise though.
I was provided an advanced copy of this book which did not affect my review.