I’m Not Done With You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto: Book Review
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I first picked this book up solely on the recommendation of one of my favorite authors, Jayne Ann Krentz, who posted online that she “couldn’t put this book down.”
Otherwise, I would have never picked up this book because it just wasn’t on my radar. The author herself wasn’t even on my radar, as I haven’t read any of her other work.
But I’ve been on a bit of a thriller kick lately, and this one just seemed to fit my mood of the moment.
My review of I’m Not Done With You Yet includes a synopsis of the book along with my honest opinion about it. And as always, you’ll get my 3 Rs of book reviews. Should you read, reread, or completely reconsider reading I’m Not Done With You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto.
My Take: I’m Not Done With You Yet turned out to be much twistier and more unsettling than I expected. The dual timeline, the strange friendship between Jane and Thalia, and the constant feeling that something was off kept me reading. My Verdict? Read.
What I’m Not Done With You Yet Is About
In “I’m Not Done With You Yet” by Jesse Q. Sutanto, Jane finds herself trapped in an unsatisfying life: a struggling writer in a loveless marriage, burdened by a crippling Bay Area mortgage. Her sole solace lies in memories of her close friendship with Thalia during their Creative Writing days at Oxford, a time of cobblestones, books, and intoxicating English air. But a fateful night shattered their bond: Thalia vanished without a trace, leaving Jane in anguish.
But fate takes a twist when Thalia, now a best-selling author, resurfaces on the New York Times bestseller list. A chance discovery of Thalia’s announcement about attending a book convention in New York City sends Jane on a mission to reunite with her estranged friend, regardless of the financial consequences. This time, Jane is determined not to let Thalia slip away again.
I’m Not Done With You Yet – What I Liked
I’m not sure exactly what I expected from this book, but it wasn’t necessarily what I got. I first picked this book up solely on the recommendation of one of my favorite authors, Jayne Ann Krentz, who simply posted online that she “couldn’t put this book down.”
It didn’t take any more than that to make me wonder what was in store for me in this book.
This book moved along pretty quickly because the story was told along a dual timeline, and I enjoyed the fast pace of it. It was easy to stay engaged in the story.
I loved the cat-and-mouse feel of this book. You quickly realize at the start of the book that the main character, Jane, is supposedly a sociopath. We know this because she tells us.
We don’t necessarily think there is anything odd going on with the character Thalia, other than that she is just a nice, kind person who is helping the frazzled sociopath.
One timeline was an earlier timeframe in Oxford, England, when the two main characters, Jane and Thalia, were there doing their master’s degree in creative writing.
The other timeline was years after they had left Oxford and were each now living their separate lives in different places, having had no contact with each other since they left Oxford.
The book starts out being told from Jane’s point of view. That changes later in the book as the point of view becomes Thalia’s.
I had mixed feelings about both main characters. I loved them in the book, but I didn’t necessarily like them as characters. Especially Jane for some reason.
Thalia seemed like a well-rounded, decent person who was so kind to Jane when they first met. However, things changed with Thalia as the book went on, and I sensed that there was really another Thalia in there somewhere.
It seemed easy to take the story at its face value as I was reading it, but at a certain point, not far into the book, I started to realize that there was some mystery there that was not yet being shared with me. As the pages turned, I became increasingly eager to know what that mystery was.
The relationship between Jane and Thalia is one that I can’t even really label, for lack of the right word for it. Even now, I’m not sure what that relationship was. It’s not that often that I finish a book and go – what WAS that? But that’s exactly what happened here.
If I had to add a label for the relationship between Jane and Thalia, I guess I would call it obsessive love, but only on one side.
I also found it interesting that the author created a character with a Chinese-Indonesian heritage and an Oxford education, as this is a similar heritage to the author’s as well as her Oxford education.
I’m Not Done With You Yet – What I Didn’t Like
There isn’t anything that I disliked about this book.
I’m Not Done With You Yet – Read, Reread, or Reconsider?
And now, for my 3 Rs of book reviews. Should you read, reread, or reconsider reading I’m Not Done With You Yet by Jesse Q. Sutanto?
Read!
Is I’m Not Done With You Yet Worth Reading?
I practically read this book in one sitting, so I certainly recommend this as a great option for you if you like psychological thrillers.
The book really had me hooked from the very start, and there were so many twists that I just didn’t know what was coming next. I found myself anticipating twists even during chapters where there were none, and that really kept me engaged in the book.
This is the first book I’ve read by Jesse Sutanto, but it seems like her previous works have been quite different than this one.
I would love to see more thrillers from this author.
What To Read Next
- Review: The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley – Looks Like Books
- Review: The Chateau by Jaclyn Goldis – Looks Like Books
- Review: The Cloisters by Katy Hays – Looks Like Books
Looking for more suspenseful reads? Browse my Mystery & Thriller recommendations.
