From the publisher:
A humorous and heartwarming novel about friendship and all its little secrets by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Jamie Beck.
Wendy Moore hides her collection of pilfered bric-a-brac from everyone, including her husband. He thinks she licked her kleptomania in therapy more than a decade ago. Therapy did help, as did focusing her attention on motherhood. But now Wendy’s gardening and furniture-refinishing hobbies fill up only so much of the day, leaving the recent empty nester lonely and anxious – a combination likely to trigger her little problem. She needs a project, fast. Luckily, Harper Ross – a single, childless younger woman in desperate need of highlights – just moved in next door.
The only thing Harper wants to change is the writer’s block toppling her confidence and career. Then a muse comes knocking. Sensing fodder for a new antagonist, Harper plays along with Wendy’s “helpful” advice while keeping her career a secret so Wendy keeps talking. Sure, she’s torn about profiting off her neighbor’s goodwill – especially when Wendy’s matchmaking actually pans out – but Harper’s novel is practically writing itself.
Just as a real friendship begins to cement, their deceptions come to light, threatening Wendy’s and Harper’s futures and forcing them to reconcile who they are with who they want to be. Easier said than done.
https://amzn.to/3xbMIHG
Harper is a novelist whose first two books met with acclaim, but her third was a stinker. Afraid she’s lost her talent, she puts her Manhattan condo up for sale and rents a house in the suburbs of Connecticut. Her agent and editor are pushing her in a different direction, and she is hopeful that the fresh start in a new locale will give her the impetus she needs to write a better book. Wendy lives nearby and is dealing with an upcoming empty nest, and doesn’t have many friends. She has a shameful secret; she suffers from a mental illness which is handled sensitively here. The two women meet and form a friendship of sorts, except Harper is using Wendy as inspiration for her new book, and is lying about her occupation. Wendy is happy to have a new friend, especially a younger woman she can mother a bit and act as a matchmaker, too. When all the secrets come out, the friendship is strained beyond repair, or so it seems.
Verdict: Many women will see aspects of themselves here in this relatable women’s fiction that should appeal to book clubs and readers who enjoy books by Danielle Steel or Kristin Hannah.
©Library Journal, 2022
9/2022 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
TAKE IT FROM ME by Jamie Beck. Montlake (September 20, 2022). ISBN: 978-1542032391. 347p.
Stacy Alesi's BookBitch.com™ 
I just read my first Jamie Beck book (For All She Knows) and look forward to reading this and more of her books.