This book was a pleasant surprise to me. I loved the idea of the thriller being set to a game theme where two opponents were competing against each other in the plot. The competition was there for the entire book between Amy and Roux. When I began the book, I was shocked that a huge character secret was revealed so early. It left me wondering what other twisted things were to come with Amy, and Joshilyn Jackson did a great job going beyond my expectations. I felt like there was a new cliff-hanger or secret uncovered each chapter which really sped up the suspense of the plot. At times, thrillers can make you want to yell at the character just to be honest but I found Amy to be relate-able with a good sense of reason. Amy was strong-willed with her relationships and I admired her character for not straying from her family. I absolutely loved how Charlotte played into the thrill of the game. I would have read this book a lot faster if the chapters were not as long but it was worth the read. Overall it earns a four out of five star rating from me, and an author I will look to read more of in the future!

When new-to-town Roux crashes Charlotte’s neighborhood book club insisting on playing “what’s the worst thing you’ve done in the last day, week, month, etc,” Amy finds her world threatened.

I found myself cheering Amy on, hoping she could outsmart conniving Roux.

The book ended in a disturbing way I never saw coming.

The beginning didn’t draw me in, the back and forth between present day and the past few disruptive. But once I got into it, this was a fun mystery.

Thank you to William Morrow, Harper Collins Publishing and Netgalley for the early read in exchange for an honest review.

Never Have I Ever hit all the right notes. The sounds of women as mothers, women as wives, and women as friends were perfect. Joshilyn Jackson wrote about the dives so beautifully that they were easy to visualize.

Thank you to NetGalley for this fabulous read!
I started to see this book posted by friends on our book page and the cover got me right away as I love purple. After reading the synopsis I definitely had to read it asap.

This book reflects upon a woman, Amy, who had a past involving a death and she has buried the trauma so deep, it almost destroys her when a random woman, Roux, comes knocking and makes her relive it. Not only is she being blackmailed by this crazy new woman, but this woman starts to imbed herself in Amy’s life.

Any then has to decide how much her family and best friend mean to her and if she’s willing to risk all her secrets to please Roux.

If sounds like a textbook blackmail story but it’s not. I was enthralled the whole way through and then at the very end there’s a twist you never saw coming and everything suddenly makes sense! Read this book, it’s hard to put down!

Woooooo, Weeeeee. What a ride 😀. I adored it.
I went in thinking it was going to be a cut and dry thriller and boy was I wrong. It’s hard to get really, really in-depth without spoilers so I will post my likes 🤗.
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JJ has brought us some very complicated characters...I am here for it!
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The beginning of the novel with the game Never Have I Ever was a perfect introductory vehicle.
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The twists and turns were unexpected and for that I was so thankful.
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Florida as a setting was perfect. The Southern aspect was subtle, but very well done.
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It was a nice break to get rid of the unreliable narrators that is so prevalent in domestic thrillers these days
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All in all. I will be recommending this novel for those who want a dram filled, page turner!
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This is a great story about a woman who reinvents herself and buried her secrets only to have them come back to haunt her years later. To what lengths would we all go to protect the happy simple lives we enjoy? Great characters, fast-paced storyline, and unique premise and twists and turns!

Never Have I Ever hooked me from the first chapter. It opens at a neighborhood book club meeting. The meeting is taken over Roux, a new neighbor who invited herself to the meeting. She does, however, have a secret agenda. She is trying to blow Amy’s life apart. And she comes so close to succeeding. There are many twists and turns to the story. So often I can predict what is going to happen in a book. Not in this case. The ending was completely unexpected. The main characters are dynamic and well thought out. Although the book came to a natural conclusion, I was sorry to see it end. If keeps you engaged for the entire book. Love this book!

Wow! This book seriously packed a punch. Twists and turns on every few pages. In Never Have I Ever, the author takes a departure from her other works but it's done so skillfully, you'd think she'd been writing crafty suspense for years. I really loved the character development in this book and the way it drove the plot forward. 4 stars!

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson is full of suspense and twists that I never saw coming. There were moments while reading where I was holding my breath while waiting to find out what would happen next. I had to force myself to not skim ahead and ruin the suspense. Often, twists in this genre can be predicted but halfway through my head was spinning from something I had not even thought might happen. Read and enjoy!

Amy lives a comfortable life in suburban Florida. She’s married to a wonderful man, has a charming stepdaughter and the cutest 8-month old little boy. Her best friend, Charlotte, keeps her sane and they are each other’s “person.” But Amy has a secret, one she never wants anyone to find out about—this secret could ruin her perfect little suburban fantasy.

One night at Charlotte’s book club, a new neighbor shows up unannounced—a woman named Roux, who from the start rubbed Amy the wrong way. She acted like she owned the place and all the other neighbors quickly became enamored by her. But when Roux starts playing an innocent enough party game—a twist on the classic “never have I ever”—Amy’s blood runs cold. She has the feeling Roux can see through her, see her deepest darkest secret. And now Amy’s past might be coming back to haunt her.

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson was an unexpectedly addicting domestic thriller! I’ve heard high praises about this upcoming release, but I don’t always love hyped books, so I wasn’t expecting to be as impressed as I was. I ate this book up so quickly! The twists were perfectly timed and cleverly crafted. I didn’t see the twists coming, which is refreshing. I don’t want to give the plot away, so I’ll stop here, but run—don’t walk—and get yourself a copy of this book! 5/5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow and Joshilyn Jackson for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this advanced copy of "Never Have I Ever". I have never read anything by Joshilyn Jackson so I am very happy to have the opportunity. This was a well written book. With suspense and twists. A real page turner til the very end!

Exotic, mysterious, and charismatic, Angelica Roux breezes into their book club meeting one night and brazenly takes control. Most of the ladies see her as a breath of fresh air, an alluring change from the humdrum of everyday suburban life.  She starts up the game, and the women fall in...laughing, bewitched "It's a blast.  You should play.  It's like Never Have I Ever, but for grown-ups.  We skip the coy denials and go right to confession...." But for Amy Whey, Roux is a threat. And her game is anything but a game.  Because Amy has a secret, one that threatens to bring her world crashing down if brought to light.  Somehow the mysterious Roux seems to know her terrible truth and will stop at nothing to reveal it.  Thus begins the cat and mouse game in Joshilyn Jackson's latest book Never Have I Ever. 


Oh, how I loved this book!  It had a wonderfully tense atmosphere to it...two strong female characters, circling each other, sizing each other up, preparing to pounce.  It made for such a fun read.  I found myself biting my nails, wondering who would "win".  And the twists!  Just when I thought I couldn't be taken by surprise again, another twist would come along, and I would gasp aloud (much to the amusement of my fellow beach-goers I'm sure).  This book kept me hooked, and I found myself thinking about it even when I wasn't reading.  This was a  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for me.  Thank you, Netgalley, for this ah-mazing ARC!

⭐️Book Review ⭐️
Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson
5/5 Stars

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. I received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.**

This was my first Joshilyn Jackson novel- I’m hooked. She has built amazing characters that you can connect to right from the start.

Book Club newbie Angelica Roux comes into town willing others to divulge their secrets. Little do they know she already has major dirt on Amy Whey.

Amy grew up very wealthy and very overweight. She only had one friend- Tig. Tig was from the wrong side of town, underprivileged and Amy’s closest confidant. Only they hold each other’s secrets from the past. Or do they?

It quickly becomes clear that Roux is a master at manipulating, threats and blackmail.

How far would you go to keep your past buried deep?

I always struggle with domestic thrillers- I love the genre, but there aren’t very many that my highly sensitive nature can handle! This was the perfect balance for me.

Never Have I Ever is so incredibly bingeable- it’s fast paced with lots of twists and turns that constantly kept me guessing. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough! It’s got some good creepiness to it without getting too disturbing. There was one big thing that bothered my sensitive nature, but it didn’t effect my enjoyment of the book as a whole (and I can’t really say anything without giving spoilers).

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- I really liked it. If you’re a fan of domestic thrillers and/or Liane Moriarty I highly recommend this.

Thank you William Morrow and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

This one was a huge surprise for me, and not a book I expected to give four stars to. But wow, what a twisty, fierce, and unpredictable little shock of a book! It's about secrets and fresh starts, lies and making amends. And a whole lot of "how far can you push someone before they crack?" For better or worse, I tend to figure books out fairly early on. This one kept me guessing from literally beginning to end, which I loved. I really liked Amy's character, and I loved her relationships with her family, particularly Maddy. I had a couple of small issues - first, there were a LOT of different smaller storylines, which made the book feel a bit "crowded." There were also a number of different things that felt pretty unrealistic and far-fetched to me. But I think that's pretty common in mystery/thriller books, so I can deal with that.

I have a lot of Joshilyn Jackson books on my "to read" list, but this is the first I've read. I can honestly say it won't be the last! Really enjoyed this and would highly recommend!

This was a bit of a departure from the author's usual style, still I enjoyed it very much. Your worst nightmare come true, and you invited her into your home!! The new neighbor crashes the neighborhood book club and completely takes over steering the book discussion into a 'game' of "never have I ever". Soon friends are spilling all of their secrets to a stranger who will soon be using them in cruel and unusual ways. This book had me on the edge of my seat.

4+ stars for this chilling new suburban thriller. Amy Whey opens the door on book club night and finds evil incarnate on her doorstep. The woman introduces herself as Angelica Roux and proceeds to dominate the evening, leaving Amy with this: "Come by my place. Soon. We have a lot to talk about." Thus begins a high-stakes game of chicken with an epic conclusion. Amy is a deep sea dive instructor which adds an interesting dimension to the plot and her story. Would make a fabulous read for book groups.

A big thank you to Harper Collins for a paperback ARC as well as the access to a digital ARC on NetGalley.

The following book review was just posted on my blog, oakcitybooks.blogspot.com as well as my goodreads and instagram account. I'm excited about this one!

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson was a suspenseful book. It was very different than anything I've read in awhile. I quickly found myself pulling for the teenagers at the beginning of the book. The overweight, teenage girl from a lot of money never felt good enough. The dirt poor, teenage boy with the brains with a guitar. Of course, they had a friendship that didn't need defining. Tragedy changes the course of both of their futures at the very start of the book. Secrets they paid their individual prices for as teenagers come back to haunt them years later as adults.

Amy has learned over the years that scuba diving is the only thing that allows her to release the feelings and secrets that haunt her. When she meets someone who says they have information the police may want, you can almost hear a clock ticking in the background. Amy stands to lose everything she has worked so hard and pushed so hard to feel deserving of in this cat and mouse chase.

5 STARS for this one. Joshilyn Jackson is a mastermind, clever, and fast-paced with lots of turns and unexpected details. She didn't forget anything with this one. I made my husband drive everywhere this weekend so that even while we were running errands, I didn't have to miss a beat. I finished this book in 2 days. I hated putting it down last night after reading into the wee hours of the morning but my eyelids couldn't keep up with the pace, and I wanted to treasure the details and not miss a thing.

As always, thank you to @netgalley for an amazing platform where all of my favorite publishers come together and give me the opportunity to do what I love best. And, thank you to @harpercollinsus for sending me this amazing summer read to review. We wouldn't have anything to discuss if it wasn't for @Joshilyn_Jackson and her dedication to building some amazing characters that I felt connected to from the very beginning. #neverhaveiever #joshilynjackson #summerreads #booked #bibliophile #bookreview #5stars #thriller #bookworm #netgalley #harpercollins #readmorebooks

Fantastic book!

When I heard that Joshilyn Jackson was writing a suspense novel, I immediately took notice. A renowned author of women’s fiction taking a departure to my favorite genre? I am there for that!

In this novel, a book club newbie rolls into town encouraging the others in the book club to reveal secrets. It soon becomes clear that Angelica Roux has some dirt on the main characters, Amy Whey, and isn’t above threats and blackmail.

This book takes twists and turns and the unexpected to a whole new level. Be prepared to set some time aside for this book. I could not tear myself away and devoured it. Soooo good!

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins/William Morrow for the ARC of this book.

Really loved this domestic psychological thriller!! So well done with amazing character development and so many unforeseen twists and turns. I was so engrossed in this story that I could not put it down.
Expertly woven drama as lives begin to unravel. How well do we know our own secrets and what will we do to keep them safely buried Deep in our souls.
Highly recommend. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.