This book just did not hold my interest. I know I’m in the minority here but I have to be honest. I’m not sure if it’s the way things are going in the world or if it’s just me.
It took me forever to finish this one.
The premise is great. There are two women with the same name but different ages. One’s son is away, gone to college. The other’s is a baby, new beginning. Older Kelly gets a phone call from the pediatrician about her baby’s appointment but she has no baby. This makes her curious to who the other Kelly is. I did not find that believable personally. If I got such a call I would say sorry wrong person and never give it another though. But alas I am not in a book. Older Kelly starts basically stalking younger Kelly and from there a friendship begins. One can’t be trusted. One is innocent. You know the score. Some depression. Some violence. One Kelly is fake. Husband involved in this story too and not in a good way.

Thank you #NetGalley, #AmberGarza, #Harlequinn for this arc. These are my own thoughts.

Imagine if you suddenly were confused for someone else in the town that you have lived in and raised your family in, all because she happens to have the same name as you? Seems unusual but not impossible. So, now curiosity sneaks up on you and you have to see this person who shares your name up close.
You have the same name.
You use the same pediatrician.
You are members of the same gym.
Are these just coincidences or something more sinister?
Great story that I recommend for anyone who loves an intriguing, domestic thriller.
#WhenIWasYou #NetGalley #Harlequin #MIRA

During Part I of this book, I thought I knew what was going to happen and just wanted to get to the end. Then came Part II. I know some reviewers saw the twist coming, but I didn't. As soon as Part II started, I was intrigued. I couldn't put this down.

Part I started with Kelly Medina finding out about another Kelly Medina who lives in her town, goes to her gym and her pediatrician. She's intrigued and she's an unreliable narrator on top of it. Clearly there is a back story but we don't get all of it yet. We slowly get pieces and red herrings although they didn't seem that way at the time. Kelly Medina 1.0 starts trying to befriend Kelly Medina 2.0 and becomes kinda stalkerish.

And then the fun starts. I enjoyed the second half of this much more than the first half. It started slow but definitely picked up.

All those twists and turns have left me feeling dizzy!

This book follows Kelly Medina, a mother who has dedicated her life to raising her son. When her son moves away to college, she finds herself without purpose. Her relationship with her husband, Rafael, is strained at best, and he isn't a particularly good guy. Her life gets further turned upside down when she meets a woman with the same name, who is living alone with her son, Sullivan. I can't really describe more plot without giving anything away, so I'll stop there.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. In some ways, as a mother myself, I could relate to Kelly, how raising children can be all-consuming. I also could appreciate her adoration of babies, just reading about Sullivan left my ovaries tingling (lol). Every time, I thought I knew what was coming, I would be surprised again. I couldn't put this book down.

4.5/5 rounded up to 5.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the eGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

The intro to the blurb pretty well hit this one on the head, which is something I always hope for when a blurb catches my attention the way this one did. I know I found an 'up all night psychological thriller,' and it's been a little while since I could say that. And that is about all I can say about this story without venturing into spoiler territory, so instead, I'll just tell you that the book is well-written, the story is gripping, and there's a twist or two that took even this jaded thriller reader by surprise. Being an empty nester myself, I was interested to see where Amber Garza would go with this one, and she certainly doesn't disappoint. So, if you like a good thriller that's well-plotted and even a bit sinister, check out When I Was You. I'd definitely recommend it.

From the first page straight to the last, I was caught unaware by the story line and I loved it! This thriller was not what I was expecting but I’m so glad I picked it up.

You think you understand what this book is about when you read the blurb. You think you’ve read all the nuances by the first chapter. You think you’ve got it all figured out as you turn the pages.
I’m going to tell you…everything you think is a lie.

A simple mistake turns into a simple relationship with deeply buried threads and threats. The twists that come at you in this fast paced thriller don’t let go and they don’t let you down!
I’m telling you – from the first page to the last, this story is something you won’t see coming!

this was a really interesting read, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the mystery. I look forward to more from the author.

Kelly Medina gets a call from her son’s former pediatrician one day to remind her of her baby’s appointment. However, her son is now nineteen, so she doesn’t have that appointment. It is meant for another mom who is also named Kelly Medina. It becomes even stranger when Kelly goes to her gym, and finds out that this other Kelly Medina was also at the same gym that morning. Kelly decides she must meet this other woman whose life mirrors her own. Their relationship quickly becomes an obsession, when Kelly starts to wonder why this new Kelly has arrived in her town.

This story had a bunch of typical thriller tropes. Kelly has a past with some mental health struggles. Kelly could be unreliable because she lied to her friends and husband. There were some mysterious things that happened in her past that also contributed to her unreliability. Since the people close to Kelly suspected something was wrong with her new relationship with the other Kelly, I was suspicious as well.

There was a surprising twist in part two of the story. I didn’t see it coming. Some of the reveals that happened close to the end of the story weren’t very surprising because they had been hinted at so much throughout the first part of the story. There was a good twist that was shocking, and I liked the end of the story.

This was a good, fast paced thriller.

Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of When I Was You by Amber Garza.

There is an extra level of freaky that you feel when reading a story about a woman obsessed with another woman, regardless of the reason! That's exactly how this starts when Kelly Medina receives a phone call reminding her of her well baby check. Except her baby is now grown, which means that there is a young mom wandering around with her same name. Intrigued, Kelly goes to meet her "name doppleganger" outside of the doctor's office, and finds a young woman with an adorable baby boy. Elder Kelly is immediately smitten with her and her baby, and also finds a new purpose. She can befriend this young mom, help her out, see what she needs. But what starts as an innocuous friendship quickly turns into something a bit too obsessive.

I was hooked from the very first word. It's a slow burn sitting on top of a rumbling volcano. Lots of tension, lots of foreboding. Great writing and sneaky characters. So fun.

Holy hell! What did I just read? When I Was You is the latest novel from author Amber Garza and oh my goodness, what a wild ride! Empty nester Kelly Medina gets a phone call one morning confirming her baby’s doctor appointment, but when she informs the receptionist that she is about nineteen years too late, she realizes that there is another woman living in her town with the exact same name and a young baby. After that call, however, Kelly can’t stop thinking about the other Kelly and wondering what her life is like. Kelly’s son had left for college a year earlier and she found herself longing for those times when he was still at home. As Kelly pushes the other Kelly into a somewhat uncomfortable friendship, things continue to just get stranger and it seems that the older Kelly is becoming obsessed with the younger Kelly’s life and her son, Sullivan.

I’ll start with my only criticism of this novel and that is that things sort of dragged for me at first. Don’t get me wrong, after just a few pages things start getting creepy and cringe-worthy, but things seemed a little slow. But then everything starts to pick up.

Amber Garza perfectly weaved doubt and questions in my head for the entire novel. I wasn’t sure if Kelly was having some sort of breakdown or what was going on. Her behavior was odd at best, her best friend Christine seemed to hover with her gentle questioning about Kelly being o.k., and Kelly’s husband Rafael hinted repeatedly that he was concerned about her mental health. Carefully placed clues and hints were scattered around, but I was burning up the pages to find out what happened in their lives. I wasn’t sure who was real or imaginary. I wondered if there had been some traumatic event. Honestly, I just had no clue what the hell was going on. And that is why this book is so good.

When I Was You embodies all of the things that make thrillers so wonderful. Doubt is planted immediately, you don’t know who to trust, and you have no idea what will happen next. The big turn of events at around the 65% mark is probably one of the biggest surprises that I have read in a long time, but even better was that the plot continued to surprise me over and over again until the end. I cannot believe I let this gem sit on my iPad for so long without reading it. The book is completely amazing and I highly recommend grabbing it as soon as you can!

*Thanks to NetGalley and MIRA for providing this review copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

Now this was a psychological thriller!! Kelly Medina lives in her giant home by herself, she’s married to Rafael ,whose a college professor and he’s gone quite a bit he tries to come home on the weekends, they have a son Aaron whose at College. Kelly is dealing with the empty nest and trying to figure out what to do with all her time alone. One morning she receives a call from a pediatricians office reminding her of an appointment for her son. Confused she tells them her name is Kelly Medina but they must have called the wrong Kelly Medina since her son is college age. She’s shocked there are two Kelly Medina’s she starts to get curious. So she decided s to find this other Kelly Medina. When she finds her she’s a single mother to a baby boy named Sullivan, who lives in a small apartment. She befriends her and begins to help her because it appears she’s all alone and struggling. Soon it begins to be an obsession Kelly wants to know who this new younger Kelly is, she starts to follow her and watch her. As the obsession grows we see disturbing behavior, even Rafael starts to worry and her friend even asks her if she’s ok. Kelly begins to wonder if the other Kelly deserves to be Sullivan’s mother, he would be in such better hands if she was his mother. What happens next is jaw dropping a sudden twists as the pieces begin to fall into place, you begin to see each woman has their own set of secrets and it’s about to take a dark turn! This book had me glued to the pages, the book is told in two POVs of both Kelly’s which made it so interesting. The tension builds and as each new twists is revealed you get more and more shocked! Five stars!

This book felt like another story I have already read. I could not get into the story line and the main character confused me more than anything.

This book had me on the edge of my seat! It was thrilling, captivating and suspense filled. I could not put this one down!

Thank you Netgalley for a copy for a review.
My first novel by this author, great start I really believed Kelly was crazy. Absolutely hated the husband as I was suppose too. Pretty crazy read.

Kelly Medina is lonely. An empty-nester, she has time on her hands particularly since her husband spends so much time away for work. Her only reprieves are her outings with her best friend Christine. So when she gets a call from her son's pediatrician to remind her about her upcoming appointment she is intrigued by the prospect of another Kelly Medina. A younger woman with an infant son. She seeks her out. Stalks her even as she becomes obsessed with this other Kelly's life.

This part of the book did not really spark my curiosity. My name is rather common and although I grew up in a relatively small town there was another young lady who shared my name. I was always having to sort people out between me and the other Michelle. So the very premise of this story was not as intriguing for me as it may have been for other readers.

What did pique my interest was learning about the emotional strain the older Kelly was going through. I kept trying to figure out just how mentally unstable she was and to determine whether the younger Kelly was real or a figment of her delusional mind. Either way the story played out When I Was You was shaping up to be a rather pulse-pounding dangerous ride.

Will our Kelly make it out alive and mentally sound? Garza serves up plenty of twists and turns to keep us guessing until the final moments. And oh how I LOVED that ending!

Well, my name, like the author's, is also Amber, so I really wanted to love this for that reason alone. Thank you Amber Garza for not letting this Amber down! I loved this one! Super fast, fun read! Yes, it plays like a Lifetime movie but I have no issue with that at all. Told in several sections, both narrated by a Kelly. Kelly is missing her son, who left for college and Kelly is a new Mom. Kelly is nuts and Kelly may be nuts. Got it? Just read it! Great ending! I guessed some of it, but in no way did that detract from anything!

The story grips you from the first chapter. Each chapter ends with more questions and contemplations, it really pulls the reader along. The narration and writing style pull the plot along quick to follow the character through the story.

This would be a wonderful recommendation for a reader that is looking for a domestic thriller that is not gruesome.

Amazing book! It managed to surprise me and keep me on the edge of my seat I didn’t see the ending coming.

Wow! That was a quick read and the ending was amazing. I saw a lot of readers didn't see it coming. I kind of guessed it, but I also read a lot of books like this. It doesn't make it any less wild.

What I liked: I love a good unreliable narrator, especially when it's done right. I also really enjoyed the creep factor as the narrator continued saying "you". Very Joe-esque and I'm here for it! The book was a quick read.

What I didn't like so much: The book is split up in sections with the first being narrated by Kelly, the second by Kelly 2.0. Both Kellys were supposed to be total opposite but their narration read as if they were literally the same person. Some of the conversation bits also felt a bit off.

All in all, this was an easy read that I'd recommend to anyone who wants a
mystery they can go through fast without having to put too much thought into it. I really enjoyed it despite my few gripes.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for provided an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. Unhinged women, baby envy, secrets and lies. This was a satisfying thriller that kept me guessing about both Kellys. I would definitely recommend it if you're looking for an evening of crazy thrills, though it doesn't necessarily do a lot to set itself apart from other domestic suspense novels.