THIS IS NOT A REVIEW FOR THE BOOK. Only a review on the audio quality. I have been so so excited about this one for so long so when I got approved for the audio on Netgalley, I was SO grateful! However, the audio sounds like a literal robot no matter which speed I listen to it and I just can’t do it. I am still going to read this when it comes out but I absolutely cannot listen to the robotic audio. 😭 really sad about it.

I LOVED this book. Do you ever wish you had a chance to go back and tell your eighteen year old self what they should do to ensure a better future for yourself? Well when Alexis Spencer loses her job, her boyfriend and finds herself without any friends that’s exactly what happens. Alexis goes on a bender and wakes up in 2002 face to face with her eighteen year old self.

This book will make you laugh, make you cry, and just make you think about life. It was so well written, and I couldn’t get enough. This is the sort of book that will resonate with everyone on some level.

This was just an okay read. I didn't love it or hate it. Alexis gets dumped and then ends up going back in time to reunite with her college self. The two versions of Alexis work to get her back to her present timeline while also spending the Thanksgiving holiday with their family. Lots of holiday family traditions and much more of a women's fiction, story of self-realization than a romance. I enjoyed this on audio thanks to NetGalley for my ALC but it won't be a story that sticks in my mind.

This was excellent. I laughed out loud and I cried. I will be buying this one when it’s released.

Thank you for allowing an early read

Brilliant, I could not put it down. Thought provoking, a visit down her past and what if anything will she want to change.

Truly enjoyed the adventure! The author, Jeneva Rose is skilled in story telling and keeping the reader in gaged.

This will definitely be in my holiday gift giving list!

I listened to the audio version of this book and enjoyed the narrator. The book itself really surprised me, I thought it sounded good from the description but it was so much more that I expected. It’s a book that really makes you think about your own life and what you could or would change if you had the chance. I highly recommend this one!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media for my gifted audiobook review copy.

Sometimes a book comes along that surprises you in the best possible way, right? This was that book for me!

Over the last few years I have realized I am a big fan of time travel books. Not in the science fiction kind of way but the kind that jumps back in time...like #OonaOutOfOrder by author Margarita Montimore.

So if you could go back in time, what would you tell your newly minted adult self?! And what would that "past you" tell the person you have become today? That's where author Jeneva Rose takes us in her November 2021 novel, #TheGirlIWas.

"With abundant wit and heart, Jeneva Rose has written a magical and poignant love story about learning to love ourselves. The Girl I Was is one of those rare novels that will make you laugh out loud and tear up uncontrollably in succession while devouring it in one sitting."

Last week I scrolled by this one on @NetGalley and did a double take when I saw that not only does Rose have another domestic thriller book coming out next spring, #OneOfUsIsDead, but that she has this book publishing in just a couple of weeks! I requested it on audiobook right away and started listening as soon as the approval came through...

This book made me laugh, nod along and also tear up at times. I don't know about you, but the person I was, and the person I am today, could probably learn a lot from one another! I could relate so much to these characters, as I was also a college student just starting out my adult life back in 2002 and now live firmly in adulthood, LOL.

The second half of the book knocked this book up from an engaging and entertaining read to a deeply thoughtful look at how regret and the choices we make can either hinder us or help move us forward. The author's note at the end of the book just tied this one together perfectly and I already know this will be one of my go-to book recommends this winter.

As far as the audiobook narration, it was paced well and Hillary Huber really brought this story to life. Highly recommend.

Thank you so much to Net Galley, Jeneva Rose, Dreamscape Media and Corner Star Press for an ARC of “A Girl I Was”.

I had been seeing this book EVERYWHERE and I trusted some of my fellow Bookstagrammers when they said it was a must read.

It was and I felt it deep in my soul.

I resonated with Alexis because even at 34, I have no idea what I should be doing with my life. And I often think back and play out how things could’ve been if I did xyz. I lost my job a few years back and I thought it was the end of the world. I had never experienced it before & sure enough it was not the end of the world.

What was so unique about this story compared to other body time travel (like 13 Going on 30 or Freaky Friday) is that Alexis was side by side with her younger self. I loved that! I couldn’t even imagine what that would be like 😂

There is a part of the book where she goes back home with herself to see her family during Thanksgiving break and honestly it was my favorite part. I won’t give away but it was equal part comical and emotional.

Also my goodness this was such a time warp!!! I absolutely loved all the pop culture references mentioned. Being a teen in 2002 honestly was the best - the early age of technology, no cell phones, the music!

I think this book could be for anyone but I really think millennials could relate the most.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Alexis Spencer thinks she has it all figured out. Then her boyfriend breaks it off, she loses her job, her closest friends are a distant memory, and her college debt is still as high as the day she left. In typical fashion, she blames the world for her problems, including her eighteen-year-old self who should have just tried harder and put their life on a better track.

After feeling sorry for herself, she goes on a bender to forget her problems and ends up blacking out. But this time she doesn't wake up at home; she isn't even in the right city; in fact, she isn't even in the right year. She’s back in her college town in the year 2002, and she thinks she's been given a second chance to do things over—that is, until she comes face-to-face with her unruly eighteen-year-old self, who goes by the name of Lexi because it's ""sexier.""

Everyone has things they look back on and think “what-if” and if they could travel back in time what they would do differently. This book does just that! I loved this book more than I ever expected! It was so much more than a comical, romance story of a young woman trying to fix her life. It had heart ache, grief, regret, acceptance, friendship and family. While I’m not usually one to read time travel stories, this book was perfection. I thoroughly enjoyed the references to life in 2002 and felt such a connection to Alexis as she relived those college days. This book really hit on the close bond between a mother and daughter. It had me laughing and rolling my eyes, then crying and finally feeling content by the end.

The narrator does a perfect job for this book! She truly captured the characters and their personalities!

Thank you NetGalley, Dreamscape Media and Jeneva Rose for this ALC!

This was such a wonderful book. If you could redo things in your life, would you? It's definitely a coming of age story and it will hit close to home for just about anyone. It's a book that kept me laughing and can also put you on the edge of tears. For me, it gave me goosebumps. And the ending was just perfect. There wasn't one thing I didn't like about the book. Make sure you have half a day blocked out because you won't want to put it down. I ignored family members

If you could go back twenty years, what would you tell your younger self?

Would you tell her to live more freely? Would you tell her to study harder? Stop waiting on that guy to call?

What would you do?

Would you take that risk? Would you say I love you more, hug people longer and harder?

Let's talk about the book.

Alexis just lost her job, her boyfriend, and consciousness only to wake up in another guy's bed 20 years in the past. Wtf.

Freaky Friday type shit. Except Lexi, her 20-year-old self, is a lot to handle. And why is Alexis even here?!

Searching for clues like a SCREAM QUEEN detective in 2002, Alexis does her homework scouring old time-travel movies and books for clues on how to get back.

This was fun and perfect read for this breezy but warm California weekend.

Coming next Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Thanks to Dreamscape Media @netgalley for this advanced #alc!!

The Girl I Was is not the typical romance about a boy and girl, but the discovery of true love for yourself. Jeneva literally had me howling with laughter by chapter two, and then crying with about two hours left in the audio. The nostalgia of 2002 brought back so many memories of my early teen years, I honestly cannot believe how we functioned without a cellphone, and thought juicy couture and dyed black and blonde hair was literally the shit.
Alexis and Lexi both had me at times hating them and then loving them. From a know it all 18 year old to a 30 something who is questioning everything came together with both their perspectives and judgements to not only understand one another, but give a realization that life is full of mistakes it’s just a matter of how we own them.
The Girl I Was is not just a story of loving yourself, but also beginning again.

Thanks so much for the ARC!

This was my first read of Jeneva Rose & won’t be my last. I loved the narrator of this book and binged it so quickly.

Lexi gets fired and her bad attitude makes her fiancé realize she’s maybe not who he thought she was. After a night of drinking she wakes up to find she’s back at her college. Only this time she’s an adult and finds the younger, very lost version of herself as a student.

This book could have been very confusing to listen to as the dialogue goes back and forth to young Lexi and adult Alexis. The narrator did such an excellent job that I never once had to wonder which girl we were learning about.

I absolutely loved all the pop culture references. I’m about the same age as adult Lexi/Alexis so many of the memories hit home for me. I loved the connections about music & technology! What a concept: to go back in time and get a good hard look at your life and choices. I kept thinking of the song “I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger.”

Young Lexi becomes obsessed with trying to get Older Alexis back to her “time.” While the older version is trying to right her wrongs. She sees how much partying she did, what a bad friend she was, how her goals weren’t productive, etc. she begins to have a positive impact on her younger self and in turn her adult self.

I’m usually not one for time travel type books but this was different. Don’t we all wonder how things would be if we’d made different choices along the way? How much does date play a part? What would it be like to tell yourself how things will be and if they’ll be okay. I loved the end of this story too. Great read especially for women in their 30s!

Honestly, I was completely surprised by how much I loved this book. 13 Going on 30 meets back to the future meets the wonderful 2000s. It was perfection. The narrator did a great job capturing the characters and their personalities. I was cracking up and rolling my eyes at Lexi and her friends. Then I was sobbing and hugging my phone. This isn't just a comedic/superficial "change your past to help your future" tale. This dives into grief, regret, acceptance, friendship and family. I loved it so much. I also loved all the mention of styles, songs, etc from the 2000s. So accurate. (I also had a blue and green lava lamp in my bedroom). The ending was perfection and made me grin like a fool. GIVE THIS A READ

This was so fun but at the same time resonated with me! Everyone has those “what ifs” about decisions they’ve made over the course of their lives and this shows one woman’s chance at a redo. Think 13 going on 30 with a little bit more edge to it.
Alexis has always felt like things happen for a reason until one day she wakes up hungover and she’s back in 2002 with her 18 year old self and she is scrambling to figure out how she got there and what she needs to do to get her life back to the current day, where her relationship with her longtime boyfriend is hanging by a thread.
We see Alexis working on “Lexi “ (her younger self) and try to encourage her to make better choices because maybe they actually affect what happens to you rather than just letting life happen and seeing what the result is. Along the way, she discovers what’s really important and learns how to be a better friend, sister, girlfriend and person. We all tend to be hardest in ourselves and those we are closest to, and this reminded me that I needed to be a little kinder to myself and in the process it may help me be kinder to others.
This was funny, heartfelt, enjoyable but also emotional. While it was a quick read, it packed a lot into it. I won’t forget this anytime soon.
The narrator was great! Added a lot of fun to the different characters and brought it to life.

Thanks to Corner Star Press and Netgalley for this Arc in exchange for my review.

As far as I can tell, I'm the first early reviewer not to rave about this book (expected publication date November 30). Here's why I'm not crazy about the story: Lexi/Alexis—then as a college student and now in her mid–30s—isn't a nice or pleasant character. The first half, at least, is painfully slow and unpleasant—it takes a long time for Alexis to grow up, and I didn't have the patience to enjoy that ride. The ending is pretty satisfying, but it didn't erase the bad taste of the rest of the book for me.

This is a good example of the subjective and personal nature of our reading. For the reviewers who especially related to the time setting or Alexis' delayed maturation, this book was more enjoyable. As always, if the premise sounds interesting to you, give it a try!

Thank you, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media, for the audio ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story that makes you reflect on your inner self and think about whether or not you would change anything if you went back in time. It’s a story about about seeking forgiveness, becoming a better person, making wiser choices and learning from the past. Early on, I was a bit hesitant with the whole time travel aspect though about half way through, everything clicked and I became invested in the story. I recommend this read if you love 13 Going on 30 and want to go back to the early 2000s (think blockbuster, juicy couture, myspace).

I enjoyed this book a lot--the parts that got to me the most were Alexis interacting with her Mom and pup, Bella. :( I haven't read anything quite like this before and was very happy with how it ended. I recommend!

Alexis Spencer loses her job and her long time boyfriend, when she suddenly wakes up in 2002 and she’s faced meeting her younger self, Lexi. Lexi and Alexis travel through part of 2002 learning about themselves, while also creating quite the banter.

Honestly, there were many parts of this book where I actually laughed out loud at the references to those early 2000 days. But then there were also really poignant parts that showed readers the importance of loving yourself, and being the best version of you. I think this is a great novel to learn that everything in our past made us who we are today, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change who you are and the direction of your life.

Thank you @netgalley , @jenevaroseauthor , and Dreamscape Media for this ARC.

This was one of my favorite reads of the year, by far. I would give it more than 5 stars if I could! I loved A Perfect Marriage, but this is on an entirely different level.

Alexis Spencer takes a journey that many of us have thought of taking in life. Waking up one day, mid 30's, and feeling like your life is falling apart. Going through a breakup and losing your job on the same day can prove to be stress-provoking, but what if you wake up and find yourself back in the year you were 18?

Alexis, meet Lexie, your 18-year-old self.

Alexis gets to face many parts of life again, changing a few aspects of life as she has known it for all of her adult life. She gets to see her family again and finds some closure along the way. The story is beautifully written, and the characters, though they are messy and wild, they portray the life of many college-age students. Jeneva Rose takes us on a journey that is exciting and intriguing, but also touching and heart-wrenching at times. I am thankful to have gone on this journey and am sad that it will not be a journey I can go on again for the first time.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of listening to an advanced copy of this amazing novel!