Uhm, this book was kind of all over the place and I didn't really care for it. The plot, and honestly whole mystery, was really muddy and did not suck me in. I didn't feel the need to keep going back to the book to find out what happened.

The conclusion was rushed and not really flushed out in my opinion. I don't know that I would recommend this book to thriller readers.

I clearly waited entirely too long to read We Knew All Along by Mina Hardy! This is another one of those books that kind of snuck up on me with how much I ended up loving it, and while it is a slow mover, the payout at the end is completely worth it. I could not put this book down, and it could have easily been a 1-sitting read for me if I hadn't started on Valentine's Day of all days. I saw it making the rounds on Instagram and knew I had to pick it up, plus I couldn't help but appreciate the fact that the publisher is Crooked Lane Books. I don't mean to impose my views (yes I do) on anyone, but IMO they have some of the best crime fiction books I have read to date. I completely lost myself in all of the secrets and lies, and while some people may have considered the end rushed, having it make my jaw drop multiple times made it a winner for me.

I was also an enormous fan of the audiobook narrator Zura Johnson, and I don't think I could have picked anyone better to narrate Jewelann. I highly recommend the audio (which also helps with pacing) if you love listening to books, and she really knocked it out of the park for me. There ends up being a lot more going on with the plot than I first realized, and the twists and turns in this story will make you see stars. I really enjoyed that Jewelann is incredibly relatable and her spending being out of control brought me reminders of myself TBH. I don’t shop like she does, or pile things up in a storage area, but man did I understand plenty of what she was going through. There is also a heavy theme of addiction in the book (not just the shopping habit), and it gave the story a lot of substance. And don’t even get me started on the revenge aspect! I actually have Hardy’s debut sitting in my house and I think it’s high time I read it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Jewelann has ulterior motives for attending her class reunion. She’s out for a bit of revenge. Looking better than she ever looked in high school she’s there to flaunt it. Stuck in an unhappy marriage with a troubled son, she’s seeking a bit of fun, but when her high school flame moves into her guest house, he’s a little too close for comfort. Her overbearing husband travels quite a bit, which doesn’t bother her at all, but then things really start getting strange. When the police show up at her door, she’s in for a shock! The characters in this book were all unlikable and as the story progressed the more unbelievable it got. Just an OK read. Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Suspenseful, captivating and scandalous! This book was everything a thriller should be. Truly loved it, from start to finish. That ending!! 5 stars.

There was a lot going on in this week-I didn't hate it, but it was entertaining until the very end, when everything sort of fell apart. Didn't like the ending.

Jewelann Jordan was a master at keeping up a front. To other people, her life seemed enviably perfect. But the weight of deception started to take a toll, especially when Christian Campbell, a man from her past came crashing into her life and threatened to unravel the threads she barely held on to.

I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading this book. It was slow at some parts, but I enjoyed it overall.

This book is full of unlikable characters with questionable actions, including the main characters. I liked certain things about their personality, but there were also a lot of selfish actions and decisions made throughout the book.

We Knew All Along is a story of revenge and buried secrets. It would appeal to readers looking for a domestic thriller with unsavory characters.

Unfortunately this book didn't work for me. Thanks for the copy in exchange for an honest review. But only two stars for me. Thanks

How well do you know someone? We all have secrets that we want to hide. What begins as flirtation begins a tale of sexual obsession and thriller. Attending a reunion will never be the same! Thanks Netgalley!

Are you a fan of a hot mess of lies, revenge, deception, and deceit? If your answer is yes, pick-up a copy of We Knew All Along, grab a glass of wine and get ready to enjoy the ride.

I can honestly say that I didn't see 90% of the ending coming. It came out of nowhere, but somehow worked.

Everything in Jewelann's life is a mess and its pure enjoyable voyeurism to watch from the sidelines as she tries to resist the charm of her high school love, stop her compulsive shipping habit and figure out what on earth her husband, Ken, is up to.

When her high school love Christian comes back on the scene, my mind kept singing the Mace lyrics "bad, bad, bad, bad, boy, You make me feel so good...." Christian is the definition of the hot and unattainable guy that is irresistible to certain women… or so I’ve been told….

We Knew All Along is pure entertainment. Pair it with a big glass of wine, and your have your afternoon plans set!

Thank you to Crooked Lane & Netgalley for the eARC to read and review.

What a strange book!
But not in a bad way... I just cannot decide how I feel about it.

It was filled with opposite sex tension, friendship tension, and who dunnit tension too.. So, lots of stuff going on, page to page.

I enjoyed it, it was fun guessing what was really going on (I was kinda spot on, let's be honest!) and that was cool too.

A quick read of a day or so; I do not think it will be a very memorable book, but while reading it, I had fun!

Thank you for the ARC, NetGalley!

I thought this book was decent. Whenever the main character is unlikeable it makes it really hard for me to rate a book highly haha.

The characters in this book are desperate people willing to do anything to get what they need. This made them unlikeable but also made for a compelling page turner.

The ending felt a bit rushed, but if I say anything it would spoil the story. So I would recommend this one if you like unlikeable characters with lots and lots of secrets to spill!

There was so much buildup and suspense! It was great! Got me guessing and second guessing my previous guess haha I knew Jewelann would have done something shady, but that twist! Love the fast pace and "fake" leads. It was an intriguing thriller read! Hold on tight for this one.

We Knew All Along was a decent enough thriller to keep me entertained. I didn't care of the characters all that much and found the ending to be a little bit of a mess. I just don't think parts of the story tied up very well. Overall It was an okay read but is forgettable.
Thank you out to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, so I'm a little bit mixed on this one. On the one hand, I do love a good little domestic thriller, and I felt myself compelled to continue flipping the pages while reading this one, eager to see where the story would develop and go next. On the other, I am getting really bored and tired of boring, basic, alcoholic main characters. I understand that there's a lo to be said about addiction, but it seems like such a trend and it's such an easy, boring way to make your MC unreliable or confused -- it feels kind of lazy, which isn't a comment on the author themselves, just my feelings on this specific plot device.

I did love how twisty this was -- again, I was RACING through the pages, on the edge of my seat basically just trying to make sense of it all (in a good way!). I'll definitely check out more from Mina Hardy in the future, judging from how much I enjoyed this (outside of the issue mentioned above).

Jewelann Jordon has never forgiven her high school boyfriend, Christian Campbell for letting her down. Now twenty years later, unhappily married with a troubled teenage son, Eli she learns that, after many years away, he is going to be at their high school reunion and she plans to make him regret ever leaving her. But Christian is not about to let her get away with that, and before she knows it, he has talked her husband, Ken into renting him their empty carriage house. With her husband Ken away on the road for work a lot it’s difficult for her to ignore this unwelcome interloper and what he is doing living in her back year.

The novel is quite entertaining as Jewelann and Christian play a love/hate game with each other. Jewelann is basically a bored housewife whose controlling husband doesn’t want her to work. She used to pop pills but has swapped that addiction for shopping at estate sales, hiding the purchases from her husband. Her husband has his own secrets and is too focused on his own life to care or notice what his wife and tenant are doing as long as dinner is ready on time. None of the characters have any redeeming features, but that just adds to the entertainment of the situation. The plot does drag a bit as the reader wonders how it will all resolve but the major twist towards the end does stop it from becoming boring and ties up all the threads, almost too quickly. An entertaining, quick read.

I found this thriller quite readable and entertaining, but it just never quite came together in the end for me. I liked the main character and thought she was fleshed out pretty well, but the rest of the characters were not too developed. There were a number of storylines that, by the end, didn't seem to really come together and ended up seeming pretty red herring-ish.

Overall, this one was okay plot and characer-wise, but was written in an entertaining, readable way.

We Knew All Along was very entertaining, if not believable. I appreciated Jewel's character and related to her in some ways -- she was a mom just trying to make it, also trying to remember who she was as a person separate from her family. I love going to estate sales and finding little treasures, so that part of Jewel's character made me happy. I felt sorry for Jewel in terms of her marriage. It was understandable that she felt trapped by a husband who wasn't faithful or kind to her, a man who treated her like she was part of the hired help instead of his partner. I even liked the parts where Jewel reconnected with old high school girlfriends, making an effort to be part of a group again. Though Jewel made some terrible, dark decisions, she still just seemed like a mom to me. The big shocks were definitely surprising, I didn't see them coming, and I was entertained throughout the entire book.

This was just an ok thriller for me. There was nothing remarkable that would leave me with a lasting impressions of the plot. It wasn’t terrible either, just mediocre with stereotypical characters.

3.5 stars
Page-turner alert!
I super enjoyed Mina Hardy's After All I've Done, and her newest, We Knew All Along, definitely gripped me.
Thank you to @netgalley and @penguinrandomca for the eARC for review.
The domestic suspense centers around Jewelann, a housewife whose husband Ken is controlling and domineering. Their teen son Eli is seen as the school "weird kid".
Enter Christian Campbell, a man from Jewelann's high school days who might have more than a passing interest in her and her family.
This book is a slow burn, and lays down a lot of potential for reveals. Ultimately there were some good twists, but some elements didn't feel fully fleshed out.
There are some interesting pieces to the story such as addiction, infidelity and Jewish representation that added depth.
Not my favourite suspense read, but for a quick romp, recommended!
Released on Dec. 6.

This was such a disappointment.
It started wonderful and intriguing and the revenge(?) Plot was very interesting yet it all fell apart somewhere and although I didn't skimmed, I did became very predictable and took some of the enjoyment for me.
Still an entertaining read full of suspense.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review.