I thought I knew where We Knew All Along was going, but Mina Hardy got me. She threw a jaw-dropping twist so epic that I'm still thinking about if there were clues I missed. There really are no likable characters in this book, but does it matter? Not one bit. Did I love to dislike them? Absolutely. We Knew All Along is the best kind of suspense, one that keeps you guessing, but realistic enough to be completely believable.

I enjoyed the first thriller by this author so I auto-requested this one. It wasn’t bad, but based on my expectations I was a little disappointed. I didn’t find myself liking any of the characters in this book, but I did think Jewelann was a good narrator. This thriller was such a slow burn I found the first half to be rather boring. When things finally seated to get exciting they felt rushed . Jewelann seems to have it all - she wears designer clothes and is the perfect stay at home wife. She has it all but somehow isn’t happy. Her husband travels all of the time and doesn’t connect well with their moody and weird teenage son. She attends her high school reunion so she can see her high school love who used her and left her. Jewelann has secrets from everyone in her life but the problem with secrets is that they rarely stay that way.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4848274707

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
I loved this book and I love this author. You always know you will get a dose of crazy with her! It’s about a married woman that goes to her class reunion and hooks up with her old crush. Then things go off the rails…

I love a story that involves a class reunion. Who doesnt? This book was ok. I found the ending to be disappointing. I think it had way too much going on.

We Knew All Along is a slow, SLOW (domestic?) thriller. Jewelann is an unhappy housewife, surviving her marriage by the sheer fact that her husband is never around. She spends her days while he’s traveling for work rummaging estate sales and stuffing her storage unit and in-law sweet with designer clothing and shoes. She stays in her marriage for the simple fact that it’s a paycheck, and she’s still hung up on her high school fling, Christian. When the chance to see him arises via her high school reunion, Jewelann jumps at the chance to seek revenge for her broken teenage heart. From there, everything unravels.

The story is well written with great character development but there was just too much going on that didn’t really build up to much and I ended up feeling like I was missing something. I did think that there were a few good twists and the end was ok, but I didn’t get what I want from a thriller and don’t think that this will be one I’m thinking about months later.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my review copy. We Knew All Along is available today.

We Knew All Along follows Jewelann who is in a terrible marriage with a man who wants her to be the perfect housewife and has a son who is troubled and has problems connecting with others.

It begins with her at her high school reunion where she finds her old crush, Christian. They talk and flirt for a little while, and she continues to mingle at the party. Soon she exacts some revenge on Christian (or what she sees as revenge), which starts the ball rolling.

This was an enjoyable read, but looking back on it there were some parts that I wish were different. I can see that CC was used as a plot device to throw the readers off so we wouldn’t suspect others in the story.

The constant mentions of the plumbing started to get irritating, and it was almost like the author was constantly reminding us that it was going to be important.

Some of the twists shocked me, but they all happened within the last 20% of the book. It was like suddenly everything was in fast forward.

Despite these issues that I had with the book, it was an easy read and definitely one I liked. I wanted to keep picking it up to see what was happening next. But if you’re someone who reads many thrillers and wants strong female characters, this one is not for you. Jewelann was always quick to bend and eager to please, instead of standing up for herself and staying firm.

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for my advanced copy. All thoughts are my own honest opinion.

Couldn't turn the pages fast enough at the end of this book.
Was a slow beginning for me but definitely glad I stuck with it as It only got better and and an ending I never expected.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for an early release of this book.

I read this back in September and totally forgot to review it.

This book gripped me from the beginning and I flew through it in a day. I could not put it down.

Even though it’s been 3 months since I read it, the twist at the end still sticks in my head because I never saw it coming.

I loved, loved, loved this book! It kept my attention the entire time and surprised me more than once. Just when I thought that I had something figured out I found out that I was wrong. I would highly suggest this book.

This premise of We Knew All Along is like catnip to my little kitty heart.

Jewellann is a woman whose life didn’t quite play out the way she planned; trading one addiction for another, she goes through life feeling unhappy and unsatisfied, so when her high school reunion comes around, Jewellann decides she’s going to show the one that got away just what he missed out on.

When Christian sees Jewellann at the reunion, he can’t help but notice how good she looks and when the two get together for a night of passion, it’s anyone’s guess who’s using who. When Christian shows up unexpectedly after, things begin to take a dark turn.

Full of unlikable characters, this is one that takes a while to get into but once I did, the plot twists hit hard. There’s more than one bad guy to beware of and Jewellann isn’t the only one with a secret!

We Knew All Along by Mina Hardy comes out on December 6, 2022! Grab this one if you love a good domestic suspense with shocking plot twists!

My thanks to @CrookedLane for this gifted DRC

This was a very dark sinister read. It begins one way and then quickly morphs into something I never saw coming.
Jewelann has a spending problem and a husband who is never home. Suddenly he is and her old boyfriend from high school is hanging around, causing havoc.
The plot was decent and the story line was twisted and evil.
I didn’t like any of the characters. I thought they were all truly reprehensible, especially Jewelann.

Story of the book-

Blame the alcohol, her unstable marriage, her problematic children, or any number of other factors. When Jewelann Jordan attends her class reunion, she just has one thing on her mind: showing her old crush Christian Campbell what he lost all those years ago. Late hours, a hotel room, and a reignited flame that now flames even hotter than it did previously. What may fail? Everything.

The night with Christian is not the first secret Jewelann has hidden from her husband Ken, so keeping one more shouldn’t be too difficult. However, Christian arrives without notice and seems determined to do all in his power to ruin Jewelann’s life. Even worse, he appears to have his eyes set on seducing her son Eli and her husband. But Jewelann is determined to stop Christian from destroying everything she’s fought so hard to keep secure, including her kid. Revenge isn’t so sweet when it bites you back. Christian is not the man he seems to be, and Jewelann must fight to stop things from getting out of hand. When even more intimate details become public, Jewelann seizes the opportunity to confront him head-on. The reality becomes uglier—and deadlier—the more Jewelann investigates.

My review-

The majority of the book was excellent; the characters were respectable, there were a few surprises along the road, and the writing was good. Unfortunately, it appeared as though the author was as confused as I was about where it was heading. There was a lot of action crammed in right before a somewhat ambiguous conclusion rather than a lovely, tidy conclusion. It was strange in and of itself that the plot took some unexpected turns, and I thought that a lot of what transpired was excessively unrealistic, followed by a very abrupt finale. The experience of reading it with Jayme was the finest part of it. When you read a book alongside someone amazing, it takes on a whole other dimension. It forces me to pay attention and keep my guard up. I’ve never thought of reading as a separate pastime, but boy was I wrong.

This isn’t the kind of book you’re going to get if you’re hoping for a fast-paced thriller right away. In the first half, there is a lot of character development rather than a lot of narratives, so the pacing is a little slow. However, around the halfway point, the pace speeds up, and the rest of the book is a thrilling ride. For most of the book, I was fascinated and kept wondering until the big revelation. Overall an excellent book, however, I did think some of the plotlines seemed a little disorganized. The majority of the novel focused on developing the characters, but the final few chapters also contain a mystery and some suspense. The tale was decent, although it could have used more suspenseful turns. There had to have been some background information on Ken, such as how he led a secret life that no one can fathom, how he committed that horrific murder, and how the authorities were able to identify him. Several things were missing.

The book’s description seems to have been written with a concept in mind, but the plot took a different turn. She didn’t appear to know how to handle Christian or make him more threatening. First and foremost, I learned that the book was superbly written. Talented author Mina Hardy is skilled at crafting household thrillers. My second conclusion is that there isn’t much here to work with. The novel does contain a fantastic twist, but other than that, the rest is pretty much copy and paste. Although I appreciate the conclusion, it’s predictable and has some of the middle-of-the-book muck. Go for it if the summary captures your interest. I just don’t think I’ll remember this book.

I decided to go into this book blind. Well, kind of. I’m sure I read the blurb when I first downloaded it, but I had forgotten what it had said by the time I went to read it. But, seeing as the book was published by Crooked Lane, I knew I was likely getting something in the suspense/crime/thriller/mystery area of things, so I decided to just dive right in without giving myself a refresher course on the synopsis.

I was quite happy with what I got! The book has some issues with it, but sometimes there’s nothing better than reading about desperate people willing to go to desperate measures to protect what is most valuable to them. And, in this book, there are four different people who are willing to do desperate things to protect either people or things more valuable to them than anything else in the world: Jewelann, Eli, Ken, and Christian. These are the four players in a dangerous game where everyone has a decent hand to play, but no one has the winning one.

The book is a page-turner for sure. It’s compelling, intriguing, and I do love when everyone’s got secrets and they just keep getting dropped or found, like easter eggs in a video game. Just when you thought you knew everything about a character, you find out something that makes things worse or better. Just when you thought a character’s secrets were all out in the open, out comes another one. There are characters you think would have secrets but then they don’t, and then there are characters you think don’t have secrets but then POOF they totally do.

See, but that’s part of where this book has some issues. There’s a lot of this secret solving, dropping, unfolding, unboxing, and such in this book, but there are a few of them I thought were definitely either over the top or maybe even inappropriate. Revealing ANY of them would be a huge spoiler, so I won’t go there, but for me it was cringe-worthy. Not because it triggered me, but because there were so many different solutions to the issue than the one that was chosen, and the one that was chosen simply seemed completely at odds with that character’s disposition.

The book also had a rather rushed ending that seemed incongruous with the tenor of the rest of the book.

Overall, it was a cool read, with plenty of thrills and suspense to keep you engaged, but the ending simply didn’t meet up with the rest of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for granting me access to this title.

File Under: Domestic Thriller/Psychological Thriller/Suspense

A very entertaining read about a woman caught in a tangled web of a life when the guy who broke her heart in high school shows up to rent her carriage house in her backyard. Jewelann is in a mess of her own making and it became a fun journey to read, until the ending that is. Overall, I think this will be a fun and complicated drama that will hook you from the get go. If domestic thrillers are your thing then give this one a try!

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 12/6/22.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the new book by Mina Hardy - 4.5 stars!

When Jewelann attends her class reunion, she wants only to make her crush, Christian Campbell, realize what he lost. She ends up in a hotel room with him and two of her sort-of friends from school, hoping to hurt Christian like he was hurt. Shortly afterwards, Christian shows up in her life again - this time, invited to live in their carriage house by her husband, Ken. Jewelann is struggling to keep all her secrets away from her husband and son, only to find everyone is keeping secrets.

While parts of this were over the top, it was a very entertaining ride along the way, especially all those twists! I thought it was well-written and suspenseful and the story kept me turning the pages as quickly as possible to see how it would all end up. The half star is because the story was set in Dayton, Ohio, near where I grew up - it was fun to see familiar places show up here!

Moly this woman can write thrillers! Just like her previous one, I couldn’t stop reading and needing to know what happens next! I loved the first person and the WTF moments and then WHAM! She clobbered me over the head with that ending!

We Knew All Along by Mina Hardy is a recommended domestic thriller.

Jewelann Jordan attends her 25th class reunion hoping to see the high school student who broke her heart, Christian Campbell. She does connect with him as well as a few other women she previously knew in school. After the reunion, Christian inserts himself into her life and somehow has her husband, Ken, renting him their carriage house. Jewelann is certain Christian's plans include threatening her marriage to Ken, hurting her son, Eli, and ruining her life.

As Christian's presence becomes increasingly oppressive and complicated, there are apparently other things going on with Ken that has Jewelann questioning his odd behavior. She is worried that he will discover her shopping addiction, let alone her latent feelings for Christian.

The novel is well written with a strong opening that pulls you in. Then it slows down to a melodramatic crawl until the novel is almost over. Yes, it returns interest with a strong ending that presents some huge, unbelievable twists but that doesn't make up for spending most of the novel with a group of very shallow disagreeable people. Admittedly, shallow disagreeable people can be entertaining, as can all manner of unbelievable plot elements where you are required to suspend your disbelief.

Yeah, I'm all over the place on this review. It is sort of a domestic thriller but also kind of a romance novel focusing on bad behavior. If you can find a histrionic, but surprisingly entertaining plot, with unappealing characters fascinating, then give it a try.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

Jewelann is determined to make sure her old crush, Christian, sees what he lost years ago, and the class reunion is the best occasion to do so. But then he is himself determined to get his revenge and comes after her, her husband and her son...
I DNF'd it. This psychological/domestic thriller was not very thrilling, filled with unlikeable characters and a strong need of suspending disbelief. I couldn't care less what happened to Jewelann, who was immature and shallow. This was definitely not for me.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Honestly- reunions! Jewelann has one goal when she attends her college reunion. She intends to see and somehow diss Christian, who broke her heart back then. She's in an unhappy marriage with Ken, has a teen son Eli, and a number of issues she's hiding. Imagine her surprise when she discovers Ken has given Christian their carriage house to live in in return for Christian doing the needed renovations. You know this isn't going to turn out well. But what happens- no spoilers from me. There are some good twists as well as over the top ones. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A fast paced read.

Jewellann attends her high school reunion with one goal in mind: spot Christian Campbell (C.C.), seduce him, then turn him down. Make him hurt the way that he hurt her years ago.

It seems she’s done just that, until she comes home to find her husband, Ken, sitting at the table with Christian, agreeing to rent him the carriage house that holds many memories from high school where she used to meet C.C. Ken has already made an agreement with C.C. to barter rent for him to fix up the carriage house.

Jewelann’s marriage to Ken is on the rocks. They have a teenage son, Eli. Jewel is terribly unhappy but can't afford to leave or divorce her husband. Her son is a loner due to a past incident that he still suffers nightmares about.

This felt a lot to me like 50 Shades of Grey with some extremely horrifying and insane twists. I really enjoyed it!

Thanks to Mina Hardy, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for a fair and honest review.