I had a lot of high hopes from this book and it started out really well, but I was expecting the plot to focus on alll the characters - but it is mostly centred around one protagonist. Still feels like an easy summer-read but the book failed to sustain my interest.

Thank you so much for giving me a chance to read an ARC of this!

I nearly stopped reading this book after a few chapters in. I didn't find myself liking any of the characters, and it was tough going. Jewelann went to a high reunion to get back at Christian, this guy who left her, and for someone who does that, I'd expect her life to be well put together. But it's not. She's slogging through her life - and it's really depressing to read, to be honest. It only gets worse when, lo and behold, I found out her life is very well controlled by her husband who has a mindset that should only have a place in the 80s. To add on to all that, the secret she's trying to keep from her husband about Christian makes it very frustrating. It's an unhappy marriage full of lies. For most of the book, nothing much else happens. I'd had expected a little more thrill, but there wasn't anything.

Things only started to get more exciting towards the end. It read like a different book. I was eager to finish, to find out all the secrets behind Jewelann's life. I was almost appeased, but the ending was quite hastily put together.

This review is based on the ARC I received from Netgalley.

The brutal nature of gender norms and expectations was addressed in this suspenseful thriller. Outside looking in, Jewelann Jordan's suburban life appears to be ideal. Actually, she's been tearing herself apart for years in an effort to maintain her composure and safeguard her son.

Her old on-again, off-again flame Christian Campbell, who seemed determined to stay in her life, is among the former high school classmates she reconnected with after that. The pieces of Jewelann's ideal life eventually start to fall apart and reveal what's really going on as she tries to figure out what Christian is keeping from her.

Thanks to NetGalley for advanced copy.

For my thoughts and opinions read my review on goodreads.

We knew all along started out quite intriguing, but the further through this one I got the less interested I became. It starts off quick, gripping and unpredictable, but unfortunately ends with a pretty unbelievable turn of events that I found a bit ridiculous to be honest.

The story follows Jewelann and her troubles with addiction and relationships. She has a difficult husband to live with, a son who struggles socially and an old flame who she reconnects with that appears to be hiding a big secret.

To be honest Jewelann as a character became quite frustrating throughout this book. She was flaky and made poor decisions and overall just annoyed me with her interactions with other characters throughout the book.

After the first few chapters this one really started to reach a low point where it felt like nothing was happening. Then all off a sudden in the last quarter the author threw in as many twists as you could imagine that actually started to become quite laughable at one point. It was like they could not decide which direction they wanted the book to go in, so why not just throw the kitchen sink at it!

The ending was really quite unbelievable for me and therefore lost the overall gripping start that this book had.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review.

This was an ok book, I found it to be a quick, enjoyable and easy read. Jewelanne is a middle aged stay at home housewife, her husband is an old fashioned sort who insists that his job is to bring home the money and her job is to look after the house and their son while he's away on extended work trips. Invited to attend her high school reunion, Jewelanne decides to with one goal in mind, making her high school crush jealous, Christian is still as good looking as an adult as he was in high school and the feeling is mutual. Jewelanne, Christian and two of her girlfriends decide to have a night cap at his hotel where Jewelanne and Christian exchange a kiss before she leaves. Next thing you know, Christian is living in a carriage house behind Jewelanne's house, renting it and renovating it, her husband made the deal something she's not happy with. the story is told from Jewelanne's perspective and we spend a lot of time in her head, she has a bit of a hoarder issue, she still pines for Christian, more so now that he's so close, her son has no friends and she worries about his future. Christian becomes friendly with her son and he's suddenly the popular guy at school. Her husband receives a large bonus as a result of a corporate restructuring and decides to take time off from travelling to spend time at home, something neither Jewelanne or her son are happy about. The ending of this book, for me at least, seemed to come out of nowhere, I enjoyed it, but the story wasn't leading to the revelation. A lot happens in the last part of the book, I would recommend it. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Crooked Lane books for the ARC..

The whole time I was reading this I had no idea where it was going to go but I loved it. I’m sure many people will have a hard time with the slow burn nature of this one, but it hooked me so bad. I could never tell if I loved or hated Jewelann and that made me love the book even more!

The twists at the end were wild. It felt like for the last 15% of the book it was crammed full of everything you could imagine. I loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In a nutshell, ‘We Knew All Along’ is an entertaining combination of mystery, chick-lit, drama with a splash of eroticism.
A priori, it sounds a great cocktail for an undemanding summer reading. In fact, it is easy to read. And the author, skillfully and in a practiced manner, spread the clues to arouse my curiosity in such a way that I was intrigued up to the last page. Nevertheless, I found the beginning a bit discouraging, maybe because Jewlann, seemed to me a bit clichéd housewife. Confused by a hurtful puppy love and damaged by a bad marriage, of course, she is not in a pleasant situation and you can expect unlikeable characters around her story. Then, by the second quarter, the story tangled up, and it got more dynamic and free-flowing.
I was especially pleased with the evolution of the main character, and with the realism of some characters. And, I felt the plot had been sewn strategically to create a satisfactory suspense without loose ends.

3 bright stars, because it kept me interested despite the shortcomings.

Thank you to Mina Hardy, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected Publication Date: 06 Dec 2022.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I first read the first two chapters of the book, I thought I had the story all figured out, but the book quickly took a few surprising turns, and it was completely different than what I expected, in a good way.

Jewelann would be what my friends describe to be "messy", sometimes I am groaning at the choices she makes, sometimes I am slightly shaking my head as I flip the pages, but she made for an interesting character.

The last few chapters had a few major plot twists that I did not see coming at all.

I enjoyed this book overall.

Jewelann Jordan lives a seemingly great life - she can afford the luxury, and lives comfortably with her handsome husband who provides everything for her. This, however, is a cover-up to the truth - her marriage is falling apart, her relationship with her son is far from what she had wished for, her past haunts her and she still hasn't given up on her high school crush. After a class reunion, they come into contact again and are forced to grow closer as he moves into her house. As time passes, she discovers that he is far from the man she considered him to be and everything in her life begins to worsen. And once all the truth comes out, it can get truly ugly...

I had high expectations for this book after reading the description and plot outline, and the cover seemed to draw me in as well. However, my experience with the book didn't meet what I hoped it would. It's certainly an easy read, it hooks you in from the very beginning, however, as the story progresses, it gets worse.

There's a secret about the past that looms over the family, there's a secret about the husband and what he does, and there's a secret about Christian as well.

It's more of a domestic drama than anything else, as most of the events happen at Jewelann's property and it plays an equally important role as the characters.

It is very rare that I don't find any character that I like in a book but here every one was antipathetic and downright unlikeable, having matured at all ever since they left high school.

There is action throughout the novel but most takes place in the very end and it gets genuinely messy. There is an abundance of twists and turns but due to their high number, they don't bring the desired effect of shock, quite opposite. They just bring confusion.

I feel like the idea was rather good but too much and too little was going on at the same time to be truly enjoyable.

THANK YOU CROOKED LANE BOOKS AND NETGALLEY FOR PROVIDING ME WITH A DIGITAL COPY OF THIS BOOK.

Jewelann Jordan will do anything to protect her son. But when she attends her high school reunion and reconnects with some old “friends” and a high school lover, the past seems to sneak up on her and she starts to question her decisions. Is her marriage worth fighting for? Are her secrets unraveling before her eyes? Can she still protect her son? The past and the present are colliding and her secrets are on the verge of being found out…but could her husbands secrets be the ones to bury them all?

“Here’s the thing about addiction. You can tell yourself you have it under control, and maybe you can even keep yourself from giving in to it, but there is no stopping the craving.”

By all appearances, Jewelann has it all from the handsome husband to the designer duds. But her husband insists she act like the stereotype of a sixties housewife and his job keeps him on the road more often than at home. The fancy clothes and accessories she wears are carefully curated from estate sales as shopping has become her latest addiction.

Her class reunion allows her to step into Cinderella’s shoes and play pretend. But the shoes are Louboutins not glass slippers, her secret boyfriend from high school is the prince of the story, and instead of a happily ever-after, she’s looking for payback.

Jewelann is a strong protagonist. Even as her world literally and figuratively crumbles around her, she’s strategizing solutions. I found myself empathizing with her as each of her decisions pulled her more and more off course. Other readers may find her less likable, but her flaws made her more realistic as did her struggles with addiction. I liked how the book handled the friendship between Jewelann and two of her female classmates with one being a true friend she’d lost touch with and the other more of a frenemy.

The book includes several twists, some of which are foreshadowed and others that are more surprising. A few things toward the end of the book felt incredibly unrealistic to me, but I enjoyed the story nevertheless.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books for providing an Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley.

The cover had me sucked in from the get-go. Mina has written an well crafted domestic thriller that was gripping and had tension throughout the whole book.

My only complaint is that the main plot twists all happen before the first 60% mark but it’s still a good read for those looking for a thriller with great characters and intricate storyline.

For me, this book was all over the place and overall not very enjoyable. Maybe if I knew it was a murder mystery/thriller it would have prepared me better for what was to come.... but ... I'm not sure.
Everything was making kind of sense. While reading I thought this was a raunchy, suburban romance novel. So that's what I settled in for. Around 80% into this book I dove into the multiple twists the author included (as it seemed she couldn't pick just one) and all hell broke loose (and not in a good way). It was just odd. A few raunchy intimate scenes that made me more uncomfortable than anything. It went off the tracks and there are too many moments that were unrealistic to make the story 'good'.
I will say, it was a very easy, quick read that held my attention. I was never bored while reading - which was surprising because I more often than not wondered what the heck was going on and what was I reading. Suddenly the book was over and I was still left with a 'what the heck just happened' - yet I couldn't believe I just finished the book. My advice would be to have dropped all those odd 'twists' in the end, pick one angle and commit to it.

I'm a sucker for domestic thrillers and this one pulled out all the stops. After reading thriller after thriller for years, I thought I had finally gotten to the point where nothing could surprise me.

Well.

He has a secret. She has a secret. They have secrets. The web of lies, deceptions, untruths, and ambiguity that Mina Hardy has woven in We Knew All Along ensnared me. It goes so much deeper than the typical thriller and by the end it left my mind spinning. I couldn't put this book down.

The cover caught my eye but by chapter two, I was hooked.

This was fun! Every main character is incredibly unlikeable, but this really works!! Because the characters are so unlikeable, it becomes. a bit of a game to see who you can force yourself to like the most -- who's making the most sense? Who's saying/doing what I agree with? This is a really well-written book, and Hardy really understands how to write fleshed-out and interesting characters.

Thank you so much to the publisher for the review copy.

The premise, cover and overall vibes of this book sucked me in from the get go.

Domestic thrillers are a new genre for me but ones that are done well are the best.

The tension laced in every chapter is masterfully done. I truly felt on edge with the main character as she is finding out each new detail.

I will say that most of the big reveals I picked quite early on. But as this was such a quick read I almost felt like it was an accomplishment (Pat myself on the back for picking it) kind of thing rather then a negative.

I liked the ending because it turns out that it was never a matter of which man should she pick, but how can she get both of these awful men out of her life.

Definitely recommend this one of you are after a fast-paced and well done read :)

We Knew Allo Along by M. Hardy, published by Crooked Lane Books is a story that grabbed me once I got into the story. It took me a minute, but o my, what a ride that was.
I really, really disliked the maincharacters, and that didn't change later on in the story, but on the other hand, this twisty read was unputdownable.
A mystery/thriller that gives all the feels, had me guessing till the last page, 4,5 stars.

All shady characters, not really likable. The story evolves slowly without hinting where it is heading, but heading towords something it is!
Until about halfway through the novel I was not even sure whether I liked it at all, but you can´t stop reading either.
Makes for a good vacation read, though.

I kind of tore through this book. Even though I didn't love the main character all that much, the tone of this book was fun and made me want to keep reading. There were twists and turns that I didn't see coming, but I wish they would have happened a little earlier in the book — even though the big twist at the end is really good. After that one happens a series of little twists happen and it's kind of overload for the last 5o pages that could have happened earlier on to really hook me. But overall, I enjoyed this read and would say We Knew All Along is a solid 4 stars.