Really enjoyed this new domestic thriller by Caroline Bigland. Lots of great characters and huge on the creep factor. Good twists and turns.
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

Charlotte Bigland's "It's Not Me, It's You" is a gripping debut thriller, one that lures you to reconsider your bedtime hours. Jen Beeny is a 23-year-old woman who has recently moved to London after a family tragedy. She decides to embrace adventure by going on dates with five people. One by one, they begin to disappear, and the level of suspicion gradually intensifies. As an investigation progresses, there is a concrete commonality - Jen was not only the person they dated but the last person they saw. Is Jen Beeny, the protagonist concealing her identity as a secret killer, or is it someone else? Jen is far from a perfect character with persistent indecisiveness and emotional expression, but she is highly persistent. You will either love or hate her. The dialogue is hugely refreshing with humourous self-musings, and the supporting characters are cunning and well fleshed out. As this is a sole narration and a linear timeline, I devoured every page. The ending caught me by surprise, and the puzzle pieces connected well. A 4-star read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Embla Books for giving me an ARC. This honest review is left voluntarily.

“It’s Not Me, It’s You” by Charlotte Bigland is a fast paced, stay-up-too-late kinda thriller novel. Over the weekend, I would wake up in the middle of the night thinking about this book and need to read a few chapters before going back to sleep!

The main character, Jen, is new to London and is serial dating. However, the last 5 people she has been on a date with are either missing or murdered. Is Jen also a serial killer?!

I cannot recommend picking up this ebook when it publishes in a couple weeks 🖤☠️

Thank you @netgalley and @emblabooks for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

It's not me, It's you is a novel with a very interesting premise

I had a lot of fun reading this and thoroughly enjoyed every second of the book

Great debut novel! Really enjoyed reading this book. It had a good surprise ending. Can’t wait to read more of her future books.

It's Not Me, It's You by Charlotte Bigland is the author's debut novel. The story is about Jen Beeny, who leaves her turbulent past behind and starts living a new life. But her dates start to go missing, and the internet sleuths and the police are looking at Jen as the culprit. Jen is a likable character and is funny at times.

Positive: I liked how London came alive in the book and made you feel as if you were right there. The author did an excellent job of showing London life. That is a plus for the author's writing and the story.

Negatives: I felt there were too many unnecessary descriptions and inner musings that distracted me from the heart of the story and took me away from getting involved in the plot and characters at times. The ending also fell a bit flat and was not the "Oh, my goodness" kind of moment.

Overall, it was a pleasant read and a good debut novel. I would check out other books by this author.

I am rounding this 3.5 to a 4 rating.

#ItsNotMeItsYou #NetGalley @emblabooks

Well written with a compelling storyline and well developed characters. This was a gripping read that I couldn't put down and read in one sitting.

Really Really Really enjoyed reading this. Took 3 days and I couldn't put it down. Easy to read.

Great story line that has you guessing who done it right to the end

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review.

Looking forward to more from Charlotte Bigland and Embla Books.

I'm not a fan of chick lit or drama stories and am more of a thriller/ domestic noir girl but I loved the sound if the premise and thought it sounded such a fresh and modern take on the old thriller genre. THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING!! I was so confident about who was behind it all the entire time I was reading it and I didn't not see the final twists coming at all. It's so relatable and realistic that I just loved it. It's such a perfect view on modern dating and what it feels like to be a young woman in this day and age. Plus it's hillarious! She is so funny and again, rare to be chuckling away to yourself whilst reading a thriller but it's just got so much humanity in it that it's possible one of the most realistic domestic noirs I've come across. The characters were all so unique and well rounded. The pace keeps up the entire way through the book and yeah, even if you're not a fan of character led, drama types, hopefully like me you'll be surprised to find this is the exception. No doubt because it is so accurate and realistic that its not glossing over reality for the sake of the plot. I was literally up until 3am getting it finished and don't regret a second. It's impossible to put down! Highly recommended

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, from Embala Books and #NetGalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview and review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Vibrant imagery, cunning characters, a story you won't want to put down.

This is a story of Jen, a young woman going through life with a string of hopeful but bad relationships. Living with a weird landlord that she’s stuck with. People she thinks are her friends are not. Everyone she’s dated in the last year are disappearing and/or dead. Everything points to her as the responsible party, but is she? This book is an easy read. Storyline is easy to follow. Just when you think you know how the book will end, think again. Keeps you guessing until the end. A good solid book. Definitely worth the read.

After a family tragedy, Jen moves to London for a fresh start. Things aren’t quite ideal with her dull job and strange landlord who wasn’t meant to be living with her, so Jen tries London’s thriving social scene and starts dating.

A few months later and 5 people she has dated are either dead or missing. A brilliant premise with a slightly lacking narrative.

I really enjoyed this debut novel which was engrossing and fun. I have no doubt Charlotte Bigland will be a big name in the thriller market in a few years to come. An excellent first novel.

It's Not Me, It's You by Charlotte Bigland is a debut book and what a debut it is! Bigland has an exciting career in thrillers ahead of her is this is any indication.

Jen Beeny has a subpar job as a receptionist in London. To keep herself entertained, she goes on date after date. But then, each of her dates starts ending up dead or missing. Is it her?? Soon, the police start looking at Jen as the main suspect and her connection to all of the missing and dead victims.

The writing and descriptions of life in London were quite fun. While the ending could have used a bit of work, it still was a satisfying resolution.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Five people are missing of dead and Jennifer Beeny has dated them all and so the police have reason to believe she is responsible. Is Jen a serial killer or just so darned unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time several times over??? Is she guilty or telling the police the truth, a liar or truthful? Jen is the narrator and how reliably only time will tell

This is a hard one to review as it’s a bit of a game of two halves! I really like the premise of the novel and particularly like the tone it’s written in which ranges from ironic to darkly humorous. Jen is really good company as a narrator and I end up liking her because she’s fearless and funny. The characterisation is generally good even though some are not very likeable such as her landlord Bob who is seriously sleazy and repellent making your fresh crawl, you can picture him all too clearly! Sadly!

The dialogue ranges from being extremely good
and vibrant, capturing the London social scene to some that makes you wince! The novel starts well then it seems to fall flat and at times we get way too much information! In a couple of places I contemplate giving up but I’m glad I don’t because it definitely ramps up in the second half and settles in to becoming a very entertaining read. It’s twisted that’s for sure as you try to guess who is behind the shenanigans and I do partly guess!

Overall, for a debut it shows plenty of promise and I think the author has loads of potential in the darkly humorous bracket! I like the book cover too.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Embla Books for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review

I really liked this intense psychological thriller. It’s a slow burn but well worth the carefully constructed story. I enjoyed it a lot.

A thoroughly engaging and enjoyable read, full of wit and sarcasm with a healthy mix of murder and suspicion!

I picked this book purely on its synopsis - ‘she’s a serial dater, but is she a serial killer?’ And as anyone who picks up a new author’s book knows… it could’ve gone one of two ways. Luckily it went the right way!

I loved Bigland’s style of writing, diary-like chapters told from Jennifer’s point of view muddled in with dry and sarcastic inner monologue. For me it had echoes of CJ Skuse’s character Rhiannon from her Sweetpea books (with a lot less psycho!) and also Bridget Jone’s Diary with Jen’s tragic love life & awful granny pants.

The book begins very quickly and the pace continues for the entirety of the story. I found the ending a little disappointing. I was hoping for a real OMG moment or a huge twist that made me reconsider all that I’d read. I didn’t get that, I spotted a few clues along the way and was a little frustrated with Jen’s stupidity when it came to personal safety towards the end. So for me, the ending was just ‘okay’. I’m satisfied but not blown away.

All in all though, ending aside, I loved it and I think this will be an author to watch! If you’re looking for a darkly witty and engaging crime fiction read - you’ll love this!

Thank you to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

"Jen is a serial dater, but is she a serial killer?"

Well that had me hooked! Jen is a bit of an odd character, I think you will either love her or hate her. But the storyline, premise and writing had me hooked. This is a great debut and I look forward to move from this author.

Unfortunately this book was rather strange- and not in a good way. I struggled to give it my attention and it lacked depth. The plot sounded promising but it did not deliver fir me.

I struggled with this one. I couldn't get into it and it was so slow. The ending fell flat. Not because it wasn't good or surprising but because it took forever to get there. Not for me.

"Discover the hottest thriller of the summer perfect for fans of You."

That was part of the blurb on Netgalley...... Which is perfect because I loved "You" and who doesn't want to discover the hottest thriller of the summer? Sign me up! This is a thriller written by a debut author: Charlotte Bigland and I dug right in.

In this one we have Jen Beeny who, having a turbulent past, has moved to London and taken a crappy job as a receptionist. While building her life back she goes on date after date. Until everyone of her dates either winds up dead or missing. So as the tagline of the books says, "Is she a serial dater or serial killer?" The police, and crime buffs soon zero in on her and her connection to all the victims.

What rocks: The main character: Jen Beeny. She is totally badass and her snarky thoughts are on full display.
While she is going on all her dates the man (or woman) would be talking to her and her thoughts would literally be, "Fuck my life does this guy really think he's serious?" Totally hilarious.

Also Bigland nails life in London. The dialogue and locations were spot on. You really had a sense of what it's like to live in London. Plus the pace and length of this booky is perfect. Great flow and my PDF file had it around 250 pages which is fantastic. Who likes to read a brick where you forget what happened in the beginning by the time you get to the end? Hint: NOBODY! Ok, maybe just me.

What sucks: So it's date after date and while entertaining they do get somewhat repetitive but that may be just me as well. Plus the ending....... Ok, I have very mixed feelings about it. It was good, and I didn't predict what happened but sometimes you read a book and just want the author, "To just go there!" Just do it and go full shock and awe and blow this thing out of the water. She didn't really do that. It was still good.

So is this the hottest book of the summer? It's not the coldest one and you will be entertained by Jen Beeny. I say go for it!

Advance reader copy given free for honest review.

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