Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for providing me with an eARC of this book to read and give an honest review.
I enjoy Cyn's books. I've been reading her stories for quite a few years and I find she has a knack for the unbelievable and mysterious. Thrown in a little thriller and you have a recipe for great stories.
Unfortunately, this particular book of hers missed the mark for me. I really wanted to love it. And I will say the story had some good scenes, but mostly I was bored and I figured out the main part of what was happening early on.
Willow's character was done well. She is the epitome of a victim who desperately believes what she's being told. No doubt, in such a strenuous and crazy situation, this may happen to anyone. Especially with the gaslighting that was going on from Elijah. I don't want to get into their relationship too much as I don't want to ruin the story for others but suffice it to say, he is not who he appears to be.
There were times when the thrill of the booked pushed me along, and other times when the world building had me bored and wishing something, anything would happen.
The introduction of the weird flip at the end did nothing for me. It seemed like it was thrown in so the ending could leave you wondering but mostly it was just an odd thing to have in the story after 90% of the story consisted of something different. Maybe it was to make Elijiah look really crazy. Maybe it was to put total doubt in Willow's mind. And then the scene in the movie theater was very far out there.
Overall, I did not love this book as much as I would have liked. I am sad to have not enjoyed one of Balog's stories as I know she's had some really great ones. 
I do love the cover and the way the "lie" is highlighted. 
Her fans may or may not enjoy this one from her. Hard to say.

You Won’t Believe Me started out strong and had my interest immediately.  I did enjoy the ending as well, but there was a lot of drag & slow in the middle.  The meandering with no apparent purpose, bogged me down several times.  

I think the characters and plot could have been so much more.  The idea and twists were great, but the action and interest was lacking.  

I was given an advance copy of this book for review purposes.

You Won’t Believe Me Review!!

Thank you Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for this gifted e-copy, in exchange for an honest review! You Won’t Believe Me comes out June 27, 2023!

I’ve always been a big fan of kidnapping books and how the victim has to survive their capters, so I immediately requested this one!! You Won’t Belive Me was a 3.5/5 ⭐️ for me! I didn’t realize that this one had to do with a pandemic, so it read a bit like a dystopian! I loved the setting in the Everglades and it made this book that much more creepy. I am absolutely terrified of alligators and crocodiles. 😬 This one had a unique plot, but there was just a little too much going on in this one for me and the ending was so strange and unexpected!

A pandemic has spread over the nation. The medication that prevents people from dying has run low and there is a shortage. Willow Lafayette has found herself in a strange house with a strange boy who has informed her of a second wave that has caused an apocalypse...or has it? Willow can't remember what happened to her and how shevended up wirh the boy Elijah. He won't fully explain what's happened, but the world is ending and people who die always come back. In this apocalyptic mystery will take you on a roller coaster of emotions.

10 Cloverfield Lane meets Knock at the Cabin in this young adult suspense thriller following a 16 year old girl who wakes up tied to a bed with no memory of how she got here and the only contact she has is an old woman who drops off food twice a day  and a teen boy who claims that there is a plague outside and that they need to stay together and inside if they want to stay safe... yet the more time she spends there the more she thinks he is hiding something and she’ll have to figure out if she can believe him or not. Willow Lafayette is the daughter of doctors who are working on curing a widespread disease, akin to the pandemic. She’s been messaging a boy she is in a sort of relationship with... but then suddenly she wakes up with no memory of what happened to her and why she is tied and restrained in this house. She then meets Elijah, a teen who is also in the house who tells her that the plague has only gotten worse and that they need to stick together to survive.... but he’s hiding so many things and the more time she spends there the more question she has such as why he doesnt want them to go out and try to find other survivors... why he is isolating her so much... yet she can’t ignore the love between them... but is she a hostage or is he right and the plague is happening and monsters await her outside? Unfortunately this one fell flat for me, I went into this blind hoping I would have a better time if I didn’t know what it was about but it really tried to do so many things and kind of not worked at all. I think if your fans of thrillers this one would be an interesting read for you for sure.

*Thanks Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire, Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a copy to read, I really appreciate it. I’m sorry but this was all over the place and not what I expected at all, I’m sorry but I’m calling this a quits and throwing in a towel it’s a DNF and I have no deserve to try and finish it.

So many topics covered in this this YA book. 
   A wild virus emerges: pandemic ensues, not enough drugs, forced lockdowns, deaths and fake news that the world is ending.
   The insecure teenage daughter of one of the scientists trying to find a drug for the cure is gaslighted by a young man who’s sister died from the disease after taking a test drug and he plans and plots to kidnap her in revenge……….but the reader doesn’t know that, so we are carried along in the Armageddon Theory.
   Once kidnapped, the reader thinks maybe this is going down an Adam/ Eve story………then it’s Romeo/Juliette…..and finally the real thing--- Stockholm Syndrome. She is being meticulously brainwashed.
   They learn how to live off the land, stay off the grid and she thinks they are the only ones alive. A series of events finally cause her to doubt what she’s been told and to act out.
   A return to reality isn’t easy…….she’s a miracle and people want to know all about it……..all taking a toll on her mental status and the lasting effect of indoctrination.
   The author was certainly creative and convincing making it a fun read.

I haven't read anything by Cyn Balog for at least eight years and "You Won't Believe Me" was a great reintroduction!

This book tried to do too many things at once, and it gave me a headache.

Willow awakes strapped to a bed, with no memory of how she got there. The only human contact she has is a woman who feeds her twice daily. Then the woman dies. When a young man comes to unstrap her, Willow isn't sure if he is a friend or foe.

The synopsis of this book is attention-grabbing. It sounded right up my alley, but as I was reading, I became more confused about what this book was trying to be. Thriller? Post-apocalyptic romance? Science-fiction? The plot was unclear on the end goal, and it did not work for the overall book.

There is a lot of repetition in the beginning. Initially, I was fine with this because of the atmosphere it was building. This however got tiresome really quickly. The monotonous days dragged on for what is a relatively short book. After this, we skip a whole section of the characters' lives in favor of the climax. Since there was no connection between me and the characters, the ending dragged on and was a letdown.

The epilogue of a book should not be several chapters long. In fact, one of the "big" plot points in this book is revealed at the very end of the epilogue, which I almost did not finish reading. At that point, it felt like the start of a second book, not a quick continuation of where the characters were in a few months' time.

I think all of the plots had potential, but not together. Combined, it just became a big jumble of words with no clear finish line.

3.5 

This book was wild. It reminded me of Bird box, or I am legend. Like the main character you are left in the dark trying to figure out what is going on. If you are looking for a different type of thriller to read I would suggest this one.

I am happy to have received this ARC through NetGalley.

I wanted to like this title more and I felt it would definitely appeal to some. It was difficult for me to like the main character. Although it should have felt as though we were learning intimate details of her life as the story progressed, I did not reach a point in which I felt connected. Additionally, the pacing of the story was a little too slow for my taste. I appreciate the author hammering in the monotony of being essentially imprisoned and with this in mind I believed that this slow pace would come to end at some point. However, even as the story moved from being a simple kidnapping story to something more complex, that pacing did not reach a level I was satisfied with. 

With that being said, for those who appreciate a slow burn with various plot twists, this book will do it for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, I am grateful for the opportunity to read and review this book. The plot contained a lot of repetition, which was excessive and diminished its interest. For me it was just an okay read.

I am so excited to be writing the review for this dark, demented, nightmare of a book. I loved every single word. I loved our protagonist and her... um new boyfriend. 
This was absolute perfection and it had me enthralled the entire time I was reading. I want it to be a series but it absolutely doesn't need to be. The ending was twisty and also a good ending. It was complete.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I think I wavered between a 2.5 & 3 for this book but the ending makes me lean more 2.5. There were so many unnecessary words...like it could've been 100 less pages for sure. I'm able to figure out plot twists fairly quickly and by about 30% in, I knew where the book was headed. It had the feel of Texas Chainsaw massacre meets covid but then it just veered into an area where I began to not enjoy it. Tons of repetition that not only wasn't needed but also drew entertainment away from the story. There was no real character development and honestly I didn't connect with any of the characters. For a quick read that you really don't need to follow closely, I'd definitely not recommend it. The ending was just meh and almost ruined the book.

You need to add this book to your tbr list for 2023! A new favorite thriller of mine and author that I will be recommending to everyone. 🥰 Balog did an amazing job with the number of twists for the reader throughout the book, even with the ending. The main character can’t trust anyone including herself so it leaves you thinking wtf the entire time. I hope the author makes this book a sequel!!

I really loved this book. It starts out a little slow first, but stick with it, it gets better. 
Waking up, tied to a bed during a pandemic that has turned everyone into crazed people. It’s a nightmare similar to what we have been living in and touches home.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel. I encourage you to check this one out!

Ok, so now I must read her backlog! Because this book was superbly written.

You Won't Believe Me by Cyn Balog was just as I was hoping..... Intense! 
She wrote such an amazing suspense story with a great twist. 
This is my first time reading Cyn's work. I thought it was a great, interesting read with some good characters. 
I will definitely be reading her backlog now after reading and really enjoying her new upcoming title. 

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

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It's rare for me to willingly read a Young Adult book. It's even more rare that I end up loving it, which with this one, I really did. The description alone had me intrigued; a teen wakes up tied to a bed not remembering how she got there. Twice a day an elderly lady who demands to be called Granny comes in to feed her. Until one day she dies in front of her. Not knowing if she is alone in the house, she screams for help and what comes next is beyond what anyone can imagine. 

This starts off right away pulling you in. The intensity is astounding and although it's categorized as Young Adult, anyone will enjoy this. The main character did have her moments where you're screaming in your head at her but that's what makes it more suspenseful. What happens in this I never could of guessed. The story was brilliant and the delivery of it was exceptional. I may be biased because this had everything I love in a story which I can't say without spoiling it. Five Stars.

Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for this ARC.

this was such a great suspenseful novel, it was what I was hoping for when I read the description. I enjoyed the way Cyn Balog wrote this, it had what a good suspense novel should have and does a great job in telling the story. The plot was what I was hoping for and I enjoyed getting to know Willow and her struggle. I can't wait to read more from the author.

"Before I can say more, he crouches and grabs me by my middle, lifting me so my upper half falls forward over his shoulder. I’m dangling like a fish on a hook. I pound on his back as he walks, then start to squeal, but the second I do, he drops me on the floor, making the floorboards shake. It only occurs to me what he’s doing when he’s in the doorway, reaching for the doorknob."