Thank you Netgalley and Atria for providing me with an arc!

This is my 8th Lisa Jewell book that I’ve read, so needless to say I was super excited to get my hands on None of This is True!

Josie Fair is deeply unhappy with her life on her 45th birthday. She is out to a birthday dinner at a posh restaurant with her much older husband, Walter, when she becomes entranced by Alix Summers, who is also celebrating her 45th birthday. Alix is celebrating at the restaurant with her husband, friends and family, and as Josie watches the party from the outside, she can’t help but feel a connection to Alix. She follows Alix to the bathroom and announces that they’re birthday twins, marking the start of a chaotic, terrifying journey for all involved.

Josie searches Alix online following the dinner, and finds that she is a popular podcaster focusing on the stories of strong, successful women who have overcome terrible situations and still managed to do wonderful things. Alix wants to take her podcast in a new direction, and Josie convinces her that doing a story about Josie’s life as she works toward a better future would be just the thing. Alix is intrigued by Josie’s oddness and senses a darkness within her life, and as the podcast progresses, Josie tells Alix some disturbing, mind blowing things. Things get darker and darker As Alix puts the pieces of the puzzle that is Josie’s life together, leading up to a nightmare that’s unimaginable.

If you are looking for a book to binge, look no further. I absolutely could not stop reading, needing to know what would happen next and what was true or not. Lisa Jewell takes us on a rollercoaster of emotions, keeping us guessing until the very end. None of This Is True is the mystery thriller of the summer!

Josie Fair meets Alix Summer on their mutual birthday. Alix is a professional podcaster and Josie… well, Josie is UNHINGED!

Josie proposes that they do a podcast together featuring women who are changing their lives. She tells Alix her story- her childhood, marriage, and motherhood. I can’t say more without spoiling it but I can say that this book is unputdownable.

Jewell let the story unfold through a series of podcast interviews and a Netflix documentary. I loved this format. I could not tell where the story was going and I’m still unsure what was true and what was all fabricated. The characters, pacing, and plot were all perfect and the ending was oddly satisfying even though we’re left with lo of questions. I highly recommend this one.

I really don’t have a lot to say except that I really enjoyed this, loved the audio, read it in 2 days, and got to the end feeling 95% satisfied. One final twist had me on the fence a bit? But overall I think you gotta preorder this August release and immediately put it on your end of summer TBR! So fun!

Please note: this was an ARC provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Read This Book If…you love true crime podcasts/documentaries!

Genre: psychological thriller
Spice Level: 0/5🌶
Setting: London
POV: multiple, 3rd person, present tense

What I Thought: The title of this book tells you everything you need to know - believe no one! This thriller had me hooked from page one with its compelling characters and fast pace. I enjoyed the bits of documentary-style script woven in throughout, as well! I will say this gets into some pretty dark themes, so check the content warnings or send me a DM.

Memorable Quote: “She’s not who she makes out to be. Not at all.” “Yes. I think there is more to her than meets the eye.”

None of This Is True is a classic Lisa Jewell romp of creepiness. The story follows two women - Josie and Alix - who despite being the exact same age (and being born at the exact same hospital) lead very different lives. Alix has two small children, a loving husband, and a budding career as a podcaster who interviews successful women. Josie has two adult children, a husband 20+ years older than her who she has been with since she was a TEENAGER, and seems to be feeling entirely over the life she’s currently leading. When these two women cross paths and discover they are “birthday twins”, it forges a connection that leads to a wild & twisty journey.

I mostly liked this book, especially the format. While the podcast-in-book thing has been done a lot lately, Jewell instead has chapters from a documentary about Alix’s podcast where she eventually starts interviewing Josie. The documentary element was cool, and added a new element to the podcast thing.

I don’t love that the title of this book is a spoiler. There was very little suspense for me because I just assumed everything wasn’t true. The book was creepy, but lacked that feeling of mystery I want in a thriller. A different title really could have helped with that!

I also had a hard time digesting Josie’s relationship with her husband. At some points, it’s implied that Josie essentially manipulated a grown man into being with her. Josie was 15-16 at the time. Nope - a teen girl cannot manipulate a grown man into a relationship. I wish that had been handled differently; there was no way I was going to feel sympathy for her husband in this situation.

Overall, a decent book but not my fav from Jewell (Then She Was Gone gets that title.) I think if you like creepy thrillers, you’ll enjoy this one.

Holy cow is all I can say!! I read this in a day. That does NOT happen. Fast paced, dark, tense, insane, and of course an unreliable narrator and full of lies. All the best makings for a perfect thriller!

Lisa Jewell is hands-down one of my favorite authors. She is an auto-buy author for me. This book is no exception. It is in the top two books that I have read from her. The story sucks you in right from the beginning, and it is hard to put down. I thought that the perspectives and alternating time frames were very unique to this story. If you are a fan of thriller books or true crime podcasts, don’t hesitate on picking this book up. Five stars!!

Five stars!! I was on the edge of my seat literally the entire book. Couldn’t put it down, stayed up way too late finishing it. The atmosphere was unsettling and tense from the get go, even when things “seemed” normal. I loved the juxtaposition of the two main characters and their lives. It was such a great exploration of what our lives could be like if just one thing was different - two women born on the same day in the same hospital, and they couldn’t be more opposite. The format of the podcast and Netflix show excerpts was brilliantly done as well. This was my favorite thriller so far this year and my favorite Lisa Jewell to date!

In None of This is True by Lisa Jewell, Alix Summers is an accomplished podcaster looking for inspiration for a new series. On her birthday, she meets Josie Fair who was born on the very same day in the very same hospital as Alix. While this is an interesting fact alone, Josie lures Alix with the story of her life, and Alix begins to dedicate her podcast to the tales Josie spins.

This is a story of obsession, narcissism, cycles of abuse, the love parents have for their children, and the slow death of a marriage from stagnation and neglect. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I feel the title gives too much away and it would have been better to call it something different, like "One Side of the Story"? I'm not great with naming things.

Anyway, this is well-paced as Jewell knows how to do in a thriller. It was fascinating jumping between the documentary interviews and the continuing drama and I think this will make a fantastic audiobook if the extra effort of a full cast as well as adding sound effects, changing the quality of the recording, etc is made for the interview segments.

The twists weren't as much of a surprise as I had hoped. The title partially gives it away, but they also simply weren't mind blowing, and that's okay. I feel as though Jewell does a great job with characterization, unhinged women, satisfying endings and a well-paced plot, but twists aren't her specialty.

One thing I especially liked about the plot was how the reader could see the continued cycles of abuse from generation to generation as we met three generations of Fair women. I feel more could have been done with the narcissism angle in this story and I wish Jewell had spent more time showing the relationship between Josie and her children, I also understand that the way this story is told may not have been able to show this.

I do feel there were some loose ends still left undone by the ending, or some red herrings left unexplained (the smell coming from Erin's room for one, it is mentioned early in the book), and the final thoughts we get in the last chapter left me with a few questions, I still enjoyed this story. This will not be my favorite Lisa Jewell thriller, but it is higher on the list for me personally.

O.m.g

I was waiting for the twist because come on, it’s Lisa J! And boyyy did she deliver! I literally had to force myself to not look ahead. I wanted, no, needed to know what was coming!

Alix finds herself with an… acquaintance.. who’s a little strange. A little too much. A little too….everything. And she knows! Her gut tells her so. But like most people, morbid curiosity gets the best of her and she takes advantage of the situation. People love a good podcast. Secrets, drama, lies. What’s not to love?

Except things get darker than Alix expected. She’s too close. Too wrapped up. She’s brought this in to her family and now…….

LOVED IT!

Great fast paced read that will keep you guessing til the very end! The Birthday Twins, Josie likes to refer herself and Alix. Born on the same day and same hospital. Josie approaches Alix with a podcast idea about her life and the changes she is about to embark on, while it's different then her usual podcast, Alix agrees. Things soon take a turn for the worse, some of Alix's belongings come up missing and Josie becomes vocal about the issues Alix and her husband are having in their marriage telling her what she should do. As the podcast meetings go on, Alix learns she may be in over her head with Josie.

Thanks to Netgalley, Atria Books, and Lisa Jewell for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

None of This Is True publication date: August 08, 2023

Lets start off with a 5 star! Soooooo sooo good. I could not stop thinking about this book. It gave me the heebiee jeebies and loved it! Perfect read this summer! A book that will def get you out of your reading slump. I was hooked the whole time!

This book was incredible! Lisa Jewell can do no wrong. I had the best time reading this and could not put it down. I was hooked. If you love psychological thrillers this book is for you! I was so intrigued and it was amazing. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

After seeing all of the raving reviews on this book, I knew I needed to read it! I’ve found that I am super picky with my thrillers as it’s not my typical genre. I love crazy, unexpected plot twists & not being able to guess the endings & that’s exactly what I got with None of This is True. A creepy, gripping, extremely well written thriller that I had so much fun reading (with the lights on!) I can’t wait to read more from this author.

This is a review of an Advanced Readers Copy of None of This is True by Lisa Jewell! Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! Out August 8th in the US!

Alix and Josie are birthday twins! They both turned 45 and were celebrating at the same place where Josie noticed Alix. Alix is a popular podcast host and Josie is a housewife/mom. Josie and Alix meet for the first time there and discover they were both born at the same hospital too.

Soon after, Josie bumps into Alix and suggests to her that Josie could be her next podcast subject. Alix typically interviews women with incredible stories and Josie claims her life is about to change and wants Alix to hear her story. Alix is apprehensive but is drawn to hearing Josie’s story so agrees. As Josie reveals her story, Alix is captivated and uncertain about things Josie tells her.

This story goes back and forth between Alix and Josie, as well as a description of parts of the story as a future Netflix streaming series, where people are looking back on some events and being interviewed. Josie’s perspective annoyed me while reading because she seemed off and kind of deluded in her thinking - which is needed for the story but she still annoyed me. I always felt bad for Alix too because she seemed in over her head with everything.

The way this story goes, as more of Josie’s story is revealed and as more people in Josie’s life are interviewed, I feel like each reader will be like, oh yes that person is awful. Then the next minute, they might be like, well no maybe this person is kind of awful. Up until the very end, I don’t think it’s clear who really is being truthful. This ending leaves me with questions… as designed I think! Pick this one up if you like questioning everything, even at the end!! 🤗

You will like this book if you like:
🎙️ True Crime Podcasts
🎙️ Unreliable narrators
🎙️ Dual POV
🎙️ Dark family secrets
🎙️ Suspenseful and twisty stories
🎙️ Uncertain endings

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating

“Once she’d been young and she’d thought forty-five would come slow and impossible. She’d thought forty-five would be another world. But it came fast…”

Welp, Lisa Jewell did it again. She can do no wrong with her thrillers. I absolutely loved the use of mixed media throughout this book with the podcast episodes and more. There was no big twist to me but I just couldn’t stop reading it and was sooo thoroughly invested in this story. I have a hard time seeing things in my mind when I read but I could see everything playing out throughout this story. I can’t wait for you guys to get your hands on this masterpiece! This is a must read for the year!

This was a very entertaining thriller. It's hard to really say much about this book without giving anything away, but the writing was very well done. I was sitting there basically the whole time reading with this pit in my stomach, just waiting to see what was going to happen.

The pacing was very well done; I was never bored or hoping that things would just move along so I could find out the end. The characters were well done; you really rooted for some and were strongly creeped out by others.

Definitely recommend giving this a read if you are into psychological thrillers. Also, if you are into the unreliable narrator trope but are tired of it just being a woman who was too drunk to remember. It's refreshing to see it done another way

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

Wow, this was an incredible, thrilling story and was hooked the whole way through. I’ve been wanting to read Lisa Jewell for a while and this was quite the intro! I’m looking forward to more of of her work. Anyone who loves true crime podcasts or documentaries would love this - hi that’s me! I really liked how we could read both a podcast recording and Netflix docuseries in writing. It was so well done! I also like how the ending is open to interpretation to an extent. Lisa had me questioning and doubting what would happen next throughout the story. I have already recommended this book to many friends and I plan to buy it for my shelves. WELL DONE!

"Hi! I'm your birthday twin!"

Josie and Alix meet in the restroom of a nice little pub where they are both celebrating their 45th birthdays. Alix is a successful podcaster with a beautiful and loving, if flawed, family. Josie is an unassuming, mousy woman married to a man nearly 30 years her senior. They meet again a while later and Josie suggests that Alix do a podcast series about her life and her past, and Alix, having just finished her last series, agrees.

This book was great. I love an unreliable narrator! I won't say anything else so as not to spoil it. Some of the twists were predictable, and some were most definitely not!

I think this is my favourite Lisa Jewell book so far.

likes:
this is a super engaging, almost addictive story! I kept wanting to pick it back up & get right back into it.
I loved the parts where we got transcripts from the documentary and felt those especially moved the story along with the little bits of information they would drop every so often.
dislikes:
the ending felt really unsatisfying to me! I'm usually down with an open ending but I need SOME closure.
this didn't really feel that thrilling/surprising/shocking to me and there never ended up being a wow moment to me.