Cover Image: None of This Is True

None of This Is True

Pub Date:   |   Archive Date:

Member Reviews

This is Lisa Jewel at her best! What a tale and in the final pages, I'm still left with questions. Amazing characters, and a unique approach as told they the lens of a Netflix documentary. I had an inkling that all was not what it seemed, but this story unveiled in a way Zi could not predict. Who is telling the truth? You may never be sure. Must read!!! I devoured it i. A single sitting!

Was this review helpful?

Welp, someone is at the top of her game (hint: It's Lisa Jewell). It's twisty, it's creepy, it's occasionally sinister. It leaves you doubting your own perception in that good good way. My early copy had several editing errors that will, hopefully, be addressed before publication.

Was this review helpful?

A very cleverly written plot, switching between the two protagonists points of view, a pod cast and a Netflix documentary, it's not only unique but utter genius storytelling!

The night of Alix's 25th birthday she meets another woman, also out celebrating her 25th birthday and it also transpires that they were both born in the same hospital much to the delight of the other woman, Josie, who then declares they are birthday twins.

Alix is a popular podcaster who has just finished her series called 'All Woman' about successful women, and it is from these podcasts that Josie see's a way into Alix's life. She asks Alix if she would do podcast about her life and how now at age 25 is on the cusp of real change, and she thinks Alix is the perfect person to tell her story.

As her All Woman podcasts have come to an end, and also intrigued by what Josie has to say she agrees to a trial recording session, turning into a podcast called 'Hi i'm your birthday twin', but whatever Alix thought Josie's was going to tell her soon turns into something dark and disturbing.

I got sucked into this book right from the start and binged read it in under two full days, i literally didn't want to put it down.

Although the premise of the book being told in several different ways may sound strange, but trust me, it works, if anything it works too well, it leaves parts on cliffhangers so you can't stop reading as you need to know what happens next!

None of this is true will be published on the 20 July 2023 it is available to preorder now from your local bookshop, library
A massive Thank You to the author Lisa Jewell, publishers Random House UK and NetGalley for my digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest, independent review.

Was this review helpful?

Received this book from NetGalley and WOW! What a twisted little delight of a story. Could not put this book down. Lisa Jewell is the best! A real Jewell of an author.

Was this review helpful?

This book was WILD. How do you know when someone is telling the truth? When you should offer help or protect yourself? This book meddles with those two questions over and over. When podcaster Alix is approached by Josie on her birthday, little does she know that her life is about to change. Josie shares tragic, chaotic, and even alarming things about her past meeting her husband who is over 40 years older than her and the strange rumors about her children.
I’m still thinking about this ending. This was a book I could have finished in one setting!

Was this review helpful?

4.5⭐️ I devoured None of This is True in a matter of hours and it may just be my favorite by Lisa Jewell book yet! The story totally consumed me and kept me reading anxiously the entire time.

Synopsis: Alix, a popular podcaster, is celebrating her 45th birthday at a local pub when she is approached by Josie Fair who is also celebrating her 45th. Josie quickly becomes infatuated and a few days later she purposefully bumps into Alix and insists that he has a story worth telling on her podcast. Despite how strange Josie is, Alix cannot resist and decides to call the segment “Hi! I’m Your Birthday Twin.” As Alix learns more about Josie, it is clear she is hiding some very dark secrets and it is not before long that Josie deeply immerses herself into Alix’s life.

Thoughts: This story had it all! It was dark, twisty, chilling, atmospheric and fast-paced, which differs from the Jewell’s typical slow burns. The plot was so cleverly crafted and both protagonists were intruiging and I loved the alternating POVs. At times I did question why Alix didn’t act upon Josie’s supicious behaviors but was so okay with suspending the disbelief. The ending was left a bit ambiguous and did make me wonder if Jewell will be back writing another sequel.

Read if you like:
-Psychological thrillers
-Netflix documentaries
-Podcast segments
-Dual POVs

Thank you Atria books for the ARC! Pub date 8/8!

Was this review helpful?

None of This Is True
By Lisa Jewell
Pub Date: August 8,2023
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
This was a twisty, edge of your seat, can’t sleep masterpiece. I was drawn in from the first page!
I loved that it was written in three parts. Great ending as well!
This is my favorite Jewell book!

Definitely a 5 star!

Was this review helpful?

From my blog: Always With a Book

Lisa Jewell is one of my favorite thriller writers and so when I got an early copy of her upcoming book, which isn’t due out until August, I literally dropped everything and started reading it that second. Now if you know anything about my reading habits, especially when it comes to ARCs (advanced reading copies) – I don’t tend to do that. I usually read them much closer to pub date…but I just couldn’t resist with this one and I ended up finishing it in just two sittings – and that was only because I started it late in the day and had to sleep, otherwise this would have been a one-sitting read!

I loved this book! It’s deliciously clever and twisted and I flew through it. Once I started, there was no stopping and I knew, other than that pesky thing called sleep, that nothing was going to stop me from reading this one until I was done. It grabbed me from the beginning, and I just loved how everything was laid out – the podcast, the characters and not knowing who I could trust, and the idea of birthday twins and that being the vehicle that gets our main characters together. There is something off about Josie and once Alix starts talking to her during the podcast interviews, things get a little unnerving to say the least. And that’s just the start of it!

This story is full of some of the most crazy and memorable characters – it’s hard not to want to give you the details but to do so would be to start treading into spoiler territory and I certainly do not want to do that. Just trust me when I say you won’t be forgetting any of these characters anytime soon. Add in a horrifying discovery, some crazy twists and you have the makings of one binge-worthy read!

I know this book doesn’t come out until August but trust me when I saw you want to put this one on your list. Pre-order it, get in your library holds, do whatever you need to do to get your hands on this one because you are definitely not going to want to miss it! I’ve loved every single book I’ve read by Lisa Jewell, and I think this one might be her best one yet!

Was this review helpful?

WHEW what a ride. I had no idea who to trust, and even now, my head’s still spinning trying to sort out what happened. This might be one of my favorite Lisa Jewell’s. It’s just fascinating, kept me glued to the page.

My only qualm was that some of the plot twists in the end were resolved in very ‘convenient’ ways—a bit too much of a stretch, for the previous pages. But I still thoroughly enjoyed the book, and highly recommend it for lovers of suspense and Lisa Jewell.

So grateful to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc!

-A

Was this review helpful?

Josie and Alix discover they are birthday twin on their 45th birthdays. When Josie approaches Alix, asking to be on Alix’s podcast, nothing is ever the same after that moment.
I read this book in one sitting because I was so desperate to unravel the web of lies that Josie spins. Or are they lies? I definitely questioned every character and even at the end, I didn’t know who to believe. Lisa Jewell is so good at weaving characters together and keeps you engaged throughout the whole book.
Overall, it’s a very good book, although I had so many unanswered questions and I wish I had more details. But maybe that is the point of the book? You just don’t know if any of it was true.

Was this review helpful?

Wow, I have read many of Lisa's books and they never disappoint. The title on this is a bit of a give away but the story telling was superb. I kept saying one more chapter and kept going and going until the end in one sitting. This will definitely be a runaway hit!

Was this review helpful?

After pondering on how I exactly felt about this book, I feel that I can now finally write my honest thoughts about it. I just finished this book about 14 hours ago, and upon immediately being done with it, I had so many mixed feelings. Let me start by saying that up until the ending, and maybe even the 90% mark, I was ready to give it 5 stars. It had been hard to put down, kept me intrigued, and I was fascinated by how creepy, Josie, one of our main characters was written. Her obsession with denim, her intriguing past; growing up with a narcissistic mother, being a victim of a pedophile, and being a miserable mother to her own children with their own issues made me feel like I was reading a diary other than a podcast. I also really grew to like Alix, our other main character, who meets Josie through a random encounter at a restaurant, where they are both celebrating their birthdays. Alix also has some personal issues in her life that are slowly revealed to Josie. I do believe that Josie, in her sick obsessed way, wanted to help in what she ended up doing at the end of the story, but like the rest of Josie's life, it just fell completely to pieces. This is what I enjoyed about the story. Now, we get to the ending. I am not one for loving a book that leaves me in limbo, trying to come up with my own ending of what actually happened. This is what I had to do at the conclusion of this story, and honestly, I didn't like it, didn't like it at all. This is what made me drop my rating from 5 stars to 3-3.5. As the reader, I just needed certainty as to what exactly happened not only at the ending, but because of the way the ending was written, I don't know if I can believe any of the events of the middle of the story at this point either. Was Josie just lying through the whole book because of her twisted state of mind, which event truly happened and which one didn't? Jewell is an immediate go to read author for me, and I will always read her books. I will say that I won't forget this story anytime soon, but I will remain frustrated that I just did not get to grasp a clear conclusion.

Was this review helpful?

I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN! I finished it in one day, and it might be my new favorite Lisa Jewell book. This is a twisted tale of two ladies, born on the same day in the same hospital, who meet by a chance encounter. Their lives become intertwined when podcaster Alix starts a new project interviewing Josie, who soon tells her a messed up story of her relationships with her family members. As Alix tries to figure out the truth, she gets drawn into Josie's dark web. The author did a fantastic job of slowly unraveling an intricate plot and ratcheting up the tension, which made me quickly turn the pages to see what would happen next. I absolutely loved this one!

Was this review helpful?

This new book by Lisa Jewell is a home run. I haven't loved her last two books but this one is a 5 star read!
For the entire book, I didn't want to put it down but also read it with an uneasy queasy feeling in my stomach. It was edge of the seat and whenever I felt I knew where it was going- I was wrong. Jewell doesn't shy away from tough subjects and doesn't wrap a story in a happy ending. I think the title is perfect! A great read!

Was this review helpful?

4.5 ⭐️ (rounded up to 5). Wow!! Okay first off, super excited to be chosen for an advanced copy of Lisa Jewell’s newest book. This is the 8th book I’ve read by her and while I’ve enjoyed several of them, I have to be honest when I say it’s been “hit or miss” with her books for me. Several were 4-5 stars but a few were 2.5-3 stars. After reading the synopsis I was really hoping this one wouldn’t disappoint and it did not!! It was GREAT!!

I will make this short as far as my feelings on characters because too many details may result in spoilers. I liked Alix, although at times I thought she made some really dumb decisions. Josie, she’s odd…let’s just leave it at that! Walter…he’s gross. Nathan, he’s a disappointment. I’ll stop there with my basic character assessments.

The storyline was really, really good. It kept my interest from beginning to end. I was worried I wasn’t going to like the podcasts but to be honest, I thought it was really well written and I actually enjoyed it. The ending was great! There were some twists at the end that really make you think…WHAT?!!!!! The reason for knocking off 1/2 a star is just because I did think some of it was predictable (Or was it?! 🤔 Because again…that ending!!) Either way, it was so well written that I don’t even mind that I was able to figure out some of it.

Oh, also it ended where it could possibly have a sequel BUT I’m kinda torn on how I feel about that. I loved the first book in The Family Upstairs series but really hated the second one so I wouldn’t want that to happen again.

If you are a fan of Lisa Jewell then you must add this to your list because this is one of her best books!! It will be released August 8th, so mark your calendars. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

To see other reviews I’ve left, check out my Instagram and Goodreads pages:
*Instagram - bookworm_traveler808
*Goodreads - Cherihy808

Was this review helpful?

This book!!! I was hooked, coming up with theories on what was going on with these two women and of course, wrong….it kept my attention. Didn’t like any of the characters, but was that the point??

Thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for my advanced copy in exchange for a honest review

Was this review helpful?

Absolutely adored this book, nothing is as it seems in this story. A pod-caster runs into a Birthday twin on her 45 birthday and proceeds to start a conversation with her. This is a very addictive story, you want to figure it out, but can you really? I was so enthralled with this book from the beginning to the end. I will be recommending this to tons of people. Anyone looking for something new to read, this is the book for them. One of the best books I have had the pleasure of reading in a very long time.

Was this review helpful?

Well Ms. Jewel never disappoints! The way she can twist characters and plots is so skillful. So creepy and well done.

Was this review helpful?

What a phenomenal and creative thriller. Think it is oneif her best novels. Alex and Josie meet at a restaurant on their same birthday. Josie makes herself very familiar to Alix. They do a joint podcast and from there comes some creepy and creative twists and turns. A must read!

Was this review helpful?

This book was so exciting to read. The twists and turns kept my heart beating fast! Thank you Lisa Jewell….you did not disappoint!

Was this review helpful?