solid idea and the plotting is fun, but i will say that the two main MCs are really... not different at all, which makes it kinda boring at points when we're focusing on her relationship with herself. 3 stars. tysm for the arc.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an early copy of this book! 😊 this book is for anyone who has ever wanted to go back and talk to their past self. I really enjoyed this!
Alexis hits rock bottom and ends up waking up back in college with her college age self in the early 2000s (so many great references to that era and great humor moments). This book tackled serious topics like grief, regret, friendship, relationships, and making changes to your life in really touching ways.
I liked a lot about this but did get a little bored at times pacing wise. I also wanted more of a resolution and more of the characters from the present day part of the story involved. Overall I really enjoyed this and it was interesting to see Jeneva Rose write something that isn’t a thriller.

I absolutely loved this book 📖 it brought me to tears 😢 its a beautiful story about second chances. Highly recommend picking this book up when it releases. Im convinced that jeneva rose can never write a bad book, I've read all her thrillers and loved them all.

Definitely a 5 star read for me.

I didn’t expect to feel so many emotions—from full-on laughing at the early 2000s references to tearing up during the more heartfelt moments. 😭😂

This is the first Jeneva Rose book I have enjoyed, and I was pleasantly surprised. The time-travel aspect was really fun and gave the story a unique twist. Watching the main character literally confront her younger self was both hilarious and deeply emotional. It’s one of those books that makes you reflect on your own choices, mistakes, and growth.

And the nostalgia! Blockbuster, dial-up internet, low-rise jeans, the music… it brought me right back to middle and high school. If you grew up in that era, you’ll feel like you’re reliving it all over again (in the best way).

The only thing I did not enjoy was the bantering between the main characters at the beginning, it was starting to get old. It ALMOST made me DNF, almost.

Highly recommend if you’re into:
✨ early 2000s throwbacks
✨ emotional but uplifting stories
✨ a mix of humor, heart, and time travel
✨ personal growth with a dash of chaos

Thank you netgalley and Jeneva Rose for an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I went to school in the early 2000's and was born in 1985, so this one hit home for me. It was not what I expected from Rose, but that's ok because it worked. I loved the characters so much - and usually I cannot stand them in Rose's books. It was sweet and sad and complicated. It made me want to go back and read through all my old diaries from highschool.

Thanks for allowing me to read it early.

I enjoyed the nostalgic vibes, but this one ended up being a miss for me. I hated both of the main characters, and they hated themselves even though they’re the same person. There was a ton of body shaming. Chapters of it. I mean, the girl is getting a food tray and the other one keeps grabbing her items and dropping it in the trash. 😒 I usually love Jeneva Rose’s writing, so I’ll pick up her next one, but this wasn’t it.

Thank you to NetGalley and MIRA for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. The Girl I Was by Jeneva Rose releases on July 15, 2025 and is actually a re-release of the version that came out in 2021. This was actually the very first book Jeneva Rose wrote! Which is very cool.

This is a book that would be so good for an 18-year-old to have, I wish I had it when I was 18!

This will definitely resonate with many; this book deals with grief, loss, body shaming, and creating the life you want for yourself. You definitely want to take Alexis and shake her into making better choices!

This is definitely not the typical Jeneva Rose thriller, so know that going in! But a very cute story and overall heartwarming message of learning to make the right choices, regret and redemption. and self-acceptance. And extra interesting that Jeneva Rose wrote this as a way of working through her own grief and getting through some dark times.

Definite 13 going on 30 vibes here with time travel!

Book Review

📖📖📖📖

Thank you to @netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this advanced readers copy, out July 15th!

This was a quick, fun read! Alexis needs to get her act together and falling back in time to 2002 from 2016 just might allow her to do so. I don’t typically get into time travel, but this one was so cute.

What would you say to your younger self if you could? Alexis has lived her life day to day with no real commitment to much of anything. The chance to go back in time and see herself in college allows her to make some much needed changes. Will it be enough to win Andrew back? To heal her heart with her mom? To learn more about relationships?

My favorite parts of this read were the nods to 2002. I was a college student at the time. The high pitched dial up to search the Internet made me chuckle. The one college friend with the Nokia cell phone. Phone booths! The music that we all listened to back in the day. It was a little trip down memory lane for myself.

#backintime

This was not the thriller that we’ve all come to love Jeneva for, and I’m here for it! I loved this book- the magical realism, second chances, everything!

When Alexis loses her job and her long-term relationship in the same day, one thing leads to another and she’s traveled back in time to visit herself. She has to figure out what positive changes to make to get back to present day.

There’s shenanigans, tears (from me too), and growth through this story and I devoured it!

Thanks NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I really wanted to like this one more but it was a slow mover for me. It gave me pieces of the seven year slip or the good part, but I struggled to stay invested. So different than her other books!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

Please note this is an updated edition of Jeneva Rose's first novel. It includes a beautiful new cover, and several new chapters.

Even though this was a new edition of a previously released book by Jeneva Rose, I was lucky enough to have never read this book of hers, so I was pretty much able to go in blind.

I really enjoyed this story. If you know me, you know I love stories about alternate universes and "what-if" stories (Back to the Future is one of my favorite movies!) So I really adored this novel and I was able to finish it in about a day. I would definitely describe this story as a coming of age story. I thought the story was very sweet, but I also laughed a lot which I appreciated. It was also nice to see where Jeneva got her start, and almost what could be considered a different side to her compared to her thriller books. I found this book to be very satisfying, and just plain different than her other books (but in a good way and maybe in a way that you can't compare them)

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and its message.

Additionally, I would like to add that if you enjoy audiobooks (like I do!), you will be happy to know that both editions of the books are narrated by the fantastic Hillary Huber.

I highly recommend this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this -time travel back to 2002 to work on yourself again novel. I’ve been in a coming of age magical realism kick lately.

The characters Lexi and Alexis are the same person just separated by age. Alexis goes back and tries to help her younger self become a better person in order for her own life to be better in the present.

They hated each other and first but it was nice to see how they learned with one another. There were some tear jerker moments. I didn’t cry but it was sad.

Read if you like-
- time travel
-dual POV
- coming of age
- rewrite your past
- freaky friday ish
- 2000s nostalgia

Thanks for the ARC Harper Collins and netgalley.
Publishes 7/15/25

Definitely not your typical Jeneva Rose book, but that does not mean it isn't any less deserving to be read. It might not have the typical twists and turns and suspense that her books usually have, and you could kind of tell it was one of her earlier books, but I still really enjoyed reading the book. It was also pretty nostalgic for me as that was the era that I grew up in. I also went to college in the early 2000's. As for the characters, both Alexis and Lexi really annoyed me. I really couldn't stand either of them, but I think that is kind of supposed to be part of the whole point of the book. The book had quite a few funny parts to which I enjoyed, I wouldn't mind reading more funnier books from Jeneva also. 3.75 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this E-ARC.

I have no words for this book. It is amazing. It’s funny, ridiculous, sad, and so so good. I have always enjoyed Jeneva Rose’s other books but this one is now my favorite. It is so good. A story about loss and realizing that you are the person that creates your life. It’s so cute. I laughed, cried, and giggled while reading this.

Alexis does not believe that she is the reason for her own life being a mess. It’s not her fault. It’s something that happens to her. The universe. Or everyone else’s fault. One day she gets fired from her job. She’s angry and heads home to drink herself to sleep. She doesn’t realize that the love of her life planned to propose to her that night. Instead she snaps at him and he ends up leaving. Alexis, who is mad at herself, finds a bottle of old vodka and starts drinking.

She wakes up in a strange place, not remembering how she got there. And in 2002 no less. She realizes that’s she’s at her old college. Going to her dorm, she also realizes that the old Alexis is there. In a twist she believes that she traveled back in time to fix her old self. But what if the person Alexis needs to fix is both selves?

This is an amazing story. I loved it so much! Go read it right now.

OH MY GAWD I LOVED THIS SO MUCH!! I was 18 in 2002, so traveling back to that time via Lexi/Alexis was so much fun!! I seriously did not want this book to end but at the same time could not read it fast enough because I was loving it! JENEVA - YOU MADE ME CRY AT THE POOL (I read the last 20% while at my apartment’s pool, and several people saw the tears drop down my cheeks, let’s pretend it was sweat). So freaking good.

Okay first of all, I have a bone to pick with Mrs Jeneva because THAT NOTE WITH THE NECKLACE?! 😭💔

But seriously what an emotional read. I’ve always been a Jeneva Rose fan, if she writes it I will read it. This definitely isn’t her normal thriller but is just as gripping and a serious page turner making you think about your own relationships with friends and family and fate.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the eARC (for the rewrite/rerelease) in exchange for my honest review.

This story follows Alexis Spencer on probably the worst day of her life. She loses both her job and her love on the same day. After a night of drinking away her problems she wakes up in 2002. Together she and her 18 year old self need to discover what, or who, needs to change in order to get her back to her own time.

This book was so fun! I’ve only read Jeneva Rose’s thrillers so this was a nice change, and honestly I may have liked it better than her thrillers. I will admit the solution was a little obvious to me from the beginning, but I don’t think that detracted from the story at all. Some parts brought me to tears. I really enjoyed this book. And it really makes you think, if you could go back in time, would you change anything?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this early.

I want to thank NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and Jeneva Rose for the wonderful opportunity to read The Girl I Was early.

5 stars. I mean, aren’t all of Jeneva’s books? While this is not her typical story, it definitely deserves the time to shine.

This book had me laughing, reminiscing and crying, all in a good way. It was a very quick read for me, I couldn’t seem to put it down.

Alexis’s life is by no means perfect, but given the opportunity to have a do over? This book will have you laughing and taken back to the 2000s to pulling at your heartstrings as Alexis gets her second chance in life.

Make sure to preorder, this is one you aren’t going to want to miss out on!

Jeneva Rose is an auto buy author for me. This book has easily become my new favorite by her and one of my top reads of the year. The Girl I Was will make you laugh and smile through tears.
I feel like all of us at some point in our lives wishes we could go back in time and give a few words of wisdom to our younger self. We might ask ourselves would we change anything to alter our future? Alexis gets the opportunity to go back to her college days in 2002 and meet her former self, Lexi. If you were in high school or college around this time, you'll definitely appreciate all the nods she gave to this era. I felt like I was walking down memory lane.
Together, they must work to figure out why Alexis is back and how they can send her back to the present time. The challenges they face, the friendships made, and the love shared made this story so beautiful.
Thank you, NetGallery, for an Advanced Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ read! A very nostalgic and emotional book. While different then her other books, it was just as great and I enjoyed reading it. It discusses themes like grief and friendship and does it very well. I enjoyed all the 2002 pop culture references as well. Overall, a great read!