What a simply fun read. Time travel back to our self. I know What in the Freaky Friday is this book is what I said at first then thought man if I could go back and get myself to take a different path!! This was a different book of Jeneva Rose - and I am so glad I read it and loved seeing how she began.

Lexi loses her temp job and her boyfriend all in one day and she goes down a pity party for one and wakes up at a frat house back in time and through a very wild ride she meets her younger self and starts to figure out how to take charge of her life and get back to future or the now!! Her younger self doesn't really see this at first then realizes well how can I get rid of this older person if I don't help her get out of my way. Lexi takes Lexi home with her and she is is a very wild holiday with her own family which is full of more emotion then she expected.

I think this book is fun, deep and full of snark and we all realize that sometimes we are own worse enemy and sometimes it takes a big event to shake us back into shape. Go read this wild time traveling book and go back to college and see what you would do if you saw your younger self.

Lots of thanks Jeneva Rose and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Go find your next adventure through the black and white pages.

I really enjoyed this fresh take on traveling to your past trope! The book made me laugh out loud more than once and also had emotional depth. This is a departure from the author's usual novels (she noted this was actually the first she wrote!) and I would love to see more like this from her in the future. Of course, in addition to her fun dark and twisty books!

✨💗 The Girl I Was by Jeneva Rose 💗✨

This book felt like a warm pink hug with a splash of glittery self-discovery. 🌸 It follows a woman who gets a second chance to reconnect with her younger self, and it’s basically a love letter to growth, healing, and learning to embrace the girl you once were 💕

I adored how it mixed emotional depth with lighthearted charm—one moment I was giggling, the next I was teary-eyed (but in the sweet, hopeful way 🥹✨). The little lessons woven throughout made me feel like I was journaling in a pastel notebook sprinkled with heart stickers. 🎀

If you’ve ever wished you could go back and give your younger self a hug, or remind her that she’s going to be okay (and even better than okay!), this story will wrap you up in exactly that feeling. 🌷💌

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 pink stars 💗
Perfect for anyone who loves cozy, heartfelt reads that sparkle with hope. ✨

I loved this.
Magic realism is always so fun for me. But also when it is combined with a really heartfelt story.
I also loved the way it ended. Definitely different from
This authors other books. But it was great!!

An attempt at the, woe is me, I lost my job and my love in one day troupe.

I cannot. I don’t know why I requested this book,knowing it was the synopsis. These characters are like nails on a chalk board to me. It’s not you Jeneva, it’s me.

I absolutely loved this book the first time that I read it. And this new edition was equally as wonderful. I always appreciate the work of Jeneva Rose, and this story is so different from her thrillers in the best of ways. The concept of the story hooked me immediately, having our main character wake up in the past with the opportunity to change their life. Our main character was both loveable and so easy to dislike at the same time. The story was heartwarming, entertaining and nostalgic too!
It was such a fun story to follow, and I loved the way that everything came together at the end of the book.

This is a story about learning to love yourself when life gives you a second chance. It’s an easy, enjoyable read, but ultimately light on substance and highly predictable. The plot felt repetitive, circling the same arguments without meaningful progression, and I couldn’t connect with the main character. While she does grow more accountable over time, she never became particularly likable or relatable. I’m really over the continued push of the tired idea that you must love yourself before you can love someone else. It’s a damaging and unnecessary message. Insecurities don’t make someone unworthy of love. This one was a miss for me, though far from the worst book I’ve picked up.

Thank you to NetGalley and MIRA for access to this book.

Alexis Spencer finds herself unemployed and single and entirely dissatisfied with how her life has ended up. While sitting in her closet over a 14 year old bottle of vodka, she looks back at her party girl self and blames her for everything wrong in her life. The next day, Alexis discovers she has woken up and it is 2002, and she must face her former wild self in order to get back.

The Girl I Was is giving Back to the Future meets 13 Going on 30 and I am totally here for this vibe! I loved all of the throwbacks and nostalgia from my own youth, as I was in high school in 2002. All of the references were very fun for me!

I love Jeneva Rose's writing style and have enjoyed all of the mystery/thrillers I have read by her, so I was glad to see that come through in this novel as well. She dedicated this book "To the girl I was. Without you, I wouldn't be me." This is something that has taken me a long time to come to terms with. I often look back on my former self and wish I could just hug her and thank her.

I recommend this book for anyone who loves to have a silly, goofy time while reminiscing about the early 2000s. There are good lessons to be learned from Alexis' journey back and her experiences with "Lexi" and her life in the past. I had a great time reading this book and it is every bit of a 4 star, maybe even 4.5!

This was my second book by this author and seems like it is a little different than her usual style. That being said, this story was so well written. It was emotional and reflective and inspiring!

I have enjoyed all of Jeneva's books and was excited to receive this one as well. I went in blind not knowing that this book was unlike any of her other books. I'll admit that made me wary at first, but this book was so good in an entirely different way. The story tugged at my heart and I was so rooting for Alexis/Lexi! I loved the premise of this book and how as adults we find that our lives maybe didn't go quite according to our plans. It is easy to decide that if we had made better choices as adolescents that things would turn out better. But what would you really change if you went back in time and could coach your younger self?

Thank you Netgally and Harlequin Publishing for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I can’t say enough about this book! Even though it’s not like her other books. It is one of the best! Defense made me reflect on what I would do if I met my younger self and what I would even say to my younger self. This books definitely makes you think about things that you may have or have not thought of. I highly recommend this book!

This is definitely a departure from the normal books I read by Jeneva Rose. And while it might not be as good when an author strays from their normal genre, this was not the case. It was surprisingly just as good. I loved her quality of writing. I loved the nostalgia of the past time periods and the introspection the character took!

Thank you to MiRA books for a Net Galley copy!

4.5 I loved this!
had no idea what I was getting into just that it wasn't a Jeneva thriller....
it's ...
magical realism
time travel
emotional
finding yourself
and I loved it. she totally had me 😭 while on a walk.

the audio was okay, single narration.

thank you to netgalley for the ALC/ARC

You can never go wrong with Jeneva Rose! I loved the time travel and magical realism in this story. I may or may not have shedded a tear or two.

Genre: Magical Realism / Fiction
Vibes: 🔁🍻👯‍♀️💬📓🌅
Rating: 4.75⭐
Tropes: time travel / dual timelines / grief / nostalgic 2000s

Jeneva Rose, you have outdone yourself with this one. 🙌🏻 I knew it was going to be a different style than most of her other works, but this book made me laugh, cringe and tear up a little -- and I'm not even the target demographic (I'm not in my midlife crisis era or engaged, and my college experience was a little different than Lexi's.) The time-travel twist could’ve been written super differently, but Jeneva Rose turned words into something relatable to most: Alexis and her 18-year-old self arguing like real sisters, complete with snark, regret, and brutally honest advice.

The only reason it wasn’t a full 5⭐ for me is that a few pacing lulls popped up in the middle—I wanted the emotional momentum to keep hitting as strongly as it did at the start and the end -- but I found myself actually rooting harder for Alexis’s friendship with her past than any love interest.

If you want a refreshingly witty, nostalgic read that’s about loving all the versions of yourself, this lands sweetly in that sweet spot of funny and meaningful.

This story was very different from Jeneva Rose’s other books but was both sad and heartwarming. The main character travels back in time to save her younger self from herself and her lack of ambition and bad habits.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Girl I Was is such a fun, fast-paced read. Jeneva Rose has a way of pulling you in right away with her writing, and this book was no exception. The concept of being able to confront your younger self was so unique, and it made me stop and think about the choices I’ve made in my own life and how I’ve changed along the way.

I loved the humor and heart woven into the story, and the character growth really shone through. It had that perfect mix of entertainment and a deeper message about forgiveness, growth, and second chances.

That said, there were a few parts that felt a little predictable, and I found myself wishing some of the side characters had been fleshed out more. But overall, this was a quick, engaging, and thought-provoking read that I thoroughly enjoyed.

If you’ve ever wondered what you’d say to your younger self (or what they’d say back 👀), this is definitely worth picking up.

I loved every minute of this book. It took me back to my college days. The details were immaculate. I truly felt like I was living back in the prime millennial days!

I love, love this book. This is another gem by Rose. At first I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting but I was really surprised at how much I loved and cried throughout this book. As I finished the book, I am reminded of self love, self acceptance, grace that I needed to give myself.

Absolutely loved this book. Jeneva always manages to suck me in to where im unable to put any of her books down. Definitely a must read!