Jeneva never disappoints! I am so happy to have read this revised version of her first book. She’s come so far in her career and I always look forward to everything she writes!

This story will pull you in and tug on your heartstrings. Our main characters is so perfectly flawed & has such a nice character arc. I love the elements of time travel, it makes this book so unique.

Congrats to Jeneva on another amazing book!

**Positive Review:**

✨🌀 *Hilarious, Heartfelt, and Totally 2000s* 🌀✨

*This time-traveling twist on self-discovery is as clever as it is cathartic.* In Alexis Spencer's chaotic, relatable journey back to her college days, readers are treated to a funny, nostalgic, and surprisingly emotional story about regret, growth, and the messy path to self-acceptance.

The dynamic between Alexis and her younger self, Lexi, is the heart of the novel—equal parts cringe, comedy, and gut-punch truth. Watching the two versions of one woman clash, connect, and ultimately learn from each other is both wildly entertaining and deeply moving. Early 2000s references add an extra layer of charm (flip phones! low-rise jeans! AIM drama!), but it’s the emotional depth that lingers.

Perfect for fans of *13 Going on 30* and *In Five Years*, this novel is a reminder that it’s never too late to rewrite your story—even if it means literally arguing with your past self. Yet another phenomenal title from Jeneva Rose!

Witty, wise, and wonderfully original. A total gem.

Loved the story of Alexis and Lexi. A lot of it was sooooo nostalgic which gave me warm fuzzies from cover to cover. I was moved by the impact Alexis had on Lexi’s family/friends and vice versa, and was ESPECIALLY moved reading the acknowledgment. (Finish the book first though! Spoiler alert!)
Absolutely loved this and will recommend.

I just finished the book and loved it. I wasn't sure where the sorry was going and it kept me guessing the whole book. I had a little cry and it made me really think about my life. Very fast and easy read. Highly recommend.

This was such a fun read. I couldn't believe how insufferable the main character was at the beginning of this book! But she quickly turned around and became much more tolerable 😆 It was fun to go back to the early 2000s. It definitely brought back some more memories of growing up in that time period. Also growing up near Oshkosh was fun. It was like I was put inside the story! This book kept me engaged and wanting more throughout the whole thing. I couldn't wait to find out if she turned her life around or ended up stuck in the early 2000s!

I loved this book! It will have you in tears by the end. It will also make you laugh out loud. I really liked how the author made us care about all the characters not just the main characters.
Definitely a fun read!

8/10

If you are looking at this book just because the author is Jeneva Rose and you lover her thrillers like The Perfect Marriage, the first thing you should know is that this book is nothing like them. This is not a thriller, it is a general/literary fiction novel (you could argue sci-fi given the "time travel" aspect but it is definitely not what you think of when you hear the words sci-fi so I would still classify it as general fiction). Now if that isn't a deal breaker for you then I would definitely encourage reading The Girl I Was

The Girl I Was is a well done work of fiction that trades the usual suspenseful, fast paced, thriller that Jeneva Rose normally writes for an insightful story about growing up, loss, accountability, friendship, and more. At the beginning all of the characters may seem to be surface level, but as the book goes on we learn more about all of them that flushes them out as people, to both us as the reader, as well as to the other characters in the book. Life lessons are often taught side by side with good humor and a healthy dose of early 2000's nostalgia in a way that makes things extremely fun to read, even while tackling difficult topics or motifs.

munch munch munch
because I ate this up
5 stars
( thanks netgalley for the arc )

this book was so bingeable it was insane I couldn't put it down ( hence why I'm writing this at 5am )(ooops sorry mumxx )
it was such a unique concept with such a good plot andi loved the mothers always know line ( it broke meeee )
and one thing can really change anything in you're life and I hope this never happens to me ( My biggest fear ngl )

Alexis loses her job and her boyfriend all in one day. She has no relationship with her family, and she's lost touch with her closes friends. But instead of taking responsibility for how her life has turned out, she tells herself "whatever will be, will be." Feeling sorry for herself, she finds a bottle of vodka from her college days and decides to wallow in her sorrow. When she blacks out and wakes up the next day, she finds out she has been transported back in time to her college town in 2002. The only way of finding her way back to the present is to connect with her younger self and fix her mistakes.

What would you tell your younger self if you had the chance to meet him/her? This is exactly what happens to Alexis. Her younger self (Lexi) is a party girl who doesn't take college seriously and barely pays attention to those around her. The story is told through the perspectives of both Alexis and Lexi. They both find fault in one another and blame each other for how their life has turned out. I found the beginning a little slow, but once they began to work together to figure out a path forward, the story got better. I ended up really enjoying the story as Alexis began to realize what changes needed to be made in her life. It was nostalgic to go back in time to the early 2000s and made me think of what my own life would be like if I had the chance to go back and make some changes. This was not the typical Jeneva Rose story, but it was very heartfelt and humorous.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to be approved for a book written by Jeneva Rose, and even more so when I learned that it was not going to be her typical genre.

Have you ever wanted to go back in time and tell your past self all of the ways you've gone wrong?

This book resonated with me on so many different levels. The desire to get a do- over. The wish to be able to see a loved one, one last time. The self reflection to try to figure out where things went wrong.

The part where Lexi and Alexis went home for Thanksgiving was heartwrenching and bittersweet, easily my favorite part of the story.

This was a quick read and very well written. Would love to see more like this from Jeneva Rose.

What a remarkable departure from Jeneva Rose’s signature thrillers! And as her first novel, and an absolute triumph in its own right. Blending slice of life storytelling with time travel and soft sci-fi elements, this novel is as emotionally resonant as it is compulsively readable. I found myself sneaking in pages between emails at work, completely unwilling to put it down. And yes, it made me ugly cry at my desk. So, thank you for that, Jeneva.

What truly sets this story apart is the stunning character work. Rose doesn’t just show us one character at two stages of life, she builds two fully realized versions of the same woman, layered with heartbreak, hope, and hindsight. It’s a rare feat pulled off with nuance and authenticity.

This isn’t just a great book from a great writer, this is a story that stays with you, asking big questions about identity, choices, and the person you were versus the person you’re becoming. If you’re looking for something moving, thought provoking, and beautifully crafted, The Girl I Was delivers.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Jeneva Rose, and Harper Collins Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Oh man! It took me a while to read this book because life but Jeneva really did her thing on this one. Never did I expect to get taught a few life lessons from a fictional story but here we are. You are the person that chooses your destiny and how your life happens, and regardless of who we are, we always need a little reminder.

The Girl I Was by Jeneva Rose
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jeneva Rose is the queen of twisty thrillers, so this was definitely way different than what I'm used to from her. I really enjoyed it, though. I listened to the audio of the original along with reading this new, edited e-arc, and she definitely fixed a lot of problematic points. This new version with the added chapters from Lexi's POV is definitely more fleshed out. I've already preordered a couple of different signed special editions of thus book and can't wait to have them in hand!

Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for allowing me to read and review this e-arc.

And thank you to Jeneva for doing what you do. You're an amazing writer and I can't wait to see what you do next!

This is a completely different style of writing that I'm used to from Jeneva but it was still really good! It’s a good palette cleanser for anyone that just needs a reset. It was had so much emotion from being light hearted, funny and times where you want to cry.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

THE GIRL I WAS by @
ARC review • pub date 07.15.25

Alexis has hit rock bottom. She loses her job & her boyfriend all in the same evening. While she is wallowing in self pity, she pulls out a box from her college days and starts to wonder how life would be now if she had done things differently. Then all of a sudden she wakes up and it’s 2002 and she’s staring at her younger self wondering how she can help her - and how she can get back to present day to save her relationship.

I love her thrillers and I loved reading a different genre from her! Her writing flows so easily and you can just fly through her books. I especially loved this one because it was FULL of nostalgia that took me back to my high school/college days when life was so much simpler. It truly made me want to go back and relive some of my teen years!! Pick this one up if you need a good palette cleanser with all the 2002 vibes you could possibly need. Definitely the most emotional of all her books - and I love the fact that this is her first novel being republished and hope many people read and love it!🩷

4.5 ⭐️

Thanks so much to @HTPbooks @htp_hive and @NetGalley for my ARC!

Surprising, hilarious, and full of heart.

In a delightful departure from her usual thrillers, Jeneva Rose delivers a nostalgic, laugh-out-loud story that’s both wildly entertaining and quietly profound. Lexi and Alexis (or the hot springs time-travel adventure, as it should be called) had me laughing one minute and reflecting the next.

With pitch-perfect early 2000s references, sharp banter, and a relatable “what if” premise, this book explores the universal desire to rewrite our past—and reminds us that while we can’t change everything, we can choose how we move forward.

Funny, meaningful, and unexpectedly moving—this might just be my favorite book of hers yet.

Jeneva does it again! I ate this book up. The story was relatable to me as a reader on a personal level. This book gave me all the feels. I laughed out loud, I cried. It’s one that will make you sit and think about the choices you have made in the past.

✨Book Review✨

📚 This book is a re-publish that has been polished up and added to. Jeneva added six new chapters to include more depth within the storyline and bring some fresh perspective. This book is the first that Jeneva crossed the finish line with, so it was fun to read something that didn’t feel like her typical bread and butter of murder and mystery. There was lots of nostalgia with early 2000’s references. This was a fun read that felt low stakes and easy to enjoy on the first days of summer.

🌟 If you love Jeneva, enjoy time travel, and are interested in how we could potentially return to our 18 year old selves and change for the better - then this is the book you’ll want to pick up.

More about: The Girl I Was - Jeneva Rose

📖 Alexis loses her job and her relationship on the same day, blaming everyone and everything around her for her shortcomings. When she awakens after drunkenly looking through her college pictures she realizes she’s back in 2002. She needs to find her 18 year old self, acclimate to the world around her, and figure out how to change their lives for the better.

Thank you to @NetGalley and Jeneva’s team for this advanced reader copy.

|| Jeneva Rose, Silly Gaggle of Geese, Book Review, The Girl I was, Reader, Time Travel, Book Babe ||

Oh boy this book was just not it. The premise was really interesting, but the writing was elementary level at best and seemed like a walk down memory lane with no true plot. I adore this author so I will not be sharing this review anywhere but here.

For the first nearly half of this book I was thinking I might DNF. I know that the point was for Alexis to go through major change and to do so she would need to start at the bottom, however, she was so incredibly insufferable both as Alexis and Lexi that I was ready to rip my hair out! But then, as she did begin to change, I fell in love with her and her growth. This book had me crying on a plane, not once but twice! There were also a good amount of giggles. If you can get past the initial petulance and immaturity of Alexis, it’s so worth it! It was a fairly quick read, only about four or five hours or so.