“Wonderful—suspense and surprises, real characters, and a scary, ominous backbeat. This feels like the book Jackson was born to write.” —Lee Child, New York Times bestselling authorNamed a Best Book by USA Today • People • The Wall Street Journal • Time • Entertainment Weekly • Bustle • and many more!From New York Times bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson, a twisting novel of domestic suspense … Journal • Time • Entertainment Weekly • Bustle • and many more!
From New York Times bestselling author Joshilyn Jackson, a twisting novel of domestic suspense in which a group of women play a harmless drinking game that escalates into a war of dark pasts
In this game, even winning can be deadly…
Amy Whey is proud of her ordinary life and the simple pleasures that come with it—teaching diving lessons, baking cookies for new neighbors, helping her best friend, Charlotte, run their local book club. Her greatest joy is her family: her devoted professor husband, her spirited fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, her adorable infant son. And, of course, the steadfast and supportive Charlotte. But Amy’s sweet, uncomplicated life begins to unravel when the mysterious and alluring Angelica Roux arrives on her doorstep one book club night.
Sultry and magnetic, Roux beguiles the group with her feral charm. She keeps the wine flowing and lures them into a game of spilling secrets. Everyone thinks it’s naughty, harmless fun. Only Amy knows better. Something wicked has come her way—a she-devil in a pricey red sports car who seems to know the terrible truth about who she is and what she once did.
When they’re alone, Roux tells her that if she doesn’t give her what she asks for, what she deserves, she’s going to make Amy pay for her sins. One way or another.
To protect herself and her family and save the life she’s built, Amy must beat the devil at her own clever game, matching wits with Roux in an escalating war of hidden pasts and unearthed secrets. Amy knows the consequences if she can’t beat Roux. What terrifies her is everything she could lose if she wins.
A diabolically entertaining tale of betrayal, deception, temptation, and love filled with dark twists leavened by Joshilyn Jackson’s trademark humor, Never Have I Ever explores what happens when the transgressions of our past come back with a vengeance.
more
At first I was very intrigued with this novel and it kind of started to remind me of big little lies in the beginning of the book. I liked the idea of gossip within a friend book club setting but this book took an unfortunate turn to where I was not interested at all. In fact, many times I almost did not finish the book because I was that bored. This book was just not my thing and the main heroine of the story was incredibly annoying. The villain was downright horrible and some of the passages I was cringing and it became too much. There are a lot of triggering things in this book. I had been looking forward to reading this novel for a long time and I am very disappointed with how it turned out. The book dragged on and on.
Couldn’t put it down. Keeps you guessing at every turn.
I chose this book because I’d read and liked others by this author. I wasn’t expecting such a roller coaster ride! The intrigue, the suspense, the plot twists, and surprises made it hard to quit reading long enough to do things like eat and sleep! I’m usually pretty good at guessing what will happen, but not with this book.
The story centers around two women with big secrets each trying to outwit the other. This is a suburban psychological thriller that keeps the reader guessing.
As soon as I started reading this book I knew it was not my style. The beginning is boring and it didn’t really hook me in any way. The characters, at least the main character, seem dull.
Fantastic! I loved it! Initially I thought “Oh. Moms at book club” but wow, did I get a great surprise. No spoilers here, but expect tension, drama, blackmail, and a woman who fights tooth and nail to hold on to the precious life she has built. Great ending. Could not be better.
Waste of my time.
interstingling reminded me of junior of sleepovers but much more advanced risk involved but still the idea of the game of I never have I ever problems that can result in playing that seemingly hamless game.
A sexy new neighbor, Angelica Roux, turns up on Amy Whey’s doorstep for book-club night. She completely obliterates the night’s agenda and initiates a game…Never have I ever…seems she knows a little bit about the book-club members.
Who should read? See full review at https://cyndiezahner.com/2021/01/10/never-have-i-ever-by-joshilyn-jackson/
I loved Jackson’s writing. She uses metaphors for description to perfection. The story too is infectious. Once you’re exposed to the characters’ plights, you become thirsty for more.
Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson
The book opens to a neighborhood women’s book club, normal as you please….until a knock opens the door to the ‘new’ lady on the block. A creepy, dark, and often frightening atmosphere fills every nook and cranny of this story. Just as you think it cannot get worse, Boom! it does. I could not listen fast enough! A great read.
Never Have I Ever is a sinister read in the domestic thriller genre. Amy Whey is holding a bookclub meeting in her house when a stranger from the rental down the road knocks at her door to join the group. Roux is yoga-slim, sexy and gorgeous. She soon gets the book club drunk and playing the teenagers’ game of Never Have I Ever. Soon Roux is hinting that Amy herself has secrets to reveal.
As she threatens more explicitly to expose Amy’s secrets, Amy feels threatened and soon takes drastic measures to keep the new life she has made for herself with a husband and step-daughter she loves and an infant son.
The characterizations are spot-on. Roux and Amy’s cat-and-mouse dialogue is fascinating. The plot is a tale of guilt and greed with devastating secrets being divulged. Blackmail ensues.
Secrets drop like bombshells with ensuing blackmail and dangerous gambles occurring as each player digs up skeletons in their opponent’s closet. The reader, like the protagonist and antagonist do detective work—but the reader will fail at discovering the secrets revealed in the final chapter.
I must state that I am a sensitivity reader, my reviews are based on my experiences with books. I’ve had a lot of trauma to overcome in my life, therefore books affect me at a very deep level. My experiences with particular titles may differ from yours, and that’s ok.
While this is one of the most heart-pounding, thrilling reads I have ever read, one element of the turn-out left me completely soured, sad, and heartbroken.
I picked this title up because I know what type of devastating, life-ruining information playing the drinking game ‘Never Have I Ever’ can create in people’s lives, I thought this would make for a truly fun and scandalous read. At first, it reminded me of Desperate Housewives, the murderous ones, not the Real Housewives of sports teams, and I loved that.
I won’t leave any spoilers but I will say this… The writing is absolutely EXCEPTIONAL but the element that I am referring to may be VERY triggering to some. This was hinted at in the text, I didn’t think it was going to go there, but it did. I get so disappointed in having such a great, thrilling, fun experience and then wham, punch to the freaking gut, taking days to weeks to recover. There was no indication from the book blurb that this element would be present. I loved EVERY single other aspect, literally.
The anticipation was EXTREME for me. My fiancé was laughing at me swearing up a storm: “This crazy a** b****!!” I was so involved in this story, I kept annoying him with “You’ll never guess what’s happening now…!” Wishing majorly that I had a book club to discuss it with while clinging to the edge of my seat! When that element presented itself I said, “Omg I was raving about how much fun I was having reading this and it led up to that? How horrible! I’m devastated, why oh why!?” Such a good book, such a heartbreaking and upsetting thing that happened.
This is why I stick to feel-good books because you never know what type of devastating, triggering scenarios may present themselves. My heart pounded in anticipation and anxiety for well over an hour at all the blackmailing going on, to be left saddened, heartbroken, and a little triggered in the end. I raved about this up until that point. RAVED.
I don’t even know how to rate this now, why did it have to go there? The writing was brilliant, the anticipation it created within me was an intense roller coaster ride. Each plot climax topped the other. Why can’t thrillers just stay fun and thrilling, why do they have to go to the deep dark, dark place?
Please do your research if you are sensitive so that you are not triggered by the material. I cannot explain how good the rest of this was, it’s unfortunate how sensitive I am. I like these types of fun reads but they have to be so specific, leaving certain material out, or not going there at all. It’s me, not them, and it’s very unfortunate. I think I’m going to rate this 3 or 4 stars for how good it was, even though I have a rock in my stomach which is my heart.
If you want to be kept on the edge of your seat and have your heart broken, giving away every ounce of empathy, if you have a tougher stomach then me, this will be the most thrilling read on your TBR.
Much gratitude to the Goodreads Giveaway Program for the early e-book ARC I won. I was under no obligation to write a review, my honest opinion is freely given.
Amy Whey is content with her suburban life. She loves her new husband, stepdaughter and infant son, and is busy preparing for another predictable evening spent with her best friend’s book club. When an exciting newcomer pops in unexpectedly to join the group, Amy is intrigued and drawn to the woman’s mysterious charisma. Roux seems like she might have the ability to breathe new energy into the otherwise banal lives of the neighborhood women. Amy’s fascination soon turns to dread, however, when this new stranger hints that she is not only privy to some deep secrets from Amy’s past, but is bent on extortion. The title of Never Have I Ever, a new book by Joshilyn Jackson, refers to the “confessional” game that sets off a cat-and-mouse plot involving the two women. The reader discovers what Amy has been hiding for years and the lengths to which she will go to prevent exposure. Roux, the dark femme fatale with seemingly no conscience, underestimates Amy’s own cunning and comes to admire her formidable foe. Roux has some secrets of her own to protect, and Amy tests her sense of morality in deciding how far she is willing to sink to thwart her blackmailer. The novel explores self-denial and trauma, the unreliability of memory, guilt/shame, and how self-preservation acts as a powerful motivator. It includes some discussion of eating disorders, self-harm, and sexual and physical violence. Never Have I Ever is fast-paced and absorbing, with compelling characters and a well-developed plot. There are scenes that are repetitive and some of the dialog occasionally rings false, but neither of these detract from what is a fun and compulsive read that will be sure to please any thriller fan.
Thanks to the author, and William Morrow for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
Jackson’s “Never Have I Ever” is perfect for readers like me who *want to like* psychological thrillers, but generally give up halfway through because they can’t stand to be with the characters another minute. The book has plenty of twists, plenty of secrets, but I was actually (gasp!) rooting for the protagonist Amy Whey to win. Bias disclaimer: she had me at “scuba instructor.”
I was pretty much hooked from the first page. Imagine having the life you’ve always dreamed of: a great marriage, a wonderful relationship with your stepchild, a loving new baby, a best friend who would do anything for you, and your dream job. Now imagine that by playing one little game, Never Have I Ever, all that you love is threatened to be obliterated.
Amy Whey has a secret that she has been trying to atone for and simultaneously forget about for a very long time. She knows revealing it could destroy her happy life. When the mysterious Roux, a woman renting the house nearby, shows up for Book Club at Amy’s house, everything changes in the blink of an eye. Roux encourages the women to play the game Never Have I Ever and some things are revealed that should have stayed hidden. An exchange between Amy and Roux leads Any to believe that Roux knows about her hidden past and is ready to reveal it to all.
This book is definitely a page turner. The character development is fantastic. It’s so easy to dislike Roux and feel empathy towards Char. Amy is more of a puzzle. Is she a good person? Is she well intentioned or simply selfish? What line is she willing to cross to save herself and the life she loves?
The thing I liked best about this book was the resolution. Psychological thrillers can sometimes have the feel of being cookie cutter created. The ending that you assume is going to happen is not at all what actually does. It sneaks up on you and then smacks you in the face. I found that very satisfying. With that said, the number of coincidences are many so as a reader you have to be willing to suspend some belief and give the author some leeway with the plot (or the story might not work for you!).
Be warned though, this book has several trigger warnings but to disclose them would create a story spoiler.
My biggest complaint is the use of the word “Monster” by Amy’s step-daughter Maddy. While the term is meant to be endearing, it was driving me crazy by the end.
I would definitely recommend this book to others. It’s the first I have read by Joshilyn Jackson, but I will definitely be reading more by this author.
Thanks to Goodreads First Reads for an advanced kindle copy of this book to review.
Never have I ever definitely kept me.on the edge of my seat. The beginning was a little hard to get through as I felt that it went a little too deep into the main characters past. Maybe it was necessary to really sense how she was as a person but I could’ve went without it. I totally thought I had it figured out by Chapter 6 then BAM! It became twist, after twist after twist! I couldn’t put the book down! The ending definitely made me gasp!
I really didn’t like it. Too boring and predictable. Yet another author that focuses on descriptive words too much and not enough on the darn story.
I’ve had the joy of interviewing Joshilyn, and I purposely use that word–joy–because she is so fun, funny, and talented with tightly paced novels, thick with characterization, and tiny threads woven throughout her work that become a big seam by the end so that I always go, man, how did I miss that–it’s brilliant. And Joshilyn didn’t fail with NEVER HAVE I EVER. There were so many shocking twists and turns and a dynamite ending that I never saw coming. You will love this book!
Hard to say. Yes, read it! But oh what it makes you think of others…
I want to recommend but this won’t be for everybody. This is only for those of us with a jaguar or a snake inside.
Very unusual and interesting plot development. Inspired me to read more by Joshilyn Jackson.
I found this book less of a thriller and more of a chick literature type book. If that is your thing then you will love this book. The author Joshilyn Jackson is also the narrator for this book and I really enjoyed listening to her read it. I was gifted this book with the understanding that I would leave an honest review.