My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to preview this book.
Well a new author for me and what an exciting read, a brilliant book and lots of twist and I can truthfully say I have not read a similar story before.

With thanks to the publisher for the copy received. I rarely read samplers but when I first saw the first chapter of this book was available I had just finished another book so I decided to read it. And what a fantastic opening chapter it was. Full of threat, manipulation and a small taste of what the rest of the book could bring. It is one of the better opening chapters I have read this year.

The small book group is not prepared for the havoc that Roux can cause but Amy is tough and is not prepared to give in without a fight. Even though much of the book focuses on the battle of wills between Amy and Roux, she doesn’t stop there. All of them have secrets they need to protect.

One of the stronger parts of the novel, disregarding the storyline was the relationships that Amy had with her husband Davis, step daughter Maddy, friends Char and Tig and of course Roux. Her childhood was a tough one and she was determined not to have her family suffer the way she did. She had a tough choice, risk Davis and Maddy find out what happened to her or do as Roux demands and have others suffer. There are plenty of twists. a lot of guilt but there is also humour. Especially from Davis and Maddy. I liked the nickname ‘Monster’ that Maddy had for Amy, a sign that she was far from being one.

A brilliant storyline, great characters and the parts that described life under water was visually beautiful.

Never Have I Ever is undoubtedly one of the best thrillers of the summer so far, and we all have to hope the August weather turns out to be as hot and exciting as the plot. It certainly sizzles with suspense and delicious darkness from start to finish and the cast are well-drawn and interesting. It's infectious and compulsively readable right from the get-go; so much so that this would best be defined as a one-sitting sensation! From the first couple of pages, you become immersed and absorbed by the story and feel as though you are living with the characters and sharing their experiences. It feels like a rich, sophisticated and intelligently woven thriller as opposed to the run-of-the-mill ones that are a dime a dozen. Moving along at a good clip we face many unexpected, satisfying twisty reveals and the excitement and tension is built steadily over the course of the novel.

One of the most hyped crime thrillers of the summer season managed to surpass all of the praise and acclaim heaped upon it in my opinion. This is one of those books in which you gorge - unable to turn the pages fast enough to discover what is going to occur. But on the other hand, you know you should be savouring it otherwise it'll be over much too soon. I particularly loved that there was it was multifaceted in the sense that there is an addictive main plotline with added substance and that the atmosphere builds to an almost stifling crescendo. Only retrospectively are you able to see how intricate and well-thought-out the book this really is.

There is a rare and potent mixture of an original plot concept backed up by intrigue, mystery, superb characterisation and thrills and spills that leave you with chills. It's not that often an author can really hit right between my eyes with relevant fiction; the idea of the whole thriller is executed to maximum effect. Highly recommended; I can see this being the smash-hit crime thriller of the summer. An unmissable read if you enjoy the crime genre. Many thanks to Raven Books for an ARC.

I found this book slow to get into and a chore to read. Quite far fetched . I am afraid that this one was just not for me as I was not keen on the style of writing. Disappointing. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

On the evening of a neighbourhood bookclub meeting a mysterious stranger gatecrashes the party and immediately sets about ruffling the feathers of the women present. Roux is sultry and confident and, to be honest, a bit of a b*!ch. She flatters some of the women and deliberately seems to antagonise others, particularly when she starts up a game designed to make the women spill their deepest, darkest secrets, with the help of the hostess' expensive gin. It soon becomes clear that Roux is not interested in making friends in the neighbourhood and her reasons for taking a short term lease of the local Airbnb are much darker than anyone could imagine.

This was book was more domestic drama than I was expecting but still an engrossing, sometimes disturbing story about family, friendship and festering secrets in suburbia.

First I would like to say thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an eARC of this book. I do feel there should be some trigger warnings in this book because it does deal with sensitive topics which could impact people however one of them is a very big spoiler so i'll put it down slightly and you can skip the trigger warnings if you don't need them.

*
*
*
*
TRIGGER WARNINGS; eating disorder, murder, child sexual abuse, domestic abuse, cheating
*
*
*
*

I read this book in almost one siting yesterday and rated it four stars afterwards; i've been going back and forth on my rating since then because I don't think it's quite worth four stars, but it's not three stars, this is when I always wish that ratings allowed us to rate half a star. So let's break this down in the good and the not so good;

The GOOD
- Jackson clearly knows how to write a gripping read; this isn't an "on the edge of your seat" read but it is a gripping read and I couldn't put it down whilst I was reading it.
- Jackson doesn't hold back with her reveals in terms of Amy's past and Roux's intention she doesn't mess around for chapters she reveals it clearly from the offset which is very refreshing for thrillers.
- The character of Roux was quite intriguing; she wasn't likeable but she was never meant to be, she was set up as a morally grey character (until the end in which point she became skin-crawling) and although there was attempts to humanise her with the domestic abuse past, it was never really used as an excuse
- I do feel this was a good representation of the clicky housewives that exist in real life; the book club where no one really reads the book, the walking club in the morning, the secrets that hide in every house. I think the ensemble of people was crafted together really well.
- The relationship with Maddy and Amy was really really nice and a turn up for step-parent relationships. So often step-parent relationship are portrayed negatively with the child hating the step and vice versa but I loved the relationship they had with Maddy calling Amy a step-monster in an affectionate way. I was disturbed though when Amy started to consider blackmailing Maddy to get information on Luca and Roux - just made me more annoyed at her.
- The reveal that Charlotte was actually the dead woman's child really threw me and I did not see it coming at all.

The NOT SO GOOD
- The character of Amy; at no point did I feel sorry for her and I really felt that the author wanted us to. Amy has built a good life as an adult with her partner and step-daughter and then eventually her son. She has a best friend in Charlotte, she teaches diving, is part of a book club, and goes on daily walks. And her whole life is built on lies. Every relationship Amy has is a lie because none of them know her past. This in itself wasn't a problem, but the reveal that Amy had murdered someone as a child alongside her friend Tig, and then let him talk the fall for something she was potentially responsible for really didn't sit well with me. Amy repeats over and over that she was only a child, but she chose to get high and she chose to get drunk and then she chose to either drive, or get in a car with someone who was drunk and high and they didn't care about the consequences. And for her then to befriend the child of the woman she murdered... just felt so cold and selfish to me. Yes I acknowledge that she didn't know initially but once she found out she should have backed away; she made Charlotte so reliant on her and in no way considered Charlotte's feelings in this, she just wanted to relieve her guilt. And then at the end when shoots Roux and gets away with it... again. I had honestly just had enough of her. She wasn't a likeable character for me and I wasn't honestly rooting for her with Roux.

- I almost forgot for a second the cheating aspect; I don't care if nothing physical happened between Amy and Tig the intention was there and they had their secret texting relationship going on. It really didn't endear me to Amy and just felt forced into the story.

- Too many "twists"; i've found more and more lately that thrillers; crime or psychological, are pact full of different plots and different twists and for me that almost takes away from the main twist of the book and ruins it to an extent. And this book is just like that. For me there were just far far too many twists and plots in this book and it really ruined the impact of the ending for me. I really felt that the final reveal with Roux and Luca were completely unnecessary and took away from the main plot of Amy being a murderer and being blackmailed for this; it was as if they wanted to justify Amy's eventual murder of Roux and try and make the audience root for Amy once again. It was also really jarring and I had to pause after reading that section and re-consider all the interactions between Luca and Roux. I do hope that boy got lots of therapy when he returned home. I noted all the twists I could remember below and for me this is just far too many plots or twists in one book and ruins the overall impact of the main twist.

Amy and Tig killing a mother
The "who did it" aspect of whether Amy or Tig were driving
The reveal that Charlotte is actually that woman's child that Amy has befriended as an adult
Amy and Tig almost having an affair
Panda being a lesbian and her husband being gay
Tana sleeping with Charlotte's husband
The fact that Roux targeted Amy purely because she could not for revenge
Maddy and Luca's "bets"
The reveal that Luca has actually been kidnapped
Roux not being Luca's mother but actually being a paedophile who groomed and abused him, and then kidnapped him.
Amy killing Roux and getting away for it

Overall I think this book suffered from being over-hyped and stuffed full of too many "plot twists". I couldn't enjoy the main character of Amy at all, but it was a good base-level thriller. For that it gets 3.5 stars rounded down to 3*

2.5 stars I'm sorry to say that i struggled with this book a bit from the very first page and it didn't get much easier. Too many complicated silly names to remember in the first chapter immediately left me on the back foot and I found it difficult to keep up. I did finish this book but it was a bit of a struggle and unfortunately not for me. The storyline however was very good and unique with a few good twists.

Firstly, I just want to say that I am in love with the cover of the paperback edition. It is gorgeous and would buy the physical copy of the paperback just for the cover alone.

This is a story about Amy, a woman with a colourful past that is now coming back to haunt her after being involved in a game of 'Never have I ever'. No one in her life knows about her devastating past and so she stands the risk of losing her family, friends and life that she fought so hard to build.
This is as much as I wish to disclose as I definitely do not want to ruin the plot for anyone.

All I can say is that this was an intense, suspenseful and intriguing read. The mystery of the story was gripping and kept me on the edge of my seat. I respect that the entire story was told just from Amy's point of view instead of from multiple perspectives. I feel this is what added to the secrecy and mystery of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed Amy's character as she tried to grasp the snowball effect that her colossal past mistake had on her present. The manner in which it affects her as a person thereby affecting the people around her as she is not able to truly be herself with those she holds dear. Her secret holds her back from the life she so desperately fights to retain, yet she is too afraid to have the faith that she will be forgiven by her loved ones should they find out the truth.

All in all, Dark and Twisty = LOVED it. Will read it over and over again!

What a great, tense in an uncomfortable way, book. Amy is a great character, I loved her unusual job as a diving instructor. Roux is new to the neighbourhood and inviegles her way into the ladies' book club. But she has another agenda, the kind of blackmail that Amy tries to defeat, but the potential fallout and impact on others is too much.
This book was gripping and superbly written

In Pensacola, Florida, a group of ordinary suburban housewives are holding at their monthly book group when a mysterious stranger knocks on the door. She wants to join their group. Before the end of the night she’s charmed almost everyone and overtaken the group, declaring the book talk boring and instead plies them with alcohol and gets them to play her own version of Never Have I Ever. But these embarrassing, salacious secrets aren’t just a bit of fun. They’re the mystery woman’s ammunition for a much more dangerous game. And now she has secrets that could explode many people’s lives into a million pieces...

"She smiled, and I had no premonition as I smiled back. She didn't look like my own destruction to me."

Amy Whey loves her life. It’s uncomplicated and unremarkable, which is just how she wants it. She knows how damaging and dangerous the extraordinary can be and she’s spent too long burying her painful past to allow anything to threaten what she has. She’s married to Davis and they live with his daughter Maddy and their baby boy, Oliver. Amy is a loyal friend and is fiercely protective of those she loves. But underneath the calm exterior is layers of guilt and a woman teetering on the edge, scared that her darkest secrets will be exposed.

Angelica Roux is glamorous, sexy, bewitching, hypnotic, wild and charming. This wolf in sheep’s clothing soon takes over the book group with copious amounts of alcohol and a seemingly innocent game of Never Have I Ever. But underneath the shiny and chipper exterior is a cold, calculating, manipulative, and greedy woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

And so begins a deadly game of cat and mouse that can have only one winner and could cost the loser everything, maybe even their life...

“Roux had begun this as a game. She’d told me not to play. But I already was. I had tol. More than that. I had to win.”

Wow! This book was utterly compelling. Steeped in layer upon layer of drama, intrigue and suspense, this book had me on the edge of the seat.. Past narratives are used to tease us with the events that Amy is so terrified of being revealed as she races against the clock to beat Roux at her game and they hyped up the mystery and tension, leaving more questions I was desperate to know the answer to while also helping to slowly untangle the clues.

“I did not know I could lead us to a thing so big, so mean, something we can never undo or remove, that will echo in my life, in all our lives, forever.”

While being entertaining this book also makes you think as it asks the question how far would you go to protect your secrets and the life you love? It’s also a book about how every little choice we make can have far-reaching, and sometimes disastrous, consequences, and how your whole life can change in a single moment.

Part of the brilliance of this book is how similar the Amy and Roux are despite their different roles in the story. Both characters were well written and Roux is a fantastic antagonist. She’s easy to despise but is also fun to read and you can understand why so many people are taken in by her. While I never wavered in Roux being the bad guy, there are times when you aren’t sure if Amy is the good guy or the bad guy as she’s complex and the more we learn about her the harder it to only see her as an innocent victim. But none of this changed my allegiance. I was team Amy all the way.

"She'd cracked open the past. I could feel it leaking into my bloodstream, spreading like a toxin through me."

This was my first read by this author, but it won’t be my last. There has been a lot of hype surrounding this book and with that there is always the worry it won’t live up to expectations. This one did. Spectacularly written, fast-paced, and full of intricate twists and turns, with one in particular that I’m still trying to recover from the shock of. The author masterfully weaves the pieces of the puzzle together and delivers a nail-biting finale that I was so desperate to get to I stayed up long into the night.

The book itself gives a great way to describe itself: a book with teeth. Ironically it is exactly the kind of book that Amy and Roux like to read. So if you love books with teeth, mysteries that keep you guessing and psychological thrillers that have you on tenterhooks, then Never Have I Ever is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bloomsbury Publishing and Joshilyn Jackson for the chance to read and review this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I was hooked from chapter one - what a thrilling book!

I related to Amy's character, and I loved the change of era for her - the story was enhanced so much by these flashbacks.

I'll be recommending this to all my friends who love Gillian Flynn.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a new neighbour who invites herself to bookclub and seemingly takes it over...with a little game that she has invented...never have i ever...after a few drinks things begin to get interesting and secrets are spilt......

this book is actually better than i thought it was going to be...the inevitable paths that certain people were being led down..made me put the book down in anger but an hour later i was back reading it...and have to say i did enjoy it, never suspected the truth....

a clever book with enough to keep you interested in seeing how it all ends up,though i will never play never have i ever....

Never have I Ever is a game that might seem like a good idea when you’re drunk but can have unexpected consequences. Divulging your worst secret to your friends when there is a stranger in your midst is a dangerous game to be caught up in and mind games are at the heart of this compelling novel.
Amy Whey is trying to live an ordinary life with Davis, stepdaughter Madison and baby Oliver whilst weighed down by a terrible secret. And it is BAD. Together with best friend, the sweet naive Char, they run the neighbourhood book club and it is at one of these meetings that Roux shows up, recently moved into the neighbourhood with her son Luca. She is the stranger who has Amy as her target when it comes to revealing secrets. Roux mysteriously knows what Amy’s secret is and so the game begins. Except this game has no rules or boundaries, it’s all out war with blackmail at its core. Amy naturally want to keep her secret buried and as an experienced deep sea diver, the ocean is where she feels at peace, consigning those bad memories to the deep. When she starts teaching Luca how to dive (him and Madison have befriended one another) Amy sees a way through him to possibly thwart Roux plans. The question is who will ultimately triumph? Is Roux who she says she is? If Amy can find Roux Achilles heel then maybe she will be able to carry on her normal life without hurting those she loves. Both characters are feisty strong women and at times the reader wonders who is the most amoral? There’s a brilliant twist in the middle that I personally didn’t see coming and again at the end which is shocking and disturbing. Highly recommend this book. It had me hook, line and sinker (pardon the pun) from the beginning. Many thanks as always to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read ahead of publication.

Amy Whey has a dark secret, she also has something that Angelica Roux wants and will stop at nothing to get, but first Amy has to play 'Roux's' game.....

Amy is a dive instructor and is happily married to Davis, with a 15 year old stepdaughter, Maddy and baby Oliver, she is friends with everyone in her neighbourhood and hosts a book club at her home, run by her best friend, Charlotte. When Roux turns up invited to their book club meet and insists they play the game Never Have I Ever, Amy's world begins to fall apart around her, because she realises that Roux knows her secret, she insists that she will leave and Amy's secret will stay hidden, as long as she plays the game by her rules, but Amy is prepared to fight back and there can only be one winner.

This book starts off slow but just like a game of cat and mouse it builds momentum and draws the reader into the dark world of blackmail. I loved seeing how the two women battled against one another, each of them determined to win, whatever the cost. It's a tale full of secrets, guilt and deceit and there are twists by the bucket load. This is the first I've read by this author but she writes her characters with such depth that she has you believing they are real. It's a deliciously dark thriller which I highly recommend.

I'd like to thank Bloomsbury Publishing and Netgalley for the approval, I will post my review on Goodreads now and Amazon on publication day.

A good and fun story in the same genre as Lianne Moriarity. Kept my interest but sometimes I felt it’ was lacking. A good story all round

A psychological thriller that feels fresh and different - there's nothing formulaic about this one. I loved the gladiatorial feel with the game being played by two women, although to begin with only one understands the rules. The stakes are high but get so much higher. The book's full of dilemmas and guilt as secrets from the past come back to haunt Amy and the tension just keeps ratcheting up. Highly recommended!

Wow! I think that says it!

An absolutely incredible story with so many twists and turns that you can't always see them coming. The hook was fantastic, the twists kept you guessing and wanting more and it ended well too! A must read!

Overall: Never have I ever is testament to how secrets can destroy you and how far people will go to keep them hidden. Amy has a secret, but how did Roux, who’s not even been in town 5 minutes find out? It was totally addictive and full of twists and surprises! I was biting my nails throughout wondering what Amy’s and Roux’s next moves would be in the ‘game’! There were some passages when I thought this is dragging a bit/and were over the top, BUT, it was a pretty amazing book and got better the more pages I turned. This is the perfect summer suspense/psychological thriller to add to your beach reads list!

Very enjoyable. This was a tense thriller that started off quite gently and then kept winding the suspense up to the end. There were 2 strong characters at the heart of the story. I would recommend this.

I read a lot of this genre, but this was a stand out. Great characterisations, a lot of twists, and the dive sections fit in expertly. Easy to read but not fluffy. I will be recommending it to my customers.