Amy, a diving instructor, lives in Florida with her husband, step-daughter and baby, Oliver. She has a lovely house, a wonderful family and a best friend, Charlotte close by. She and Charlotte run a book club together and one night, their sedate chat is interrupted by the arrival of Roux, a woman who has recently moved into the street. Rouz is a sexy, glamorous alpha woman who subtly takes over the evening, leading the group into a game of Never Have I Ever revealing secrets and scandals. For Amy, this is the worst thing that can happen – she has an awful secret in her past and Roux is about to uncover it.

This is a great psychological thriller with two strong females at its centre. There is a cat and and mouse game between Roux and Amy, with the former toying with Amy. She threatens to reveal all to Amy’s husband unless Amy pays her off. really enjoyed the interplay between the two women and how they circled one another both trying to win a battle of wits. They are more than a match for one another, choosing to hit each other where it hurts and be more conniving than the other to get on top.

Flashbacks to Amy’s past bring us up to speed with the darkness she is hiding and unlike other books where the reveal is protracted, we find out relatively quickly. The point isn’t to work out what happened but to see how Amy will get out of this situation against an adversary like Roux who will seemingly stop at nothing to get her way.

That’s not to say that there aren’t some thrills and spills along the way – it is a psychological thriller after all. I read this at the same time as a friend of mine and we sent more than one text to each other exclaiming at some of the developments. It is intricately plotted and has a unique writing style which I admit took me a while to get my head into – I very nearly abandoned it a couple of chapters in but I am pleased I persevered.

Never Have I Ever is dark and dangerous and I really enjoyed reading about two complex women who are pushed to their limits. The strong characterisation combined with the plot make this a page turner of a book – I just had to know what happened next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing Plc for the ARC.

Play this game at your peril!

This was fantastic. It made me late for work more than once as I just couldn't stop reading it!
Great characters and plot.

I'm definitely going to check out the rest of Joshilyn's books.

An excellent, Desperate-Housewives-meets-Big-Little_Lies tale with rounded characters and a fast pace - and refreshingly for a domestic noir, no instances of mentally shouting at the protagonist WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT - you're ready to see what step she takes next.

I dropped everything for this book, I was intrigued and it didn't let me down. The story is woven brilliantly, the characters are relatable and it is excellently written. As with all of my reviews I don't give spoilers but if you like the sound of the bio then definitely pick this up. Entertaining and within the last 20% - I didn't see THAT coming at all!

Gosh - this book enthralled me from the very first page! I was instantly grasped by the story and the terrifically good plot. I loved new-to-me Joshilyn Jackson’s easy writing style and clever character creation. Rich in humour and wit, the book also had a serious and tense tone throughout. Never Have I Ever was an addictive story and I had to know how it would all end. With its multiple layers and a completely original story-line, I think this will be one of the better thrillers of the summer.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Bloomsbury Publishing/Raven Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

I was lucky enough to read a preview of this a couple of months ago and was completely enraptured so was really excited to recieve an ARC if the full copy .

If your a fan of Joshilyn Jackson just be warned this is not her usual style of book.

Disappointing the excitement of the preview didnt live up to my expectation.

The first half was just soooooo slow going, I kept waiting, like you do with a good tune knowing the bass is going to kick in BUT it was more like a lullaby BUT once you get past the sleepy head, droopy eyed part you are in for a treat.

I'm glad I trusted my gut and stuck with it but if your a reader that like me (9 times out of 10) goes by the first few chapters you may just throw it across the room!

The characterisation is fantastic, the writer has really gone to town with giving you a feel and back story on each and every character, I just wish the action and plot twists had been intertwined from the beginning to really capture my attention fully from the start.

Brilliant second half... just ront be expecting a full engrossing nail biting thriller from the get go!

3*

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

really good thriller, on the edge of my seat for until the end. quick twists and turns. efficient story. i recommend it

This for me is the book of the summer, Joshilyn Jackson fills the pages of this book with intrigue, twists and surprises all the way to the very end.
The cat & mouse game & relationship between Amy & Angelica is tense, addictive and dark.
As the story evolves Amy reveals more of her previous life and what exactly she has hidden and at the same time we are learning what her current life means to her and therefore what she has to lose if Angelica wins.
It's not often a books ending is a complete surprise, but Never Have I Ever was exactly that.

I spent much of last week at a beautiful beach in Vietnam and knew I would need a good beach read, the kind of book that gives you all the tension and all the twists and turns, while also not distracting you from the beautiful calm you're surrounded by. And Never Have I Ever was the perfect read for that. Thanks to Raven Books, Bloomsbury Publishing and NeGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

One of the things that stood out most to me in Never Have I Ever was the importance of diving to Amy, and no, this isn't a spoiler. Diving is something that she feels saves her and there are a few moments during Jackson's novel where Amy goes off and dives, surrounds herself with the calmness of the sea and decompresses. The reason these moments in the novel stood out to me is because it elevated Never Have I Ever above the usual shlocky suspense novel. Yes. the dramatic twists were still there, the novel was outrageous and nuts, but Jackson let her main character have moments to contemplate and to gather strength. In many of the novels the characters run around frantically, making move after move without ever really growing or even really establishing themselves. This means that they're easily forgotten after the book is finished, as we stayed with them only for the twists and turns. As Jackson gave her character the time to breathe, the reader breathes with her and I found myself caring much more about the outcome. I also really want to go scuba diving now.

Amy's good life is turned upside down when one day a new woman appears in her neighborhood, Roux, who seems to know everything. Either Amy will pay her with the savings she has left, or Roux will blow up the life Amy has built for herself. She decides to play, recognizing the satisfaction Roux gains from digging into other people's lives. What will she do? How far will she go? What is she willing to sacrifice? And how much more will be revealed? These are all the questions you want answered in a book like this and Jackson delivers. It takes a while to really get into Never Have I Ever, but the last third of the novel will have you gripped by the throat. I found myself caring for Amy more than I do for most of the protagonists in similar novels. Jackson explores the darkness and the desperation inside her, the deep love she feels but also the solid fear. You're invested as a reader because Jackson's focus on Amy makes the twists and turns seem a lot more realistic.

I hadn't read any of Joshilyn Jackson's previous novels so I came in completely new. What had really drawn me in was the blurb and knowing I would have time to really soak in the novel. The first few chapters of Never Have I Ever may feel slow but do set up the groundwork for the rest of the novel. There is a slow build up of tension around Roux, there is a growing awareness that Amy isn't as normal as she presents herself, and then there is constantly escalating game between Amy and Roux. The 'never have I ever' game of the novel happens in the first chapter, but the overall game is a lot darker. How far will either of them go? Where does this ability to lie and break others come from? Jackson infuses each scene with details ripped from life, which means that Never Have I Ever is very grounded for a mystery and suspense novel. Oddly enough, I wasn't too big a fan of the final twist of the novel, or rather the extent of that twist. I don't want to go into any details, but it felt like an odd step for a novel that had so far seemed very interested in that shade of grey between good and evil.

Never Have I Ever is a great suspense novel with high stakes and beautiful moments. It is sometimes a love letter to friendships and family, but also an exploration of desperation. I'd recommend this to those looking for a gripping suspense read.

I started this book at a disadvantage, in that I found the character Roux very irritating and the scenario slightly unbelievable. That a group of women would behave like school girls with a crush, was hard to get into. Gradually, though, the main plot unfolded, with the main character, Amy’s back story revealed. As more details emerged of her youthful involvement in a fatal accident, my interest in the story increased. Through the many twists and turns of the plot as it moved towards the final scenes, the characters became more alive and therefore a more enjoyable read.

Overall, a book worth persevering with with an ending that I wasn’t expecting.

I've actually never played Never Have I Ever, but this book by Joshilyn Jackson leverages off an adult version of the game... unexpectedly played by a group of inebriated women - who (I felt) interestingly see themselves as wives and mothers, rather than independent beings. And yes, that's a bit judge-y but all definitions of the 'book club' early on suggest it's the club of mothers with young children. There's a SEPARATE group for the mothers of teens. (Of course that is completely irrelevant, but just kinda weird for this middle-aged singleton.)

This was probably a bit twistier than I expected and that was a very good thing as it could have been predictable. After all... we've seen, heard and watched it before.

Woman gets blackmailed with terrible secrets from her past.

And then:
A: Woman caves and pays but it doesn't go well (OR)
B: Woman kills blackmailer, so it still doesn't go well (for either of them).

This was a tad more complex with Amy constantly changing her mind about her approach to Roux and her demands; and even the seemingly-cynical Roux is startled by Amy's defiance at times. She's certainly far from the meek mother, housewife, friend and neighbour others see.

The story unfolds from Amy's point of view and she's a likeable character. Honest and blunt about her history, and thoughts and feelings now. It's hard not to like her. She has a great relationship with her step-daughter, husband and son and it was kinda nice to see a healthy family environment in that respect, particularly given Amy's history (and what came after).

We're told of Amy's youthful indiscretions pretty early on and - though terrible - she seems to have kinda accepted that it was a terrible accident (EITHER WAY!) and tried to move on. She'd acted out for a while but found a way to deal with the tragedy and guilt.

Of course Roux is unlikeable as Amy is likeable. She's a complicated character though. Surprisingly honest in some ways, but not others. And then of course there's her son who's a bit of an enigma himself and surprisingly interested in Amy's step-daughter.

Of course later... there IS another twist in her tale. We just don't know that earlier. (So don't go being smug like me and assume it was a bit anticlimactic!) #justsayin

I was probably a little underwhelmed (gobsmacked but underwhelmed) when it came to the eventual secrets we discover about Roux and her son, but although I struggled with the feasibility, I liked where Jackson took us in the end.

This book would be a great bookclub read as there are several moral / ethical dilemmas raised and I think it'd be interesting to see how readers felt and how their own histories and lives influence their perceptions or positions.

3.5 stars

Gripping. A perfect thriller that unfolds at a perfect pace that doesn't rush the action letting us, the readers squirm as each new nugget of information comes to light. This for me is the ideal pool-side read (and not just because of the scuba!)

I read this in one straight sitting. I had to keep going to know what happened in the end and I wasn’t prepared to wait to find out.

Amy Whey is loving her life. She’s the epitome of a middle class mum. She lives in suburbia with her steadfast if unexciting husband Davis, their new son, Oliver and Davis’ daughter and her step-daughter, Maddy. Amy teaches diving at the local school but is on maternity leave.

Her best friend Charlotte lives nearby and together they have a group of friends who get together at Amy’s house for a regular Book Club.

When we meet Amy it is Book Club night and she is looking forward to an evening with the girls. Then her world changes. A newcomer to the area, a single mother, renting a house locally arrives and asks to join the club. And just like that, it as if the Garden of Eden has been infiltrated by the poisonous snake.

Roux is slinky, dangerous and attractive. She has a certain something that makes men want her and women envy her. And she has an agenda. That agenda is Amy. Because Amy has secrets and Roux is going to make her pay to keep them quiet.

Told entirely from Amy’s perspective, Never Have I Ever is a fast paced thriller that takes two strong characters, both women, and pits them against each other in a battle of wills where only one can be the victor.

Jackson’s writing is spot on. Pacy, biting, and wholly character driven, she writes characters that get inside your head and whose actions you can’t predict but you can certainly understand.

This is sharp, focussed and intelligent prose that takes you in directions you didn’t know existed and thrills you all along the way.

In a fight for everything she holds dear, Amy must prove herself to be a stronger adversary than Roux, and it could cost her everything to do that. Caught between a rock and a hard place, she needs to pin that snake down and get rid of its poison.

Jackson’s plot is terrific; original and compelling it had me engrossed and I had no idea how it was going to end, though I guessed it would be explosive and goodness me, wasn’t it just!

Verdict: A terrific, exciting, thrill of a read that you won’t be able to put down.

This novel has one of the most disturbing predatory females I have ever read about - Roux is truly frightening and unlikeable. There is an air of menace on every page and I found myself having to remember to breathe. Luckily Roux isn't the MC or this book just wouldn't have worked. Luckily the relationship between Amy who is the MC and the others who are close to her (family and friends) is simply lovely and a pleasure to read.

A first read for me from this author and what a thrilling one it was. Wonderfully written and shows how easy it can be to manipulate someone. I loved the main character Amy and her very quirky but loving relationship with her step-daughter. It was a book I couldn’t put down for long as I really wanted to see how it all played out. Will be looking out for more books by Joshilyn.

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson is a rollercoaster of a read with a female obsession vibe similar to A Simple Favour or The Perfection, with equally insane reveals, twists and turns. With a dramatic ending and never knowing who you can really trust, this is the perfect book for fans who wish to dispel their belief system and go on a psychologically thrilling journey. I read this book in a day and didn't want to put it down until I knew how it could possibly end.

What I liked
Never Have I Ever gripped me right away. The story is easy to go along with and understand, as long as you don't take it too seriously. I liked that despite finding out the main character's secrets very early on, Jackson drip feeds extra snippets of information about the characters, including the neighbours which makes for intriguing reading. This book does not relent and I could see it being made into a movie very easily after watching similar storylines on the screen over the past year.
In terms of the characters, I sympathise with Amy being targeted for something that she did when she was young and drunk, but love the way that she fights back and gains Roux's respect whilst attempting to thwart her attempts at blackmail. I found Roux to be compellingly repulsive; I would never be able to be friends with someone like her but they are absolutely great characters to shake things up. I hated the way she interrupted book club but admired the bold tenacity of it. The children had some great characteristics too, and I liked the part water and diving played in the narrative. This was a unique feature which I really enjoyed.

What I didn't like
The beginning of the book was rather repetitive at times, but aside from this, my only real concern was the amount of times it felt as though the author was trying to shock me. Instead of certain actions and events happening through the flow of the plot, some felt like they were added in just to make the reader extra shocked and turn their heads. This could have been smoother just by dropping subtle hints about certain later reveals in the book.

Overall, this is a very good book. It gripped me and I didn't put it down for hours. It's tense and intriguing and clever in all the right ways. I would recommend this to people who enjoy movies such as A Simple Favour, or who are looking for the suspended belief of a saga mixed with the tone and plot of a domestic thriller. Thank you Bloomsbury and NetGalley for my proof and e-arc copies of this book. 4.5*

I really enjoyed this book. Amy lives with her husband, teenaged stepdaughter and baby son. She has never told anyone about a tragic accident that happened when she was 15, and was caused by her and her friend. But now a stranger has arrived in the neighbourhood, and she knows what happened all those years ago. And she wants Amy to pay for her silence. This is a fast paced, exciting story which will keep you on the edge of your seat right up to the nail biting finale! Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

A twisted story of lies and secrets. The devilish Roux manages to ruffle more than a few suburban housewife feathers, but things get suddenly very dark and serious. Very well written and totally terrifying at times....be careful who you invite to book club!

Amy is living a great life when suddenly a woman comes barreling in who knows all about her past. All she wants is money and she'll say nothing but Amy is not willing to do that. She's going to play her at her own game but at what cost?

This was a clever thriller with some interesting twists. I quickly found myself invested in Amy and despite what she did, I wanted her to win. The plot was interesting and built steadily to a dramatic ending. The ending was interesting and not quite how I expected it to go which I really liked. It was also good to see a story where the step child actually likes their step mother. The twists really took me by surprise which makes a change as I can usually figure them out.

I really grew to like Amy, she wasnt perfect and she made some interesting choices but in the end she was trying to do right. I loved Maddie too.

Amy and Char are both mothers of young children who live in the same street, and despite their age gap (Amy is older) the pair are the best of friends. Char loves classical literature and runs a book club (from Amy’s house), which is planned down to the last minute. She also likes to sit in her own special chair, which all the other women in the book-club daren’t sit in. So when Roux, the mysterious newcomer to the area, arrives unannounced at their book-club one evening and takes over – including sitting in Char’s chair – Char is put out to say the least. Before Char and Amy know it, the evening has come to an end and Char’s chosen book has barely been mentioned. But it is after Char has gone home that things really hot up!

The author has already set the scene that Roux is out to cause trouble. When she instigates a game of ‘Never Have I Ever’ one of the other women in the group admits to kissing another man and Roux stores away this piece of information to use in the future. The next day, Roux turns her attention to Amy, and reveals she knows exactly what Amy did in her past, blackmailing her to hand over her inheritance or risk losing everything she holds dear. However, Roux hasn’t banked on Amy’s feistiness and she may just have possibly picked on the wrong one this time.

What was unique about this narrative was that it was solely from Amy’s perspective and (apart from a flashback scene early on) it is set in the present. I thought this was quite interesting because although it is an event from Amy’s past that has given Roux the first spark of ammunition against Amy, it is her ongoing actions since then, including the here and now, that raises the stakes. Most psychological thrillers juxtapose the perspective of the protagonist alongside that of the antagonist; asking the question as to who is telling the truth. But this was not the case here. Roux’s background is a complete mystery and is only brought to light through Amy’s detective work and personal psychoanalysis of her. Rather than internal monologue, the author reveals Roux’s inner thoughts by coming in so close that every tiny facial twitch tells a miniature story, revealing whether Roux is nervous or lying.

I really liked Amy, she’s done some stupid things in the past, but a big twist reveals just what a big heart she has and just exactly how much she could lose though Roux’s evil determination to destroy her: this is much more than what is revealed early on. Although initially at her wits end as to what she is going to do, Amy soon decides to fight back by digging into Roux’s own closet – quite literally. And what she finds out is far more shocking than anything Amy has done. Readers are in for a real treat with this twisty turn in this tale of cat and mouse.