For the first 50% of this book, I'd pretty much given up. It just wasn't a strong start. I assumed that the whole plot would revolve around a certain incident from Amy's past and while it certainly is of importance, I was pleased to find the main storyline got more thrilling past the 50% mark and it was definitely worth sticking with. Joshilyn is a fantastic writer, I've only dived once personally but the diving scenes in particular were really well written and you genuinely felt that you were there in the water with the characters which at times is actually really claustrophobic, especially during a certain chapter.. I really liked Amy as a character although as with anyone, she has her faults. This only serves to make herself more human. Other characters such as Roux and Tig are also really well written with their own distinct voices.
There are a few uncomfortable and disturbing revelations towards the very end which I'm not totally sure are necessary. I wish there were another chapter or so towards the end to as I felt like I wanted more things explained in better detail but overall I was really satisfied.

So many time in this book I was left with wide eyes and my mouth gaping open.

You always want the good guy to win but the bad guy was always one step ahead in this book, you could not predict the outcome.

This book got better and better the further into it I got... I had a hard time putting it down the last 100 pages, it got better and better!!

I know this book was a departure from the type of books Joshilyn Jackson typically writes, but she nailed it. I was not expecting (or ready) for some of the dark twists this book took me down.

Fantastic book!

I have been encouraged to play more games of "Never Have I Ever"!!

This is a great psychological thriller which really rattles along and is full of menace and tension. Amy loves her life with her husband, step-daughter, baby son and her close friends. She has had issues in her past with an eating disorder and her weight but she believes she has put them behind her however she still has a secret that must never emerge. Her life is turned upside down by the arrival of the enigmatic Roux who threatens to expose Amy’s past and destroy her happiness. Roux is clever and cunning and Amy is going to have to play her at her own game in order to protect herself and her family.

This novel is full of suspense, it is shrewd and original with some fascinating characters. The plot is smart and the narrative and the timing of the action are impeccable. There are some excellent twists and turns. I found this a hard book to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ooo this was a juicy read. Full of suspense and intrigue and twists that weren't predictable. Amy Whey has built a good life for herself, but we learn that she harbours a very dark secret. When Roux appears in her neighbourhood and infiltrates her friendship group with a twisted game based loosely on Never Have I Ever, Amy realises her past is closing in on her. Determined to protect her loved ones from the collateral damage that would ensue should the truth emerge, a cat and mouse saga begins. Roux, a damaged, cold and clever master manipulator appears to hold all the power in her hands. But she picked on the wrong gal this time. Amy was complex, flawed and wholly worthy of the term heroine, and without giving away any spoilers, the ending was sooooo satisfying. A great read for those who like a good thriller, less cliche than some in this genre and thoroughly enjoyable.

I really enjoyed this , it had me hooked straight away . Amy is happily married with a young baby and a teenage step daughter that she enjoys a great relationship with . During their book club a new neighbor comes to join who knows things about Amy's past . She sets in motion a game of cat and mouse that gets more and more twisted and dangerous . As we get the story both in the present and in Amy's past secrets long buried are coming to the surface . Both Amy and Roux have secrets they would rather keep hidden and as Amy fights back things get even more tense between the two women . A great read . Perfect holiday read

Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy for review!

Amy Whey has a past that she's worked at forgetting her entire adult life. And she's been incredibly successful at it. Until Angelica Roux moves in down the street. And so begins a game of cat and mouse; each one tries to outsmart the other in order to get what they want, what they NEED. Who will win?

There are so many parts of this book that I loved. There were some incredible personalities, a fun scuba diving tie in, and a good plot. However, it didn't pull me in as much as thrillers usually do. I found myself able to go days without picking up the book, which is totally not normal for this genre. So 3.5 stars from me.

Most students or ex-students will have played Never Have I Ever and I was intrigued to see how Joshilyn Jackson would take this simple game and turn it into the basis for a novel. What we have is a novel that takes the reader to the very edge - full of mind games, questions and dangerous situations.

As central characters, Amy and Roux are fascinating. They both have secrets and I was keen to find out what they were. However, it quickly became clear that one was willing to go further than the other to uncover them. It was incredibly easy to get to know Amy and Roux and in particular, I found Amy very relatable. In contrast, Roux became a character I loved to hate. This made the tension between them utterly compelling.

There are several twists and turns in Never. Have I Ever, some of which are very shocking. I was completely immersed in Amy and Roux's life and couldn't wait to see what happened next.

Never have I ever is a dark thriller about hidden secrets that you want to keep hidden.
Amy has a simple and happy life, but when new neighbour Roux turns up and wanted to play a twisted game of ‘never have I ever’ things start to become darker for Amy.

A tense thriller, overall a great read.

Never Have I Ever is a psychological thriller which had me completely hooked from the first chapter. Amy is a housewife who teaches diving and is currently on maternity leave. She helps her friend Char to run a book club, which the other mums in her neighbourhood also come to (I think more drinking than reading goes on, to be honest!). At one of these meetings, a new person arrives. Roux is renting a local house for a short period of time, and gatecrashes the club, taking over entirely. She starts a game of ‘Never Have I Ever’, uncovers some of the other mums secrets, and lets Amy know in no uncertain terms that she knows her deepest, darkest secret. And Roux wants to be paid to keep that secret. But Amy isn’t going to just hand over the money.

I loved this - Roux is a great villain, and Amy is an intriguing character. I loved how the lines between good and bad were blurred where Amy was concerned, but she always remains a good mum and Stepmother throughout.

My heart was in my mouth pretty much the whole time - I warn you, there is no let up at all in this book at all!

I will most definitely be looking for more books by Joshilyn Jackson!

Many thanks to NetGalley for my copy of this fabulous book, and to The Pigeonhole for giving me the incentive to read it!

Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing for sending me an ARC copy of Never Have I Ever and to the author Joshilyn Jackson for allowing me to read the book.

The book is based around 3 main characters “Tig”, “Amy” and “Roux”

What would you do to not take part in a game that you realise will be dangerous to your life as it is now and that your past that you have locked away from friends and husband could rear it’s ugly head?

Amy an overweight 15 year old teenager with no love from her parents and craving for that love that her mum gives to her brother meets up with Tig at night to go off into the woods to play guitar, sing, gaze at the boy that she loves and get stoned.

When Tig shows up one night, Amy packs a small picnic from the store cupboard and finds a bottle of red wine right at the back of the cupboard under the sink and makes her escape into the woods with Tig in his car.

Once in the woods they get stoned and drunk and Tig kisses Amy, she can’t believe that her, a girl so overweight and Tig the handsome boy that she gazes at everyday in school has kissed her. Is it genuine? Does he pity her? When he suggests that they lay on a dirty mattress in the shed, she refuses as she doesn’t want him to pity her and they make their way back to the car, stoned and very drunk.

What happens next will change Amy’s life for ever......

There is a Bookclub meet in Amy’s house, run by her best friend Char (Charlotte) every month and the woman living in the Airbnb decides to show up and waltz into her house unannounced and promptly takes over the book club introduces herself and proceeds to sit in the chair that Char uses to host the Bookclub. As the evening goes on Roux slowly begins to worm her way into their lives by asking them what amimal that they believe themselves to be, topping up their drinks and getting them to believe in her and that she is wonderful. Char decides to leave the Bookclub evening in disgust, followed by Amy.

When Amy returns to the basement where the Bookclub is held she finds Roux plying the remaining friends with alcohol and finding out their worst secrets by playing a game on par with Risk, but much more in-depth and very dangerous.

Who is Roux? What is her reasoning behind her dangerous game? Where will it lead Amy and to what extent will Amy go to to keep her darkest secret safe?

I loved this book and it kept me gripped from page one until the end. Every twist and turn I could imagine their faces and how the game was being played out. It’s very cat and mouse and just when you think you may have guessed the answer, you are proved wrong as the story takes another path.

# Never Have I Ever #
Not a bad read, it’s not the best but not the worst. This is what I personally would call my not much to read book. In parts I thought it was going to pick up. I just didn’t grab me. Which is s shame really the storyline was a pretty good one. Overall o thought a bit slow

I read this book with Pigeonhole and despite almost giving up on it during the second stave, I am so glad that I stuck with it. It is a very slow-burn at the beginning and the characters don't come over too well, but as the story unfolded, I found myself well and truly drawn in!

Amy is living a quiet life in a nice neighboorhood, when a new tenant at the local Airbnb turns up on her doorstep. Roux then turns the regular book club meeting, and Amy's peaceful life, on it's head and what follows is a story of lies, secrets, twists & turns and lots of hold-your-breath moments.
This is a brilliant psychological thriller and although it is my first read of Joshilyn's work, I will be looking out for more!

My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing U.K./Raven Books for an eARC via NetGalley of Joshilyn Jackson’s ‘Never Have I Ever’ in exchange for an honest review.

Double thanks are due as I also participated in The Pigeonhole’s group read and was able to share my thoughts and comments with other readers as we read the daily chapters. For this kind of tense psychological thriller, being able to share responses with others was a great bonus.

Set in Pensacola, Florida it opens as a book group meeting is being held at Amy Whey’s home. Amy, our narrator, is a forty-two year old suburban housewife: happily married to Davis, an economics professor, a mother to eight-month old Oliver, a step-mother to fifteen-year old Maddie, and best friend to Charlotte, a younger woman. She has a simple, happy life that she has no idea is about to be shattered.

A newcomer, who is renting a local Airbnb property, arrives at her front door to join the gathering. She is extremely glamorous and as Amy observes: “She smiled, and I had no premonition as I smiled back. She didn’t look like my own destruction to me. She looked  .  .  . the word was “cool.””.

It’s an amazing start to a nail-biting domestic noir. It doesn’t take long for Roux to reveal her predatory nature. First, she dominates the meeting to the point of rudeness and then instigates a seemingly innocent game as the title indicates. We quickly learn that Amy has a vulnerability in the form of a long held secret. A secret that Roux appears to know.

No further plot details to avoid spoilers but trust me there was some fantastic twists before its final pages. Both Amy and Roux were brilliant characters who were brought vividly to life.

Although on hold during her pregnancy and Oliver’s infancy, Amy works as a diving instructor, which allowed for some great underwater scenes. No surprise to read that Joshilyn had researched this aspect of her novel by learning to scuba dive as these scenes were so vivid.

A totally gripping and well written thriller. Highly recommended.

Never Have I Ever is an intriguing, engaging read. I liked the story and the premise and will look to read more by this new to me author.

i have never met anyone like the women in this book thank goodness but I do feel I’ve maybe se3n them in American teen movies as they seem shallow or awful brats. I wondered after I had finished it if I might have enjoyed it more as an audio book so I could hear it in an American accent. There were many many red herrings some of which added to the plot but a few that were unnecessary distractions. I didn’t expect some of the difficult content I.e. child abuse and this put me off even more.

So I read the first chapter or so and was considering giving up on the book. However, decided to carry on. Oh my goodness I’m so glad I did. What a fabulous book. Lots of twists and things you just aren’t expecting. Joshilyn Hill really develops the characters of Amy and Roux. This is a story of blackmail and turning the tables on the blackmailer.
Please give this book a go you won’t be disappointed

A game of cat and mouse or rather cat and cat. Amy Has so much to lose she has to play Roux game and try and outsmart her to keep the life she has made for herself and keep her past at the bottom of the ocean. I found this book a really struggle until the 70% mark and then I was hooked until the end. This book takes a while to get going but once it does wow!

A strong attraction of this book is that it has an original plot. That is refreshing in itself. The author draws strong and believable characters and has an important talent for releasing further bits of information gradually throughout the book. That keeps you reading. The basic tale is of a woman,Amy,with a guilt complex about her actions as a teenager. What she did comes back to haunt her and she is tormented by a new neighbour,Roux,who has somehow managed to discover the secret neither her husband or friends know about. But Roux is not what she seems either and Amy starts to seek out the past of her antagonist. It is well written,sad at times but makes a gripping read.

This was a tense American psychological suspense novel by an author who was new to me - I hadn’t heard of her either, but I note that she has written about ten other books. I’ve been avoiding this genre lately but saw some glowing early reviews from trusted GR friends and was intrigued by the summary, so was pleased to be approved by NetGalley.

Amy Whey lives a happy middle class life in Pensacola, Florida, with her loving husband, step-daughter and new baby. When a sultry stranger called Roux gate-crashes the neighbourhood Book Club at Amy’s house, and proceeds to get the housewives drunk, embarrassing secrets are revealed, but somehow Roux knows that Amy is hiding something much worse.

This was a well-written and plotted thriller with some cleverly executed twists. While Amy’s secret was not hard to guess, the game played by the two women - one handicapped by a strong moral code, the other completely shameless - made for an entertaining read, and I had no idea how it would work out.

I liked the relationship between Amy and Madison, and the diving scenes - it’s been a long time since I’ve scuba dived but it made me want to jump straight back in. Amy’s body image and eating issues also felt realistic.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review. Never Have I Ever is published on 08.08.19.