holy cow! Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy. This book is amazing!! Two Kelly Medinas. In part one, I went back and forth between was there really two Kellys or was she imagining things? Then part two blew a lot of things out of the water! Things I didn't expect! Part three wrapped it up nicely. Tons of suspense in this book! I powered through it!

“When I Was You” is a tightly plotted thriller that packs some genuinely shocking twists and turns, which will have you gasping our loud!

When Kelly Medina receives a phone call to remind her of an upcoming appointment at the paediatricians, she tells them they’re about 19 years too late! With her son grown up and away at college, Kelly discovers that there’s another Kelly Medina living in her neighbourhood. Intrigued to learn more about the woman she shares a name with, Kelly resorts to engineering a meeting. Befriending the other Kelly and her infant son, Sullivan, is either woman exactly who they seem?

This is a very solid psychological thriller that is engaging and unpredictable at many points. Garza has created a world where no character is as they first appear and where the plot loops the loop more than the biggest rollercoaster in the theme park. The narrative is well paced and tension is gradually built with masterful effect. Split into three parts - each written as a first person account - although I had suspicions, I did not foresee exactly where the plot was going. As events unfolded, I found myself not being able to turn the pages fast enough. Naturally, part three is where everything starts to come together and the suspense and action in this section is on a knifes edge! I was pleased some of my suspicions were proved correct, but there were plenty of gasp out loud moments where a shock twist, or narrative curveball shifts direction. Garza is extremely skilled at steering the reader one way, only to rip the literary carpet out from under them and flip the narrative to a new, unexpected and exciting angle. This kept me on the edge of my seat and I was eager to find out just where the story was going. I also enjoyed the flashback paragraphs that slowly peeled away the multitude of backstory layers. These sections often hinted at some major plot reveals, whilst successfully hinting just enough to keep me turning pages to discover the full extent of the secrets the past was holding tightly on to.

Character is really important in this story and Garza has created two central protagonists (and a host of supporting characters) that are complex, unexpected and simultaneously likeable and not. The juxtaposition between the older Kelly’s past tragedy and her present day actions is explored really well. I found myself sympathising with and rooting for her, whilst also recoiling from some of her decisions and questioning her actions. The internal debate that this caused me to have, made “When I Was You” all the more gripping and exciting. I really enjoyed the fact that as a heroine, she wasn’t completely innocent (or “good”), but entirely plausible and human. Garza explores so many aspects of her character and there is a lot of commentary on loss, grief, relationships, mental health and motherhood. I found that Kelly was ultimately likeable, flaws and all, even when she was contemplating some seriously messed up ideas! The other Kelly started as a complete mystery and as things progressed I thought I saw just how things would play out for how. However, she turned out to be a much darker and more disturbing character than I ever contemplated. The shift in her character was the biggest shock for me and I genuinely shouted “Noooo” at my Kindle when I started reading Part 2 of the novel! The way the two Kelly’s interact is charged with tension and for much of the novel I was unsure who I was meant to be rooting for, which made this all the more suspenseful a read. The final scenes are breathtakingly gripping and will stay with me long after turning the final page. A mother’s love truly knows no bounds...

This is an entertaining and enjoyable domestic thriller and I recommend it to fans of this genre - it will keep you guessing until the final page!

This was a rollercoaster ride of a read...where I’d convinced myself to see the main character in one way, and then was forced to rethink things quite dramatically.
Kelly Medina is, in many ways, a fairly stereotypical housewife. Mum to nineteen year old Aaron, her husband is a professor who works away from home and she fills her days drinking wine/having lunch/gossiping with her best friend or going to yoga classes. There are hints of something odd having taken place, and her friends are rather over-protective of her, but we don’t really see anything too unusual.
Then we get told of an unusual phone call Kelly receives from her doctor, where she has been mixed up with another patient. A patient who has exactly the same name...which piques her curiosity. In fact, she becomes obsessed with this young woman, engineering opportunities to seek her out, befriend her and get close to her young child.
From this point it’s clear we’re not going to have a straightforward story. I considered the new Kelly to be imaginary, a precursor to our character snatching a child or something like that. What I wasn’t prepared for was the whole other layer that developed once we knew of the link between Kelly and Aaron. Parts of the story were predictable as we put things together, but the level of oddness was higher than I predicted and made for a tense finale.
Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for granting me access to this prior to publication in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Really good gripping thriller. I didn’t see the twist coming in this story. Really well written with great characters.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Firstly thank you @littlebrownbookgroup_uk and @netgalley for accepting me to read this fabulous book! 😍
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I was hooked from the first page. It was all about you, Kelly, you.
As soon as I read the first chapter, it had a feel of the popular book and Netflix series ‘you’ .. Kelly reminded me of Joe.
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Each new chapter brought another question; another twist; another puzzle piece! At one point in the story I gasped at a revelation that I didn’t see coming! It was cleverly written and I didn’t find myself at any point of the story getting bored.
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The characters are a good mixture of personalities and I definitely found myself empathising with the main character.
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Overall an enjoyable read that kept me hooked, I couldn’t even guess what was going to happen, which I really liked! Thank you #netgalley, #littlebrownbooks and #ambergarza for a fab read!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

The story centres around a lady called Kelly Medina, who from the offset you can see she has suffered some mental health issues. She then befriends another woman who has the exact same name as her. She finds it unbelievable that there would be someone in her tiny town with the exact same name. The two Kelly’s seem to become quite friendly and the younger Kelly has a baby called Sullivan. Kelly 1 becomes attached to Kelly 2’s baby and does all she can to help care for him. Then Kelly 1 stumbles across something in Kelly 2’s house that signals that she might know Kelly 1 far better than originally thought. Kelly 1 has a husband who works in a different area so only comes home at weekends - he also gives the impression of being fed up with her and her issues. There lots of secrets uncovered, and twists and turns, before ending explosively.

The characters were really unlikable, which added to the story. Kelly 1 obviously had her mental issues, but those aside her character was dreary, her husband, Rafael, came across as a complete pig, and Kelly 2 was conniving and sly. This book was a slow burner, but has some great twisty parts. I also enjoyed the way it explored mental health, and how quick it can be affected. Overall I’d recommend this book.

For a psychological thriller, this book really ticks all the boxes: suspense, plot twists and characters you love to hate. I literally couldn't put the book down and only stopped because it was late at night and fell asleep reading it. I couldn't wait to finish it and certainly hoovered up the rest. The ending is a cliff-hanger, nicely done.

It's difficult to talk about the contents of the book without giving away the plot but you do suspect a range of characters of being mad or guilty, right through to the very last minute.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and came via an advanced copy from NetGalley. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by this book and will be looking out for other releases in future. The premise of a woman being drawn into the world of another woman who shares her name was an intriguing one and although I had guessed a few of the twists early on, it was nonetheless a page turner for me. I wasn’t really a fan of any of the characters early on which can be a reason for me to leave a book but even though I didn’t find them particularly relatable, the author still managed to have me rooting for some by the end of the book.

Thanks net galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
It took a long time before I got to the real interesting part of this book, the first half I found quite boring.
Once I got into it the story was good and I enjoyed it.
Two woman with the same name meet up accidentally?
One had a baby the other had a husband.

They both were involved with the same man, how did that happen?
The story was good but could have been shorter.

I can sometimes give up on a book that has a slowish start or am not quite feeling it and often wonder if I have missed out on a good book, I almost stopped reading this but am sooooooo glad I didn’t as after ( for me ) a slow beginning this turned into a tubthumper of a book

Kelly Medina gets a call from
her GP re an appt for her son....but Kelly’s son is at Uni, there has been a mix up, its another Kelly Medina who has the appt for her son, the original Kelly is intrigued and goes to see who this other Kelly is.... And so starts a tale of stalking, friendship ( real and fake ) intrigue and without saying too much no one is quite as they first appear but then again maybe they are! There is involvements from a spouse, both Kelly’s children and a rather irritating best friend but all play their parts well and go towards the bigger picture, both Kelly’s were superb and ratcheted up the pressure on themselves and each other as the story went on
The ending was nail bitingly tense and dark with determination and fight winning through and then a nasty shock of an ending ( well for one of the cast! )
As say I was 1000% pleased I carried on with this book as was a satisfying and original take on a well known theme ( stalking etc ) that is different enough to warrant the book standing out

9/10
4.5 Stars

I greatly enjoyed this book, thank you for giving me a preview copy. The plot was interesting and fast paced and I sympathised with the characters. This is the first novel I have read by this author but I hope it will not be the last!

This was a well paced, gripping, if predictable thriller. Definitely a bit of a reverse hand that rocks the cradle. When Kelly Medina meets a woman in her town with the same name, lines start to blur. But who is really lying to her here and who is she most at danger from.

It’s very rare that I read a book in one sitting but I just couldn’t put this down. I’ve read a lot of psychological thrillers over the last few years – the market appears to be flooded with them but something about this grabbed me and I couldn’t let go.

It tells the tale of Kelly, well two characters called Kelly actually. One is married, with a grown up son and the other is a younger single mum. The two become friends – a friendship engineered by the older of the two who becomes unhealthily obsessed by younger Kelly and her baby son. This is a tale of twists and turns, and a heart stopping “never saw that coming” ending. I really enjoyed Garza’s style of writing, and look forward to reading more by her. I was given a free copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I Was You by Amber Garza
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This was a brilliant book! An absolute mind blower. Full of dark secrets, sinister characters and unbelievable twists. This book has everything. I guarantee you'll be hooked from the first page.

Kelly Medina lives in Folsom, her husband Rafael works as a Professor in the Bay Area and they have a son Aaron who’s at college. One day she gets a strange call from a paediatrician’s office reminding her of an appointment for her son. Two Kelly Medinas of different ages in Folsom? What a coincidence. Or is it? The story is told by both women.

Well, I’m a bit annoyed. Annoyed I haven’t read anything by Amber Garza before now! I’ll have to catch up. The older Kelly ( lets call her Kelly #1) becomes increasingly obsessive almost ‘stalkerish’ in her behaviour and this is depicted well as she inserts herself into Kelly #2’s life. The storyline keeps you in suspense as you have no idea if her loneliness with Rafael being away is causing her to lose it and have delusions or if her growing instincts of suspicion about Kelly #2 are correct. It’s horrifyingly darkly delicious as you just know it’s going to end badly. It’s like watching a car crash that’s unavoidable in slow motion. Rafael is deeply unlikeable, you feel sympathy for Kelly #1 and root for her and as for Kelly #2 well, the least said really. This is a well written mystery suspense novel, with a good plot and the storyline has a good pace.

Overall, I could almost hear hysterical laughter in my head as the plot draws to a conclusion as it’s seriously messed up. It’s an engrossing, dark thriller which is obviously just the way I like them!

With thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group for the ARC.

As soon as I had read the first chapter I knew this was going to be a good read. Well I sure wasn’t wrong this book was a totally amazing psychological thriller. I devoured this book in one sitting it was that good.

I read this book in one sitting.
I was so smug because I guessed exactly what was happening,and why.... at least three times.
Each time the plot was turned on its head and I had to rethink every tiny clue that had been laid out.
I felt it lost momentum slightly when the actual why and how were revealed,but ended on a cracking note.
Definitely a book that will stand out for me,and I read a lot of this genre.

#WhenIWasYou #NetGalley
Dagger sharp psychological thriller.
Kelly Medina's son left for college a year ago and now she feels totally alone. So when she discovers that a single mother also called Kelly Medina has moved to her town, it's an unexpected reminder of the life she used to live.
For days, Kelly can't stop thinking about the woman who shares her name, who has a baby son she can still hold and her whole life ahead of her. She can't help looking for her: at the grocery store, at the gym, on social media. When they happen to bump into each other outside a pediatrician's office, simple curiosity gets the better of them both.
Their unlikely friendship brings Kelly a renewed sense of purpose. But the relationship quickly turns to obsession, and when one Kelly disappears the other one may know why.
I loved the characters. Its narration is flawless. Its dialogues are mind blowing.
Thanks to NetGalley and Sphere for giving me an advance copy.