Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

I was looking for a good suspense novel recently. I picked up Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson and I couldn’t put it down!!

Amy Whey loves her life.  She has finally married the love of her life together and they have an infant son and a teenage stepdaughter.  She also loves helping her best friend Charlotte with her neighborhood book club.  Charlotte takes this seriously and is very excited to talk about The House of Mirth.  Unfortunately, an enigmatic new neighbor Roux shows up and takes over the meeting.  Roux is mysterious and exciting. She has a gift to get everyone to talk about their secrets, especially when they start an adult version of the game Never Have I Ever.  Roux then uses the secrets to her advantage.  Will Amy be able to beat Roux at her own game and keep her secrets without destroying her family?

I just loved this book.  I loved how I thought I knew what was happening, only to have the rug pulled out from under me, and a giant change come to the story.  There were a few different times that happened in the book and I just couldn’t stop reading it.  I was very vested in the story and I loved the way it ended.  I was also really vested in the characters of Amy and Roux.  I wanted to know more about them and how they became the women they were.  I especially loved Amy.  She was a flawed woman, but she was trying to repair her life and do good.  It was a very interesting story.  I did start to piece together the ending, but it did surprise me overall.

Favorite Quotes:

“It’s a blast.  You should play.  It’s like Never Have I Ever, but for grown-ups.  We skip the coy denials and go right to confession.  You start by telling everyone the worst thing you did today.”

“People say, I don’t know how she lives with herself, but every single one of them was living with their own worst thing, just fine.  No one walks around holding their ugliest sin in the palm of their hand, staring at it.  Our hurts are heavy, and we let them sink.  Every day they drift lower, settling in murky places where the light can’t reach."

Overall, Never Have I Ever is a thrilling suspense novel that kept me hooked into the story.  I loved the two main characters and was vested in their story.  I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a story that you can’t put down!

Book Source:  Review copy from William Morrow. Thank-you!