Never Have I Ever

Joshilyn Jackson usually writes novels about women set in the South, where the many facets of living in the South, especially in the rural South, are examined with a sharp, but loving eye. Jackson's protagonists belong to families dominated by women, have pasts, and are figuring out their way forward. They're escapist reading for readers who like a little grit and a deep sense of place. With this novel, those elements remain, but for the first time, Jackson is writing a straight up thriller.

When Roux shows up at the neighborhood book club meeting, Amy is annoyed. And she becomes more annoyed as she watches Roux take over the meeting, turning it into a drunken party where far too much is said. But Roux is there to do more than have some show more fun; she's out to get something. And her target is Amy. So begins a game of cat and, well, cat. Roux is an adept blackmailer, but Amy has a family to fight for and she's not willing to go down without a fight.

This is a lot of fun. It's a well-plotted story, where the elements fit together. It's fun to see a book that focuses so heavily on the minutiae of the daily life of a mother of a young child be so exciting and fast paced. While I prefer Jackson's quieter novels, this one was no hardship to read. show less

Amy Whey and her best friend Charlotte are hosting book club at Amy's house when newcomer Roux arrives unannounced and bringing trouble in her wake. Magnetic and charming, Roux makes an instant impression and many of the women present fall under her 'spell.' Amy is happily married with everything to lose, so when Roux threatens her, it kicks off a battle of wits and a gripping chain of events.

I loved this domestic thriller by Joshilyn Jackson. Never Have I Ever is full of secrets, guilt, betrayal and mind games, and it also shines a light on the power of friendship. Amy is a brilliant protagonist and I quickly found myself rooting for her at every stage as she engages in a psychological fight with Roux for power and control.

Never Have I show more Ever was sent to me unsolicited by the publisher last year and when I picked it up to 'give it a go' I certainly didn't expect to be immediately engaged, find myself thinking about the story during the day, giving it 5 stars and recommending it to others. I love it when that happens! This book exceeded every expectation, and delivers a real wallop.

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson is a ripping read, domestic noir at its best and I highly recommend it.

* Copy courtesy of Bloomsbury * show less

“She smiled and I had no premonition as I smiled back. She didn’t look like my own destruction to me.”

Only after inviting neighborhood newcomer Angelica Roux In to join the members of the Brain-Dead Mommies Bookclub clustered in her basement does Amy Whey realise her mistake. Without a shred of humility, and with confidence born of beauty, Roux, as she prefers to be called, disrupts the planned discussion about The House of Mirth, instead leading the women to play an adult game of Never Have I Ever. While a handful of drunken women grow ever more indiscrete, Amy refuses to participate.

“I knew what she was then. Too late, I understood her game.”

Two days later Roux appears again at Amy’s door, but this time she isn’t in the show more mood for games. Roux demands a quarter of a million dollars or she will reveal a dark secret from Amy’s past that will shatter her well ordered life.

“You owe me. You owe me, and you are going to pay.”

Deftly plotted, offering unexpected twists and turns right up until the last pages, Never Have I Ever is a compelling psychological thriller. Roux’s attempt at blackmail sparks a daring game of cat and mouse between two women who both have a lot to lose.

“She was better at this than I was, more experienced, but I didn’t have to win, after all. I only had to play down to a draw, get enough to make her walk away. I needed two things: a secret and to know who she was hiding it from.”

Amy is not so much interested in winning, as she is in simply ridding herself of the threat Roux poses, but each move she makes is met with a countermove from Roux that escalates the stakes. I’ve always found Jackson’s female characters to have an authentic complexity in thought and behaviour, and it’s no different here. Amy is a sympathetic character, but she refuses to be a victim. As a sociopath, Roux’s actions are more slightly more predictable, she puts her own self interest above everything, except perhaps her son. I was utterly absorbed by the battle of wits as it played out, particularly curious to see just how far Amy was willing to go to protect herself, and those she loves.

“The past remained the same, and so, apparently, had she, but I had come up new.”

Never Have I Ever is a provocative, gripping, and wildly entertaining tale of secrets, betrayal, revenge and redemption. A must read. show less

I confess. I almost stopped reading Never Have I Ever several times before I reached the halfway point. I didn’t trust Joshilyn Jackson enough and thought the blackmail story was rather stupid. Plus, I never could figure out why the secret was worthy of blackmail in the first place. However, I kept with it and was rewarded with a fantastic story of secrets, guilt and much more. The elements devoted to self-worth and the definition of family alone were well worth the efforts of sticking with the book. Plus, Ms. Jackson’s descriptions of scuba diving make it sound worth the effort it would take for me to overcome my fear of deep water. Any activity that forces you to focus on the present and the peace that brings is attractive, and show more Ms. Jackson’s descriptions are enticing. I especially adore how she tackles some fairly sticky topics with gentle reminders that every type of lifestyle that incorporates love has value. There is so much gray area in her characters though that I can see this being the darling of the book club world. I am heartily glad I stuck with the novel, and I will never doubt Ms. Jackson’s writing choices again. show less

Joshilyn Jackson has created the most twisted, scary and fascinating game of chess in “Never Have I Ever”. I was absolutely uncomfortable from start to finish. It starts out with a benign game which is being played by a consummate predator with ulterior motives that quickly become apparent.

Each time I thought it was checkmate it was back to check. Lots of stuff is thrown in and around, long held secrets, ancient mistakes that come back to bite in the ass. Friendships taken at face value that cause nothing but heartache. All the bases have been touched rounded and covered and it is so ugly. Have you ever thought “How do I get out of this?” “How do I slam the door in her face?” I kept wondering – at what price? When have show more you paid enough? When is it time to “put paid” to the cover-ups, lies, and scheming? Totally uncomfortable. Highly manipulative. Well thought out and constructed.

Thank you LibraryThing and Harper Collins for a copy. show less

Never Have I Ever

Have you ever done something you were so ashamed of that you would do anything to keep it a secret?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
Amy Whey has a perfectly normal and happy life. She is a mom of two, a diving instructor, and she helps her best friend, Charlotte, run their neighborhood bookclub. But Amy‘s life begins to unravel when the mysterious and alluring Angelica Roux arrives on her doorstep one book club night.

Roux beguiles the group and keeps Amy’s wine and liquor flowing, luring the group into a game of spilling secrets. Everyone thinks it’s naughty, harmless fun but Amy knows better. Roux seems to know the terrible truth about who Amy is and what she once did.

When they are alone, Roux tells Amy that if show more she doesn’t give her what she asked for, what she deserves, she’s going to make Amy pay for her sins. One way or another. To protect herself and her family and save the life she’s built, Amy must beat the devil at her own clever game matching wits with Roux in an escalating war of hidden pasts and unearthed secrets.

“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. All I had to do was wait. My bad would fall down into darkness again, because the bad things always do.”

REVIEW
Never have I ever scuba dived, but this is the first book that has ever made me wish I did. I absolutely loved Joshlyn Jackson’s references to the ocean letting you in and letting our hurts sink to those murky places where the light can’t reach. Jackson’s writing and characters were delightfully clever, and the pages seemed to just turn themselves.

Never have I ever read any of Jackson’s previous books, but I found this one highly entertaining with quick pacing. I particularly loved Amy’s character and how quickly she became courageous and learned how to fight fire with fire, while never sinking down as low and dirty as Roux. Amy became a smart and strategic thinker very fast. I love a strong female character and there are two in this book. Roux’s character was totally diabolical and, as much as I hated what she was doing, she is exactly what made the story intriguing and suspenseful.

Never Have I Ever author Jocelyn Jackson is the New York Times best-selling author of eight novels, including gods in Alabama (2006) and the Almost Sisters (2017). She is a former actor and an award-winning audiobook narrator. She lives in Decatur, Georgia with her husband and their two children.

Thanks to LibraryThing, Joshilyn Jackson and William Morrow for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher William Morrow
Published July 30, 2019
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com

#joshilynjackson, #williammorrow, #librarything, #neverhaveiever show less

Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson is a very highly recommended compulsively readable domestic thriller that will grab all of your attention and hold you hostage until the end. One of the best books of the year!

Amy Whey had a troubled past but is now living a content, ordinary suburban life. She is married to Davis, and loves her fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, Maddie, and their infant son, Oliver. Amy teaches diving lessons, which is how her best friend, Charlotte originally introduced her to Maddie and Davis. Now she and Charlotte are neighbors and she helps Char run their book club. When a new neighbor from a rental house who calls herself Roux shows up at the club, Roux immediately takes charge of the book club and sets it show more careening off into a dangerous direction.

Roux keeps the women drinking, talking, and then starts a dangerous game of "Never have I ever." Many of the members, including Char leave early but some women stay and overshare to Roux. Amy ends up ordering Roux to leave her house, because she recognizes the dangerous game this woman is playing. Roux is dangerous and now she knows a secret from Amy's past that she is threatening to share if Amy doesn't give her a large sum of money. Everything isn't quite as cut and dried as Roux thinks. She may be threatening Amy, but Amy is not going down without a fight and that means playing a dangerous game of her own.

Warning: Once you start reading Never Have I Ever you will lose sleep and even, briefly, consider taking a sick day from work. It is that good. This is a twisty dark tale of evil, deception, blackmail, temptation, family, love, shrewdness, friendship, and strategy. If Amy wants to win this game, it means she needs to undertake her own risky game against a professional extortionist. Roux thinks she is an easy mark, but she has underestimated Amy.

I'm a huge fan of Jackson's writing. She's talented, clever, funny, smart, and writes memorable character-driven fiction. Almost every book she writes becomes my favorite of her novels, and now Never Have I Ever is my favorite. The writing and the plot are absolutely perfectly paced and executed. I was totally engrossed in this compelling thriller and, as each new twist surprised me, couldn't pull myself away from reading. And I guessed not a twist or move in this story.

Amy is a wonderful character. She has made mistakes in her life and has been through some hard circumstances. She is clever and shrewd at times, but she is also goodhearted and supportive. She has endured her own hard times and has overcome them while trying to do the right thing and keeping some things to herself. She is a character that you will support and wish the best for in spite of her flaws. Roux will make your blood pressure rise right from the start when she comes to the book club and takes over with her little games.

Never Have I Ever has it all: exciting plot, great writing, unexpected twists, and memorable characters. It is the perfect summer read - or fall, or winter, or spring...

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.
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