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Never Have I Ever

October 24, 2019

Happy Halloween for those of you who just like slightly creepy things


I think I’ve mentioned before that Halloween is not my favorite holiday. I just don’t like creepy stuff. To that end, I was nervous when I found out that Joshilyn Jackson’s new book was gonna be more suspenseful than her previous works. 
What?
I love Joshilyn Jackson. I’ve read everything she’s ever written. I don’t want her to write scary books that I can’t read. Sigh. 
Then I started arguing with myself. Should I read it? What if it’s too scary? What if it scars me for life? (See, it’s fun being me.) When I got my hands on an ARC (advance reader’s copy), the cover flap compared it to Gone Girl. Ok. I read that and didn’t die. Maybe I’ll be fine.
I started reading.
It was creepy, but more in a Police-Every-Step-You-Take-I’ll-Be-Watching-You kind of way, not in a Psycho-in-the-Shower kind of way. Thankfully. Then I got into the story and I had to see what happened. Some of the twists I predicted. A few blew me out of the water. 
So the premise is a group of Stepford Wives get drunk at a party and start sharing secrets. The new chick in town, Roux, starts using those secrets to her advantage. Unfortunately for Charlotte and Amy (boss chick and bestie), these secrets could completely ruin their lives. They need to figure out how to get rid of Roux and keep their families safe.
Never Have I Ever was captivating. It kept me on my toes. It was a little worrisome because I have no idea what I’d do in that situation. Another good reason not to get drunk at parties and spill secrets. Lesson learned. Check. I’d love to say there was zero body count – but we did lose a few. Just not me, Dear Reader. 
Whew.
I think Gone Girl was a good comparison. Or maybe also The Girl on the Train. Like I said, this is not my favorite genre so I don’t have a lot to compare it to. My favorite Jackson book is still Someone Else’s Love Story (which is not creepy at all, thank you very much). I also really like Between, Georgia (also not scary). 
I hope you all have a Happy Halloween. If you’re looking for that super-scary read to keep you up night, you’ll have to look somewhere else. This is a creepy as I get.
Happy Trick or Treat…
:) Amanda

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Amanda

Amanda is a classically-trained pianist who loves to read. Like any good librarian, she also has two cats named after Italian cities. Amanda spends her free time sitting in Nashville traffic, baking, and running the Interlibrary Loan office at the Nashville Public Library.