Published by Raven Books on August 8, 2019
Pages: 338
Goodreads
In this game, even winning can be deadly...
Amy Whey is proud of her ordinary life and the simple pleasures that come with it--teaching diving lessons, baking cookies for new neighbors, helping her best friend, Charlotte, run their local book club. Her greatest joy is her family: her devoted professor husband, her spirited fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, her adorable infant son. And, of course, the steadfast and supportive Charlotte. But Amy's sweet, uncomplicated life begins to unravel when the mysterious and alluring Angelica Roux arrives on her doorstep one book club night.
Sultry and magnetic, Roux beguiles the group with her feral charm. She keeps the wine flowing and lures them into a game of spilling secrets. Everyone thinks it's naughty, harmless fun. Only Amy knows better. Something wicked has come her way--a she-devil in a pricey red sports car who seems to know the terrible truth about who she is and what she once did.
When they're alone, Roux tells her that if she doesn't give her what she asks 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. Amy knows the consequences if she can't beat Roux. What terrifies her is everything she could lose if she wins.
A diabolically entertaining tale of betrayal, deception, temptation, and love filled with dark twists leavened by Joshilyn Jackson's trademark humor, Never Have I Ever explores what happens when the transgressions of our past come back with a vengeance.
✮ My Review ✮
Never Have I Ever read a book that has flummoxed me!
Never Have I Ever been so shocked with my jaw hitting the floor so quickly and so often!
Never Have I Ever been so absorbed in the characters and worried for someone as much as I had for Amy.
So I would be completely drunk by now if I played this game!!
I really did not know what to expect with this book, what I did not expect was twist after twist after twist. It is very cleverly done and maybe I should have seen somethings coming but I really didn’t, it bamboozled my little brain! It is a simple game but when played with the wrong people it becomes a very dangerous game of cat and mouse.
Amy, Oh Amy, what secrets do you hold and why are you hell-bent on hiding your past. That is one of the many questions you ask yourself when you sit there flicking the pages at breakneck speed as you want to uncover ALL the secrets!
A normal book club held at Amy’s house and run by Charlotte has been boycotted by Roux. The glamorous Roux, the woman behind the game, getting the women drunk discussing their spirit animals instead of the book. Leading to a very dark game of Never Have I Ever.
I loved how the story evolved, secrets are revealed so slowly and god when the bombshells are dropped, they are dropped so hotly! I find my jaw drop so many times, how can one book do this to me!! I followed Amy’s life with so much intensity as I could not foresee how she could get out of the situation Roux has placed her in.
My emotions were all over the place with this book, the past left me broken, whereas the present had me all over the place. I was fraught with tension, my nerves were on edge and I kept thinking about this book long after I put it down. You are drip-fed the information so slowly, like the slowest, and when you do get information the author whizzes you away from the revelation to ramp up the intensity of the situation we are in.
This is the first book I have read by Jackson and I really do not think this will be my last. Her writing style is so easy to read, enticing you from the very beginning to not put the book down, I was addicted. Teasing you with the promise of secrets but not just Amys’ secrets….EVERYONES! I mean who does not love a game like this, where you discover so many scandalous pieces of information. Plus the shocks, well they were shocking! The things she writes, well I did not see them coming. This is a HUGE game of cat and mouse, but it is not always clear who is the cat and who is the mouse. My only advice is, just do not play this game ever!
Check out a snippet of the audiobook here
Until next time xxx
Thanks to Laura at Bloomsbury and the author for a copy of the book in return for my honest and unbiased review
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
nickimags @ The Secret Library Book Blog says
Wow fantastic review! I definitely want to read this one! xx
Zoé says
Oh I loved it! I thought it was so cleverly done and I loved the idea of using the game to kick start the book xx
Marje @ Kyrosmagica says
Great review. 🙂
Zoé says
Thank you ❤️
Davida Chazan says
High praise indeed! Not my genre, but I can think of a few people who will love it like you seem to.