"Never Have I Ever"

“Never Have I Ever”
Written by Joshilyn Jackson
Review written by Diana Iozzia



“Never Have I Ever” was a domestic thriller with an interesting concept: a woman is blackmailed by a con artist, who knows far too much about a horrific secret. It’s not a surprisingly new concept, but I still enjoyed the book. This story is usually told with male characters, so it was refreshing to have both characters, flawed and realistic, to be women.

There is a book club meeting in a cozy little town. Our main character, narrator Amy, instantly dislikes a new member to the book club, a drifter who is renting a house on the street. Roux is confident, sexy, and irritating. She commands the center of attention, shaking up the lives of these neighborhood women. This was a very soapy, "Desperate Housewives" type of book, also similar to Liane Moriarty's works.

We soon are wrapped up in their game of cat and mouse, and boy, it’s a ride. I think this book was enjoyable, in the fun, summer vacation sort of way. Once you look too much into it, it’s not the best thriller I’ve ever read. I enjoyed the characters, the cunning dialogue, the laugh-out-loud arguments, and especially the intense show-downs. However, this ended in a very predictable way, which was not satisfying enough. There is also a really uncomfortable set of events including sexual abuse of children, which made the book extra disappointing to me.

I felt that this was a very base level thriller, with all of the typical tropes and aspects. Unfortunately, nothing really wowed me. I felt the predictable nature to be a bit flat, the book stalling for me in some parts. I never felt that I just couldn’t put the book down or I was eagerly waiting to pick it back up again. The strange amount of intricate detail made the book feel endless, rather unique for the insight.

Lastly, the red herrings. There are too many to boot. I was able to predict the final big twist, but some of them were just unnecessary. I felt that there was too much detail to not question many of the characters’ secrets and motivations, so not much was left to the imagination. We do not feel clever for figuring out the truth. It just happens.

One last thing that I did like was the inclusion of the scuba scene. No more detail I will include, due to spoilers, but it was an intriguing scene that deserves some recognition.
In conclusion, I give this book 3 out of 5 stars. I felt that it had all of the typical makings for a domestic thriller, but it did not excite me any more than that. I would love to read more by Joshilyn Jackson and definitely give her other books a chance.

I received a complimentary advanced reader’s edition from the publisher in exchange for reading and reviewing purposes. Thank you to William Morrow.