Twisty, twisty, twisty. Just when you think you've got something figured out - bam! - another twist happens. Two women desperately trying to find and hold secrets over each other, while hiding their own from everyone at the same time. Sounds exhausting yes?
One woman is after money to support her lifestyle, or perhaps does she need the money to hide from someone, while the other woman wants to keep her nice suburban family life that she's created for herself, while keeping her dark secrets tamped way down deep.
Joshilyn does another outstanding job of keeping you invested in the characters and continuing to surprise you throughout the novel. This is not a read where you figure out the plot and the ending by the end of the fifth chapter. Not even close!
I did find the events discovered at the end, as a parent, to be disturbing.
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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.
William Morrow
June 30, 2019