This book is a tough one to rate. The first 70% of the book was interesting but super cringe worthy because the main character Kelly was stalking and overstepping her bounds with the other Kelly. Thus I I almost gave up a few times. It was also a little drawn out and a little too repetitive for me. So I would say that portion is 2.5 stars.

Then the last 30% of the book became super crazy insane. This book gave me the "Gone Girl" vibe which I love and I couldn't put it down. I would say this portion was 4.5 stars.

Several parts of the book were pretty predictable for me, but there were definitely some twists I didn't see coming.

With this being said, the book totally redeemed itself.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for my eARC in exchange for my honest review!

"When I Was You" is a psychological thriller with the most unreliable of narrators - a woman with a history of mental breakdowns. Kelly Medina's husband, who is (usually) away on business, and her best friend don't believe her when she says she made a new friend with the same exact name as hers.

Sure, maybe Kelly has a history of kidnapping a baby. And she had a pretend friend who was oh-so-real when she was a kid. But she swears the other Kelly Medina is real, even though nobody else she knows has seen her despite them living in the same time. Or believes she's real.

If this woman isn't really named Kelly Medina, who is she and what does she want? And why can't anybody else see her?

It's a twisty story with some big surprises and a narrator who is either definitely telling the truth or is completely delusional. My opinion on which was which changed multiple times throughout the novel.

3.5 stars

Applause as loud as you can and make some noise till your neighbors suffer from ear bleeding because we have skilled, evil genius, ultra smart author in literature town who can write a hell of a marvelous, gripping, heart throbbing, hair splitter, soul shaker, dazzling novel!

Did she play us with her well-organized, detailed, evil-ish mind games? Sure, she did. Well-played, well-done! She made me fool, tricked me so well misdirected my spidey senses ( I think they’re out of order right now but as soon as quarantine over I’ll replace them with better versions!)

From the beginning, did we clearly understand what is real and what is delusional? I honestly had no idea and if it makes me a moron, I’m proud of being one because it was so entertainingly cunny and surprising story including so many twists and surprises centered around two characters who share the same name which makes it more and more interesting!

Before giving my extraordinary, helluva crazy train ride, I didn’t see that punch coming and I didn’t expect somebody pull the rug from under me and hurt my back so bad when I hit the floor five stars, I want to give some short clues about this deliciously nerve bending plot:

We have a broken and traumatized protagonist named Kelly Medina who is living at her house by herself, surrounded by good friends, a little estranged relationship with her husband who is a workaholic professor and her 19 years old son who never comes back to their family house. Her life changes with a phone call from pediatrician’s office tells her about her appointment time with her baby which makes her realize she shares the same name with a woman.

Then she appears at the same time of their appointment out of the pediatrician’s office to meet with her and slowly she starts fixating Kelly and her son Sullivan which makes her friends more worried about her mental health and they keep asking her if Kelly is real person or if she connects with her little baby without her consent which makes us question about our protagonist’s psychological condition because everybody treats her with kid gloves and her husband acts suspicious around her judging his wife’s motives.

As Kelly spends more time with young Kelly and Sullivan her fixation gets extremer and she turns into Josephine Goldberg ( batshit crazy Auntie version of our dear Joe) starts stalking her each move and she finally decides young Kelly doesn’t deserve to be Sullivan’s mother and what happens if she takesover her place?

I’m stopping right here but I assure things will get crazier and you couldn’t put this book down and admire the talent of the author. As far as I can see Amber Garza mostly wrote high school romance books but I have to admit she shines brilliantly with her new choice of genre! I cannot wait to read upcoming works of her in near future.

Special thanks to NetGalley and HARLEQUIN Trade Publishing/ MIRA for sharing this nail biter and hair splitter ARC with me in exchange my honest review. I truly had an amazing time! Cheers!

I thought the premise of this book was interesting but I, for whatever reason, couldn't get into this book they way I normally would like to. I didn't feel any connection to Kelly and that was a bummer for me. But it was well-written and flowed nicely.

This book was a hit or miss for me. I didnt care for the characters and that usually puts me off from finishing. I did finish this one and idk if I should have or not. It was slow and confusing to me at times but did have some parts that were enjoyable. Just not for me.

Thank you Netgalley, the author and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This thriller was just what I needed right now. I read it in less than 24 hours and found myself surprised by the twists. Slightly reminiscent of Gone Girl, it was a welcomed distraction.

A well written suspense novel exploring the depths of friendship and obsession. While the trope is somewhat familiar, Amber Garza creates unique characters that feel intentionally guarded. The premise and tone of the book hold dark underpinnings but are fairly mild in thrills. An overall good read. 3 stars

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC of #WhenIWasYou which was read and reviewed voluntarily.

t all begins on an ordinary fall morning when Kelly Medina gets a call from her son’s pediatrician to confirm her upcoming “well-baby” appointment. It’s a cruel mistake; her son left for college a year ago, and Kelly’s never felt so alone. The receptionist quickly apologizes: there’s another mother in a town named Kelly Medina, and she must have gotten their numbers switched.

For days, Kelly can’t stop thinking about the woman who shares her name. Lives in her same town. Has a son she can still hold, and her whole life ahead of her. She can’t help looking for her: at the grocery store, at the gym, on social media. When Kelly just happens to bump into the single mother outside that pediatrician’s office, it’s simple curiosity getting the better of her.

Their unlikely friendship brings Kelly a renewed sense of purpose—taking care of this young woman and her adorable baby boy. But that friendship quickly turns to obsession, and when one Kelly disappears, well, the other one may know why

I thought the book was okay. NOT great. I felt I could not connect with Kelly. It seemed 1/2 way it dragged along. I did finish and would say the ending was good.

When I Was You is such an exhilarating, page turning shocker. I devoured this book and absolutely loved it.
This is a psychological thriller that has it all! When I Was You is a dark and twisty delight about what makes a good mother, and what makes a bad one. An impressive debut that will have you questioning your loyalties even as you turn to the next page.

What a fantastic book. I ploughed my way through this in 2 days. Strong characters and well researched storyline with the perfect ending.

Not bad per se but felt a bit trite; I felt that I've read similar stories (female relationships leading to obsession or unhealthy involvement) a lot lately.

I loved this book! It is the perfect mystery with lots of suspense. I have found myself needing to escape reality over the past few weeks of quarantine and that is exactly what this novel allowed me to do. Highly recommend this one!

"I breathed in, and the memories of everything you said flowed through my chest. It swelled, and I felt it -- the pain, the betrayal, the anger, the devastation, the sadness. Then I breathed it out, releasing it all into the air, knowing it would always linger nearby. A mere thought or memory away." --Amber Garza, When I Was You

Kelly Medina is facing empty nest syndrome and extreme loneliness in the taut thriller, When I Was You by Amber Garza, when she receives a phone call about a well-baby check for a patient with her exact name and a child that bears the same name as her son who is off to college, it sets something off in her that she finds hard to ignore.

A little bit unreliable narrator plus a heck of a lot of plot twists made for a page turning thriller that was both raw and emotionally wrecking. There’s so much going on in this book! The friendship that develops between two women who have way more in common than one of them knows and the unpredictable nature of the story made for a one-night read for me. This is twisty suspenseful thriller that is dark in all the right places. Definitely a must read if you’re a fan of the genre!

A big thank you to Harlequin – MIRA and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of When I Was You in exchange for my honest opinion.

It isn't often in life when you meet someone with the exact same name as you. However, it happens to Kelly Medina when a pediatrician's office calls to confirm her son's appointment, but it isn't for her. It is for the other Kelly Medina's son. This scene is the exposition for When I Was You where Garza weaves a plot so spectacular the reader thinks they have it all figured out, but the twists and turns continue to deceive you.

If you like Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train, this twisted novel would be a great read for you. It leaves the reader questioning the difference between the characters'' reality and their delusional worlds. When I Was You certainly kept me up late trying to unravel this plot.

Thank you Net Galley for the arc of this suspenseful book. I loved it!

This was my first boo by Amber Garza, it’s been in my queue for awhile but I saw someone else rave about it so I figured I’d read it now.

It definitely pulls you in and you can’t stop reading. However, I didn’t like either Kelly and find the writing a little off for whatever reason. The plot was good and I loved the ending. Over the twists and can’t put down factor was there.

Thanks to Netgalley for my advanced ebook copy.

I liked the premise of When I Was You and it was definitely a page-turning thriller. That said, I found Kelly it hard to care about Kelly and to sympathize with her situation. I think a lot of this had to do with the way the first person narrative was written. It seemed to have a somewhat clunky feel to it, almost as if it had been written in third person in an earlier draft and the transformation to first wasn't entirely successful. This distanced feel persists even when the narrative switches to the other Kelly. And the other problem with the switch is that the two characters sound nearly indistinguishable from each other in word choice and cadence, yet personality-wise, they're opposites. This issue with the voice made me feel at an arm's length from the emotions. That said, I read the whole novel and the ending surprised me.

Wow a tense chilling read.A book that grabbed from the first pages and kept me reading late into the night Ambre Garza is an author I will be recommending and looking forward to reading alLher books new& older#whenIwasyou #netgalley

Talk about whack-o and crazy people … When I Was You has a couple. We have Kelly Medina, and then there’s the other Kelly Medina.

The story and writing were fast paced and made for an enjoyable read. There were a few genuine twists, a few that you could see coming, and a pretty good ending.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. Nice job, Ms. Garza.

The psychological thriller is very popular right now with the main character having had a breakdown of some sort and questioning his or her own sanity, or believing in their sanity but being questioned by others. This book falls into that specific genre. And I am okay with that!



Kelly Medina is an empty-nester who's husband works in another city and only comes home on weekends. We are aware early on that she has experienced some sort of trauma, but the specifics are elusive. A misdirected phone call alerts her to the knowledge that there is another Kelly Medina in town, the mother of an infant. She becomes obsessed with finding out who this other Kelly is. Old Kelly arranges a 'chance meeting' with Young Kelly and inserts herself into Young Kelly's life.



The story is told in the first person, personal. Which is to say that more than just relating the story, we are privy to Old Kelly's inner dialog and thoughts as well. It's a little scary at times knowing/hearing what is going on in the mind of someone who might just be a little off kilter.



Of course any good psychological thriller is going to provide some twists and turns and this is no exception. I found myself re-reading about five or six pages at one point just because the twist at that point was so subtle I was afraid I had missed something. You may or may not decide you know what the twist is early on, but never fear, even if you get it right, there is more to come.

It took me a bit to write this review. I couldn’t make up my mind if I liked the book or not. There are some nice twists in there but as a whole, it didn’t wow me. The story was ok. I struggled to like either of the main characters. That ending saved the whole book for me. I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. I give this 3 stars.