This was a hard read for several reasons. The characters, superficially drawn, started and ended as completely unlikable for me; every single one of them. The plot reminded me of a bad soap opera. Without spoiling anything for determined readers, the main character, Jewelann, heads to her HS reunion with a need for revenge on the man who “done her wrong”. Her scheme is silly and sophomoric. It sets a chain of events in motion that topple Jewelann’s life as she knew it. Her poor decision making and horrible judgment as a wife, friend, mother and plain old human being, defy belief at every turn. Without giving away the plot twists, I will say that they were as uninteresting to me as the rest of the book and I was happy to be done. The highlight for me was the opportunity for this advance read. Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books.

I am still reeling from this one!!!! I breezed through it in 2 sittings. I actually wasn’t impressed at the beginning, to be honest. I thought the plot was a little shallow, and I didn’t love any of the characters. Until I did – AND WOW!!!! It quickly became one of those books that was hard to walk away from.

We Knew All Along begins with Jewelann at her high school reunion, she’s dressed to kill and is there alone (despite being married). She is planning on confronting (and winning over) the boy from high school who broke her heart. She succeeds and leaves C.C. naked and wanting more in his hotel room.

When he starts texting her, and seemingly befriends her husband and son, then moves into their guest house, tensions rise. We learn Jewel has a bit of a shopping problem, and despite how they look on the surface, her family is in trouble. (Did you know you can find Louboutins at estate sales? Same with crystal drinking glasses)

Her marriage isn’t happy, and she assumes her husband is cheating on her. She’s not really that upset about it, though. Her son is unhappy, and un-adjusted. That’s credited to his friend disappearing when he was 6. But things aren’t always as they seem 😬😬😬 There are LOTS of secrets to be spilled here. Some are shallow, and some are very, VERY dark.

When I got to the end of We Knew All Along, I made an audible gasp, and read and re-read the twist. IT.WAS.SO.WELL.DONE. And then there was another twist. And it was just as well done! 👏🏻👏🏻 We Knew All Along is a 4.8 for me!!
https://www.heyitsjenna.com/2022/06/01/early-summer-reading-book-review-11/

I'm a sucker for anything to do with a class reunion, and this one is a doozy. The novel starts with the main character Jewelann attending her high school reunion without her husband, with a plan to woo and humiliate the high school crush, Christian, who broke her heart. Mission accomplished. But Christian won't just fade away. He starts with texts and phone calls, and then Jewelann finds him sitting in her house with her husband, where he is introduced as the new tenant in their guest house! He insinuates himself in her life, befriending her family. Jewelann has many secrets she is hiding. Twists and turns galore. Loved it!

I almost quit this book quite a few times before it finally grabbed me. The extremely slow start made the ending feel a bit rushed. I did fly through the end but ultimately I found the book disappointing overall.

I literally couldn’t put this book down from the moment I picked it up. A high school love comes back into her life. Yet is her life as perfect it seems? And the truth is more astonishing than I ever imagined. Literally had me on the edge of my seat until the end. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

We Knew All Along starts with Jewel meeting her old crush, Christian, during their high school reunion. She wants to show him what he's been missing all these years but the prank goes wrong and the consequences of her actions will lead to a journey she wishes she handn't started...

This was quite a rollercoaster! I really enjoyed this novel, it was easy to read and I finished it in one sitting. Mina Hardy's style is fantastic and the narrative is so immervise I found myself talking to the main character more than a few times!

With that being said, it is very difficult to review We Knew All Along without spoiling it as there are more than a few twists and turns. As with all novels of this type, the story starts with a bang and the story progresses into interesting situations that in turn lead to more shocking revelations.

The ending was satisfying and the characters were believeable, a solid page turner for me!

goodreads.com/booksireadandliked
Disclosure: I would like to thank the publisher and author for my advanced review copy of the book. This is my honest review

We Knew All Along
✍️:Mina Hardy

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Ahh this was a good one.

Jewelann Jordan is a thrift and estate sale junkie! She likes her things. She tries to keep up with name brands but thrifty style. She lives with her husband Ken who travels a lot for work and her son Eli who is often labeled as weird.

Jewelann attends her class reunion with one person in mind who she is looking forward to seeing. Enter Christian Campbell, The high school heartthrob turned surgeon. Jewelann thinks she’s finally got her revenge on Christian, that’s all wishful thinking….Until she can’t get rid of him! he starts showing up and befriending Jewelanns husband Ken and becoming their tenant.

This family is full of secrets. Great read! And you won’t believe the ending.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC! Publishing date: December 6,2022

No one is who they seem in this domestic thriller! Jewelann Jordan has a shaky marriage, an alcohol problem and a troubled son. She wants to see her old crush Christian so she goes to her class reunion. She wants to show him what he lost and is missing out on. Things heat up quickly! She returns home desperate to keep her one night with Christian a secret. He shows up and is determined to ruin Jewelann's life! He charms her son and befriends her husband, Dark secrets, past secrets, and danger are all present. This book provides chills and thrills. I was hooked after a few pages!

Who knew high school reunions could lead to such deep, dark secrets.
This is a twisted story with one explosion after the other, making the reader wonder, what the heck is going on.
A definite page turner!
#WeKnewAllAlong #NetGalley

Wow what a page turner if a book from the first page till the last, Mina Hardy has certainly written a great suspense book.
We Knew All Along had me hooked from the first page! I couldn't put it down.
I was completely consumed with this book and enjoyed every minute of it!
With compelling and interesting characters that had me hooked immediately. And I was utterly absorbed.
A glorious and fast-paced adventure, this is not one to miss.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Crooked Lane Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Crooked Lane Books and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Perfect mystery thriller from Mina Hardy. Captivating, thrilling, suspenseful and entertaining.

MINA HARDY HAS DONE IT AGAIN!!!!!!!! I am in awe of her thrillers, you just do not see it coming! Fantastic book!

Book: We Knew All Along
Author: Mina Hardy
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Pub Date: December 6, 2022

What?!? That’s what I kept asking myself twist and after shocking twist! None of which I was expecting. I don’t want to say to much because I don’t want to give anything away but the beginning is nothing like the end so be ready! Excellent plot twist!

Thank you Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is December 6, 2022.

4 stars
Another great mystery/thriller novel. Fast paced, good twists, unlikable characters (my personal favorite). I’m ready to read more by Nina Hardy after this one!

We Knew All Along
By Mina Hardy
Release date 12/06/2022

The night with Christian isn't the first secret Jewelann has kept from her husband Ken, so one more shouldn't be much harder--except that Christian shows up without warning, seemingly determined to do his best to mess up Jewelann's life in any way he can. Worse than that, he seems to have his sights set on charming her son, Eli, and befriending her husband. Revenge isn't so sweet when it bites you back, but Jewelann is determined to keep Christian from ruining everything she worked to stay safe, including her son.
 
Jewells is full of secrets. This entire book is one secret after another, after another, from all of the cast. She’s leading a life of pretending to be someone she’s not and hiding mountains of debt from her husband. She leads the perfect life for him. She’s her husband Ken’s puppet. Always playing the part, she is in complete denial. This book is super intense, and I read this one sitting. I could simply not put it down.
5 sensational S҉҉T҉҉A҉҉R҉҉S҉҉🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

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Love the first book she wrote so gave this one a try and I really, really enjoyed this book! It was captivating and it hooked me from the very first chapter! Definitely recommend! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

This book was sent to me by Netgalley for review...It is a story of mystery and intrigue...actually a dark story...characters are not likable...I could not get into this book, but others might enjoy it. Try it. The author does weave a story that is frightening...mystery lovers might really get into this type of novel.

This was an amazing surprise of a story. This book will hook in the first couple chapters. I truly feel that one will be able to relate to the characters in this book. Maybe not all of them, but at least a couple of them. Very well written characters and story line, that you will be able to follow. This is one of those books that will make you want it to keep going and going. Did not see the ending coming, at all!! I will be recommending this to many people who read many different genres.

This book was amazing!! It starts off as a good story but then takes a huge turn!! Loved the plot twist that you never see coming. And the one after that.

I’m going to be honest here. I almost stopped reading this one a couple of times. I just hated every single character. Unlikable characters are fine, but they also need to be entertaining. And I wasn’t entertained…until I was.

I can pinpoint exactly when it switched – suddenly, there was a house guest and previously bad behavior became more mysterious. And I started to realize that things were much darker than sordid affairs of the heart.

The secrets were stunning – especially one that utterly shocked me.

I enjoyed this. The author completely surprised me.

• ARC via Net Galley