I'm still not sure about this, the storyline was good, the characters were good, but something was missing for me. This was not one of my most favourite of Mina's books so I can only give it 3 stars.

I was lucky to receive an advance copy of We Knew All Along by Mina Hardy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I LOVED this book- this was a wild crazy read! I was captivated from the very first page and the twists and turns just kept coming all the way until the very last page. The ending will SHOCK you! Do yourself a big favor and read this ASAP!

This was, mercifully, a quick read. The plot was hackneyed, all the characters were terrible (minus Lisa, who had more dimension despite her limited presence), and all the action happened in the last 5%.

This was well written , a fantastic story with great characters, it hooked me from early on. I love Mina's writing story! This wasn't my most fave of hers but I did really enjoy it. 3 stars from me

WOWZA I definitely struggled with this one. I ABSOLUTELY DESPISED every single character in this book, none of them had any redeemable qualities, and I think that played a huge role in why I did not want to keep picking this book up. I definitely finished it out of spite. The build up was soooo slow and I found myself incredibly bored, but once things started to pick up I definitely got more invested, but then the book was over. It did not give all of the attention to the things that it should have.

This started out really good and felt like an Alice Feeney book. It seemed like a revenge book but it didn't really go anywhere. Not much happened until close to the end where a lot of predictable things were revealed.

I couldn’t help but enjoy this book. Jewelann was you, me, she was everyone. She was relatable and that made her likeable.

You can’t help but hope Christian won’t come in and ruin her life as she knows it.

I flew through this book in one day and enjoyed every second of it! The beginning is a slow burn domestic suspense that builds tension until the shocking conclusion. There are even a few hook up scenes in this one for romance lovers but not enough to call it a romantic suspense. It’s a quick and easy read and I found the writing to be magnetic - drawing you into the story quickly and deeply. The characters and plot are both multi-layered and intriguing. I definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for an entertaining and thrilling read.

I received an advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

I feel like it is hard to be invested in a story when every single character is unlikable. While this book had my attention at first, it quickly felt redundant and I wasn't all that interested in what happened to the characters. Jewelann was absolutely insufferable. ⭐⭐⭐

This was a strange book, maybe I should have had a break between thrillers before reading this. It was slow in parts, which I found difficult to keep my attention.

On the whole a good book, with suspense built up, but the ending let it down a bit.

Thank you to Crooked Lane & Netgalley for the eARC to read and review.

I was on a thriller kick when I read this one, but it did not end up hitting the mark for me.

The story follows Jewelanne, an interesting narrator whose character traits made it hard for me to get behind (ie; pettiness, infidelity-lite, etc.). Her poor decisions led to a series of uncomfortable situations that she essentially caused herself. I realize that not all protagonists are written to make the reader connect with them, but I found little to like here.

Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC (late review post).

We Knew All Along had such an interesting premise. A family with dark secrets and this book certainly had their fair share of them.

I wouldn’t be any means say this book is a masterpiece but it certainly had me engaged enough to keep turning the pages.
The pacing was slow and the story almost seemed like it was derailing from the main storyline. Whether, or not this was intentionally done by the author to miss direct the reader into what was actually happening to create a bigger impact is debatable.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I would certainly pick up this authors books again.

I am not sure why I stuck with this book to the end. The story moves very slowly with little happening. It did pick up at the end but by then it was beyond saving.

I gave this book 3 stars on Goodreads. I read this in ebook format but, in a strange turn of events, think that I would have enjoyed this more as an audiobook.

I thought that I would LOVE this book and while I did enjoy it, I think my enjoyment was hindered because there were other thrillers with similar plot lines that I enjoyed more. One example is Ashley Winstead's, In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, which was at the top of my 2022 year end list. In My Dreams follows a similar construction but (in my opinion) hits every point better. If I hadn't loved In My Dreams as much or if I hadn't read it at all, I may have warmed to this book more.

I also need to point out the the men in this book....gag. The worst. I am all for unlikable characters but there is nothing enjoyable about a gaggle of blatantly predatory men with zero charm, likability, and a total lack of redeeming qualities. I think the biggest problem was how overt the author made the unlikable qualities of some of the characters. It would have been more effective if these unlikable qualities were revealed slowly as the book carried on rather than just being presented early on. It was like, 'here are some slimy male characters....now watch them be slimy', and that was it.

My final gripe is the ending. I just wasn't a fan. I was able to begrudgingly look past the male characters and remain intrigued in the story. Things were steadily improving but after the half-way point, it seemed to derail quickly. This may just be a me thing, though. There are a few reviewers who say that they really enjoyed the ending. If you give this one a read, be sure to let me know which side you stand on.

Uhm, this book was kind of all over the place and I didn't really care for it. The plot, and honestly whole mystery, was really muddy and did not suck me in. I didn't feel the need to keep going back to the book to find out what happened.

The conclusion was rushed and not really flushed out in my opinion. I don't know that I would recommend this book to thriller readers.

I absolutely loved this book. It hooked me and kept me turning pages until I was done. Finished it in two days! The character development was strong, and the premise was unique enough that it didn't feel like anything else I've read.

I clearly waited entirely too long to read We Knew All Along by Mina Hardy! This is another one of those books that kind of snuck up on me with how much I ended up loving it, and while it is a slow mover, the payout at the end is completely worth it. I could not put this book down, and it could have easily been a 1-sitting read for me if I hadn't started on Valentine's Day of all days. I saw it making the rounds on Instagram and knew I had to pick it up, plus I couldn't help but appreciate the fact that the publisher is Crooked Lane Books. I don't mean to impose my views (yes I do) on anyone, but IMO they have some of the best crime fiction books I have read to date. I completely lost myself in all of the secrets and lies, and while some people may have considered the end rushed, having it make my jaw drop multiple times made it a winner for me.

I was also an enormous fan of the audiobook narrator Zura Johnson, and I don't think I could have picked anyone better to narrate Jewelann. I highly recommend the audio (which also helps with pacing) if you love listening to books, and she really knocked it out of the park for me. There ends up being a lot more going on with the plot than I first realized, and the twists and turns in this story will make you see stars. I really enjoyed that Jewelann is incredibly relatable and her spending being out of control brought me reminders of myself TBH. I don’t shop like she does, or pile things up in a storage area, but man did I understand plenty of what she was going through. There is also a heavy theme of addiction in the book (not just the shopping habit), and it gave the story a lot of substance. And don’t even get me started on the revenge aspect! I actually have Hardy’s debut sitting in my house and I think it’s high time I read it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Jewelann has ulterior motives for attending her class reunion. She’s out for a bit of revenge. Looking better than she ever looked in high school she’s there to flaunt it. Stuck in an unhappy marriage with a troubled son, she’s seeking a bit of fun, but when her high school flame moves into her guest house, he’s a little too close for comfort. Her overbearing husband travels quite a bit, which doesn’t bother her at all, but then things really start getting strange. When the police show up at her door, she’s in for a shock! The characters in this book were all unlikable and as the story progressed the more unbelievable it got. Just an OK read. Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Suspenseful, captivating and scandalous! This book was everything a thriller should be. Truly loved it, from start to finish. That ending!! 5 stars.

There was a lot going on in this week-I didn't hate it, but it was entertaining until the very end, when everything sort of fell apart. Didn't like the ending.