Lisa Jewel wrote another winning novel! Out of the six books I read by her, she always delivers a disturbing and eerie story that keeps you on the edge of your seat, and this book was no different.

Alix Summers and Josie Fair are nothing alike except for having the same birthday. Alix hosts a true crime podcast, and Josie is married with two children with a complicated life. Both women met at a bar when they were celebrating their birthdays. Josie became obsessed with getting to know Alix and coerced her to have Josie on the podcast. The things that Josie confesses to Alix are shocking and might not be completely accurate. Her lies and her actions might cause Alix and her family in grave danger.

The delivery of this book was fantastic. The story was dark, eerie, and compelling. It was everything I wanted in a Lisa Jewel book. The writing style was perfect too. I loved how Jewel can build suspense gradually throughout the book, and I will still be shocked by the ending. The podcast and the Netflix series recap added a fresh and unique spin to the story. None Of This Is True is a fast-paced, gripping psychological thriller that will lead you to a world of deception with this addictive read.

Thank you to NetGallery and to Atria Publishing for giving me a copy of the book.

4.5

WOW. WOW. WOW is all I have to say after finishing this book. I finished it in two days and opted out of plans with friends to finish it. I think Jewell took the ever common podcast theme, and put new twist on it. It was original, gripping, and unputdownable.

Josie and Alix are birthday twins. They were born on the same day, in the same hospital, on the same year. Josie comes from a traumatic past. At 14 she fell in love with a 45 year old married man, then had two children, and has continued to live under the shadow of her husband ever since. Alix, is a successful podcaster whose marriage is on the rocks. On their 45th birthday, Josie and Alix run into each other in the bathroom on their birthday, where they dubbed each other "The Birthday Twins".

Josie then begins to seek Alix out in different places across London: her child's school, outside her home, and at a coffee shop because she wants Alix to do a podcast on her life. Alix, who feels like she is in a work rut, agrees and the relationship between Josie and Alix begins. As the podcast unfolds, Alix becomes increasingly uncomfortable around Jodie. She notices things begin missing from her apartment and people who she is interviewing for the podcast don't make Jodie out to be this damaged woman she claims to be.


Although the ending was a little dragged out, it will absolutely make you think and debate for weeks to come.

Surprise, surprise - another Lisa Jewell book that hooked me in right from the start, gave me the creeps, and had my jaw dropping.

“Hi! I’m Your Birthday Twin!”

Josie Fair and Alix Summers end up celebrating their 45th birthday at the same gastropub. This is an unusual outing for Josie (her and her husband Walter usually stay at home and get takeaway), but it’s just another day in the life for beautiful, blonde Alix and her friends & family, who are in a very celebratory mood.

Josie follows Alix when she goes into the washroom and mentions that it’s also her birthday. She finds our they were born on the same day, at the same hospital. From there, Josie pursues an interesting acquaintance with Alix, who is the host of a popular podcast. Alix wouldn’t call their relationship a friendship (Josie may disagree…), but she does agree to take her podcast in a new direction, interviewing Josie about her life and the changes she wants to make going forward.

Slowly, you learn more and more details about Josie’s life, and it is dark & bleak. But, can you trust Josie, and how much of her story is the truth?

Lisa Jewell is just so good at writing odd, off-putting characters… you can’t put your finger on it, but for some reason they give you the creeps, and their peculiar actions, though seemingly innocuous, give you goosebumps (taking trinkets, all the denim, the baby food???). They make you uncomfortable, they sometimes even repulse you, but also, you need to keep reading to know more. Against her better judgement, Alix wants to hear Josie out and give her the chance to tell her story.

What to expect:
• Dual POV (in the third person)
• Strange & mysterious family dynamics
• Age gap marriage (and not in a cute, romcom trope way)
• A small dog that goes everywhere with Josie
• Podcast transcripts / screenplay excerpts throughout

For some reason, I also just love reading UK thrillers because then I get to Google terms like Weetabix and water closet to find out what the heck they mean. They just give a book some extra charm (as a US reader).

Add this one to your TBR friends, it will be out in August!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and Atria Books for the advanced eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. This was a literal page turner, the story was so creepy and compelling and fast paced. Sometimes I think the podcaster as narrator genre is overdone, but it worked really well here. A solid thriller.

Another solid thriller from Lisa Jewell. Following 2 birthday twins as they embark on making a podcast together. It soon becomes clear that nothing is as it seems in this story. Compulsively readable and full of suspense but at points this book reminded me so heavily of other thrillers, I couldn't help but feel like I'd read it before.

Um.....this book is flipping amazing!!!!

I could not swipe the pages fast enough and stayed up way too late several nights because I HAD to find out what was going to happen!

The only problem now is this book was sooooooo good, everything else seems meh.

This is now my favorite Lisa Jewell book. A close second is WATCHING YOU and THEN SHE WAS GONE.

Brief Synopsis:

Alix Summer "befriends" an odd woman named Josie Fair after a chance meeting at a restaurant while celebrating their 45th birthdays.

Josie worms her way into Alix's life, becoming the subject of Alix's podcast. Josie's life story is troubling and terrifying and soon Alix's life no longer seems her own but instead is manipulated by Josie.

Is Josie capable of murder? Bodies start piling up so yes maybe.

Lisa Jewell has created an astonishing, heart-stopping (at times, heart-wrenching), unpredictable masterpiece here, folks.

Alix Summers is a popular podcaster. Josie Fair is just — Josie Fair. They don’t know each other until they meet coincidentally at the same restaurant both celebrating their 45th birthdays. They soon meet again and come up with a new idea for a podcast which sparks a complicated turn of events to follow.

I am absolutely obsessed with the interspersed scenes from the Netflix show about the podcast. It creates an element of intrigue and potential foreshadowing I’ve never seen before. Brilliant. The mystery is addictive. The twists are satisfying. The suspense is all-consuming. You think you know, and then oh, wow. You really don’t.

Go read this book the first chance you get. It releases on 8/8/23!

Thank you to Atria Books/Simon & Schuster, NetGalley, and Lisa Jewell for the advanced copy.

Lisa Jewell books always get me! I was so excited to get an ARC of her new book! This one was filled with so many twists and turns and takes you on a roller coaster of emotion…and the ending?!?! I loved the podcast/Netflix/story mash up of writing as well!

WOW. I loved this read. I could not wait to see how it all unraveled at the end … and the ending was SO GOOD. I am STILL thinking about this book and how it ended. Would definitely recommend.

I honestly don’t know the last time (if ever!) I read a book so quickly. It was page turn after page turn. I constantly thought about the next time I would have the opportunity to pick it back up again. I adored the formatting with multiple perspectives as well as the jumps in time. Jewell also did this awesome trick where she made the podcast that was actively being recorded in the book into a flash forward moment with the podcast becoming a Netflix true crime documentary. The creativity and overall layout of the book was unique and kept me engaged. I love a long thriller, so I think there were moments and family dynamics that could have been capitalized on and filled in more depth and background of character. But overall, this is a must read if you’re a thriller fan!!

Wow - I absolutely *loved* this book. Thank you for my advanced copy!

None of This is True is riveting from the start. I was instantly hooked and honestly loved every second of it. It left me second guessing every character, which in my opinion is a mark in a great thriller!

I really enjoyed the narratives. They were exceptionally well done.

Overall, this book is sure to be the hottest thriller of 2023!

Thank you Simon and Schuster for the ARC of this book.

“Hi, I’m your birthday twin!” I couldn’t put this book down once I started reading. Lisa Jewell has a wonderful way of hooking you from the first chapter on. I questioned Josie and Alix’s characters the entire time. What an ending!

Can Lisa Jewell write a bad book?! I don’t think so. And this one might be her best yet!! The pacing was perfect, the characters were incredibly weird and mesmerizing - I couldn’t stop reading!! This is an amazing thriller that will keep you reading late into the night. The only negative? That it had to end. I think this will go down as one of the best thrillers ever written!

Power, at all levels, seeks to atrract the worst and corrupts even the best. It manages to stain hands and then the minds through the evil of manipulation. Play the music and they will dance.

Seriously saying........Lisa Jewell, you have created one mind-blowing novel here that will stay perched on a stool in the corners of one's brain. It will beg to be revisited and prodded into front row and center thought. These characters demand attention.

Coincidence wheels itself across paths. It's Josie Fair's 45th birthday. She and her husband, Walter, usually downplay events. But Josie is in the mood for a bolder celebration. She's made reservations at an upscale restaurant. As she glances across the room, Josie spots a table lined with rowdy, alcohol-fueled people surrounding another birthday girl. The balloons attached to the chair of an attractive woman announce it's her 45th birthday, too.

Chance works its way even into the ladies room when Josie meets up with her fellow birthday twin. They express niceties and leave. But this is not the last time that their paths will cross. Not by a long shot.

Alix Summer is that birthday twin. She is a popular podcast journalist here in London. She and her husband, Nathan, have a beautiful home and two lively children. Her All Woman podcast is coming to an end. Alix is searching for new material when Josie pops up in her life again requesting to be part of her podcast. Josie wants to break away from her old life and have Alix interview her as it happens. Alix is excited with the new prospect of recharging her podcast.

But Fate will slowly ooze in when we least expect it. Alix lets her guard down and Josie inches herself into every aspect of Alix' life. And here's where Lisa Jewell ratchets up her master storytelling gene. Honestly, I actually felt the winds gathering and the cyclone forming. You will, too. The game of manipulation is intense here. It's like that nightmare you have when you're continuously falling off that cliff.......tumbling and grabbing onto something.......waiting for the inevitable to happen. And it does in this one. WoWzers! Just WoWzers! Hats off to Lisa Jewell. None of This Is True is her golden achievement.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Simon & Schuster (Atria Books) and to the talented Lisa Jewell for the opportunity.

Loved how twisty the plot was and the inclusion of a podcast as well as a Netflix series. Those are two things that I think a lot of people love right now. It was very interesting to see what we thought was the psyche of the husband, then the wife, but then not really sure which was true until the end. As an educator, having characters with diagnosed ASD and ODD was very interesting as well. Love that this book kept me guessing until the end and will recommend to my book club friends.

Lisa Jewell never disappoints when it comes to fabulously twisty thrillers starring people who feel like us. Her heroines here--a podcaster with an outwardly glossy life, a mousy housewife who envies that gloss--take us on a terrifying rollercoaster as the housewife insinuates into the podcaster's life with horrifying results. Already can't wait for the next Lisa Jewell!

None of This Is True is an exceptional read. The author has created a unique story and one that keeps the reader enthralled. The structure and format of the book kept this reader pushing to "read a few more pages" when other tasks called for attention. The characters are so well drawn that they become real in the reader's mind; I found myself puzzling with Alix to figure out how to relate to the woman who inveigled herself into Alix's life as her "birthday twin."

I will be so disappointed if this book doesn’t become a movie! This is my favorite Lisa Jewel book to date! Lisa Jewell is one author that I will read everything she writes. Always.

Alix Summer is a podcaster who was out celebrating her 45th birthday with her husband, Nathan, and a big group of friends at a local pub. Josie Fair is at the same pub celebrating her own birthday with her much older husband, Walter. The two women have a “chance” encounter in the ladies’ room, where they discover that they are “birthday twins.”

Alix’s podcast is very successful and is about powerful women that changed their lives for the better. However, she is getting bored with the stories and is looking for something new to spark her interest. That’s when Josie suggests that she do a podcast about her. She is going to be changing her life and she wanted the changed to be documented as the podcast progresses. Things take a turn when Josie starts to reveal shocking things about her life, both past and present.

Between chapters, there are snippets of the Netflix documentary called “Hi, I’m your birthday twin!” There are interviews from the podcasts from various points in time, and it keeps you guessing as to what the final outcome is going to be.

What is real and what is not? You will be on the edge of your seat the entire time wondering who is reliable, and who is not. Is any of it true?

What I liked: the format of this book was so interesting with the Netflix pieces. It was so unique and I could envision this as a movie following the same format. That is how I know it is a 5 star book for me. If I find myself wanting to see a movie based on the book, that gets an automatic five stars.

What I didn’t like: that it ended.

Trigger warning: domestic violence, discussion of sexual abuse of a minor, neglect, and physical abuse.

Thank you to Lisa Jewell, Atria Books, and Netgalley for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

*this review will be updated with TikTok review link by April 20th

I am so excited and grateful that I got to read this ARC!

Alix & Josie meet by chance when they are both at a restaurant celebrating their 45th birthdays. Josie takes an immediate interest in Alix and tries to pursue a friendship, which leads to Alix interviewing Josie for her podcast where Josie shares about her life.

This was really uniquely written - sharing podcast interviews and screen plays from the “Netflix show” that the podcast was being turned into, as well as the present story told by both Alix & Josie’s POVs.

Fans of Lisa Jewell, be prepared!! This is different from her others but very captivating. I would really enjoy seeing it turned into a show!

The only reason it didn’t get 5 stars from me is that I wish there were more plot twists.

Trigger warning: pedophilia and child abuse.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first Lisa Jewell book, but certainly not my last! I couldn't put this book down and read it in two sittings. It's smart, quick, propulsive and embodies the thing I need most in a thriller: a unique plot that I won't be able to figure out a third of the way through. The twists were so sharp and smart, the pacing was on point, and the characters and their stories compelling. I loved this and highly recommend!