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!

Is this… the best thriller… I’ve ever read?! When I tell you this GRIPPED me (especially from 40% on), I could not put my Kindle down!! It has been ages since a book had me wrapped around its finger like this and even though I have no idea what exactly just happened I know I loveddddddd it!

SO twisty. SO fun. SO wild. It delivered and then some. You will question everything as you’re reading this and I think that’s kinda the point. Unreliable narrator at its finest, I was re-reading sentences and going back to chapters trying to understand what in God’s green earth is going on here 🤯😧

There’s nothing slow burn-ish about this one. It moves unapologetically fast, with twists and new developments on nearly every page. I didn’t want it to end, and every time I tapped my Kindle to go to the next page I hoped and hoped it would keep going until I finally hit the Acknowledgements page (and I read that section too because I seriously did not want it to end) 😅

Loved the mixed media aspect since it moves between the narrator, the podcast recording, the docu series, news reports and text messages which only adds to the “unputdownability” of it all.

Add this to your TBR, pre-order it and block out your calendar for the weekend following the release of this book. SO very good!! 👏🏼

My favorite read thus for for 2023. I finished it in a single day.

This dark and disturbing psychological thrill ride will leave you guessing until the very end, intricately layered with deeply flawed characters, fractured relationships and wildly unexpected plot twists. This was my first time reading anything from Lisa Jewell...and certainly won't be my last!

WAUW! Lisa Jewell did it again! What a wonderful juicy twisty story. Everything in this book was done beyond right. The premise of the story is original and set-up to draw you in from the first moment. The characters in the book are interesting from the start and I wanted to get to know them ASAP. The story grabs you immediately and you know something bad will happen, and I could not wait to find out what it was! I loved the way Lisa build up this story by inserting little bit ands pieces of the Netflix documentary, feeding us the truth slowly making it so twisty! Absolutely loved this story!

4.5 ⭐
Fans of thrillers will love this book! It's twisted and completely out there and leaves you guessing more and more, and wondering who is telling the truth the entire time.

This is my favorite book from Lisa Jewell and while sometimes I find the endings lacking, I really liked the whole book and thought the writing was great.

Josie is out celebrating her 45th birthday with her husband when another woman, Alix, walks in with birthday balloons and a large group of friends. They are birthday twins and they briefly meet in the bathroom and say hello, Josie pointing out that they are birthday twins. Born on the same day, in the same hospital even!

Josie looks Alix up and finds out she is a well known podcaster and begins to listen to her podcasts a bit obsessively. She is ready for a change in her life and she tracks down Alix and asks if she might do a podcast on her, a woman on the brink of big change. Alix doesn't normally do podcasts like that but something pulls her towards this project.

As the book unravels and Josie talks more and more about her life, Alix is drawn in and can't help her curiosity. She invites Josie into her life and reveals personal things about herself as well. When Josie reveals dark truths about her past, Alix knows she is onto something, and like a train wreck, she can't stop, even though she knows nothing good is going to come from this.

When Josie suddenly disappears, Alix's world comes crashing down and she is left to pick through the pieces of truth and fiction.

Thanks to netgalley for an eARC to review.

I would give this book 3 stars… I normally love Lisa Jewell books but this was not her best. There were some components that I think were not necessary. The main character is a podcaster so there are podcast transcripts throughout the book which didn’t bother me… but there were also Netflix transcripts throughout because the podcast eventually becomes a Netflix documentary. The Netflix part bothered me. I felt it wasn’t necessary.

Synopsis: Alix is a famous podcaster who has a show about influential women. She meets her “birthday twin” Josie when she is out to dinner with friends for her birthday celebration. Josie notices Alix and immediately wants to become her friend. When Josie finds out she is a podcaster, Josie begs Alix to produce a show about her and Alix accepts. Was it a good idea to allow Josie into her life ? We later find out Josie has a lot of family issues but is she telling the truth or is none of it true ?

It seems like serendipity when Josie and Alix meet at a pub as they’re both celebrating their fortieth birthdays. Not only are they birthday twins, but Alix is a podcaster looking for a new subject and Josie is willing to share the story of her life as she looks to make changes. What started as a happy coincidence quickly spirals into a nightmare for Alix that ends in tragedy with Josie on the run.

What I loved:
-dual POV
-the format of the story with podcast/interview/documentary excerpts
-I was questioning EVERYTHING by the end of the book! Josie was a really well done unreliable narrator
-so twisty and creepy

Lisa Jewell does it again! This was a wild ride of a read that had me truly questioning what was true. I loved this unique, twisty thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the advanced reading copy.

The Queen of Suspense does it again!

When successful podcaster Alix meets her birthday twin, mousy Josie, in a restaurant bathroom, she thinks it's a strange coincidence. But actually it's a carefully choreographed plan thought up by the quiet seamstress. Bored with her life, Josie dreams of something bigger and better than what she has done with her first forty-five years, and she knows that by befriending Alix she can do just that.

The friendship is one-sided, though, and as Josie enmeshes herself into Alix's life, nothing is as it seems. And before long, Alix is in too deep to get out from under Josie's obsession with her. When a series of scary events occurs, Josie's true form emerges and it's nothing like Alix's first impression.

Outstanding! A true thriller with an incredible ending. There’s lots of tension, some great twists, together with some very dark and complex characters. If you are a Lisa Jewell fan, you'll want to pick this one up ASAP!