That was a captivating ride!
Lisa Jewell is a master at psychological thrillers and character development.
I’ll keep this review short and sweet because I think this is a read you will benefit from going in blind on.

I loved the mixture of Netflix documentary, podcast audio, and traditional third person narration. I hope this actually turns into a Netflix show because it will be a winner! Jewell does an excellent job at setting the scene, and I felt the different media even though I was only reading. I’ll likely go back and listen to this one on audio in the future to see how that experience compares.

I do wish the ending had been a bit more suspenseful and complete, but if you’re a fan of an ambiguous ending, then you’ll love this.
4.5 stars, but rounding up to 5 because everything prior to the ending was absolute perfection to me.

TW:
Pedophilia and grooming
Drug/alcohol abuse

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

No better title than None of This Is True for Lisa Jewell’s newest book. I was gripped by this thriller from the beginning and I don’t want to give too much away so I’ll just say clear your weekend when this one publishes because you’re not going to want to put it down.

This is one of the better Lisa Jewell books in a while; her format and style has changed for it which is good but she still focuses on deranged mothers and abused daughters. That gives nothing away bc you're not sure who is who in that scenario. It's full of twists and turns and in true Jewell fashion what you think you know, you don't and the ending always flips it in it's head (the ending after the ending). There were a few minor plot inconsistencies but overall a good psychological thriller that is a compelling read. 3.5 stars.

Alix Summer has a successful podcast that features women who have overcome extreme difficulties and hardship, to lead happy and successful lives.
Alix herself has a pretty good life too - a smart ultra modern home in London, two beautiful children, a husband that she loves - you get the picture, life's pretty good in the main, although her husband Nathan does have a tendency to go on benders from time to time, which Alix finds worrying.
Whilst celebrating her 45th birthday at the local pub with family and friends, Alix is approached by a woman in the restroom who introduces herself as Josie Fair and tells her that they're
'birthday twins' as it's her 45th birthday too.
A few days later Josie approaches Alix as she's waiting to pick her children up outside school, and says she's been listening to her podcasts, and wants to know if Alix will feature her, not as a successful woman, but as a woman who has some dark secrets but is about to change her life completely.
After much debating, Alix thinks she would make an interesting subject so she decides to give it a go. Bad choice! As Josie slowly integrates herself into Alix's life, into her very home, she'll discover that Josie isn't exactly who she portrays herself to be.
As the podcast continues, some very disturbing facts begin to reveal themselves, and Alix realises that she's made a big mistake!
There's lots of tension, some great twists, together with some very dark and complex characters, as Ms Jewell expertly peels back the layers with consummate skill to reveal an intricate and twisted tale that's such a worthy read.

I think this is Lisa Jewell’s best book yet. I say that after every book, but this one is riveting, disturbing, dark and sinister and utterly addicting. I loved it!

This might be Jewell's best book yet - twisty, surprising, unbelievable and yet unput-downable. I loved reading the story and couldn't put it down. Will be recommending this as a perfect summer read!

📚 Book Review 📚
Title: None of This is True
Author: @lisajewelluk
Genre: Mystery / Thriller / Psychological Suspense
Date published: August 2023
Primary Setting: England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

A huge thanks to @netgalley and @atriabooks for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

📚Synopsis:
Alix is a successful podcaster, wife, and mother of two lovely school-age children. Josie is a private, introverted home-body with a story she is ready to share about her much older husband and troubled adult children. When these two woman meet by chance on their shared birthday, they form a peculiar working-friendship and secrets of the past start to spill.

✍️ My review:
Get ready for another Lisa Jewell gem. This book is full of characters with questionable actions and “what the?” moments. I enjoyed the way the author incorporated the idea of a Netflix documentary and found myself compelled to binge read the book well passed my bedtime. Highly recommend for anyone who likes psychological thrillers.

💕You might like this book if:
🔹 you like the added complexity of untrustworthy characters
🔹 you find yourself binge-watching Netflix documentaries about mysteries
🔹you enjoy shows such as Inventing Anna or Single White Female

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this novel! Lisa Jewell is always a go to author for a fun psychological thriller that offers some depth and is mostly believable- and this book is no exception! I devoured this over two days and enjoyed every second of the wild ride. I did knock off one star because I had figured out some of the plot twists, but that didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the book! Release date is Aug 2023.

She’s done it again!! Lisa Jewell is a thriller queen. I LOVED this book - it was so wonderfully twisty and the podcast element meant that I really fell for the unreliable narrators side of the story. This is one of Jewell’s best books in a while in my opinion.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

I'm a huge Lisa Jewell fan and this reads like her other novels: fast and un-put-down-able. Alix is an upperclass wife and mother, with a successful podcast. She meets Josie, her 'birthday twin' by chance, and Josie is very lackluster and unpopular. Josie wants Alix to record her story, and their lives get all tangled up. I enjoyed the podcast/Netflix/true crime aspect of the novel. It ends with a bit of uncertainty as to whose narrative could be trusted, so I wish there had been just a bit more definitiveness. There are lots of triggers in this book, such as stalking and sexual abuse.

Lisa Jewell is the queen of neighborhood, domestic thrillers and i love her writing so much. she’s truly an all time fave author and will always remain that way.

What a ride! I really liked the format of this novel and how the interviews, etc. broke it up and provided additional context. I wish we would have gotten more from Josie's daughters.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

While celebrating her 45th birthday surrounded by her husband and friends, feminist podcaster Alix Summers meets Josie Fair, another woman who is also celebrating her 45th birthday. They have a quick chat and then go their separate ways... At least, Alix does. While Alix resumes her normal life, Josie spends her time researching Alix Summers, listening to all of her podcasts, and doing a deep dive through her social media profiles in order to gain enough information about her life to "accidentally" bump into her, because she has a proposition: she wants to make a huge change in her life, and she wants Alix to document it in a podcast.

Although Alix finds Josie a bit odd, she can't help but be curious about Josie's life... but Alix has no idea what is in store, and by the time alarm bells start going off incessantly, she can't find her way out of Josie's grasp.

Lisa Jewell has done it again in this gripping, unputdownable thriller that will have you constantly questioning what the truth is. The story is told from alternating perspectives, including snippets of the script from the Netflix series based on the podcast Alix created, which I really enjoyed reading. None of This Is True will have you gritting your teeth and furiously turning the pages to find out who Josie really is and where the truth lies.

If you prefer thrillers with closure, beware: Jewell's latest leaves a lot up in the air.

Thank you SO much to NetGalley for this highly anticipated ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This newest Lisa Jewell may be my favorite yet! I loved the pace that this novel had. I felt like there was a perfect amount of story and character development. Giving a book the title None of This Is True really sets the readers mind in a certain way before reading it, and I loved it! Well written, great characters and a story that truly takes readers on a roller coaster ride.
Lots and lots of trigger warnings, and not for everyone.

Thanks to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Two strangers, Alix Summer and Josie Fair, meet at a restaurant while celebrating their forty-fifth birthday. Realizing that they are “birthday twins,” the women strike up a conversation in the bathroom. Josie learns that Alix is a podcaster who interviews women about their lives, and convinces Alix to create a podcast about her life, because she is on the precipice of making huge changes in her life. As Alix and Josie work on the project and become closer, Josie’s true motivations and back story come into question, with malevolent results.

I have enjoyed several books by Lisa Jewell, and when I read an endorsement that claimed that this was Lisa Jewell’s best yet, I requested the e-book from NetGalley as an advanced reader copy (ARC). I was delighted to be approved!

Sorry to say, but this is NOT Lisa Jewell’s best work.

In fact, it might be my LEAST favourite of the five Jewell books I have read. There are lots of promises of sinister things to come throughout the book, but nothing reeeally bad happens until the last quarter of the book. In addition to this, the characters of Alix and Nathan (Alix’s husband) might be the most frustratingly passive and boundary-less people ever created in fiction. Case in point: when Alix and Nathan catch Josie doing something SUPER suspicious, Alix shares incredibly vulnerable information with Josie about ten pages later. Um, what? And later when Josie discloses a recent trauma and Alix offers to call the police, and Josie says no thank you, Alix acquiesces. I repeat: um, what?!? This book included all of my pet peeves: plotholes, inconsistent characterization, purposeless twists, loose ends, and a whole lot of promises with little payoff. That said, the book is still told in Jewell's readable prose, which made it easy to burn through this book in four (vacation) days.

None of This is True will be published in August, 2023.

Another winner from Lisa Jewell! None of This Is True is one of the better psychological thrillers I’ve read in quite a while. The podcast/documentary premise is unique, the characters are questionable, and the plot was semi-slow burn but utterly captivating.

I was so invested in Josie’s story and couldn’t wait to see how the documentary interviews were going to tie into her narrative. There are a few twists along the way and the ending was not what I was expecting! I definitely recommend picking this one up.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I couldn't put this book down! It was like being there for every step of a true crime documentary but still being completely surprised. This is a must read for every fan of true crime podcasts and Netflix documentaries. The levels of deception in this book are addictive and woven together in such a way that you won't see what's coming and won't want to stop reading!

Woah..this book was a wild ride. Lisa Jewell knows how to get you invested in a plot and this was no exception. The Netflix show aspect was SO fun, along with the podcast recordings. I love mixed media in books. The whole book I had no idea who to trust, and Jewell really got us with that title 👀 24 hours later and I am still thinking about this book. Absolutely loved!

This book was wild. One of the best psychological thrillers I’ve read this year. The story kept getting creepier and creepier with each chapter. I could not put this one down. Josie and Alix meet by chance in a pub while celebrating their 45th birthdays. Feeling the connection as birthday twins Josie convinces Alix, a famous podcaster to make her life story the next subject of her podcast. She promises it will be very compelling and indeed it is. As Josie slowly integrates herself into Alix’s life, Alix starts to realize that Josie might not be who she seems. This book has you questioning everything and everyone. None of this is true, or is it? What a crazy, twisted ride. Excellent writing. A MUST read. One of her best ones yet. 4.5 stars.

A big Thank You to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I loved this book. Right from the beginning, it hooked me in. Josie’s character was strange and intriguing right from the first chapter and just like Alix’s character I wanted to know more. I loved the way the story was told through the perspective of the Netflix documentary and Alix’s podcast. I really loved the character development & the twists throughout the story. Highly recommend to Lisa Jewell fans, new fans, but also those that may not have been fans of her books in the past, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!