It was ok. I wanted to really like it, but it was just a little too flat for me.

It was tough to believe how much Alix allowed to happen, which detracted from some of my enjoyment. I found myself rolling my eyes and thinking, "Really?!" It seems more of an overused plot device than a believable reaction to constantly bow to the whims of someone you can tell isn't mentally well (or even honest!).

Josie wasn't an altogether unlikable character, but it was obvious that we couldn't trust her from early on, so it kept me too alert to settle in to the story.

Even at the end, the twist wasn't enough of a pay off. So many great possibilities, but in the end just mediocre.

Overall: 3 stars

I'll tell my students about: sex, language, physical violence, LGBTQIA+, parental death, blood/gore, trauma

**Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the free ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.**

I normally either love Lisa Jewell's novels or actively dislike them. This one, for me, was surprisingly at neither end of that binary. It was pretty good, not great. I always love Jewell's writing, but the novel showed its hand a bit too early, and there wasn't enough of a twist at the end to make up for it. Still, it was a quick and entertaining read.

Thank you NetGalley for this delicious advanced copy.

Lisa Jewell has quickly become one of my favorite authors.

Two people that share a birthday born in the same hospital at the same time, just happened to run into each other at their birthday dinner. One is a successful podcaster and the other is a little bit on the eccentric side and seems a little off.

Alix has an "amazing' homelife as a podcaster, wife and mother; Josie wed a much older man when she was a teenager and her choices in life are starting to haunt her. She meets Alix at a restaurant and just so happens to bump into her. Josie becomes fixated on Alix and wants to share her story through Alix's podcast, but things take a creepy turn.

I could not put this book down. So many twists and turns. I love this book and will definitely recommend it.

Lisa Jewell is the absolute queen of domestic thrillers. She once again gave us a complete page turner, with really intriguing unreliable characters, and a premise that will have you theorizing just what in the world is actually going on.

I loved the alternating POV between Alix and Josie and really enjoyed the podcast turned Netflix documentary format woven throughout the plot that gives you just enough information about the conclusion to keep you wanting to devour and discover the full truth. I also happen to love an ambiguous ending and this one will have you questioning everything you’ve just read.

A solid new addition that I think will be very well received upon its summer release! I highly recommend and this book proves why Jewell will continue to be a favorite thriller author of mine.

Thank you so much to Atria and Netgalley for my ARCs! (4.5 stars rounded up)

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. I am a huge fan of Lisa Jewell and this did not disappoint. I was constantly kept guessing and questioning everything. I love when an author does a good job making something/characters legitimately creepy and Lisa does that with the best of them. Another fantastic book from one of my favorite authors!

What. A. Ride! This was such a propulsive thriller by the one and only, Lisa Jewell. After reading The Night She Disappeared and not totally loving it, I wasn’t sure what to expect from her latest - None of This is True. But wow! Am I ever glad I picked this one up.

We have two women who live very different lives cross paths while they’re out with their families for their birthday dinners. Josie, housewife and mother of two, who married a much older man and had kids quite young. Then there’s Alix, a popular podcaster who is happily married and a mother of two young kids.

These women run into each other in the washroom of the restaurant and immediately Josie is fascinated by Alix. Josie has decided that she is ready for change and wants to share her story so she intentionally runs into Alix and insists that she be featured on Alix’s podcast because she thinks her story is worth a listen. We start to learn that Josie has some dark secrets and lives a rather complicated life, but we’re not exactly sure where the podcast is going to go, let alone the relationship between Josie and Alix. Especially when Josie is caught snooping through Alix’s recycle bins and peeping through her windows while she’s away…

On top of these two characters’ stories, we’ve got the added layer that Jewell skillfully embedded through the chapters: blurbs from a Netflix Documentary called “ Hi! I’m Your Birthday Twin”. These extracts add to the storyline, feeding to your intrigue because little nuggets are dropped, having you question the podcast interviews and the outcome for each character involved.

This book was extremely suspenseful because of the twists and the uncomfortable tension between the characters. I love when a book makes me feel tense and on edge. It was equal parts disturbing and compelling so I promise it will have you flying through the chapters to find out what happens.

But that ending! I have so many thoughts. So many questions I need the answers to! But maybe I don’t? I sort of like when a book leaves you hanging, leaving you with no option but to use your imagination and rethink every page you just read.

Highly recommend for fans of The Push by Ashley Audrain or true crime podcasts.

Five stars all around.

The title’s promise kept me curious throughout the entire story. I knew I was going to be in for a long night with little sleep once I was about halfway through the book. There are dysfunctional characters and general craziness—especially at the end! I recommend this for those who enjoy psychological thrillers that are dark without being intensely disturbing. There are, however, several instances of discussions about pedophilia…just something to be aware of if you’re sensitive to that. Excellent book.

I've never read a book that would gaslight the reader. I've also rarely experienced a book where the title is so incredibly spot on.

I've read 2 Lisa Jewell books before, one was amazing, the other was so creepy it put me off her. This book was WILD and after hitting the 40% mark on my lunch break yesterday I was in a frenzy to finish it by the end of the day!

I really loved the Netflix series sprinkled throughout, it really built the tension on "WELL WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED???". But of course when the heck happened (and it hecking happened!!) the Netflix part was a good way to bridge over narratives and fill in the blanks.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!!

I’ve enjoyed Lisa Jewell in the past, and was especially intrigued by the podcaster angle for her new release. This thriller featured an interesting structure (I especially loved the Netflix descriptions), and a pageturning plot but at the end I was left thinking, so what? Four stars for a story that kept me engaged, because that is definitely the promise a thriller novel writer (thrillist?) makes to her readers. But I'm still not sure why it all matters.

None of This Is True follows the experience of a podcaster who decides to change things up and do a new project focused on a woman she randomly met and discovered shares the same birthday as her. However, the woman is definitely not what she seems.

This book kept my attention, as I wanted to know what was being kept from us (and from the main character). It’s a compelling story, but I was left frustrated by decisions made by multiple characters in the book. The main character was altogether too trusting and made some choices that left me feeling annoyed with her (although maybe that was the point). Overall, it kept me reading until the end, but you definitely need some suspension of disbelief when it comes to some choices made.

This book was easy to get into and difficult to put down. When I wasn't reading it, I found myself thinking about the characters' lives and puzzling through some of the situations they were in. The characters, though not necessarily incredibly likable, were very relatable. Their lives were very different from my own, but I found myself empathizing withe the feelings they had. I loved the format of the book, as well - it was a new and unique way to bring multiple perspectives into a story where we aren't actually sure who to believe.

This was such an unsettling book! I have tried to read Lisa Jewell before but never had much luck for some reason - I don't know why, but I've struggled to fall into her stories in the past. This time around that was absolutely not the case though. From the opening pages, I was drawn in - even when I didn't want to be. This is a tough story to read. Not because of the writing - which was excellent - but because there was a constant sense of tension and apprehension that flowed off of every page. The characterizations are excellent. Even though I generally did not like any of the characters, they worked perfectly for the story and their representations were all too plausible (which is part of what led to the extremely unsettling feelings generated while reading). It was a delicious train wreck - and while I'm not normally a fan of watching things unfold horribly yet with a predictable downward trend (I hate reality TV for this very reason), the red herrings and surprises were thick enough on the ground to keep me hooked.

WOW - this is my favorite recent thriller. I hate that this doesn't come out until August because I want to share this book with every thriller-lover that I know!

This was creepy, fast, and twisty. The main characters were off-putting and addicting. I wanted to know more. I finished the book wanting more and truly being unsure of the truth. This is one that I'll be thinking about for a long time. I would love to see this adapted as an actual Netflix movie - would be the perfect meta tie-in.

I really liked this one! I found it to be very clever! It’s definitely the kinda book that you think is going one way and then it completely does a 360! I had tried to get into Lisa jewel’s other book a while ago, now I think I’ll try again. 4 stars

I just finished reading "None of This is True", by Lisa Jewell. Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.
So this is me being honest...OHMIGOD! I LOVED this book. It was soooo good and can't even believe how the author made up this story in her head and wrote it perfectly in such a fascinating way, interweaving interesting characters with so many different quirks and issues that it was making my head spin. It is not the type of book that you can read in one sitting because there was so much to deal with and so much alarming and shocking behaviour..that I c ould only read a few chapters at a time...but I always went back because I wanted to know what would happen next.
The story is about two "birthday twins", both 45, both with families. One (Josie) was married very young and has many secrets she wants to share. And the other (Alix) a young mother who has done well in life as a podcaster but has struggles as well (especially with her husband). After the two meet at a bar where they are celebrating their birthdays, Josie comes up with an idea for Alix to do a podcast about her and her journey towards changing her life. What follows is an explosive journey towards the truth and inside the mind of a clearly imbalanced woman and her quest to change her life.
What I liked about the book...EVERYTHING! It was so well-written and well paced and the characters were genuine and elusive and full of mystery. I especially loved the characters of Josie's two girls. Their stories were slowly rvealed but not until the very end of the novel, which was so perfect. I also loved the character of ALix and the way her struggles as a wife and mother where written. The character of Josie left me unsettled with a sense of dread. The author created such a fascinating character that I will not soon forget.
There was nothing I didn't like, except some of the things that happened to the characters, but to say anymore would be to spoil the story.
All I will say is you must read this book. I think this is the best one yet by this author. Absolutely fabulous.
Happy Reading!

This story starts off when two women celebrating their forty-fifth birthdays stumble across each other as they're celebrating their birthdays at a local pub. What starts off a a bit of a cringe-y one-sided friendship ends up spiralling into an outcome so much darker than the beginning would have you believe.

I buckled in thinking I was in for something like Ingrid Goes West, something about a mousy and unfulfilled character becoming increasingly obsessed with glamorous influencer-type, but it was just absolutely gripping and full of twists all the way through. Even the darkness of one of our protagonists/narrators feels disarmingly trickle-truthed to us - aspects of her life she first describes as a cheeky offhand comments become a bit more doubtful, then a bit uneasy, then properly concerning, until finally you realize exactly how horrific the situation is. The story-telling is just so so so good in this, and as always, I'm a sucker for an interwoven podcast storyline - it's just so evocative and spooky to have parts of the story advanced in that very evocative direct address we've all come to know and love in our podcasts.

This one is going to be a high recommend from me! I think it will be a hugely popular title upon release later this year.

Holy moly. What did I just read? Another winner from Lisa Jewell, this one will keep you guessing until the very last page is turned (and maybe even later!).

LISA JEWELL does it again. Oh my god was this a wild ride. While celebrating her forty-fifth birthday, Alix, a popular podcaster, meets her “birthday twin” Josie. As the two begin to talk, Josie’s dark past and buried secrets start to emerge and the podcast takes a sinister turn. Goosebumps seriously.

Absolutely one of the most unique thrillers I have read this year. So many books have a true crime podcast element but this was a new spin on that trope. There were twists that made my head spin. And as the title says you won’t be able to tell what is true and what is not.

That ending also. Full body chills.

Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks. This is out 8/8/23 and you are going to love it.

Excellent!

Alix Summers and Josie Fair are birthday twins who happen to meet each other in a pub on their 45th birthday. When Josie discovers Alix is a successful podcaster, she lobbies Alix to make a podcast about her, saying she’s on their verge of some big life changes. Despite her inner voice telling her she should be cautious, Alix dives in, fascinated by the darkness and weirdness surrounding Josie’s stories. Before long, Josie has completely wormed her way into Alix’s life and things start turning deadly.

No one does thrillers like Lisa Jewell does thrillers, and I couldn’t get enough of this dark couldn’t-put-it-down thriller! Josie is a deliciously unreliable character, and her obsession is creepy and unsettling in the very best way.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.

None of this is true is the story of two women who meet unexpectedly in a restaurant when they discover they are birthday twins. One woman seems like a very put together person with a job and family while the other seems very needy. The needy one finds a way to insinuate herself into the other life and brings nothing but chaos.