I received a gifted galley of WHEN I'M HER by Sarah Zachrich Jeng for an honest review. Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, PRH Audio, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review!

WHEN I'M HER follows two women, Mary and Elizabeth. They were once close friends, but a betrayal broke them apart and it destroyed Mary's life. Now, Mary lives for revenge. Elizabeth makes it easy for Mary to track her every move, living her life in the public eye as part of her influencer career. Mary has a plan that no one will suspect. She has the ability to force a switch of bodies with her nemesis, stepping into Elizabeth's shoes to live the perfect life she was denied.

I really enjoyed this author's previous novel, THE OTHER ME, so was excited to read this new one. I went into it without knowing much and I think that was important. The synopsis is kept fairly vague on purpose because there are a lot of unknowns in the beginning. The alternate POVs switching between the two women both in the present and in the past reveal more and more as the story progresses.

I wouldn't say that either woman is especially likable in the beginning, especially without knowing the backstory to what destroyed their relationship in the past. That said, they were both very compelling to read about and the switches in POV really kept my attention and my desire to read more.

I think that the scifi element of the story does require a bit of a brain off reading style. This really leans into the interpersonal relationships and the chaos that comes out of the body swap over the actual science of it all.

This was a fun read and a little something different to add to throw some variety into my TBR.

This book was weird, vengeful, sad, and mind blowing. Mary and Elizabeth are college friends who couldn’t be any more different. Mary comes from a poor background and is working hard to graduate college ready to get the job that will give her security. Elizabeth is gorgeous,comes from money, and seems destined to have the perfect life. But Mary’s internship gives her access to Empathyzers, devices which allow a freaky Friday mind and body swap between two people. What better people to try them, so Mary steals a pair from the lab. While Mary and Elizabeth enjoy being the other person, things go very wrong. Elizabeth gets the perfect life while Mary is left with nothing.
Seven years pass, and Mary is determined to pay Elizabeth back for what happened and steal her perfect life. Mary finally obtains a new Empathyzer and quickly takes over Elizabeth’s body.But that life is far from perfect, and Mary might just have stolen a body that more than one person wants to see dead. It’s a Cray Cray ride as Elizabeth tries to get Mary to switch back, while Mary is determined to have everything she ever dreamed of. I was a little confused in the beginning, but the chapters clearly identify which character is in control. It was me, not the book, and once I was a few chapters in, I had no problem figuring out who was in whose body.
Did it end the way I thought it would? Absolutely not. I will say though that it did prove that unfortunately in life many times, how you look, where you come from, and who you know, does indeed have a lot to do with whether you will succeed or fail. No spoilers, but I’m still not sure if this experience made both of these women’s lives better.

When I'm Her is a fantastic thrill ride! It's mind-blowing with twists and turns, sci-fi elements, and questionable narrators. I couldn't put it down, even late into the night.

The sci-fi element, at first, seemed a bit too' Freaky Friday' for my taste. However, the suspense it created - the ability to switch minds with someone using an experimental device - was intriguing. It required a leap of faith, but the resulting thrill ride was worth it.

What truly resonated with me was the authentic portrayal of female friendships and the complexities within. The story's exploration of Mary and Elizabeth's relationship and the timeline of changes it underwent felt real and relatable.

This story is a rollercoaster of suspense, with a conclusion that will leave you in shock. The whodunit aspect was unexpected, filled with twists, turns, and red herrings. It's a masterpiece that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Thank you Berkley and Sarah Zachrich Jeng for the gifted copy!

3.5 stars rounded up.

Right off the bat this book gave me Black Mirror vibes and since that's one of my favorite shows I was *all* in. A few early reviewers said it could get confusing remembering who was who in the story but I didn't really find that I had too much trouble with that because Jeng gave really good context clues throughout each perspective reminding me who was who.

I also enjoyed the flashback chapters that really set the tone for the revenge portion of the book. This would truly make a fantastic episode of Black Mirror!

When I'm Her pub date is March 26!

When I'm Her by Sarah Zachrich Jeng

Two college roommates, so very different. There is tiny, plain, awkward Mary, whose brains will lead her to great things in life, if she can just jump all the hoops of dealing with nepotism, bullying, and the cruelty of her boss's nephew taking advantage of her and her work. Mary depends on her academic accomplishments to allow her to move forward to a great grad school because she doesn't have a penny to her name. Yet, she can't help seeing the fun and companionship of the cool people around her and wishes for that kind of life, too.

Mary's roommate is wealthy Elizabeth, only rooming with Mary because her mother won't let her live off campus due to Elizabeth putting party life over academics. Elizabeth is beautiful, confident, popular, and eyes follow her everywhere she goes. Waiters watch her every move so they can jump to assist her, guys all want to be with her, girls want to be her best friend. Those same girls complain about Mary being a parasite when it comes to Elizabeth and don't understand why Elizabeth has anything to do with her other than living in the same dorm room.

Mary's internship has her working on a controversial project using complex watch-like gadgets that enable two people to swap bodies, allowing them to feel real empathy for the other person by literally being in the other person's shoes. Mary would love Elizabeth's life, even if for a short time, and Elizabeth, always looking for a fun time, can see the party time fun she could have inhabiting and controlling meek Mary's body. They make it happen and continue to do it over and over until revenge and mean girl tactics blow everything to smithereens.

Seven years later Mary's life is in shambles, any bright future destroyed, her reputation destroyed, the destruction reaching so far and wide that Mary is barely surviving from day to day. Elizabeth's lot in life has only soared to greater heights. As a mega Influencer, married to a gorgeous man who plays a big part in her social media success, Elizabeth is being stalked online by Mary, who has plans to get her revenge on Elizabeth for all the harm she has done to Mary's existence.

Up until this time the story had felt a little messy, less Sci Fi than college girls doing dumb things. Now the story sends things up about ten notches of dumber and dumber decisions, all in the name of revenge. I couldn't believe the decisions these women made years ago but they really confound me with the decisions they make in the present day. In the past, the women seemed extremely immature in how they handled life and in the present, they haven't grown emotionally one iota. If you like revenge stories, you might like this one, but it's so OTT, with the body switching technology just being a way to do impossible things in the name of revenge. I love my gadgets so was attracted to the story for it's tech/Sci Fi aspect but felt drowned by the revenge plot run amok.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.

The Revolutionary Marketing:
Traditional “couples” and “family” therapy often fails because it fails to create empathy-
But now there is a new device called “The Empathyzer-a pair of bracelets which look a lot like smart watches-one worn by each person-allowing you to swap bodies and literally walk in the other person’s shoes.

When Mary gets an internship at the company who created “The Empathyzer” she decides to sneak a set out of the building, and give it a try with her best friend and roommate, Elizabeth.

At first the two girls are just having a bit of fun! (Freaky Friday!)

But then something goes horribly wrong on Halloween, seven years ago….

Told in the past and the present the chapters are labeled: Mary (Elizabeth) and Elizabeth (Mary) the first name being the actual person and the second name in parentheses, being the body they are inhabiting.

I was intrigued by the premise and IF the author had created a speculative World where we met several pairs of people wearing the Empathyzers with mixed results, I probably would have enjoyed the book. (Think John Marrs)

BUT, unfortunately, despite the use of this device to achieve the “desired outcome” this was really just ANOTHER story about a buried SECRET, BETRAYAL, and REVENGE, and not one that I enjoyed. I was looking for more of a Sci Fi style, but if you love revenge stories perhaps you will have better luck with this one?

Trigger Warnings thoughtfully provided by the author include: physical violence, gun violence, sexual assault, domestic violence, gaslighting, and drug use.

I loved the author’s debut “The Other Me” a 5 ⭐️ read for me-so I was very disappointed that her sophomore effort was a MISS.

2.5 ⭐️ for this one

AVAILABLE March 26, 2024

Thank You to Berkley for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review!

This book is definitely original and complex. But I did have a hard time keeping the characters straight, it’s a concept which I think lends itself more to film than written word. The conflict presented at the start of the book got lost for me over the next hundred or so pages. Overall I think the story is interesting and unique, but it wasn’t quite gripping me the way I’d hoped.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted (free) ARC

AH, I wish I could get into this one, but it was so confusing and I couldn't keep up.
I am still very thankful to the publisher, author, and netgalley for granting me advanced access.

Mind BLOWN!

Are you kidding me with this! We were given a delicious psych thriller with sci-fi wrapped into one.

Somehow this was believable. It was so creative and had me on the edge of my seat.

Mary and Elizabeth are opposites, but they’re best friends. Until Elizabethe makes a grave mistake and leaves Mary to take the blame.

It’s years later, and while Elizabeth seems to have forgotten Mary, Mary has not forgotten her. Mary has a way to switch bodies with Elizabeth, and she has a plan to steal everything that Elizabeth holds dear.

I love technology thrillers and this one was so much fun, I always get a kick out of the fact that they’re labeled sci-fi too. I like them to include just a little bit of technology, slightly more advanced than what we currently have, but for it to be used in unexpected and unspeakable ways. This author did a fantastic job making the tech seem believable and not all that farfetched, which is the perfect balance to achieve in my opinion. This one did take a little bit to get into as I wasn’t really sure what was going on at all, but as the pieces began falling into place my lightbulb went off and things started clicking. After the initial hurdle with pacing, the story picked up and moved along at a nice clip. I didn’t really like either Elizabeth or Mary, but I didn’t feel like I needed to in order to enjoy this story, I just needed to know what was happening! I loved all the poor choices that were made throughout the book, that’s really what this book was about, poor choices, and the consequences of those choices.

This book was a lot of fun once I got into it. I was so entertained and loved the technological element! What a fun twist.

Thank you so much to Berkley Pub, @BerkleyPub and Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Sarah Zachrich Jeng knows how to get me to turn the pages! Although I didn't really like either Mary or Elizabeth initially (I think that's intentional?), I was completely invested in the revenge plot. Only, of course, there's way more to it than it appears on the surface, and it made the revenge so much more satisfying. If you're looking for feminist revenge thrillers with nuanced depictions of female friendship, pick this one up!

This book has a very interesting concept, It was hard to read at first, between the two timelines and the two women/girls being each other, it got confusing and awkward. Might have been better if the time in the past was told to us vs this format. It was a mystery, but more a story of a codependent friendship that gets toxic and overall the personal growth of both women.

⭐️3.25
Two college roommates. Both girls are friends, but polar opposites.

Elizabeth is glamorous, beautiful and has tons of friends.
Mary is awkward, unfriendly and that girl that’s just a little too needy.

Their friendship ends in betrayal, leaving one of them a suspect in a crime.

Seven years later, Mary is still blinded by jealousy and rage, while Elizabeth seems to live a perfect life. If only Mary had her life instead of her own…

The progression of the book was a little slow. I was unable at times to know which character was being described (*no spoilers) and that added to the confusion, rather than enjoyment.

Overall, it was a creative psychological thriller with a sci-fi element which made it extra interesting.

Thank you Berkley Publishing and NetGalley for the early advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Publication Date: March 26, 2024

One, two, three, and BOOM! Can you see my mind exploding, gray cells splattering in the sky? That's the result of my blown mind after reading this intelligent, eccentric, weird, complex, exciting, addictive sci-fi/psychological thriller! At some points, I kept mistaking who's carrying whose body, forgetting my own reality, getting so confused, feeling like I'm a few miles behind the author's brilliant mind trying to catch the direction of the story. Let me tell you about the whirlwind, action-packed, complicated, twisty last third of the book. I haven't read something so packed with tempo, fast-paced, bizarre, yet also shocking and earth-shattering. I'd give it an extra 10 stars just for the last third of the book, especially the action sequence that takes place in Elizabeth's house.

Even though the beginning and progression of the story seemed a little slow for an impatient person like me who wants to know the big reasons behind these characters, which one of them is the traitor (seems like Elizabeth), and which one is miserably obsessive for revenge (seems like Mary). But when I grasped the main tragic event that set them apart, turning them into the people they are today, I easily got into the story, delving into the characters' backgrounds, their faults, weaknesses, secrets, and motives to change their places. The big mystery engaging them gets more complex to foresee with each passing second. I kept guessing who the mastermind villain or villanelle behind all those big schemes was. It took only three guesses to finally find the real perpetrator (actually, I found it only 10 pages before the author's revelation. It means I may have lost my spidey senses). The schemes, the big mystery, and the execution of the body switch couldn't have been developed better. It's awe-struck, jaw-dropping, and extremely entertaining!

It's so interesting for me to enjoy this book so much, even though I had hesitations about the beginning, the dislikable and unreliable narration that initially pushed me back from getting into the story quickly. But as soon as I got through a few short chapters, I quickly clicked, and I also learned to empathize with two polar opposite characters, understanding their dilemmas.

Here's a quick summary of the plot:

Mary, after seven years since her expulsion from college, is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life by avenging the person who ruined everything she worked for. Elizabeth, a highly popular, rich influencer, is living her dream life, married to Nate, the boy Mary fell for in college. Mary tasted betrayal in the worst way by becoming the scapegoat for a presumed crime committed by Elizabeth, a crime against one of the members of the most influential family in the city that could drag her reputation into shreds. Mary lost her college degree, any chance to get an education, find a proper job, and her family's business also dragged into the mud, resulting in their disowning their own daughter. She's alone, penniless, living in a shithole, while Elizabeth enjoys beauty, comfort, money, love, and Nate. This is absolutely not fair! But finally, her prayers are answered by an anonymous benefactor who sends her the Empathyzer, which may help switch bodies with Elizabeth and live her life to the fullest, just as Elizabeth might also take the blame for the death of her college nemesis who ruined her entire life.

Just like they did in college, they can change their bodies again. The only thing Mary has to do is insert the Empathyzer into Elizabeth's tote bag while she's hanging out with her college friends at brunch. Easy peasy! She'll get her revenge by stealing her bestie's life. She'll get what she should have from the beginning. But what if Elizabeth's so-called perfect life is not as perfect as it seems? What if she's not the villainess of the story as she thought from the beginning? What if she's in prime danger, and by switching their bodies, she might also put her life in a more drastic situation than she ever expected? What if the only way to get out of this circumstance is teaming up with her arch-nemesis to save both of their lives?

Overall, this book is so smart, outstanding, and creative! I loved it so much, and I absolutely recommend it to sci-fi thriller/psychological mystery lovers! Add this book to your reading list ASAP, and don't let it get lost in the pile. Read it and enjoy it to the fullest!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing book's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.