Twin sisters Cassie and Lenora are hiding from their past, living a life of solitude in a secluded cabin in a campground. Their secrets are ominous and we don’t quite know what it was that sent them running. Over the course of the book, we go between the sisters’ current day POVs and one of the sister’s past POV, we just don’t know which sister it is, which definitely had my wheels turning. One of the sisters has a violent history, but which sister is it? When the campground owner passes away and a new owner moves in, she immediately rents out the third cabin to a family, and shortly after a murder takes place. Was it one of the sisters? They’re both somewhat unreliable. I was constantly going back and forth with who I thought it was and what I thought was happening - I love when that happens. This one was so hard to figure out, and I did not see it ending the way it did!

Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for my eARC. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗦𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗮𝘀 𝗠𝗲 will be published 5/7 and it is quite the debut novel!

Unfortunately I had to DNF this one. I was very confused right from the beginning and as I kept reading nothing made any sense. I just didn't have in me to keep reading. Some will enjoy this book. I just wasn't the right audience for it.

Thank you NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and the author for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The first half is this was very slow, to the point I almost stopped reading it. About halfway through it started to pick up the pace. The ending was pretty shocking and well written. Not bad for a debut.

"When She Was Me" by Marlee Bush offers a compelling narrative with dual points of view between twin sisters, providing intriguing glimpses into the past. While the beginning may be slow for some readers, the last quarter of the book delivers suspense and mystery that will keep readers on edge. Although the pacing could have been faster overall, the novel still manages to captivate with its suspenseful and thrilling moments. Despite its flaws, it's a worthwhile read, leaving readers eager for more.

I so wanted to like this one but I struggled to get through its opening pages. I am still very thankful to the publisher, author, and netgalley for granting me advanced access to this one before publication day.

[arc review]
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
When She Was Me releases May 7, 2024

Identical twin sisters live on a campground in one of three cabins. The owner of the campground has just recently died, so the ownership has changed hands to a woman named Sarah.
Around the same time that the new owner shows up, a family with a teenaged daughter rents out the third cabin. It’s not long until their daughter goes missing and ends up dead.

There’s an interesting use of sibling dynamics, but it comes with a lot of codependency.
The big reveal was left too late in the book (95% range), that by the time I reached it, I was already pretty uninvested and heavily convinced of another outcome.

I enjoyed the writing and the imagery for the most part, but wasn’t too satisfied with the overall structural delivery. That being said, I’d be open to reading this author’s next novel.

cw: trauma, ptsd, anxiety, agoraphobia, compulsive habits

When She Was Me is a psychological thriller from debut author Marlee Bush. Set at a remote isolated campground in the woods of Tennessee, the location created a dark and threatening atmosphere from the start. Cassie and Lenora are identical twins who have taken up residence in one of the cabins at the campsite. When a family arrives for the weekend and their daughter then goes missing and is found dead, the fragile balance that the women had acquired in their lives disappears. Both Cassie and Lenora are unreliable narrators who keep secrets. The narration switches between them as well as the past, as we work to figure out what is happening. The ending comes together well and I found it to be quite tense. It was hard to feel close to either sister, and I think this is the author's intention. Their trauma makes them closed off, even to us. I tend to like books where the author lets the reader in more, but I can appreciate how each piece of information slowly builds until the ending.

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pens Press for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

Cassie and Lenora are inseparable, literally. They’ve never been without each other as twin sisters. Now they live in a remote cabin in Tennessee away from prying eyes, crime junkies and nosy neighbors who may be desperate to get a chance to talk to the girls after THAT night so many years ago. Until a teenage girl goes missing and the memories start causing a rift between the sisters. Each suspecting the other of hiding something. Now odd things are happening to them and they HAVE to figure out what happened to that girl, it just might be the only way they survive.

As a debut novel this book is honestly so impressive! It’s so well written and will give you those heart pounding moments all thriller readers love. Told in a dual perspective between the sisters with flashbacks from the past, it will genuinely leave you guessing just who knows what until the very end. With that said, there’s a lot of build up and talk of the past that you don’t get answers to until maybe the last 10% of the book and for me that’s always frustrating. I don’t need the plot twist until that point but you can only refer to something so many times without revealing it to the reader for SO long before it gets frustrating but that could just be a personal preference. I definitely would’ve read this faster if I wasn’t in the middle of a giant reading rut. 😅 I still recommend checking out this debut novel when it releases on May 7th! 4/5⭐️ from me and eager to see what Marlee Bush writes next!

What a sinister plot and a creepy setting in this debut!! Set back in the woods of Tennessee at an isolated campground live two identical twin sisters. Escaping from the past 15 years ago, they live in a cabin. A family moves into a cabin next to them for the weekend. They appear happy, but as the girls know looks can be deceiving. Things begin to change when their teenage daughter goes missing. Lenora was outside at the time, but was sleepwalking. The girls feel their past rushing back through them.
Such unreliable narrators that show their mistrust of anyone. They are barely getting by. As you see each sister's POV, it reveals the lack of trust in each other also. They are very secretive.
With these flawed characters, Cassie and Lenora, you could almost feel the complexity in their broken lives. The story has a shocking ending that will stun you. The girls flip between the past and present and lead on an investigation piecing the two together to find answers.
This was enjoyable with a lot of questions about what is happening! It was slow in the beginning, but the addition of the woods, darkness and the isolation with something lurking will soon have you flying through it to find out the truth.
Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was different than anything else I've read recently. I couldn't put it down! I will keep an eye out for this author's future work!

What a great debut!
This was an enjoyable read, and very entertaining.

A bond between twin sisters, a mysterious past, creepy atmosphere.
This was a fast read for me and I recommend!

Thank you NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Out 05/07/24

Thank you to Netgallery and Poisoned Pen Press for an early release copy of When She Was Me by Marlee Bush, this book will be available for purchase on May seventh of 2024.

When She Was Me was an interesting read that had me hooked from the beginning until the end, the characters and their relationships were intriguing! The sisterhood of the twins relationship is certainly an interesting thing to read about, I loved that we got to see from both twins perspectives, the love, connection, and safety that these two felt for each other was immense. (I also really loved that one of the twins is a true crime YouTuber and one is a ghost writer! These are little additions but I really love these details!)

The characters and plot was well written, I liked our characters and the spooky vibes that this book gave however there were a few things that I didn’t like. I found it a little repetitive in nature that the both of them kept alluding their past over and over again, the small romantic relationship in here I didn’t feel added enough to make me care for the love interest of one of the twins (maybe we’ll get a second book that develops it’s more). Another thing that stood out to me was that the reveals didn’t particularly pack the punch that I was looking for but I don’t mind. This was an enjoyable read regardless!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

I put off reading it for so long and don't know why.

I started it a couple times and put it aside, but once I got past the first few chapters I wad hooked.

Worth the read.

Recommend.

This book had me captivated from the first chapter.
Cassie and Lenora are twin sisters. One doesn't leave their cabin, other than to go to the bathhouse. The other, leaves every chance she gets, escaping into the snowy woods in bare feet and no second glance. When their previous landlord dies, it brings someone new to the campgrounds. Sarah, their new landlord, is adamant about making the grounds a successful getaway for others. And at first, that seems like a great change.
Things seem to be going well... Until one night, a camper staying with her family, goes missing and turns up dead. With no one knowing what happened, and secret from the past start making the sisters doubt each other and even themselves, strange things start occuring around the camp grounds. Sleepwalking. Mysterious dark shadows. And unexplained happenings. Maybe there really is something going bump in the night, and maybe it's closer than anyone knows.
The relationship between the sisters is unique, and the clear and distinct voices between them was well received. I did kind of guess the twist to come degree, but this made for an overall enjoyable read.

When She Was Me by Marlee Bush was unfortunately not for me. It was dragging for me, slow burn and the beginning was hard to get into. The storyline was a bit confusing but caught on to it later. I was really rooting for this novel, but just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing me with an e-ARC, my own opinions.

Twin sisters moved to a cabin to heal from their past. A teen girl who was staying at a nearby cabin with her parents on a vacation gets murdered. The twins suspect at least one of them knows who the killer is. Alternating perspectives from each twin leads to a slow build up of what happened in the past. One thing is for sure, they will always have each other's backs, no matter what. It was a good story, but confusing at times trying to keep up with the different perspectives, but the plot twist helps explain it all at the end.

I feel this one is either a love or hate type of read and unfortunately, it wasn't for me. The mystery felt like it kept dragging on and on with very repetitive conversations and honestly, many things did not make sense. I wasn't able to relate or feel for the characters, the choices that they kept making were infuriating at best and the different timelines were confusing. I did enjoy the twist at the end.
Regardless, do give a try! this may be the read for you.

Thank you so much to #Netgalley and #Poisonedpenpress for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book started out weird and the twins it was about were creepy and not like able.
As the story progressed it was hard to feel sorry for them. While the story had twists and turns they were predictable. This book definitely wasn’t for me and sadly gave me nightmares. If you are into nightmare inducing weird mysteries, give this book a shot.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

I feel like this book is going to be pretty polarizing. Either you’ll love the slow burn, kinda creepy vibes or picking it up is a total drag every time you go to read it. I’m in the later… I was so bored for most of it.
Maybe the last 5 chapters were interesting…

Not for me, unfortunately.

The twin aspect was fun and creepy. The repetitive nature of trying to keep secrets from other characters and the reader was exhausting. The twist had me! I definitely had an idea of what was going on and I was wrong and I do love that on a thriller. It just didn’t quite make up for wanting to be done with the book for so much of it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Poisoned Press for an eARC.

This had a dark eerie feel from beginning to end. Cassie and Lenora are twins with a traumatic childhood. They chose to leave the life they knew and move to a remote cabin, relying only on each other. Cassie still craves connections with others while Lenora struggles with agoraphobia. Chapters alternate between Lenora and Cassie’s POVs. There are also chapters with an unnamed narrator.

I loved the ominous feelings. At times it was frustrating not having all the facts regarding the past, but it kept me reading and eventually all my questions were answered. This is for you if you enjoy books about identical twins, secluded areas/woods, questioning reality vs mental illness.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for providing this ARC. This review is being shared on NetGalley and Goodreads.

Pub Date 07 May 2024