4.5 stars rounded up! The character development in this thriller is absolutely amazing. The dual POV really lets the reader get to know each sister on a very personal level, and I enjoyed the deep dive into the dynamics of being identical twins. As for the past POV, I flip flopped back and forth through the entire book, thinking I knew who’s POV it was and of course, I was mind blown! There are so many twists and turns in this book, with great pacing and a compelling plot. I definitely recommend!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this advance copy!

the premise is interesting, and i feel like this had a lot more potential. the timelines were definitely confusing, and i feel like the plot fell a bit flat. there were also moments where the story definitely dragged on and things just kept going around in circles. overall, this book is pretty ok

I really wanted to like this one - the plot and premise were great, but the execution fell flat. I had a hard time following a lot of the events between the time jumps and the other set of twins - most of the time I had to go back and re-read things and still felt confused. I didn't care for the pacing, either; while I love a good slow-burn suspense, this one dragged things out a little TOO long, leaving me impatient and frustrated. I think Bush has a lot of potential with her plot and character ideas, but this one missed the mark for me.

✨Spoiler Free Review✨

Title- When she was me by @marleebushwriter
Rating-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is Marlee debut novel and was impressed with her writing. This was a fast read, as I read it in one sitting.

Twin sisters Cassie and Lenora, hiding from a tragic past, find refuge as permanent residents of a secluded campground. When the campground changes ownership after the previous owner’s sudden death, the sisters face new challenges as visitors return, including a family with a teenage daughter who goes missing and is later found dead in the woods. As memories resurface, Lenora struggles to maintain her grip on reality while Cassie fights to protect them both at any cost.

I had no idea how this book was going to end honestly or what was going to be revealed, the reveal at the end was a nice plot twist. 😮‍💨

I’m looking forward to more from Marlee Bush!

Thanks to @netgalley, @marleebushwriter and @poisonedpenpress for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of When She Was Me by Marlee Bush due to be published May 7, 2024.✨

The twins, Lenora and Cassie, have an intertwined relationship and it doesn't make sense until the end of the book. It's almost like knowing the story in reverse.

There were times that I felt confused while reading and had to re-read certain parts, then other parts felt very repetitive and unnecessary.

Overall, the book was great for a debut novel and I do recommend other people read this book.

Rating
3.75 stars; I liked it and will recommend to others.

Thank you
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity read the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First I would like to thank NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for allowing me an ARC in return for an honest review.

I was honestly very intrigued to read this book as the plot and synopsis looked so good! This is a story about twins Cassie and Lenora that live in a Cabin out in the middle of nowhere. The story jumps back and forth from past to present but not just with Cassie and Lenora's story, but another set of twins as well. There is a killing at the place where they live and you are trying to figure out if Lenora killed the guest in the other cabin. There is a lot going on but at a slow pace, you spend most of the book confused and just wanting it to move along. The story line was good and I enjoyed the ending, but I was bored most of the time as there was so much information that came from all over the place. You were left to think the past portion was about one thing, when it was not. I do like that the author tied it together and didn't leave any stray pieces unfinished.

Thanks to Netgalley.co.uk and Poisoned Pen Press, (an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc), for a copy of this debut novel by Marlee Bush in return for an honest review.

The blurb:
There's only one way out of these woods… Ever since that night, twin sisters Cassie and Lenora have been inseparable. As the sole permanent residents of Cabin Two, their refuge on an isolated Tennessee campground, they manage to stay away from prying eyes, probing questions, and true crime junkies. Just the two of them, Cassie and Lenora against the world. The peace and quiet is almost enough to make them forget what happened all those years ago. Almost.  Until a teenage girl camping at the neighboring cabin goes missing, and the memories come rushing back. As the crime becomes ever more recognizable―they know better than anyone that so-called 'happy families' can be anything but―each sister suspects the other knows more than she's letting on…. Trapped in the isolating, claustrophobic wilderness, Cassie and Lenora must piece together the truth of what happened―and the sinister truth lurking in their own pasts―before it's too late.

This book is everything I expected it to be. The story unfolds in duel time and moves at a calculated pace. The information being gently pushed forward to enlighten the reader, its secrets still remaining held within the past.
At times slow, it began to become a bit tedious, but then, it takes off again, and the reader is drawn back in once more. It seems to me, that the writer has done this to ease the reader into thinking they know where it is headed. However, the slightly confusing, but brilliantly placed twist comes, and the fog clears. The ending is not what was expected, and it is this, that gives the book its edge.

Two twins, living in a remote camp grown, find themselves in the midst of a murder investigation when a new owner takes over. Filled with unreliable timelines and backstory, how do you know you can trust your sister and how far would you go to protect the ones you love even if it means they have done the worst deeds?

I am so floored by this book! What an amazing, crazy, emotional ride! This book was truly addictive and Marlee Bush's writing is so well done. How on earth is this her debut? She writes like someone who has been honing their craft for decades. It was beautiful, smart, twisty, and vivid. I feel like I just binged a crazy good tv series and couldn't stop clicking "next episode" until I was left gasping at the end because it was that good. The two main characters were so well written and vibrant. They felt so real and so flawed (in the best way). This story had me hooked in a way I honestly wasn't expecting. This has to be one of my favorite thrillers I've ever read (which I'm so excited about because I'm from Alabama just like the author and I love seeing someone from home shine so brightly)! And can we talk about the scares? I thought this was going to just be suspenseful and would weave a good mystery, but it was freaking scary! I wasn't expecting it and oh my God it was so good! It had me nervously checking my doorways and scared to turn out the lights. It's rare that a book has such good horror that it sticks with me, but this one did. So not only can Marlee Bush spin a hell of a smart mystery that keeps you turning the pages well into the night like a complete addict, but the girl can write a scary scene with the best of them. All of this is to say, I can't wait to have a physical copy of this on my shelf and I loved this! I honestly think Marlee is going to be one of the next generation's horror/thriller greats and is someone you should check out and keep an eye on! I know I will be waiting eagerly for whatever she puts out next, as this book sealed her a spot on my "auto-buy" author list. So if you want a wild ride of a plot, emotional and flawed female characters, scares that will have you flinching at any and every sound when you're home alone, and an ending that will leave you straight up clutching your pearls, you just HAVE to check this one out. I promise you, you don't want to miss it!

Two sisters running from a troubled past make a secluded cabin their permanent home. Everything is going fine until a teenage girl staying in a neighboring cabin goes missing, Tilly. Now you would think the story would evolve into what happened to Tilly and why… but nope! This book alternates between the point of view of Cassie and Lenora AND also from past to present making it difficult to understand.

It goes from who killed Tilly to trying to figure out the new landlord, to Cassie’s boyfriend, back to suspecting Tilly’s parents, to Lenora’s agoraphobia, to the sister’s childhood traumas, and then back to the sisters telling each other how much they leave each other. Like what?? What is the real mystery here? What are we supposed to be getting answers to? Overall, could have been better.

Honest Reveiw: 2 stars

What I did like:
• had a enough short chapters that ended in cliffhangers to keep you reading
• the setting of a remote cabin and mystery in the woods was intriguing

What I didn’t like:
• the sister-sister relationship of the main characters was a bit strange. It felt obsessive and almost romantic even. definitely gave off weird cringey vibes
• storyline was drawn out and difficult to follow
• too many characters and not enough substance

I don’t even know where to start this book review. The twist and turns and different storylines has me guessing until the very end of the book. I honestly didn’t know where or how this book was going to end.

Well written and thought out!

This book heavily features the themes of a sisters love and family trauma. Overall, it was a good book. I did find that characters a bit hard to love, but maybe that was the point. I definitely was not expecting the ending but it did feel a bit over simplified. It was a new idea and not “the same ole thriller” that you see over and over again.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advanced copy of When She Was Me by Marlee Bush.

Identical twin sisters, Cassie and Lenora, are bonded together by more than DNA ever since one fateful night...and they are living together peacefully at an isolated campground in Tennessee ever since...But bhen a girl goes missing from a neighboring campsite, memories come back and nothing is what it seems.

For a debut novel, this was AMAZING. Typically I find myself bored with slow-burn thrillers, but this one had me captivated since the first chapter. Told from dual POVs (as Cassie and Lenora), you truly have no idea who you can trust as a narrator; for me, both were shady and unlikable for various reasons. Additionally, there are flashbacks to the night years prior, which caused the sisters to flee...however there is no way of knowing which sister is telling the story from her viewpoint, versus who was actually responsible for the incident that caused them both to flee. It was BRILLIANT. There were so many moving parts to this story I was 90% into it and had no idea how it was going to end. Not only was the plot cleverly set up, but there were also many spine-tingling , claustrophobic scenes that gave me chills and had me on the edge of my seat. This was an extremely well done, well-thought out thriller and I'm looking forward to more from Marlee Bush!

Identical twins are such a creepy trope in books and this book definitely hit the nail on the head with the creep factor.

When She Was Me follows Cassie and Lenora, identical twins, who are living in the woods to escape something from their past. When a teenager from a nearby campsite goes missing, things start to unravel.

This book had me confused the entire time. Even when things were explained..so much was still left unclear. I don’t mind not fully knowing what’s going on throughout a book but in this particular case, it wasn’t done well for me. The twist definitely shocked me but you have to suspend a LOT of disbelief.

I know some people are going to absolutely love this one but it was sadly just a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC!

This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

This book kept me guessing until the very end! Twin sisters that live in an isolated campground. Their neighbors daughter was murdered. Who murdered Tilly???’
Book kept me interested. But I wish it kept me more excited!

The story of Cass and Lenora hooked me immediately. I loved every second of this. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I found this book to be a bit confusing. It was written to be that way with the twist, but it was not confusing in an enjoyable way. I don't want to give out spoilers, but it was easy to see someone was lying from the start, and with whole unreliable narrator thing. This psychological thriller just didn't do it for me. 2/5

Big thank to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review!

"When She Was Me" is a slow-burn thriller. Marled Bush does a good job of character building with the twins, and I enjoyed the dual timelines. The rural setting was a winner, and I definitely think this is worth reading if you enjoy mystery/suspense novels, stories with sisters (twins), and stories with creepy woodsy backgrounds. I would recommend this for readers who enjoy more character-driven stories with twists. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I could not put this book down! I can't believe this is a debut book? It feels like Marlee had written hundreds of books before just based on the quality of the writiing. I literally read this in a day because it was so suspenseful and I just could NOT stop! The dynamic between Cassie and Lenora was so sweet yet incredibly skin-crawling at the same time. I was very impressed with the pacing, it never felt like we were at a stand still at any time, it just kept on going and going until the story blew up and I was left gasping and crying and shocked with the twists and turns. 5 stars from me!