Book Review🪵
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Summary; 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.
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Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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My thoughts: thank you @poisonedpenpress and @marleebushwriter for the advanced copy, this one comes out today and it is so good !! This one is so creepy and atmospheric, I almost felt suffocated by the woods while I read it. I love a good thriller and this one will definitely keep you on your toes. I think it really came together beautifully at the end, I was second guessing myself all the way up until then. This was highly enjoyable and a quick read !
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QOTD- are you an outdoorsy person? Could you live in a cabin in the woods?! I absolutely could not 😂
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Marlee Bush's breakout debut novel, WHEN SHE WAS ME, is an atmospheric, unsettling, twisty, hypnotic crime and psychological thriller featuring twin sisters and the mystery, secrets, suspicion, and suspense surrounding their past and present relationships.

Each sister suspects the other knows more than she’s letting on—but what happens when the person you trust most is the person you’re most afraid of?

WHICH ONE IS THE REAL MONSTER?

The author keeps you on the edge until the final page in this slow-burn fascinating suspense. Which twin do you trust? Do they trust one another?

Something happened fifteen years ago. Since then, twin sisters Cassie and Lenora have been inseparable. The girls live at a Tennessee campground in Cabin Two. It is remote and isolated, and they can keep to themselves without prying eyes, the media, and true crime junkies.

Cabin Three has had plenty of visitors, from writers on deadline to weekend getaways and those wanting to unplug. The difference between the visitors and the twins is that the visitors always leave while the twins remain.

Cassie films a true crime podcast and cares for her sister, Lenora, who is an agoraphobe. The only time she goes outside is to the shared outdoor bathhouse.

The campground's old owner dies, and the property is sold to a new owner. The girls will continue to live there full-time. A woman named Sarah Hill has moved into Wayne’s cabin.

The novel alternates between Cassie and Lenora and then chapters from the point of view of one twin years earlier, but the reader does not know from whose perspective it is written.

The novel heats up, and the girl's quiet life unravels when Cabin Three is rented to a family with a teenage girl, Tilly, who later goes missing. Tilly disappears in the night and is later found dead. Who killed Tilly, and why?

It is told from each sister's POV, with past (then) to present. There is a lot of introspection about what is going on within the girls' heads and their inner thoughts. They are both secretive.

The author cleverly keeps the reader guessing as to what happened to the girls and they are unreliable narrators. Love, loss, and long-buried secrets.

Hauntingly beautiful, WHEN SHE WAS ME is an atmospheric, sinister, eerie, and spellbinding murder mystery whodunit (literary fiction) exploring trauma and complex, broken, and dysfunctional family bonds, with a backdrop of the forest and this chilling campground which is almost like another character. Campgrounds and parks are scary and make a great setting for this thriller. There is a surprising twist at the end and how the girls came to be at this campground.

Marlee Bush is an author to watch! I look forward to reading more from this new voice in fiction.

AUDIOBOOK: I listened to the spellbinding audiobook, narrated by Imani Jade Powers, delivering a spine-chilling performance. I also read the e-book.

The novel is for fans of Laura McHugh. If you enjoy twin thrillers such as The Lies I Told Mary Burton, First Born Will Dean, The Good Sister Sally Hepworth, Her Perfect Twin Sarah Bonner, and Beside Myself Ann Morgan, do give WHEN SHE WAS ME a whirl!

Many thanks to Poisoned Pen Press, NetGalley, and Dreamscape Media for an ARC and ALC for an honest opinion.

blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 4.5 Stars
Pub Date: May 7, 2024
May 2024 Must Read Books
May Newsletter

When She Was Me by @marleebushwriter 📚💖🎧

Thank you to @netgalley @poisonedpenpress & @dreamscape_media for the opportunity to read and listen to an advanced copy of this book!

WOW this book was a fun ride! I didn’t know what to expect. This book is a very strong debut by author Marlee Bush and I have a feeling she’s going to go far. The story follows two sisters who live in a secluded cabin after their parents died. One day a girl is found murdered near the cabin, and this leads to a lot of speculation.

This book is so good that I believe it’s best to not reveal too much about the plot. With that being said, I really enjoyed this book and I finished it in under a day.

The audiobook version was also really good. I was kind of surprised that Imani Jade Powers was chosen to voice both sisters, but she did a great job. I’ve enjoyed other books @imanijadepowers narrated including Bright Young Women. She has a very enjoyable voice. Right up there with Julia whelan, Bailey Carr and Brittany Presley!

In conclusion, I definitely recommend this book and I’m going to put Marlee Bush on my authors to follow list! 💖

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 Colleen Hoover, Megan Miranda

𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘
This book will be released next Tuesday, May 7, 2024. Definitely go pick it up at your favorite retailer!

𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗞 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗧𝗢 𝗡𝗘𝗧𝗚𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗜𝗡 𝗘𝗫𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗠𝗬 𝗛𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪!

Get ready for a thrilling journey into the wild outdoors with Marlee Bush’s upcoming release When She Was Me!

Twin sisters Cassie and Lenora have been inseparable since birth, but one fateful night only strengthens their bond, and leads to their need to find solace in an isolated Tennessee campground.

Unfortunately when a teenage girl goes missing from a neighboring cabin, their peaceful refuge is shattered. As suspicion mounts and secrets unravel, the girls must confront the sinister truth lurking in their past before it’s too late.

Bush delivers a tense and suspenseful thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end!

If you're looking for a quick, suspenseful read with a satisfyingly unexpected conclusion, "There's Only One Way Out of These Woods" is a great choice. Just be prepared to stay up late, because you won't want to put it down!

A suspenseful and twisted slow-burn thriller about a pair of special twins with a dark past. Told in the dual timelines in the sisters' perspectives, the author drops juicy breadcrumbs along the way and if you think you have the twists figured out, think again. What a wonderful debut. I'll be looking out for more from this author.

Marlee Bush has an interesting and distinct way of writing. As an audiobook, it was a bit confusing but the writing style kept me want to know what happened. It took me a while to get into it, I kept on losing track of what's what for some reason. But it was still an interesting read. I think the author is very talented and has a unique way to describe things. I'd love to read more books by this author.

Rating: 3.5
This was a very interesting book from the start.. it kept me reading all the way. Although I did guess the big twist of the story, I didn't see other minor twists coming and that was very good. I listened to the Audiobook, but given that it is told from multiple perspectives, I needed to pay extra attention at the start of each chapter so I knew who was who. Highly recommended for fans of Lisa Jewel.. it's a similar style. #whenshewasme #NetGalley

Thank you, Dreamscape Media for this advance copy in exchange for my review.

An absolute brilliant debut!
I was a little nervous at first because thrillers with twins usually go in a certain direction and I was so pleased that this book was so original.
Identical twins Cassie and Lenora were flawed and likeable, and their cabin in the woods was delightfully creepy.
With some confusion during the past timeline and trying to figure out what exactly happened to them 15 years prior and why are they hiding out in the woods, it was exactly enough unknown to keep me hooked.
It was so nice to read a thriller that actually thrills and gives me the creeps.
I can't wait to read what Marlee writes next.

🎧📖 note: Imani Jade Powers did an excellent job navigating all of the characters and timelines in this story.

This was just too much for my little brain. I get the red herrings, pointing fingers at everyone involved, everyone is a suspect, but I swore the book was ending like three times and it just kept going. (The problem with audio books and not holding the pages read and not read.) It just went on too long and had too many twists. No, I did not see the ending coming, because it came out of left field.

I found this book exhausting. Not a thrill ride.

What a wild ride! Following two sisters, living in a cabin recently taken over by new management don’t handle change well. What is their story? Who can be trusted? The less you know about this story going in the better!

Solid debut and 3.5 stars.

We meet sisters, Cassie and Lenora, and I was definitely immediately interested in hearing their story. And boy did they have a story!

There were multiple POVs and timelines, and I will admit that sometimes on the audio (I had both audio and eARC), I was confused and wasn't sure who or what timeline it was in. I ended up reading more of the eARC because I found it easier to follow.

And that ending!

Will definitely look for more from this author.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Dreamscape Media for eARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Oh my god, this book had my heart RACING. I'm relatively new to the thriller genre but I found myself unable to put this book down and finished it in a single day.

An age old story of love and the things people are willing to do in its name told in a totally new and thrilling way.

4.25 stars

It was a solid 4 star read for me, but when I found out it was a debut, I added an extra 1/4 star because...wow.

Cassie and Lenora are fascinating. As an only child, any sibling dynamic just boggles my mind, but twins (and not just any twins, but monoamniotic twins--identical twins that share an amniotic sac) added to the want I had internally to know anything/everything I could about them as individuals and also as sisters. Their co-dependent bond that causes unwavering loyalty solidified from "that day" in their past kept me intrigued when the plot slowed down in some parts.

The mystery surrounding Tilly's death and the dual POV (both from then and now which came together seamlessly in the end), and what (or who) was in the woods with them really had my spidey sense tingling the entire story.

This book did something that I really don't like in mysteries. It has the big reveal be something that really wasn't introduced in the story so the reader wouldn't really have the opportunity to put the pieces together on their own, but that wasn't 100% the case here. There were allusions where I had the ah-ha moment of realizing that there was an unreliable narrator in my midst and that made the big reveal more enjoyable to me (Oh, how I do adore an unreliable narrator).

It was an interesting choice to have Imani Jade Powers voice both sisters, but considering that they're identical twins (even if they're VERY different people) actually made it work in this setting. Imani did a wonderful job making each character different yet the same.

Thank you, NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC.

This was a very different type of thriller. A slow burn that treaded the line of horror for me. Cassie and Lenora are identical twin sisters who live in a secluded cabin, in the mountains of Tennessee. They are trying to escape their past, 15 years ago the events of “that night” still haunt them.

When the landlord dies, a new owner buys the property and lets the girls stay. When a weekend renter goes missing- questions are asked. Memories from “that night” materialize and some similarities arise. The sisters begin to question each other.

A little creepy, dark and eerie, and a lot disturbing, you will be trying to figure things out until the very end. And it definitely takes an “interesting” turn at the end.

I didn’t love this one, but I did like it.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced audio copy of this book. It comes out this Tuesday 5/7/2024.

For more of Angie and Lauren's book reviews, please follow us on Instagram: @BluejackBookGirls

When She was Me is a debut author and you wouldn't notice. I was enthralled in this story that by the time I hit the ending I was SHOOK/shocked. Twin sisters, Cassie and Lenora have that "twin thing", you know that bond people sometimes talk about. Their past was a rocky one, so they chose the secluded life in the woods. All was okay until a teenager in the cabin next door went missing.

This story is a page turning that you just want to keep reading so you can find out if the evidence presented is the truth or a false reality.

I highly recommend this story to anyone who loves a good blood pumping murder mystery.

The narrator Imani Jade Powers did a wonderful job at capturing the story and what emotion needed to be portrayed when. I devoured this audiobook and I was left amazed.

I was sent an ARC for When She Was Me by NetGalley.
I found the storyline very interesting and it was hard to stop reading it. I often am able to see what the twist is and this one surprised me. It is a bit slow paced but it keeps you guessing through the entire book. It's a good thriller for anyone looking to get into the genera.

#ARC #NetGalley #Thriller #WhenSheWasMe #Bookrec

3/5 stars

Thank you Dreamscape Media for the advanced listening copy!

SYNOPSIS -- Cassie and Lenora have been inseparable since the womb -- literally. As twins, they know each other better than anyone. Ever since that night years ago, they have been on their own, by choice. In an isolated campground in Tennessee, they manage to live their lives in relative peace, and stay away from anyone who wishes them harm -- emotional or physical. However, when a teenage girl goes missing from the campground, their trauma resurfaces, leaving them both questioning reality for very different reasons. While trying to solve the present crime, they're forced to face the truth of what happened all those years ago...

Ugh, I wanted to love this one so bad and it just fell flat for me. The premise and overall plot were great. The TN campground was an awesome setting for an atmospheric, creepy and intense story. Cassie and Lenora started out as great characters to me, but I soon became frustrated with their respective quirks. I was super into this book for about half of it, but I lost interest after that and only finished it to see what happened. I'm glad I did, because the twists towards the end had me totally shocked, and definitely redeemed this book as a whole for me. Overall, though, it was a bit of a letdown. Longer than necessary and I feel like the wrong things were given too much attention. Not terrible, just not great.

When She Was Me by Marlee Bush is a twisty mystery thriller centering on twin sisters Cassie and Lenora who live alone in a cabin in the woods. The pair had isolated themselves based on past trauma, and Lenora's agoraphobia. I love mysteries and thrillers and thought that this story's narrator Imani Jade Powers did a fantastic job of conveying the story and its atmosphere. However, this one's slow pacing caused me to struggle to engage fully in the story. It did pick up in the last third of the book, but I didn't love the way the ending unfolded. I do think this story has a great premise and structure, I just couldn't get into it the way I wanted to.

This book was OK for me. I feel that there was a lot of repetition. There were some twists In the book that had me surprised but not until the end. Up to that point I thought it was kind of slow. I did enjoy the narrator.