This was a phenomenal book. It had twists and turns and I literally could not put it down!! I read this book in under 24 hours and consider it a must read for any thriller lover!!!

Brief synopsis: Ten years ago, Jolene pulled a prank on her friend Elizabeth, and it almost killed her. Elizabeth doesn't know who did it, and Jolene is wracked with guilt. Now, Jolene moves to Berkeley, ready to start fresh, when who does she bump in to? Elizabeth. And she doesn't seem entirely clueless about that prank Jolene thought she'd gotten away with...

This book is so unhinged, ridiculous, WTF, and I loved it. Gardner has a way of writing that keeps you on your toes, needing to know what happens next. That mixed with the short chapters and likeable-even-when-they're-not characters makes it an insanely fast and fun read.
I started this late last night and couldn't put it down!

This is perfect for anyone who likes over-the-top thrillers, dual timelines which dole out perfectly timed revelations, a sprinkling of humor, and fast reads.

Jolene and Elizabeth 'were friends' in high school.
Jolene decides to play a practical joke on Elizabeth, only things don’t go as planned. Elizabeth is abruptly left to deal with life-long injuries. Jolene, whom never owned up to the prank gone horribly wrong, is left with a lifetime of guilt. Years later paths cross, and they are left to rekindle their 'friendship', faced with revenge. Faith Gardner did a superb job with Jolene’s character as she was slowly unraveling, stuck dealing with internal conflicts. I loved listening to her inner voice as it screamed, scolded, tormented and gently advised her, I was screaming with her.

I have to admit that the plot to this book is rather silly and may not be for everyone. From the start that I had to chuck reality out of the window if I were to going to enjoy this at all. Tread lightly.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC in exchange for an honest review. I hadn't read any of Faith Gardner's books before Like It Never Was so I didn't know what to expect. The book was hard to put down. It wasn't a typical suspense/thriller where the actions and drama are inflated and unbelievable. Jolene is a 30 year old woman with severe mental disturbances and extreme paranoia. In high school, she pranked a classmate, Elizabeth, that almost resulted in Elizabeth's death. Elizabeth claims to not remember what happened but the crash she survived caused scarring, an amputed leg and vision loss in one eye. Jolene lives with overwhelming, all-consuming guilt and 10 years after the incident finds herself in Berkeley, California, attending an improv class and living in the same neighborhood as her. Jolene's mental health begins to crack even further, living in a delusional state that culminates in a very tragic ending for those involved. I enjoyed this book so much, I'm going to seek out others by Faith Gardner.

“Like it never was” follows Jolene and Elizabeth. Many years ago Jolene almost kills Elizabeth in a gruesome incident, but absolutely nobody knows (including the almost unalived victim).

Flash forward their paths cross under strange circumstances and Jolene begins to wonder if Elizabeth really knows more than she lets on after all.

This one reads as a satire thriller. It’s fun and fast paced with lots of twists. Go into this one with an open mind and an unserious attitude and enjoy the ride.

Thank you to mirror house press, faith gardner and NetGalley for the EARC!

Publish date: July 2nd 2024

This book was a really twisted thriller! It was so good!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was a pretty crazy read, as in who was actually crazy. Ten years ago, Jolene plays a prank on her friend, Elizabeth. It goes horribly wrong, and Elizabeth is horribly injured. She has no memory of what happened though. Flash forward and Jolene is in an acting class and lo and behold, there is Elizabeth. Weird things start happening to Jolene. Does Elizabeth actually remember? This was fairly fast paced. I had trouble really connecting with the characters and was not really clear with the ending, but the twists were fun. Overall, I enjoyed the story and would read more from this author.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Faith Gardner and Mirror House Press for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Instagram and other retail and social media sites upon publication of July 02.

Phenomenal work! Completely addictive. Highly recommend and will be purchasing for my libraries. Can't wait to read what comes next!

Ten years ago Jolene nearly kills her friend Elizabeth, in a freak accident when a prank goes wrong, afraid to get in trouble instead of sticking around to get help she runs away from the scene, leaving Elizabeth to burn in a car, she survives but with terrible injuries. Fast forward 10 years, Jolene has moved and signed up for acting classes at Berkeley, but low and behold Elizabeth is there and a part of that class! Jolene feels guilty, but she also worries about Elizabeth, when weird things start happening to her, she thinks Elizabeth knows what Jolene did that fateful night 10 years ago. I really enjoyed this thriller, there were parts I did find myself skimming over, but for the most part it kept me entertained and the last little bit of the book really made this! Thank you Net Galley for letting me read this early. I would give this book 3.75 out of 5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Mirror Press for the eARC.

This book…. I had no idea where it was going or who was the bad guy and who wasn’t. Frankly who was sane and who wasn’t never became fully clear. But then the ending. I mean what? I needed more to feel full closure.

This book started with a true bang (a classic orange car, a gorilla suit or maybe a Sasquatch or Bigfoot (???), and the surprise of a lifetime) and didn’t let up the entire time!!! It was a wild ride and I loveddddd every second of it!!!

@faith.gardner just knows how to writes the most engaging thrillers that I could truly read in one sitting, but I love savoring them!!!!

#likeitneverwas #faithgardner

Thank you to Netgalley so much for the opportunity to read this book. Based on the summary, I was very excited to start reading! Unfortunately this one was not for me, I really struggled connecting with the characters and plot. It seemed written for a much younger audience, whereas I went into it hoping for a more mature and darker tone novel. I would have really liked to see more depth and emotion from the characters.

Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to read this book. I had a really hard time connecting to the characters and the story. I think this was intended more for a younger audience. There were still a decent amount of grammatical errors as well. I wanted to like it so badly but it was unfortunately just not for me.

Okay, call me terrible but that first chapter had me cracking up. I was sucked into this book immediately with the satire humor. You have to go into this with an open mind and logic set aside.

Jolene is very witty and has a relatable darker personality. I really enjoyed and relate to her inner monologue.

There were quite a bit of twists in this that I thought were predictable, but enjoyable.

I would love to see this as a satire thriller film!

This one I struggled with what was real and not in the story which is kind of what I think the author was going for so that you kept guessing. This definitely had major twists in it and I’m still trying to sort through what was reality in this story.

Thank you NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for this book to review.

This one was fun and fast thriller that definitely reminded me of a Freida McFadden tale.

I liked the story a lot and this had me hooked and a was a fast read. However, the twist really fell flat IMO and was too rushed at the end. Plus I'm not 100% what the truth was either and I'm not a fan of when a story ends that way. I also wish the therapist was left out of the story, I just think a line was crossed a little there but I know that's common in psychological thrillers. I also really didn't like or cheer for any of the characters, they were all super flawed.

All in all it was a fun read but wasn't one I would put in a top reads of the year, thus a 3.5/5.00. If you want something quick and twisty I still would recommend and found it enjoyable.

3.5 stars
I really enjoyed this one. It drew me in from the beginning and kept me interested through the entire read with its suspenseful plot. I loved Jolene’s character and watching her unravel.
At the end of their senior year in high school Jolene almost kills Elizabeth in a prank gone wrong. 10 years later Jolene still carries the guilt with her. After moving to Berkley for a fresh start she runs into Elizabeth in her new improv class. Elizabeth doesn’t remember anything about the night of the accident and is ready to rekindle their high school friendship, but will Jolene’s guilt let this happen?
Thank you, Mirror House Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

I am sure this would have been a good read, but unfortunately I did not get a chance to get to this before the title was archived. I would be interested in finding a reasonably priced physical copy when I get a chance!

If this character was Dolly's Jolene I think she would have just take that man and get the heck on.

These characters were some kind of annoying.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

A fast paced thriller about Jolene, a women who almost kills her "friend" in a horrific accident, and now lives with the guilt as the only one who knows what happened that night. She runs into Elizabeth ten years later and now her world is turned upside down. I thought I ha duh ebook figured out but I didn't guess the twist. This is a first person POV that weaves between past and present. A great read that leaves you guessing until the very end.