I was first drawn to this book by who the author is and then the description. I thought the book starts slow and perhaps a bit jumbled up. Lexi starts out too messed up for my liking. As the story goes on it smooths out a bit and I start liking Lexi more. I ended up enjoying the book much more than I thought I would.

Thank you, NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Landmark | Sourcebooks Landmark books for this ARC. Not gonna lie- I requested this book without reading the synopsis because I thought it was going to be a memoir. It is not- per conversations with the author at the end of the book, Hough wrote this story in to tell some of her experiences and lessons she has learned along her journey without being so specific as with a memoir. This book was interesting to say the least. The main character goes on a journey and has many difficulties she must overcome, and she uses spiritualism as way to face them and not everyone in her life agrees or supports her chosen belief.

I don’t want to be mean here, but Julianne Hough got herself a ghostwriter for a weird mashup between a Hallmark movie and Ghost Whisperer featuring heavy topics (CT: miscarriage) - one that shouldn’t be published as a book, but a Wattpad story. I found the story just very messy and the writing was just very… light? It tried to be good, smart, and visual, but it just kinda felt like a very cheap Wattpad story. Also, note that the Ghost Whisperer aspect is more of a spiritual energy healing situation type of deal.

I hate that I’m giving it such a low rating because I started this with low expectations already. I love Julianne Hough for one reason and one reason only: KINRGY. And when I saw she had a book coming up I got sort of excited, even though this is not the type of book I usually read. I like getting out of my comfort zone and I usually give higher ratings when I start off with low expectations. Not this time.

The story follows Lexi. She’s pretty, she’s talented, she’s successful, her partner Shane is a firefighter who also volunteers (or maybe a dude that volunteers as a firefighter, tomato tomato)… You Google ‘power couple,’ and you get them both. But behind the curtains, they’re struggling. They’ve had a miscarriage. And to make things worse, now Lex is having some sort of paranormal hallucination thing. And eventually there is a witch too? 🥴 (content warning for heavy astrology/spiritual energy stuff too in case you don't believe in the stuff. I think I was the wrong target for it).

I found this book showed its cards too soon. You’re three pages into the book and you’ve already had everything: the hearing voices, the façade stuff, the miscarriage, and the cheap writing. From chapter one I was worried about the book because I could tell this was going to be a lot of blablabla, but you know, I love my KINRGY, so here I am giving my girl Julianne a try. The book just lowkey continued being the same cheap, messy thing that never really launched. I don’t want to say it got worse, but because it was definitely a trainwreck for me.

Something that bothered me in the writing, and maybe that’s just me, was the stuff inside parentheses. Very often, there’d be quips or a sprinkle of information inside parentheses and it just sort of madee the book feel very not book-quality. I could tell the writing was attempting to be fresh and elegant, but the parentheses and messiness, and the many comments about ‘this dress is showing off my curves’ (I find it cringey, I’m sorry), made it feel déclassé. (Yes, I am picking this word because this book had lots of French words sprinkled in it) (Look at me using parentheses too!). The writing here was trying to be something it didn’t end up being. It’s like you wanted That Dress™ from House of CB but you got the Shein dupe.

And I do have to add, I wonder how the authoring/writing process worked. I feel they both had an original idea but they both struggled to negotiate what they both wanted the book to be. There are parts and conflicts that are more fleshed out and coherent (husband, friends, work), but some others that were very superficial and resolved without really chewing much into it (the mother, religion). At least in my opinion.

Lovely cover and I appreciate the inclusion of heavy topics that so often go unspoken about (miscarriage obviously, but also being a successful woman with a jealous male employee). I hope we get more and more books highlighting the traumatic experiences and devastation that come with miscarriages. This book was sadly not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I went into with an open mind, curious to try something a bit different than most of my recent reads. I struggled to get into the writing style, and I had a really hard time wanting to pick it up. I decided to DNF as it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Remember that video of Julianne Hough getting an "energy transfer"? Well.....that's where this story is going.

What even is this? Hallmark/Lifetime movie with a 'energy/healing' storyline. LOL - no. This is a story that...did not need to be published.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

2.5 ⭐️

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley

This is Julianne Hough’s debut novel, that she wrote with her credited ghostwriter. It’s marketed as supernatural fiction. Lexi quits her real estate job to explore energy and auras. Quite honestly did not know what I was getting into. The novel was written well enough, I just did not necessarily love the content.

I had very high hopes for Everything We Never Knew by Julianne Hough;Ellen Goodlett. This book was ok for me- nothing particularly special. I did like the premise of the story. Just an average 2.5 star read for me.

Thank you NetGalley & SOURCEBOOKS|Landmarkfor an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book and resonated deeply with it from
gorgeous cover art to moving writing. Julianne Hough is a talented artist in dance, acting, and music, but we can also add writing to the list! This was a beautiful exploration of empathy, mothering, and transformation. I was hoping to like this book but was pleasantly surprised by how much I did. Brava!

Regrettably, a rare pass from me. It's got potential to be sure but the writing is clunky and there was just too much going on. Lexi's journey to harnessing her power as an empath is interesting but it didn't, much to my surprise, grab me. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Over to others.

A decent book that is very unique. I thought the Saturn return was an interesting concept and it really gave this book the element of the unknown in terms of not knowing what exactly Lexi would be experiencing during this time. I thought her empath type powers really brought a lot of depth to her character and really helped show the character growth while experience it. The writing was okay, nothing over the top.

"When the stars align, anything can happen."
Lexi is a top-seller in her realty firm. When she is about to accept her award, she sees a man with an aura around him. She begins to feel as if she is drowning. He later dies and she learns his family died by drowning. These auras around people become more frequent, and can see their fate. When these visions of the future haunt her, she realizes using some of her spiritual energy healing can save others from their destiny. I'm not a fan of energy fields, or paranormal, but found the story interesting in how it would pan out. Her husband and family do not like her new powers and it becomes a friction battle. She embraces it in order to heal people, but when this gets in the way of keeping her past behind her, she must decide what to do. Then she receives a vision of her husband in danger.
It was kinda creepy to think there are people with these Saturn Returns and may be able to see someone else's destiny or even prevent it.
Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was originally drawn in by the cover of this book. However within the first few chapters I could start to sense I was not going to enjoy it. In chapter One I feel as though we get info dumped on the miscarriage and hallucinations etc. I fully support dnf books and sadly I could not get myself to read through the whole thing. I enjoyed the themes of the novel. I just believe it could have been executed better. The writing style wasn’t for me and I felt a bit all over the place while reading this.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the arc in exchange for an honest review

This premise while compelling it comes off as tone deaf. I can see how the author wanted to show empathy as almost a superpower and how it’s not a weakness. But it just was not executed correctly and wanted to accomplish more than it could given the story.

I couldn’t finish this book. It felt disjointed and confusing. I was excited to read this based on the author but ultimately stopped reading around 26%.

I enjoyed this book. The subject matter of aura's and energy healing was a new concept to me. It was well explained and drew you in to the healing of the characters. I loved the overall concept of change is possible...with work. Characters were relatable and ending was true to the conflict and resolution to the storyline.

Most people know @juleshough from her extensive history with dance, or like me, introduced to her in the movie Safe Haven. Now, she can add author to that list! She, alongside @ellengoodlett, wrote a novel that is labeled as literary fiction but has roots in Hough's real life. Prior to reading this novel, I had followed a bit of her spiritual journey. She eventually created Kinrgy - which combines dance, mindful movement and fitness using her knowledge about energy and our connection to the elements. Let's release that suppressed feminine energy!

Even though this was not written as a memoir, it read like an expression of Hough’s journey, particularly her spiritual one. Although I myself am limited in my spirituality, I AM open minded. As an empath, I could feel Lexi's struggles as if they were my own, which is also thanks to the wonderful writing. Lexi has built a comfortable life grounded in practicality when she has her first visual experience with energy. She has to work through self discovery and spiritual changes all while her husband Shane, a very practical realist, belittles the experience. They bonded over their sameness, and now one party is changing while the other is stagnant. She so perfectly depicts the difficult relationship dynamics and developed coping mechanisms of avoidance due to trauma. We get to go on this self-discovery journey with her as she works through her past to connect more wholly with her present self.

I cannot express the excitement and privilege I felt receiving this particular ARC. The author’s notes at the end connected real life to the magic in this story. Once you all read it (which you should) one particular question I loved was “what do you see as your predominant elements?” I would say I am made up of mostly fire and earth.

Posted on IG @therunaway.readers

Even though this was not written as a memoir, it read like an expression of her personal journey, particularly her spiritual one. Although I myself am limited in my spirituality, I AM open minded. As an empath I could feel Lexi's struggles as if they were my own (also thanks to the wonderful writing). She has to work through self discovery and spiritual changes all while her husband Shane, a very practical realist, belittles the experience. They bonded over their sameness, and now one party is changing while the other is stagnant. She so perfectly depicts the difficult relationship dynamics and developed coping mechanisms of avoidance due to trauma. We get to go on this self-discovery journey with her as she works through her past to connect more wholly with her present self. Once she does that, she is able to better heal the blocks she sees in those around her.

I was instantly drawn in by the synopsis of this book, intrigued by Lexi's experiences of drowning in the presence of a man she had never met. This book focuses on Lexi coming to terms with her newfound ability and seeking the help of standoffish Bea O'Neill, owner of the local "witchy" shop in their small Utah town. I enjoyed seeing how Lexi built her relationship with Bea, someone the rest of her friends and family disapproved of, and how she began the journey of healing herself so that she could in turn help others.

While the premise of this book drew me in and I found the details of Lexi's training with Bea interesting, I often became distracted by the random pieces of background information introduced throughout the plot. These pieces of information sometimes distracted from the dialogue, Lexi's internal monologue, or the book's plot. Due to the choppy nature of the writing, i found myself sort of having to force myself to finish. While this book may not have been exactly my cup of tea, I appreciate the new ideas introduced by this book and the difficult topics addressed, I just wasn’t a huge fan of the writing. The book also read as one long therapy session, which just isn’t my reading preference.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Stay tuned for the release of Everything We Never Knew on August 12, 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

The idea of this book drew me in instantly as well as, with Julianne Hough.

This whole read felt like a therapy session to me. She is dealing with something in the beginning and does t k ow quite what it is, the rest of the book she goes through different energies, this had a lot of thinking on my part, just was t what I Initially thought it’d be from the description.

An easy enjoyable read about Alexis Cole finding her inner and best self, and her personal relationships through healing.