Reviews with content warning for Pandemic/Epidemic - None of This Is True

Whooooa!
This book really did have me gripped and wanting to find out what happens next, which I love about a book anyway!
This book revolves around Alix Summer and Josie Fair, after a chance encounter in a restaurant when Josie overhears that it is also Alix’s birthday… they then later discover that they are the same age, and were born in the exact same hospital which then causes Josie to spark an interest in Alix and her personal life.
However, Josie is married to a man who is over 20 years older than her while Alix is married to a man of their age and her kids are still of school age while Josie’s children are in their 20s and one of them has moved out.
Alix has her own Podcast which Josie becomes interested in, thus adding to her interest of Alix’s personal life. Josie uses this as an opportunity to try slander her own mother, husband and her two daughters (Roxy and Erin). She claims that her husband is abusive to her and both their daughters, hence why their younger daughter moved out. She claims that Walter (her husband) is also abusing Erin on a night when she is asleep so that she doesn’t know - however, it’s later revealed by that he actually goes into her room to game with her as she’s a well known streamer on Glitch (I love that this is the books version of Twitch!) and her Dad adds to her persona as she is quiet but he is chatty and loud, so they end up becoming “Erased and Pops.”.
Josie is a very shady character and she just becomes weirder and weirder as the book progresses, stealing various items from the Summer’s household, such as a drawing Eliza did, Leon’s passport photos, a bracelet and even a necklace! However, as the book progresses we soon discover that she is behind more than just these thefts, as she may be behind murders!
I really despised the character of Josie by the time I got to the end of the book, she just seemed very manipulative and vindictive, Alix is proof of this as she is somehow manipulated into allowing Josie to stay at her house after she had supposedly been “abused” by her husband, Walter who has also hurt their daughter, Erin. Josie is also revealed to be behind the disappearance of Alix’s husband, Nathan, but tried to cover it by using her daughter Erin’s cards to pay for things, such as a hotel room.
I loved the writing style of this book, it really had me hooked and I just wanted to keep reading and finding out what happened next, keeping me on the edge of my seat. I binged the last 100+ pages within an hour or two because it was so gripping!
I think Lisa Jewell is going to be an auto-read author for me, well worth the 5 star review!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Content Warnings

thevanessa's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

4.5/5⭐️

It was really good, but I wouldn’t recommend it, at least not without a full list of trigger warnings😅

The audiobook though 👏🏻so good👏🏻 one of the best audiobooks I’ve ever listened to! The voice actors gave it there all and really sold me the story, so much so that it felt real

Content Warnings

lilybarna's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Incredible audio book! Finished in a day!! What a tale. I felt each twist and turn. I still need to process the ending/the whole thing!! I feel like I need more information and more of a resolution, but I get the insight that part of what we must grapple with is our insatiable relationship with true crime, and wanting to try things up with a bow. First LJ book but won’t be my last!

Content Warnings

emmy_readz's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

What did I just listen to? Way too many uncomfortable handlings of sensitive topics like child grooming, sexual assault, mental disability, mental health, the list goes on and on. It's like Jewell was trying to be edgy by including certain aspects but instead came across with him victim blaming energy. Alix's kids were an afterthought, honestly not even sure why they were included other than to make the two MC kids go to the same school and connect them. I think we were supposed to be unsure of who to believe with the dual POV and making Josie have a semi sympathetic voice but it came across as pathetic and selfish. Whether you believe Josie or not her motivations don't make sense regardless. The multimedia aspect of the podcast made it interesting and the pace was great. The audiobook is definitely worth a listen as it has a full cast and gives you the full multimedia experience. With the hype this book and Jewell as an author has, I'm pretty disappointed.

Content Warnings