A review by youaremykiseki
None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell

dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Generally an interesting read and premise, although I wish the blurb had been a lot less revealing. I did like the slow reveal and unraveling, but I felt that there were a lot of loose ends that weren't quite addressed. One plot point that bothered me was
Nathan's supposed use of cocaine,
which never got mentioned again after
Alix found the plastic bag
. I think the
lack of backstory about Nathan made it impossible for the reader to figure out his motivations 
/reasons for the drinking problems, so I felt a bit cheated with the reveal at the end.
I liked that in the end
we still got conflicting stories: do we trust Josie's POV or do we trust her children's?
My last complaint is that there was a lot of talk about
the husband being a pedophile, but in the end he was painted as a good father, and loved by his children, and supposedly he was manipulated into a relationship with Josie, but that doesn't really answer how that's possible? Like, he was in his 40s and she was a teenager. How do you get manipulated into marriage in that situation?
I also just want to know why
nobody involved the police at any point until later. How did child services not find any problems in that home. Is she just a master liar and manipulator?


Anyway, the premise was intriguing, and I liked the format of switching POV and "mixed media" interspersed with the narration. I do wonder what the rules are for straight up saying there's a fictional Netflix series in the book. Overall wouldn't recommend the book but if you do read it, go in without reading the blurb.
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