Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - None of This Is True

This was a quick and easy read, it was easy to get into and it really picked up on the last half of the book. I think the concept and structure are fairly novel and they work here, however I wasn’t a fan of the theme of gaslighting victims of abuse (regardless whether the abuse in the plot was true in the universe or not this isn’t necessarily a narrative we need to be pushing). Also the fact that Walter is deemed as imperfect and not villainous by the end despite being an actual pedophile and just all around creep is pretty nuts. Sorry, but I don’t care if he is a good dad, he’s still a pedophile?? I would have liked a spicier ending as well with Josie.

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voilajean's review against another edition

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1.0

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amalas_bookstop's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Solid 3.25 ⭐️

Giving this a rating based on it being somewhat of an entertaining read. But this was not really a thriller, I didn’t even feel suspense reading this. Definitely a overly hyped book from Tik-Toc.

I get what the author was trying to do with the twists and the end, it just didn’t hit hard enough for me.

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violentte's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

Amazing book. Finished in 2 days and just could not put it down!
Believe it or not Josie reminded me a lot of a person my partner knew first year of uni, whom was completely insane and a compulsive liar and it was just crazy seeing the similarities.
Jojo def shows signs either BPD or just a sociopath, and is a big danger (clearly) to those around her, displaying violent outburst, no remorse, obsession, and no empathy whatsoever.
Starting with Walter and her relationship, the age gap is INSANE and was a MAJOR red flag. In any shape or form Walter was a groomer, however

once we learn from Pat that Jojo actively went after Walter (knowing not only was he married but also dating her mom) - this showing her as a person (like you’re one of those that ALSO steals people men😭)

She is a perfect example of an unreliable narrator and we don’t begin to see the full picture till after her family begins to speak out.
I legit cried when Nathan died, I was hoping he wouldn’t and was holding out hope that the marriage would be fixed, but again Jojo’s obsession got in the way of that. I was honestly surprised that she didn’t try stealing HIM away from his family. But after hearing her daughter explain how Walter had to sneak to speak to his kids in America it was just adding on to the long list of red flags for Jo the Roxy plot twist was to be expected, she seems to be worse then her parents/grandparents. I think a spin off book on her would be interesttinnng
I loved the writing style and I will absolutely be reading more from this author. Great little murder mystery.

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