Never Have I Ever by Joshilyn Jackson

A thrill ride of psychological warfare between two women who are matching wits and perfecting their lies in a game of "chicken" that has ever escalating stakes.

It's never a great idea to combine lots of alcohol and a group of women getting together away from husbands and kids for an evening of book club. The group is usually kept on track by Charlotte who prints the questions and runs the discussion. On a particular night, however, the usual meet and chat is interrupted and thrown off course by a new neighbor, the bewitching Roux. Instead of the typical lackluster discussion on a book that few have actually read, on this evening, Roux takes control and soon has the members drunk and revealing their secrets. Secrets are the currency that Roux uses to manipulate and control and she has set her mark onto Amy Whey. And the secrets Amy has been keeping for years can't be revealed, but what will it cost her to keep Roux quiet? NO SPOILERS.

This was a slow build of tension leading to quite a few interesting revelations, and a surprising turn of events at the end made the conclusion quite satisfactory. I was really unable to anticipate where this was going to go and it took me places I never expected. I really enjoyed the information and description of the deep sea diving in particular. The characters were quite well developed and the writing was excellent. The premise was quite intriguing and, though you'd never catch me out playing a game such as that one, I know that others like that sort of thing for some reason. I like my privacy too much! "There was such solace hidden in confession." Thank you, but no, I think there is nothing that could compel me, but Amy has no choice as Roux already knows Amy's secrets. It's definitely a new twist on blackmail technique! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did -- it's a very quick read and hard to put down.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the e-book ARC to read and review.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre -- psychological fiction, domestic drama