Reviews

In the interest of full disclosure, this review is specifically regarding a DRC copy of the book from Net Galley, so while I imagine this eBook was pretty close to finalized, some details may have been changed between my copy and the official release.

If you want a slowburn thriller that is dark, as well as sometimes genuinely upsetting and uncomfortable (definitely check the content warnings if there are topics you’d like to avoid in that wheelhouse), consider When She Was Me for your next read. Marlee Bush weaves conflict and tension throughout every page of this book incredibly well, but I do wish there were some opportunities for relief (maybe to be snatched out from under us, maybe to make the payoff a little more satisfying). I think if the book had a little more moments of rest to get more attached to the cast between the page-turning conflict and anxiety, I might have given it a rating in the 4 to 5 star range. I’m definitely interested in checking out Bush’s future work, especially considering how strong her writing style is already and how well she writes tension.

This narrative overall is incredibly strong, and the twists don’t feel like they’re pulled out of no where; I like that it

goes against the assumption many people going to make based on the title and premise that the twins have switched or will switch places and still

manages to put down clues for the real twist without being too obvious. That’s where the twist did surprise me: my running theory initially was

that Cassie was the violent sister in the flashbacks, then that it was Sarah. That it was neither, and that I had picked up on the right red flags around Sarah’s character,

made it satisfying on both fronts.

The parallel arcs between the two pairs of sisters were very interesting—overall, it makes sense, and I think the juxtaposition between them was well done.

When I started reading, I was wary of Cassie and sympathetic towards Lenora (probably more because of my own experience with agoraphobia than the book itself—I imagine a lot of other readers will feel more inclined towards Cassie). Ultimately, both were characters whose motivations I could process and who I could, for the most part, root for;

I’ll admit I very quickly distrusted Sarah primarily because she was the landlord and when the book started dropping breadcrumbs about her, I assumed she would be the villain.

I was a little uncertain throughout the book of what the reader's takeaway is intended to be, with its themes of unreliability, intention, and the tenuous bonds of trust, truth, and sisterhood, but I do like where it ended.

The choice for Sarah to have to be the one to finally stop Emily, mirrored against Cassie absolving Lenora, showing that, metaphorically, Emily chose to take up the knife while for Lenora, it was put into her hand, is thematically potent and striking.

While I consider this a page turner—after all, I started reading it one night and finished the next afternoon—the plot itself is definitely a slower burn. Conflict is slathered throughout the book to the point that it's kind of a stressful read, especially when done in very few sittings and digested fairly quickly—in other words, it's pretty effective. The structure was elaborate—

two timelines, three character perspectives, all told in first person with one including a second person element

—but effective for the story being told. It creates a claustrophobic, gothic atmosphere that suits the plot well. A majority of the scenes felt necessary within the narrative, though I wish the

Cassie/Parker

subplot had been a little more developed and woven into the tapestry of the book

—the very brief interactions with him don’t fulfill the things I need to get invested (positively or negatively) in a romance subplot or in him as a character

. If there were a bit more screentime dedicated to that and tying it into the narrative, I think it would only make the book stronger.

The writing style is interesting, balancing out the slow pace of the story with sharp, direct sentences, utilizing fragments stylistically. It creates a fast, steady rhythm that suits the book well. Description is visceral, vivid, and incredibly clear, while depth of perspective is appropriate, zoomed in close on each point of view character’s psyche. Grammar was consistent, though some of the grammatical style choices stood out to me; none of it is technically wrong, so it doesn’t lose points for that, but it did take me out just a bit. Character voice doesn’t vary a whole lot across the board, between dialogue and narration, which has its pitfalls in characterization but benefits the twist by making the unspecified flashback narrator difficult to pinpoint down.

Content Warnings

More...