Title: The Never Have I Ever Club
Author: Mary Jayne Baker
Publisher: Aria
Publication date: June 18th, 2020
??? pages
3.5/5 stars
Goodreads Synopsis
Robyn Bloom thought Ash Barnes was the love of her life – until one day he announced he was leaving her to fly halfway across the world.
Months later, Robyn is struggling to move on – but then she has a brainwave: The Never Have I Ever Club. Her handsome next-door neighbour Will helps her bring their fellow Yorkshire villagers together for some carpe-diem-inspired fun.
From burlesque dancing to Swedish massages, everyone has plenty of bucket-list activities to try, but it doesn’t take long for Robyn to realise what – or who – her heart truly desires: Will.
There’s just one problem: he’s Ash’s twin brother.
Make that two problems: Ash is moving home… and he wants Robyn back.
Review
**Thank you to Aria, Netgalley, and Mary Jayne Baker for an early copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review**
Set in the UK, The Never Have I Ever Club features Robyn Bloom, a 35 year old woman who is still getting over her sudden breakup with Ash when he decided to move to Australia and begin a relationship with a woman 25 years her junior. Left in his wake, Robyn is struggling to move on as Ash is her next door neighbor, along with his identical twin brother Will. Robyn can’t even see Will without being reminded of her heartbreak, even though they’ve been best friends and neighbors their whole lives. Robyn and her friends decide to create a village club encouraging it’s members to learn new things and have those experience they’ve always put off. When Ash returns to win Robyn back, she is left flustered and angry but he isn’t ready to give up. But is he the right twin for her?
I enjoyed this book, I liked the characters and Robyn’s relationship with her friends and her aunt. The characters are quirky, relatable, and unique enough to give the dialogue and events an interesting quality. I just really didn’t like either of the love interests? Both twins – Will and Ash – got on my nerves for different reasons. Ash is selfish and impetuous, only looking after himself. Will is the opposite, he doesn’t even stop for a second to think of doing something that would benefit him. I imagine the author created this dichotomy for a reason, and trust me the effect worked, but there needed to be some ‘in the middle’ qualities for both of them. No one is that selfish or selfless.
This book does kind of include a love triangle trope, but it doesn’t follow the norm. For most of the book, the characters don’t know there is any triangle to speak of, so even if love triangles aren’t your jam – don’t let that keep you from reading this book if you’re interested.
I actually enjoyed the subplots more than the main love story plot. I cheered for Freya and Eliot and Aunty Fliss. This book is also very clean, for those who don’t enjoy smut in their romance novels.
Happy reading, folks!
Baltimore Bibliophile 