The Girl You Thought I Was

by Rebecca Phillips

[Amber]

I’ve decided that I love Rebecca Phillips’ writing and I’ve put her on my auto-buy author list. That’s right, it’s official. I loved the book she released last year, These Things I’ve Done, and as soon as I saw that The Girl You Thought I Was was available to review, I had to nab it. And it definitely didn’t disappoint.

Rebecca Phillips has a way of writing characters that makes you fall in love with them. Morgan is a shoplifter, and societal norms say you should hate her for that, but when her backstory is unravelled you can’t help but feel for her. Her parents’ divorce affected her massively, and despite the crimes she has committed, she is a good person who is trying to be better. I thought she was a fantastic protagonist.

I loved Morgan’s relationship with her father and her sister. Morgan lives alone with her father and her cat, and the father/daughter bonding was one of the best parts of the book.

The relationship between Morgan and Eli was also lovely. Their progression felt natural and really sweet. I didn’t like that the book fell into the Second Act Breakup trope, but whatever. I loved it anyway.

This book confirms what I thought after reading Phillips’ previous book, and that is that she writes fantastic relationships whether they’re platonic or romantic. This is where her skills truly shine.

I’m definitely going to have to go back and read the author’s backlog, because I feel like I’m going to love all of her books. And I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next!