Synopsis:
Nora O’Malley is a lot of things. A sister. An ex. A secret girlfriend. Kind of crooked, but reformed… somewhat.
Nora O’Malley’s been a lot of girls. As the daughter of a con-artist who targets criminal men, she grew up her mother’s protege. But when mom fell for the mark instead of conning him, Nora pulled the ultimate con: escape.
For five years she’s been playing at normal. But she needs to dust off the skills she ditched because she has three problems:
#1: her ex walked in on her with her girlfriend. Even though they’ve all been inseparable for months, Wes didn’t know about her and Iris.
#2: The morning after, they all have to meet to deposit the fundraiser money they raised together. It’s a nightmare that goes from awkward to deadly.
Because #3: right after they get in the bank, two guys start robbing it.
But they have no idea who they’re really holding hostage.
The robbers are trouble. Nora’s something else entirely.
Review:
My experience with The Girls I’ve Been was a little strange to say the least. I first started listening to it in December 2023, got around two hours in and then didn’t pick it up again until a few weeks ago. Thankfully, I could still remember what happened before, which is a huge positive for this book if you ask me. I’m so glad I decided to pick this up again as it was a great read, even in audio form.
I’m not usually a big fan of audiobooks with one narrator but The Girls I’ve Been was done incredibly well. What’s even cooler is the author narrated it. I’m so thankful Tess Sharpe didn’t put on voices for the different characters, different inflections were used to show that someone else was talking but there wasn’t any “I’m going to make my voice deeper because a male character is talking”. Huge kudos to Tess Sharpe for doing such a great job. More authors should narrate their own books.
The bank situation was tense, but as I have to listen to audiobooks on at least 1.5x speed, it wasn’t as intense as it should have been. I would have loved to listen at a lower speed so the tension could build, but my ADHD brain needs the information as quickly as possible otherwise I’ll lose focus.
My favourite part of The Girls I’ve Been was learning about the other girls Nora had been. The flashback scenes were so interesting. Especially the ones with her stepfather Ramon, who I already know is the catalyst for the next book, which I’ve already bought. You know she’s going to get out of those situations as they’re the past, but my god are they the most tense moments of the entire book. The bank robbery was definitely interesting but the flashbacks take the cake as the best parts.
I’d highly recommend checking out The Girls I’ve Been in whichever format you prefer. It’s not often I’ll give high praise to an audiobook, but this one really was great.
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