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Ivy Mystery #1
The Many Lives of Ivy Wells
The Complete Ivy Wells Mystery Series Collection.
What would you do if a serial killer was tracking you through time?
Ivy Wells never wanted to die. When she does, she thinks it is all over. It isn't.
When the 30 year old mother of two wakes up as a 12 year old, she has to navigate her life all over again. And she remembers everything. Including the serial killer who is terrorizing her small town.
Can she stop him in time to save her friends? Can she somehow get back to her old life, with her children?
What would you do if a serial killer was tracking you through time?
Ivy Wells never wanted to die. When she does, she thinks it is all over. It isn't.
When the 30 year old mother of two wakes up as a 12 year old, she has to navigate her life all over again. And she remembers everything. Including the serial killer who is terrorizing her small town.
Can she stop him in time to save her friends? Can she somehow get back to her old life, with her children?
404 pages, Paperback
Published May 6, 2019
378 people are currently reading
437 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
May 22, 2021
Lost interest, skimmed to end to see if the villain was who I suspected. It was.
June 1, 2022
Well that was an unusual book and probably a bit longer than it needed to be. I did start to get a bit bored about 2/3rds of the way through. I figured out who the killer was by the time her 3rd life rolled around, though there were a few red herrings, of course.
October 24, 2021
Started to lose interest.
Knew who it was early.
Got irritated by the attempts to make you think it was someone else. It just felt poorly done.
Neat concept, but I feel like it could have been executed better.
Knew who it was early.
Got irritated by the attempts to make you think it was someone else. It just felt poorly done.
Neat concept, but I feel like it could have been executed better.
November 17, 2021
If I could give this book 0 stars, I would. I got half way through and I gave up. I had to skip to the end to see if I was right about the killer. I was. This book was so convoluted.
July 21, 2022
We’re following Ivy, who after she has died is taken back to a time in her life when her town was visited by a killer of two of her classmates. Now Ivy hopes with her second chance she can change not only her past but give the victims of the killer a future.
I picked this book up for this years edition of Summerween 2022. I thought the premise sounded interesting. Where it sounds like Scream meets Groundhog Day. However, the reading experience was less than I wished it had been. I feel like it boiled down to two crucial elements I wasn’t invested in as much as I wanted to be and they were the main character who’s POV we were following and the lack of tension I felt there should or could’ve been in a story like this. I felt like the main character was at first trying to change the past the best she could but I just felt she wasn’t making smart decisions for someone that’s supposed to be in her 30s. I felt like this in combination with the lack of tension you would expect when a crazed murderer is going around a small suburban community made this book a “no” for me.
I picked this book up for this years edition of Summerween 2022. I thought the premise sounded interesting. Where it sounds like Scream meets Groundhog Day. However, the reading experience was less than I wished it had been. I feel like it boiled down to two crucial elements I wasn’t invested in as much as I wanted to be and they were the main character who’s POV we were following and the lack of tension I felt there should or could’ve been in a story like this. I felt like the main character was at first trying to change the past the best she could but I just felt she wasn’t making smart decisions for someone that’s supposed to be in her 30s. I felt like this in combination with the lack of tension you would expect when a crazed murderer is going around a small suburban community made this book a “no” for me.
October 25, 2021
I didn't enjoy this book that much. I found the protagonist to be quite annoying, and I sighed in exasperation fairly often at the decisions she made.
Mild spoilers ahead:
The one thing that the author did quite well was how Simon was written. He was a convincing abusive partner, with layers of emotional, mental and physical abuse. Perhaps part of the reason I found the protagonist annoying is how many chances she gave him, even after she had left him in a previous life. She'd already realised he was a terrible person...
I guessed who the serial killer was around halfway of the way through the book. I probably only kept reading to confirm it.
Mild spoilers ahead:
The one thing that the author did quite well was how Simon was written. He was a convincing abusive partner, with layers of emotional, mental and physical abuse. Perhaps part of the reason I found the protagonist annoying is how many chances she gave him, even after she had left him in a previous life. She'd already realised he was a terrible person...
I guessed who the serial killer was around halfway of the way through the book. I probably only kept reading to confirm it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2021
Sorry to be leaving just the 1* but this is dreadfully written and I packed it in at only 6%. It did say in the blurb that it would appeal to teens and adults alike, which gave me pause, but it sounded so interesting I carried on regardless. However, it is definitely more for the YA audience as it is written using so much juvenile language, like when a school pal is "looking quite annoyed with me." I'm aware she reverts back to living as a 12 year old but the language used was just as immature in her present day at 30.
Right away, I was less than enchanted with Ivy when we learn she's no longer with her kids' father......sigh......I know it seems to be the way of the world these days but I find it pretty depressing. Would be nice to read of parents who actually stick together for a change. Not sure why they still get up and spout their marriage vows, even having the gall to say them more than once....or twice. Then we're to believe she has all this code red drill planned out for her and the children but doesn't appear to have an alarm set up or a panic button if she thinks someone's out to get her or any weapon to hand !
The author has a problem with leaving hyphens out of her sentences, too....as in skull cracking or knife wielding, then writes sleep walked but gets it right in the very next sentence in writing sleepwalking.
THIS sentence was bizarre in the extreme, "I jumped up in a panic, temporarily forgetting how chilly the afternoon was"......yet she'd not referred to being cold in the sentences before this, so that popped up out of nowhere for no good reason I could see. She tends to sort of jump around with her tenses as well....."I couldn't even answer and started crying all over again. The experience was clearly very traumatic. Why wouldn't it be ?" One minute she is there, the next it's like she's an observer, and all in one sentence.
So it was spoilt for me. The story idea was a good one, but it just needed to be more grown-up.
Right away, I was less than enchanted with Ivy when we learn she's no longer with her kids' father......sigh......I know it seems to be the way of the world these days but I find it pretty depressing. Would be nice to read of parents who actually stick together for a change. Not sure why they still get up and spout their marriage vows, even having the gall to say them more than once....or twice. Then we're to believe she has all this code red drill planned out for her and the children but doesn't appear to have an alarm set up or a panic button if she thinks someone's out to get her or any weapon to hand !
The author has a problem with leaving hyphens out of her sentences, too....as in skull cracking or knife wielding, then writes sleep walked but gets it right in the very next sentence in writing sleepwalking.
THIS sentence was bizarre in the extreme, "I jumped up in a panic, temporarily forgetting how chilly the afternoon was"......yet she'd not referred to being cold in the sentences before this, so that popped up out of nowhere for no good reason I could see. She tends to sort of jump around with her tenses as well....."I couldn't even answer and started crying all over again. The experience was clearly very traumatic. Why wouldn't it be ?" One minute she is there, the next it's like she's an observer, and all in one sentence.
So it was spoilt for me. The story idea was a good one, but it just needed to be more grown-up.
June 30, 2019
The Complete Series in One Book
What would you do if a serial killer was tracking you through time?
Ivy Wells never wanted to die. When she does, she thinks it is all over. It isn't.
When the 30 year old mother of two wakes up as a 12 year old, she has to navigate her life all over again. And she remembers everything. Including the serial killer who is terrorizing her small town.
Can she stop him in time to save her friends? Can she somehow get back to her old life, with her children?
This is an absolutely brilliant read.
I love this whole story and plot line.
I'm glad I was able to read them all together without having to wait.
Love the suspense that just keeps you gripped and wanting to know what happens next.
I love the characters created and enjoyed reading this.
Recommend reading.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What would you do if a serial killer was tracking you through time?
Ivy Wells never wanted to die. When she does, she thinks it is all over. It isn't.
When the 30 year old mother of two wakes up as a 12 year old, she has to navigate her life all over again. And she remembers everything. Including the serial killer who is terrorizing her small town.
Can she stop him in time to save her friends? Can she somehow get back to her old life, with her children?
This is an absolutely brilliant read.
I love this whole story and plot line.
I'm glad I was able to read them all together without having to wait.
Love the suspense that just keeps you gripped and wanting to know what happens next.
I love the characters created and enjoyed reading this.
Recommend reading.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
November 10, 2021
Mediocre, at best. Protagonist was fairly unlikable and unrealistic. Won’t be bothering with the sequels.
added-it
June 5, 2021🎁 FREE on Amazon today (6/5/2021)! 🎁
November 16, 2021
I have no idea how this has 4 stars. This is awful. I hate saying that, but wow. Aside from the writing being bad, with the stilted speech and awkward phrasing, there isn't a single likeable character. Ivy is supposed to be 30+ years old and is still more immature than any teenager I know, blaming everyone for everything wrong she's done, and making the same stupid choices over and over and over again. And what is WITH her 18 year old brother hiding in her closet to spy on her and her just laughing it off? Gross.
But the worst part is the excuses, after multiple lifetimes with the same abusive man, just so many excuses! She's so terrified of him in life 1 that she takes her children and runs multiple states away, but then says he killed her in the "heat of passion" and he's not a bad guy?! And then again in life 4, she does it again, he finds her, and she says 'welp, guess I should move back so he can see his kids. He only hit them a few times.' EXCUSE ME?! It was at this point I gave up. If this had been a paperback I'd have ripped it in half. I'm disgusted. I have never been so disgusted with a book, or with an author for writing such absolute bullsh>t. That's a couple of hours of my life I will never get back.
But the worst part is the excuses, after multiple lifetimes with the same abusive man, just so many excuses! She's so terrified of him in life 1 that she takes her children and runs multiple states away, but then says he killed her in the "heat of passion" and he's not a bad guy?! And then again in life 4, she does it again, he finds her, and she says 'welp, guess I should move back so he can see his kids. He only hit them a few times.' EXCUSE ME?! It was at this point I gave up. If this had been a paperback I'd have ripped it in half. I'm disgusted. I have never been so disgusted with a book, or with an author for writing such absolute bullsh>t. That's a couple of hours of my life I will never get back.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 7, 2019
I love time travel and I love mystery even more! This is the best of both worlds. A very twisty mystery that will catch you by surprise! There were a few times when I got rather aggravated with Ivy for not making better choices considering she would go through her life many times but it was typical of how many women are so it was believable, unfortunately (I am a woman so I know). Either way, this is a wonderful story and I loved to be able to read the complete series in one sitting. I would not have been happy to wait for the next book to come out, though there is much to say for suspense building. Great job on this book and I look forward to more from this author.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
July 6, 2019
The Many Lives Of Ivy Wells is a suspenseful, well written time travel mystery and I loved it. I loved getting to read the whole series at once and not having to anxiously wait for the next book to come out. When Ivy Wells finds herself twelve years old again and back in time she's determined to find the serial killer who killed so many people and changed so many lives forever. This is a twisted, gripping story that I couldn't put down until I found out how it would end. This is my first series by this author and I look forward to reading more in the future. I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book.
May 28, 2023
very different
This very unique story kept me reading the whole way through. There were a couple of times that I thought it was too cyclical, but I’m glad I read it and would gladly recommend it to others. I especially appreciate that it was clean of sex and profanity.
Ivy finds herself murdered by her husband in chapter 1. The rest of the book is her trying to determine wether he also killed her high school friends years earlier. Oh, I forgot to mention that when he killed her, she woke up, back in time, in her 12 year old self in the yard of one of her murdered friends.
This very unique story kept me reading the whole way through. There were a couple of times that I thought it was too cyclical, but I’m glad I read it and would gladly recommend it to others. I especially appreciate that it was clean of sex and profanity.
Ivy finds herself murdered by her husband in chapter 1. The rest of the book is her trying to determine wether he also killed her high school friends years earlier. Oh, I forgot to mention that when he killed her, she woke up, back in time, in her 12 year old self in the yard of one of her murdered friends.
September 6, 2021
Good story for one time
I like time travel books. And I liked this one. I thought I had it figured out a couple of times, but thought I must have been wrong. The author kept me guessing, and I found the way things changed in each dimension kind of fascinating. But I don't think I would want to read about ivys grandfather's exploits, so on to another author for now.
I like time travel books. And I liked this one. I thought I had it figured out a couple of times, but thought I must have been wrong. The author kept me guessing, and I found the way things changed in each dimension kind of fascinating. But I don't think I would want to read about ivys grandfather's exploits, so on to another author for now.
January 7, 2022
Rambling, repetitive and unnecessarily long. Don’t bother
October 27, 2024
The first part in Ivy’s life began with a bloody fight with her abusive ex-husband, who had found her and her kids. As she was dying, her world went dark. When she woke, she was in her pre-teen body fifteen years ago in her hometown of Red Lake, where two girls were murdered. Oh wow!
The Red Lake Slasher was set to kill an enemy and her best friend in a few years. Could Ivy actually prevent the killings the second time around? Or how about the third time around? Evidently, every time Ivy dies, she wakes up in a different lifetime with another possible chance at preventing these deaths. It’s funny because in these lives, she was still connected to Simon, the future ex that stabbed her in the very beginning. It wouldn’t be surprising if he turned out to be the Red Lake Slasher. Or perhaps it could be Carter, Ivy’s loner boy next door? Mmm, interesting. Who was the killer here? That alone keeps you riveted, and I also liked the time-traveling element, too!
Why would Ivy keep re-living her life? And why was she still with Simon? And why would she go to a full-grown life after the murders? This multi-layered story was just too puzzling and curious. It was just too good!
This was a great read from start to finish. The only thing I was curious about (besides who the killer was, of course,) was what the years were in the lifetimes. Ivy mentioned using the computer with internet at 15 and the carpet not being changed since the 70’s. Still, the year wasn’t clear.
Wow, the ending! Just when I thought I had it figured out, I get a shocking twist in the end. A gripping read you won’t want to put down.
The Red Lake Slasher was set to kill an enemy and her best friend in a few years. Could Ivy actually prevent the killings the second time around? Or how about the third time around? Evidently, every time Ivy dies, she wakes up in a different lifetime with another possible chance at preventing these deaths. It’s funny because in these lives, she was still connected to Simon, the future ex that stabbed her in the very beginning. It wouldn’t be surprising if he turned out to be the Red Lake Slasher. Or perhaps it could be Carter, Ivy’s loner boy next door? Mmm, interesting. Who was the killer here? That alone keeps you riveted, and I also liked the time-traveling element, too!
Why would Ivy keep re-living her life? And why was she still with Simon? And why would she go to a full-grown life after the murders? This multi-layered story was just too puzzling and curious. It was just too good!
This was a great read from start to finish. The only thing I was curious about (besides who the killer was, of course,) was what the years were in the lifetimes. Ivy mentioned using the computer with internet at 15 and the carpet not being changed since the 70’s. Still, the year wasn’t clear.
Wow, the ending! Just when I thought I had it figured out, I get a shocking twist in the end. A gripping read you won’t want to put down.
November 5, 2022
This was a very intriguing concept, that could have been really good. The big problem with this book is simple.
Ivy is dumb.
Okay, there may be spoilers from here on out.
Whenever Ivy Wells is killed, she goes back to an earlier point in her life. Like I said above, it's a great concept
I know that a certain amount of it is probably due to shock or abuse-- but honestly, if someone hurts your children and kills you, why on earth WOULD YOU STILL TRUST THEM?! She recognizes that Simon murdered her, (eventually twice!) and most of the book her attitude is, "Oh well, I doubt that he'll do anything." She runs away from him in her first life, gets away, makes a new life for herself, and then is killed. When she finds herself as a teenager again, she figures, "oh well, might as well start dating Simon again. Oh, but first, I'll send the friend who I know was brutally murdered in my first life home with the only person I know for sure has murderous tendencies."
Her attitude toward Simon is the worst example, but she exhibits a similar idiocy toward everyone in her life.
At one point she sits down and figures out that with all the years she's spent in her different lives, she's well over forty. But she acts more like a very naive young teenager than a grown woman stuck in a teen or pre-teen body.
This nearly got a one star rating, but Files manages to pull together a pretty good ending, with a decent twist, and in her final life on the page, Ivy does start to get a bit smarter.
Overall, I think this needed a few more re-writes to be good.
Ivy is dumb.
Okay, there may be spoilers from here on out.
Whenever Ivy Wells is killed, she goes back to an earlier point in her life. Like I said above, it's a great concept
I know that a certain amount of it is probably due to shock or abuse-- but honestly, if someone hurts your children and kills you, why on earth WOULD YOU STILL TRUST THEM?! She recognizes that Simon murdered her, (eventually twice!) and most of the book her attitude is, "Oh well, I doubt that he'll do anything." She runs away from him in her first life, gets away, makes a new life for herself, and then is killed. When she finds herself as a teenager again, she figures, "oh well, might as well start dating Simon again. Oh, but first, I'll send the friend who I know was brutally murdered in my first life home with the only person I know for sure has murderous tendencies."
Her attitude toward Simon is the worst example, but she exhibits a similar idiocy toward everyone in her life.
At one point she sits down and figures out that with all the years she's spent in her different lives, she's well over forty. But she acts more like a very naive young teenager than a grown woman stuck in a teen or pre-teen body.
This nearly got a one star rating, but Files manages to pull together a pretty good ending, with a decent twist, and in her final life on the page, Ivy does start to get a bit smarter.
Overall, I think this needed a few more re-writes to be good.
Read
December 3, 2021Some of it was silly and disappointing. Ivy suggested being a 30 year old in a 12 year old body made her able to respond to her erstwhile friend as an adult. Her response was to overturn the girl's lunch tray in her lap. Not very adult. Just some things like that throughout. That being said Files leads the reader down several potential and more or less plausible paths before the denouement. It was an entertaining read.
July 20, 2019
A good time travel with mystery!!
Spoiler Alert!!
Did Not like the ending, yes it was really suspenseful and kept you guessing till the end. I did not think the person that was the bad guy 's character matched from the beginning to the end. I'm not sure how to explain without giving ending away.
Spoiler Alert!!
Did Not like the ending, yes it was really suspenseful and kept you guessing till the end. I did not think the person that was the bad guy 's character matched from the beginning to the end. I'm not sure how to explain without giving ending away.
November 15, 2021
This was a great concept for a story. Ivy Wells find herself repeatedly dying, and being reborn into a multiversal doppelganger of herself.
This book had enough to keep me going and wanting to read on, but it was very repetitive. Also very easy to work out who the villain was, even though several red herrings were thrown in. It was just too obvious.
3⭐ from me.
This book had enough to keep me going and wanting to read on, but it was very repetitive. Also very easy to work out who the villain was, even though several red herrings were thrown in. It was just too obvious.
3⭐ from me.
December 4, 2021
I think this would have made a good 200 page story ... but it dragged and repeated itself. The premise was fascinating, but the characters were a little flat. I literally feel asleep while reading this book multiple nights - but I did want to know if I was right about who the killer was.
I won't be reading any more in this series.
I won't be reading any more in this series.
December 19, 2021
Very engaging, I couldn't stop reading! It has been a while I didn't feel like that over a thriller. Sometimes I wasn't so sure about how good the writing was, but the story was very well told and I couldn't stop for a minute. I even missed metro stops because of it! I recommend you teh book if you want some fun and engaging reading ;)
December 26, 2021
Ok, si te gustan los thrillers y quieres empezar a leer en ingles esta es una tremenda opcion.
La historia es mind blowing, el nivel de ingles es basico y todo pasa rapido, los capitulos son dinamicos y aunque el final fue algo abrupto, no sufres. No
Ahh importante, está gratis para comorar en kindle.
La historia es mind blowing, el nivel de ingles es basico y todo pasa rapido, los capitulos son dinamicos y aunque el final fue algo abrupto, no sufres. No
Ahh importante, está gratis para comorar en kindle.
August 19, 2022
Not going to bother finishing this book. And that takes a lot out of me because I feel you need to read it from cover to cover to be aloud to judge it properly. It could have been written in half the amount of pages. Rambling on and on. Ivy is a very annoying character. Nope. This one is going in the donate pile.
May 25, 2021
COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN
This book is so absorbing that I kept a patient waiting for seven minutes so I could finish it. And for once, I didn't see who the culprit was. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!
This book is so absorbing that I kept a patient waiting for seven minutes so I could finish it. And for once, I didn't see who the culprit was. HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!
October 25, 2021
It's complicated. I lost track of how many different ways and times she died and had to go back to do it all again and the ending explains why she had to do it and how long it went on for. An intriguing plot and a cruel twist at the end to realise you had a passenger along the way.
October 25, 2021
I didn't realise this was a series and not just one book. I woukd have been pissed if Inhad read just book 1 and it didn't answer anything. I determined who did it by pg 50. A couple times, I thought the author had misdirected me, but in the end I was correct. Not overly impressed.
October 28, 2021
Time travel with a serial killer
An interesting take on “time travel”. A so so murder mystery. Not a bad read with good plot twists; some parts very predictable and others more surprising. I had the killer figured out before the end, but there were plenty of good suspects.
An interesting take on “time travel”. A so so murder mystery. Not a bad read with good plot twists; some parts very predictable and others more surprising. I had the killer figured out before the end, but there were plenty of good suspects.
October 28, 2021
Blimey.
My husband read this first and couldn’t put it down. I read it to see why he was so fascinated. It was quite spectacular - a story that felt like it never ended, and a totally weird concept. Well worth reading.
My husband read this first and couldn’t put it down. I read it to see why he was so fascinated. It was quite spectacular - a story that felt like it never ended, and a totally weird concept. Well worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews