We Were Never Here
By Andrea Bartz
Ballantine Books, 9781984820464, August 2021, 320pp.
The Short of It:
Once I got into the story I couldn’t put it down.
The Rest of It:
Emily and Kristen are best friends. Kristen pushes Emily to do things that she would not normally do. Emily has fun with her and considers her more of a sister than anything else. Kristen, always up for adventure, convinces Emily to travel to another country. But while there, something goes terribly wrong and they are forever bound by their secrets.
After a year, Kristen decides it’s time for another vacation, this time to Chile. Emily hasn’t quite recovered from her last trip and this time, she has a boyfriend but Kristen, persistent as ever, convinces Emily to make the trip. Although Emily is loyal to Kristen, this trip doesn’t sit right with her and she begins to feel as if Kristen is pulling all the strings.
Well, as you can probably guess, something happens on this trip too! Emily cannot believe that she has gotten herself into this mess, again! And once again, Kristen is calling the shots and acting like nothing is wrong. How can that be normal? How can she not be bothered by what happened and what they’ve done? After a little digging, Emily discovers that Kristen is no stranger to tragedy and that she needs to find a way out of this relationship.
It took me a little while to get into this story. The characters are not all that likable, especially Kristen. And yes, if I am being honest the story seemed a little far-fetched but once I got into it, I was into it and flipping those pages to find out how it would end. Without giving anything away, I DO have some questions about the ending.
If you need a book to distract you from the every day routine, this is a fun one to pick up. Just give it a little bit of time to get going.
Recommend.
Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.
This sounds like a story that would frustrate me.
I wanted the shake one of the characters a few times.
I started this book twice and just couldn’t get into it. I didn’t like either character and just didn’t connect to them or the story line. Perhaps I am too old 😱
I’m on hold for this one at my new library. We’ll see how it goes. If it works for me, great. If it doesn’t work, I’ll move on to something else. I’m all for a story that keeps me engaged, but those unlikeable characters are about on my last nerve right now. Ha!
Given the background of one character you can kind of see how she became the way she is but I don’t mind unlikable characters if the story pulls me along.
I can’t seem to get into fiction lately, so a story that keeps me reading sounds great.
I don’t think this one is for me for some reason. Just started listening to The Stowaway; Murray and Wearmouth. (It releases 9/21 and it is so addictive. I think you might enjoy it. Have you heard of it?
I’ve not heard of The Stowaway. I’ll check it out.
I’ll add this to my list and may read it in the future. I’ve had my share of slow starting books (that I DNF) lately and am not eager to start another one right now.
Oh my. Not sure I’d go on trips with Kristen. She seems a bit diabolical.
My best friend’s name is Kristen and I am trying to picture her getting me in trouble overseas! This sounds like a good escapist read.
I’m just over half way through this one and I’m with you, it’s a little far fetched, but I’m really starting to get into it and become able to forgive that.