Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club

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.

The Paper Palace
By Miranda Cowley Heller
Riverhead Books, 9780593329825, July 6, 2021, 400pp.

The Short of It:

Layered and rich. This story grabs you and holds you.

The Rest of It:

Elle returns with her family to The Paper Palace. It’s the summer home of her youth that she has visited every summer of her life, but this particular summer morning, she wakes to the fact that the night before, after a few drinks and memories from her youth take hold, she hooked up with her childhood friend Jonas, while her family, innocently, gathered in another room.

Elle is happily married to Peter. Truly. He is funny, and loving, and dependable and a good father to their children but the bond that she has with Jonas goes way back, way back to earlier summers where they both shared a secret that ultimately affected Elle’s entire life. The story is told in the past and present, alternating between young Elle and married Elle and as the secret comes to light, things get tense. How can you right a wrong so many years later?

I didn’t know anything about this story when I picked it up. It was a Reese Book Club pick and I went in blind. I have had a lot of luck with her picks. The Paper Palace was no exception except, don’t let that pastel cover fool you. It opened in a kind of smutty way, for lack of a better word and then got pretty gritty. You should know, there are triggers in this story for anyone who suffered from sexual abuse in the past.

That said, this story held me captive. I thought I’d read a chapter here and there but I blew through it in a day. It’s complex. The characters are imperfect but their demons are real. It has secrets and moral dilemmas and gives you a lot to consider. I must say, the mother/daughter dynamics are very well-done here.

I can’t say I loved this book because the subject matter is tough but it’s a very good read and superbly written. Highly recommend.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Chatting with friends about books and life…