We Were Never Here

We Were Never Here 

We Were Never Here from author Andrea Bartz is my latest and greatest read. This was a novel that seemed really predictable, but it was nothing like that! 

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Have you read We Were Never Here yet? Come and let me tell you about it! 

About We Were Never Here 

Emily is having the time of her life—she’s in the mountains of Chile with her best friend, Kristen, on their annual reunion trip, and the women are feeling closer than ever. But on the last night of the trip, Emily enters their hotel suite to find blood and broken glass on the floor. Kristen says the cute backpacker she brought back to their room attacked her, and she had no choice but to kill him in self-defense. 

Even more shocking: The scene is horrifyingly similar to last year’s trip, when another backpacker wound up dead. Emily can’t believe it’s happened again—can lightning really strike twice?

Back home in Wisconsin, Emily struggles to bury her trauma, diving headfirst into a new relationship and throwing herself into work. But when Kristen shows up for a surprise visit, Emily is forced to confront their violent past. 

The more Kristen tries to keep Emily close, the more Emily questions her motives. As Emily feels the walls closing in on their cover-ups, she must reckon with the truth about her closest friend. Can Emily outrun the secrets she shares with Kristen, or will they destroy her relationship, her freedom—even her life?

Thoughts on We Were Never Here 

Between the about We Were Never Here blurb and the gorgeous book cover, I knew I wanted to read it! Who wouldn’t want to read it?! 

We Were Never Here started out really strong, and I fully expected I would read it within a day, maybe two days at most. Because I was really excited that I had picked this as my next read. 

The problem was the middle portion of the book was painfully slow, and I took a break to read another novel and a short story before going back to We Were Never Here. Andrea Bartz could have cut out about 20% of the book and still had a really solid novel. 

We Were Never Here reminded me of dealing with someone who is completely narcissistic and controlling. That is what they thrive on, and exactly what Kristen is. The sad part is many people, including in this story, don’t realize how bad it is until the end. 

Because of that, I found myself rooting for Emily to finally wake up and see the light. To grow a spine and find her voice. She did, thankfully. But it felt like it took longer than it should have to get there, in my opinion. 

The ending is a little bit crazy, but I also thought it was fitting too. Both the beginning and the end of this novel were really solid writing that kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting to see more. 

Final Thoughts on We Were Never Here 

We Were Never Here was a good book that I thoroughly enjoyed. Although I would not call it a great book. The length of it really killed it for me. The plot twists were insane, and I liked that. I just disliked the scenic route Andrea Bartz took in between them all. 

I found this book to be similar to The Tattooist of Auschwitz in that it was good, but needed a lot more help to become a great book. 

Discussion 

Have you read We Were Never Here yet? Or any other writing from author Andrea Bartz? Let me know your thoughts in the comments! 

Are you on the hunt for your next great read? Here are some of my favorites. 

About the Author 

Andrea Bartz is a Brooklyn-based journalist and the author of the forthcoming We Were Never Here. Her second thriller, The Herd, was named a best book of 2020 by Real Simple, Marie Claire, Good Housekeeping, CrimeReads, and other outlets. 

Her LA-Times bestselling debut, The Lost Night, was optioned for TV development by Mila Kunis. It was named a best book of the year by Real Simple, Glamour, Marie Claire, Library Journal, Crime Reads, Popsugar, She Reads, and other publications. 

Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Women’s Health, Martha Stewart Living, Elle, and many other outlets, and she’s held editorial positions at Glamour, Psychology Today, and Self, among other titles.

Purchasing We Were Never Here 

If you are interested in buying the hardcover version of We Were Never Here, click here.

Click here for the Kindle version.

Click here for my favorite Kindle I currently own.

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