Book Review: We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz

 

Book: We Were Never Here 

Author: Andrea Bartz 

Pages: 306 

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: ~3 hours

Plot Summary: On holiday in Chile with her best friend Kristen, Emily is having the time of her life.

Until one night, she finds their hotel suite covered in blood.

Kristen claims a backpacker attacked her. She shouted, but no-one heard. She struggled, but he was too strong.

She had no option but to kill him.

With no evidence of the assault, Emily must help her hide the body. . .

Back home, Emily tries to forget what happened, but a surprise visit from Kristen forces her to confront the events of that night.

As the walls close in, Emily asks herself: can her closest friend be trusted?

Things I Liked: 

1. Complicated friendships- male or female- always make for interesting stories. Add to it, a friend, who is a bit of a liar.. a gaslighter.. not who she seems to be... and that makes for a very interesting premise. 

2. The depiction of the power dynamics between Emily and Kristen is nicely written and interesting. Kristen's attempt to gaslight and manipulate Emily are nicely depicted; they make you want to shake Emily and tell her to see her best friend for who she is. 

Things I Didn't Like: 

1. Oh boy! Where do I start?! This book got so much hype on Bookstagram because it was picked up by Reese Witherspoon's Book Club and it got a ton of positive reviews from so many book reviewers! So, obviously add that to an interesting premise and it promised to be a really great book. Alas, that was not the case! The book was so disappointing! The worst thing about this book was that it was so predictable! From very early on when Emily thinks about the early days of her friendship with Kristen, it becomes very obvious that Kristen is a controlling, possessive freak. From then on, it is not difficult to figure out what was really going on in the book!

*SPOILER ALERT* STOP HERE IF YOU WANT TO READ THIS BOOK! 

2. When Kristen gets attacked in Chile, it is glaringly obvious and that she is faking it. Emily knows and sees it yet she blindly goes along with Kristen's plan to dispose the body. It is glaringly obvious to the reader that Kristen is lying. The author makes no effort to couch that. So, why should we keep on reading a book where it becomes obvious that Kristen is a total sociopath!

3. Also, it is revealed pretty early on in the book that Kristen's parents died in a house fire when she was 12 years old. Ding, ding, ding. Sociopath in the house! It does not help that the author makes it so freaking easy to figure out what this book's trajectory is going to be like! Come on! At least stick to the genre tropes where sometimes the reader has to wonder if Emily is the evil one and not Kristen! Create some reasonable doubt etc.! 

4. The ending is bizarre and long drawn and is just not needed! The whole book is a drag once we realise that Kristen is a sociopath and a liar! May as well rewatch Single White Female or one of the many movies about possessive, sociopathic friends! 

Rating: 2/5

Do not waste your money on this book. Do not buy into hype!