Another winner.  I absolutely love this writer and all her work.  This book is another excellent thriller I will leave the reader on the edge of their seat until the last page.   This is going to be on the top of a lot of lot reader’s lists.

Creepy, slow burning, and so captivating. This book really shows how much Bartz has grown as a writer since The Herd. While the plot is not entirely unpredictable, it’s still a major page turner and makes you feel icky suspense. Also loved the detailed scene setting in the foreign countries and the many solid reasons for not wanting to come forward in the moment. It made the sensationalized situations feel more grounded in reality. Like, oh, would I do that too? Definitely a great, fun read! Total escape.

I really like this book- it was an above-average thriller- 4 stars. The reader knows early on that Kristen is bad news, but we watch as Emily slowing catches up. But, the last line throughs into question all that you thought you knew! I thought this was a fun and quick read, and I think most mystery/thriller fans will really like this one.

I enjoyed this book for the most part, though liked the beginning third and the last few chapters more than most of what was in the  middle. The story centers on Emily, whose world revolves around her best friend Kristen. They have been traveling together ever since they met in college, and these trips are even more important to Emily now that Kristen has moved away.  When 2 trips in a row result in Emily/Kristen having to take action against someone who attacks them, Emily starts questioning Kristen's motives and begins digging further into her history. 

I could really feel the tension in the first part of the book when the situation with Paolo occurs, as well as Emily's subsequent anxiety over whether she will be found out.  I found this really engaging and read late into the night. That being said, I struggled a little bit with the fact that Emily and Kristen have been inseparable for 10 years and this is the first time that it even occurred to Emily that Kristen might not be all that she seems. This made me struggle a bit through the middle of the book, though I got deeply into it again towards the end when it all came to a head. 

There were a couple details that didn't make sense to me that I hope are cleaned up before the book is released (and are likely more bothersome to my anal retentive self than most other readers).  One was some discrepancies around the dates of the Paolo incident, which seemed to change about halfway through the book.  The other one is that Emily and Aaron few from Milwaukee to Phoenix on a plane that apparently had 4 seats together in one row.  I fly frequently all over the globe and do not know of a plane like this; other than the big International-flight planes that have a middle section with 5 seats together, which would not make a Milwaukee to Phoenix flight;  this whole thing distracted from whatever was taking place during that part of the story.  

All in all, I'd recommend the book- it did cause me to suspend my disbelief a bit (or at least question Emily's judgement), but the heart-pounding pace of the first third and the last parts of the book made up for some of the tedium in the middle.  I give this a solid 3.5 stars and would definitely read another book by this author.  Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

We Were Never Here is a thrilling adrenaline ride from beginning to end. I loved it. I gasped during parts of it. I’ve been reading a long time and a lot of genres....it’s a feat to shock me!  Thank you so much for giving me the chance to read this book early!  The author did a great job. Strong characters weave an unforgettable story!

A special thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Andrea Bartz for providing me with an ARC to this book! 

After reading The Herd last year, I was excited to read this book, as I like Andrea's writing style. The premise caught my attention: two gal pals caught up in two distinct murders abroad? Toxic, C0-dependent Relationships and Catty Drama?  Um HELLO - sign me up!

While overall, I found this book to entertaining -  I do  have to agree with some of the other reviews. There were moments where Emily's inner dialogue, grappling with the trauma of these murders and over-analyzing her relationship with Kristen felt long-winded and repetitive.  I also found the plot to be highly implausible (love ya Emily, but there's no way you're a criminal mastermind and wouldn't be caught)., and somewhat predictable.

Despite this - I admit I was hooked and read it in one sitting. The story was fast-paced, and while I did predict what would happen early on, I was still eager to see it unfold.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. The story was interesting and held my interest. I did have a bit of a hard time feeling sympathy for the main character during much of it, but that didn't ruin it for me. The ending also felt a bit too convenient and perfect, but again, not a deal breaker.

We Were Never Here is a story of friendship, love, betrayal and unintended conesquences. There were times when I wasn't sure who was the manipulator and who was being manipulated.. I enjoyed this book because things were never straight forward. When I thought I had figured out who was the driving force in this story, something would happen to change my mind.
Andrea Bartz is a master storyteller. I discovered her last year when I read The Herd. Both books held my interest to the very last page.
I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from Ballantine Books through NetGalley. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.
#WeWereNeverHere #NetGalley

4 stars for this compulsively readable thriller filled with murder, secrets, and bff's turned frenemies. 

The dynamic between Kristen and Emily was fascinating to read, and the mystery surrounding Kristen's past and personality kept me reading. The first half of the book was super strong, although the second half lagged a bit, and the ending didn't quite satisfy, But overall, Bartz's dynamic characters and tension-filled plot made for a top-notch thriller that I'd definitely recommend!

Here's the thing: There is nothing to actively dislike about this book. But. That's because, while passable, especially in this genre, it's also a bit...dull.

After reading The Herd I was eager to read Andrea Bartz’s next book.  We Were Never Here is a worthy follow up that centers around the friendship between Emily and Kristen.  They enjoy traveling to different places around the world together but there is a disturbing secret connected to their past two trips:  they’ve had to bury a body during each one.  The scenarios are the same:  a man tries to attack one of them and Kristen kills him in self defense.   Emily struggles daily with the weight of their secrets but Kristen acts as if nothing is wrong.  As more time passes Emily wonders if Kristen is hiding more secrets about her past.  Can Emily trust her friend?  Will they get caught?  This book keeps the tension building until the last few chapters.  If you enjoyed her last book you will definitely want to read this one.  Thanks to NetGalley for the free advanced copy.

I don't know where to even start with this book. Ya know it's right up my alley with murders, betraying best friends, a mental health back story and deceit but, I could not get into this book for the life of me. I still can't figure out why! Maybe I didn't really fall in love with either of the characters. For the first 2/3, I kept saying to myself that "If I read the word Cambodia one more time I might lose it". The last 1/3 of the book was probably the best part. I feel almost guilty for not liking this book enough 😔

Thank you Andrea Bartz, Ballantine Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review. 

As with both The Herd and The Lost Night, Andrea Bartz once again succeeded in weaving a tale so twisty and atmospheric, I finished We Were Never Here over the course of a four hour flight. Despite an early wake up call this morning, I refused to nap on the plane without getting to the root of Emily and Kristen’s toxic, possessive friendship. Luckily, the ending delivered. 

Bartz’ ability to set a scene made it easy to picture each distinct location, and get swept into the thrill of it all. We follow the college friends across the world from Vietnam to Chile to Arizona, leaving a trail of disaster in their wake. We find out pretty early on that while Emily is somewhat meek and easily swayed, Kristen is a fierce friend and a wild card - how far will she go to protect the people she loves? 

4/5 stars because some aspects of the story felt a bit too far-fetched. However, the storylines tied up nicely at the end, and I found myself gasp out loud at the last sentence!

This book absolutely had a Single White Female- Friendship Edition vibe to it, and I ate it up. The writing was SO strong, and the characters were so well developed that I just couldn't get enough of this book. It was a wild ride from the beginning, and stayed that way through the literal last pages, climaxing with a final, deadly showdown between Emily and Kristen. I was sad to end this one, as I felt I could continue to read about the lives of Aaron and Emily long after the last page. I can't wait to see what Andrea Bartz writes next.

Having read The Herd a few months ago, I expected We Were Never Here to be a sophisticated modern thriller. Unfortunately, for me, it wasn’t.  Here  we have .two longtime friends, Emily and Kristen, traveling together on their annual vacations  and when one is attacked, they end up with blood on their hands, twice in two years.  Kristen is more controlling than Emily likes but, hey she’s her best friend and always there for her, no matter what happens. Now Emily begins to doubt Kristen in never ending internal narratives, repeated enough times to convince her and us that something might be wrong.  While Emily still doubts it, I rolled my eyes.  What could have, and should have, been a tense story fizzled to me.

So... this is the third book I’ve read by this author and what do all 3 books have in common? Unhealthy weird codependent friendships that are also part frienmy... that somehow end up involving murder. One friend is “cooler” than the other and probably comes from money... they met in college and either lived together or lived close to each other. 

Maybe had I not read the other books first then this one wouldn’t have seemed like more of the same boring story just different. The irony being that I read the other books because I got this one from Netgalley. 

So this time around it’s Emily and Kristen, besties/former roommates who go on yearly vacations together in exotic places. At the begging they are coming up on the end of their current trip to Chile. Their last trip involved a vacation hook up gone wrong resulting in a murder in self defense. They covered up the crime and got away with it. Naturally the incident left some trauma and a big secret. And in a shocking turn of events a similar scenario plays out in this trip only it’s Kristen who was attracted this time..... another cover up another secret another murder...

Then creepy Kristen decided to move back from Australia where she’s been living to literally just be all up in Emily’s life and behave in a way that makes Emily question things she should have questioned long ago. And in general wreak havoc on her bestie’s life cause unhealthy weird codependent relationship... of course it doesn’t end well and everybody is crazy. 

Kristen is the cool friend  with the big somewhat domineering personality in this one Emily the lesser friend who needs Kristen around for reasons. She the less attractive friend the less fun friend the more neurotic friend the one who needs her friend to break her out of her shell and always give her the push in the right direction.  In the book The Lost Night Emily was Lindsay and Kristen was Edie. In the book The Herd Kristen was Eleanor and Emily was three people that time Katie, Hana and Mikki. It’s the same people just slightly different storyline.

I was bored from the start of I’m honest. It’s just too much of the same for me. But when I’m skimming pages in chapter 2 I already know that this isn’t going to end well. I just couldn’t make myself care about these people or their secrets or their relationship or literally anything. 

So in the end basically friendships can be abusive relationships and I wasn’t a fan of this book. 

The cover was nice though.

This a fast and tension-filled read that kept me burning up the pages to see how it all would turn out.

You've got toxic friendship, you've got complex relationships, and you've got murder! Multiple murders in fact. Even when you knew where the story was going, you couldn't put it down. There were some familiar twists and turns, but I was still gripped by the characters and writing style. I love a thorough backstory and these characters definitely had some compelling things to hide in their pasts. I also love the tropes the book tackled and all the secrets and lies therein.

I thought the end was wrapped up a little bit too tidily, but overall highly recommend this addictive read.

We Were Never There caught my attention from the first page. Emily, a nearly-thirty woman,  has takes annual trips to some exotic locale with her friend of ten years, Kristen. In Quiteria, Chile, Emily has a momentary vision of pushing Kristen off an elevated wooden patio. I immediately wondered what would prompt this reaction, and—over the course of the book—learned what was going on. 

The previous year, while they were in Cambodia, Emily takes a young man back to their room and is attacked. Kristen comes to her rescue, but must kill the man to protect her friend. Incredibly, on their last night in Chile, Kristen takes a cute backpacker back to their room. When Emily arrives, Kristen states he attacked her, and she had no choice but to kill him in self-defense.

When the women return home (Emily to Wisconsin and Kristen to Australia), Emily suffers PTSD symptoms from the two episodes. She decides to bury the incident and get involved in a  new relationship. Kristen surprises Emily with a visit only days after they left Chile. Emily starts to question Kristens motives and must confront their past. The two women jockey for position as “the bad guy” through the book, and the shifts are fascinating. The characters are well-developed and the book rapidly paced in Bartz’s best book yet.

3.25 stars!

Andrea Bartz is the queen of writing a delicious frenemy story. 

While this wasn't my absolute favorite book, it was compulsively readable and I had a pretty good time.

This is the story of two besties. Like besties 4 ever and ever and ever. And yet...there's something weird between them. And it's not just you know, the casual murders that seem to frequent their exotic travels.

Something weird is going on with Kristen. Yet something weird is also going with with Emily.

WHO CAN WE TRUST?!

And you spend the entire story trying to answer that question.

While I love a good frenemy story and Bartz can write that better than anyone, I never fully fell into this story. 

TBH, at times, it felt reallllllly repetitive. I felt like for most of the book, I was just reading and rereading Emily's inner thoughts and dialogue. Which to be fair, seems very realistic given the situation she was in. But as a reader, I started to skim those repetitive parts. 

Overall, this was an enjoyable read and I would recommend this for folks that love a good toxic friendship story!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC and wanting my honest opinion!

4 Stars!
I love, love, love Andrea Bartz and her amazing writing skills! 

The premise of this story sucked me in and I couldn't wait to get this book in my hands. I absolutely love the main characters Emily and Kristin. They're incredibly well developed, along with their bizarre, codependent relationship.. The Single White Female vibe that Kristin was throwing out there was delicious and I ate it up.
The part that I struggled with is the deaths of the male backpackers and the events surrounding all of it. I found a bit of it unbelievable. Otherwise, I could not put this one down. I couldn't wait to see what Kristin was up to and Emily's reactions to it.

A special thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Andrea Bartz for providing me with an ARC.