I received an ARC  written by Andrew Bartz.  This is my first read from this author and I really enjoyed the style of her writing. I was able to fly through this book in one sitting. I found certain parts a tad predictable maybe because I tend to read a lot of this genre. With that said I’ll still be recommending this book and purchasing a copy for my shelf. Thank you NG for allowing me a copy for an honest review.

This is the first book I’ve read by Andrea Bartz and I really enjoyed her writing style as  it is easy to read and the story flowed well throughout the book. There is a thrilling tension as your read this, and you don’t have to wait long before things begin to spiral out of control. The characters are well developed with complex backstories. It was a fast read that I finished in just one sitting. I do feel that there was some predictability to the plot and was able to guess early on most of what would happen. However, I did still enjoy reading and seeing the suspenseful story unfold and unravel. 3.5/5⭐️ rounded up to 4. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books providing me with this e-ARC to read and review. We Were Never Here will be out July 13. 

TW - anxiety, panic attacks, sexual assault, gaslighting

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review 

I loved this one. Very fast paced, had me turning pages as I tore through it – I had to see how it would end.  The characters were well rounded and the narrative felt believable. Gave me chills. Solid five

I really enjoyed Andrea Bartz' novel THE HERD.  But the premise of WE WERE NEVER HERE was just too unbelievable for me to buy into.  I read the first 25% and just couldn't go any further.  Bartz is a fine writer, but this one was not for me.

All right, here are the facts: I enjoyed the Herd and at the beginning I thought this book was truly giving me five stars alert! Two traveling friends- two murders they got away with- Amanda Knox meets Heathers, Single White Female and Girl interrupted vibes of obsessive female friendship is intriguing and dreamy formula for my huge thriller appetite!

But... yes this could have been five starred read for me even though the opening was a little wordy but also contained impressive analysis of both characters and their dysfunctional, needy relationship! Emily was the shy, obedient, insecure woman is about to be 30, suffering from trust issues after dating with demanding, possessive men! 
 Thankfully her best friend Kristen: her polar opposite, independent, good looking, free spirited, risk taker, dominant woman was always at her side after her breakups or her sexual assault ( actually she was the witness of the assault helped her bury the body !!!!) 

  Emily is still jittery and suffering from panic attacks after Cambodia incident ( yes, she got rid of the guy who tried to rape her and Kristen was there to cover her tracks) and when she agreed to go to Chile mountains but instead of drinking wine and enjoying scenery, she finds herself at another murder scene again!! This time Kristen is rape victim who sits on a blood bath, needing urgent help of her bestie to get rid of the corpse! Well, lightning doesn’t strike twice and less than five years being in two different crime scenes is a little suspicious. Wake up Emily! Your bestie already started to give me creeps!  

  Those girls get away with murder again and Emily returns back to her home, getting serious with her new boyfriend ( thankfully Kristin hasn’t met him yet. Because I’m sure she may find a way to force Emily break things up with him) but wait a minute why Kristin bangs Emily’s door. Wasn’t she in Australia? Wait a minute! Did she buy a new apartment at the next block of Emily? Whattt! And why she cannot stop mentioning their Chili trip in front of everyone and how she orchestrated her surprise birthday to spend entire weekend at a cabin out of nowhere with no cell reception! Oh, Emily wake the hell up! This girl is bad news and you’re about to be cheesy murder material for evening news!
  Well, I have to admit: writing and characterization were great but it was way tooooo long. At least 50 pages can be emitted! When I reach at the last third I thought this book will never end. I wanted to scream at the characters to cut the crap and give us a proper conclusion of their stories but finally they gave it ( this is such a relief)

  I still have good feelings about this book because I’m always a great fan of wild crazy bitch girls’ fight and I keep saying oh no she cannot dare to that, oops she did it, didn’t she? kind of tense, expect the unexpected reads about how far obsessive women go! I loved the idea and character building and I went back and forth between 3 and 4 stars ! 

If it wasn’t for Andrea Bartz, I could give three stars without thinking any further! But I still enjoyed the cat fight of so called best friends and I’m rounding up 3.5 stars to 4 Kristin was batshit crazy Siamese twin of Jennifer Jason Leigh on single white female stars! 

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/ Ballentine for sharing this gripping digital copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Emily and Kristen are best friends of the closest kind. They both come from traumatic childhood experiences, and they bonded quickly and remained tight, even continents apart. And then, tragedy strikes as Emily is assaulted on vacation, and Kristen quickly saves her. After leaning on one another in the wake of the assault, the two best friends head off to travel again - but what waits for them this time, and how will it affect their friendship? Are the two women really as close as they thought?

I absolutely flew through We Were Never Here! The little twists always keep me guessing what is going to happen next. I've really come to enjoy Andrea Bartz's writing and cannot wait to see what she comes up with next.

Traveling is something a lot of us have been unable to do this past year. That is why I really appreciate all the detail Andrea Bartz put into this book. It opens with best friends Emily and Kristen who are traveling in Chile. These 2 friends are more like sisters ever since they met in college. Even Kristen’s move to Australia couldn’t keep these friends apart. They still continue their yearly ritual of traveling together. In fact last year they traveled to Cambodia where something horrific had happened to them but Kristen the strong one was able to help Emily recover. Now in Chile together they have been taking in all the beauty around them but sometimes history repeats themselves and they find themselves in the same bad situation as the previous year. Can they really get away with a crime twice? With Kristen back in Australia, Emily thinks maybe she can get on with her life back in Milwaukee with her new boyfriend, Aaron. But when Kristen suddenly shows up on her doorstep, Emily starts to learn secrets about her friend she never knew. Why do so many people in Kristen’s life end up dead? Is Kristen really a good friend? You must read to find out! 

I haven’t read a book by Andrea Bartz I haven’t loved but this is definitely my favorite so far. I felt like I was in Chile traveling along with Kristen and Emily. This book takes on a lot of hard topics too like sexual assault and gaslighting. Bartz was able to truly take the hard topics and explain what a person who experienced them goes through. This book was fast paced and kept me wanting more. I also really appreciated all the current references placed throughout the book. And that ending, did not see that coming!

Another winner for Andrea Bartz! I loved The Herd so was really looking forward to this one, and of course the tension is palpable! Emily and Kristen travel to exotic locations for vacation but things turn deadly not once, but twice for them when they meet handsome backpackers to whom they are attracted. Back in Wisconsin, Emily starts a new relationship with Aaron and things are going well until she senses that there is something "off" about Kristen. And believe me, things are more than a little "off!" Talk about dicey! I raced through this one as I couldn't read fast enough. Can't wait for Bartz's next novel!

An annual backpacking trip to Chile goes badly awry when Emily finds a bloody mess on the floor of her hotel room. Her companion, Kristen tell her that the man she brought back to the room attacked her and that she killed him in self defense. If that wasn’t horrible enough, the situation is almost identical to the previous year, when another backpacker was found dead under mysterious circumstances. When she returns home, Emily tries to put the whole nasty mess behind her, but Kristen is glued to her side, watching her every move. Emily is going to have to face the terrible truth about Kristen..and herself

Emily and her best friend Kristen are on their annual yearly trip in mountains of Chile. However when Emily returns to their room on the last night, 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. What’s worse is this has happened before-last year in fact. Emily can’t believe it’s happened again—can it really be fate? 

Back home in Wisconsin, Emily struggles to bury the accident and dives headfirst into a new relationship. When Kristen shows up for a surprise visit, Emily is forced to confront their past and she starts to question Kristens motives. Can Emily outrun the secrets her and Kristen share or will they destroy her life?

Okay so I didn’t care for The Herd all that much. I felt it predictable and well, basic. This novel however is much better. The characters are better developed , the scenery is prettier and it is very suspenseful and fast paced. Think Single White Female mixed with Amanda Knox. Creepy right?! I figured out the “twist” right away, but I still enjoyed the unfolding of the story. I don’t think I’ll think about this again though. They all can’t be winners, but I do feel this is her best work to date.

Thank you Netgalley and Ballantine Books for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review!