I enjoyed the start of the book, but found my interest waning, I’ve heard so many good things, I will retry reading at a later date

A fresh new writing style than I’m used to and I just loved it. Completely engrossing story and I didn’t want it to end!

Three girls go to Greece to spend the summer but only two return … This is a story of toxic friendships and how girls can treat each other. It goes between 2008 at the time of the summer in Greece and then 2018 where Joni comes back to ask Bess for help.

I found this interesting and enjoy books that go between the past and the present and how they link together. I found it easy to read and felt like I could follow the storyline. I did feel it maybe didn’t have as much of an impact on me as I thought? I thought there might have been a big twist or something that would shock me but it didn’t - which is fine!

I also liked the theme of female friendship and just how tricky and toxic they can be. It highlighted that you may think you know someone when you actually don’t!

Wow what an amazing story, I couldn't stop reading it as was dying to know what was going to happen next! Would definitely recommend!!

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc of this book!

Three best friends travel to Greece for their final summer together before they go to College. Tragedy happens, and one of them dies from falling off a cliff. Joni and Bess part ways after they’ve been cleared of any involvement in Evangeline’s death, but 10 years later Joni turns up on Bess’ doorstep. Joni needs a favour, and after all these years Bess knows she has to pay her friend back. But can you ever leave the past behind, when the whole world believes you’re guilty?

I thought this was a thriller when I first picked it up, but it turns out that it’s more of a character driven drama about toxic female relationships. I surprisingly enjoyed this book! I was disappointed with how long it was and found myself constantly checking how long I had left on my kindle, hoping it would soon be over. It took a while to get into the story but I liked how it made me guessing what happened and kept me reading to really find out the truth. Oh to be 18 again and think you have the whole world at your feet!

Definitely recommend if you’re into character driven stories with toxic female friendships!

This novel follows Bess and Joni, who's lives are turned upside down the summer before college when they go to Greece with their best friend Evangeline. This close-knit friend group have an explosive summer together, testing the bonds of their friendship, and this results in the death of Evangeline. The book alternates between the present day timeline (2018), which is ten years after the death of Evangeline, and flashing back to 2008 to allow the reader to piece together what actually happened.

Bess is our narrator, and in the 2018 timeline she is hiding away after everything that happened. Her and Joni were originally arrested for Evangeline's death, and after being released she is dealing with the effects of the media coverage, and wanting to just evade all attention by hiding away. Joni has taken the completely opposite approach, and is using their story to build a name for herself, and is actually just about to publish a book about their experience. However, one day out of the blue, Joni turns up on Bess's doorstep, and the friend's are thrust back into each other's lives.

I really enjoyed this book, as I felt the level of intrigue throughout was extremely high. You never really knew the full truth about what had happened or who to trust, as Bess is quite a biased narrator, so we are only really seeing things through her point of view. I really liked her brother Stephen, as he seemed to be fighting her corner for her even without her realising, and was just genuinely there for her. I also really liked Theo's character, Evangeline's brother, and I wish we got to see more about him.

I think the book worked for me because I was equally intrigued by both timelines. Initially, I found the 2008 timeline more interesting, because that's where you're finding out about the death and everything that happened, but also just about the friendship dynamics and drama's that existed between these girls. However, the 2018 narrative also had its driving force behind it too, and so when it would switch timelines, I was still enjoying the plot, and it got to the point where later in the book I was more interested in the 2018 timeline.

I would definitely be interested to see what else Ella Berman puts out, as I did really enjoy this. I could definitely see how this isn't for everyone, as the main two characters of Bess and Joni aren't the most likeable people and the book can be slow at times, but I think that was part of why I really liked it, because it added to the mystery and the uneasiness of the story.

The story of 3 girls who go on holiday as teens and the consequences of their actions, the story is told both in the past and present state….gripping and interesting read

Before We Were Innocent is the story of “three perfectly imperfect” women and the general public's obsession with young women at the centre of a scandal.

Told over a duel timeline but only from the point of view of one pivotal character, the story focuses on the media frenzy around a salacious crime to which an uber-rich influencer may be connected.

Now, this influencer, Joni, has a history, one that draws extra heavy media attention with a guilty-until proven-innocent vibe.

Ten years earlier, three friends, Joni, Bess and Evangeline, spent a dream summer in Greece, soaking up the sun and enjoying frivolity and freedom before heading to university.

But when Evangeline tumbles to her death, Joni and Bess are thrown into the limelight, and their every action is under scrutiny. Just teens having fun or debauched heathens intent on causing their “angelic” friend harm? Well, it depends on who you're asking.

After a Greek police investigation and a spell in a grim prison, Joni and Bess are released home, but their ‘crimes’ are never far from their mind or those around them.

Joni and Bess take different paths in life. Bess wants nothing more than to escape from everything; she lives the most basic and isolated life possible. Joni meanwhile embraces the spotlight focused on the worst moment of her life and becomes an influential motivational speaker.

But when Joni becomes embroiled in another similar situation when her girlfriend goes missing, she cashes in on the knowledge that Bess still feels indebted for the ‘backup’ in Greece.

This reunion is not a comfortable companionship, and Bess is forced to reconsider her memories of events gone by, no matter how emotionally uncomfortable that will be.

There's a hefty dose of true crime style to the narrative, which lends a haunting realism to this fictional story.

The depictions of these three women was very cleverly done, particularly the story of Evangeline, the person, rather than the idealised public image of a victim that she became following her death.

However, despite plenty of twists and turns, the narrative did feel rather protracted in places, and I sensed my attention wavering. But then the tension would build again, and I'd be rapt.

Behind the crime mystery, there's also a spotlight on the complicated nature of power, friendship dynamics, consent and how we deal with traumatic memories.

3.5⭐

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy; as always, this is an honest review.

I couldn’t put this book down. I thought it was going to be more murder mystery than it was but it was more of a nostalgic drama. I really loved it and stayed up way too late to read it. Definitely recommend.

I would like to express my gratitude to Netgalley and the publisher for generously offering me the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book. It is an honor to have access to this material before its official release and I am excited to delve into its pages and provide my honest feedback.

This was the perfect poolside read for me , I love reading books set in holiday places whilst on holiday!
The book opens in 2018 where we meet our characters 10 years after said incident on a Greek island . We then get transported back to 2008 to see events unfolding . I’ll admit that I was expecting more of a mystery / thriller element to the book , it’s not a page turner by any means but it is a GREAT coming of age story and one about toxic friendships . The story is nothing overly original but it’s one I enjoyed and will be keen to pick up more of the authors work .

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a gripping storyline that really triggered some serious questions related to everyday life. Would definitely recommend.

A summer in Greece.
Three best friends.
A tragic secret that will change them forever.

My thanks to Netgalley for this eArc!

I whizzed through this book and really enjoyed the back and forth timelines - the Greece trip and present day. Female friendship is fascinating and this book explored it really well. I would say its more suspenseful than thriller.

Loved it! I was sucked in literally from the first few pages. The writing of each of the girls and their friendship was good and the way the story unfolded throughout the chapters was well done. Definitely recommend.

"Before We Were Innocent" by Ella Berman is a compelling exploration of trauma and memory. A powerful and thought-provoking read.

This is the story of three friends went to Greece but only two came back...

The story is split between 2008 and 2018, we learn a lot about what happened that summer and who is to blame for the death of one of the girls.

Was definitely a great read and I loved the mystery aspect of the story and the complex relationships of the girls.

I will definitely read more from this author.

I read this on holiday and really enjoyed it! An easy read with a good plot and very good writing. Have read similar styled books to this and would look forward to reading more from this author in the future. A 3.5

A literary mystery and coming of age drama, Before We Were Innocent explores toxic friendships and the media and society’s obsession with high-profile deaths of young women.

Bess and Joni’s lives are changed forever when as teenagers, their friend Evangeline dies in tragic circumstances on a Greek holiday and they are implicated in her death. Although they’re cleared of any involvement, her death continues to overshadow their lives for many years. When Joni is involved in a similar event many years later, she turns to Bess for help, forcing Bess to examine the past and what she thought she knew to be true about that fateful summer in Greece. We get Bess’ perspective in a dual timeline of 2008 and 2018.

The book reminded me of several other books I’ve read in recent years (Stargazer by Laurie Petrou and The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop among them). In many ways, this is a genre in and of itself: beautiful, young, rich, white woman dies in tragic circumstances on a summer holiday and those around her struggle to make sense of it in the aftermath.

While it’s well-written and immersive, I couldn’t help but find it a bit bland and there are leaps the reader is expected to make that are far-fetched. Primarily, and without spoilers, would Bess really have agreed to what Joni tells her to say about Evangeline’s death? It felt like a stretch and the whole book hinges on this plot point.

I kept waiting for something to elevate it beyond a mere holiday read but it didn’t quite get there for me. There were elements of a thriller in the story that never fully blossomed into anything exciting. Towards the end of the book, the air went out of the balloon in anticlimactic fashion.

There are parallels between the media treatment of Bess and Joni, and Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, following the death of Meredith Kercher in Italy in 2007, and the public’s obsession with true crime (there’s a growing trend towards this in recent books). This was the most interesting aspect of the book for me and I wish it had been delved into more deeply.

3/5⭐️ on the basis that this is a very well-written holiday read, albeit one that didn’t reach its full potential for me. Many thanks to the author, publisher and @netgalley for the arc. As always, this is an honest review.

I loved The Comeback and couldn't wait to read Ella Berman's second novel and I wasn't disappointed. Every sentence is beautifully crafted and Before We Were Innocent was a pleasure to read. The story is about three girls, Joni, Bess and Evangeline who travel to Evangeline's family home on a Greek Island one summer when they are 18. What happens over the course of the summer leads to Joni and Bess becoming notorious in the media after Evangeline dies in shadowy circumstances.

A wonderful and poignant look at female friendship.