Book Review | We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz

A massive thank you to Penguin Random House South Africa for a review copy of We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz. When I read the synopsis, it sounded exactly like the kind of book I enjoy and so when I received it, I was so excited!

Published: September 2021
Pages: 320
Pace: Medium
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Suspense

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

We Were Never Here is the story of best friends Kristen and Emily who have been friends and inseparable since college. And they do an annual getaway with just the two of them where they travel to lesser know locations and make sure they don’t only experience the touristy things but the proper experiences. But something terrible keeps happening.

The official synopsis says this:
“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?”

This book was a bit of a slow mystery, especially in the first chapters. I found the relationship between Kristen and Emily very weird and actually quite annoying. I found myself wanting Emily to be stronger and waiting for the relationship dynamic to change. There were so many opportunities for Emily to stand up for herself or to change the way the relationship worked. I know that we are told why Emily takes such a subservient role, but it still annoyed me a bit. On the flip side, seeing the positive aspects of a great friendship was awesome. It sounds so amazing to have a bestie that you can be yourself with and even travel the world with!

Anyway, the book gets really exciting towards the end as things start to come to light and I would say the book definitely redeems itself in the end. It was definitely full of suspense as I never knew which way the interactions and events would go. I enjoyed that aspect of the story the most. I may have gotten used to very clear resolutions and explanations for things but this book leaves a lot of grey areas that make you as the reader fill in the gaps.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The ending was not one I predicted, and I am not sure how I feel about it. I definitely felt relieved about it and enjoyed watching the whole story unfold. It was so multi-faceted and complex that it’s difficult to make a judgement call that would try to suggest that I would have reacted differently in the same situation/s.

Great read! Highly recommended for lovers of mystery and suspense!

To add this book to your Goodreads TBR, click here.

To buy yourself a copy, click here.

Until next time! 😊
Chevonn

Boekresensie | Die Duisend en Eerste Nag deur François Bloemhof

Ek wil net ‘n groot dankie sê aan Lapa Uitgewers vir ‘n hersien kopie van Die Duisend en Eerste Nag. Dis die eerste keer wat ek vir ‘n Afrikaanse boek afgevra het maar ek is so bly dat ek die geleentheid gekry het om die boek te lees en te resenseer. Nie net is dit my eerste Afrikaans boek nie, maar ook is die my eerste resensie in Afrikaans. Hopelik is dit nie die laaste een nie 😃

Gepubliseer: Oktober 2021
Bladsye: 192

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Hierdie boek was iets so anders en so uniek. Herman se tweeling sussie sterf en Herman sukkel met die feit dat sy nie meer daar is nie. Hy probeer al klaar om net met die dood van sy sussie te deel toe iets anders vreemd gebeur terwyl hy en sy ma en pa by sy Ouma se huis kuier en dis toe Herman sommer in ‘n diep koma in gaan.

Die res van die storie speel uit terwyl hy in die koma is, waar hy van sy sussie droom in die vorm van flieks en musiek en woorde. Flieks soos Sinbad, Arabian Nights en A Moment in Time is almal teenwoordig met nog ‘n paar wat ek nie hier noem nie.

Dit was so interessant dat die hooofstukke as episodes geskryf is. Dit het die storie regtig soos n fliek laat voel. Soos ons deur die boek lees, sien ons hoe Herman probeer om sy sussie se dood te verwerk op alle vlakte en dis so ‘n slim manier om te wys hoe ingewikkeld en moeilik dit is om so ‘n diep hartseer deur te werk.

Ek sal beslis hierdie boek aanbeveel want dit gryp ‘n mens aan en wys net dat boeke iets so anders kan aanbied as ‘n leeservaring, en daar is net so baie hier in wat interessant en uniek is. Dit was regtig lekker om te lees. Ek sal nou nie sê of Herman ooit uit sy koma uit kom nie, dit moet jy maar vir jouself uitvind, maar ek sal sê dat jy hierdie boek definitief moet lees. Daar is so bietjie magiese realisme en fantasie maar op die einde van die dag is dit n kommentaar van verlies en hoe moeilik dit kan wees om deur so iets te lewe.

Saam met hierdie boek, kan mens ook gratis na musiek luister en videos kyk wat help om die storie te vertel. Ek het na die tyd na die musiek gaan luister maar dit voeg beslis nog ‘n dimensie by die leeservaring.

Om hierdie boek op jou Goodreads lys by te voeg, kliek hier.

Om hierdie boek vir jouself te koop, kliek hier.

Tot volgende keer! 😊
Chevonn

Book Review | The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell

I want to say a huge thank you to Penguin Random House South Africa for a review copy of The Night She Disappeared by Lisa Jewell 😃 The cover is so striking and I just love the colours! As always, I am truly grateful!

Published: August 2021
Pages: 480
Pace: Medium
Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Psychological thriller, Psychological Fiction

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

The Night She Disappeared is a gripping read set around Maypole House which is a wealthy private school. Zach and Tallulah, parents to a 1 year old, leave the house one evening to go out on a date but they never return home. They just disappeared without a trace and nobody seems to have seen anything and nobody knows anything about what happened. The case goes cold. That is until one day when Sophie, a crime novelist, moves into the teachers house with her boyfriend who has just started as the school’s new head-teacher. As she walks in their back garden, she sees a sign that says “DIG HERE”.

What Sophie finds in the ground is enough to reopen the cold case and the investigation gets some new life as previously hidden evidence comes to light.

The main points of view in this story are of Kim, Tallulah’s mother, Tallulah herself and Sophie, the crime novelist. We toggle the POV’s between Tallulah on the night that they disappeared in 2017 and then the present moment with Kim and Sophie as they try to solve the mystery of what happened to this couple who would never just leave without their son.

The suspense is so thick throughout this story and as more and more information comes to the surface, the more interesting the story gets. I’m not the kind of person who tries to figure out who did it while reading it because I love just watching the story unfold without any preconceived ideas of what I think should or might happen. And this story was such a treat. I am still thinking about all the characters and I am actually bummed that the story is finished!

I found the characters to be very realistic and believable as they are all complex and far from perfect. We are introduced to one of the characters named Scarlett and her pull felt tangible even to me as the reader. She was the character I was most intrigued by!

The ending wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I just wasn’t sure how the whole story would end, what the truth of it would be, what the motivation and the intent would be behind what happened and so the way it ended surprised me. I do kind of wish it had a different ending or that the ending was fleshed out a bit more but as is, the story is absolutely captivating and addictive.

I loved every minute of reading this one and I highly recommend it to mystery and suspense lovers. This was my second Lisa Jewell book and I have not been disappointed!

To add this book to your Goodreads TBR, click here.

To buy yourself a copy, please click here.

Until next time! 😊
Chevonn