Published: August 3, 2021

Ballantine Books

This was my birthday book through Book of the Month.

Andrea Bartz is a Brooklyn-based journalist and author of We Were Never Here, The Lost Night, and The Herd. Her work has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Marie Claire, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Women’s Health, Martha Stewart Living, Redbook, Elle, and many other outlets, and she’s held editorial positions at Glamour, Psychology Today, and Self, among other publications.

“Maybe we were never here.”

Emily and Kristen have been best friends for a long time. As they have grown up and grown closer, they have also started traveling together. Far off, exotic locations- just the two of them. When something terrible happens on the last night of their most recent trip, they are hit with deja vu. Now, Emily wants to focus on moving forward and getting closer to the new man in her life. And Kristen isn’t too happy about being replaced… not all surprises are good. Sometimes they can be deadly.

I thought I had the twist in this book figured out at least three times before I finished it. I am thoroughly impressed. I enjoyed the writing styles, the character development, and the plot.

The characters were so well done. I enjoyed the depth to which both Emily and Kristen had and how dimensional they were. They had pasta, made mistakes, were anything but perfect- very human.

I enjoyed the running themes throughout this novel, friendship, selflessness, anxiety, fear, paranoia, and strength. It was very well crafted, and the shifts in mood were subtle yet effective.

I enjoyed the pacing of this book. It starts on a slow note, taking some time to build before catapulting to the highest peak and then plummeting to the ground at a chaotic free fall.

The twists were well done, and the way the truth is unraveled is clever. This was a great read from a new to me author, and I will definitely read her work in the future.

Just when we thought it was safe to travel again!