Never Never by Colleen Hoover, Tarryn Fisher Series: Never Never #1
Published by Selfpublished on 8 January 2015
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Paranormal
Pages: 140
Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Purchase
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"How odd to be made of flesh, balanced on bone, and filled with a soul you've never met."
Charlize Wynwood and Silas Nash have been best friends since they could walk. They've been in love since the age of fourteen.
But as of this morning...they are complete strangers.
Their first kiss, their first fight, the moment they fell in love...every memory has vanished."I don't care what our real first kiss was," he says. "That's the one I want to remember."
Charlize and Silas must work together to uncover the truth about what happened to them and why. But the more they learn about the couple they used to be...the more they question why they were ever together to begin with.
"I want to remember what it feels like to love someone like that. And not just anyone. I want to know what it feels like to love Charlie."
A different kind of paranormal story, Never Never has both of the MCs being amnesic at the beginning, and as they slowly unravel their pasts, things get complicated.
My Never Never review:
Charlie and Silas share a common story, but they aren’t really aware of it in Never Never. From the start of the story, the confusion and the memory lapse are at the forefront, and I really enjoyed the fact that Charlie and Silas each had their own chapters – it helped getting to know them, even if they didn’t really know themselves. Mysterious and poignant, the story felt like a reboot, in a way. Where the characters sat down and thought carefully about their past and future choices; even if Charlie and Silas didn’t exactly know their past choices anymore.
Written in first person point of view, present tense makes Never Never unfold at the same pace that it is read, and I felt like I made the same discoveries as Charlie and Silas did. I especially loved how Charlie was analyzing herself, her surroundings, and thinking about herself in the third person, as if she didn’t know if she was truly that person or not. Looking at her own life from the outside, Charlie has a lot of things to re-evaluate, and she doesn’t really like who she seems to be.
Self-discovery is a common theme in young and new adult stories, but Never Never actually brings that a big step further, as this self-discovery is literal, not only metaphorical. Realizing what is important and what is not is part of that journey as well, but there are further complications to what happens to Charlie and Silas. Figuring out who they are, and who they want to be is important, and seeing as this story lets the characters do so while also understanding how other people see them made it seem more real than in other stories – even while the premise is not something that can happen in reality.
The ending left me gripping my kindle, not knowing how I’m going to be able to wait until May before I know what happens next. If you’re a CoHo fan, know that Never Never is very different from her other stories, but it is still really good.
Some of my favorite Never Never quotes:
A man walks in carrying a briefcase. He sets it on the desk. The teacher. I am in a classroom, and that is the teacher. High school or college, I wonder.
I’ve spent the last three hours trying to act natural. At first I was convinced I must have used some kind of illegal substance that caused me to black out, but this is different from blacking out. This is different from being high or drunk, and I have have no idea how I even know that.
She’s scared. Nervous. Suspicious. Our emotions are reflections of one another, and that’s when the clarity hits.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
You got my attention and now I’m intrigued. I have to admit that I still haven’t read anything by Colleen Hoover, but I have a friend who truly loves her books and constantly praise them to me. Perhaps this should be the year I really give her a go, huh? *makes a note meant to be followed*
If you’ve been hesitant before, just know that Never Never is very different from CoHo’s other books, Silvia 🙂 Happy reading.
I really value my memories, so the thought of losing them like that is scary. It does sound like an interetsing premise for a book. I didn’t realize this was a paranormal book. Great review Lexxie!
Oh I agree, Lola, and I think that is part of what made Never Never a good read for me – how would we behave if we didn’t know how we usually behave?
Thanks for stopping by.
I love the sound of this! I’m a big fan of C.H.I never read/listned to the other author, but sounds like a good combo. I can’t wait Lexxie! I think I just have to make the time breakdown and just read it 🙂
Thank you Lexxie
It’s really good, Loupe! I had never read Fisher, either, but I thought Never Never was really well done! Maybe I’ll make an audio-book for you 😉
Lexxie! You’ve got to read some of Tarryn Fisher’s books! I promise they’re amazing! I ended up really liking Never Never but I came out of it thinking that the romance seemed very Coho and the mystery and suspence was all Fisher (although, she writes some of the best romances out there). Lovely review!
I do want to read more Fisher, and you sure made me want to hurry up, Lily 🙂
I loved this one too! My review will be up tomorrow. I agree, it’s different than a usual CoHo read, but I really loved it. I was hooked from the first page and read it in one sitting. I’ve only read one Tarryn Fisher novel, Mud Vein, and I wasn’t blown away. I don’t know if I would read more by her or not.
Sometimes, different is good, don’t you think Cherie? I loved Never Never, and I really look forward to finding out what will happen next.
This a great review! I still haven’t read anything from Colleen Hoover but this sounds really good.
I’m a huge CoHo fan, Kathy 🙂 And I recommend her every time I can.
Your review, as well as the synopsis, left an air of mystery. I am extremely curious about what is going on with Charlie and Silas. I might wait until closer to May to read Never Never though. 😉 I’m glad you enjoyed a little something different from CoHo, Lexxie.
I’m back from the college tour. The kids will be back to school in about 2 hours. (they were out of school yesterday for Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday) And I can get back to business. *ha* The Pacific Northwest was perfectly pacific northwest-y…i.e. it rained almost the entire trip. But it was kinda wonderful. And Sky marked one college off her list and moved 2 to the top of it. It was a lot of driving. And I was so tired at night during the trip that I didn’t even get my laptop out. *ha* All in all, a good trip. I hope things are going well for you. I’ve missed chatting. If I don’t have to drive jazz band students around today, I’ll try to find you online. 🙂 Happy Tuesday! **BIG HUGS**
Brandee Never Never is quite mysterious, and there are a lot of strange things going on. I would have liked to have the 2nd story on my kindle already, too. And I know I am going to be more or less speechless in May… 😉
I’m so happy the college tour went well, Brandee, I hope Sky will find the best for her, and that it will help her achieve her dreams for the future 🙂
I’ve missed you, too! But I’ve been very busy with substitute teaching, and I’m exhausted these days, too. *BIG HUGS*
Oh wow! This sounds like such a fascinating read! I want to read it now, but I don’t want to wait! Fab review Lexie!