Review: We'll Never Be Apart by Emiko Jean

Murder.

Fire.

Revenge.

That’s all seventeen-year-old Alice Monroe thinks about. Committed to a mental ward at Savage Isle, Alice is haunted by memories of the fire that killed her boyfriend, Jason. A blaze her twin sister Cellie set. But when Chase, a mysterious, charismatic patient, agrees to help her seek vengeance, Alice begins to rethink everything. Writing out the story of her troubled past in a journal, she must confront hidden truths.

Is the one person she trusts only telling her half the story? Nothing is as it seems in this edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller from the debut author Emiko Jean.

Publication Date: October 6, 2015

This was a good YA debut with solid writing. I liked the characters and the setting definitely upped the creepiness factor. My main issue was guessing the twist very early on in the novel. Since I knew exactly where the story was going, it took away some of my overall enjoyment.

The prologue in We’ll Never Be Apart is strong and definitely pulled me into the story of Alice, Cellie and Jason. I enjoyed reading from Alice’s point of view since I could tell from the beginning she’s not a reliable narrator. The secondary characters are never really fully developed, especially the staff and patients in the mental health hospital.

The plot was interesting and I really enjoyed the diary entries that Alice recorded as part of her therapy. Her past was difficult to read about as she went in and out of foster homes and sometimes ended up in very abusive situations. The story behind how she wound up in foster care was truly chilling. The flashbacks didn’t hurt the pacing since it made me more invested in Alice’s story.

My main complaint is that a lot of the suspense in the story depended on the twist. If the clues were a little subtler, I think the book would have been a much stronger read. Overall, I liked We’ll Never Be Apart and I wouldn’t hesitate to read another book by the author.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of the novel for review!