NEVER APART is a young adult suspenseful fantasy that will draw you in from the first chapter holding your attention until the very end with thriller scenes, alternate realities, and parallel worlds which will keep you guessing until the very end. Every five days Grace, Ander, and Finn fall into different parallel worlds. This happens repeatedly until the last fall which is different and Grace loses her reality. She awakened to another version of herself. They are stuck in a purgatory-like situation and must find out why before they end up stuck there forever.
Romily Bernard has written a beautiful story that switches from the future to the past and narrated from different point of views. As you read along through all the falls there are revelations about each fall and the reasons why will catch you by surprise making you second guess the reason behind the fall. You will not figure out the ending until the last page making this a book that you will devour.
NEVER APART has an interesting group of characters. Each character has faults that are too real to ignore. Everything from drinking, shyness, to wanting to be accepted for who they are making it easy for the reader to relate to each character. There is also an underlying love triangle that does not over power the story but is needed to help find answers to stop the fall. The romance is a sad one with a dark tragic aspect that you will have to read to find out why.
Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable read that always had me second guessing the reasons why. Page after page I read as fast as I could because I was determined to find out why certain things happened and why. This is one of those books that will leave you thinking for a couple of days ater finishing.
What if you had to relive the same five days over and
over?
And what if at the end of it, your boyfriend is killedβ¦
And you have to watch. Every time.
You donβt know why youβre stuck in this nightmare.
But you do know that these are the rules you now live by:
Wake Up.
Run.
Die.
Repeat.
Now, the only way to escape this loop is to attempt
something crazy. Something dangerous. Something completely
unexpected. This timeβ¦youβre not going to run.
Tell her the truth. The idea grabs my breath as the
humid breeze picks up again, swirling around us with even
more force. βIf I hadnβt come to Boone, I would never have
met you and I know I wouldβve missed thatβmissed
you. I would never have known your name or your
face, but I wouldβve known the absence of you, the gap that
was left in me because you were never there.β
Iβm breathing and not breathing and weβre so close, I canβt
help myself. As she stares at me, I brush my fingertip
against her knuckles, feel her skinβs heat. Itβs like
discovering something no one has ever named.
βI think I know what you mean,β she whispers at last,
putting down the Solo cup.
Grabbing my T-shirt.
I exhaleβhardβand lean closer.
βFinn?β
βYeah?β My heartbeat is deafening as her other hand climbs
my chest.
βI wantβ¦β
Then she kisses me and Iβm frozen. Iβve kissed dozens of
girls. But this kiss? I canβt move. I canβt think.
She feelsβoh my God, this is what the first jolt of espresso
feels like, what the first rush of whiskey tastes
like. Sheβs warm, but Iβm burning.
My hands go for her neck, her jaw, her cheeks. She kisses me
like she needs something, but I kiss her like sheβs everything.
βIβve wanted this,β I whisper against her lips. Sheβs
snowfall soft. βI wanted you to want thisβ¦β
βI do want it.β
I pull back. Graceβs lips are swollen and her eyes are wide.
She looks like she just woke up, and it knocks the air from
my lungs.
βI want it so much it scares me,β she says.
I cradle her face in both hands. βMe, too.β
Then she drags me down to her again, and Iβm lost. My
fingers in her hair, my hands along her cheeks, my thumbs
bracketing her mouth. I canβt get enough.
Iβll never get enough.
I push her against the wall, and she pulls me closer. My
hips grind into her stomach and she digs her fingers into my
shoulders.
βGraceβ¦β Her name rides my groan, and she smiles.
Inside, the music climbs and people laugh and someone gasps.
I shouldnβt be able to hear it, but I do.
So does Grace. She goes still. I look up.
Ander.
Heβs drunk. Swaying a little. Furious.
Is this the part where he fights for her? Where she takes
him back? My hands tighten around Grace, but she doesnβt
notice. Sheβs turning for him. Sheβs going to him.
Or is she?
Grace falters, and in the distance, heat lightning splits
the blackened sky. A stormβs coming.
Then Anderβs eyes meet mine, and I know itβs already here.
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