Reviews - You'll Never Know I'm Here

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193 reviews for:

You'll Never Know I'm Here

Kiersten Modglin

3.14 AVERAGE

tayleigh1213's review

3.0

mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

theemillennialreader's review

3.0

mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

At first, I wasn’t sure where this was going. There was a bit of sexual tension and some odd moments where the FMC felt like someone was playing tricks on her—I was just like, okay… what’s happening? It felt a little all over the place for a while.

But I ended up really enjoying the ending. It brought attention to book bans and how far some people are willing to go to keep certain books out of the public’s hands—which is honestly ridiculous. Reading = knowledge = power, and the author put a really creative spin on that.

giselley's review

3.0

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

tangbook82's review

3.0

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

slmstar's review

2.5

dark fast-paced

erinkathleen78's review

2.0

medium-paced

Loveable characters: No

Another reviewer said they'd never rolled their eyes so much while reading a book and I completely understand that. The turning point and "reveal" was so ridiculous I almost quit reading with only pages left. Not a fan.

grundmanisk's review

1.5

dark fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Content Warnings

graciemac10's review

4.0

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Twenty-four, already divorced and back at home with her parents. Lena Ortega is ready for a new start.

She’s off for a weekend getaway in a small, out-of-the-way town with five other online book influencers. Over numerous years, they’ve become friends and decided it was the perfect time to get together and share their passion.

While in town, Lena goes for a job interview at a local bookstore where she is summarily dismissed by the good-looking but haughty and rude bookstore owner, Memphis Reed. That’s Reed with two e’s.

Of course, Memphis Reed shows up at the rental as a replacement for Ethan. Ethan is the glue who brought the group together years ago, and the host of the getaway, but he’s had a family emergency and couldn’t make it. Not suspicious at all.

Only after Lena arrives does she discover that everyone but her seems to have been aware of Ethan pulling out of the weekend.

Nonetheless, the show must go on, and the group make the best of things, creating book content for their accounts, partying and playing an anonymous book-themed confession game similar to Truth or Dare. However, when one confession is revealed -- “I’ve read and seen so many dark things, I think I could commit a murder and get away with it.” -- game over. And of course there’s the weird, enigmatic neighbors next door.

Theories abound, but things come to a tragic head when Lena sees what she believes is a murder through an open curtain. When the police search the house and find no signs of foul play, however, Lena is left wondering if she’s going crazy. But the book besties ban together to solve the mystery themselves. Can you say Scooby Doo, where are you?

This was a tight and fast-paced read with lots of unexpected twists and turns, red herrings, and a smidge of romance. The creepy, small town, Stepford Wives vibe and forced proximity made for an entertaining and solid psychological thriller.

Lena is so relatable in her love of books, bookstores and her online book community experiences. She’s the perfect FMC to narrate the story: funny, smart, sweet, with strong convictions and compassionate, the latter of which could be her downfall.

The perpetrator’s rationale was thought-provoking if also a little unnerving and extreme and left my mouth agape. I didn’t see it coming despite all the previous red flags.

This is a book that bibliophiles, especially those in the online book community, will appreciate, recognizing themselves in the main cast of characters. And the climax is something a fan of Of Mice and Men and other banned books will love.