Review: Never Tear Us Apart by Monica Murphy (Never Tear Us Apart #1)
Note: This ARC was provided by Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Memories may fade, but they never really go away.
But I've already taken it this far. Following her. All in the name of protection. It's my duty after all. A job she gave me long, long ago. I'm her protector. Her guardian angel. She said so herself and I made a promise.
A promise I refuse to break.
Eight years ago, twelve-year-old Katie Watts was kidnapped and held captive by a man who went on to rape and harm her. Her hero came in the form of her kidnapper's son, fifteen-year-old Will Monroe, and the two formed an unlikely bond, one that neither time nor their ever-changing circumstances or even people around them could force either one to forget or fully let go of. Eight years later, twenty-one-year-old Katherine Watts meets twenty-four-year-old Ethan Williams, and she feels a connection to him in a way she's only felt once before and she can't fully understand or explain, but it's there. And that, in a nutshell, was what was so damn enticing and intriguing about my first (you can all berate me later for taking so long to read a book of hers) Monica Murphy book ever, Never Tear Us Apart, the first in a duet.
Katherine Watts and Ethan Williams are tethered--she feels it but doesn't know why or how, but he does and isn't ready to divulge the connection they share--and it's that unbreakable connection that kept me so engrossed in their story. It's told from four perspectives: Katherine's, Ethan's, and flashbacks via Katie and Will. While what's going on with them is told as it's happening, the flashbacks aren't necessarily in chronological order; instead, details of Katie's abduction and rape and Will's subsequent rescue and the events that unfold afterwards are brought in to provide readers with a better idea of what led to Katherine or Ethan thinking, feeling, or acting in a certain way or saying something in particular presently. Katie's time in captivity is gut-wrenching to read, but without it, there would be no Katherine and Ethan existing.
Ethan's behavior following Katherine's televised interview about her kidnapping had me pausing more than once, because, if we're being honest here, it bordered on being obsessive. But then, you have to take into consideration what brought him into Katie's life eight years ago, and the kind of treatment he received from his own father even prior to him learning the kind of psychotic behavior he had when his crimes were brought to light. I doubt that Ethan is the deviant his father was and continues to be, and his attachment to Katherine is one, I think, was brought about by what he did for her eight years ago. He was her rescuer, her hero, and he took that role of his being her protector seriously, even though they did lose touch over the years. His devotion interspersed with his deception was a fascinating look into his mindset.
Katie was a child testing her boundaries as a girl about to enter her teen years when she was taken, and as an adult, Katherine is only beginning to test those boundaries again, only this time, the things that have been keeping her inside the bubble that she's been living in for eight years are mostly ones she's put upon herself or agreed to. She wants to venture beyond what she's known for almost a decade, but mixed in with moments of bravado and anticipation are the fear and anxiety. When she meets and spends time with Ethan, she feels freer than she's ever felt before, and seeing that side of her is what makes her, just like Ethan, a main character in transition. Of course, because this book does end in a cliffhanger, we're going to have to wait for the transition to reach its eventual conclusion in the sequel, Never Let Us Go, on May 3rd.
I'm a sucker for a good romance, but when it's a romance that's more than the norm and is written quite well, and has two main characters that you empathize with and whose issues you desperately want to see resolved, AND a story that makes you, not just feel, but think about what you would do in the same situation, then it certainly stands above many of those in the same genre. Yes, this is the first book by Monica Murphy that I've ever read, but I'm more than familiar with her name, especially because my youngest sister has recommended her books before. I will say this, though: Never Tear Us Apart was the first, but it most certainly won't be the last, and not only because Never Let You Go is going on my to-be-read list. I highly recommend Never Tear Us Apart to any reader who appreciates genius. Five-plus stars. ♥
Date Read: 06 January 2016
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