Nevernevernevernever!

I seriously don't know how one author can continue to amaze me but somehow, someway Colleen Hoover continues to do so.  Seriously.  How did this woman go 30 years without publishing anything and then suddenly she's cranking them out left and right and THEY'RE ALL GOOD???  I just don't get it, but maybe I shouldn't question it because, like I said, I like everything and I definitely wouldn't want her to stop now.  So hear that Colleen? Keep writing!  Write a lot, in fact.  If you wanna send me any advanced copies of your literary genius (like say, I don't know, maybe Never Never 2), please feel free to do that as well.  I'd be more than happy to read immediately and write a stellar 5-star review for you. (nudge nudge, wink wink)

So anyhow, this review is for Never Never, the newest release from Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher.  Tarryn is also the author of a few other books, most notably Mud Vein.  This was a collaborative effort where basically each writer took turns writing a chapter from one of the two main characters' perspective.  Tarryn wrote Charlie's chapters and Colleen wrote Silas' chapters.  Together, what they put together is incredible!

Never Never has both Charlie and Silas suddenly in school and completely unaware of what is going on around them.  They don't know where they are, what is going on around them, or even who they are, even though everything else in their world seems to be progressing normally.  Slowly clues start to come about and they're able to piece together that they're high school students and even date each other.  They have no recollection of anything about either of their lives, yet they can remember odd things like what Google is and how to properly operate a camera. Charlie & Silas decide to stick together until they can figure out what happened to them...but then things begin to get even more strange.  Their relationship isn't exactly what they thought it was, their families hate each other, and Charlie begins to realize that she doesn't really like the person that she used to be.

It definitely seems like Silas wants to remember the relationship between him and Charlie and even wants to get it back...at least back to when it was good.  Charlie, on the other hand, seems unsure. She's more timid about Silas and about a relationship that she remembers nothing about.

This story definitely feels like there is a paranormal aspect to it, although nothing in this first book really reveals what that might be.  I'm hoping book 2, due out in May, will really pull that forward and delve into exactly what happened to Charlie and Silas. Was it aliens?  Did they make a wish of some sort and it came true?  Did they die and this is their chance to go back and fix things in the lives they had?  Many questions like these ran through my mind while reading this.  I do feel a certain amount of foreshadowing was taking place throughout too.

Now here's where I gotta be straight up, completely honest with you people.  I liked the book.  I enjoyed reading it.  I did not, however, love it.  It didn't change my life, as some others have claimed.  It didn't help cure cancer.  It didn't even make my headache go away.  Mostly I say this because I've read review after review after review that go on and on about how spectacular this story is, and while I thoroughly enjoyed this quick read, I can say that it was not at all what I expected from Colleen.  That's not a negative thing, or a dig on her or Tarryn.  It just was not what I thought it was going to be going into it.  I am, though, very much looking forward to the second book in this series because I really feel that the way this MASSIVE, GINORMOUS, EPIC cliffhanger dumped me must (dammit it better!) have some payoff coming soon.  I think a lot of questions will be answered and will hopefully bring the whole story into line better for me.  In fact, I'm hoping it brings it in line so much that my next review will be gushing full of the love!