Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher – Review

By Sandra Callard

Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher combines romance, mystery and psychological suspense in the story of two young people who suddenly lose all memory of themselves and each other.

Never Never by Colleen Hoover: Synopsis

Charlie Wynwood and Silas Nash have known each other for years and are deeply connected, but one morning they both wake in their own homes with no memory of who they are, who their families and friends are, or why they are together. Rather than immediately revealing what has happened, they attempt to conceal their memory loss while trying to reconstruct their lives from the clues around them.

As Charlie and Silas begin investigating their past, they discover that their relationship and their families may be more complicated than they first appear. Written by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher, Never Never develops from an unusual romance into a mystery as the pair try to understand what has happened to them and whether their memories will return.

Never Never – Review

Written by two American authors, here is a sensitive and, at the same time, startling novel about a young couple, very much in love, who both wake up one morning in their own homes and do not know who they are or who each other is. Strangely, they do not seek help or seem to panic, but struggle along with this unlikely burden until they realise the extent of their situation. They cling together as they try to cover up what has happened and guess their way through the first few days until they begin to come to terms with their lost memories.

My first instinct was to sneer at this premise and scoff at the idea that these two people could fool their families, schools and friends into believing they were as normal as they had always been, when they had absolutely no memory of their previous lives and did not recognise any of the people around them. However, due to the excellent writing of the two authors, I managed to struggle on and eventually came to terms with the absurd storyline and began to enjoy the weird happenings, even though I laughed inwardly at the plot. It became more a question of thinking ‘what if’ such a thing happened, rather than accepting the story entirely at face value.

The odd thing is that the story which follows seems to morph into a detective tale, and a good one at that, as the young couple try to make sense of this strange happening. They never know when they go to sleep whether they will awake in the past or present, or indeed know who they are, which can be somewhat irritating.

“Highly unusual”

The two main characters are very likeable, which obviously helps the story along, and they seem to have the intelligence of mature adults rather than people of their age. However, the skill of the two authors is apparent and the story flows at a steady and interesting pace. The reader begins to hope these two attractive young people will come good at the end of their story.

Here we are presented with something highly unusual which is treated as normal, and the reader is asked to suspend their disbelief. However, the strength of the writing is undoubtedly good and ultimately wins through. I would have another go at either of these authors’ future books to see what they could come up with next.

Is Never Never worth reading?

Never Never asks the reader to accept an improbable central idea, but the mystery surrounding Charlie and Silas and the strength of Hoover and Fisher’s writing keep the story moving. Readers prepared to suspend their disbelief may find its combination of romance and mystery an unusual and intriguing read.

‘Never Never’ by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher is published by HarperCollins.