This was my first Andrea Dunlop book and I enjoyed it a lot. Liked the dual perspective, alternating chapters. A surprisingly emotional read for me. Fast paced and a very interesting plot.

Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for the free advanced copy, in exchange for an honest review

4.5 stars - absolutely loved this one. I loved Katie’s story, the past & present timeline worked so well for this story and I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out what had happened. At a certain point, I had it figured out but overall was captivated throughout this novel. I love a “fall from grace” story where the main character fights her way back - I was rooting for Katie the whole time. Would definitely recommend.

This was my first book by Dunlop and I found her writing to be beautiful and emotional. I enjoyed how the story bounced back and forth between present day and the past as it gave you a bit more about why she wanted to runaway. While you read along you can't help but to feel empathetic toward Katie(Liz) as you learn about her tragic experiences and the events that led to her running away. There was a depth I wasn't expecting and I loved how humanly flawed the characters were. Honestly they were so relatable and realistic that it made me like them so much more (except for Penny, I definitely didn't like her). I think most can relate to being overwhelmed by something and just wanting to disappear for awhile. While it's not realistic for most, it seemed to be just what Liz needed. While she was taking her time to heal mentally she found a way to redefine how she saw herself.

The setting of this book made me want to visit Buenos Aires. I loved how the author described the city and that she included some of its history. The lifestyle Liz lived down there felt both relaxing and freeing and the perfect backdrop for her to start healing. Sometimes you just need a change scenery.

The Penny story line wasn't a new one for me, but the way it was revealed added to the suspense. While the end to her story was deplorable, it shows how much mental illness is dismissed. Had she gotten the help she needed, her life could have turned out completely different.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

I so enjoyed this book! I loved the back and forth storyline between past and current events that left you in suspense and then come together perfectly near the end. The setting of Buenos Aires was described beautifully and really gave you a sense of the surroundings. The characters were great! I really enjoyed Liz/Katie’s character and loved following along on her journey. It is a heartbreaking tale of a family coming to terms with tragedy and learning to move on. I highly recommend this book!

**Thank you to Atria and Netgalley for the review copy. Was provided a copy for free in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I have read by Andrea Dunlop and I have to say she is a wonderful writer. The story was well written and the characters where developed well throughout the story. The story was interesting and mixed love, drama, and thrill to make a genre I can not fully explain.
Katie is an olympic skier until one day her life comes crashing down and her family is to blame. She can not seem to get back to where she once was. She arrives at the airport with only the clothes on her back (and some she just picked up at the mall) and decides to book a trip to Argentina with no return flight scheduled. She arrives there and is excited when no one knows who she is or her history. She decides to reinvent who she is and try to forget her past along the way. She soon learns that it is not easy to change who you are.
This book was fun and exciting and took the reader in so many different directions. The only thing I did not like was that at times it did feel a tad messy like there were too many stories going on at once. I also did not like the surprise Katie has towards the end of the book and thought the book would have been better without that random component. Overall 3.5/4 stars!
Thank you NetGalley and Atria for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This will definitely be one of my most memorable summer reads. I loved it! I have author Andrea Dunlop’s She Regrets Nothing on my shelf & now can’t wait to pick it up. I can see her quickly becoming a favorite author of mine as her writing is so gripping!
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I looove character-driven novels and dual timelines. Not to mention this book being set in Barcelona - all the Spanish culture & language warmed this Spanish teacher’s heart. This book is all about family and friendships, complications arising between the two and how heartaches aren’t mended by running away from painful experiences. I loved main character Katie amongst so many other characters in this book. I really felt them come to life among the pages.
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Now for this disclaimer: This wasn’t an easy read by any means - many tough topics are discussed and may be difficult for some readers

2.5 Stars

Beautiful cover for what I am sure some will find as a beautiful story, but I struggled with this one. Katie (Liz) has a traumatic event happen that is somehow related to her sister but it takes almost 80% of the book before we figure out exactly what that is. The book alternates between past and present. I ended up skimming a lot of it. I’m not a huge fan of alternating time lines where the past directly correlates to what’s happening in the present yet each “past” chapter ends with an ominous or vague statement of what went down. The suspense and intrigue loses itself after a while and I just stop caring.

Katie grew up skiing and became an Olympian. But after an injury and incident (not discolored for most of the book) she feels the need to escape and leave Idaho for Buenos Aires. There she mite a group of people who also seem to be running or hiding from something. Meanwhile we get glimpses of her past and hints of what happened that made her flee.

While I liked parts of her story and thought it well written, I didn’t really care for Katie and after so many chapters of not finding out what happened with her sister, I stopped caring about that too. I do believe in the right hands though this would be a well-loved and appreciated book

I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for my review. I liked this contemporary novel very much, all the way up to the very end. Then I still liked it, but I was disappointed by the author’s choice of ending. Oh well, different strokes and I won’t explain further or I’d spoil the plot. The book is a mystery to some extent and a character study with a smidgen of love story mixed in. Unfortunately I figured out the mystery part pretty early on although I don’t think everyone will. I found the characters mostly credible and interesting with their similar objectives of running away from something, but completely different reasons for wanting to do so. I would recommend this for readers of the (hate this characterization) “women’s” fiction and contemporary fiction.

This is the third book I’m reading from this author and I really enjoyed it!I find the way the story was told in alternating chapters between past and present brilliant! Andrea Dunlop delivers a captivating story! I was immediately connected to Katie and I felt like I was a part of the story!

“Maybe life goes in a thousand directions and we never know which, and regret is always wasted on things we had no control over to begin with.”

Overall it was a great and atmospheric read that I would highly recommend it! The way this author tells her stories is unique and her characters fantastic! If you have not read a book by her you must definitely try this one!

I have really enjoyed Dunlop's previous novels, but this one really wasn't my favorite. I can see where it is going to be gobbled up by book clubs and book lists because it is deep and intriguing. But it really was just a little too sad for me. I wanted to make it to the end so I could see what happened to the character, but I really just wasn't invested in her and I felt like she gave up and didn't fight for her life like I would have hoped. It just really wasn't a good fit for me and I don't think its one I'll be recommending to others.

Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for a copy of We Came Here To Forget by Andrea Dunlop for review. Available July 2.

We Came Here to Forget is told completely from Katie’s point of view but it’s really a story about sisters and notoriety. Katie is a young Olympic skier who runs to Buenos Aires when a story about her sister threatens her career. She changes her name and tries to forget her old life. With have the book taking place in such a gorgeous foreign location and the other half flashing back to her memories of her sister, this book is perfect for a summer escape.

The reason Katie runs is kept alluding to but never explained to the end and that kind of narration keeps me reading and also slightly annoys me. The sister’s story of course ended up being the one I wanted to read so sometimes the slower pace of the scenes in Buenos Aires were not my favourites.

We Came Here To Forget explores some interesting issues and I loved how the relationship between the sisters was discussed and how it lead to the discussion of why she had to run if it was her sister who did something horrible.

A tragedy in the family forces Olympic ski champion, Katie Cleary, to run from her career, her family, and her boyfriend. A spur of the moment decision lands her on an airplane to Buenos Aires, a city she has visited before, albeit briefly, but where she believes she can live anonymously, because what are the odds that an American ski champion would be recognized in Buenos Aires ..... very slim at best. Katie Cleary changes her name to Liz Sullivan, and befriends a local group of Tango dancers. During the day Liz is a tour guide and at night she dances. Although Buenos Aires is physically beautiful, it has a very ugly past, including the thousands of children who were "disappeared" by the Punta government. The "locals" Katie meets, are not really locals, most have run away from their lives elsewhere to start a new in this beautiful city, just like her. We Came Here to Forget is Katie's coming of age story. It is part suspense, part love story, part tribute to the magical city of Buenos Aires and finally also a recognition of the demanding life of Olympic skiers. Andrea Dunlop has done a great job packing it all into this book. Available 07/2019 in stores. 5 stars. Thank you #netgalley and @andreadunlop for the e-ARC of #wecameheretoforget.

We Came Here to Forget started out a bit slow but suddenly I couldn’t put it down. Katie Cleary has suddenly left her life and traveled to Buenos Aires. Through chapters that trade back and forth, we follow her as she meets new friends and get tantalizing glimpses into her past. I kept reading because I just had to find out what Katie and the people she met in Buenos Aires were trying to forget and move past. This is a book that definitely gets you thinking and packs quite the emotional punch.

We follow Katie, who is recovering as best she can. After a seemingly painful event transpires within her circle, her bright future as a professional skier slams shut and catapults her into a void where she begins reinventing herself as Liz, a tango addicted woman living in a new country with new friends, and finding herself in several precarious situations. There are aggressive twists and turns, and moments where I really didn’t know what was going to happen next.

This is a story that runs deep to the core, and I so admire how Andrea Dunlop was able to portray a woman reeling in pain, trying to live beyond her past. We Came here to Forget definitely lives up to the hype! I highly recommend.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Andrea Dunlop for the opportunity to read her latest novel - loved it!

Katie Cleary is at the top of the world - she as been a world-class skier since she was small. As a teenager, she gets an opportunity to live and train with her two best friends, Luke and Blair, where the boys' wealthy father holds nothing back in training the three to be the best. When Luke and Katie become a couple, it just solidifies their star factor. But back home, Katie's older sister, Penny, is struggling - more than the family even realizes. When everything crashes down, Katie's skiing career does as well. Katie reinvents herself as Liz and escapes to Buenos Aires, and becomes immeshed in the tango world with a group of ex-pats who are all hiding from their own lives.

I loved the writing and the way this story was told - alternating chapters between Katie's past and Liz's present, until we know the complete story. I raced through each chapter, wanting to get back to the other timeline each time. Highly recommended!

“Hit the reset button” is common vernacular in today’s society. But where is this magic button? If you know, please send us a message. Asking for a friend…

Katie, a former Olympic skier, hits the reset button in the most extreme of ways – she books a one-way flight to Buenos Aires. She always identified herself as a skier, a girlfriend, a sister, but soon all these nomenclatures feel untrue.

I was immediately connected to Katie – she’s confused and reserved, yet bold and captivating. While most of us never have national recognition, we can all relate to the rout of feeling stuck in life – with the conflicting need for help and to be left the f*** alone.

The narrative bounces back and forth from present day to Katie’s life on the slopes. Dunlop teases us early and often about a traumatic, unforgivable event seemingly centered around Katie’s troubled sister. What is she running from? Skiing? The public eye? Herself? While I was as curious to learn of Katie’s past as her new friends, I didn’t even need the thrill of its mystery. I really loved being a fly on the wall for her search for enlightenment.

Katie’s self-imposed exile to Argentina actually brought her closer to others. She finds herself in a circle of eccentric ex-pats and locals all with troubles and secrets of their own. She finally realizes she is not the only one who came here to forget….

Isn’t that why we turn to books? To forget some of our own worries? I can’t afford impromptu trips to South America (although Jen would appreciate the break), so I jump into a story, and this was the perfect one for me. I definitely recommend this introspective and entertaining read.

This one wasn't even on my radar until a trusted source mentioned it. As a former college athlete, I was immediately intrigued with the main character, Kate/Liz, as a former Olympic downhill skier. While the story talks about her skiing career a little bit, it definitely wasn't the focus of the story.

After something horrific happens, Kate/Liz is forced off the mountain. On a whim, she buys a plane ticket to Buenos Aires and escapes her current life to recuperate mentally. The story slowly unfolds in small pieces of the overall puzzle, and I was pleasantly surprised by the depth and emotion presented. The mystery element of the story had me hooked!

There are two timelines to the story, and I definitely preferred one (the past) over the other (the present). Because of this, it wasn't quite a 5-star read for me, but it was still well done and worth reading.

This book captivated me from the first page. Katie, a former Olympic skier, escapes to Buenos Aires to reinvent herself, but we don't know why until the end of the book. The book is told in dual timelines from Katie's perspective, alternating between her life growing up as the darling of the ski slopes to her new life in Buenos Aires where she is trying to escape that life. There's more to the story than that though; this isn't a story of a ski career gone wrong. This is also the story of Katie's family and a horrifying (and triggering) event that led her wanting to escape America. This is a story of family, loss, mental illness, reinvention, and hope. I could not get enough of Katie's story and I didn't want the book to end. Pick this one up this Summer!

“Maybe life goes in a thousand directions and we never know which, and regret is always wasted on things we had no control over to begin with.”

I was so surprised by this story. I wasn’t sure what exactly I was getting myself into but this is a story of an Olympic skier, Katie, who is involved in her sister’s very public “incident.” For much of the story we don’t know what happened to her sister, we only know that this incident is the reason Katie has given up her life as a professional skier, broken off her long-term relationship and retreated to Argentina. The story alternates between the past as Katie and her sister grow up and the present as Katie works on getting away from her life in Argentina. This is a story about letting go of the image others have of you and learning to live for yourself. It also has romance aspects and takes place in the beautiful Buenos Aires and explores a bit of the culture there. My only complaint is the giant cliff hanger at the end... I NEED TO KNOW. So, there better be a sequel.

WE CAME HERE TO FORGET is another very strong novel by talented author Andrea Dunlop. I've read her others and this one has perhaps the most depth. There's a bit of darkness so if you're looking for a fluffy, light "beach" read, then this might not be your first choice. But if you're willing to go just a little bit dark, you'll be rewarded. I particularly enjoyed the "before" and "after" structure. It's a good way to develop suspense and keep the pace moving. The Argentina setting is very sophisticated and fun. I also enjoyed the main character's drive when it came to her sport. Overall, this is a story about heartache, inner demons, and family. The mystery aspect keeps the reader in the dark for slightly too long; I found myself getting a little impatient. However, that did not substantially detract from my enjoyment of the story.