Oh this book kept me on my toes all the way through! I love reading books that deal with psychology and personality disorders, such as that of Chloe. As cold as she is, she is brilliant and knows it. Now, she's who killed her study-mate but she's going to find out... but can she before she's next?

Welcome to John Adams University in Washington, D.C., where psychopaths are attending your classes, living in your dorm, you’ll never know who they are. Seven psychopaths, participating in a psychology department study, their actions and feelings being tracked through a smartwatch, the only people who know their identify is the researcher and his assistant When one of the seven is found murdered, followed by another, the participants start to suspect they will be next. Who could possibly know who they are? One student is a beautiful genius who came to John Adams seeking revenge, another a popular frat boy from old money who has been working towards making a change, and a boy with a troubled path who uses his misdiagnosis to help him get a full scholarship are at the heart of Never Saw Me Coming by debut author Vera Kurian. The three work together, never truly knowing who they can trust. Stories spun by a full cast of unreliable narrators leave you guessing, never knowing who is lying, and who you can trust. Full of suspicion, the students seek out the remaining subjects before a dramatic blindside conclusion. Could you trust a psychopath? Thank you to Harper Collins Canada, The Killer Crime Club, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

Chloe is just your average college freshman headed to school away from home for the first time- or is she? I wanted this to be completely spoiler free so I didn’t read anything ahead of time to spoil the surprises. So I was really surprised to find out that Chloe is not your average student. She is in a psychology lead scholarship program for Psychopaths. She and the other students in the program are monitored by a GPS tracker watch that she periodically reports and how she’s feeling. We come to find out that Chloe has come to the school mainly to enact revenge against her a sealant from childhood, Will. Unfortunately that part of the story is not fleshed out completely as other characters are introduced to and a larger story starts to develop with multiple murders and no one knowing if one of the Psycho Pass in the program are responsible or not. Are they able to go against their diagnosis and become well adjusted students or are they Destined to become life destroying murderers?
A really good, intriguing read. Recommended. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

The whole premise of this book was wildly intriguing and while it was an interesting read I did have issues getting through it. I’m not sure if it was the pacing or the content but I found myself not wanting to pick it up. The last 100ish pages when the story was moving quicker we’re my favorite part. The ending was also finished and yet missing something for me as well.

Ever wonder if your college is doing some kind of secret research project and if your roommate or a friend is a part of it? What if that secret research project is for individuals who were diagnosed with having psychopath tendencies and these individuals were enrolled in your college, going to parties with you, share your dorm? This is a story of one such college and one such program. While the premise and about 2/3 of the book were really good, the end fell a little short.

NEVER SAW ME COMING by Vera Kurian was an unexpected thrill. While the read was not as tight and pacey as thriller readers may be used to, the unique hook and darkly fascinating characters drew me in until the last page.
This one reminded me a bit of Leigh Bardugo's NINTH HOUSE and is perfect for fans of dark academia.

Never Saw Me Coming was a much slower burn than I was expecting. Get a bunch of psychopaths together at a university and let them loose and I was expecting much more chaos and murder than I got. So I think my expectations of this one really let me down. It was a slow burn drama with some interesting takes on psychology.

This was a very fast and easy read. Good premise but did lose its was at times, adding in random plot lines that didn't really go anywhere and one of the major ones felt quite rushed at what was expected to be a key part of the book. It did keep you guessing and changing your mind in true who dunnit fashion. I would read more by this author

An interesting, twisty thriller about a bunch of college kids...who happen to be psychopaths. Who can you trust? ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

Chloe Sevre is going to Adams University on a scholarship and has been eagerly waiting to get into the university that Will is going to. She has a beef to settle with Will and she's been waiting a long time to make this happen and has been strategizing on settling things once in for all. She is a psychopath and has been admitted into a special program at Adam's University that is funding her education; all she has to do is participate in their research project. There are only seven other psychopaths in her program and she doesn't know who they are.

Things start getting a bit complicated, one of the students in the research project that Chloe is in has been murdered and then a second one is murdered. Chloe is feeling like someone is following her around and that she is being watched. She has to settle things with Will and figure out who the murderer is. Can she trust Charles to help her solve or Andre, who are also in the same program as her.

I read this book for the Girly Book Club as it's our book for October. For me, fall feels like a perfect time to read a book like this, something a bit creepy with a bit of mystery theme. It was a fast paced book with some twists and turns. I had the suspect down to two people and was able to figure out who it was close to the end. The book was a thrilling read and kept me interested throughout it. It was scary but not too scary so I wasn't feeling anxious. I would rate this book 3.75 stars.

3.5/5

From the moment I saw the cover of Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian I knew I had to read it. And really it was just a bonus that it has one of the most unique premises I have heard of for a book. What happens when you have 7 psychopaths at a college together? Something bad is bound to happen and there are plenty of bad things that happen in this story. These aren't really likable characters, but in an odd way I really loved Chloe, so it's perfect that she was the main viewpoint. We also get a couple of other viewpoints as well and I loved the way that kept me on my toes. I had no idea going into it that this was a debut, and I think Kurian is off to a fine start, especially if she has more unique concepts up her sleeve. This does read like a young adult novel which I was perfectly fine with, although I was hoping it would go a little darker than it did.

When I listen to an audiobook, I always go into it not knowing who the narrator is because apparently, I like to be surprised. So, I was especially happy to find out Brittany Pressley narrates Never Saw Me Coming. When you listen to a lot of audiobooks like I do you definitely end up having favorite narrators, and Pressley is one of mine so obviously I will be recommending the audio to everyone I know. She was killer (no pun intended) as Chloe, and she did a fantastic job (as always) with the other viewpoints as well. The storyline does get a little dark, especially when we learn what happened with Will and Chloe, but overall, it isn't too bad so even if you are a squeamish reader, I think you can handle it. My only grievance with Never Saw Me Coming was that when I got to the end, I had one of those "that's it?" moments that I don't really love. I really liked the entire book up to that point, and while the ending was a bit lackluster for me, that does not mean I am giving up on Kurian. I loved the majority of the book and am excited to read whatever her sophomore novel is, which hopefully comes out in the near future since I hate waiting...

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Amazing book - I loved it! Such an interesting premise for a book that I have not come across before. It was well-written and suspenseful. Highly recommended!

Imagine going to school being one of seven people who are diagnosed as psychopaths. Is there a "cure" for psychopathy or a way for them to learn to dampen their impulse control.. or.. or.... I LOVE the premise of this book. LOVE it. However, something got a little lost for me as I was reading.

We get different POVs and of course, I liked being in Chloe's head the most. She is vengeful, intelligent and manipulative... you know, all the best qualities of a psychopath. 😉 And I love that she put so much energy into getting revenge for her past, 12 year old, self. But then that storyline kinda got lost along the way. I had actually completely forgotten about that part a few times. But then you're going to give me murder and psychopaths working together to try and figure out who the killer is? Ok ok... you pulled me right back in. I just think maybe it didn't flow as cohesively as I would've liked and I felt my attention fading once again.

This is a tough one for me to review. I LOVE the concept and enjoyed the easy read of it. I just wish I could have maintained my full interest for the entirety. As such, I'm going down the middle for this one.

This psychological thriller was such a great read. I loved the idea and haven't really read anything else like it before. It's going to be a hit when I get it in my library.

Thank you to the author, Silent Book Club, and Park Row Books for this gratis copy.

3.5, rounded up. I was engrossed with this story from page one--how fascinating it is to be in the mind of young psychopaths, whom readers are called to consider as being reliable, yet completely unreliable narrators. Never Saw Me Coming is fast-paced and has multiple narrators whose voices are distinct from one another. There are multiple moving parts and some implausibilities, which really showed their colors in the final quarter. The ending made me groan; I was disappointed with the final reveals.

I will say, I was surprised to see that this book is classified as adult fiction. I felt it predominantly read more like older YA, stepped-up versions of Jessica Goodman's They Wish They Were Us and Courtney Summers' Sadie. I could see myself recommending this one to high schoolers and adults generally interested in psychology and true crime.

The premise of this story is super intriguing and unique, and as a psychology major myself it really drew me in. Kurian did a fantastic job of presenting a psychopath’s mind, while at the same time attempting to show that not all psychopaths are dangerous or murderers. Not to say there wasn’t murder involved, cause there definitely was. The story itself was pretty good, however there are times where you have to suspend your belief. Also there is a very large part of the book that was supposed to be climactic but fell extremely flat and unexciting to me. So overall I give this one 3.5 stars rounded up.

I really enjoyed this book. I went in with no expectations but thought the premise was different that anything I’d read before (a school program for psychopaths??). At times I laughed out loud as the group of characters the story bounced around from was definitely entertaining and their differing personalities and levels of psychosis (although obviously fictional) were interesting. A quick read and well written, I devoured it in a day! Definitely would love to see this interpreted for TV/film.
This book shows you never really know a person for who they truly are…
3.5 rounded up to 4/5
Thank you to NetGalley as well as HARLEQUIN – Trade Publishing (U.S. & Canada) for this ARC! Definitely suggest this read!

I tried SO HARD to make this book work for me.

Thank you to @netgalley and @parkrowbooks for the #gifted eARC of “Never Saw Me Coming.” It comes out Sept. 7.

Chloe Sevre is “the hot girl next door” college freshman who arrives on campus with a mission: settling the score with a childhood friend who wronged her. She’s also a clinically diagnosed psychopath and participating in a university study. When another student in the program is found murdered, however, it changes Chloe’s entire calculus.

I wanted to love this book. I am the queen of abandoning books; there is no shame in my DNF game. But I so wanted this book to be for me. The plot is exactly the type of thriller I love. But it just wasn’t hooking me. I kept reading even when I was bored and no longer invested, but I’m officially calling it at 45 percent.

I’ve been hesitant to share books I didn’t like, because I’m a firm believer that most books just need to find the right audience. I might come back to this one at some point. If the plot sounds good to you, I’d encourage you to pick it up. I recently found a book because a Bookstagram friend didn’t like it — but the plot sounded fantastic to me and I like the author’s other books.

Thank you to the publisher for my copy - all opinions are my own.

Admittedly, I picked up this book one morning with the idea that I would read 50 or so pages and then carry on with my day. As it turned out I sat there for hours devouring the entire book whole, because OMG does this book have every single thing I love in a thriller.

A plot that is based on a group of psychopaths participating in a study who are being killed off one by one? A lead character in Chloe, who is DIABOLICALLY PERFECT and who I could read about 84 books on? A slow burn, highly tense, absolutely delicious tango between Chloe and the others in her group who she's not sure she should trust, because who trusts a psychopath?

YES YES YES - give me all of this please and thank you!

The way this story pulls together so many devious plot points together in a direction that you certainly aren't going to guess makes it the kind of book that I cannot get enough of. Wildly original and totally unique, I cannot recommend this one enough!

When I first read the description of Never Saw Me Coming, I remembered the scene in the latest series of Sherlock and how he explains to Dr. Watson the difference between a Psychopath and a Sociopath. The students in this story are exhibiting Psychopathic behavior, and a few come with Narcissistic Personality Disorder flavoring as well. These students are offered a free ride to a rather lovely university in compensation for being a lab experiment.

That said, my second thought was how the proposed experiment would never be approved by the IRB (Institutional Review Board) because the capacity to cause harm is through the roof. It turns out that merely causing damage is the least of their problems--someone or someones is killing off the students. Then again, does anyone care?

That's my issue with the story--between the "experiment that would lose its funding in a hurry" and no sympathetic characters, it's challenging to find a hook into the story. I can't recommend this without reservations.