I would bump my rating up to a 3.5. There were lots of things I loved, and a few things I wish were different.

The overall premise of the book was one that I hadn’t read before. I enjoyed following Chloe, Andre, and Charles through their experience in a psychology study and enjoyed reading about the different tasks they were required to complete without too much focus on the study itself. I liked how the author took multiple characters with the same diagnosis of psychopathy, but made them all their own crazy person with distinguishing characteristics.

I think it was the perfect amount of
Overall the story was full of twists and turns that kept me guessing the entire time!

I do wish the story would have been told in all 1st person to really let me inside each characters head, but I understand the authors choice to switch between 1st and 3rd. I just felt that sometimes the writing didn’t flow from chapter to chapter because of this. I also noticed quite a few grammatical errors, but hope these were resolved before the final publishing of the book on 9/7.

Chloe was admitted to a number of colleges, but she chose this particular college because she would receive a full scholarship and get to participate in a study for psychopaths. She also chose this college because a boy who raped her when she was twelve would be attending, and she planned to kill him.

Will had no clue what she was up to and didn't recognize her until one night that Chloe drugged him and attempted to kill him at a party.

As all this was going on, a serial killer was murdering students in the psychopath program. Chloe was worried she would be next.

We follow Chloe as she tries to find out who the killer is and as she is protecting herself. She does risky things.

I honestly didn’t like any of the characters, and the story line was just ok for me.

My rating is upped from a 2/5 to a 3/5 because the author put so much time and work into the book.

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book started out pretty good. But it started going downhill after a while. I read hoping it would pick up and hold my interest. I fell way short. I just didn't enjoy it at all. The premise was ok. The story was just ok. It being an ARC I won't say anything about the errors as that has nothing to do with it. It is just not a very good story for me.

Thank you #NetGalley, #VeraKurian, #Harlequin for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book.
I give it 3/5 stars and the extra star is because I know so much work goes into make/writing these book.
I can't in good consciousness recommend this to people that I know. It was just not good.

"That’s the problem with people like us—we’re too good at lying so you never know the truth."

Never Saw Me Coming held a fascinating premise and had me counting down the days until I could start reading. This story, about a group of formally-diagnosed psychopaths participating in a clinical trial, who have to figure out if they can trust each other or not, sounded exactly like the fresh, new, unexpected thriller I’ve been hoping 2021 would bring.

"He didn’t look like a killer. Then again, neither do I."

But, while the storyline was compelling enough to keep me reading until the end (I'll admit, I had to know who the serial killer actually was!), the writing style presented obstacles that I struggled to get past. The perspective jumps around frequently between characters, and often switches between first-person / third-person narration, and past / present tense, which sometimes made it hard for me to follow the timeline.

"I know revenge is supposed to be a dish best served cold, but no one ever told me what it was like to wait those last few moments when the dish is on the cart right next to the table, steaming."

Additionally, the copy I read was a digital ARC that was riddled with typos, grammatical errors, and formatting inconsistencies. I am not a stickler; I know that a few mistakes are inevitable; but there were sections of the book that were nearly impossible to decipher. I’m a former high school English teacher, between the YA voice and the overwhelming number of errors, this read more like a student’s creative writing submission than an actual published novel.

"Some people are certainly called ‘irredeemable’ and I think of such situations with profound sadness. I think of all the forks in the road where that person’s life could have gone in one direction, but it went in the other, and the things society could have done to help them make the right choice. I think the field of psychology has failed people like this."

Never Saw Me Coming offers fascinating psychological profiles on psychopaths and how they operate, and poses interesting questions about whether people can truly change and whether even the worst kinds of people are redeemable. There was definitely some thought-provoking material here. I think I would have rated the book higher if the editing had been tightened up a bit first.

"Don’t trust these people for a second…"

——

Thank you to Vera Kurian, Harlequin Books, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was really intrigued by the blurb on this one, but the delivery left me unsatisfied... It felt like YA that wanted to be more, but somehow for me wound up being less. I enjoy a good YA take from time to time - there's a lot of potential for Intrigue and drama in the world of the young after all - but what I don't enjoy about it as a genre is when the story gets mired in the minutiae of petty back and forth backstabbing and squabbling.

And that's where this one lost me... It would be rolling along interestingly, then all of a sudden devolve into an overly simplified, overly cliched exegesis on college life. Or at least, what a lot of people think college life is. It's not all frat parties and revenge sex, but you wouldn't know that from a lot of writing about college. That's where this one lost me.

I appreciate that I'm probably not the target demographic, so take some of this with a grain of salt... But the psychopath angle really intrigued me and held a lot of promise for a broad spectrum read but I just don't quite feel that it delivered what I was looking for.

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Pub date 9/7/21. I believe this is a debut author being published this year. This author is one to watch for NA/YA thriller.

Chloe Sevre is an incoming 1st year college student at the fictional John Adams University and part of a psychology study which gave her a full ride because she has Antisocial Personality Disorder otherwise known as psychopathy. Chloe chose John Adams not just for the free tuition but to follow a former classmate who "wronged" her. The Washington DC setting is perfect as a foil with the previous president's administration- while not named, is quite obvious as protests are discussed.

There is an excellent kind of sarcastic light funny tone the author accomplishes throughout the book especially with Chloe's POV, because she isn't shy about her narcissistic personality traits or lack of a certain moral code, although Chloe uses her image to get what she wants and uses her popularity to hide her sinister side. We also see the perspectives of other students, Andre- a Black student in the program who was labeled with a Conduct Disorder diagnosis at a young age after losing his big sister; Charles a wealthy upperclassman who has had 2 years in the program to work on blending in with the rest of society. Andre's fear of being vulnerable and alone to a serial killer when he is looked at as suspicious due to his skin color was a little heartbreaking to me.

Clearly the identity of the actual serial killer hunting members of their program would be somewhat of a surprise with a few red herrings thrown in there. The way it was figured out with an accidental "like" on IG of a certain person's picture was clever, but if Chloe paid more attention to things that didn't personally involve her, she might have recognized who she was.... especially now. Shout out to a GOAT.

There should be a TW/CW for violence that is described in some detail with bodies, murder and sexual assault/rape which is not detailed.

4.5☆/5

The premise of the book was super interesting. I mean a book about psychopaths'? Unreliable narrators in a school setting? Count me in! I'm a sucker for anything about the brain, murder, and dark academic feels. However, I honestly found the writing style to not be my favorite. I thought it read more as a YA book instead of an adult book, which is not really what it was marketed it as. The writing just felt very surface level and passive. So I didn't really feel the thriller or suspenseful aspect. Chloe just felt very boring to me despite being a psychopath out to kill someone. Her inner voice just felt very juvenile to me which is why I got a lot of YA vibes off this book. Despite these characters (Chloe, Andre etc) being psychopaths', they ironically got along just fine with each other. I would have expected more conflicts between each other or backstabbing. And honestly, these characters didn't really act/think as if they were psychopaths'. Instead, we were just constantly told they were psychopaths' every 10 pages or so.

I'm really sad that I didn't get hooked into this book since it seems like it had such great protentional, but overall it just felt very Meh to me. Overall, a really creative premise, but not executed well enough to make you feel any suspense. It might satisfy a lot of readers who may want a easy and low key mystery/thriller.

Thanks to the author, NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for my review.

Never Saw Me Coming stands out in the field of thrillers thanks to its unique premise and compelling writing. Kurian's main characters, all diagnosed with psychopathy, provide an unusual perspective through which to view a series of murders. Intriguing to the end, with a didn't see it coming plot twist, this was a super enjoyable read that I'll be recommending to others.

The synopsis and premise of this academia thriller drew me in. I also enjoyed the story immensely. It hooked me in from the beginning and I didn't want to put the book down.

We have three protagonists and my favourite was definitely Chloe. I love how badass she was and her no-f***s-given attitude even though I wanted more insight into her past. I really enjoyed seeing her interactions with Charles and their intriguing relationship. Can two psychopaths ever care about each other?

Charles and Andre were very interesting characters too but again, I wish there was more insight into their past and lives. Especially since this is a book about human psychology.

There are 2 main storylines here: 1) Will and Chloe, 2) The main whodunit. I felt let down by both. For Will, we even have a countdown to D-Day that gets the reader all hyped up, Yet, the whole thing got gleaned over so quickly once it happened and never really amounted to anything despite all of Chloe's plans and scheming. As for the main whodunit, there was no mindblowing twist or big reveal like I had been expecting.

Overall, this book had a lot of potential and told a compelling story with distinct protagonists, but I just wished there was more. I definitely enjoyed it enough to wanna read more from the author or even a sequel with Chloe, Charles and Andre.

Overall, I liked this book! I loved how fast paced it was, but was slightly disappointed by the big twists.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A group of psychopaths are in a special study group in a university. Members begin dying. There are lots of suspects and numerous twists in the plot.

*Full review to be added closer to publication*

This was such an unexpectedly thrilling story! I loved the premise of having psychopathic narrators to mold the story and really make this feel like something a bit more unique. I found a few of the storylines in particular a bit difficult to really get into, but overall I really enjoyed the pace and the general compelling nature of this story. The characters were not necessarily ones I felt overly connected to, but this didn't take away from my enjoyment too much. Overall, if you're looking for an interesting premise to a fast-paced thriller, then definitely take a look!

I have mixed feelings on this book and I waited a few days after reading to write my review and I’m still conflicted. While there were things I liked (the overall mystery and the suspense of who was messing with Chloe and company), I also felt like the reveal to both of those sort of came out of nowhere and was tied up way too quickly. The storyline was unique and at times the book was hard to put down. It was a little confusing with chapters coming from so many points of view at times. I could definitely see this working out as a TV show or movie.

A book with a psychopath as the main character? Why not? More than one psychopath? Even better!

A university study of psychopaths gets complicated when, unsurprisingly, students begin turning up dead.

While it was fun to get inside a psychopath's head and thoughts, I couldn't really connect with the main characters. But I wasn't supposed to...they are psychopaths and don't feel the same as the rest of us!

I really enjoyed this book, it kept me guessing and was enjoyable without being over the top gruesome.

Was so happy to read this book. From the beginning, I was hooked! I literally never saw it coming! The main characters are psychopaths but you find yourself rooting for them. At least I did! The plot was fast paced and I read it in one sitting! Chloe is a freshman in college and is chosen to be part of a clinical study for psychopaths. When one student in the study is murdered she is on a mission to figure out who did it while also accomplishing her own agenda! This psychological thriller is a must read!

3.5

Before the below two things

Structure- neither in the hard copy ARC or audio arc was there any indication that chapters had different povs and that was rediculous. I mean but why? That is a very simple, basic thing. You are doing the author, story, and reader a huge disservice. Stop leaving this off. It isn't the first time (especially on the audio side). It isn't difficult for the narrator to say... chapter x <insert character name>.

This book could have easily been YA. I'm not sure why it wasn't. Yes it is set in college. You could have set it in HS. Having this program in college isn't any more believable than a magnet HS. Think about some of the farfetched thriller stories floating around thriller mystery YA fiction books, right now.

Last, wasn't found of the narrator. Or, at least, really could have done better with multiple narrators, or not such a squeaky female narrator.


What I loved:

1) The premise
2) The hunter turned prey idea (especially since one was determined to stay prey).
3) On one hand- very brave writing as some followed through on some very grisly plans. Aka... noone had any second thoughts and suddenly became better people.
4)The word psychopaths is not thrown around blindly. It is utilized pretty damn responsibly... still a psychological thriller. Buuuut not bad.

What I didn't like:

1)The not so brave writing that I feel like one person should have died that didn't but I'm dark.

2) Yes this is about a group of literal, diagnosed psychopaths and yes it is used explained and done well but still falls back on tropey psychological thriller need of mental illness for a spring board PLUS one of the twists stereotypes a rare but subset of people that I can't mention cause of spoilers.

3) Yes this is about a group of literal, diagnosed psychopaths but talking about beating the deadhorse... Holy crap.... stop mentioning it. That got tiresome.

4)I likes the characters and how they were written for like 60% of the book but #3 and the perkiness/constantly innerdialogue of how brilliant the MC is really started killing it after a bit

This page-turner quickly pulled me in. I enjoyed the multiple POVs. The premise was unique and interesting, in that the story is told from the psychopaths' (in this case, multiple students) perspectives, which is different from other books I've read in this genre. There were a few lulls, but it balanced out. It kept me engaged and guessing throughout.

I loved this book! Great twists and intriguing characters. I definitely want to see more of Chloe.

Thanks to Harper Collins for the advanced reader copy!

This is a fast paced thriller with a unique premise. Seven psychopaths have been offered a full scholarship to the university in exchange for being part of a study. Once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down. Since the narrators are psychopaths, you never know who is telling the truth and it keeps you guessing the whole time you are reading the novel. I

This one just didn’t do it for me. Another reviewer stated that this book reads like a YA novel, and I have to agree. I expected more. The description lead me to believe that this would be a suspense filled story with twists and turns, but I felt as if the characters were trying to manipulate the reader into being distracted by their conversations…. And it went on a bit longer than I liked. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.