This unfortunately didn’t touch me the way I had hoped it would. The characters are well written but I did not feel a connection to them. I would be willing to read more from this author in the future

Loved this book! Devoured in one sitting. Loved the dynamic and the flow of the story. Thanks for the ARC!

Disclaimer: I received a gifted copy of this book via netgalley and in exchange I'm leaving an honest review.

This book portrays how isolating grief can be, and even how it affects more than just one person. You really don't see that often, it usually centers on the main character and leaves it there. But there are 2 main characters in this book, Axel and Leah.
Gotta be honest, not a big fan of age gaps, and the fact that Axel knew Leah when she was a kid is weird. And the way it keeps getting brought up that he viewed her as a younger sister was also kind icky. But putting that aside for a moment, the book has some heartfelt scenes. I expected this to have a happy ending, but it surprised me with a sad one. I know there's a sequel though coming out next year. Gotta be honest idk if I wanna read that, but nonetheless I want to thank netgalley and Alice Kellen for the opportunity to read this book.

This is my first book from this author, and I when it comes to this story, this one just isn't the one for me. The main characters Oliver, his sister Leah and Axel were okay characters but for the life of me I could not connect with any of the characters. It's hard for me to enjoy a story when I can't connect with the characters or the story, and with that being said, the flow of the story was too slow. There were parts that were redundant, and I was truly asking myself why, when the flow of the story was already so slow. It made wanting to continue the story hard, but I wanted to be able to give my review on a book I read fully. This story also dealt with grief, and it took up the majority of the story. There's no time limit on how long someone should grieve although Axel felt otherwise, but I needed more to happen in this story. Axel took it upon himself to push Leah to do things, mind you, things that even her brother was against with a little force, or should I say demand, and she did them. It was completely unbelievable for me even if she had feelings for him in the past and started to feel something for him in the present. I could even get over the age gap between them, but I didn't feel any type of connection between them that was believable. Oliver had a right to be upset with Axel but even, so I didn't care for the way the book ended. I was really hoping that I discovered a new author for me who's books I would love but this one just wasn't the story for me. Will I read the next book? No. Would I recommend other readers to give this book a try? Yes, and I say that simply because this story wasn't the one for me doesn't mean that it wouldn't be a great story for others. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

I was first drawn in my the cover but the book kept my attention the whole way through.
This is a slow burn romance that deals with grief and mental illness. Leah is a 19 year old girl who is dealing with the grief of losing her parents. Axel is Leah’s brothers best friend. He has known Leah since birth. Axel’s feelings for Leah start to develop in a new way while he is helping her find her way through the darkness.

Tropes
-age gap
-slow burn
-brothers best friend
- friends to lovers
-forbidden love

This one went right to “Did not finish”, I just couldn’t get into it. It just didn’t grab me and keep me entertained.

A story of grief, healing and forbidden romance.

A quick read, although some things could’ve been drawn out more.

It was a very realistic portrayal of the imperfections of people.

A deeper type of romance which is very slow burn yet worth the wait to see this romantic journey play out. Although it is a slow burn it's a quick read and I thought it was really beautifully written. I did feel like something was missing though, I couldn't fully connect to the characters and story but saying that I still enjoyed the story and would read more by this author.

Loved this! It totally was unpredictable in the sense that it doesn't read like a "cookie cutter" star-crossed lovers book. It leaves you on the edge of your seat, much like what a thriller would do, but for an entirely different reason. I am on the edge of my seat waiting on the next one...why must it be a year?!

This book was a lot deeper than I expected going into it. It explored grief and familial relationships amongst other things.
Spoilers:
While I felt the story was solid and the plot moved along well, the age gap and knowing her since birth bothered me. That translation from seeing her as a child and a sister to being intimate with her was hard for me to wrap my head around. I know that this was explored in depth in the book from all angles, but I still struggled with it. Overall a solid read and I will read the next book! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This story is a super cute brothers-best-friend romance that I absolutely devoured in a single setting. It is a quick and easy read but that in no way means you don’t feel all the emotions that make you laugh, cry, scream, and debate throwing it across the room. The relationships are so raw and real that they come straight off the page and gnaw at you while you read. I love it and anyone who loves she-fell-first-but-he-fell-harder will too. By the time it was over I was dying for more because I loved the story and the characters.
I loved the characters, Axel and Leah especially, and found them all to be deep and perfectly raw as they struggle through grief, love, friendship, and life. There wasn’t a time when reading this book where I got bored or tired of the characters and their narratives. For fans of short chapters, this is for you! This honestly really helped with the pacing and the perspective changes also kept the story moving even during times of happiness and peace. Grief and mental illness is dealt with in a very respectful and realistic manner and I personally loved it!

This one was hard for me. I love love LOVE this cover. So eye catching. I literally gravitate towards it. But something fell flat for me. I liked the premise but there were parts I just couldn’t connect to.

This was such a beautiful story. I was drawn in by the beautiful cover and Im so glad I took a chance on this story. It was a beautiful depiction of grief and love and how to move on. I don't want to give away too much but its such a beautiful story and I highly recommend.

An intense story of friendship to love. The author did an amazing job of relaying how grief can stall a person and stop them from living. How love truly can heal and how heartbreaking the journey can be.

The cover is beautiful and really drew me in. I hate to say it but I really struggled to follow along with this book. I'm not sure if things were lost in translation from Spanish to English, but it just fell short for me.

Really hoped that this would be an amazing book. The story just didn't connect with me. I do thank NetGalley for the ARC. Two stars.

All That We Never Were by Alice Kellen tells the story of love and loss. While Leah’s reasons for being a 19 year old high school student were explained, there seemed to be a hole in the story as far as why Blair was still in high school. Had Leah and Blair been college students, the adult relationships would have seemed a little less inappropriate. I couldn’t get past the fatherly relationship and power held over Leah by Axel. I appreciate NetGalley providing the opportunity to read this ebook. It was an interesting book, but not really something I’d read again.

I wanted to like this and the plot felt so promising, but I just couldn't connect with any of the characters or storylines. I honestly think a lot was "lost in translation" as this book was initially published in Spanish. There were emotions and nuances that just didn't translate for me. I can appreciate that it my appeal to some, but for me, it was not a book I would re-read or recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I hate to say it but the best I can rate this is 1.5 stars.
I struggled to get into this one. The summary intrigued me, but as I started reading, it just didn’t live up to my expectations from the description. It felt very slow and repetitive, Leah’s trauma was the center of the plot and, for me, the rest of the story just got lost behind that instead of the rest of the story bringing her through the trauma. Axel’s character frustrated me with the way he seemed to think Leah should just ‘get over it’ and go back to the way she used to be and the way Leah’s character handled her trauma made her seem much younger than she was supposed to be which then made the romance between her and Axel also seem weird.
I had a hard time getting through this one as it just didn’t hold my interest. I’m also not someone who likes to DNF a book so eventually I was just wishing the end would come. Overall, this just wasn’t a book for me.

I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I couldn’t get into the writing nor the characters themselves. I don’t enjoy reading about OW drama, and I definitely don’t like reading smut scenes between the male main character and someone that ISNT the female main character. Axel didn’t have any redeeming qualities either, especially with the way he handled Leah’s mental illness.