This is a story of two parts, the current day lives of Joni and Bess while also revealing their past, with a dear friend they lost as young adults.
While this book pulled me in enough to want to keep going and find out the outcome I must say it was very long. I got to about 50% and felt for the length of time I had been reading not much had really happened. I think the whole story could have been condensed down. I feel the story picked up towards the end, but I must admit I was left disappointed at the ending, I just didn’t feel it ended well, we didn’t get all the answers, it just ended. I would have loved a bit more of a conclusion after reading for some many hours!
I would try another book from this author but would be wary of the length!

To quote Joni, Before We Were Innocent is ‘the story of three perfectly imperfect women who hurt each other in all the most obvious ways, but who loved each other enough for a lifetime.’ Well, that’s how she chooses to frame it.

Moving between 2018 and ten years earlier, the book gradually reveals how a dramatic event on the island of Tinos changed Bess and Joni’s relationship from that of inseparable best friends to virtual strangers. And how it changed them as individuals too. Whereas Bess has retreated into self-imposed isolation, punctuated by episodes of risk-taking behaviour, Joni has seemingly put the past behind her, reinventing herself and using her experiences as a springboard for her career. But although Bess and Joni may have become estranged they are bound together forever by a lie. ‘Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive’ as someone once said…

Although narrated almost exclusively from the point of view of Bess, this isn’t a case of being either ‘Team Bess’ or ‘Team Joni’ because we’re never quite sure about the reliability of what we’re being told. While I didn’t find either Bess and Joni particularly likeable or their actions laudable (perhaps because my wild – if they ever were – teenage years are well behind me), they’re definitely nuanced characters and the author skilfully ensures your empathy moves back and forth between them.

Three into two don’t go, there’s always one left over. This is definitely Evangeline to whom Bess and Joni are actually quite horrible at times. Some of this ganging up comes back to haunt them. For me, Evangeline always remained a rather hazy character and I didn’t get any sense of the strong bond that supposedly existed between her and Joni before Bess came on the scene.

Before We Were Innocent is part coming-of-age story, part depiction of the complexity of friendships, and part intriguing mystery. It also exposes the impact of intrusive media attention on individuals and their families and the toxic nature of online discourse. Although it has plenty of twists and turns, for me it simmered but never really reached boiling point.

This is perfect holiday reading, chunky, twisty and a page turner. Part thriller , part coming of age drama, this was intensely readable! While the characters were not always relatable, Berman does a great job at capturing that on the cusp of adulthood stage of life. Well paced if a tad too long and while I am not sure how memorable a read this will be , I enjoyed reading it.. This is the perfect addition to your beach bag this summer.

3.5 stars.

Bess finds herself once more dragged into a suspicious mystery but this time she was nowhere near. But was her friend involved? Time to face the past as it collides with the present leaving her to wonder about what happened that night.

This was an interesting read. I wasn't sure at the start but it slowly pulled me in. The story jumps from past to present as we slowly learn all the details. The ending worked for the story and i liked how it came together yet I would have liked more of a conclusion. The story is well written and descriptive. it sets the scene and then pulls you in as you decide how you feel about the girls. Its not a book with overly likeable characters but they are real. An intriguing mystery/ thriller.

I’ve seen some negative reviews regarding this book and I am a bit confused to be fair.
I thought it was gripping. Kept me on my toes and I would definitely recommend it.

4,5 stars.

I really really enjoyed this! From the very beginning, I was sucked in and I could not put it down.
Berman eloquently explores growing up in a way I have never read about before, presenting young women as more than just docile, innocent things capable of far more than anyone could anticipate. Split between two timelines, the summer of Bess and Joni's friend's death, and the present day, when another tragedy has occurred. Moments from the past keep getting dragged up to inform the present day mystery, making the reader question everything about these characters. It's messy, Bess and Joni's friendship is complicated, in ways only female friendships can be.
I love how it took me on a complete ride, making me adamant of one outcome, only to completely subvert my expectations once more. I wish it had more of a twist at the end, but other than that, this book was perfection.
A truly great summer read! (I say writing this in the middle of winter)

A great easy summer read to get lost in. Well written and great characters! Thank you #netgalley for an advanced copy.

This is my first book to read by Ella Berman and what a book!. Very moving and emotional but very well written. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you as always to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this book ahead of its release!

Before We Were Innocent is a really interesting drama with a touch of a thriller element to it, exploring friendships and secrets. I enjoyed it overall, but in some parts found it slow and confusing and the characters annoyed me.. Nevertheless, it's dark, twisty, and kept me interested in what secrets were being hidden.

3.5 stars!

A tense and suspense-filled novel, Before We Were Innocent is both a gripping thriller and a reflection on teenage friendship. In terms of pacing, it started off quite slowly, but soon picked up and became an incredibly addictive read. Bess and Joni’s relationship made this for me, with their toxic behaviour and lack of trust making this incredibly compelling. The effect their shared history had was clear from the offset, despite the mystery surrounding it, and I loved the tension that was created through their previous experiences.

Despite being teenagers, both girls have their lives turned upside-down by the media coverage of Evangeline’s death, leaving Bess spending ten years hiding from life to avoid her past, and Joni embracing her infamy to become an influencer and motivational speaker. The way this was handled was shocking, with the novel dealing with the mental impact that relentless criticism and public shaming can have, especially at such a young age. It’s a chilling take on the lasting consequences of our actions, particularly in the modern world where everything can be shared and commented on.

The only thing I didn't love was the ending, which I felt was left a little bit too open. I just wanted to know EVERYTHING!

An engaging and memorable thriller, with toxic friendships, shocking secrets, and plenty of mystery to get stuck in to. Thank you so much to Aria & Aries and NetGalley for this review copy!

A complex and evocative literary mystery with a keen focus on toxic friendships and how actions and events in youth can shape a person's future life. Told in two timelines, the story has believably complex but essentially unlikeable characters. There is a mystery to be uncovered in each timeline and echoes of the past illuminate the present, but will the main players behave differently with maturity? The characterisation is good with lyrical prose and good use of sensory imagery. It is an immersive read.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

This is one of those 'can't put it down' books. I was hooked from the beginning with such a great story about three friends. Bess, Joni & Evangaline who are friends from school, they go away to Greece together. It was a graduation present from Evangaline's parents for them to stay at the family home in Tinos. All expenses paid & first class flights for ten weeks.
The book goes back & fore from 2018 to 2008 & it tells us about the holiday & the consequences for their & their families lives. Twists & turns throughout that keep you gripped. A recommended read!

Ten years ago, Bess, Joni and Evangeline, three best friends from high school, decide spend the Summer in Greece. However, only two of them return. The story is dual timeline, flicking between what happened ten years ago, and the present day, where Bess opens her front door to find Joni on her doorstep. Joni is involved in another disappearance and she needs Bess to be her alibi.

This book is perfect for summer reading. It has beautifully described locations in Greece where the trio spend their summer and it had me wishing I was abroad, soaking up the sun. I think this book it would make an amazing to show!!

It’s a thriller and I did find it gripping in relation to the disappearances and crime aspect of the story. However, I was much more hooked on the focus on the toxicity of the trios friendships and how the girls navigated the complexities of their friendship.

If you like the sound of this then I would also recommend Penance by Eliza Clark as this book slightly reminded me of that book and they are both very enjoyable!

Thank you to the publishers for sending me a copy of this book!

This book feels perfect for adaption to television; such an enjoyable read and great characters that were really fun to get to know! Loved the exploration of the meaning of friendship and trust. Thanks for sharing.

👙 REVIEW 👙

Before We Were Innocent by Ella Berman

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5

Publishing Date: 13th July 2023

Evangeline, Joni and Bess were best friends through their final years of high school, before taking a long summer trip to Greece to live out their final weeks together before heading to different colleges. But what should have been a summer of sun and friendship can quickly turn sour, as tensions bubble under the surface, leading to the fateful night where only two of the girls return. 10 years later, despite growing apart, Joni and Bess can’t help but find themselves in all too familiar situation…

The story unfolds in a dual timeline, flicking between 2008 and 2018, reliving the summer in Greece, and the events leading up to Evangeline’s death and the lives of Bess and Joni as they come back together. One thing I think this book does really well is portray the intricacies of young female friendships, and how things can quickly turn toxic, especially in a group of three. Although I found some of the choices made by 28 year old Bess to be somewhat unrealistic and naive, I still enjoyed the unfolding of the story, which isn’t typical of me when it comes to mysteries. It was quite a slow burn, and very easy to read so maybe that helped. Overall I’d say I enjoyed this book more than I expected, and would recommend for people who like slower burn mysteries and stories of intricate female friendships.

Wow, what can I say, read this to find out what happened and how the lives of these girls worked out. I am sure you will enjoy this as I have done. 5stars

Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for this ARC

Depictions of friendships between teenage girls always fascinate me, especially when, as in this novel, they are able to capture the power struggles, self-esteem battles, sharp cruelties and shifting loyalties, alongside the mundanity, naïveté and insecurities. There is so much self-consciousness and jealousy in these friendships, so many raw feelings, but also so much love and fierce loyalty. In ‘Before We Were Innocent’, the author manages to capture all of the fluctuations and conflicts that shape a teenage friendship group, and the way that you can only gain clarity in your understanding of these relationships with the distance that growing older brings. There is something so tender in the central friendship, despite the darkness.

The darkness comes from the death of one of the friends and the accusations directed towards the remaining two friends over the circumstances of her death. My favourite feature of the novel was the way the media were portrayed, particularly their treatment of the two teenage girls who were found guilty of partying too much, being too sexually active, having an uncouth sense of humour and generally failing to be ‘polite’ and ‘modest’ in the way that young woman are expected to be. They were not appropriate incarnations of young womanhood and so their private lives and characters were made fair game to the press and to the public, even if they were found not guilty of murder, they were still condemned.

Split between the past and the present ten years later, I found myself much more engaged with the parts of the novel set when they were teenagers. Their adult selves were interesting explorations of how to shape a life after trauma and infamy, and bittersweet reflections on youth and adolescent friendships, but the plot was slightly lacking for me. That being said, I love unique studies of characters and relationships, and this definitely delivered on that front.

Privileged and carefree, freshly graduated from high school and ready to take on the world, best friends Bess, Joni and Evangeline can't wait to spend their final summer before college on an idyllic Greek island. It isn’t long, however, before fissures begin to appear in their friendship, and by the final weeks of their holiday the girls are barely talking. Then Evangeline dies tragically, and Bess and Joni find their deteriorating relationship being reframed as a motive for wanting their friend dead.

Ten years on, Bess is still struggling to put her life back together after everything that happened in Greece when Joni, who has made a career off of their infamy, suddenly reappears in her life. Is she really determined to pull Bess out of her slump or does her reappearance have a much more sinister motivation?

Ella Berman's novel is a readable coming-of-age thriller, which held my interest and, at times, painted a chillingly accurate picture of what it was to be a girl on the cusp of adulthood in the 00s.

The 2008 narrative is by far the more compelling. Eighteen-year-old Bess feels like an authentic teenager, driven by lust, ennui and the battle to navigate the conflicting expectations of her friends, her parents, and the wider world. This shines through in the descriptions of the highs and lows of the girls' holiday, and the author captures vividly the dangerous power of friendship between teenage girls, when your friends love you so much that they have everything they need to utterly destroy you if they choose.

In contrast, I found it much harder to engage with the 2018 timeline, and to empathise with adult Bess. I know the author wanted to establish the two very different paths Bess and Joni's lives have taken over the past decade, but, by making Bess a ghost of her former self, the author also creates a far less compelling character and narrator. Joni, in both timelines, suffers from having her character constantly described and defined by Bess's narration; since much of this is contradictory, it would have been easier to get a clear sense of who she was and what her motivation was if we had been left to infer this from her actions for ourselves. As it is, I never quite got a sense of Joni's true nature and why Bess felt so strongly bonded to her.

Some of the dialogue is overwritten and clichéd, which took me out of the moment, especially in scenes which were clearly intended to be particularly romantic or poignant. Furthermore, the work the author does to build tension feels wasted, as it ultimately dissipates to a fairly lacklustre ending rather than a truly thrilling denouement.

The story has obvious parallels with the Meredith Kercher/Amanda Knox case - everything from the European setting to the time period to the dichotomising of the girls into madonna and whore tropes and the innately misogynistic media coverage - and it was interesting to read a fictionalised take on these elements, although one which felt depressingly realistic for the time in which it is set. The long-term impact of what happened on Bess's family doesn't get much page time, but was one of the most poignant elements of the story.

Ultimately, though I found the book as a whole underwhelming, there is enough about Before We Were Innocent that I enjoyed that I will look out for Ella Berman's next novel with interest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria and Aries for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of this book.

It's a sort of souffle: it started in a great way and then - POUF - it dragged a lot in the last part
Not my cup of tea
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

some of the more interesting things fail to resolve themselves in any kind of meaningful way, which is probably the point but you're sort of reading a murder mystery? it would be useful if the atmosphere was tighter, more contained. but as a story about teenage girls tumbling into adulthood, loss, the world's heightened perception, friendship etc, it works super well.