I really liked the concept of this book (and it's gorgeous cover) but it set up questions that it didn't really answer, spending more time on the teens shifting romantic feelings and less on what these magical parents were really up to in the woods.

If you don't care about the parents, you will probably like this book. There are interesting characters who have cool magical powers and attributes, which we learn more about in informative flashbacks that set the scene for some genuinely creepy backstories. But then...that's about it. Of course the question of where these 5 young people are and why gets answered, but it's never set into the larger context of "WTF is Going ON HERE?" and that bugged me.

So i found it kind of hilarious that the author (who frequently pops in to comment on the story as it's being told) at one point says, "Let me see if I can guess what you could be thinking...Are all of these people just the worst people in the whole wide world? Seriously, why is there not a single likeable character in the bunch? Who am I supposed to the rooting for?"

You said it, not me.

Problem is I actually liked these kids (although I found Hugo insufferable. I get that he has trauma...but man, what a dick.) But I wanted to see them figure stuff out, learn and grow, not just road trip and bitch about each other. It further bummed me out when I read in the author's notes that this was supposed to be an exploration of religious trauma. GREAT IDEA. I would have liked them to do more of that.

So no, I didn't hate this book. I was just frustrated that it went in a direction that (in my opinion) watered down its potential. Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this book because I've read others by H. E. Edgmon. But alas, I stopped reading around the 27% mark. The book had a lot of intriguing ideas, and I liked the mysterious air of the book. I really liked how the characters had unique abilities too. But I couldn't get past the high level of anger that many of the characters carried. I read for escape and enjoyment, and having to read through all of their anger actually made me really anxious, and thus the reading experience wasn't enjoyable. I also really did not like the narration of this book. Ever chapter was told from 3rd person limited, but would switch to a different character every chapter. Then there were all their time jumps to the past to explain the backstories of the characters. The backstories were the most enjoyable part for me because they felt like a real plot. But then the book would jump to the present and whatever was happening in the present was weighed down by a slog of 3rd person internal dialogue. I was uninterested and bored with all of that, and it took away from what was actually happening in the moment. And then, the narration changed to 2nd person, and the narrator was talking directly to the reader, which I was not a fan of. That's when I said, "you know what, I don't have to finish this", and put the book down. There are too many good books out there to struggle through something you're not enjoying. So sorry, H. E. Edgmon, but this book wasn't it for me.

We Can Never Leave
by H.E. Edgmon
Pub Date: Jun 10 2025
Ok, I need to discuss this book with others. I have so many questions, or more aptly, thoughts, tumbling around. This is one of those books after you read the end and know what you know, you want to go back and read with more intention.
Bird, Hugo, Felix, Cal, and Eamon are five teenagers who live with the Caravan, a roaming "village" that takes in "inhumans" like them. Everyone in the Caravan is different and have their own powers. The Caravan is there to protect them, hide them, and teach them about their powers. No one remember who they were or where they came from before they came to the Caravan, that's the one commonality they all have.
Then one morning, after a particularly festive Full Moon celebration, the five teenagers find themselves all alone. The Caravan has disappeared. As they set out to discover the truth of what happened, they embark on a strange adventure of self-discovery filled with secrets and lies.
Interesting read like nothing I've ever read before. This one stays with you and itches your brain. I'm interested to find out what others think.

I'm going to level with you. I read this during the busiest work week of the year, which was a huge mistake on my part. I really do regret that. However, I pushed through and finished this amidst my exhaustion and confusion, but I still sort of have no idea what I read. There were a few quips from the narrator that directly spoke to the reader (me) that completely took me out of the book. I was so confused as to why that was necessary because it didn't really clarify anything for me; I wouldn't have complained if it had actually provided some helpful context, but I was still just as lost *cries in Virgo who must always know what is going on*.

I will try to re-read this via audio when it is out, because I really do love this author and their previous works. However, this was a complete departure from what I'm used to, so I'm still really trying to grasp what I read.

If anyone can explain this book to me like I'm five, I will literally Venmo you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Violence and Trafficking

Sorry, not my cup of tea. The writing felt like it was playing dress-up. It wasn't as deep or interesting as I assume the author was trying for, it was more confusing than anything else. Cringey metaphors and a lot of telling more than showing. Referencing Bird as they was weird for me as a reader. At times it made reading confusing, especially with so many characters to keep track of. Felix's POV was also another weird choice. This was a miss for me. Thanks, Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Full review to come on Goodreads and Amazon. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a review copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for inviting me to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 stars.

It’s giving a mix of “The Wilds” and “The Walking Dead” just on vibes.

It was a very unique plot. I liked the writing style a lot. There were so many lines that I underlined because it was so beautifully written or made me feel so many emotions.

There was less so an actual plot but more so vibes. The story is definitely working toward something, but it’s more character driven than anything. Don’t expect going into this with a riveting plot with tons of action. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a good read, but if you’re expecting something plot heavy this is not that. I was just along for the ride and I loved every second of it!

It was a mystery but not the kind you may think. You are wondering what happened to these characters but it’s moreso getting to know these people and following along on their journey.

I was hooked right away! The banter between the characters was amazing. I was laughing so many times.

The characters were supposed to be unlikeable, but honestly I loved them all. They were flawed but I didn’t dislike any of them. I liked some more than others though.

I loved Eamon. He was my favorite. He was just so endearing and funny without trying to be. There was just something about him that I latched on to right away.

Even though you probably aren’t supposed to like him, I loved Hugo. He was my second favorite. I have a soft spot for ‘angry at the world’ characters like him even though he was quick to anger and gruff. You could tell he was hurting inside. He was straightforward with what you were going to get with him, but also complex at the same time.

Don’t even get me started on the sibling trope. I liked Felix, he didn’t stand out as strongly to me other than being a sweetheart most of the time. But the angst and the love between the two brothers is always my favorite. Give me close siblings and I will eat it up! That was one of my favorite dynamics of the book.

I liked Bird, but they weren’t my favorite. I’m not a huge fan of characters where every single person is obsessed and in love with them for no real reason. We knew a lot about them and I didn’t dislike them by any means, but I didn’t care much for them either. Even though they were, I would say, the main character of the novel.

Even though I really think Cal was made to be unlikeable, I really liked her. I am also a sucker for ‘rough around the edges most people hate them’ women in books, and Cal had that going for her. I wish we could have explored more of Bird and Cal’e relationship.

I liked that all the characters had some strong connection to each other in one way or another. They each had a moment between the two of them, whether it was one or many, that connected them. It wasn’t necessarily found family, but the dynamic between each of them was fascinating.

I thought it was an interesting twist on Bird and Hugo and how they were clearly soulmates, but it would never work out between them for a multitude of reasons. Their whole journey throughout the book was incredible to me, even though I was more interested in the dynamic between Hugo and Eamon. There were so many complexities between these characters, it was exciting to read about.

There were so many scenes in this book that were inherently sexual without being sexual and I was living for it! So many times I gasped at some of the things that was done or said.

I love a good breaking of the fourth wall, which this book had. I personally thought it was well done, though I could see where people may get confused or find it jarring.

The pop culture references threw me off. I don’t know what time period I thought it was, but it didn’t feel like modern day. Maybe because of the fantasy aspects, but I could have done without that. It’s fine for them to have a cell phone, but it didn’t really feel like it was in the era of iPhones, though some of what they said made it seem like it was set in recent years.

It had a jaw dropping sort of ending. It is a little confusing to be honest, but I think I can piece together what happened. We were told the tone of the ending but I still didn’t want it to be true! It very much had an open ending, and while I’d love another book to get more answers, I personally think this is good as a stand alone. The open ending was done appropriately since it’s pretty heavily a mystery and I almost think too many answers would ruin the book.

Some people may be frustrated with the lack of answers, but I think it makes the novel cooler and makes you think a little more. You can come to your own conclusions on what happened.

I highly recommend this, but only if you are prepared for seemingly not much to happen throughout and ready to read about characters you may find unlikeable. What I loved about this book was its uniqueness. I haven’t read much like it.

I didn't like this book. I thought the mystery was too drawn out, with not enough clues to keep me interested. I didn't connect with any of the characters. But if you like eerie, creepy stories, this one might be for you.

The idea for this book sounded really good at first but I don’t think this book was for me, I had to dnf it because it just wasn’t for me. I’m giving this 2 stars for idea behind the book.

Thank you St. Martins Press for providing me this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

DNF @ 37% - 2 stars for a really strong concept

I think I just need to accept that this book is a DNF. At this point I’ve read three books since putting this one down and I’ve had no desire to pick this one back up. Honestly it’s such a shame because this story had such an interesting premise, but it was just not being executed well. I love the idea of group of kids that are basically fantasy creatures trying to solve the sudden and unexplainable disappearance of the rest of their people. The way the author made them half human half mythical beings was well done and seeing their internal struggles to accept either side of them was also very interesting. However, these personal struggles and the personal problems between all of the kids seemed to be completely overtaking the story. I really wanted to get into the plot and see them go on this adventure to get their families back, but instead we just got pages and pages of internal monologue. Based on other reviews this doesn’t seem to get better and the overall plot just kind of gets forgotten. For some books this may be fine, but personally I started finding the main characters incredibly annoying. They were just whining and whining the whole time about everything but never doing anything to fix it. Also, I know this is going to sound bad, but it started feeling like the diversity olympics. You know that meme “diversity final boss” and it’s that drawing of the solo polyamorous hijabi amputee? That’s what this book was. Each character was fighting to be even non-binary, non-cis, non-straight, non-white than the next. I 100% support diversity and it is absolutely necessary to see it in all of our media. These books filled with only straight, cis, white characters are extremely unrealistic and ultimately harmful to our perception of the world. But when that is all your book is about and it is not delivering on the actual plot it promises, then that becomes unrealistic. Identity is important, but people are more than their labels. They have personalities, they have complex relationships with others, they have goals and motivations, and they deserve to be seen as more than their outward appearance. If there was a good balance between these kids exploring their identities and an actual plot, then this wouldn’t be an issue, but as I said, the plot was abandoned.

And oh my god, don’t even get me started on the weird author interjections in some of the chapters. They were all so millennial-coded and I needed to put down the book for a little bit after every one. It was written so childishly that I would almost say this is a middle-grade book if it wasn’t for the few somewhat explicit scenes. There was just a really weird tonal difference from one scene to the next, which greatly disrupted the flow of the story.

Again, there was a really strong base here and the beginning of the book was really interesting, so I’ll give the book credit there, but I realized that what I enjoyed about the story was going nowhere and I needed to give up on it.

I had really high hopes for this book. It had all the checks: queer representation, fantasy, mystery, and a familiar author. However, I felt myself fighting to be engaged. I think the pacing just felt off to me, which made it hard for me to stay in suspense. There wasn’t anything egregiously bad about the book so I’m sure there’s and audience for it. Three stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's | Wednesday Books for eARC! Extra thanks for extending an invitation through e-mail, since I've previously reviewed HE Edgmon.

POV : present and past tense, current day and flashbacks. Third person through Bird, Hugo, Cal, Eamon, Felix, Cassandra. Worth noting is that Felix's bits have a first POV from some unknown narrator (other reviewers think this is the author FWIW). This book is VERY adult, mature, descriptive, flowery (and I am using that in a positive manner, it's just the word that fits for me, I like elaborate sentences and descriptions). Sometimes, though, the cryptic writing is confusing, even after a few re-reads or coming back to it at a later time. However, if you go back and start reading from the beginning after completing the novel, more things certainly make better sense.

"We Can Never Leave" has 30 numbered chapters coupled with 25 Befores, Afters, etc taking place in a plethora of settings: Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, road trip to Washington, California, Boise National Forest, Catskills, Oregon, and around October for the present day parts. It has an open ending, which I like and don't like, because of all of the unanswered questions and the lacking in lore. I wanted more Caravan lore, their origins, how the magic system worked. And I didn't really believe or feel it when Felix says the main cast are his friends since none of them seem to be friendish until the end of the book.

Something that resonated so hard, that I was also unaware of, was the following -- “Reader, did you know it’s a fairly common trauma response to sit in a car and stare out the window and imagine someone running next to you? Kids trapped in cars with their parents for long stretches of time, feeling uncomfortable or even unsafe, nowhere to hide and nothing to distract them, are prone to inventing these unknown protectors. Felix has spent an enormous chunk of his life doing exactly that. It wouldn’t surprise him if that was what Cal was doing now, dissociating herself some guardian angel that might protect her from the tension in the RV.” I did that. What ran beside my rides were two unicorns, one male and one female, sometimes together, sometimes one over the other.

The 'they' pronouns were sometimes difficult to follow for my cis-gendered forty year-old brain. Doesn't mean the book is impossible to read, nor am I rallying to stop including them, I'm simply throwing it out there in case others relate.

And I will never not be annoyed about naïve being spelled incorrectly, especially since the author did cliché with the accent. o_0

If you like your fantasy to be mainly character driven as opposed to plot, you might love it. It does feature multiple POV + flashbacks, found family, and queer characters!

This one probably just wasn't for me. The majority of the book is written as the different POV arguing with each other, and each POV sorta blended with the last. They are all rather unlikeable, and honestly, I think they all hate each other as well. There was essentially no plot, just a long journey and lots of tension from the constant arguing. I wanted to love this one, but it's just not my preferred type of fantasy. I truly appreciate the opportunity to read and review!

Thank you so much to the publisher for the digital review copy!

What a story! I have to admit, the ending was not what I expected, in the best way. I had no idea it would turn out like that and I’m still left curious what happens next for the characters. They all go on this big journey when everyone they know disappear. The world is basically silent for them and it was very eerie to read. It’s based on tales from an indigenous tribe and it was very cool to experience the tale for myself. I do love stories pulled from indigenous tribes, as it gives another perspective on the world.

To add some critique, I wasn’t a large fan of when we got the narrators point of view. It felt like breaking the fourth wall and it took me out of the story a bit. I was also super confused at the start and had to read the first chapter a few times to get my bearings.

Overall, it was a good story and the ending really brought it together for me!

4/5 stars for mystery, abilities, and friendship!

**Thank you to NetGalley for a review copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

H.E. Edgmon’s We Can Never Leave is a hauntingly beautiful exploration of identity, trauma, and the fight for freedom, wrapped in a chillingly immersive fantasy. With a richly constructed world and deeply complex characters, the story delves into the challenges of breaking free from oppressive systems while navigating the scars they leave behind. Edgmon’s raw, emotional prose grips readers, weaving magic and reality in equal measure. A must-read for fans of dark fantasy with deeply personal stakes.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperCollins for accepting my request for an ACR of this book!
The two of them can always come back. But they can never go home.
2.75/5
To start this review off, I was lucky enough to have this ebook be dropped into my shelf on Netgalley, I don’t know how I was able to get this book but it was on my tbr so I’m not complaining. To the book itself, I felt the allegory of religious abuse was done very well, and the narrator was a great added touch to the story. My biggest issue with the book though, was its layout. I mention this because there would be character and time jumps to past and present, now the problem with this for me is that I felt like as the reader, I didn’t get to really know the characters well because there was a lot of talking but not so much background on the characters in their chapters. With that being said, I loved, LOVED the idea of the mutations in the story whether that was more allegory or there for the fantasy/sci fi aspect is up to the reader, but with that I couldn’t keep track of what mutation some of the characters had, which made me quite sad. The worldbuilding was alright in my opinion, because it kept going back and forth between the time differences. I found it difficult to remember what was when. Overall, I do agree with the sweet tooth inspiration in the story and if you have seen the show, read this book.

3.75/5 stars (rounded up on my star rating since we can’t do quarters).

I liked it, but I think at times it got a bit convoluted. I wish there was a bit more focus on the POV instead of bouncing around. This is more of an editor thing than anything else. The prose was very pretty but because it jumped around I got lost a lot. I think with a bit more editing this could have been even better, but the foundation is stunning!

I'm incredibly thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy! It was an interesting read from the start to the finish. It was also a book that I was happy to read throughout the day.

It took some time to develop a fondness and understanding of the characters. The mystery surrounding each, specifically the boys, kept me hooked. I also loved the twist in the book. It was pretty well-established too and made sense for the narrative. Even some of the lesser developed areas of the book (the caravan's rules and how people join) could be explained by looking through the perspective of Felix and the other teenagers. They don't know much so we don't know much. However, some of the chapters from Charlotte's perspective could've explained this in greater detail.

My main issues with the book was the constant interruptions from the author / narrator by addressing the "reader." It completely took me out of the narrative. I didn't think it was necessary to explain the nuance and subtext. While much of the flowery and fanciful descriptions were nice in theory, some just made me confused. Like saying you can stuff emotions into your pocket then saying you should box them away in the next line. I would need to read some multiple times to understand them better. I also think that some of the pop culture references will probably date this book, too. Using "nepo-babying" as a verb or referencing Taylor Swift were ones that stick out.

I just do not think that this book was for me. The writing was good, but I got very lost in all of the points of views. It was bouncing from character to character every chapter and it got mixed up for me. I thought they all had good thoughts and complexities to them, but it felt very difficult to concentrate on each person and the overarching plot. I found myself skimming often, and could not invest myself into the book like I initially thought I would be able to. The idea was really good, I loved the outcasts, but I felt like it got too mixed up in the end.

I appreciate the publisher reaching out to me in exchange for an honest review.

We Can Never Leave was the first book I've read by H.E. Edgmon. The story was so well written, and the characters were well developed. There were aspects about nearly every character that really resonated with me. This was such a great read, and I didn't want the story to end. I loved the author's storytelling, and I can't wait to check out the author's other books.