Never Let You Go written by Caleb Crowe had me in a CHOKE HOLD. I will say that the first one hundred or so pages started off really slow for me, but then it started picking up pace and started getting really interesting, so of course I couldn't stop reading. I honestly wasn't expecting all of the twists and turns this book was taking me in the direction of, but oh my gosh, I was completely shell shocked and terrified. I have never read anything written by Caleb Crowe before reading Never Let You Go, but after being pleasantly surprised, I will definitely go back and read this author's previous works. I can't really describe my emotions unless you read this book because they were all over the place, I screamed, I was angry, I was livid, it was just a wild roller coaster ride of emotions. Ladies and gentlemen, get your popcorn popped and read this thrilling thriller. I can't recommend this book enough, if you are looking for your next dark twisted thriller, go grab your copy immediately or mark your calendars for January 26th, 2025 because you will NOT want to miss out on this book. I will say that Never Let You Go does deal with heavy topics, so please be careful and read at your own pace, or check my review below for trigger warning's. BRAVO CALEB CROWE!!!!!!!

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND INKUBATOR BOOKS FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!

TRIGGER WARNING'S
Child Abuse
Intentional Murder
Physical Abuse
Mental Abuse

"I'm sorry I lost you. Now we have found each other, I'll never let you go".

"People think our universe is like a balloon, expanding in all directions, containing everything that's ever existed".

"We are like two planets, both with their own distinct orbits, but destined to pass each other again".

"You saved me", he says. "As much as I saved you from the fire, you saved me".

Never Let You Go goes back and forth between past and present of ten years ago and ten years later in the present. Ten years ago, seventeen year old Ariana Simpson, whose real name is Tracey Jones, which she absolutely hates runs away from her foster home and meets a new family. Ariana has been a foster child for most of her life because her birth mom died in prison, she has no living family that she knows about, and she has no idea who her real dad is. Rob and Julie is Ariana's foster parents that she ran away from because Rob stole her money that was for a ticket to an Ariana Grande concert, and Ariana's last straw with these two people, well because Rob was psychically abusive towards Ariana. After running away, Ariana meets her next foster family with Vivian and Jeffrey Willens and their two children that Ariana will babysit for and make money. Vivian and Jeffery have a twelve year old son Daniel, and a thirteen year old daughter Poppy. Daniel and Ariana instantly bond over being two damaged orphans being kicked around the foster system. One night there's a fire and Ariana and Daniel are the only two remaining survivors.

Ten years later after the fire, Ariana meets and marries Henry Clough and she becomes Ariana Clough. Fast forward into their marriage, Henry dies after being struck by a vehicle in their front yard. Henry was forty-five years old and Ariana is now twenty-seven years old. When Henry and Ariana met, she was seventeen and he was thirty-five years old. Henry came along at an extremely tough time in Ariana's life and rescued her. Henry owned an art gallery in London, but after his passing Henry left Ariana with so much debt. Ten years later, Daniel shows up to Henry's funeral when he meets Ariana again after she promised him ten years ago that she will always protect him now and forever. When Daniel and Ariana reconnect Daniel is covered in burn scars and skin grafts meanwhile Ariana only has burn scars covering her hands. Daniel decides to help Ariana out at the art gallery and reconnect with each other, but boy do things go downhill. Daniel says his scars are his membership to the club of fuck you to everything. Even ten years later Daniel is the type of person who always has an answer for literally everything. If you want to know more about their troubled pasts, please read this book immediately.

British author of the smashing debut, The Girl in the Painting, Caleb Crowe, returns with another twisty psychological thriller of obsession, NEVER LET YOU GO, where 'obsession has no expiration date.'

About...

Ariana's journey is one of resilience and survival. She runs away from her foster home at age 17, with no place to go, and lands a job at the Willens house, looking after Daniel, age 12. Her character development is strong, and you can't help but feel connected to her plight.

Daniel seems brilliant, and Ariana feels sorry for him. She thinks the dad is abusive and violent and worries for the boy, and the mother drinks a lot.

Then Ariana begins dating Henry, who runs an art gallery. He has paintings from a famous artist. She does not want him to know about her poor past, but she desperately wants to escape this family. How will she protect Daniel?

Later, something happened to Henry, and she had to try to keep the art gallery afloat as a widow.

Then Daniel comes back into her life. There was a fire. He has scars. He seems clever and always has an answer to her problems. Can she trust him? She wants to help him.

But is Daniel as innocent as he appears?
Is he obsessed with her, and how far will he go?
What happened years ago, including the fire?
Can Ariana escape the demons of her past?
She finds herself in the middle of a nightmare.

My thoughts...

I am so happy Crowe is back with a thriller in line with his debut, The Girl in the Painting (top books of my 2023 list), and I love the art connections. Unfortunately, I did not care for his last book, The Wrong Neighbour (some books are not for everyone); however, NEVER LET YOU GO is more my style and another 5 Stars.

The author keeps you guessing with an unreliable narrator and a woman caught up in a desperate situation with nowhere to go. She is manipulated and has no clue about the twisted dark web of deceit and lies she is involved in until it may be too late.

I enjoyed how some of the clever chapters began with the same few words from the previous chapter. Loved Ariana's character.

With dual timelines, NEVER LET YOU GO is an artfully crafted, sinister, wickedly smart thriller that keeps you glued to the pages. With complex characters, the past and present converge, and the suspense builds, leading to a shocking twist that will leave you reeling.

Recs...

NEVER LET YOU GO is for fans of the author and those who enjoy works by Daniel Hurst, Emily Shiner, Miranda Rijks, Kaira Rouda, and Freida McFadden.

Thanks to Inkubator Books for a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
My Rating: 5 Stars
Pub Date: Jan 26, 2025
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Rounding up from 4.5 stars

This domestic thriller was suspenseful in all the right places. While I came to figure out the truth behind the crimes much earlier than I would have expected, I was not let down by this novel. This is my first read by Caleb Crowe and while there was no twist, he kept the pacing of the book going all throughout. He nicely blended the past with the present day so that eventually I didn't even notice. It all just merged into one complete story. I couldn't stop reading and found myself feeling very content with the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and Incubator Books. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you Netgalley for my copy.

This was a good story and an okay thriller. The reason why I make the point of saying it like that is for me, this was a 4⭐ read but it lacked a few things it needs that would really make it a thriller as it's touted.

Some thing(s) I liked:
✅The difference between Tracey's and Arianna's dialect.
✅The way the last sentence of a chapter linked with the first sentence of the next was a bit cheesy but I liked it. I kinda missed it when it stopped 3/4 way through.
✅My heart melted when Tracey found the twix in her jacket pocket.
✅Arianna grows on you.

Some thing(s), not so much:
⭕Tracey behaves like a 7 year old, not a 17 year old and it's really off putting.
⭕Daniel was obviously obsessed with Arianna and she clearly knew it but strung him along like a love sick puppy and it was just sad but also disgusting to watch.

Looking forward to read more Crowe.

When 17-year-old Ariana runs away from her foster home she finds herself living with the Willens family and looking after Daniel, their 12-year-old son. Daniel is sensitive and brilliant - the most brilliant person Ariana has ever met. The two of them forge an extraordinary bond – and Ariana vows she will protect Daniel, now and forever. But then their lives are torn apart by a horrifying tragedy. Forcibly separated, they do not see each other for ten years. Now Daniel has come back into Ariana’s life and the dark secrets they share begin to surface, threatening to destroy everything she has built for herself.

5⭐ Caleb Crowe just earned a spot on my must-read author list. I was hooked from the beginning and loved every second of this thriller. Don't get lulled into thinking you know what's coming. You don't. Save this for a night when you don't have to wake up in the morning! 🙂

I received an advanced complimentary digital copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

I love reading mystery thrillers particularly when the main characters are not sure who to trust among the other characters.
How I wished that the author had provided some background about why the main character Ariana behave in the way that she does. This book is definitely a page turner and I will be sure to check more books from this author in the future.

Thank you, Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Ariana is a troubled kid with a troubled past and runs away from her foster home at 17 years old. Daniel is someone she knows back then when Ariana used to babysit him when he was 12, and he had a horrible home life too. They have a bond 2gether of lots of dark secrets, and they reconnect after bein apart for 10 long years. Ariana made a life for herself at 27 until it came crashing down, and she reconnected with Daniel. When ur reading this, u 4get that it is a thriller that has u captured from beginning to end with so many twists and turns. The way the past flows to the present is so creative. Wow, the ending has me in a chokehold. This was a very good book.

I was given a copy by the publisher via NetGalley (Thank U), and all my opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator books for the ARC of Never Let You Go by Caleb Crowe. This was the first book I read from Caleb Crowe and I am looking forward to reading more of his work! This book was perfectly written. I loved how phrases from the end of the chapter perfectly correlated to the beginning of the next chapter and tied the past and present together effortlessly. It was intense and kept me enthralled throughout the entire book, never quite expecting what was going to happen or what the ultimate outcome would be!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Remember Release Date January 26th!! 🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛
Caleb Crowe Author is an evil genius (or would that be bloody brilliant?) 😉 FYI, those of you looking for the books with short chapters, this has them.

I figured many things out long before the female lead character. Normally that would frustrate me and make me want to reach through the pages and slap the girl. Ariana was likable and I found myself inexplicably still rooting for her. I have so much to say about the male character Daniel, but that could get me into dangerous spoiler territory.

Although, I saw some of the twists coming, I still very much enjoyed the stories journey to and through the twists. There were some nice surprises I didn’t see blended in there too.

I have always hated when a stand-alone story wraps up with areas that have no definitive answers. It leaves me anxious, twitchy, and unsettled. I like the neat bow, that’s just me. Caleb Crowe managed to deliver an epilogue that left at least one looming question, but somehow still satisfied me.

Thank you to Caleb Crowe, Inkubator Books, and NetGalley for this great ARC.

This was a strong psychological thriller novel, it had that feel that I was looking for and enjoyed from previous works of Caleb Crowe. Caleb Crowe continues to write a strong story and characters that I cared about. I was on the edge of my seat when reading this and thought the conclusion worked well.

My first book by Caleb Crow and it will not be the last! Hooked from the first pages. The story flowed well. The end and beginning of the chapters ended and started with the same words, I loved this! So many twists that you don’t know where you are going but you are loving getting there. Fantastic book. Well worth the read. I gave this 4 1/2 stars.

And Mr Crowe does it again!

I was looking forward to reading Never Let You Go as soon as I learned of its existence, and I was not disappointed.

I was wondering where the story was leading at first, then I’m drawn in to Daniel and Ariana’s story and didn’t want to stop reading until the end.

Love, adoration, bonding, obsession, stalking and revenge are all present. Oh… and murder, of course!

Thank you Caleb Crowe and NetGalley for the ARC.

Took me a hot minute to get into this book and I really don't know why I think it was definitely a me thing. However once I did get into it I enjoyed it

Unfortunately I couldn't engage with the ploy or characters. I can see why this author's books are popular but I don't think they're for me after trying two books.

Never let you go, by Caleb Crowe almost never let me put it down. The book was compelling and kept me wondering what was going on throughout. Ariana, a young 17-year-old girl having gone through foster care finally found a place. she thought she belonged, caring for two children as an au pair. Daniel a 12-year-old boy staying in the home where Ariana thought she made a connection, and may have found a place she belonged. However, things don’t always turn out the way you envision them.

First off, I absolutely loved the writing style of this book and how it seamlessly connects the past and the present. The story flows so smoothly, and it’s incredibly gripping!

Usually, when I guess the plot of a book early on, I struggle to rate it higher than 3 stars. But with this book, even though I predicted the plot from the beginning, it kept me hooked until the very end. I couldn’t stop turning the pages—it was such a fantastic story and an unforgettable reading experience.

First, and foremost, a huge thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This is my first book by Caleb Crowe and absolutely will NOT be my last. Well developed characters with a compelling plot that had me staying up to finish the book. It spans 10 years ago and the present, and you see how the child from 10 years ago grew up. Each chapter ends with an exact tie in to the next chapter, whether it's past or present. That's something I really enjoyed and haven't seen before in a novel.

When people die 10 years ago, and the house burns down, it's assumed one person did the deeds. But, did they? 10 years later, similar to the past, people die or mysteriously disappear. It can't be the same person, can it? What if it is? The twists were satisfying and well executed. I highly recommend this book, and now you'll find me reading all of the his others.

I received an ARC copy, and this is my honest, unbiased opinion. I really enjoy a thriller that focuses on character development, and Caleb Crowe delivers. I liked how the first quarter of the novel carefully laid out little clues, backstory, and buildup into Ariana’s and Daniel’s personalities and experiences. I found that Daniel’s mental health was written realistically and thoughtfully. The pacing was good, and the twists and turns were great. The ending felt a little lacking, but all in all, I give this a 4.5-star rating.

Such a good story. I started on the 11th and finished it 3 days later. It would have been finished even sooner had I not had other books going at the same time. Although I did have some things figured out, I was not prepared for everything. This is one of those books that just grips you from the beginning and doesn't let you go 😉

I really enjoyed this book!! It held my interest and I did not want to put the book down. I have read Crowe's other books and I am a big fan of his character development and how he tells the story. I enjoyed the dual time lines and twists in this particular story. Ariana and Daniel are both troubled individuals, but Crowe does a great job of still making them likeable in this story. Without giving away any spoilers, the layers to Daniel's character and issues are very well done. I had some mixed opinions on the ending which left me with a 4.5 star review for this book.

Thank you to NetGallery and Inkubator books for allowing me to be an ARC reader of this book. I will definitely continue to recommend this book.