Title: Things We Never Got Over
Author: Lucy Score
Series: Knockemout
Dates Read: 30/06 – 08/07/2024
Published Date: 13 January 2022
Genre: Romance
Pages: 554
Pace: Medium
Content Warnings (May contain spoilers)
Abandonment, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship.
Who is this for? Adults, Young Adults
Read this book if you’re looking for:
- A “Will they, won’t they?” relationship
- A tale of a small town, and never having any secrets
- A run-away mother and the mystery of where she’s gone
- Building yourself back up after leaving a toxic relationship
- A best friend who supports you through anything, but also tells it to you straight
Format/Disclosure: Library, eBook
Rating: 2.5⭐
Review:
Things We Never Got Over follows Naomi – a runaway bride fleeing to the town of Knockemout, where her twin sister Tina lives. Arriving in town, she finds the townspeople treating her with disdain, or outright hostility, until she realises it’s because they believe she’s Tina, who clearly doesn’t have the greatest reputation. We follow the story of Naomi discovering a niece she never knew about, a bad-boy barber/bar owner who begrudgingly takes her under his wing, and a town of people willing to accept her, no matter who her sister is.
This story alternates between the POV of characters, namely Naomi and Knox, and although we get to see inside their thoughts, I just found both of them to be so boring. Naomi comes across as stuffy and bland (Most likely on purpose, since she’s constantly described as being selfless and putting everyone before herself), while Knox is immature and juvenile, especially for a man in his late 40s. I know there’s a personal gripe there, since Knox very much reminded me of a bad decision in my own life, who mirrors Knox a little too closely. I’ve seen others comment on how fake he seemed, but no.. There are definitely people in the world just like him.
I loved Stefan though – he was probably the saving grace of the entire book, and the main reason I even finished it (Other than spite). I found some of the names confusing and often got people mixed up, but I don’t think I can fully blame the author for that (Although, really, there are some many names in the world – why do so many authors use names that are SO similar?!)
When we’re finally introduced to Tina, my reaction was very much “All of that for.. what?”, especially with the reveal of her boyfriend (Which, come on, we knew he was suspicious from the moment we met him). I think my main frustration was how much Naomi either didn’t seem to notice/fully think about or just downright ignored. She seemed to just stick her head in the sand, and then cried and complained when things went wrong. I mean, yeah? Of course they’re going to go wrong? You saw the issue and then chose to not DO ANYTHING about it.
I’ve never lived in a small town, so I can’t comment on how authentic that seemed, but it did seem to track with what I’ve heard from others. Everyone knows everyone, but they’re also kind (Sometimes only once they’ve accepted you). The initial reactions to Naomi by people who thought she was Tina seemed quite authentic, but my main frustration was how long it seemed to take Naomi to point out that she wasn’t Tina. There were quite a few interactions where she seemed so confused about why people were being rude to her, even though she had already had multiple similar interactions by this point. It doesn’t take a genius to realise it’s because they THINK YOU’RE TINA.
Finishing the book just seemed to fill me with anger, because I still don’t know what the point of the book even was! It just seemed like far too many pages for a mostly non-existent plot. I mean, I assume the blooming relationship between Naomi and Knox was the point, but even that didn’t feel satisfying. Knox purposely shooting himself in the foot and then getting all woe-is-me about it just made me roll my eyes, and not to discredit his backstory, but it seemed to fall flat for me. Naomi’s backstory on the other hand? Yeah, that made me root for her a bit more than I did prior. Smart choice to leave, and I won’t deny that. Preppy McGee can go kick sand, and he deserved the broken nose.
There’s another 2 books in the series, which I had already borrowed and were ready to go, but I’m happy to just return those unread. I need to stop reading booktok books – they’re just not the style I typically reach for.