Monica Murphy

"Katie Watts was almost thirteen when she was kidnapped at an amusement park. Held captive for days, she's finally rescued by her captor's teenage son, Will, who's been subjected to his father's mental and physical abuse for years. In the aftermath, Katie was sent into seclusion with her family, and Will was shipped off to one foster home after another, completely disappearing from her life. Fast forward to present day and Katherine is ready to tell her story on primetime news. She believed talking about it would help purge all the self hatred and devastation once and for all. But she was wrong"--

Never Tear Us Apart

The first novel in this darkly sexy contemporary series from bestselling author Monica Murphy kicks off an emotionally powerful two-part tale of forbidden love. Crazy how eight years can disappear in an instant. One look at Katie Watts, and I’m a fifteen-year-old again—the one who risked everything to save a terrified girl from her twisted kidnapper. She’s grown-up now—beautiful, quiet, composed—and telling her story to the world. A story that involves me in more ways than you can imagine. She used to call me her guardian angel. Sure, I risked my life, but she was worth dying for. I need to make contact with her. Just to ensure that she’s safe. Somehow we reconnect. We become friends . . . but I want more. I want to make her mine. And she wants me too. Does she know who I am? Has she figured me out? Not yet. But she will. In the meantime, I need to make sure that whatever hold that animal had on her is gone. So, yeah, I’m stealing these moments with her. Savoring them. Knowing, dreading, that she’ll soon find out who I really am. And everything will fall apart. All because of that twisted, perverted monster sitting on death row. Her kidnapper. A convicted serial killer. My father. Praise for Never Tear Us Apart “All the best parts of romance and betrayal . . . I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.”—New York Times bestselling author Jay Crownover “A powerful story that left me raw yet hopeful.”—USA Today bestselling author K. A. Tucker “A powerful story of friendship, trauma, coping and betrayal. The characters jump off the page into real life and will have readers gasping and feeling every emotion that they go through. Another amazing book to add to Murphy’s already stellar library!”—RT Book Reviews (4 1/2 stars) “Murphy has written a compelling and emotional love story of two severely broken people, each of whom can be healed only by the other.”—Booklist “Murphy imbues these characters with genuineness and plausibility. . . . [Readers] will look forward to the promised sequel.”—Publishers Weekly “It’s poetic, addresses difficult themes, and captures the essence of our fragility as humans and the strength love provides.”—Heroes and Heartbreakers “Beautiful, poignant, and perfectly written . . . It’s a book that burrows into your very heart and grabs hold. A book that’s different yet unforgettable.”—Dirty Girl Romance

Camila 

Really, really liked this. I didn't read the preview so I didn't expect this kind of story, I have read only 1 of the sagas of MM but I enjoyed, they were light and fast to read so when I saw this I purchased it right away because I was bored .
This story wasn't light at all, it has a really dark subject, but I think it was well handled . There were aspects of NA of course, but that made the dark part have a little of light
I hated the cliff hanger, as I said I knew nothing about this book so I thought it was a stand alone, IT ISNT and now I'm in pain , I gotta know what happens next (even if it's kinda obvious) 
Really nice 7/10 would recommend :) (but have in mind that this deals with kidnapping, rape and a few more dark things)

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As a fan of many of Monica Murphy’s previous books, I was really excited to learn she was going to be tackling something a little darker in Never Tear Us Apart. I was really anxious to see what she would do with the story and these characters and I gotta say, I’m really impressed. 

Never Tear Us Apart won’t be for everyone. I’m extremely open-minded when it comes to my reading but, I have to be honest, I was a little uncomfortable with the subject matter when I first started reading it. You know from the blurb that this book is about a woman who was kidnapped as a child. Despicable things happened to her. And while the book is told from both the perspective of Katie then and now, there’s no vivid description of the horrific things she dealt with. Sure, we have a very good idea of the things that happen and that alone is hard enough to read at times, so if this sounds like it might be a trigger for you, then I would avoid this book. If you can set that aside and read, knowing that the character makes it through and begins to truly put herself back together during the course of this book, then you should definitely pick this up. 

Ok, now that I’ve gotten that out of the way… This was an excellent book. My heart broke for Katie. No one should have to endure the things she has. Her life might not have been totally full but the fact that she was upright at all is impressive. Ethan and Katie’s lives were tied together by the actions of his lunatic father, Katie’s captor, rapist and tormentor. While I have to be honest and say sometimes Ethan’s fixation on Katie was a little off-putting, I also understood. They were linked. Her pain was his as well. They didn’t have long together as kids, but he saved her… and, in a way, himself. The feelings there were strong, even years later and without Katie knowing their shared past when they came face-to-face again. 

Never Tear Us Apart was riveting. It played on my emotions and pulled at my heartstrings and I literally couldn’t put it down once I started reading. I had to know how the truth would come out (because I knew it would eventually and that it wouldn’t be great when it did) and what the ultimate fall out would be. Would Katie be able to understand why Ethan kept this secret from her? Would she be able to forgive him? Could they make a beautiful future together despite the ugliness in their past? I got some answers in this book, but now I can go back to impatiently waiting for the sequel Never Let You Go. I’m gonna need it, like, yesterday. For reals. 

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Lacey

Originally posted at Booklovers For Life

Oh. My. God. What an emotional read! This story is one of the most intriguing I’ve ever read, and it’s nothing like what Monica Murphy has previously written. It’s intense. Gritty. Raw. Captivating. Heartbreaking. It’s a story of innocence lost and hearts reconnecting. I’m pretty stunned at what Monica Murphy has created in Katie and Ethan’s story – this might be my favorite book of hers yet.

But I’m none of those things. Confident. Strong. Carefree. Those words belong to the old me. Once innocence is lost, you can never get it back. That’s my problem. I lost my innocence at the age of twelve, far too early. And the man who stole it from me will haunt me forever.

Eight years ago, when Katie Watts was twelve, she was kidnapped and raped by a serial killer. She’s a survivor, but for the past eight years, she’s lived in silence, a shell of herself, but no longer. Now, hoping to free herself of her past, she’s ready to tell her story of her abduction, and of the boy who saved her – her hero, her guardian angel… her kidnapper/rapist’s son.

Will Monroe, now Ethan Williams, has never forgotten the girl he saved. She haunts his dreams as his father haunts his nightmares, and now that Ethan has found Katie again, he can’t walk away from her a second time. The powerful connection that existed when they met all those years ago has never truly gone away, and Ethan is now compelled to be there for Katie, to be her hero and savior once more. The only problem is that when Ethan enters Katie’s life again, he doesn’t tell her the truth of who he is and hides behind his Ethan persona. So what happens when past is dying to be free and Ethan can’t hide who he is anymore?

I wanted her, body and soul, as much a part of me as breathing.

If you’re worried about how Monica Murphy portrays Katie’s kidnapping and rape, don’t be. The author does not romanticize what happens to Katie. She doesn’t write it in some gentler light, but neither does she go into all the details, all of which I appreciated.

Never Tear Us Apart is brilliantly written, told in Katie and Ethan’s past and present POVs. Monica Murphy had me feeling like I was experiencing every heart-wrenching feeling right alongside these characters. What was interesting to me was that the past wasn’t told in a consecutive timeline, and instead jumped around a bit, which threw me off sometimes. Ethan did weird me out in the beginning when he got a little too intense with his feelings for Katie, but otherwise, I was hooked onto this unputdownable story. It wasn’t perfect, but it’s different, and if you’re looking for something intriguing and unique, I highly recommend this book. Be forewarned though, this is a two-book series, so Never Tear Us Apart does end in a cliffhanger, but the cliffie is definitely worth the read.

Thanks to the publisher for generously providing me an ARC to review.

Quotes are taken from the ARC and are subject to change in the final version.

Amazon Ebook: http://amzn.to/1LjLTys
Amazon Paperback: http://amzn.to/1KsPRnx
Audible: http://amzn.to/1kEo1KY

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