Month: April 2014

REVIEW – DON’T LOOK BACK by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Posted April 27, 2014 by Emma in Blog / 24 Comments

Don’t Look Back 
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publisher – Hodder & Stoughton
Release Date – April 10th 2014
Buy – Amazon | Book Depository 

My breath caught and I dropped the letter, scuttling back on the bed. Heart racing, I closed my eyes, but I could still see the words…

Samantha Franco has the perfect life. Until, that is, she and her best friend Cassie disappear and only
Samantha resurfaces… with no knowledge of what happened.

And Cassie stays missing. Gradually, Samantha begins to piece together her memories of that night. If she can do that, she may yet be able to save her friend. And, little by little, something begins to emerge…

Then she gets the note.

Don’t look back. You won’t like what you find.

Jennifer has a unique way of writing and you can certainly see why she is New York Times’s #1 Bestselling Author. I was a little afraid because of the diverse and different change to the subject of her writing. I guess I’m used to her paranormal romances of the Lux series and The Dark Elements series, but a suspense thriller was another genre that I can say passes with flying colours.

Previously I’ve read thrillers like Fracture by Megan Miranda or The Killing Woods by Lucy Christopher, and for me this isn’t a genre that I rarely read. It happens to be one that I have to have my detective cap on and get those little grey cells working. Don’t Look Back, immerses you immediately into the adrenaline fuelled mind of  a young girl named Samantha forced to realise that she doesn’t know who she, where she is and above all what has happened to her or her ‘best friend’ Cassie. Despite it being about the mystery of losing her memory and only regaining feelings and partial flashbacks, I felt this book held another ulterior motive…a second chance.

Samantha was a right b**** (I’m being very polite… but yes she was one) she was brought up on money and she should act, wear and be the money whether she’s at school, dating the latest baseball champion or having followers (friends) of her very nature. Personally if I knew her, I doubt I would like her very much. But this Samantha 2.0 lets say, is a lot to be forgiven for. It’s a new chance, a new life and furthermore a chance to rekindle old flames and friends of her childhood. As you progressed through the novel at first it was Sammy’s mind and how it worked in mysterious natures, one minute she was fine and the next she seeing herself in a whole new darkness rather than light. The fascination that she is learning to fix her mistakes with friends and family and to be able to be the person that this new Samantha wants her to be.

The other half of the novel works with the man (talking hypothetically, of course) behind the murder of Cassie and the attempted murder and suspense over Sammy’s condition. I mean it really kick’s off and I’m forever turning the pages trying to solve the culprit… The ending or the last 100 pages is crazy and one of a deeply shocking nature. I can say that I had a hunch and at the end I said ‘I KNEW IT’ when you put all the pieces together. What was clever of JLA was that she hinted it in the beginning which nagged at me for like 5 minutes before other aspects of the novel stole my attention instead.

It’s hard not to mention the characters, because despite the thrill of the chase, the undercurrent of romance was most definitely in the air, let just say old flames re-connecting… Scott, the macho, protecting brother that we should all love, Julie, her true friend since the age of 11, Carson, her childhood best friend and *cough* other elements of a growing friendship. The only element of her family that I truly detested with a passion was her mother, I mean if she thinks an alcoholic stay-at-home mom, alongside being the hierarchy of her fellowship of her friends, and thinking her own daughter is crazy, then she needs her head to be tested.

Despite being a rather, long review even by my standards, this mystery novel surly deserves. I didn’t think JLA could possibly prevail from her other novels/series. A perfect standalone, and I think she could possibly do a e-novella from Carson’s POV. I think that would be rather interesting to read. A wonderful, adrenaline fueled novel from a first class author.

Rating – 5

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“WISH YOU WERE HERE” with Jennifer E. Smith

Posted April 23, 2014 by Emma in Blog / 12 Comments
“WISH YOU WERE HERE” with Jennifer E. Smith

Dear Readers, I have a special post lined up for today. After reading and reviewing The Geography of You and Me by Jennifer E. Smith I was deeply moved and fascinated by the use of Postcards as a way of keeping up in touch with each other. It’s such an original and refreshing concept that I had to ask Jennifer about it. In this post you will see how Postcards was an inspiration for me and my childhood til now and how it made this novel into a Global Love Story.                    […]

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REVIEW – THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME by Jennifer E. Smith

Posted April 21, 2014 by Emma in Blog / 21 Comments
REVIEW – THE GEOGRAPHY OF YOU AND ME by Jennifer E. Smith

The Geography of You and Meby Jennifer E. SmithPublisher – HeadlineRelease Date – April 10th 2014Buy – Amazon | Book Depository Owen lives in the basement. Lucy lives on the 24th floor. But when the power goes out in the midst of a New York heatwave, they find themselves together for the first time: stuck in a lift between the 10th and 11th floors. As they await help, they start talking…The brief time they spend together leaves a mark. And as their lives take them to Edinburgh and San Francisco, to Prague and to Portland they can’t shake the memory […]

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REVIEW – STORM by Brigid Kemmerer

Posted April 16, 2014 by Emma in Blog / 18 Comments
REVIEW – STORM by Brigid Kemmerer

Storm (Elemental #1)by Brigid KemmererPublisher – Much-in-LittleRelease Date – April 17th 2014 (UK) Buy – Amazon | Book Depository WEATHER WARNING Secrets are hard to keep when your life’s at stake. Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys; all the ones she doesn’t want. When she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot, everything is about to change. Chris is different from the guys at school… really different. He can control water just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. The brothers are powerful and dangerous. And now that Becca knows the truth, […]

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RELEASE DAY LAUNCH – DON’T LOOK BACK by Jennifer L. Armentrout!

Posted April 15, 2014 by Emma in Blog / 5 Comments
RELEASE DAY LAUNCH – DON’T LOOK BACK by Jennifer L. Armentrout!

Well I got a surprise to say I’m part of the release day launch of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s  new YA Suspense novel, Don’t Look Back. I’m delighted to be a part of this and today I share with you an excerpt of what’s to come. I will be reviewing my copy in the next couple of week so be sure to stay tuned for that.  Found this cover on Jennifer’s website…  Don’t Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout Release Date – April 15th (US) Publisher – Disney-Hyperion Buy – Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes Samantha is a stranger in […]

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REVIEW – RINGER by C.J. Duggan

Posted April 6, 2014 by Emma in Blog / 10 Comments
REVIEW – RINGER by C.J. Duggan

I’m very pleased today to be a part of the exclusive Ringer Blog Tour on the behalf of C.J. Duggan herself. My post is a little late due to having a rather busy week, but better late than never right! 🙂 I absolutely adore this series, I have reviewed every single one so if you would like to read them from the very beginning, please do so. The Boys of Summer #1, An Endless Summer #2, That One Summer #3, and now Ringer, a novella #3.5, with further ado her is my review. Ringer (Summer #3.5)by C.J DugganRelease Date – […]

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