Review: Don't Look Back

Hi. I'm very calm right now. Especially considering I just finished Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout and MY EMOTIONS.

But first, I will give you all the important information. So you can go buy this book and read it too.

Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Publication date: April 15, 2014
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Format: Hardcover
Source: Me
Pages: 369


Samantha is a stranger in her own life. Until the night she disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, everyone said Sam had it all-popularity, wealth, and a dream boyfriend. 

Sam has resurfaced, but she has no recollection of who she was or what happened to her that night. As she tries to piece together her life from before, she realizes it's one she no longer wants any part of. The old Sam took "mean girl" to a whole new level, and it's clear she and Cassie were more like best enemies. Sam is pretty sure that losing her memories is like winning the lottery. She's getting a second chance at being a better daughter, sister, and friend, and she's falling hard for Carson Ortiz, a boy who has always looked out for her-even if the old Sam treated him like trash. 

But Cassie is still missing, and the facts about what happened to her that night isn't just buried deep inside of Sam's memory-someone else knows, someone who wants to make sure Sam stays quiet. All Sam wants is the truth, and if she can unlock her clouded memories of that fateful night, she can finally move on. But what if not remembering is the only thing keeping Sam alive?

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Pretty much the only thing that bothered me a little were the many smoldering-eye-contact/kissing-but-not-kissing/definitely-kissing moments in the romance. It just made me a little uncomfortable and also at some points made me think it was going in a direction that I didn't want it to go aka cliche. 

It never went to that point. But it had me worried a few times. :D

Now that I've got pretty much the only negative thing (in my opinion) out of the way, we can look at the awesomeness of everything else.

The people were amazing. They were amazing because they were real. Everybody has flaws, pain, coping mechanisms... in Don't Look Back I could see that. There were some characters that were a little cliche, but I didn't bother me too much because 1) they were only a little cliche and 2) they were secondary characters.

My favorite people were Sam and her twin brother Scott.

One of the reasons I really liked them and their relationship is because of the huge switch from before Sam's "incident" to after. Sam was a cut-throat high school queen and then she is a really nice person. It was really neat how much she couldn't believe that that was how she used to be.

It confused the heck out of the remaining mean girls (I loved the confusion)-- it confused the heck out of everybody. I loved the Sam I got to know-- strong, caring, impatient -- and I loved watching the other characters get to know her again, whether they liked the changes or not.

And even though the romance was probably meant to be the highlight relationship of the book, my favorite was the way that, after Sam and Scott got know each other, they were close and stood up for each other. It was like neither of them knew it, but both of them had just been waiting before for a chance to be close.

I JUST REALLY LIKED THEM.

I had my doubts about Carson, the one she's "falling hard for", because almost everything about him screamed the classic quiet, intense hottie that is featured in a gazillion books. Buut I warmed up to him. It was a close one though. ;) The thing that really won me over, I guess, is that he was there for Sam even when he was mad at her or hurt by her. Even when everything was messed up, he was there. He didn't ask for anything in return.

The mystery of the whole story was everything that I expected and more! There were tantalizing hints of what might have happened. Information was dropped in a way that didn't make sense by itself. And the fact that the mystery was all tied up in the dynamics of the real world and the dynamics of Sam's head, since she had memory less, was amazing. I didn't guess the culprit. Darn.

That's all I will say. Spoilers are imminent if I go further.

Oh. My. Gosh. Here is where I really gush. I could feel everything that Sam felt. I was afraid when she was afraid, I was frozen when she was. When I stopped in the middle of the book to go to sleep, I made sure the curtains were closed all the way.

Armentrout wrote all of Sam's emotions so vividly, so right.

I got confused along with Sam when her memories popped up randomly, in no particular order with no particular meaning. When you read a book, you're supposed to completely empathize with the main character and I think this is where the author did the best. I was completely in Sam's head, from the first page to the last.

And lastly (finally), is that am I the only one who's life was totally justified when Sam said she liked watching all the movie previews that play before the actual movie?? Apparently no one else in my family does this.

My Rating: 

Have you read Don't Look Back? Did you like it?

Alsoooo....HAPPY NEW YEAR! The actual New Year is about an hour and a half away where I live but who's being techinical? Not me. My family and I do a thing where we give gifts on New Year's eve. It's like our Christmas. *grins* Let me tell you, the couch looked fabulous with all those gifts on it. Best wishes and hugs from me to you, lovelies. :)

Disclaimer: I was not reimbursed for this review in any way. All opinions or thoughts expressed are my own.