Don't Look Back

This story was so wild from start to that truly shocking plot twist. I really was not prepared for the villain to be who it was, and there were a couple dropped threads that I would've loved to have seen wrapped up. Overall, well written, great pace, and super well developed characters!

I read this on one day. It was cute. Definitely teenager friendly. Not the best book I’ve read from JA but one my daughter could read (13)

“And suddenly it didn’t matter that everyone believe I don’t know who I was anymore, because with him I knew who I wanted to be, and that was all that mattered.” I love when JLA writes fantasy and PNR. She’s one of my all time favorites. But I have this HUGE soft spot for her thrillers. I wish she would go back to write them because they’re are so frigging fantastic. The right amount of suspense, of “what was that noise?!” while I’m reading, and romance. All wrapped in her beautiful storytelling that always makes me feel like I’m home. It took me quite a while to figure out who the killer was and the why, but it all fell into place in the most spectacular way. All the bread crumbs she had left for the reader along the way… *chef’s kiss*If you never read her thriller/horror stuff, please do yourself a favor and go grabbed this one or The Dead List. You’re welcome 😎 YA. 5 stars ⭐️ and a note folded into a triangle.

WARNING: Do not attempt to start this book at night before you go to bed. If you do, YOU WILL BE UP ALL NIGHT LONG. This book will not allow you to put it down once you start reading.This book is about a girl who finds herself wandering down a road covered in blood. She doesn't have any clue as to where she's at, why she's there and who she even is. She finds out her name is Sam and she's been missing for FOUR DAYS. She disappeared with her best friend, Cassie, whom still hasn't been found. Unfortunately  Sam's memories of that night or any night before that are missing as well.Once I started reading this book, I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. I lost track of time.. what only seemed like minutes instead were hours. I realized it was 2am and not 11pm and I had to be to work at 7am. I unfortunately had to put the book down for the night.... The next day I forgo my lunchtime cat nap because I HAD TO FINISH THE BOOK. WOW. This book is incredible. I loved Sam, we got to discover her as a person as she discovered herself. What she was finding out about herself she did not like and she decided she didn't WANT to be the way she used to be. It even seems that maybe though she was a certain way before the whole disappearance thing, in reality she really didn't want to be the mean girl that she's been made out to be..Now is her chance to turn her life around and stop caring what other people think..and she does just that. ;)Carson Ortiz is the help's son...the old Sam doesn't want anything to do with him, though they used to be BFFs once upon a time before High School Politics came in to play... Now that she's a new person rediscovering herself, she's finding herself attracted to him.At first, Carson is a bit stand-offish when he's around Sam. Once she finally convinces him that she's not playing him, that she really doesn't remember the way she was and she really does want to be friends wit him, he starts to thaw a bit towards her.Her boyfriend, Del, once we meet him in the book he totally annoyed the crap out of me and gave me the heebiejeebies. He seems like a total dick and in the end..that's exactly what he is. #TEAMCARSONThough the old Sam wasn't the nice person in the world, even to her twin brother, Scott, and his girlfriend, Julie, they totally have her back as she struggles to remember what happened the night she disappeared.Now let's get to the whodunit. NO, I won't ruin it for you and tell you did it, but WOW it totally is the last person you thought it would be..and the reasoning for it was totally unexpected. HUH. Good Job, Jenn. I didn't see any of that coming.. This book has you going around in circles going "DID THIS PERSON DO IT? Did Sam do it? OMG did he do it? OMGWTF THAT PERSON DID IT? HOLY CRAP I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING!!!"Yeah, this book will keep you on the edge of your seat til the very end. If you haven't read it yet, GET ON IT NOW.ENJOY!

I have come to the conclusion that anything JLA writes I will love. I don’t normally pick up books like this, but because it was JLA of course I was going to give it a go, and honestly this may be my new favorite of hers. It is just so so different from her other books and it really stands out. It’s addictive and crazy and simply amazing. I stayed up late to finish this one and I can’t regret the lack of sleep.Samantha is a very different kind of heroine. She is straightforward and determined. She is torn apart over the loss of her memories and determined to fill in the gaps. She wants to know what happened to her friend Cassie and how she lost her memories. Where her situation may have broken others, Sam was determined to move on. She is clearly shaken and scared and doesn’t really know what to make of her life, but she is going to keep on living it. The most important thing is that her memory loss gives her a second chance. She is appalled by the Before Samantha and honestly she was not a nice person. However, it takes a strong person to acknowledge that and try to make up for it; which is exactly what After Samantha does.We then have Carson who is incredibly swoony; he is sweet and caring. He helps Samantha even though she was horrible to him. He stands by her side when everyone else she knew turns on her. He has faith in her when she lacks faith in herself. Carson always knows the perfect thing to say and is everything you want in a book boyfriend.I loved though that the romance in this one was secondary to everything else. It was there and it was prominent, but the main factor was Samantha and the mystery surrounding her memory loss. The story is truly about Samantha coping with the after effects of that night and trying to unravel the fragments in her memory.This book will keep you on your toes. It is so hard to put together the mystery. I swear, I changed my mind on the suspect pretty much every single chapter. I was able to put together some of the pieces, but I was never ever sure, I only had really strong guesses. No matter what I guessed or suspected I never had that moment where I went “yes that’s it” and I was 100% sure in my answer. I can’t even tell you how many times I changed my mind and when the moment with the big reveal came, I still hadn’t pieced it all together until Sam did.Don’t Look Back is a highly addictive read and I dare you to put it down. JLA delivers again and continues to show how diverse she is with her writing. It delivers everything we have come to expect from her, but it also adds so much more and I seriously hope we get to read more contemporary thrillers from her.

I am a HUGE fan of Jennifer L Armentrout. This book is no different, the plot was good it kept me guessing throughout the whole book, everyone is a suspect and when the truth is out, it really shocked me.There are twists and turns in this book, and it really kept me on my toes.The first page is explosive, had me gripped. Sam has lost her memory, she remembers nothing except the cop that finds her walking around in bare feet and covered in blood.During the story she finds she is not a nice person (which puts it mildly) she has a boyfriend, a twin brother and his best friend that hates her. She kinds these notes that someone is leaving behind and she doesn't know who the shadow guy is.It's a great book, it's a one-off and all the questions gets answered. It's brilliant and its worth 5+ stars. Very highly recommended, I couldn't put it down and read it in a day.

I'm an avid reader and so I can sometimes find books a little predictable or clumsily written or you just plod through some chapters to get through the story. Not so in this case. Its very well written with lots of twists and turns that kept me gripped all the way through. I can dip in and out of stories but with this one I just had to keep reading to find out what actually happened. Its not a huge story so if you're daunted by a lot of pages you'll be pleased with this one and those who like me can't put this down will be pleased to know its possible to read it in one go if you've time. What a great author - I'm going to try another of her books now for holiday............ Enjoy!

I am a big fan of this author and was looking forward to reading this book so started it as soon as it dropped into my Kindle and it didn't disappoint! What a great read... I was on the edge of my seat and quite frankly I am tired as I just couldn't put it down... one of those books you don't want to end but can't read fast enough. If you haven't read yet you should and then go and get the rest of her books... they are all great too!

Ms Armentrout never disappoints & I try to read all her story sets as they are always a brilliant read, so addictive! Couldn’t put these down, best read in a while.

Love all of Jennifer armentrout books. This is another great one. With a number of twists a turns. Great read