Title: Liars Inc.
Author: Paula Stokes
Series: Standalone
Genre:YA Mystery/Thriller
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Release Date: March 24th 2015
Publisher: Harper Teen
Source: eARC received from publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

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For fans of Gone Girl, I Hunt Killers, and TV's How to Get Away with Murder.

Max Cantrell has never been a big fan of the truth, so when the opportunity arises to sell forged permission slips and cover stories to his classmates, it sounds like a good way to make a little money and liven up a boring senior year. With the help of his friends Preston and Parvati, Max starts Liars, Inc. Suddenly everybody needs something and the cash starts pouring in. Who knew lying could be so lucrative?

When Preston wants his own cover story to go visit a girl he met online, Max doesn’t think twice about hooking him up. Until Preston never comes home. Then the evidence starts to pile up—terrifying clues that lead the cops to Preston’s body. Terrifying clues that point to Max as the murderer.

Can Max find the real killer before he goes to prison for a crime he didn’t commit? In a story that Kirkus Reviews called "Captivating to the very end," Paula Stokes starts with one single white lie and weaves a twisted tale that will have readers guessing until the explosive final chapters.  


Paula Stokes has quickly become one of my favorite contempoaray authors, every since I read The Art of Lainey last year. So when I leanred that she was going to be writing a YA Mystery I was very excited and knew I had to read it. And I am so glad that I did because this book was a page turner!

What I think I liked the most about this book was its characters. They were so real and interesting to read. They were also very hard to like which is a very different reading experience for me. We first meet Max, a young man who is a very interesting character. He is snarky, untrustworthy and niave. I actually really liked that Max was our narrator because he was interesting. He saw things from a very interesting perspective. I loved his relationhsips with his girlfriend Pavarti and his best friend Preston. I loved them because they were complicated. I knew right off  the batt that I didnt particularly like Pavarti or Preston. There was just something that was off for me. And I wanted desperately for Max to see it, but if he did we wouldnt have had this mytery would we?

The whole premise of this book is that Preston goes missing, police then find his body and it links Max to the murder. Intriguing right? And you would be right. This mystery kept me reading from beginning to end. It is a page turner that makes you want to find out what happened and why is Max being framed. But I will say that the outcome was a bit obvious...to me at least. I am a sucker for anything mystery and my husband gets mad at me when we watch those types of shows and i figure out who the killer is before it is revealed. So it is no suprise to me that I figured it out. But what makes this a great book was that the fact that I figured out the end did not hinder my reading experience. I still really enjoyed the book.

The only thing that I did not like that much was Pavarti and Prestons relationhip and what it meant for the story. Overall it was a bit creepy and although it makes for more conflict, it just made for extra drama that did not need to be there. But overall I really liked this mystery and you will be reading from beginning to end on the edge of your seat. Such a great new mystery to add to your shelves!

Title: Falls the Shadow
Author: Stefanie Gaither
Series: Standalone
Genre: YA Science Fiction Mystery
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
Release Date: September 16th 2014
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: eARC received from publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

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When Cate Benson was a kid, her sister, Violet, died. Two hours after the funeral, Cate’s family picked up Violet’s replacement. Like nothing had happened. Because Cate’s parents are among those who decided to give their children a sort of immortality—by cloning them at birth—which means this new Violet has the same smile. The same perfect face. Thanks to advancements in mind-uploading technology, she even has all of the same memories as the girl she replaced.

She also might have murdered the most popular girl in school.

At least, that’s what the paparazzi and the anti-cloning protestors want everyone to think: that clones are violent, unpredictable monsters. Cate is used to hearing all that. She’s used to defending her sister, too. But Violet has vanished, and when Cate sets out to find her, she ends up in the line of fire instead. Because Cate is getting dangerously close to secrets that will rock the foundation of everything she thought was true.

In a thrilling debut, Stefanie Gaither takes readers on a nail-biting ride through a future that looks frighteningly similar to our own time and asks: how far are you willing to go to keep your family together?


I am really skeptical when it comes to science fiction books because I get lost very easily and i get bored if there is too much information thrown at me at once. So when I saw this book and read that is was science fiction but with a hint of murder mystery I thought I might like it, and i was right!

I am going to start with what I really liked about the book. I loved Cate's character because I felt she was real and someone who I could easily relate to. I thought as the book went on she got to be a very interesting character, she was flawed and yet you rooted for her in the end. I also loved her relationship with her sister because it was different from everyone else in her life considering her sister is a clone and not the real thing. I found their friendship was the best part to read because did Cate really know her sister, because since she came back from the dead as a clone, she was different. And when she was investigated for murder I knew it would get interesting. And in the end I really like how everything was resolved and how real it felt, it was contrived and fake and tied in a pretty little bow.

The only things that I was not so happy with were the lack of background info that we got. I wanted more in depth information on why the cloning happened. We get a bit of info on this but for me I wanted more on how everything collapsed and the world thought cloning was a good idea. I also thought that at times the pacing was off, I was bored at the beginning but then it picked up again, but then near the middle it slowed down again and by the end it was back up again. I just wanted a page turner from front to back, but it more all over the place for me.

Overall this book was a great read. I really liked the characters and the mystery element but felt that the pacing and background could have used a bit of work. I recommend this book to anyone who is skeptical about sci-fi because it is not too intense and has a great contemporary feel.

Title: Get Even
Author: Gretchen McNeil
Series: Don't Get Mad #1
Genre: YA Contemporary, Mystery
Format: Paperback, 400 pages
Release Date: September 16th 2014
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: eARC received from publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

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The Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars in Gretchen McNeil’s witty and suspenseful novel about four disparate girls who join forces to take revenge on high school bullies and create dangerous enemies for themselves in the process.

Bree, Olivia, Kitty, and Margot have nothing in common—at least that’s what they’d like the students and administrators of their elite private school to think. The girls have different goals, different friends, and different lives, but they share one very big secret: They’re all members of Don’t Get Mad, a secret society that anonymously takes revenge on the school’s bullies, mean girls, and tyrannical teachers.

When their latest target ends up dead with a blood-soaked “DGM” card in his hands, the girls realize that they’re not as anonymous as they thought—and that someone now wants revenge on them. Soon the clues are piling up, the police are closing in . . . and everyone has something to lose.


Where do I start with this book. Well I guess I should admit that I have never read a book by the lovely and talented Gretchen McNeil and i am now kicking myself for waiting so long. This woman has the ability to create stories and characters that resonate beyond the page and a story that is so genuine you cannot help but become immersed in it.

First of all I loved the way this book dealt with the subject of bullying. Yes this book was lighthearted in many places, but in the background there was a serious undertone of intolerance, and I loved that. I found it seriously refreshing for four teenage girls to ban together and stop others from bullying, especially when those girls where from very different social groups. No, their friendship was not perfect and yes there were lies and deceit as in any high school, but for some reason this book felt different.  The tone was that of companionship and remorse, instead of backstabbing and cruelty. I loved every second of it.

The other aspect of this book that was amazing was the actual mystery. The twists and turns that came throughout this book were amazing, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading and it kept me guessing from beginning to end. The only issue I had with this book, and it is the reason my rating is 4 stars instead of 5 was the end. We get no resolution, we have to wait until book 2 or 3 to get the answers we want. I am not mad at Gretchen for doing this, but I am angry that I don't have any kind of ending. Just more questions. It makes me want to grab the second book in the series that much faster and I know I will be reading all 3 of these books in the series because it was just that good. A must read for all mystery lovers because it will be the fastest book you read this year, I promise :)

Title: Conversion
Author: Katherine Howe
Series: Standalone
Genre: YA Mystery, Paranormal Elements
Format: Hardcover, 432 pages
Release Date: July 1st 2014
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile
Source: Bought

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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane comes a chilling mystery—Prep meets The Crucible.

It’s senior year at St. Joan’s Academy, and school is a pressure cooker. College applications, the battle for valedictorian, deciphering boys’ texts: Through it all, Colleen Rowley and her friends are expected to keep it together. Until they can’t.

First it’s the school’s queen bee, Clara Rutherford, who suddenly falls into uncontrollable tics in the middle of class. Her mystery illness quickly spreads to her closest clique of friends, then more students and symptoms follow: seizures, hair loss, violent coughing fits. St. Joan’s buzzes with rumor; rumor blossoms into full-blown panic.

Soon the media descends on Danvers, Massachusetts, as everyone scrambles to find something, or someone, to blame. Pollution? Stress? Or are the girls faking? Only Colleen—who’s been reading The Crucible for extra credit—comes to realize what nobody else has: Danvers was once Salem Village, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuries ago . . .

Inspired by true events—from seventeenth-century colonial life to the halls of a modern-day high school—Conversion casts a spell. With her signature wit and passion, New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe delivers an exciting and suspenseful novel, a chilling mystery that raises the question, what’s really happening to the girls at St. Joan’s?


I went into this book with a lot of expectations. For one it is about Witches and Witchcraft and for me that is something that makes me pick a book no matter what age group it is for. Conversion for me was a touch a go reading experience because I found that I enjoyed certain parts of the book more than others. And it was these non likable parts that made the book drag for me.

Conversion tells essentially two stories, one set in modern times, and one set during the Salem witch trials. I loved the modern part of the story. The writing was engaging and fast paced and I loved all of the characters. They all seemed to be real and vivid to me as I read the book. The mystery aspect of this part of the story was a great way to get me interested early. I wanted to know what was happening to these girls, and I wanted to know if it was in fact witchcraft. The Salem witch trial part of the book was another thing altogether. I was not fond of the way it was written. It was too far away from the tone of the modern day and I found it took me a while to grasp the language of these parts of the book. I also found that the chapters that dealt with the past were extremely slow and I could not get invested in the character because since they were already documented I kind of knew what was happening. I just found that these chapters took away from my reading experience and slowed down my reading.

I cannot say much about the story because the mystery is the best part and I want to keep it that way. but I do have to say something about the end of the book. I think I was expecting something more than what happened. The explanation although plausible felt a little deflating to me. I wanted something more interesting. And yet the author put in a little glimmer of hope at the end that maybe what we know is not the truth and I think that just made me more angry cause I wanted to know!

Title: Vivian Divine is Dead
Author: Lauren Sabel
Series: Standalone
Genre: YA Contemporary Mystery
Format: Hardcover, 288 pages
Release Date: June 3rd 2014
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Source: eARC received from publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

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Filled with surprising twists and poignant moments, Lauren Sabel brings a fresh new voice to contemporary fiction with Vivian Divine Is Dead. Creepy, clever, funny, and romantic.

When a death threat arrives with teen celebrity Vivian Divine's fan mail, Vivian has no choice but to go on the run to Mexico. She soon discovers, though, that her Oscar-nominated performance killing villains on-screen did nothing to prepare her for escaping a madman in real life. Some people say he's a hero, others tremble in his presence, but one thing is clear: he won't stop until Vivian is in his grasp. Why didn't she pay more attention during those judo lessons for her role in Zombie Killer?

Vivian finds an ally in the mysterious and charming Nick. He is everything Hollywood boys are not-genuine, kind, and determined to see Vivian for who she really is. But even he seems like he can't be trusted-what could he be hiding?

Beat up, hungry, and more confused than ever about who she's running from, Vivian is living in a real-life blockbuster horror flick. But there's no option to yell "cut" like there is on set....

Lauren Sabel's Vivian Divine Is Dead is a creepy, witty, fast-paced adventure about family, fame, and having the courage to save yourself.


Vivian Divine is Dead was one of those books that i needed to read. It had so many elements that I loved in a book, mystery, a different culture and country, and a very cute and mysterious boy. SO when I got the chance to review this book I took he chance and picked it up. I will say that although this book was my favorite, it has some great qualities and was a very fast and fun read.

Vivian Divine is a movie star. Usually this would bother me in and of itself because I am not a fan of books centered around anyone famous, but this novel does something that most don't. The author added the mystery of her mother getting murdered and the same killer going after Vivian as well. This was a great way to get into the book because the mystery starts right away and pulls you in from the first page. I really liked Vivian as a character because she was funny and sarcastic at times, but I found her to be a very naive narrator because there were some aspects of the story line that were red flags to me, and not for her and I found myself thinking, anyone would realize this was not right. So that was one issue I had while reading.

There is a love interest in this book and I actually really enjoyed it because her crush, Nick was a great character in contrast to Vivian. He was suave and charming and seemed to know exactly what to do when the time came. Of course there was a reason for this that we learned at the end that kind of ruined everything for me, but when the two of them were together I really enjoyed their chemistry and banter.

Now I had one huge issue with this book, and that was the fact that I figured out pretty much the entire plot from maybe 1/4 of the way through the book. To me it was glaringly obvious and I could not get over how Vivian did not see how much of everything she was doing was leading somewhere deadly. I will say that there were parts of the end that did some as a surprise, and I loved that but ultimately I knew what was going to happen that lead to my hindered experience reading this book.

Overall Vivian Divine is Dead was a great fun read that had some very cliched and predictable parts to it, but it ultimately was a fast read that had a mystery that made me want to finish the book asap. The end of this book was not my favorite because it was left open with not much resolution, so I don't know if there is going to be a sequel but I hope so since I would love some resolution for these characters.

Title: Blonde Ops
Author: Charlotte Bennardo and Natalie Zaman
Series: None
Genre: YA Contemporary, Mystery
Format: Hardcover, 288 pages
Release Date: May 6th 2014
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Source: ARC received from publisher in exchange for an honest review

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Pitched as The Devil Wears Prada meets James Bond for teens, featuring a fashion magazine intern in Rome who uncovers a plot to kidnap the First Lady.

Expelled from yet another boarding school for hacking, sixteen-year-old Rebecca "Bec" Jackson is shipped off to Rome to intern for Parker Phillips, the editor-in-chief of one of the world’s top fashion magazines. But when a mysterious accident lands Parker in a coma, former supermodel and notorious drama queen Candace Worthington takes the reins of the magazine. The First Lady is in Rome for a cover shoot, and all hands are on deck to make sure her visit goes smoothly.

Bec quickly realizes that Parker's "accident" may not have been quite so accidental, and when the First Lady's life is threatened, Bec is determined to uncover the truth. On top of that, Bec must contend with bitchy models, her new boss, Candace, who is just as difficult as the tabloids say, and two guys, a hunky Italian bike messenger with a thousand-watt smile and a fashion blogger with a razor-sharp wit, who are both vying for her heart.

Can Bec catch the person who's after the First Lady, solve the mystery of Parker's accident, and juggle two cute boys at the same time? Blonde Ops is a fun, action-packed romp through the hallways of a fashion magazine and the cobblestone streets of Rome.


When I saw Blonde Ops I knew that I wanted to read it because I was in desperate need of a light and fun read. I will admit that this book is fun at times, and I love a good mystery, especially when that includes a plot to kidnap the first lady of the USA. But for me, Blonde Ops was a slower read than what I was hoping for.

What I loved the most about this book was the narrator, Bec Jackson, because she was everything I love in a character. She was witty and sarcastic, as well as independent and free spirited. From the very first page I loved her because her voice is so strong, and her personality comes through every word. The same cannot be said for the secondary characters. I found most of them to be a bit two dimensional at times with little to no impact on the actual story line. It is a very big pet peeve of mine when reading to find character that have no relation to what happens in the story, and I found a few in this book.

The pacing of this book was a bit slow for me at times, even though I loved the mystery aspect of the story. I found that the beginning was quite slow, then the middle sped up a little bit, then it slowed down again, and finally went full speed with a couple of chapters left. I found that inconsistency in pace that hindered my enjoyment of the book because my emotions were going from happy to intrigued and then to frustrated too many times.

My biggest dislike in any YA novel is the love triangle, and this one had one from the get-go. And I very much disliked it all the way through the book. Even though the authors explain why there were two love interests I found them both to be a bit boring. I never really had any particular feelings towards any of them, and honestly I never really saw what Bec saw in them. They were kind of like a distraction from the real plot of the book, which annoyed me even more.

Overall Blonde Ops is a great mystery read that ultimately lags at times throughout the novel. The main character makes up for the lack of interesting secondary characters, and the end result was a great surprise and a fun end to the book. Ultimately this book was not my favorite but I do think it is a great read for those interested in a fun witty character that tries to solves a very interesting mystery.

Title: The Secrets of Lily Graves
Author: Sarah Strohmeyer
Series: Standalone
Genre: YA Mystery, Thriller
Format: Paperback, 304 pages
Release Date: May 13th 2014
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: eARC received from publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

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With the intrigue of Pretty Little Liars and plenty of romance, bestselling author Sarah Strohmeyer weaves a story of secrets and lies—set in a funeral parlor.

Growing up in a house of female morticians, Lily Graves knows all about buried secrets. She knows that perfect senior-class president Erin Donohue isn’t what she seems. She knows why Erin’s ex-boyfriend, hot football player Matt Houser, broke up with her. And she also knows that, even though she says she and Matt are just friends, there is something brewing between them—something Erin definitely did not like.

But secrets, even ones that are long buried, have a way of returning to haunt their keeper.

So when Erin is found dead the day after attacking Lily in a jealous rage, Lily's and Matt’s safe little lives, and the lives of everyone in their town of Potsdam, begin to unravel. And their relationship—which grew from innocent after-school tutoring sessions to late-night clandestine rendezvous—makes them both suspects.

As her world crumbles around her, Lily must figure out the difference between truth and deception, genuine love and a web of lies. And she must do it quickly, before the killer claims another victim.


I have been reading a lot of mysteries lately and to be honest they have not been getting old at all, and I will say that The Secrets of Lily Graves was a great book! I loved this book a lot more than I thought I would, and I am so glad that I decided to pick it up because I would have missed out a on some great characters and a great mystery.

The one thing that I loved the most about this book was Lily herself. She was such a breath of fresh air as far as character go because she was so different and unique, but not in a way that makes her unrelateable. She was funny, dark and a little weird but that made me love even more. I loved that she was in stark contrast to Erin, the murder victim who was the bane of Lily's existence and the girlfriend of the boy she liked. Every character in this novel was perfect. I loved that they were all labeled as "stereotypes" by those around them but when you got to know then throughout the book you figured out that there was more to them then was originally thought possible.

There is a love story in this book but what made me love it was the fact that it was not the center of attention. It was a big part of the overall story and what happened to Erin but it was sweet and sensitive and secretive (the best kind right?). I thought that Lily and Matt were a great pair and the fact that they were so different made it all better.

Erin was a character that never really got to tel her own story because she dies very early on in the book. And I think what I loved most about this book is that we still got to know her through those that knew her, and we did not get to see only one side of her, we got multiple sides that made you realize that maybe you didn't know them as much as you though. And I loved that surprise.

The reveal at the end was probably my favorite part because it not only revealed who the killer was, who I did not see coming by the way, but it also revealed many other things about other characters that you never saw coming. The only issue I had with this book was how quickly everything happened after the reveal itself. I felt like it was information overload and then the book ended. I wanted a little more time to come to grips with what I was reading and gradually get to the end but it felt like it all happened all at once.

Overall this book blew me away. I loved the mystery and the characters especially because they were the glue that held this book together. If you love Pretty Little Liars or any kind of mystery at all you will love this book, and I am now a Sarah Strohmeyer fan for life!

Title: We Were Liars
Author: E. Lockhart
Series: Standalone
Genre: YA Contemporary
Format: Hardcover, 240 pages
Release Date: May 13th 2014
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: ARC provided from publisher at OLA in exchange for an honest review

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A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from National Book Award finalist and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.
Read it.
And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.


The hype monster is something that attacks only once in a while for me. Over the past few months I have been hearing AMAZING things about this book, and when I say amazing things i mean probably some of the best reviews I have ever read for a book. So when I got the chance to read this book I knew I would be in for a treat, but then everything fell apart and I think i payed attention too much to the hype and went in with unrealistic expectations.

There were a few things I did like while reading this book. The love story for one felt very real and very teenager-esque and adorable at times. I also really enjoyed the mystery behind the novel. We fond out early on that something happened to the main character and we do not know what it is, and we don't fond out until the very end, and I will say that I did not see it coming and I really did like the reveal because I think my mouth dropped open a bit. But unfortunately the reveal did not make up for my lack of interest in the rest of the book.

The writing style, I think, was the thing that bugged me the most. It is not the type of style I like to read because I fond that short sentences and evasive writing does not allow me to connect with the story of the characters for that matter. I think while reading I kept thinking, I don't really know who these characters are and I really do not get to know them at all because we only see them at their summer home, and honestly that is not who they really are.

I also found myself wondering when everything was going to happen while reading because when you read this book you will realize that nothing really happens. It is just the main character trying to decide what happened to her and her friends being evasive and not telling her. I also found that all the characters themselves to be caricatures of what people with money are like. I did not fell like they were real therefore I couldn't connect with them at all, which lowered my enjoyment of the story.

Overall I enjoyed the mystery and the end of the book but when i sit down and think about it I really did not enjoy this book as much as I wanted, and i am sad to say that I am on the other end of the spectrum. But that will not deter me from reading other things my E. Lockhart in the future!

Title: Sleep No More
Author: Aprilynne Pike
Series: Standalone
Genre: YA Mystery, Paranormal
Format: Hardcover, 352 pages
Release Date: April 29th 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

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The blockbuster film Inception meets Lisa McMann's Wake trilogy in this dark paranormal thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Aprilynne Pike. This novel is also perfect for fans of Kelley Armstrong, Alyson Noel, and Kimberly Derting.

Charlotte Westing has a gift. She is an Oracle and has the ability to tell the future. But it doesn't do her much good. Instead of using their miraculous power, modern-day Oracles are told to fight their visions—to refrain from interfering. And Charlotte knows the price of breaking the rules. She sees it every day in her wheelchair-bound mother and the absence of her father. But when a premonition of a classmate's death is too strong for her to ignore, Charlotte is forced to make an impossible decision: continue following the rules or risk everything—even her sanity—to stop the serial killer who is stalking her town.


Mysteries are my thing. I love reading them because I find I reads faster so that I can figure out who the mystery person is. And that is why I think I liked Sleep No More by Aprilynne Pike so much, because I honest did not figure out who the killer was until after the reveal, and to me that is the mark of a great mystery. If you foll your readers into suspecting everyone in the book then woot! your job is done.

I have read any books by Aprilynne and the one thing that I think I love about her books is that they always have an element of fun and they are always extremely fast paced, so you read it extremely fast. Sleep No More did not waver from that because I loved the writing style, it was simple yet fast paced, and I loved that Charlotte was so likable but I honestly thought that her character could have done a lot more in depth because I felt like we only saw one side of her. Actually I thought that a lot of the character could have been more in depth, especially Charlotte's aunt who was so important to the story yet non existent throughout the book. I thought that if she was more present throughout the story than maybe the end would be been better in a way.

The reveal at the end of who the killer really was did come as sort of a shock but honestly it wasn't as surprising as it could have been. I felt like after that person was revealed then everything happened so fast that I had to reread some parts in order to get what happened. I felt like I did not have enough time to process certain information before more was dumped on me. I just wish that all the reveals were either spread out over time or that the reveal of the killer was slower.

What I really loved about this book was the Greek Mythology aspect, because we all know I am a sucker for all things Mythological. Oracles are aspects of Greek mythology that is most used, and I really loved the way Aprilynne used the seeing of the future to create this murder mystery that seemed to tie into this subject so well. I think that was my favorite part of the entire book was the fact that Charlotte could see the future and what would happen but had no idea how to stop the murders from happening. It was a great tension builder.

Overall I thought that this book was very entertaining and I thought the mystery aspect was great to read. But the characters could have been more in depth and that the end of the book could have been paced a bit better. But anyone who loves a good mystery will love this book!

Title: Don't Look Back
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Series: Standalone
Genre: YA Contemporary, Mystery
Format: Hardcover, 384 pages
Release Date: April 15th 2014
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Source: ARC received from publisher in exchange for an honest review

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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?


I have been obsessed with Jennifer L. Armentrout and her book since I read her entire Lux series in 2 days. I think he writing is so refreshing and her stories keep the reader on the edge of their seat the entire time. And once I saw that she was writing a standalone mystery YA i knew I had to read it ASAP! And I am happy to say I was not disappointed!

There are certain tropes that happen in mysteries, certainly in YA, and one of those tropes is amnesia. Amnesia had been done a lot on mysteries in the YA genre but honestly for me it never gets old. I think its a great way for the reader to connect with the character, especially if they are a different kind of person during the amnesia then they were before. And that is the case in this story.

I loved that Samantha was an unreliable narrator because she had no idea what happened, who she was and what her life was life before the accident. This was a great way to get the reader to connect with her because we feel bad that she cant remember her life, and especially when she meets het friends and family and realizes that they are not the best of friends she thought they were. Sam changed throughout the course of the book and I loved that. She began to see her friends and family in a different light and that realization was very interesting for me because you want Sam to be a better person than she was before the accident, because according to her friends she was just as bad as they were.

The mystery element was just that, a mystery. I had an inkling on who the bad guy was, and I will say that I was right but honestly I was more interested in Sam as a character then figuring out who did it before the reveal. Obviously I wanted to know who it was, but I wasn't looking for clues everywhere because I more invested in Sam and what her character was going through. I will also admit that I threw this book against my bedroom wall at one point in the book because SERIOUSLY!

There is a lovely love story in this book, and Jennifer is know for creating amazing book boyfriends, and this book is no different. Carson was a great guy in this book, he was sweet, attentive and honest just plain amazing to Sam. Their growing relationship and affection for each other was great to read and I really wish this was a series of book just so I can have more CARSON!

If you love great characters that are witty and sarcastic, a great mystery and a great book boyfriend then please pick up this book. Jennifer is a genius in this genre and I serioulsy cannot wait to see what else she writes in the future!