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heartscontent's review against another edition
5.0
Don't look back...
This book blew me across the country. I've said this before, that I haven't really been too impressed with JLA's contemporary books. They were too...simple and predictable. And they reminded me of other books. Soooo I'm happy to say I've finally read one that has impressed me! Immensely so.
Usually JLA's books have so much of humour that you tend to forget about the seriousness of the situation. Not this time. This wasn't a...typical JLA book. Sure, there was humor, but the undercurrent of seriousness prevailed and I loved it!
The author's navigation aids leads the reader to look one way, and for sometime I did. Then I knew not to and when Sam found out, I went through the revelation with her. I knew the second she knew. And when the door opened...I just knew. I also freaked the poop out.
This book was so good that I'm pretty sure it lists among my top ten fav YA books.
This book blew me across the country. I've said this before, that I haven't really been too impressed with JLA's contemporary books. They were too...simple and predictable. And they reminded me of other books. Soooo I'm happy to say I've finally read one that has impressed me! Immensely so.
Usually JLA's books have so much of humour that you tend to forget about the seriousness of the situation. Not this time. This wasn't a...typical JLA book. Sure, there was humor, but the undercurrent of seriousness prevailed and I loved it!
The author's navigation aids leads the reader to look one way, and for sometime I did. Then I knew not to and when Sam found out, I went through the revelation with her. I knew the second she knew. And when the door opened...I just knew. I also freaked the poop out.
This book was so good that I'm pretty sure it lists among my top ten fav YA books.
mariathebookish's review against another edition
1.0
It’s the worst book I’ve ever read! I’d never expected that it would be a book by Jennifer L. Armentrout ‘cause I really liked her other books and the Dark Elements trilogy is one of my favorites!!
I knew who did it right from the beginning it was so predictable and the characters were soooo annoying!
I knew who did it right from the beginning it was so predictable and the characters were soooo annoying!
kristenbooks's review against another edition
4.0
So, after being very torn over ratings, I've decided that my official rating is going to be 9/10, which means that it will get 4/5 on Goodreads. Overall, this was a super addicting read. The first time I picked it up, I was so drawn into the story that I accidentally read until 5 AM, and I finished it as soon as possible the next day. Overall, it was a really compelling and unpredictable story that kept me on my toes and kept me consistently guessing as to what was going on. It was thoroughly enjoyable and I definitely think that it was a really awesome read. However, I find myself unable to give it a full 5/5 stars for reasons that I have yet to actually figure out. I hope to write a full review once I figure that out, though, and have even considered a video review as well. Overall, really compelling and enjoyable and I highly recommend it.
danoreading's review against another edition
4.0
Solid and suspenseful mystery - this is the third "girl has amnesia" book I've read this year, but I seem to enjoy this trope. Also, I totally did not guess the culprit... so good job, Jennifer Armentrout.
sidekicka7x's review against another edition
5.0
I couldn't read this fast enough! Really good, and I had no freakin clue who was responsible for Cassie's disappearance. This was definitely a book that kept me on my toes.
angevba's review against another edition
4.0
Me sorprendió. Jennifer Armentrout tiene talento no solo para historias paranormales sino también para thrillers juveniles como este.
Quizás lo que no me convenció fue el romance, me quería saltar todas esas partes para continuar resolviendo el misterio (aunque eso quizás sea por preferencia personal).
Quizás lo que no me convenció fue el romance, me quería saltar todas esas partes para continuar resolviendo el misterio (aunque eso quizás sea por preferencia personal).
ihateprozac's review against another edition
4.0
Murder? Check!
Mystery? Check!
High school setting? Check!
Mean girls? Check!
Aka basically everything that a rabid Pretty Little Liars fan like me could use in between Sara Shepard novel releases!
Don’t shoot me, but somehow I’ve never read a Jennifer L Armentrout novel before?! I’d heard Booktubers rave about her books ad nauseum, but given that I’m not really fond of typical paranormal/sci-fi romances with archetypically (read: generic AF) male love interests, I’d never picked up any of her work. It’s just my luck that I go to read some of her work and unknowingly pick a generic text that reminds me of at least 5 other stories I’ve seen before.
Don’t Look Back centres around a teenage girl named Samantha who returns from the woods in a fugue state after disappearing for several days, not unlike the girl on the train tracks in Twin Peaks. Samantha’s memory is AWOL and so is her best friend Cassie, who didn’t return when Samantha did. Samantha’s mind is her own worst enemy and she’s struggling to unlock the key to her friend’s disappearance, while simultaneously being tormented by mysterious threatening notes not unlike the work of Sara Shepard’s -A.
Having recently read Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall, I can’t help but draw parallels between that book and this one. Both female leads are colossal bitches named Samantha, renowned for exacting cruel punishments on their classmates before a tragic incident forces them to reassess their lives. In Before I Fall it’s due to a Groundhog Day loop of death and rebirth, while Don’t Look Back is down to trauma and amnesia. Both Samanthas undergo a huge amount of character development over a short period of time, as their trauma gives them a rude awakening about how they’ve treated everyone around them. And both realise that.
I’m not insinuating that Jennifer L Armentrout has plagiarised this novel, just noting that it’s generic enough in its concept and story that I’m able to easily draw parallels with other texts that I’ve consumed recently. And given that I picked this up because it sounded vaguely reminiscent of Pretty Little Liars, you can say that I never went into this with the intention of finding a super original compelling story. I was looking for the B-sides to a crazy catchy album, and B-sides are what I got.
Don’t Look Back admittedly raises an interesting dilemma about Sam’s personality. Sam is effectively a blank slate at the start of the novel thanks to her amnesia, and she becomes a much nicer person for it - which raises the question of whether regaining her memories would cause her to revert to the terrible person she was before. Armentrout causes the reader to question whether Sam’s vile personality was a case of nature or nurture; whether she would have always grown up to be a bitch, or whether it was exposure to certain friends or environmental factors that saw her turn from sweetheart to tyrant.
Overall: This was a quick and enjoyable read, and hit all the right notes in terms of what I wanted. It was bitchy and compelling, fun and action packed, and filled with twists and turns galore. It wasn’t wildly original and the ending was somewhat cliche, but I did enjoy guessing what the truth was behind that one fateful night. It’s nowhere near as addictive as Pretty Little Liars, but I smashed it out in a day and it gave me the hit I needed.
Mystery? Check!
High school setting? Check!
Mean girls? Check!
Aka basically everything that a rabid Pretty Little Liars fan like me could use in between Sara Shepard novel releases!
Don’t shoot me, but somehow I’ve never read a Jennifer L Armentrout novel before?! I’d heard Booktubers rave about her books ad nauseum, but given that I’m not really fond of typical paranormal/sci-fi romances with archetypically (read: generic AF) male love interests, I’d never picked up any of her work. It’s just my luck that I go to read some of her work and unknowingly pick a generic text that reminds me of at least 5 other stories I’ve seen before.
Don’t Look Back centres around a teenage girl named Samantha who returns from the woods in a fugue state after disappearing for several days, not unlike the girl on the train tracks in Twin Peaks. Samantha’s memory is AWOL and so is her best friend Cassie, who didn’t return when Samantha did. Samantha’s mind is her own worst enemy and she’s struggling to unlock the key to her friend’s disappearance, while simultaneously being tormented by mysterious threatening notes not unlike the work of Sara Shepard’s -A.
Having recently read Lauren Oliver’s Before I Fall, I can’t help but draw parallels between that book and this one. Both female leads are colossal bitches named Samantha, renowned for exacting cruel punishments on their classmates before a tragic incident forces them to reassess their lives. In Before I Fall it’s due to a Groundhog Day loop of death and rebirth, while Don’t Look Back is down to trauma and amnesia. Both Samanthas undergo a huge amount of character development over a short period of time, as their trauma gives them a rude awakening about how they’ve treated everyone around them. And both realise that
Spoiler
maybe their asshat boyfriend isn’t all he’s cracked up to be, and the perfect guy has been under their nose all alongI’m not insinuating that Jennifer L Armentrout has plagiarised this novel, just noting that it’s generic enough in its concept and story that I’m able to easily draw parallels with other texts that I’ve consumed recently. And given that I picked this up because it sounded vaguely reminiscent of Pretty Little Liars, you can say that I never went into this with the intention of finding a super original compelling story. I was looking for the B-sides to a crazy catchy album, and B-sides are what I got.
Don’t Look Back admittedly raises an interesting dilemma about Sam’s personality. Sam is effectively a blank slate at the start of the novel thanks to her amnesia, and she becomes a much nicer person for it - which raises the question of whether regaining her memories would cause her to revert to the terrible person she was before. Armentrout causes the reader to question whether Sam’s vile personality was a case of nature or nurture; whether she would have always grown up to be a bitch, or whether it was exposure to certain friends or environmental factors that saw her turn from sweetheart to tyrant.
Overall: This was a quick and enjoyable read, and hit all the right notes in terms of what I wanted. It was bitchy and compelling, fun and action packed, and filled with twists and turns galore. It wasn’t wildly original and the ending was somewhat cliche, but I did enjoy guessing what the truth was behind that one fateful night. It’s nowhere near as addictive as Pretty Little Liars, but I smashed it out in a day and it gave me the hit I needed.
jennc's review against another edition
3.0
This book was OK, though honestly a bit of a disappointment for me. I figured out who the killer was halfway through the book (though the motive I had was wrong) which took away some of the fun. It could have been 50 pages less and been better. Also, there were so many small errors in this book it drove me nuts. Once I noticed one I couldn't stop noticing them. Bad editing for sure.
hannah_farnsworth_'s review against another edition
5.0
Check out my review on abookishlifeforme.blogspot.com
http://abookishlifeforme.blogspot.com/2015/03/dont-look-back.html
http://abookishlifeforme.blogspot.com/2015/03/dont-look-back.html