Don't Look Back - Jennifer L Armentrout

Don’t Look Back – Jennifer L Armentrout

Don’t Look Back is a YA, mystery and romance stand alone novel by Jennifer L Armentrout. The premise of which intrigued me greatly. This week i have done nothing but binge on Jennifer’s novels, and this one for me has really stood out as being different. It didn’t feel like her previous books, and i loved the change in genre (all be it still YA) it felt like a crime, thriller mystery YA, as opposed to a supernatural romance YA. It had me gripped right from the blurb.

‘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?’

We are with our main protagonist Sam right from the start, we are left just as confused and unsure about the unknown as she is. We don’t know where she is, what has happened, or even who and where she has come from. Sam has amnesia, and we learn she has been missing for 4 days along with her best friend Cassie, of which still has not been found. We spend the entirety of the novel learning about Sam, how she was the ‘it’ girl of her school, with the ‘perfect’ relationship with her boyfriend Del, and a group of friends too, it also comes to light that she was not the nicest of people. Looking down on those who may not have come from money, and simply ditching her old friends in order to fit in and stay with the new. We soon grow to feel uncomfortable along with Sam about her past self, much preferring this new Sam and almost in a way hoping; new nice Sam is here to stay. 

We follow Sam as she struggles to deal with what has happened to her, struggles to regain her memories and familiarity of those around her, and watch her as she calls out her nasty group of friends and tries to rebuild those relationships that she quite harshly burned pre amnesia. On top of that, she is desperate to get back her memory of what happened that night, and to Cassie. Mysterious notes, shadowy figures, and the slow flashback of memories leave Sam on the edge and fearful, just what happened that night by the lake, and is she safe now.

Armentrout's writing is brilliant in this novel, it leaves you gripped right from the start, it is eerie and creepy, and you truly don’t know who to trust. I hated Sam’s group of friends, they were nasty and vindictive, and as for that sleaze ball of a boyfriend. I know the majority of us have been there in that relationship that you just can’t get out of no matter how you are treated, or how unhappy you may actually be. But how Sam pre and post incident coped i do not know. Plus those friends of hers really were horrid; it felt like Mean Girls all over. I loved her relationship with Carson, Scott and even Julie, each of them being there for her despite how she has treated them in the past. There was almost a hint of the Mara Dyer series in here, with the appearances of notes and hallucinations. All of which were written in such a way they left you reeling and creeped out, you truly were along for the ride.

The whole story is building up to finding out what happened and who did it. Jennifer wrote this novel in such a way, i constantly went through suspecting various people. None of which turning out to be the killer mind, which never happens when i read a book like this, i nearly always guess before the big reveal. When the big revelation was made, my jaw dropped to the floor. I honestly could not believe it, and it left me reeling in shock...

I genuinely enjoyed the whole journey this novel took me on, i loved learning about Sam, and being there to piece the puzzle back together with her, working out what could have happened, who is to blame. It felt like we were solving the mystery along with her. I was gutted when it all come to an end. But it really does highlight the amazing talents of Jennifer that she has again, with yet another of her books, drawn me in and made me love every twist and turn of a story.

I would say if you are a fan of Jennifer L Armentrout, then it is a given that you should read this book. But if you also like a more thriller/mystery YA novel with a hint of romance then i would say this is 100% for you. It is a great story that is told, and it is truly gripping.

I have given this 5 out of 5 stars.