Review: Don't Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Don't Look Back

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Published by: Hyperion

Released: 2014

Summary: She wakes up with no memory and no idea who she is. Stumbling down a dark road with clothes covered in blood, Sam knows nothing. Sam learns that the night she disappeared, her best friend Cassie did too, but no one has found her yet. Sam is the key to solving the mystery, if only she could remember. 

Sam is a blank slate, she is getting a second chance to live her life. The more Sam learns about herself, the more she hates the girl she used to be. She was mean, feared, and it seems like Cassie was more foe than friend. 

When flashes of memory surface, Sam starts to question if she's really safe or not, if someone is there to make sure she never remembers. Sam must find out what happened that night to Cassie and to herself, before it's too late.

My Thoughts: I was a little nervous going in to this one. Jennifer L. Armentrout is such a beloved author, and my first experience with her work wasn't good. I read and finished her Covenant series this year and really didn't like it. The main character Alex caused me so much hate. So I was nervous going in to this second book by JLA, that I would have the same annoyances and find the same kind of characters. I am so happy to say that those nerves were for nothing. I liked Don't Look Back. I thought it was a compelling, page-turning mystery. Sam as a main character was someone I was okay reading about and being stuck in her head. And I loved the boy candy in this book <3 I'm not completely on the JLA bandwagon yet, but now I'm definitely not as nervous about reading more by her.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book. I love a good mystery/thriller. Something that keeps me flipping pages and trying to figure out who-done-it is always an enjoyable read for me. For the most part, the story sped by. I will say that by the middle of the book, I did suspect someone of the crime and I turned out to be right. So I wasn't shocked by the ending because I kind of figured out who did it.

Samantha was an intriguing character to me. Learning how mean she was before her memory loss and then her being a kind of completely different person after, I don't know if I completely bought into that. I think I just felt kind of ambivalent toward Samantha.

Now Cassie was a really interesting character. I would have loved to experience parts of the story through her eyes. She was pretty messed up, but there was a part of me that could understand her.

And I loved Carson! Such a book boy hottie. From the first scene he's introduced, I knew I would like him. So swoonworthy, and just imagining those eyes!

So yeah, I definitely enjoyed Don't Look Back. It was a very fun, who-done-it mystery. I'm definitely planning on reading more books by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and hopefully I'll find that one book or series by her that I absolutely love. I would definitely recommend Don't Look Back to those looking for a good mystery and a hot book boyfriend.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.75/5

Twisty, Turny, and Very Mysterious!