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Don't Look Back

Jennifer L. Armentrout (Goodreads Author)

4.11 · Rating details · 24,320 ratings · 3,642 reviews

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 par ...more

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ebook, 384 pages

Published April 15th 2014 by Disney Hyperion (first published April 10th 2014)

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Dec 27, 2014 Lola rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: teen-romance, contemporary, high-school, drama, mystery, death, fast-paced

(My reaction when the moment for the revelation came.) Quite an interesting story. I kept reading, despite some flaws and insufficiency of originality here and there, because the plot just sucks you in and doesn’t let go. Jennifer L. Armentrout’s books are addictive, that’s for sure. Any complaint for that? Not now, not ever.

This is the story of Samantha and her trying to find what happened to her best (dead) friend, Cassie. Sam is popular, rich, beautiful and has it all…or so it may seem at first glance. Perfect boyfriend, perfect friends, perfect family. But everything is not as it seems. So when she’s found wondering around not even knowing her name after having disappeared for four entire days, everything in her life takes on a new turn. She wants to know the truth, to remember it all. Who killed Cassie? Is her boyfriend hiding something? And what does Carson have to do with anything? It seems like she can’t get him out of her mind.

The premise to this book is great, the cover fabulous and the title well fitting. I thought about it and, sincerely, every one of Jennifer L. Armentrout’s books look great at first sight. Good marketing and artist. So it’s definitely with grand pleasure that I’m saying how I was not disappointed by this standalone. Because it possesses many things to like; a heroine that is easy to connect to and appreciate, masculine characters (many of them) that are G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S (I mean, there always are in her books) and most of them are likable, secondary characters that are actually present and have a reason to be in the scenes attributed to them and a good writing + good pacing to wrap it all up. So, exteriorly, those weren’t the problem.

What was missing is really creativity. I mean, the plot is good and this whole easy and agreeable to read, but the characters were really banal. Briefly, if you read about them, they’re okay and you can see that they are at their right places in the story and having fantastic roles. What was missing was some originality in them. Sincerely, I think, main character excluded, that I’ve seen those kinds of personalities in hundred other books that I have read in the past. Plus, even though they have problems – for example her mother and father that don’t get along anymore – they still have this ‘I’m perfect and you know it’ vibe. Maybe because most of them are rich? But it’s probably something we’ll each interpret differently. Yeah, they were a bit shallow and underdeveloped too, but there being many of them and the latter not letting the main character got through everything alone did help to their case.

The mystery part – which is an important one – was well enough done. The romance did take a WAY too pre-eminent part in the plot above all elements, but it didn’t change that I felt hooked and wanted to know badly what happened to both girls and WHO did this. WHO killed Cassie and WHY. Those are questions I asked myself throughout the reading and it’s a good thing that, at the end, it’s along with the narration that I figured it all out. Nicely done.

This book and its atmosphere reminded me of the one in Dangerous Girls, a masterpiece that I will never forget. Both main characters are feared and thought to be crazy, murderers and in both cases it was the best girl friend that died. However, Sam did have much more support, less accusations and liberty in her actions at finding the truth. If you enjoyed that book though, you may very likely feel the same for this one too.
...more

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Jan 20, 2012 Tough Critic Book Reviews marked it as to-read

After spending 24 of the last 48 hours in the nursing lab, I thought...

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Then I discovered there was going to be a new Jennifer L. Armentrout Book...

This is absolutely...

HALLELUJAH!!!!!!

Sue -Celebrating Pictures, Images and Photos

And the world makes sense again :-)

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Oct 18, 2013 Khanh, first of her name, mother of bunnies rated it liked it

Shelves: ya, twins-triplets-clones, siblings, romance, nice-authors, mystery, mental-illness, high-school, detective

Actual rating: 3.5

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m not proud of it. Even though you didn’t have that damn necklace on, as far as I knew, you were still with Del. And I’m not big on making out with another guy’s girlfriend."

The apocalypse has arrived, and the signs started with Khanh liking a bad-boy love interest within an Armentrout novel.

I've read a lot of Armentrout books, and I have to say that this was my favorite in her repertoire. It was not amazing, but like all Armentrout works, it is immensely readable, and unlike most Armentrout works, it didn't give me a pounding headache. I have always loved the amnesia trope, and this book did the trick.

More details later, but in short, here's the good and the sort-of-bad. Honestly, there wasn't anything truly atrocious about this book.

There were a few moments that made me cringe. Specifically, they were the moments when Sam felt like she had to get physical with her boyfriend in order to be a good girlfriend. I didn't like the intonation that it was the girl's fault if she could not get into the attraction, that is was her duty to be sexually fulfilling in order to have a functional relationship. Thankfully, that only happened twice in the book.

The good:
1. A non-bitchy heroine for a change
2. A bad-boy love interest who turns out to be likeable, even by Khanh standards
3. No Mary Sue syndrome
4. There's an actual FAMILY, they have family interactions! The MC is not an orphan!

The (sorta) bad:
1. The MC is Too-Stupid-To-Live at times, and too meek in others; she trusts too easily
2. The plot was extremely predictable: I guessed the whodunnit within the first 20% of the book
3. The "amnesia" excuse was believed by everyone, which is a far stretch to me
4. There was no subtlety: there are extremely obvious and caricaturized Mean Girls. The bad guys all but wore "VILLAIN" signs around their necks. The hints and clues were so loud a 5-year old could have guessed
5. Extremely shallow female friends

The bad:
1. The forced physicality between Sam and her boyfriend

The Summary:

“She thinks I did it?” My voice was small, hoarse. “She thinks I did something to Cassie?”

A girl wanders the streets, battered and bruised. She doesn't know where she is, she doesn't know who she is.

It turns out that she is Samantha Jo Franco, and her life appears to be pretty fucking sweet on the surface. She's got loving parents, a twin brother, not to mention the fact that her family is immensely wealthy.

We drove past them...in our Bentley.
Quickly, I learned that they were rich. Sickeningly rich. It was funny how I didn’t remember squat, but I knew what money looked like.

She lives in a house that makes a mansion look like an apartment. Samantha is good-looking. She's got a loving steady boyfriend. She's headed to Yale next year. So what could be wrong?

“Cassie Winchester is your best friend. She disappeared with you.”

Oh, there's that little matter. Not only has Samantha's memories disappeared, but so has her best friend, Cassie. And the trouble doesn't end there...you see, Samantha---the old Samantha...was a huge bitch.

“You were a terror to everyone who knew you."

It turns out that there is a Mean Girl clique at her school, and Samantha was the queen bee. She ran a campaign of terror, lording it all over her classmates. Everyone in school hated her, with good reason.

“Just a couple weeks ago, you called her”—she lowered her voice—“a fat bitch whose thighs were capable of setting the world on fire."

To make it worse, someone's leaving her strange notes.

Drawing in a shallow breath, I unfolded the slip of paper.

There was blood on the rocks. Her blood. Your blood.

And she's having hallucinations of Cassie...if that's what it is.

There's a whole lot of adjustment to be made. Sam's got to come to terms with who she was, and who she is now. She has to determine who's her friends, and who's her enemy. She has to sort out her feelings between her childhood friend Carson, the son of "the help," and her handsome, blue-blooded boyfriend Del. There are relationships to be rebuilt between her family and her twin brother Scott, and she's going to have to rebuild some broken friendships.

And try not to get herself killed in the process of remembering what happened the night Cassie disappeared. Who killed Cassie? There are no shortage of suspects.

“There’s a huge list of people who were angry with her, but to kill her? I don’t think so.”
He cursed under his breath as he faced me. “There are at least a hundred kids at school who probably fantasized about pushing her in front of a bus a time or two.”

And one of them may be Cassie herself.

"Right now, if it turns out that she was murdered, you’re their number one suspect.”

Samantha:

“You’re not an idiot, Sam.”
Pressing my lips together, I shook my head. Maybe I wasn’t stupid, but I’d been incredibly naive.

I actually liked Sam a lot. I found her switch from bitchy before-Sam to completely passive after-Sam to be a bit of a stretch, but she is the first Armentrout main character who didn't make me want to strangle her. Sam is really nice, but also incredibly meek at times. Due to her amnesia, she is incredibly innocent, and she asks a lot of questions, which is reasonable, but also frustrating at times.

“Jeez, this is like talking to a toddler.”

She is pretty smart, she has some common sense. When Sam receives mysterious notes, she knows she needs to keep them as evidence, despite her brother's protestations to the contrary.

But she can be, as she said, "incredibly naive." Sam didn't realize that she was a suspect in Cassie's disappearance. That's just really unbelievable.

“The big deal is that you were most likely the last person who saw Cassie—you were probably with her when...when whatever happened to her occurred.”
“I know! And that’s why I need to talk to the police.”
“No. That’s why you can’t talk to the police!”

She trusts people too easily. Sam doesn't have her memories, she doesn't know who she can and can't trust, and yet she seems to intuitively feel who she can trust---and she turns out to be right, without much credibility on the reader's part.

And to top it off, she sometimes acts foolishly. Sam returns to the possible scene of the crime alone. She runs off to be by herself, leaving her family to worry. But she is never outrageously stupid, and I liked her as a main character. I feel like she grew up along the way, I feel that she became self-aware. She eventually becomes strong, but never a bitch.

The Credibility: My main fault with this book is the credibility. I don't mean the amnesia premise, I mean that everyone buys into it so quickly. Before-Sam was a bitch. Why did everyone all of a sudden believe that she has amnesia? Because before-Sam was a manipulative bitch, wouldn't it be so much easier for everyone to think that she had been lying all along? Everyone seems to buy the amnesia premise without much convincing, and I found that hard to believe.

No Subtlety: The mystery was extremely obvious to anyone reading this book. The bad guys says things too quickly, too brightly, they smile too falsely, too easily. Sam has a knee-jerk reaction to them. I liked this book, but I like more depth to my investigative mysteries, and I found this book to be rather shallow.

The Mean Girls: Sam's friends are horrible people. Almost all the females in this book are bitches. They're beautiful and manipulative. They're petty. They're shallow. They're absurdly snobby. They're outrageously racist.

“Look, Pham or Long Duck, whatever your name is, turn around."

The Mean Girls clique is one element of Armentrout's book I could do without.

The Romance: There is a love triangle in the book, and it is so half-hearted that I can't even be bothered to complain about it. What surprised me was my "like" (not love, like) for the bad-boy-motorcycle-riding love interest. It started off badly enough, as the newly-amnesiac Sam falls into insta-love for an asshole who hates her.

“Is that my boyfriend?” I whispered, hopeful and scared all at once.
He was happy to see me, but … but then his eyes hardened into chips of ice.
“Boyfriend? Yeah,” he said slowly, voice deep and smooth. “Not even if you paid my tuition to Penn State next year.”

And he also rides a motorcycle. Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare me, please.

But as it turned out, he's...kind of a nice guy. For one, he doesn't want to be a cheater.

“I don’t like Del,” he admitted, staring straight into my eyes. “He’s a dick, and you’ve always deserved better than him, but I’m not that kind of guy. At least, I’m trying to not be with you.”

Sam has a boyfriend, Del. She's not attracted to Del, she's attracted to Carson. Technically, she's cheating on Del mentally. But the thing is, Sam realizes that cheating is not right.

I needed to figure out how I felt about Del if there was any hope for us because stringing him along wasn’t fair. If I was no longer the girl who’d fallen in love with him, it wasn’t right to keep up this...this charade.

I liked Carson. I liked Sam. Their romance didn't hurt, and neither did this book. ...more

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Mar 17, 2015 Lala BooksandLala rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mind-fuckery, thriller-mystery, favourites

This book was quite the roller coaster. It was basically a suspense thriller disguised as a contemporary. I got sucked in so bad and couldn't wait to figure out the mystery!

It's no secret that I love an unreliable narrator, and since this was a teen girl with amnesia..who starts to hallucinate and appears to be losing her damn mind..it was right up my alley.

She was an actual non-annoying heroine, her love interest was well done, the situations paced perfectly, overall a pretty good read.

I can't ...more

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Aug 06, 2013 Candace rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Fans of suspenseful/mysterious YA stories

Recommended to Candace by: Anna M.

Shelves: listened-to-audio-version, childhood-loves, favorites, love-triangles, shocking-twists

Wowzers! I loved this story! This is my first book by this author, but definitely won't be my last. From the very first page, this book had me enthralled. I listened to the Audible version and I didn't want to turn it off. The story was captivating and the narration was superb. This book had my rapt attention right up until the end...and what an ending it was!

When Samantha is found, bruised and battered after being missing for four days, she has no recollection of who she is. Her best friend, Ca ...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Molly McAdams rated it it was amazing

**I was given an early version of this book**

Oh holy straight jacket and a padded room!

I'm...wow. This book will be a huge treat for Jennifer Armentrout fans. I've always loved everything she wrote, and this book was no exception. But I quite literally couldn't put this book down!

So be prepared for that...don't start it when you've just gotten in bed. You won't sleep until it's over.

I wasn't just gripped by the story, I felt like I fell headfirst into Sam's life and was right there through eve **I was given an early version of this book**

Oh holy straight jacket and a padded room!

I'm...wow. This book will be a huge treat for Jennifer Armentrout fans. I've always loved everything she wrote, and this book was no exception. But I quite literally couldn't put this book down!

So be prepared for that...don't start it when you've just gotten in bed. You won't sleep until it's over.

I wasn't just gripped by the story, I felt like I fell headfirst into Sam's life and was right there through everything! I've read plenty of books where I've been captivated by characters, but nothing like this. I swear I thought I was going crazy right along with her! I had a million theories about what happened that night, and every time something happened, I was quick to 1. question my sanity and 2. dissect every word the other characters said...almost like a trust no one, including yourself type of situation. Hell of a trip.

I don't even know what I can say without giving away things in the book...but honest to God. It was simply amazing. Jenn keeps you second guessing yourself the entire time and the pace of the book is perfect. There isn't too much going on and never once is there a lull in the story.

You will love the characters in this book. Sammy's so real and I cheered her on as she kept from being a victim to her amnesia, and especially when turned her back on her old life. Scott and Julie are amazing supporting characters, and to be honest, I wish I had a twin brother like Scott. Their relationship is special and he is fiercely protective of his sister. And not just in a way most brothers are (ahhhh I WISH I COULD SAY THINGS WITHOUT GIVING IT ALL AWAY. but you'll understand) And then there's Carson...mmm lordy. <-- uh...I'm pretty sure that explains it all. ;) Kidding. Kidding. He's gorgeous, has a protective streak to rival Scott's, and is so sweet and patient with Sam that I swooned almost every time he was on a page.

This book is said to be Black Swan meets Pretty Little Liars...fits it perfectly. Actually there will be times it has a The Lying Game feel to it. (but I can assure you it is VERY much its own story) The mix of these makes for an epic novel that will have you on the edge of your seat, chills running down your spine and you'll feel like you aren't able to read fast enough.

For once. I wish I could give a book more than five stars. ...more

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Mar 18, 2014 Kassidy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014-release, books-i-own

*4.75*

I could not stop reading this book! I love the romance and the plot twists, the whole thing is captivating. The main character is put in a really interesting situation where she is questioning her sanity and it was intriguing as a reader to experience that with her. However, I think some of the plot points are predictable, and although I like the main character, she could be really naive.
Overall, a super fun and entertaining book and sucked me in!

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Nov 07, 2016 Aj the Ravenous Reader rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Aj the Ravenous Reader by: Mac Dubista Keso The Bibliobibuli v(=∩_∩=)

Shelves: physically-owned-books, contemporary, psycho, young-adult

More like 3.5 stars but rounded up because I'm feeling generous these days ;)

I knew it! Ha! I’ve suspected him like super early on in the story. Yes I have my other suspects but there was a scene that led me to the final conclusion that it was him and I was right! Sorry FBI, I know you could use my talent in your team but I’m too busy reading books. Lol.

Or perhaps, it was just really easy to predict and that’s probably one of the flaws of the novel - the lack of subtlety. Nevertheless, I reall ...more

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Oct 24, 2017 may ❀ rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: 300-pgs, bye, clichéd-to-death, contemporary, in-the-trash-you-go, library, love-triangle-ugh, meh, standalones, thriller

Honestly, I feel really cheated here bc practically everyone ADORES this book and when I scroll through the reviews im like…why cant I FEEL THIS WAY ABOUT THE BOOK

I think, I think it may be time for maymay to let go of JLA.

So so so so so, let’s break this down.

Pros
- The writing was better than I expected, it held my interest for a time
- The thriller part, what little we got of it, was great. There were moments where it was like 11pm and I kept scanning my room and looking around for scary sh ...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Christy rated it really liked it

photo ce4b9116-0b90-4a88-b19e-6266a9195bae_zpsf61f1feb.jpg

Samantha and her best friend Cassie have been missing for days. When Sam is found, she doesn’t know her own name. Doesn’t recognize her parents, her brother, her friends, even her boyfriend. She can’t tell anyone what happened or where Cassie is. She has no idea. All personal details of her life are missing. But is it a bad thing?

Lets be honest- Samantha was a bitch. She was a mean girl. All of her friends are mean girls too. Cassie was quite possibly the meanest of them all. This new Sam doesn ...more

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Oct 13, 2016 Sophie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

JLA YOU QUEEN

This. Was. So. GOOD.

Like holy mother of goodness. Can I just binge read every other existing JLA book right now??? Because I honestly don't want to read anything else at the moment and I DEFINITELY am not ready to sleep after finishing this!!

I devoured this wonderful book. It was everything I could have wanted and so much more. I loved that this didn't feel like a typical contemporary read, or even a typical mystery. I was impressed by how well this book did as a standalone. It ha ...more

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Jan 30, 2014 Brandi rated it really liked it

Shelves: suspense, young-adult

4.25 Stars

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Jan 22, 2012 Giselle rated it liked it

Shelves: arc, own

With a strong blurb and a cover that's both creepy and pretty, I went into this one with a lot of expectations. It is my favorite genre and an author I've previously enjoyed, after all. I can't say I'm disappointed, exactly, but I'm sad that didn't end up loving this one as much as I was hoping.

Amnesia is a commonly used trope in mystery novels, but I still find myself drawn to them every time. Even though it's been done before, I found the memory loss aspect very well executed. When Samantha r With a strong blurb and a cover that's both creepy and pretty, I went into this one with a lot of expectations. It is my favorite genre and an author I've previously enjoyed, after all. I can't say I'm disappointed, exactly, but I'm sad that didn't end up loving this one as much as I was hoping.

Amnesia is a commonly used trope in mystery novels, but I still find myself drawn to them every time. Even though it's been done before, I found the memory loss aspect very well executed. When Samantha reappears into a life where she had it all, she's not sure how to deal with the way people describe her. She was a selfish bitch, to put it bluntly. I found this contrast between her pre-amnesia and present self very intriguing. She's the same girl, yet with a now conflicting personality from before. It makes you wonder what could have turned this great person at heart into such a mean girl. Unfortunately I never exactly connected with Samantha. She was not unlikeable as a protagonist, but she did grate on my nerves every now and then, especially when it involved Del. I found it incredibly obvious that he was lying about their relationship - and more - (I mean, what teenage relationship is that perfect?), but she still believed his every word. He kind of creeped me out if I'm being honest. I wanted him to just go away.

Furthermore, I did find there were a lot of clichés throughout this story. Romantically, we've got the tumbling-and-falling-on-top-of-each-other scene, then the crush-wiping-ice-cream-off-her-chin scene. Thriller-wise, we've got the face-in-a-rear-view-mirror shocker along with mysteriously appearing notes. I can't say I didn't roll my eyes a time or two. More on these notes, they were so vague and unhelpful that I didn't see the point to them. They do serve a purpose eventually, but an angle like this had a lot more potential to build an effective twist than it delivered.

With that out of the way, I may not have fallen in love with this one, but I did enjoy myself while reading it. I was kept in the dark with a mystery that unravels slowly and steadily until all the pieces fit. I was left feeling butterflies towards a once unlikely romance that blooms between two characters (not Del - blerg!). And I was satisfied with the psychological aspect and unique character arc driven by memory loss. JL Armentrout definitely has potential in the mystery genre!

--
An advance copy was provided by the publisher for review.

For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads

...more

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Jul 20, 2017 Ashwood (애쉬 우드). rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

"My memories were dangerous, but they were also the key to the truth."

Ok... so I don't think there's a JLA book that I didn't like because this was amazing and thrilling and heart stopping and wow!

Waking up in the middle of nowhere and not knowing who you are, your name, and parents is just about as terrible as it sounds. The plot of this story and flow of everything and how it was pieced together was pretty awesome. The revelation scene was a bit predictable but then again I still couldn't bel ...more

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Oct 03, 2013 Pavlina Read more sleep less blog❤❤ rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, ya-books

4,5 STARS

"Don't look back.
You won't like
what you find."

Wow it was amazing!!I really enjoyed it!It hooked me from the first page until the end!!I loved the mystery and suspense!!I couldn't guess who was the killer and honestly when I learn, it was a shock for me!!It's really a great change of pace for the author and I hope that she will write more books like this!!And the fact that the romance was secondary didn't bother me at all!!This is a YA thriller...so be prepared... :))

Two teenage girl ...more

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Aug 19, 2015 Jessica-❥Chatterbooks Book Blog❥ rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-thriller

4.75 stars
This is such a different type of book than Jennifer L. Armentrout usually writes that I wasn't sure what to expect. I am so glad that I decided to read it, because I enjoyed it so much. I never wanted to put it down. The only negative I have is that I guessed the twist at the end of the story in the beginning of the book. However, I still wondered if I was right throughout the story so it didn't ruin the experience for me. I hope the author decides to write more books like this in the ...more

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Oct 12, 2015 bibliophile (Romance Addict) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: YA lovers!

Shelves: abuse, book-boyfriends, enemies-to-lovers, favorites, kick-ass-heroine, mysterious, suspense, ya

5 "Who am I?" stars

So, the million dollar question is, did Jennifer ever disappoint me?

And the answer is no. All the books I've read by Jennifer were amazing, and I adored each one of them. This book was no exception. It was amazing. I couldn't even put it down. From the start, till the very last pages, the book kept me entertained. I have to clap for J.L because I was in a reading slump, but honestly I flew through this book.

The story follows Sam, a girl who woke up alone in the forest. She ...more

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Oct 18, 2015 Anna M. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Why did it take me this long to read this book? It's Jennifer Armentrout.... How can it not be amazing! Couldn't put it down... It was an intense read, chills, thrills and a few sweet love scenes ;)

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Sep 21, 2017 Caitlin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017-read, 4-stars

wow. I am honestly speechless. This book was so much better than I expected and I’m just so shook. It was so easy to fly through and I really had no idea who did it up until it was revealed. I am S H O O K

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Nov 16, 2016 Norah Una Sumner rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016, 5-star-read, adventure, contemporary, covergasm, crime, drama-llama, family-theme, great-male-characters, loss

4.5 stars

I unexpectedly enjoyed reading this book. It was very interesting, with a quite various spectre of characters and their personal psychology. The writing style was fresh and it's impossible not to be pulled into the scary but yet beautiful vortex that is Sam's life. I loved unraveling the mystery surrounding Sam and getting to know the real Sam better. This is my first Armentrout book and I would like to read more of her contemporary books in the future.

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Jul 15, 2017 Nazanin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2014, young-adult, mystery

4.25 Stars

"Don’t look back. You won’t like what you find."

Samantha was missing for four days and when they found her she couldn’t remember anything, where she was, what’s her name, her parents… She wasn’t the only one missing. her best friend, Cassie, was disappeared with her but they couldn’t find her yet. Apparently, they both were b!tches to every one.

"I was stuck in this life I didn’t remember, squeezed into the shell of this girl-this Samantha Jo Franco-and the more I learned about her, the ...more

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Aug 07, 2014 Pearl Angeli rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-physical-copy, 2015-reads, sobfest, young-adult-contemporary

We were joined by the secret of that night, a memory I couldn't reach.

When a book has a major twist and you need to put it down to gather yourself because your mind is absolutely blown. Ugh. What an incredible book! Fast-paced, brilliantly well-written, and with an ending that surprises. This book kind of reminded me of Mara Dyer trilogy and CoHo's Never Never but sure thing, they are very different stories but all at the same time, equally astounding.

What I love about this book is that it's ...more

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Aug 22, 2017 Anja rated it really liked it · review of another edition

*4.75 SUSPENSEFUL STARS*

“I was stuck in a life I didn't remember, squeezed into the shell of this girl and the more I learned about her, the more I was starting to hate her.”

I truly enjoyed the hell out of this book!
The suspense was killing me and I was unable to put this down for longer than half an hour. I read in some other reviews that they already suspected who did it from the very start, but I didn't see the identity of the killer coming at all!

Review coming soon!

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Apr 10, 2014 Plamena rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

5 Stunning Stars!!!!!!

This book became one of my absolutely favourites before I ever finished it! I love Jennifer L. Armentrout because her writing is just perfect! The characters she creates and the stories she writes are always so unique and interesting that once you start reading...you can’t stop.

“Don’t look back” is one of the best stories Jennifer has ever written. It’s really different than her other books but as amazing as all of them. I didn’t know what to expect but she managed to surp ...more

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Feb 13, 2018 Tea Jovanović rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-for-pleasure

From first to last page well-written YA novel I highly recommend for reading!

Srpsko izdanje ima odličan prevod, pogrešne korice i pogrešan naslov... Naime, primećujem da domaći izdavači u poslednje vreme bez ikakvog opravdanog razloga i bez obzira na žanr romana stavljaju neodgovarajuće sladunjave naslove (koji najčešće nemaju nikakve veze s originalnim) i sladunjave korice (koje opet najčešće nemaju veze s temom knjige) u želji da privuku što masovniju čitalačku publiku a time zapravo odbijaju ...more

flag 29 likes · Like · see review

Oct 12, 2016 ambsreads rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, contemporary, mystery, young-adult, best-covers, favorites, books-i-own

Don't Look Back is a book that has me SHOOK. I am so overwhelmed still, a few hours after finishing this book. I can't even put in words what I have thought and how I felt while reading this book. So, because I am so completely shocked that I could not guess a thing in this book have a series of gifs that represent me throughout my reading experience:

description

I just honestly can't believe how good this book was for me. To be as basic as possible - I can't even. The gifs are in no particular order either, ...more

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May 07, 2016 Renata rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: stand-alone

Dejé el libro marcado como leído y me olvidé de leer una reseña...bueno a ver el libro me gustó y en las primeras 100 páginas o así fue interesante y no tenía ni idea de lo que podría pasar y tenía ese toque de "misterio" pero me pasó que a partir de cierto punto se volvió muy cliché. Tenemos a la típica película americana de los populares y los ricos y no sé, me alegro mucho que la protagonista cambió pero realmente el final me dejó un poco meh. No sé si lo habéis leído pero no pueden pasar tan ...more

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Feb 11, 2016 Chelsea (chelseadolling reads) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Actually more like a 3.5, but a high 3.5. Would have been just a 3 if not for that ending. I did NOT see that coming. MY LANTA.

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May 02, 2015 Sophie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2015

4.5/5 stars!
the only thing I really want so say right now: OH HOLY DAMN THAT ENDING!!!

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Oct 09, 2015 Pilar ☽ rated it really liked it

Shelves: best-of-the-best, contemporary, fabulous-characters, mystery, young-adult, well-hello-there-mr

"Don't look back, you won't like what you find."

Oh, dear. THOSE PLOT-TWISTS! Jennifer did it again.

Finally a book I truly enjoyed! "Don't Look Back" was a huge surprise for me, I honestly thought that I wouldn't enjoy this book as much I have. My book choices these last two month weren't THAT good, and I was seriously giving up. Thanks god I decided to read this one, this author never disappoints.

I was 100% into the story since I started reading it. The mystery was so fun and it kept me on ...more

flag 24 likes · Like · see review

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Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Similar books...?	2	12	Oct 10, 2018 04:42AM
YA Buddy Readers'...: Don't Look Back - Starting June 23rd 2017	3	10	Jun 20, 2017 10:01AM
Around the Year i...: Don't Look Back, by Jennifer L. Armentrout	1	13	Mar 05, 2017 05:38PM
Crazy for Young A...: Pair #16: Ann-Marie and Susan (January Besties)	10	13	Jan 17, 2017 03:01PM
Bookish Beauties ...: DON'T LOOK BACK (Pages 252-End)	2	50	Sep 14, 2015 11:46AM
Bookish Beauties ...: DON'T LOOK BACK (Pages 108-251)	2	19	Sep 14, 2015 11:44AM
Bookish Beauties ...: DON'T LOOK BACK (Pages 1-107)	2	29	Sep 14, 2015 11:43AM

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About Jennifer L. Armentrout

Jennifer L. Armentrout

50,401 followers

Hey Guys! Please note: I don't send out ARCs for review. If you're interested in reviewing a book of mine before release date, please contact the appropriate publisher. I also do NOT check my Goodreads email.

To email me, please use the below addy.
jenniferlarmentrout@live.com

# 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout Lives in West Virginia.

All the rumors you heard ...more