Source Purchased
Published by Disney-Hyperion on April 15, 2014
Rating:
Cover image and summary from Goodreads:
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?
This is only the second book of Jennifer Armentrout’s I’ve read. I bought this book right when it was released because the summary ticked a lot of my boxes: mean girls, missing person/possible murder mystery, a hint of the paranormal, and then of course that excellent cover! But then it sat on my shelf for months.
I’m so happy to report that I finally read and loved Don’t Look Back! The writing was great, and I love the way the author explored Sam’s relationship with her twin brother, Scott (I love stories about siblings).
The story was tense and once Sam started experiencing flashbacks and strange visions, I had this feeling of needing to know immediately what was happening!I loved the mystery and the way it was unraveled in the end. While not a totally surprising reveal, I really liked the way it was done.
I also enjoyed reading about Sam trying to figure out what happened to her and to Cassie while dealing with amnesia. It sort of put the reader in Sam’s shoes, because Sam didn’t know (or at least, didn’t remember) what happened that night and neither did I. And I loved that the more she learned about the ‘old’ Sam – the queen bee mean girl – and the terrible way she treated people, the more appalled she was at her past behaviour, and even called out her bitchy friends for their rude behaviour.
The romance was kind of swoon-worthy, and was a lot of fun to read. I liked Carson and seeing how he reacted to the ‘new’ Sam.
I do really wish that I’d been able to read more about Cassie’s character and her friendship with Sam. That’s what I was the most curious about (other than the main mystery of what happened to the girls that night), and didn’t feel satisfied with that element of the story when I finished reading.
Don’t Look Back was a great mystery that was so fun to read! Definitely recommended!