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If There’s No Tomorrow by Jennifer L Armentrout

Release date: 14^th December 2017
Buy it here https://www.amazon.co.uk/If-Theres-Tomorrow-Jennifer-Armentrout/dp/1848456875/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1512218609&sr=8-1&keywords=if+there%27s+no+tomorrow+by+jennifer+l.+armentrout
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34225450-if-there-s-no-tomorrow

Description: Lena Wise is always looking forward to tomorrow, especially at the start of her senior year. She’s ready to pack in as much friend time as possible, to finish college applications and to maybe let her childhood best friend Sebastian know how she really feels about him. For Lena, the upcoming year is going to be epic—one of opportunities and chances.

Until one choice, one moment, destroys everything.

Now Lena isn’t looking forward to tomorrow. Not when friend time may never be the same. Not when college applications feel all but impossible. Not when Sebastian might never forgive her for what happened.

For what she let happen.

With the guilt growing each day, Lena knows that her only hope is to move on. But how can she move on when her and her friends’ entire existences have been redefined? How can she move on when tomorrow isn’t even guaranteed?

Characters
I don’t trust Lena as much as perhaps I should. I know she’s an unreliable narrator owing to her memory loss; however, even when she regains her memory, she isn’t just pulling away from her friends, she pulls away from the reader too.
Sebastian is a little too perfect for my liking. He’s not an undeveloped character and I doubt for a second he is that perfect. However the things we know about him are from Lena, and I’m afraid she has him on a pedestal.

Plot
The first half of the book jumps around the timeline, allowing the reader to feel the same confusion that Lena does. It’s a weird feeling, but it adds to the atmosphere of the narrative.
The plot follows in the manner as we might expect grief to; nonlinear, progressive with unpredictable pitfalls. It’s wonderful and painful.

Writing
It’s a solid, professionally written novel. So Clear and well written that could handle the time jumps; something other writers would make feel clunky and convoluted.

All the Wrong Chords by Christine Hurley Deriso #bookreview #hanreview @NetGalley

Flux Publishing
Release date: 12.12.2017

From Goodreads:
Scarlett Stiles is desperate for a change of scenery after her older brother, Liam, dies of a drug overdose. But spending the summer with her grandfather wasn’t exactly what she had in mind. Luckily, Scarlett finds something to keep her busy—a local rock band looking for a guitarist. Even though playing guitar has been hard since Liam died, Scarlett can’t pass on an opportunity like this, and she can’t take her eyes off the band’s hot lead singer either. Is real happiness just around the corner? Or will she always be haunted by her brother’s death?

Preorder it here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wrong-Chords-Christine-Hurley-Deriso/dp/1635830109/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1511710707&sr=8-1 Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34773854-all-the-wrong-chords?from_search=true

The Characters
Scarlett is a relatable teen for anyone who has suffered loss, crushed on the bad boy or used music as an escape. Her relationship with a number of other characters impacts upon her grief in such an understated and real way.

Declan, being the resident player of the novel, is drawn up to be someone rather sketchy and shallow. Others bring layers to the lead singer of the band; beautiful but vain.

Scarlett’s grandfather is much more than a plot device; he’s the exploration of how different generations grieve. While you might not agree with how he goes about things, you will understand completely.

The Plot
The plot is tightly woven over a summer, not too long after the death of Scarlett’s brother. While she grieves, she generates a crush for the lead singer of the local band.

Along the way, she discovers things about herself that helps her revaluate her view of society and the world. There are a number of twists and reveals that keep the plot moving forward until it reaches a satisfying end.

The Writing
Scarlett is given a strong voice throughout the book. It’s clear and engaging, despite a number of repeated phases that can occasionally jolt the free-flowing narrative.

Goodbye Perfect by Sara Barnard #bookreview #hanreview @NetGalley

Release date: 8.2.18
Preorder here
From Goodreads:

Eden McKinley knows she can’t count on much in this world, but she can depend on Bonnie, her solid, steady, straight-A best friend. So it’s a bit of a surprise when Bonnie runs away with the boyfriend Eden knows nothing about five days before the start of their GCSEs. Especially when the police arrive on her doorstep and Eden finds out that the boyfriend is actually their music teacher, Mr Cohn.
Sworn to secrecy and bound by loyalty, only Eden knows Bonnie’s location, and that’s the way it has to stay. There’s no way she’s betraying her best friend. Not even when she’s faced with police questioning, suspicious parents and her own growing doubts.
As the days pass and things begin to unravel, Eden is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the world, her best friend and herself.

The Characters

I’ve never spent time with a character like Eden. She’s far from perfect, temperamental and loyal to a fault. It’s wonderful to see her develop throughout the book and becomes self-aware.
The pain and confusion Eden feels when her best friend leaves and the truth begins to unravel is very raw and real. Her relationships (adoptive parents, boyfriend and sisters) add to her complexity and gives her a vulnerability and equal inner strength that makes her a relatable character.
Valerie is Eden’s sister and a surprisingly good addition to the plot. Initially, I disliked her; I trust Eden’s voice. However, as the plot progresses I warm to her and I’m able to distinguish between Eden’s perception and the truth of the character.

The Plot

Finally! A YA novel that doesn’t glamorise or romanticise the student/teacher relationship that is often prominent in teen fiction. Not only that, Goodbye Perfect delves into the consequences of engaging in this sort of relationship.
The key here is that the story focuses on those left behind, but leaves room to show how the core couple feel about each other. The book explores the complexity of love, the consequences and dangers of grooming.

The Writing

Barnard gives Eden a strong voice that makes Goodbye Perfect an easy read; it’s clear and modern with a message all should hear.

Bonfire by @Krytenritter #bookreview #hanreview @NetGalley @Arrowpublishing @WindmillBooks

Release date: 9.11.17
Buy it here
Signed edition here

From Goodreads: It has been ten years since Abby Williams left home and scrubbed away all visible evidence of her small town roots. Now working as an environmental lawyer in Chicago, she has a thriving career, a modern apartment, and her pick of meaningless one-night stands.

But when a new case takes her back home to Barrens, Indiana, the life Abby painstakingly created begins to crack. Tasked with investigating Optimal Plastics, the town’s most high-profile company and economic heart, Abby begins to find strange connections to Barrens’ biggest scandal from more than a decade ago involving the popular Kaycee Mitchell and her closest friends—just before Kaycee disappeared for good.

Abby knows the key to solving any case lies in the weak spots, the unanswered questions. But as Abby tries to find out what really happened to Kaycee, she unearths an even more disturbing secret—a ritual called “The Game,” which will threaten the reputations, and lives, of the community and risk exposing a darkness that may consume her.

With tantalizing twists, slow-burning suspense, and a remote, rural town of just five claustrophobic miles, Bonfire is a dark exploration of the question: can you ever outrun your past?

My first thoughts

I’ve been itching to get a hold of a copy for months. I somehow knew it was going to be something I’d love, and I wasn’t wrong. I’d already pre-ordered a signed copy, but Net Galley UK approved my request and sent me a Kindle copy at the beginning of the week. Full of cold, I set myself on the sofa with a cuppa and a blanket, and past a whole autumnal day within Ritter’s world.

The Characters

Abby is so relatable, its rather scary. She’s a little bit of a loner, fuck up and passionate about her job. However, that’s not where the comparisons end for me. It’s Abby’s relationship with father that will haunt and sooth me for many days; the difficulty, the pain and guilt are all things I understand and help me to be drawn into the plot. It wouldn’t matter what the plot was; I’d have followed her into the depths of hell because I had her back, and many other readers will feel the same.
The supporting characters are all explored through Abby’s thoughts and memories and, as a result, you trust them as much as she does. Condor is one of my favourite characters, and I wish we’d been given more time with him. However, as Abby goes, so goes my nation.
There’s enough mystery behind a lot of the characters and it’s organic; allowing you to suspect and dismiss as the novel progresses.

The Plot

It’s a perfect slow burn plot that is set in motion way before the book begins. Being a book within the crime thriller genre, it would be easy to fall into the stereotypical pit falls or become so convoluted that it loses its readers. Bonfire escapes both of these, by giving a clever plot that will keep you guessing right up until the final reveal.

Underlying the law suit that the environmental lawyers are trying to uncover, Abby is returning home and opening up old wounds she never expected to face. It brings about a heart to the book that some crime novels of this ilk often lack.

The Writing

There’s a wonderful voice presented in this first-person narrative, one that I trust; Abby fast becomes a person I would love to get to know. The development of the plot and the sleep deprivation is well presented in the narration; without losing clarity of written structure.

This is a solid debut novel by Ritter, and I for one will be looking forward to any and all future offerings.