If There’s No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Pages: 250
Publish date: September 5, 2017
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
ISBN: 9781489242174
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – QBD

If There’s No Tomorrow:

I received an arc of If There’s No Tomorrow by Jennifer L. Armentrout from Harlequin Teen Australia in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book. 

I’ve tried to review this book without spoilers – however, I found it very hard to do without really looking into the book.  

I was really excited to pick this one up, I really enjoyed Jennifer’s Lux series when I read it and felt that I needed to get into some of her contemporary. Straight from the premise, I was already intrigued. And throughout the whole first half, the reader was kept on the edge of their seat. You didn’t know what was going to happen and then it did.  You were stuck. 

If There’s No Tomorrow follows Lena who’s about to start her Senior year. She is ready to have fun be with her friends and maybe tell her best friend, Sebastian, that she likes him. But, that all changes. And when your life is flipped on its head – you have nowhere to go. Now Lena is filled with hurt, regret and doesn’t know how to move on. 

The novel was set out in the basic ‘before’ and ‘after,’ format and I thought that it worked so well. Throughout the whole of before, I wanted to know what happened. It was like, something could happen any second, but you don’t know when. Nevertheless, the ‘before’ was so needed. We were shown how these characters were, not told. The reader was able to see how Lena was before and how this incident did change her. How it affected her. We were able to see how the relationships were – because they did play such a big part in the novel. 

And then the after was heartbreaking. The reader was able to see how much these characters changed, how much Lena was hurt. How she had to plow through each day. But, we also got to see her rise and I loved this characterisation. I thought that the character arcs were really well executed and I really love that, especially in contemporary.  

Lena was a difficult character to get along with. And it wasn’t because I didn’t like her. I think it was because she was filled with so many emotions that she changed quite a lot. Though, I really loved seeing Lena grow. At the start she was right in it all, while not being the center of attention, she wasn’t in the background either. But, then after, she hides.  And that was heartbreaking. 

A lot of the characters in If There’s No Tomorrow didn’t give Lena much credit. She went through a hell of a lot and I felt like they wanted her to get back on her feet right away. And all I was concerned about was making sure she knew she was loved and wanted. 

Sebastian was touch a go for me. There were parts of the novel that just didn’t sit right with me and I wanted to shake him a little. But, then the way that he treated Lena was really sweet. We don’t see that much in YA. Sweet male love interest and I enjoyed that. I felt that maybe Sebastian’s character arc could have been slightly better, but overall it was okay. 

Family and Friendship were a big theme throughout If There’s No Tomorrow. And while it wasn’t the best of families. I liked Lena’s relationship with her mother and sister. I wanted to see more from her father and really did wish there were good bonds from the start. We also get to see the good and bad of friendship in this novel. It’s really put to the test and while it’s heartbreaking at times its life. 

I really enjoyed the writing style of If There’s No Tomorrow. It was easy to read but also packed with emotions that did tear me apart at times. I wanted to give Lena so many hugs throughout the novel that I lost count. What I really did like about If There’s No Tomorow was how it dealt with grief and mental illness. It was so prevalent throughout the novel and I liked the way that it was dealt with overall.  

Overall If There’s No Tomorow, was a powerful read. It explores the notion of finding one self and letting go. It’s about grief and how it can consume you. We see love, family, and friendship really takes a stand throughout the novel. If There’s No Tomorow combines heartbreak and trying to find the best in life – effortlessly.  

 

 

 

 

Have you read If There’s No Tomorow by Jennifer L. Armentrout? What did you think? Are you planning on reading it? Have you read any other books by her? Let’s Chat!