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 truth 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?
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18296030-don-t-look-back?from_search=true
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My Review: 4/5 Stars
I always wanted to write a story where the main character loses a significant amount of his or her memory. And I was happy to dive into Jennifer L. Armentrout's book where she did exactly that. Though she took it further than I had ever written. Not only does her main character not remember how she ended up walking on the side of the road, bloody and confused, she doesn't even remember her own name! Let alone her family members or how old she is. Our main character is truly a blank slate. And it was written so well that I couldn't put the book down and read it in one day. I had this need to find out what happened to her and if she was going to get her memory back and solve the mystery of where she was and what happened to her friend Cassie.
The book begins with Samantha walking on the side of the road pretty messed up and confused. Luckily for her a police officer picks her up and takes her to the hospital. She wakes up not recognizing her parents and doesn't know her name. From there, Samantha returns home to her fraternal twin brother who at first doesn't believe her but quickly realizes this isn't Samantha covering for herself in the usual trouble she may get into.
Samantha learns that she hasn't been the best sister or friend in the last six years. Ever since she met Cassie, the girl who is currently missing, she had changed into a witch with a capital B. Her brother doesn't really know what initially sparked the change other than meeting frenemy Cassie, but Samantha realizes that she doesn't exactly want to go back to being that bad of a person either.
The book continues with Samantha trying to regain her memories so that she can help figure out what happened Cassie, figure out who is leaving her threatening messages and the "Shadow Man" she keeps seeing, trying to navigate her way through the social hierarchy of high school where she once at the top but without her memories she has dropped to the bottom, and reconnect with the boy next door (Carson) who was once her best friend but somehow she lost along the way.
Carson is another worthy book boyfriend that Armentrout can add to her collection. He is sweet and kind and will do anything to help Samantha, despite their past being less than friendly when she changed. That alone makes me as a reader want to shake Samantha and say "how could you let him go!?"
The book is filled with mystery, romance, and action as Samantha and Carson team up to recover Samantha's memories and learn what happened that night Samantha and Cassie disappeared. It grasps the reality that is high school and how our parents and friends expectations can change who we are all in order to fit in or to even be perfect.
When second chances come Samantha learns to take it.
An amazing and definite worthy read, with plot twists that you truly don't see coming until it's too late!
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