If There's No Tomorrow

Author: Jennifer L Armentrout
Genre: Teen Fiction
Type: Hardcover
Pages: 376
Source: Local Public Library
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
First Published: September 5, 2017
First Line: "I couldn't move and everything hurt -- my skin felt stretched too tight, muscles burned like they'd been lit on fire, and my bones ached deep into the marrow."

Book Description from GoodReads: 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?

My Rating: 3 stars

My Review: This was my first Armentrout read and I wasn't sure what to expect. If There's No Tomorrow quickly dives into some weighty subjects but is balanced by a sweet (at times, leaning towards cheesy) relationship between Lena and the boy she's had a crush on pretty much her whole life. 

While I liked the 'Dawson's Creek-esque' relationship, the depth of emotion and the general story line fell a little flat for me. I applaud Armentrout for bringing up emotional and timely subjects but I'm not sure they were handled as well as they could have been.

What I particularly liked was how Armentrout focused on the idea of 'good people making bad decisions' and the impact one small decision can make. But I felt that Lena (and the reader) got tangled up in her feelings of guilt, loss and grief for too long with issues being rehashed over and over. Once Lena understood her feelings better, the ending was rather quick, leaving the reader without enough closure. An epilogue would have been a great addition.

Overall, this was a sweet love story that is surrounded by big issues. This was a good book, but it didn't reach the 'great' level for a few reasons. This story will hopefully give readers important food for thought and has some emotional impact as readers see Lena struggle with her feelings. I guess I just wanted a little bit more.