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jess_read's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
blurrypetals's review against another edition
5.0
After being completely and totally blown away by If There's No Tomorrow I was at least somewhat prepared for a surprisingly high level of quality when I began this and I wasn't disappointed.
This book was a rather lovely mix of Hopeless by Colleen Hoover, Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles, and the Pushing the Limits Series by Katie McGarry. It was sweet, it was dramatic, it was romantic, it was everything I wanted it to be. I didn't like it on the whole as much as I liked If There's No Tomorrow but the romance elements were done just a bit better here than they were there so there was still a lot to love about this book.
After reading The Dark Elements Trilogy and The Lux Series, I had kind of written Jennifer L. Armentrout off as kind of a schmaltzy, paranormal YA sort of a writer, so it's been really pleasantly surprising to find two such great novels from her. I think it's safe to say Armentrout is an official all time fave at this point.
This book was a rather lovely mix of Hopeless by Colleen Hoover, Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles, and the Pushing the Limits Series by Katie McGarry. It was sweet, it was dramatic, it was romantic, it was everything I wanted it to be. I didn't like it on the whole as much as I liked If There's No Tomorrow but the romance elements were done just a bit better here than they were there so there was still a lot to love about this book.
After reading The Dark Elements Trilogy and The Lux Series, I had kind of written Jennifer L. Armentrout off as kind of a schmaltzy, paranormal YA sort of a writer, so it's been really pleasantly surprising to find two such great novels from her. I think it's safe to say Armentrout is an official all time fave at this point.
nishaali's review against another edition
3.0
So it's Halloween (happy haunting guys!) but anyone who knows me knows I don't do scary movies/things. At all. Like I'm that person who got scared at the slightly jumpy scenes in Stranger Things and hides during Scream Queens which is slapstick horror at best. So... I decided to go total 180 and do a romance contemporary review instead on this hallowed night of horrors. Don't worry though, it's not all sunshine and roses - keeping it real with some Armentrout *cool dude emoji*.
Mallory Dodge has been home-schooled up until senior year of high school because of a traumatic childhood. After four years of intense recovery, following her adoption by a pair of doctors, she still finds speaking up, or sometimes at all, difficult. After all, a habit of silence reinforced with threats of violence is hard to break... Senior year is Mallory's way of breaking out of her comfort zone. But she didn't expect to be totally thrown in the deep end which is exactly what happens when she comes face to face with Rider Stark, her protector from childhood whom she hasn't seen in four years. As sparks fly and old feelings resurface, Mallory finds herself in deep with Rider and his complicated life, and she realises that she must find her voice if she is to save the only boy who has always been there for her.
"I'd thought I'd already closed the chapter. Now it was reopened, flipping all the way to the beginning."
The Problem with Forever in a nutshell was pretty so-and-so for me. There were some great things, a few not so great. The characters fall in the latter camp - they were underwhelming and seemed one dimensional: Rider was the broody saviour; Paige, the "bitchy" obstacle of a girlfriend; Jayden, the kid who's in over his head; Hector, the long-suffering older brother; and Ainsley, the sassy best friend. I would've liked to know a bit more about each of their back stories - how they got to where they were, why they behaved the way they did. There are some hints that Paige is from a broken home but it is never explored beyond the perfuctory mention. And I really disliked that Ainsley and Jayden were just plot devices to provide Mallory some perspective.
"Forever was something that we all took for granted, but the problem with forever was that it really didn't exist."
The main reason for the 3 stars though was that this was a veeeery loooong book ("The Problem with Forever-ongoing books" amirite?) The book could've been a fraction of the length it was without losing any of the substance and plot. The first 50% was pretty much the unrequited drama of "will they/won't they" and I found myself repeatedly rolling my eyes because it was just endless flowery descriptions of how hot Rider is, how expressive his eyebrows/ dimples/ eyes/ insert body part here is, and how Mallory keeps stealing not-so-subtle glances (let's be real, she ~stares~) all whilst his girlfriend looks on - lovely. And while we're on the topic, I found Armentrout's writing a little clunky - there's a lot of eyebrows "slamming", lips "kicking" and fingers "wiggling" i.e. in goodbye which I found plain jarring. Best of them has to be this nugget though:
"The dimple made an appearance, blessing the hallway."
Lolz. I can't even.
One of the things I did like was the portrayal of trauma and recovery. This is a great book when it focusses on how difficult it is to become "unstuck" after a traumatic event even if that's years and years after the fact. Armentrout is unbelievably good at portraying the most harrowing child abuse without being too heavy-handed and we witness the progression of Mallory from being paralysed into silence to finally finding her voice. I loved how The Problem with Forever shows us that the physical scars and manifestations of trauma aren't the only "symptoms". Mallory has trouble physically speaking after years of silence as protection against abuse. However, we realise that sometimes the person who seems the most put together is actually the one who needs the most help. I think this is a really important aspect of mental health and it's great that Armentrout gave it page time in this book.
"Words were not the enemy or the monster under my bed, but they held such power over me."
So overall, the issues that The Problem with Forever deals with and how Armentrout writes about them was a positive for me and quite unique enough to warrant the 3 star rating. It's very sympathetically done and the process of healing that we follow Mallory on is a touching one. However, the story that these issues are couched in just didn't do anything for me and I felt disjointed from it. There was just a little too much swooning and not enough connecting for me when it came to Rider and Mallory and although understandable that their background would draw them together, I thought there was a reliance on their shared history for the romance to develop.
"My past was a part of me and it molded who I was today... but it did not control me."
Mallory Dodge has been home-schooled up until senior year of high school because of a traumatic childhood. After four years of intense recovery, following her adoption by a pair of doctors, she still finds speaking up, or sometimes at all, difficult. After all, a habit of silence reinforced with threats of violence is hard to break... Senior year is Mallory's way of breaking out of her comfort zone. But she didn't expect to be totally thrown in the deep end which is exactly what happens when she comes face to face with Rider Stark, her protector from childhood whom she hasn't seen in four years. As sparks fly and old feelings resurface, Mallory finds herself in deep with Rider and his complicated life, and she realises that she must find her voice if she is to save the only boy who has always been there for her.
"I'd thought I'd already closed the chapter. Now it was reopened, flipping all the way to the beginning."
The Problem with Forever in a nutshell was pretty so-and-so for me. There were some great things, a few not so great. The characters fall in the latter camp - they were underwhelming and seemed one dimensional: Rider was the broody saviour; Paige, the "bitchy" obstacle of a girlfriend; Jayden, the kid who's in over his head; Hector, the long-suffering older brother; and Ainsley, the sassy best friend. I would've liked to know a bit more about each of their back stories - how they got to where they were, why they behaved the way they did. There are some hints that Paige is from a broken home but it is never explored beyond the perfuctory mention. And I really disliked that Ainsley and Jayden were just plot devices to provide Mallory some perspective.
"Forever was something that we all took for granted, but the problem with forever was that it really didn't exist."
The main reason for the 3 stars though was that this was a veeeery loooong book ("The Problem with Forever-ongoing books" amirite?) The book could've been a fraction of the length it was without losing any of the substance and plot. The first 50% was pretty much the unrequited drama of "will they/won't they" and I found myself repeatedly rolling my eyes because it was just endless flowery descriptions of how hot Rider is, how expressive his eyebrows/ dimples/ eyes/ insert body part here is, and how Mallory keeps stealing not-so-subtle glances (let's be real, she ~stares~) all whilst his girlfriend looks on - lovely. And while we're on the topic, I found Armentrout's writing a little clunky - there's a lot of eyebrows "slamming", lips "kicking" and fingers "wiggling" i.e. in goodbye which I found plain jarring. Best of them has to be this nugget though:
"The dimple made an appearance, blessing the hallway."
Lolz. I can't even.
One of the things I did like was the portrayal of trauma and recovery. This is a great book when it focusses on how difficult it is to become "unstuck" after a traumatic event even if that's years and years after the fact. Armentrout is unbelievably good at portraying the most harrowing child abuse without being too heavy-handed and we witness the progression of Mallory from being paralysed into silence to finally finding her voice. I loved how The Problem with Forever shows us that the physical scars and manifestations of trauma aren't the only "symptoms". Mallory has trouble physically speaking after years of silence as protection against abuse. However, we realise that sometimes the person who seems the most put together is actually the one who needs the most help. I think this is a really important aspect of mental health and it's great that Armentrout gave it page time in this book.
"Words were not the enemy or the monster under my bed, but they held such power over me."
So overall, the issues that The Problem with Forever deals with and how Armentrout writes about them was a positive for me and quite unique enough to warrant the 3 star rating. It's very sympathetically done and the process of healing that we follow Mallory on is a touching one. However, the story that these issues are couched in just didn't do anything for me and I felt disjointed from it. There was just a little too much swooning and not enough connecting for me when it came to Rider and Mallory and although understandable that their background would draw them together, I thought there was a reliance on their shared history for the romance to develop.
"My past was a part of me and it molded who I was today... but it did not control me."
eesh25's review against another edition
3.0
3.25 Stars
This was a good book. But... I'm still kinda disappointed.
The book was about Mallory, a teenage girl who had a very abusive childhood. Now, after four years after getting away from the household, much needed therapy, and living with her supportive adoptive parents, she's finally ready to face highschool.
In school, she meets Rider, the one person who was there for her during her childhood and who saved her multiple times. They realize that despite four years apart, they still have a connection.
The book has a very interesting premise in my opinion. It's well written and has a protagonist that you root for.
The romantic aspect of the book is good and I also really liked Rider. The book addresses a very important issue. It also shows us that change and improvement doesn't happen in a day. It takes time and it's takes effort. It gives a great message.
The characters development seen with Mallory was very impressive. But... it wasn't enough.
In the synopsis, it was said that Mallory would grow from the scared, quite person she is and finally speak up to help Rider. She does grow. But she doesn't help Rider much at all. In fact, when it came to that point she basically told him to talk to her when he was all better. It took her four years of living with a great, wealthy family and three years of therapy to be able to say three works to a girl in her class. And she just expects him to get over it in a day?!
Rider was always nothing but supportive and she doesn't do jackshit to help him. And I;m sitting there thinking Dude, what the fuck?!
Which, funnily enough, brings me to my favourite character. Paige. Yeah, she was a major bitch half the time and for the other half, she was... still pretty much a bitch. But she was the only one who wasn't constantly worried about Mallory's pretty little feelings. She was strong and the only one to call Mallory up on her bullshit. I liked that.
Finally, my other few problems with the book:
1. Rider's overdramatic introduction.
2. Mallory's monologues, which got a bit boring.
3. There was this one plot point that was so aggravating and yet made me roll my eyes because I wasn't even surprised. I can't tell you what it was but it was at the end of chapter 31. Misunderstanding crap.
Overall, the book had an interesting plot and if the execution had been a little better (and faster) it would have been a lot better. I do recommend checking it out if emtional stuff is your think and if you don't mind a slow pace.
elaineb457's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
yodamom's review against another edition
4.0
Audiobook- Wonderful narration
Emotional, heartbreaking abuse and teenage angst. This is not a pretty little love story. It's so fragile, so absolute I had no doubts about them for the first paragraph. It was the rest of the cast that had me guessing. They had power over these two and I didn't really know how it would go till the end.
Teenagers suffering from abandonment, abuse, fear and low self esteem meet up after being separated after a horrific night 4 years earlier. One suffers very visible scars, she doesn't talk, fears everything, except him. The other is a tough, no worries mate kind of guy who still hasn't found his way. Their reunion breaks many memories back to the surface, nightmares and some realities must be dealt with. This is a solid love story.
Trigger warning: Drugs, murder, and child abuse
Emotional, heartbreaking abuse and teenage angst. This is not a pretty little love story. It's so fragile, so absolute I had no doubts about them for the first paragraph. It was the rest of the cast that had me guessing. They had power over these two and I didn't really know how it would go till the end.
Teenagers suffering from abandonment, abuse, fear and low self esteem meet up after being separated after a horrific night 4 years earlier. One suffers very visible scars, she doesn't talk, fears everything, except him. The other is a tough, no worries mate kind of guy who still hasn't found his way. Their reunion breaks many memories back to the surface, nightmares and some realities must be dealt with. This is a solid love story.
Trigger warning: Drugs, murder, and child abuse
shes_book_obsessed's review against another edition
4.0
The Problem with Forever
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Trigger warnings:
Child abuse
Main character suffers from PTSD
Review:
JLA's writing always gets me right into the story, but this one kind of dragged on at the end. I really enjoyed the book as a whole, but was somewhat bored the last 100 pages or so.
And, we get it, he has dimples. Word count for dimple/s: 29...29!!!
Anyways, go read this book if you're in the mood for childhood friends to lovers, fluff, and growth<3
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Trigger warnings:
Child abuse
Main character suffers from PTSD
Review:
JLA's writing always gets me right into the story, but this one kind of dragged on at the end. I really enjoyed the book as a whole, but was somewhat bored the last 100 pages or so.
And, we get it, he has dimples. Word count for dimple/s: 29...29!!!
Anyways, go read this book if you're in the mood for childhood friends to lovers, fluff, and growth<3
cait_readsxox's review against another edition
5.0
Re read of a hard hitting contemporary romance! Highly recommend