Friday, October 3, 2014

Not Yet by Laura Ward ~ Review and Giveaway




Synopsis

Emma Harris is learning that life is just a series of lessons.

Lesson #1: Nothing goes the way you plan.
Lesson #2: You can’t trust men. Especially not the pretty ones.
Lesson #3: Turns out, appearances are almost always deceiving.

Emma thinks she has life all figured out, and what she knows isn't good. For years, she’s put her big sister, who was born with Down syndrome, first. Now Emma’s ready to start her own life, but fate has other plans. To do the right thing for the sister she loves, Emma’s dreams will just have to wait.

She doesn't plan on meeting Landon — a rich, flirtatious jock, who never has to wait for anything. Not for attention, not for money, and certainly not for girls. Meeting Emma marks the first time in his life that he’s had to fight for something. And Landon doesn't know how to lose.

Emma has no interest in wasting her summer with a superficial guy like Landon. But very soon she realizes she is wrong about him. The question is, can she trust him? Or will he let her down like every other guy in her life? But most importantly, can Emma trust herself enough to live the life she's always dreamed of?

Life has a way of sneaking in the most important lessons when you aren't looking. And once the heart gets involved, that's when the real learning begins.

*** This book is intended for mature audiences. 18 and over!

Review

Sometimes it's the wait....the not yets of life that are the very best lessons of all to learn.

Hmmm… okay, so I have to be honest, the first half of Not Yet just didn't work for me. The building of the character’s story and their relationship was rushed. I really struggled with connecting to the story and the characters. Then around 40ish percent or so, there is a nice little plot twist thrown in that actually saved the story for me. Laura also wraps the story up nicely…while I can’t say this is one of my favorites in this genre, it did manage to keep me interested and I did enjoy it. I also loved the Life Lessons at the end of each chapter, they were one of my favorite things about the book. I only deducted one star for the slow start because I really did like certain parts of the rest of the book. 4 stars

....And spoiled boys were selfish boys.

Emma has always sacrificed her happiness for the sake of her family. Her father left when her mother was pregnant with her, afraid that she would be a born with Down syndrome like her sister. Emma has been forced to work hard, graduate early, help care for her sister, and help her family financially. Emma would do it all over again though; she loves her sister and her motherly dearly.

"I know it doesn't matter now, but he's like a brother to me. He's a good person, the real deal. I think he loves you, and I think you should love him back."

Emma starts working as a lifeguard at the Country Club for the summer; this is where she meets Landon. Emma is the head lifeguard, she’s Landon’s boss. Landon is cocky, confident, popular, and Emma is definitely attracted to him. Emma doesn’t trust men though, but once she gets to know the real Landon, he wears down the thick walls that Emma has built. Their relationship grows stronger and stronger each day, but all too soon the summer comes to an end and the pair is forced apart. Then, everything changes….a huge secret is revealed…one that may be too big for their relationship to survive.

The thing was, when you loved someone--really loved them with your whole mind, body, and soul--you just couldn't give up.
In the end, all that matter was her.


Overall, I liked this one. Even though it started off slow for me, I really did love the plot twist. I also loved that the characters experienced such growth as the book went along. Not Yet was a very sweet story, not on the steamy side….more heartfelt…a story about growing up, finding strength in family, and true love.

*Reviewed by Brandi

Buy Link





Find more info about Laura here

Enter the giveaway pinned to the top of S&S's FB page to win a paperback of Not Yet (US only)

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