The Problem With Forever by Jennifer L Armentrout {Yomna's Review}

The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L Armentrout 

My rating: 5/5

WOW. I AM BLOWN AWAY. 

Thanks so much to Net Galley and Harlequin UK for allowing me to get a free advanced copy of this book. 

Emotional and captivating, Jennifer L Armentrout explores a world not too many of us wish to delve into, weaving it together with a beautiful love story of a girl and boy who believed they were simply too broken to fix. 

Beautiful beautiful read. 

Dark themes: This book has a lot of themes of child abuse, drugs, depression, and others. I loved it. JLA writes the story so masterfully. She understands that these issues are sensitive and must be dealt with that in mind. I never really thought about how lucky I was to have the things I have until after reading this book. It made me realise how grateful everyone should be for the little they have, because there are people out there who have much much less. It breaks my heart to read about children being mistreated so violently, and every time there was a flashback in the book, it just made me want to grab the characters and hug them. It makes me guilty that I wasn't aware of the extent of this problem. This is why books like these are important. 

"Pain spiked, but there wasn’t a lot of blood on my hand when I lowered it. Please wake up. Please wake up. Please wake up."

Loving you: so in this book, Mallory (the main character) is a person scared of any kind of social interaction. She can't even say a word to anyone without thinking about it for twenty minutes, and that is because of her PTSD and the conditioning she went through during her childhood. Despite that, you see her grow to start trying things she's dead afraid of, because she wants to accomplish something and life without trying anything you're afraid is a life where you're stuck. You don't move forward. She learns to take risks and realises that if she fails she had to be okay with it, because she wasn't perfect, and was a work in progress. The lesson to take away from Mallory's character development in this book is so important. Don't give up on yourself before you give yourself a chance. 

SUPPORTING CHARACTERS ON POINT: 

Ainsley: wonderful best friend. She's so sweet and funny. Genuinely smart and so good-hearted. I admire her spirit endlessly. 

Paige: this is a character that you don't love from the beginning, but by the end, she learns to forget and forgive and that things may not be as obvious as she wants to be. She stands up for the main character and I'm so proud of her. I don't know if that's weird, to be proud of a character, but I am. 

Keira: unfortunately, we don't learn too much about Keira, but she's always been there, quietly encouraging. 

Romance: Perfectly done, and doesn't demean the sadder themes of the book. Rider is amazing, cute, sweet, romantic, and simply perfect in his imperfect way. Made reading this book an absolute pleasure. Mallory and Rider's love is beautiful. A love story to stay with me for a while. Really impressed with JLA's writing. Not that I'd been expecting any less from JLA, to be honest. 

"He drew it up my back, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. My eyes fluttered shut as his lips brushed over the curve of my cheek. It was the craziest torture. My entire body tensed, prepared for the moment when his lips met mine. And it was the sweetest pressure, a feather-light brush of his lips over mine. Once. Then twice. I felt the touch everywhere, a jolt to the system that zipped through my veins, and then the pressure increased. Rider kissed me then."

This book made me cry a little bit sometimes, because the writing was so stunning. Definitely recommend it. I am not person who usually likes to read contemporary books, but if you are like me, then you should definitely read this book. It's amazing, easy to get into, and a really satisfying read. Easy 5 stars for me. 

"Forever was the fire-breathing dragon inside me that had shed the fear like a snake shedding skin. Forever was simply a promise of more. Forever was a work in progress. And I couldn’t wait for forever. "

Love,

Yomna