Between Now & Never by Laura Johnston || Review

Title: Between Now & Never

Author: Laura Johnston

Series: Standalone

Genre(s): Young Adult, Contemporary Romance

Publisher: Kensington

Pages: 315, Kindle Edition

Publication Date: March 31st 2015

My Rating: ★★★★★

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Buh boom, buh boom.

My heart thrusts with a force that takes me by surprise. Telling me something I don’t understand. A splitting pain, a longing to slip back under. They tell me I was in a hit-and-run, but I can’t remember what happened that night.  All I know is that I woke up with pictures in my pocket, a card from one of those photo booths in the mall. And I’m in the pictures. Cody Rush. Me and…

Julianna.

Her brother was there that night, and my dad, the FBI agent, was the one who put her mom behind bars. What’s the connection? And why won’t Julianna talk to me now? Somehow, she holds the key to it all, and getting close–real close—to her for the answers I need will be no hardship at all…

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First off, huge thanks to NetGalley for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. For this review, I’m gonna change things up a little ’cause I think that this way the characters’ personalities just seep through. I was inspired by Clockwork Desires‘ review of Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.

Me: Hi guys!

Julianna: Hola!

Cody: Hey!

Me: Thanks for agreeing to do this review/interview thing! Hope you have a great time here! Okay, so what we’re gonna do is ask each other questions. I’ll ask you things like “what do you think about Julianna?”, then you’ll ask me something else. Basically, anything goes as long as it’s related to the book, kay? Oh yeah, keep it spoiler free and “clean”. Comprendes?

Cody: Yes, we understand. Now let me answer the question.

Me: Wow, you’re in a rush, aren’t you? And I haven’t even asked the question yet.

Cody: Cody Rush, remember? Now, Jules… I think she’s perfect, my spunky little fireball. She had me hooked from the beginning. Don’t get me wrong though, it wasn’t instalove, we worked very hard to get where we are now. But that photo booth incident was something else.

Me: Oh my God, yes! I loved that scene, it made the blood in my veins run hot!

Julianna: Imagine the blood in my veins.

Me: I can only imagine. 😉 So, Julianna, your thoughts on Cody?

Julianna: He’s a pretty boy -not an insult- with so much heart and kindness, his body just can’t contain it all. He may be rich, but he has never made me feel small, little or less than him, you know? He just treats everyone as his equal.

Me: You guys sound head over heels in love.

Julianna & Cody: We are.

Me: Synchronized speaking. Wow, you guys have got it down pat!

Cody: You betcha. Enough questions for us, it’s time for us to interrogate you. You ready?

Me: As ready as I’ll ever be, Special Agent Cody Rush.

Cody: Okay. What did you think about the plot?

Me: I absolutely loved the plot. It was unique, fast paced, realistic, and it had just the right amount of suspense and action to keep me on my toes. The alternate POVs between Cody and Julianna gave me a sense of the story from two sides. Which I found really interesting as I got to see the story through both of the characters’ eyes and it just seemed more fair than just knowing one character’s take on it.

Julianna: In your opinion, did the characters develop throughout the book? How so?

Me: That would be an definite yes, almost all the characters underwent some sort of development. Take Cody for example, in the beginning of the book he was struggling to let go of the past and he was always so grief-stricken. I watched him slowly forgive himself and move on, which is never easy. The whole thing just pulled at my heartstrings. Julianna, she just gained so much confidence as the story went on. She was put in this really difficult situation where she had to fend for her family, she practically took over her mother’s role. I cannot begin to comprehend how it must feel to have your mother in prison and find yourself falling for the very guy whose father put her there. I imagine it’s very challenging and hard to accept. It’s amazing how she pulled through in the end.

Julianna: It definitely wasn’t easy, but Cody he just snuck his way into my heart.

Cody: It wasn’t a walk in the park, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Me: That’s exactly what I love about you two, you fought for it. The best things in life are never easy, right?

Julianna: You got that right! So, your rating for the book and would you reread it?

Me: A solid five stars and I foresee that I’ll be rereading it many times in the future. I’m also going to rewind and read Laura Johnston’s previous novel Rewind To You.

Cody: Glad you enjoyed our story.

Me: I more than enjoyed it, I loved it! Anyways, it was nice chatting with you two, I’ve gotta go now. Bye! 😀

Cody: Bye!

Julianna: Adios, amigo!

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So that’s it guys! What do you think of this style of review? Should I stick to the conventional way or is this way cool? Oh, and have you read Between Now & Never? If you haven’t, would you give it a spot on your TBR list? Let me know in the comments! Hugs!