Name: If There’s No Tomorrow
Rating: 4.065789473684211 (76 reviews)
ISBN: 9781474060677

Jennifer L. Armentrout

‘Beautiful, real and devastating’ Sarah J. Maas A moving story of grief, friendship and unforgettable love that fans of Sara Bernard and Nicola Yoon will love from international YA bestselling author Jennifer Armentrout.

If There’s No Tomorrow

Krista 

“The guilt of living when everyone else has died is a heavy weight to carry, Lena, all on its own. Survivor’s guilt is no joke. You’re never going to truly get rid of that burden, but we can lessen it. We can make it bearable.”

Kaila Nesbitt

And you know what? Waiting is too risky. There’s no bad time to tell someone you love them. 

'Beautiful, real and devastating' Sarah J. Maas A moving story of grief, friendship and unforgettable love that fans of Sara Bernard and Nicola Yoon will love from international YA bestselling author Jennifer Armentrout. Lena has always felt immortal. But one night can change everything. Lena and Sebastian have been close for as long as anyone can remember. Best friends, even. But secretly Lena has been wanting something more--Sebastian could be more than a friend, if only Lena could figure out how to convince him that they could, and should be together. But in a single night, after a single party, everything changes and suddenly Lena isn't thinking about her relationship with Sebastian at all.

If There's No Tomorrow

Raven 

It wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst either. More like in between.

becky oh

This book was unforgettable, because in 'If There's No Tomorrow', it had some serious drama, friendship, love and big problems. And I mean problems that changes your life upside-down. The basic story flowed nicely, and the message in this book was pretty clear. Every memory in this book, was stuck in my head that I remember everything perfectly.

“𝙄’𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙙. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙪𝙥𝙨𝙚𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙧 𝙣𝙤𝙩, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚. 𝙄’𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚.”

The story plot is quite simple. Lena Wise, a high school senior student has been in love with her childhood best friend Sebastian. She's a volleyball player among her two bffs (but she has three, Megan, Dary and Abbi) and those girls are nuts. Especially Megan. 
Sebastian Harwell - a football player - is Lena's next-door neighbour and I'm pretty sure it shows that those two love each other. But both of them are too scared to reveal their feelings towards each other because it might break their friendship. But when one heart-crushing event happens, everything scatters away...

“𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙. 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣. 𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙪𝙙𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙡𝙮, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨.”

I loved Lena. Mostly because she loves reading, and talks about happily ever afters. I was surprised that Lena reading the ACOTAR series, mentioning some of the character's names. It also mentioned the Paper Princess series (but doesn't mention the title, but it mentions the blurb). I'm sure JLA and SJM are good author friends, but it was quite surprising to see some books involved. When Lena talks about happily ever afters, I agreed with everything she said. Her mind acted in its own way, dreaming and reading. That made me love her more.
Sebastian, really, is some sexy guy that Lena loves. Thinking about it, the name Sebastian sounds like one of those loveable guys. It has some french vibe in it which makes Sebastian extra loveable. How he always cares for Lena was very nice, and I'm sure Lena loved him more than anything. 

“𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙄, 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝.
𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪.”

I was a bit annoyed that it took SO LONG for Sebastian to accept and reveal his feelings to Lena. It felt a bit dragged, because they could've been lovers long before the 'event' happened. Maybe that's because me thinking about Sebastian and Skylar's relationship makes me skip the page. How would've Lena thought about them kissing each other? Nope, let's not think about that. 
I wishes Sebastian would've thought about Lena acting around him, because when they meet in the beginning, Lena was wearing something that really showed some signs that she was driven crazy about him. Sebastian was dumb at that point, so minus one point for not noticing. 

Also, this book wasn't that addictive to read. Like, I really love the story, but not a book I want to re-read again and again. It doesn't have the 'magic' of addiction reading.

Overall, I wish everything happened differently, but I'm guessing Lena and Sebastian and all their friends will never let that event happen again.

Alexa M

Catarina Vieira

Wow. Nunca tinha lido um stand-alone da Jennifer Armentrout mas este vale tanto a pena.

O livro é escrito na primeira pessoa e seguimos a perspectiva da Lena no último verão antes do último ano do secundário. A vida dela é divertida, tem um grupo de melhores amigas fantástico, um emprego do qual gosta, uma equipa de vólei e, apesar dos problemas familiares, uma mãe e irma que a amam muito. Claro, existe também o par romântico do livro, Sebastian, o melhor amigo dela desde os 8 anos e que Lena deseja, secretamente, que fosse mais. A vida de Lena não é perfeita mas é feliz até ao dia em que ela deixa de conseguir ver o amanhã ou qualquer plano para o futuro por um erro que a faz mergulhar na culpa e tentar evitar ao máximo pensar que ela, como todos, pode merecer um amanhã. 

O livro está genialmente dividido em três partes: yesterday, today and tomorrow e adorei essa divisão. Quando começamos a ler o livro parece um romance fofinho e bonitinho de melhores amigos que vão ficar juntos até a primeira parte acabar e chegarmos ao “today”. É aí que o livro ganha uma outra dimensão e aborda temas importantíssimos que devastam qualquer pessoa que vá pegar no livro, é angustiante como achamos que nunca mais chega o “tomorrow” onde a história se finaliza e podemos finalmente respirar e concluímos que, muitas vezes, não há mesmo amanhã e temos de aproveitar o hoje.

Apesar de ser uma leitura fluida não é uma leitura leve, pelo menos para mim não foi e duvido que conseguisse ler o livro de uma só vez - embora ainda assim o tenha lido rápido. 

Uma das coisas que gostei mais foi o facto do Sebastian não ser o típico rapaz de YA que é parvo, problemático e erra uma e outra vez com a rapariga sendo um estupido porque “está magoado”. Não. O Sebastian é uma das melhores partes do livro - amigo, compreensivo, leal e paciente. Também gostei muito da Dary, Abbi e sobretudo da Lori e da mãe da Lena. 

Recomendo muito este livro especialmente sem lerem muito sobre ele antes, só apenas irem, duvido que se arrependam.

From No.1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout comes a new novel about the choices we make and the heartbreak and hope they can bring. 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 she and her friends' entire existences have been redefined? 'Thought provoking and powerful.' -- No.1 New York Times bestselling author ERIN WATT

sofia !

~3.5 stars, i went back and forth between liking and disliking the characters. overall a good and meaningful story, a couple chapters were a little predictable and boring. i recommend if you want a pretty quick read with friends to lovers and an easy-to-follow plot. however, i prefer jennifer's other ya romance, the problem with forever.

Madelynn snobl

This book was heart-breaking, eye-opening, and simply amazing. Jennifer is a gifted writer, and an all time favorite author of all time. Definitely top five favorite reads of the year.

Sofie

I fee like I’ve read this book a million times before. Unoriginal, nothing new to say. I do enjoy Jennifer’s writing, so 2 stars.

Candyce Kirk

Stephanie Midolo

Very disappointed in this JLA story. Nothing really happened other than the MC had shitty friends who tried to turn her trauma into their own and the love interest had 0 dimension.

laura

*i got an arc of this from Book con* 
This book was beyond powerful and heartwrencing. I really grew to love leah throughout this novel and really loved her relationship with seb. This book was not an easy read but the message I feel needs to be heard by all high school students. I love how this book was structured and how we learned about the story. I thought the I did a very nice way of reflecting teenage life and also make leah become a complicated character. The book did make me teary eye at points and did shock it me but it was so well done.

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout comes a remarkable new novel about the choices we make and the heartbreak and hope they can bring. "Thought-provoking and powerful." --Erin Watt, #1 New York Times bestselling author 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? Don't miss these unforgettable reads by Jennifer L. Armentrout, available from Harlequin TEEN: The Problem with Forever The Dark Elements series: Bitter Sweet Love (ebook prequel novella) White Hot Kiss Stone Cold Touch Every Last Breath

Sophie Elaina 

This book is now one of my favourite contemporaries ever, which is really saying something after all the great books I've read recently. Even though some themes and plot points have been explored in the past by many different authors in loads of different ways I still feel like this was unique. The author took a concept that sadly happens way too often in the real world and was able to truly explore why such things do happen. I'm trying to be vague because I don't want give away plot points, but this story is strikingly realistic, and heartbreaking.

The protagonist is Lena; a seemingly ordinary teen living the typical high school life. A girl with friends and family problems, and an actual shot at real love. Gradually she begins to feel out of her depth, but things soon take a turn that makes those problems seem extraordinarily small in comparison. We follow her journey of grief, love, heartbreak, guilt and finding out what truly matters to her.  

“Sometimes I just wanted to…I don’t know, escape life. To delve headfirst into a world that dealt with real-life issues to open my eyes, or a world that was something else, something completely unreal. One with warring fae or roaming vampire clans. I wanted to experience new things and always, always, read the last page feeling satisfied. Because sometimes happily-ever-after existed only in the books I read.”

The characters seemed so real that in fact it was easy to get lost in the story and really make you think 'what if?'. The author was able to show grief in a way that I had never read before, in such a brutally honest way. The writing was beautiful and flowed easily making this a really fast read. So fast in fact that I wanted to keep stopping because I didn't want the book to end. I do warn that their is a slight case of the friends to lovers trope, however I'd like to defend it by saying I liked it because it wasn't the one friend pining and the other not realising until the other had moved on. 

“I knew I couldn’t go back and start a new beginning. I couldn’t rewrite the middle. All I could do was change tomorrow, as long as I had one.”

The author was really able to make the characters rememberable, and yet have them be relatable. I don't know how she did it, it was like magic. I honestly can't praise her enough for what she has created. From previously reading 'The Problem With Forever' I definitely had high expectations as I really loved that too, but this was even better. I absolutely adored it. I also very much enjoyed the fact that Lena loved reading and the quirky references to some of my favourite books of all time. That first reference to 'A Court of Thorns and Roses' was like a revelation. 

“I’m not leaving. You can get mad. You can get upset, but I’m staying right here, because whether you realise it or not, you shouldn’t be alone.'

In addition to everything else I've already mentioned, the descriptions were well placed and didn't feel forced at all, and I found that I could easily fall back into the story after putting it down for a while. The first person narrative was excellently done and as apposed to many other contemporaries that I have read in first person the author was able to keep the main character still slightly mysterious and also ensure that it was presented in a sophisticated way. I often feel that first person can get cheesy if not done right, especially within the contemporary genre, but that was most certainly avoided in this case. I could really tell the more I read that so much went into the creation of making this book work out the way it did. It was truly great!

I think that these characters will really stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to HQ Young Adult, Jennifer L. Armentrout and Netgalley providing an arc to read and review.

For more, check out my blog/website: https://www.sophieelaina.com

Elspeth 

I absolutely loved this book. It was so emotional and that twist at the start of the book had me in tears. The only slightly bad thing was that she beat herself up constantly and wouldn't allow herself to be loved by her only crush throughout her entire life, that was a bit drawn out. I absolutely loved it though and would 10 out of 10 recommend to anyone who loves that emotional happy ending kind of trope in a book. 

b.andherbooks

Lena, just your average teen who wants to make it through her senior year and who secretly loves her best friend Sebastian, almost loses it all after a very bad decision.

Definitely a "teen issues" book with a classic, YA male protagonist who is the epitome of male beauty who of course is in love with the self-proclaimed "average" and "nothing special" female lead. Teens will enjoy this emotional read. 

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Ciska van Bokhorst

Best wel heavy onderwerp, maar kon me niet inleven in de gedachtes van Lena...

Find this review and more at 
  kimberlyfaye reads.


Over the years, I've grown accustomed to Jen ripping my heart out with her books. Looking back now, I'm not sure any of them have made me feel as many emotions as If There's No Tomorrow did. This wasn't the easiest read at times because of the serious subject matter, but I think it's an important one. One more teenagers — and even adults — should read. 

I'll admit, this book did start off a little slow — at least once you got past the prologue. It was teenagers doing teenager things, which is fine because this is, after all, a YA book. I knew more was coming, even if I didn't know what exactly, but when it happened I was still totally floored. It was in the aftermath of that one night that everything changed and the book took on a deeper meaning. My heart broke for Lena and everything she was dealing with. We've all heard about tragic stories like this on the news, but being inside the mind of the character dealing with it takes everything to a whole other level. I felt like I WAS Lena. I'm not even gonna lie, many a tear were shed during this book. 

Bottom line is that I loved this one. It made me think... it made me cry... but it also made me laugh a few times. That's just the beauty of Jen's writing, I think. Even when she's tackling a tough issue like in this book, it's not heavy the entire time. That's just part of what makes them so realistic to me. Life's like that, after all. But, I digress. Read this book. Prepare yourself for feels, but read it. 

I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

FAVORITE QUOTES

“I knew I couldn’t go back and start a new beginning. I couldn’t rewrite the middle. All I could do was change tomorrow, as long as I had one.”

Kaele Perkins 

One choice can change everything. This story follows Lena Wise and what led up to and the consequences of one bad decision. This was a truly heartfelt and well written story. It wasn’t perfect. There were times and situations were I disliked the main characters actions or words, but that’s the truth. Sometimes when we’re hurt we say things and act in ways that we normally wouldn’t. I read in another review someone complaining about Lena putting herself down through so much of the book, but I felt like that was accurate. I’ve never gone through anything like that but I feel like that grief was realistic. I loved Sebastian, he was sweet. I didn’t really like him as much in the Yesterday part, but throughout the rest of the book he was awesome. I was sad that she shut everyone out at the beginning. But I understood where she was coming from. She felt like she didn’t deserve happiness, and that her friends wouldn’t be able to look at her the same way. She didn’t feel like she deserved to be the one that lived when she was partially responsible. I loved that Sebastian refused to be shut out and he stayed with her the whole time. Abbi kind of bugged me with her actions. I understood that she was also grieving and she was hurt that Lena distanced herself from them, but Lena felt responsible and in part, she was. She was beating herself up over it, and I feel like Abbi should have been helping her instead of telling her that she’s being selfish and that others are also dealing with this. The friend group was fine but if I had to pick between Lena, Dary, and Abbi, or Lena and Sebastian I would pick that latter. I loved that he was there for her. The argument they had made me so sad, but I give him extra points for not just walking away hurt and upset. He broke down everything she said and clarified why she was wrong. I loved that he said he was disappointed that she would ever think that long enough to say it even if it was because she was upset. I felt like she deserved that. The ending was awesome. I loved that Sebastian planned a homecoming for them in the backyard. I loved that the ending was her working up the courage to visit the cemetery. And she had Sebastian, Abbi, and Dary right by her side as she made this step. She still has that guilt that will be there for a very long time, but she’s able to be okay with it now. She can’t change it, but she still needs to live her life. For the first time in those last four months that changed all of their lives with her friends by her side, she saw the future and it’s possibilities.
Infp and enfj

Cortnie

Apparently I'm into the really, painfully sad books this year (or, the last few months, at least).

This book, like The Loose Ends List, spoke so deeply to my soul for so many reasons. Drunk driving has so closely affected my life in many instances. So has making terrible mistakes and poor judgement. What this book offered me was an emotional release of what I've had penned up for so long. While I have not have an experience like this up-close, it's so terribly easy for me to hold onto guilt, especially for things I have done in the past. Regret and gilt go hand in hand and I'm so glad that this book expresses that it's alright to carry on with your life. You can still love and miss someone who has passed away but moving forward is never a bad thing. Living YOUR life is never something you should feel guilty about.

Isabella Stocka

Armentrout gives you a story and you start to love it and then BOOM and you are taken far aways from the happy place you wanted to be and back in reality with a sweet ending. I love her books!

Michele Papa

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?

Addi 

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. 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. Lena knows that her only hope is to move on. But how can she move on when her entire existence has been redefined? How can she move on when tomorrow isn't even guaranteed?

If There’s No Tomorrow

Reviews

Highlights