Review: Not Until Tonight by Jessica Sankiewicz

THE STORY

Every day after work, Haley goes to the bar across the street from her apartment to get a drink. It's the only time she gets to see Skylar, her bartender and crush. She would like to get to know him as more than a friend but she's afraid he won't be interested and she'll have to go elsewhere for her after work drink.

When Skylar asks Haley to pretend to be his girlfriend for a night, she is more than happy to oblige. She finally has the chance to make something happen without risking anything. But pretending proves to be more difficult than she thought. She's not sure she can resist the pull any longer with her feelings growing stronger, and it seems like Skylar is feeling the same way.

At the end of the night, will they be willing to turn a fake relationship into a real one?

MY THOUGHTS 

 Not Until Tonight is a novella that manages to pack everything into a short amount of words. It's a cute New Adult tale of Haley and Skylar that is both sweet and fun and doesn't try to get our attention by shoving an angsty, broken heroine and hero in our faces which is something that NA tends to do a lot. Who among us haven't visited a bar with a cute bartender serving drinks and haven't had a fantasy about falling in love with said bartender? 

         I have to also give Jessica points for writing a good female best friend dynamic and for being able to give the other secondary characters real charm in such a short book. I'm glad that Skylar's ex who brings about the need for the girlfriend charade isn't painted as some scheming harpie who is trying to claw Skylar back. This book is really about Haley and Skylar taking things to the next step and being brave enough to give their feelings a chance. I enjoyed reading Not Until Tonight and if you're looking for a quick and fun read I would recommend it.

THE RATING

4/5

Review: If Only We by Jessica Sankiewicz

The Story:

They say all it takes is one wrong move and you lose the game. One false step and you’re trapped. One slip-up in your choice of words and you ruin a friendship forever. That is what they say. They say I lost.

I do not believe them.

At the end of the summer after graduation, Adrienne wonders what happened to cause her life to be in ruins. She isn’t getting along with her mom, her stepsister isn’t talking to her, and, to top it off, the boy she’s been in love with doesn’t want anything to do with her. She believes the turning point was a choice she made at graduation. When she wakes up the next day, she has been transported back three months to that moment, the one where everything started to fall apart.

Adrienne realizes she has been given a second chance—and this time she doesn’t want to mess anything up. Reliving the entire summer, though, turns out to be a lot harder than she thought. As the same days and weeks go by, she starts to see how simple decisions can make a huge impact on the world around her. Despite knowing some of what lies ahead, there are some things she didn’t anticipate. She thought she knew what mistake led her to where she ended up the first time. She was wrong.

And by the time summer is over, she discovers what was really at stake.

My Thoughts:

I don't often venture into the realm of contemporary novels but when I do the experience usually makes me wonder why I don't read them more often. If Only We was no exception to this. It is a story about second chances, taking  risks and at the same time staying true to yourself. 

     Adrienne was a likeable narrator whose reactions were never over the top or too dramatic as seems to be the norm in NA novels. Also missing is the trauma and angst that this new genre has been built on and I for one am glad as I find all the drama difficult to relate to. I love the Adrienne is a normal girl with normal problems. She doesn't see eye to eye with her mother, she's finding it difficult to connect with her younger step-sister and she's declared her love to her best friend Chevy only to have him reject her. These are all things most readers can identify with.

       Unlike us though, Adrienne gets a second chance to do the summer over via the help of a little time travel. This time around Adrienne is determined to set things right, though she soon discovers that there are reasons why everyone acts the way they do and most of the time its got nothing to do with her. Instead of running away from her problems this time Adrienne makes herself face them no matter how painful or awkward. She also makes mistakes despite trying hard to be better and I thought this added a sense of realism to the plot. 

       I really liked that Adrienne was proactive in getting her life together and although there was romance it wasn't the center of the story. Adrienne learns that she has to be happy with herself before she can make someone else happy and that's a point so many other books miss.  Towards the end Adrienne grows as a person and is able to take drawbacks in her stride instead of feeling sorry for herself and just giving up like she would have previously. 

        There were a few things that I felt could have been done better, like an explanation for the time travel and a bit more tension in the romantic relationship. I thought Chevy was sweet but not super swoon worthy though to be fair I prefer boys of the supernatural variety! Overall I really enjoyed If Only We and look forward to future works by the author.  

The Rating

4/5

Blog Tour - Release Day - If Only We by Jessica Sankiewicz

Hey All,

I am so excited to be participating in the blog tour for the release of If Only We by Jessica Sankiewicz. Jessica is a great writer, awesome blogger and all round lovely lady. What's more, for the duration of the blog tour If Only We is available for 99c! Need more convincing? Just look below:

Synopsis:

They say all it takes is one wrong move and you lose the game. One false step and you’re trapped. One slip-up in your choice of words and you ruin a friendship forever. That is what they say. They say I lost.

I do not believe them.

At the end of the summer after graduation, Adrienne wonders what happened to cause her life to be in ruins. She isn’t getting along with her mom, her stepsister isn’t talking to her, and, to top it off, the boy she’s been in love with doesn’t want anything to do with her. She believes the turning point was a choice she made at graduation. When she wakes up the next day, she has been transported back three months to that moment, the one where everything started to fall apart.

Adrienne realizes she has been given a second chance—and this time she doesn’t want to mess anything up. Reliving the entire summer, though, turns out to be a lot harder than she thought. As the same days and weeks go by, she starts to see how simple decisions can make a huge impact on the world around her. Despite knowing some of what lies ahead, there are some things she didn’t anticipate. She thought she knew what mistake led her to where she ended up the first time. She was wrong.

And by the time summer is over, she discovers what was really at stake.

 Author Bio:

Jessica is the 28 year old author of IF ONLY WE, a YA contemporary coming out in October 2013. You can often find her either reading or marathon watching TV on DVD, her favorites being Castle and Veronica Mars. She frequently mismatches her clothes and giggles uncontrollably. She knows almost every Billy Joel song by heart. She collects books and toys, and she has an intense love of cats and lemurs. Currently in the midst of her quarter-life-crisis, she is still takin' names and getting very close to reaching an epiphany.

Want to know more?

If Only We on Goodreads
Author page on Goodreads
Author blog (on which there's an awesome giveaway happening!)
Facebook author page
Twitter 

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