Cassidy Jordan knows she'll die a few weeks after her eighteenth birthday, and she can't wait. This is her second time here, and she knows what's waiting for her in The Life-After — the place most mistakenly call "the afterlife." Getting back there is supposed to be easy: she just has to find nineteen-year-old Riley Davis and help him get his life on track. But doing that isn't easy at all.
By the time Cassidy finds Riley, she has only seven weeks to help him before her time is up. Riley will die too young if she fails, and she'll never see The Life-After or have another chance at life again. But no one told her helping Riley would mean dating him; she hasn't dated anyone since the love of her first life caused her death the last time she turned eighteen. And no one warned her she'd cross paths with Selena Jensen, her ex-best-friend who hasn't forgotten why their friendship ended and is protective of Riley. Then there's Cassidy's family, who thinks she's a normal girl headed to Harvard in the fall. When her aunt discovers that's not the plan, she shows up to try and drag Cassidy from L.A. to Boston.
Helping Riley is already hard with her aunt and Selena in the way. It's almost impossible when Cassidy realizes she's falling for him and is faced with a choice: give Riley the life he's meant for and leave when it's time, or give up eternity for the true love she's never had, knowing Riley will die the same way she did in her first life and that her entire existence could end at any time.
By the time Cassidy finds Riley, she has only seven weeks to help him before her time is up. Riley will die too young if she fails, and she'll never see The Life-After or have another chance at life again. But no one told her helping Riley would mean dating him; she hasn't dated anyone since the love of her first life caused her death the last time she turned eighteen. And no one warned her she'd cross paths with Selena Jensen, her ex-best-friend who hasn't forgotten why their friendship ended and is protective of Riley. Then there's Cassidy's family, who thinks she's a normal girl headed to Harvard in the fall. When her aunt discovers that's not the plan, she shows up to try and drag Cassidy from L.A. to Boston.
Helping Riley is already hard with her aunt and Selena in the way. It's almost impossible when Cassidy realizes she's falling for him and is faced with a choice: give Riley the life he's meant for and leave when it's time, or give up eternity for the true love she's never had, knowing Riley will die the same way she did in her first life and that her entire existence could end at any time.
Excerpt:
From Chapter 3:
I gently lift his fingers from my shoulder, leaving him with a polite smile. I get only two steps away before I find myself being spun around. I wince as the guy wrenches my arm.
“No need to be so rude, darlin’. Stay and talk a while.”
“I’m meeting someone,” I tell him, trying to free myself again. He leers at me, digging his fingers deeper into my skin. My arm will probably bruise, but that’s nothing compared with what I could do to him if I wanted to. Energy can be a powerful thing. There are other people watching, though, and I can’t risk one of them figuring out that there’s something different about me. I have a feeling that would be breaking one of the rules.
I open my mouth to speak instead, fighting against what I really want to tell this guy. Running my mouth will only make this get ugly, and fast. Before I can say anything, though, someone else beats me to it.
“She’s with me.”
I turn my head in the direction of the voice at the same time my friend with the iron grip does. He looks annoyed, but it’s all I can do to keep my jaw in place. Riley Davis, it seems, shows up in the strangest places.
The guy holding my arm releases me and takes a step back. “You should teach your girlfriend some manners,” he mutters.
Riley raises an eyebrow at him, but he doesn’t respond. I look at the guys still standing by the apartment building, wondering if Riley just got us into more trouble than what I was in on my own. They stay where they are, though, and the guy who grabbed my arm takes another few steps away from me.
Riley grabs my hand and pulls me in the other direction without saying a word. A surge of energy shoots through me, and I fight to keep my balance. It’s almost impossible to hold my hand steady in his. A tingling feeling spreads through my body, making it hard for me to think.
This has to be an energy drain, somehow caused by the guy who grabbed hold of my arm. I tried hard not to let our energy connect, though, and that doesn’t explain why this is happening now that I’m holding Riley’s hand. I doubt his energy is at rock bottom like the other guy’s is.
I take a few breaths, trying to clear my mind. We walk for three blocks in silence before I get my bearings and finally find my voice.
“Thank you,” I tell him. I swear I hear him snort.
“Yeah, no problem.” He sounds put-out and doesn’t even try to hide it. If he recognizes me from the concert last night, his face doesn’t show it.
We walk a few more steps and then he stops so abruptly that I almost plow into him. He drops my hand.
“Do your parents know you’re out roaming the city in the middle of the night?”
His jaw is set, and I’m pretty sure that’s irritation I see on his face. Well, that’s interesting. I wonder if getting mad at strangers is something he does a lot.
“My parents died when I was six.” I regret my words the instant they leave my mouth. Surprise replaces the irritation in his eyes, and then I see exactly what I didn’t want to see. He’s uncomfortable now. Talking about death seems to do that to people. Discomfort isn’t exactly what I was going for, but maybe I shouldn’t care. It’s better than being lectured.
“I’m sorry.” His eyes drop to the sidewalk and stay there.
“Don’t be.” I start walking again.
“Do you make a habit of walking alone down dark streets at night, this close to bars and people drunk out of their minds?” he calls after me.
Oh, joy. Here we go again.
I stop and turn around. He sounds angry, and a quick check of his energy shows me little red sparks shooting everywhere. Yup, that’s definitely the color of anger.
“I got to town a week ago. What am I supposed to do, leave a breadcrumb trail to my house and stay there until new friends magically show up at my door?” I stop talking when something occurs to me. He’s out here alone, too. I put my hands on my hips and glare at him. “Why are you giving me a hard time, anyway? I don’t see you working the buddy system for safety.”
He narrows his eyes. It’s completely the wrong time for me to notice that they’re this incredible shade of deep brown, lit up with little golden flecks here and there. I didn’t notice his eyes last night, but they sure have my attention now.
Stop staring, I tell myself. Easier thought than done.
“I’m a little bigger than you,” he tells me. I think he’s noticed me staring, because he’s staring right back. I feel warmth run through me and am about to check my energy when I realize energy has nothing to do with it. The heat is in my cheeks. Curse him, I’m blushing.
My Review:
~~I received this in exchange for an honest review~~
This is a great book. After I finished reading this book, I was in a book hangover. I haven't read a book in a long time that had that effect on me. I laughed and cried in this book. My heart was aching for Cassidy because of the decisions that she had to make in her life. She has to save another person for her to be free of her life, the kicker is, she only has 7 weeks to accomplish this.
I read this book quickly. I couldn't put it down. I just had to know what was going to happen and what decisions Cassidy was going to make. This book makes you look at everything that you have in your life. Whether it is good for you or if that one fight you had with your best friend was really worth losing them over.
I love the writing that Jennifer does with this book. She steps out of the normal style and uses that to her advantage. She uses death as a coping mechanism, and a way to get everything in order. I am a fan of hers and can't wait to read what she writes next!
This is a great book. After I finished reading this book, I was in a book hangover. I haven't read a book in a long time that had that effect on me. I laughed and cried in this book. My heart was aching for Cassidy because of the decisions that she had to make in her life. She has to save another person for her to be free of her life, the kicker is, she only has 7 weeks to accomplish this.
I read this book quickly. I couldn't put it down. I just had to know what was going to happen and what decisions Cassidy was going to make. This book makes you look at everything that you have in your life. Whether it is good for you or if that one fight you had with your best friend was really worth losing them over.
I love the writing that Jennifer does with this book. She steps out of the normal style and uses that to her advantage. She uses death as a coping mechanism, and a way to get everything in order. I am a fan of hers and can't wait to read what she writes next!
Author Bio:
Jennifer Farwell has been writing since the day she picked up a navy blue Crayola as a toddler and began scribbling on her parents' freshly painted white walls. She's the author of SEVEN WEEKS TO FOREVER (her most recent novel), as well as ROCK STAR'S GIRL and its forthcoming sequel, HIDING OUT IN HOLLYWOOD (2015). When not writing novels, she can often be found at a Kundalini yoga class, cheering on the L.A. Kings during hockey season, or curled up with a good book. She grew up in Thunder Bay, Canada, and now lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Pico.
Connect with me:
Website: http://www.
Twitter: http://www.twitter.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.
Goodreads: https://www.
Authorgraph: https://www.
Book links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/
iBooks at iTunes: https://itunes.apple.
Barnes & Noble: http://www.
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.
Jennifer Farwell has been writing since the day she picked up a navy blue Crayola as a toddler and began scribbling on her parents' freshly painted white walls. She's the author of SEVEN WEEKS TO FOREVER (her most recent novel), as well as ROCK STAR'S GIRL and its forthcoming sequel, HIDING OUT IN HOLLYWOOD (2015). When not writing novels, she can often be found at a Kundalini yoga class, cheering on the L.A. Kings during hockey season, or curled up with a good book. She grew up in Thunder Bay, Canada, and now lives in Los Angeles with her dog, Pico.
Connect with me:
Website: http://www.
Twitter: http://www.twitter.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.
Goodreads: https://www.
Authorgraph: https://www.
Book links:
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/
iBooks at iTunes: https://itunes.apple.
Barnes & Noble: http://www.
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.
July 21 – Fiction Dreams – Guest Post
July 22- Chick Lit Club Connect – Guest Post
July 23 – Second Bookshelf on the Right – Q&A
July 24 – Reading in Black and White – Review & Excerpt
July 25 – Random Redheaded Ramblings – Review & Excerpt
July 28 – PopCrunchBoom – Review & Q&A
July 29 – Chrissy McBookNerd – Review
July 31 – A Novel Thoughts – Review
August 1 – AJ Book Review Club – Review & Guest Post
August 4 – All About a Book – Review
August 5 – The Phantom Paragrapher – Review
August 6 – Two Children and a Migraine – Review, Guest Post & Excerpt
August 7 – Storm Goddess Book Reviews – Review & Q&A
August 8 – M’s Bookshelf – Review
August 11 – Keep Calm and Blog On – Review
August 11 – The Book Geek Wears Pajamas – Review
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThank you again, Kelly! Your review has honestly made my year. :)
ReplyDeleteNo problem at all! I absolutely loved this book. I was crying at the decision that Cassidy had to make. My heart was aching because of the sacrifice. I don't know how you wrote this book and not have tear drops on your computer! Thank you for letting me review this book!!
Delete