Release Week Blitz - The Problem With Forever By Jennifer L Armentrout
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout comes THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER - a young adult title about friendship, survival, and finding your voice. This incredible book is available today! Read more about this stunning new novel below and be sure to order your copy today to receive an amazing FREE fan pack while supplies last!
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About THE PROBLEM WITH FOREVER:
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout comes a riveting new story about friendship, survival, and finding your voice.
For some people, silence is a weapon.
For Mallory “Mouse” Dodge, it’s a shield.
Growing up, she learned that the best way to survive was to say nothing. And even though it’s been four years since her nightmare ended, she’s beginning to worry that the fear that holds her back will last a lifetime.
Now, after years of homeschooling with loving adoptive parents, Mallory must face a new milestone—spending her senior year at public high school. But of all the terrifying and exhilarating scenarios she’s imagined, there’s one she never dreamed of—that she’d run into Rider Stark, the friend and protector she hasn’t seen since childhood, on her very first day.
It doesn’t take long for Mallory to realize that the connection she shared with Rider never really faded. Yet the deeper their bond grows, the more it becomes apparent that she’s not the only one grappling with lingering scars from the past. And as she watches Rider’s life spiral out of control, Mallory must make a choice between staying silent and speaking out—for the people she loves, the life she wants, and the truths that need to be heard.
EXCERPT
The expression on her face said he gave great full frontal,
and when he laughed, her pink lips split into a wide smile. Her smile
transformed her from pretty to beautiful, but my attention swung away from her
as tiny hairs rose all over my body. That laugh…it was deep, rich and somehow
familiar. A shiver crept over my shoulders. That
laugh…
He was
walking backward, and I was rather amazed that he didn’t trip over anything,
actually somewhat envious of that fact. And then I realized he was heading
toward the last half circle. Toward me.
I glanced around. There were only a few seats open, two on my left. The girl
was following him. Not just following him. Touching him.
Touching
him like she’d done it a lot.
Her
slim arm was extended, her hand planted in the center of his stomach, just
below his chest. She bit down on her lower lip as her hand drifted farther
south. Golden bangles dangling from her wrist got awful close to the worn
leather belt. My cheeks heated as the boy stepped out of her reach. There was
something playful about his movements, as if this dance was a daily routine for
them both.
He
turned at the end of the desks, stepping behind the occupied chair, and my gaze
tracked up narrow hips, over the stomach the girl had touched, up and up, and
then I saw his face.
I
stopped breathing.
My
brain couldn’t perceive what I was seeing. It did not compute. I stared up at
him, really saw him, saw a face that
was familiar yet new to me, more mature than I remembered but still achingly
beautiful. I knew him. Oh my God, I
would know him anywhere, even if it had been four years and the last time I’d
seen him, that last night that had been so horrible, had changed my life
forever.
It was
too surreal.
Now the
reason why he’d popped in my head this morning made sense, because I’d seen
him, but hadn’t realized it was him.
I
couldn’t move, couldn’t get enough air into my lungs and couldn’t believe this
was happening. My hands slipped off the desk, falling limply into my lap as he
dipped into the seat next to me. His gaze was on the girl who took the seat
next to him, and his profile, the strong jaw that had only been hinted at the
last time I’d seen him, tilted as his eyes moved over the front of the room,
across the wall-length chalkboard. He looked like he had back then, but bigger
and with everything more…more defined.
From the eyebrows darker than the mix of brown and black hair and thick lashes
to the broad cheekbones and the slight scruff covering the curve of his
jaw.
Goodness,
he’d grown up in the way I’d thought he would when I was twelve and started to
really look at him, to see him as a boy.
I
couldn’t believe he was here. My heart was trying to claw itself out of my
chest as lips—lips fuller that I remembered—tilted up, and a knot formed in my
belly as the dimple formed in his right cheek. The only dimple he had. No
matching set. Just one. My mind raced back through the years, and I could only
think of a handful of times I’d seen him relaxed. Leaning back in the chair
that seemed too small for him, he slowly turned his head toward me. Eyes that
were brown with tiny flecks of gold met mine.
Eyes
I’d never forgotten.
The
easy, almost lazy smile I’d never seen on his face before froze. His lips
parted and a paleness seeped under his tawny skin. Those eyes widened, the gold
flecks seeming to expand. He recognized me; I had changed a lot since then, but
still, recognition dawned in his features. He was moving again, leaning forward
on his seat toward me. Four words roared out of the past and echoed in my head.
Don’t make a sound.
“Mouse?”
he breathed.
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