This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
About The Book
When my best friend’s little sister walks in on me moaning her name, it’s all over. All restraints are shattered, and every boundary demolished. Nothing will be the same…
For years, I’ve tried to keep my distance from Dakota Cooper. She’s everything I’ve ever wanted and the one thing I can’t have.
But when she calls me in the middle of the night after someone tries to break into her house, I can no longer handle that distance, and I convince her to stay with me, along with her young son.
I should have known having her living under my roof would push me to the edge. Ignite the need that has simmered for so long.
The problem is, she’s forbidden. Off-limits. And I know better than crossing that line.
I can’t drag her into the dark secrets of my life.
But I can’t stay away from her either, so I do the one thing I shouldn’t—I take.
And now that I’ve had her, I’m not sure I can save her from who I am…
My Review
First Impressions
Don’t Forget Me Tomorrow is the second installment in the “Time River” series. This is Dakota and Ryder story. After the first book, I was intrigued by both of these character and I was very curious to see how it would be set apart after the first book. This one is completely different from the first book and I really was fascinated in this one. I also can’t recommend this one enough to be listened to in audio format. There is a very lyrical theme to this writing style in this series, and doing it in audio really elevates the experience as a whole. Now for the majority of the book I thought that this book would be a five star read, but unfortunately the way the third act was handled turned me off a bit so I did detract half a star for that, however, this book as a whole was brilliantly executed and one of the most compelling romances that I have ever read in my life.
Summary
Ryder and Dakota have been friends since they were children. There has always been an intense connection between them. But when Ryder loses his mother as a teenager, he goes off the deep dark end and Dakota has never stopped loving Ryder even though she knows he doesn’t see her that way. But Ryder has his own reasons for staying away romantically from Dakota. He is protective of her, but he is involved in some thing that aren’t completely legal and moral and in some ways he is being forced into this work but knows that he isn’t worthy of her. But when she is put in danger, he takes her and her son into his home for protection and the yearning they both have build to each other, but will his secrets ruin any chance they have for a future?
What I Loved
There were so many elements to this story that I truly was endeared to. I really was intrigued by the story set up here. And I am not sure if it was the story itself or if it was the audio narration, but I was immediately drawn to these two. We do see flashbacks but they are very short and the power of the storytelling where I didn’t mind these flashbacks at all. They were so well fleshed with the story and were just as captivating as the present day storyline. That is rare for me. I have a disliked flashbacks and its not common for an author to write them well. But how A.L. Jackson displayed them within the story was so flawless and she deserves some brownie points for that. The chemistry and build up relationship between Ryder and Dakota was so precious. We see how much they pine for each other and have such honest yearnings for each other. You definitely cheer on both of these characters as you can see how much they love each other but won’t open themselves to it. And I really felt for the hero. He makes some mistakes but is also in a hard tough position. So my heart went out to this man who wants so much better for himself but is practically being forced into doing some not so good things here. The plot within the story is very well built. There is mystery and danger and the right touch of intrigue that really brings balance to the story. I so admire an author that can deliver a solid plot to a romance. (and yes romances need plots unless you are writing erotica which isn’t romance).
What I Struggled With
There were some aspects that I was not a big fan of and detracted some enjoyment of the story. The first 2/3 of the book were EPIC and this would have been a five-star read if it wasn’t for the third act in the plot. So everything gets revealed but it was the reaction of the family and of Dakota that was highly disappointing. Throughout the whole story, Dakota keeps saying how much she accepts Ryder but in all honesty, she doesn’t. She treats him pretty horribly and her whole family does including his best friend. And the whole best friend sister didn’t have hardly any resolvement and that was highly disappointing. If you are making a point of forbidden love because you are with your brother’s best friend, and there is no satisfying ending to that, then the story needs more work in it. And also the ending was very rushed and didn’t satisfy me at all. These elements really affected my overall enjoyment of the story. Executing the third act of a story is just as important as the build-up up so I am a bit disappointed in the turnout of this one.
The Narratino
The narration on this one was brilliantly executed! They handled this story just right and honestly gave it a facelift that had me so captivated and couldn’t put the audio down. This author used very lyrical style of writing, so the narration really brings out that quality just right.
Overall View
Don’t Forget Me Tomorrow was an enjoyable thrilling romance that delivered some beautiful intimacy and heart and soul emotional connection you can easily connect with on a deep level!
Title: Don’t Forget Me Tomorrow
Author: A.L. Jackson
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Format: Audiobook
Source: Self Purchased
Length: 11 Hours and 14 Mins
Book Links
Amazon| Goodreads| LibraryThing| StoryGraph| Literal Club
Book Evaluation
Storytelling Quality: 5
Story Itself: 4
Character Development: 4
Writing Style: 4.5
World Building: 5
Feels + The Romantic Heart: 4.5
Pacing: 5
Plot: 4
Cover Art: 5
Ending: 3
Book Ratings
Overall Rating of the Book
Steam Level
Simmering—soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warm- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
About The Author
A.L. Jackson is the New York Times & USA Today Bestselling author of contemporary romance. She writes emotional, sexy, heart-filled stories about boys who usually like to be a little bit bad.
Her bestselling series include THE REGRET SERIES, CLOSER TO YOU, BLEEDING STARS, FIGHT FOR ME, CONFESSIONS OF THE HEART, FALLING STARS, REDEMPTION HILLS, and TIME RIVER novels. Be on the lookout for her upcoming brother’s best friend, single mom, small town romance DON’T FORGET ME TOMORROW, coming October 10th!
If she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the pool with her family, sipping cocktails with her friends, or of course with her nose buried in a book.
Those darn third acts! Sorry that hampered your enjoyment.
I haven’t tried her books in a while so this being Romantic suspense was a surprise. Glad it had to strong elements to offset the struggles. I agree that if the story is saying this or that is happening, but it doesn’t then it missed the mark.
I’d be bothered by the same things. I do enjoy this author though, so I’ll probably still give this book a try. Great review! xo