Between Now and Never

This book showed up in my Bookbub feed (LOVE this service. Recommend it for all the voracious readers out there!) and I saw the blurb from Janette Rallison on the cover. At 99 cents, well, it was worth the risk, right?

YES. YES IT WAS.

From Goodreads:
"Buh boom, buh boom.

My heart thrusts with a force that takes me by surprise. Telling me something I don’t understand. A splitting pain, a longing to slip back under. They tell me I was in a hit-and-run, but I can’t remember what happened that night. All I know is that I woke up with pictures in my pocket, a card from one of those photo booths in the mall. And I’m in the pictures. Cody Rush. Me and…

Julianna.

Her brother was there that night, and my dad, the FBI agent, was the one who put her mom behind bars. What’s the connection? And why won’t Julianna talk to me now? Somehow, she holds the key to it all, and getting close–real close—to her for the answers I need will be no hardship at all…"


This is an excellent book--suspenseful and real and tugs at the heartstrings and makes me want to cheer and cover my eyes at the same time. Cody and Julianna are well-drawn and individual and I ended up admiring them both for finding their way. I really liked how their weaknesses became their strengths by the end of the story--great character growth, especially on Julianna's part.

The plot is tight and intense--no plot holes anywhere--and I had such a hard time putting down the book because I had to see what was going to happen next. I also love the way Johnston wrote the setting. I've spent 10 years living in Arizona, and she evoked memories of my time there in a subtle but realistic way. (ARGH--INCLUDING THE HEAT.) The story was well done and I really enjoyed the ending. I would have loved a sneak peek at their futures, but I'm content with how things stand. Great, great book.

Gentle Reader Alert: I don't recall anything of concern.