Synopsis
Emma Harris is learning that life is just a series of lessons.
Lesson #1: Nothing goes the way you plan.
Lesson #2: You can’t trust men. Especially not the pretty ones.
Lesson #3: Turns out, appearances are almost always deceiving.
Emma thinks she has life all figured out, and what she knows isn’t good. For years, she’s put her big sister, who was born with Down syndrome, first. Now Emma’s ready to start her own life, but fate has other plans. To do the right thing for the sister she loves, Emma’s dreams will just have to wait.
She doesn’t plan on meeting Landon — a rich, flirtatious jock, who never has to wait for anything. Not for attention, not for money, and certainly not for girls. Meeting Emma marks the first time in his life that he’s had to fight for something. And Landon doesn’t know how to lose.
Emma has no interest in wasting her summer with a superficial guy like Landon. But very soon she realizes she is wrong about him. The question is, can she trust him? Or will he let her down like every other guy in her life? But most importantly, can Emma trust herself enough to live the life she’s always dreamed of?
Life has a way of sneaking in the most important lessons when you aren’t looking. And once the heart gets involved, that’s when the real learning begins.
5 Out Of 5 Stars
———————————————————————————————————————————–
My Review
As you know, I have stopped writing reviews in turn for focussing on my writing. But I did say if a book I NEEDED you all to read came along, then I would write a review for it. And here it comes. I HAVE a book for you – Not Yet by Laura Ward. I need to write this review, I need you all to read it and just bask in the beauty of the book with me. Because it is such a 5 star book, its out of this work.
From never reading a book about people with disabilities to finding a whole array and gobbling them down like they are my next breath, Not Yet is definitely a top contender. As a debut novel, Laura pulled me in. Her writing, the story, it hooked me in and I read this book in about three hours, only stepping to express my emotions for what was happening. From smiling, to giggles, to the steam factor. And then the twist. Oh man, my heart stopped, and I kept re-reading that passage. Eyes wide open in shock. And then I felt the emotions from Emma and Landon. The heartbreak, the pain and love. Laura had me throwing my kindle, clutching it to my chest and I cannot think of a better book to read on my lazy Sunday morning.
Not Yet is about Emma. She’s had to finish college early to come home and help her mother out with bills and her sister, Evie, who has Down’s Syndrome. Over the summer she takes a job in a country club managing lifeguards where she meets the devilishly handsome, Landon.
Landon slowly breaks down Emma’s walls and the more time they spend together, the more they fall, but a secret comes to light and ends everything. But they say love prevails, so will it for both Landon and Emma when it really counts?
I was sold on this book from the synopsis and cover and then we meet our two characters and I was sucked into them.
Emma is a strong character. She knows what she wants and is determined to get there but her plans are put on hold when she had to return home. She puts her walls up, she’s bitchy and argumentative and keeps to herself, keeps her personal life private. She loves her family hard, especially her sister and you can really see the love she has for Evie. She will do anything for her older sister. She’s old beyond her years but there is something utterly special about Emma that I was smiling at everything she was doing. Proving and showing that everyone is equal, that everyone is the same regardless of who you are, regardless of your disability. We all want the same – to have and to be loved.
I loved watching her walls break down around Landon. Loved seeing her carefree and smiling and giggling and doing things twenty-one years old should be doing. She learnt life lessons along the way, both negative and positive but it all comes down to learning. Never regretting anything you do because it leads you to the path you finish on. The path in which love prevails if you just wait. If you love hard and deep enough, true love will always be there. Sure Emma went through some dark paths; heartbreak, shock, anger and gossip but she got through it. She proved how strong and selfless and amazing she was and she’s a character that everyone should look up to.
I was hooked on Landon from then get-go. That smoking hot, cocky guy who has all the girls falling at his feet? Who wouldn’t be a part of that? Emma, that’s for sure. A footballer who is starting school in the fall, he’s superficial. He acts all cocky and like a playboy but there’s so much more to him. So much underneath that façade that that side of him gets stripped away the more he spends with Emma.
I loved the changes in Landon. The more time he spent with Evie and Emma, the more he moulded into the guy who was always there, just hidden. He proved himself, he proved he wasn’t an ass, he proved just how amazing he was, asking questions about Evie, helping out Trevor and helping him progress with the water and the pool. I was laughing at him making a fool of himself, swooning over everything he was saying and doing to Emma and I just loved seeing them together, seeing him carefree and seeing him care. He learns some lessons too, about himself, about life and love. About secrets and heartbreak. He begins to see things differently but when his secret comes out, everything around him and Emma comes crashing down. His secret shocked me to the depths. I was not exprecting something like that and it broke trust and everything between them. You could feel the pain from Landon. How utterly upset and shocked and disappointed he was in himself for keeping it from Emma.
The ultimate betrayal. But I loved how he fought for her. He fought for her love, for his love and he would wait forever for you. A year to him was nothing when the end was the love of his life. You see a massive change in Landon. From cocky to loving. From superficial to being his true self. Everyone could see it and I was so proud of him for everything he did throughout the book.
It wasn’t just Emma and Landon’s journey, it was Trevor and Billy and Evie and Garrett and Amy’s journey too. You meet them, you love them and you root for all of them. They all have disabilities but do they let them hinder them? No, not by any means and you feel so happy for them, that they grow stronger and more resilient everyday, teaching us that no matter who you are, you can do it, regardless.
What I adored about this book was that the main focus was love, in all kinds. That everyone deserves something and someone special. How disabilities shouldn’t matter, that we should all be treated equally, because at the end of the day, we ARE all equals. I loved that Laura integrated different people with special needs. From Down’s Syndrome, to Autism and she made me really open my eyes and learn along with Landon. People with special needs can teach us so much more than we can teach them. They are truly amazing and they teach Landon and Emma, at times, so much more. About love, about life and being in the moment.
Please read this book. I really need you to. It will change your whole perception on everything. It really did to me.
SYNOPSIS
Z. Elizabeth 
