From Goodreads: "Zera is a Heartless—the immortal, unaging soldier of a witch. Bound to the witch Nightsinger ever since she saved her from the bandits who murdered her family, Zera longs for freedom from the woods they hide in. With her heart in a jar under Nightsinger’s control, she serves the witch unquestioningly. Until Nightsinger asks Zera for a prince’s heart in exchange for her own, with one addendum: if she’s discovered infiltrating the court, Nightsinger will destroy Zera’s heart rather than see her tortured by the witch-hating nobles. Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the royal court as much as it loves him—every tutor too afraid to correct him and every girl jockeying for a place at his darkly handsome side. No one can challenge him—until the arrival of Lady Zera. She’s inelegant, smart-mouthed, carefree, and out for his blood. The prince’s honor has him quickly aiming for her throat. So begins a game of cat and mouse between a girl with nothing to lose and a boy who has it all. Winner takes the loser’s heart. Literally."

About the Author:

Her past."

Thank you to Entangled Teen for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for review!

I don't even know where to begin with this book. It showed up in my mailbox not too long ago and as ecstatic as I was about receiving an unexpected book, I soon discovered that it was the second in a series. I put it to the side for the time being until curiosity got the best of me and I picked up the first one (which you can check out my review for here) and finished it within a few hours. I immediately grabbed Forget Me Always and flew through it so fast that I had to force myself put it down and hold off on finishing it. I came to the realization that I would have to wait six agonizing months until the final book comes out and I didn't want to be done with Isis just yet. But I've finished it and gone back and read the ending all over again because I couldn't accept what had happened and maybe I just read it wrong. Nope, it happened, so here I am to talk about just how much I adore this book.

Isis Blake has spent the last nineteen days in a hospital with a bandage around her head and way too much Jell-O. After a violent encounter with her mother's abusive ex-boyfriend, Leo, she's been recovering from a serious head injury and trying to regain the memories that she lost of the boy who saved her and her mother. She can't quite remember him, but she's certainly grateful for his help. At the moment, she's more focused on getting out of the hospital before becoming a complete nut job. But she starts to remember more and more, and realizes that Sophia is Jack's girlfriend- the same Jack that kissed her before she lost her memories. Jack never forgot Isis, but he can't let her know how he feels anymore. The more memories that come back, the more danger Isis is in. What happens when the one thing she thought she escaped comes back to haunt her?

From the very first page, I knew that this book was going to take my emotions on a roller coaster ride. Between Isis trying to get her memories back, her tumultuous friendship with Sophia, and trying to figure out just what is going on with her and Jack, I was not ready for the amount of feelings that I got while reading. Sara Wolf has a way with capturing an audience and making them fall in love with the characters and the world that she has written, and fall in love is exactly what I did. I adore Isis in a way that words cannot describe, and Jack is pretty cool I guess. Even some of the side characters, such as Wren and Kayla, have worked their way into my heart! The writing is incredibly descriptive and enthralling, and without a doubt some of the best that I've read in a long time. I appreciate the time that the author has spent building up such a fantastic world and creating some memorable characters that are sure to stick with readers long after they've put the book down.

Forget Me Always picked up not too long after the ending of the first book and allowed readers to get to know Isis even better, as well as Jack and the mysterious Sophia. I loved that Isis and Sophia got along so well, even with Sophia knowing who Isis was and Isis having no clue who Sophia was. They were such good friends, and even when Sophia was awful to Isis and she learned all about Sophia, Isis refused to leave her and give up on her. It was a side to Isis that I didn't expect, but one that I was so happy to see. Her character development was so different from the first book to this one, although she was definitely still the sass queen! Readers also got a good look into Jack's past and learned more about him and his connection to Sophia, and why he does what he does. It was great to find out that while he does have his Ice King persona, he also has a soft spot and really does care for a select few people. Getting to see a different side of him, even for just a moment, did wonders for my feelings towards him as a character. Sophia was a confusing character, but I understood her ups and downs were due to her illness and that certainly made me feel sorry for her. As the book progresses, you learn a lot more about Sophia, and get an understanding of what happened to her and why things are strained with her, Wren, and Avery. Basically, this book was the perfect "bridge" between the first and the last with a wonderful mix of character development and plot progression.

If you're looking for an introduction to the contemporary genre, then the Lovely Vicious series is definitely for you! Forget Me Always will take you deeper into the world of Isis and Jack and continue their story with beautiful writing that captures you from the first page and leaves your jaw on the floor by the end. Be sure to pick it up when it releases on 01 November 2016!

Seventeen-year-old Isis Blake hasn’t fallen in love in three years, nine weeks, and five days, and after what happened last time, she intends to keep it that way. Since then she’s lost eighty-five pounds, gotten four streaks of purple in her hair, and moved to Buttcrack-of-Nowhere, Ohio, to help her mom escape a bad relationship. All the girls in her new school want one thing—Jack Hunter, the Ice Prince of East Summit High. Hot as an Armani ad, smart enough to get into Yale, and colder than the Arctic, Jack Hunter's never gone out with anyone. Sure, people have seen him downtown with beautiful women, but he's never given high school girls the time of day. Until Isis punches him in the face. Jack’s met his match. Suddenly everything is a game.

The goal: Make the other beg for mercy.
The game board: East Summit High.
The reward: Something neither of them expected."

Contemporary YA has never really piqued my interest like other genres have. A lot of the books have to do with high school drama and boys and I have to admit, I got enough of that when I was in high school and I wasn't too keen on getting that in the books I read. But Love Me Never snuck up on me and took me hostage and I fell head over heels in love with it. I can't recall a contemporary genre book ever doing this to me but I am absolutely hooked, and I can't wait to share it with everyone I know!

Isis Blake hasn't fallen in love in over three years. Three years, nine weeks, and five days, not that she's counting or anything. Ever since Nameless did what he did, she's moved away to a town in Ohio to help her mother escape from a really bad relationship, put purple streaks in her hair, and lost a ton of weight. All Isis wants is to start over in this new town, forget what happened in Florida. And then Jack Hunter comes around and Isis has to punch him in the face. That punch begins a war between Isis and Jack and the outcome is something that neither of them had prepared for.

To say that I flew through Love Me Never would be an understatement. I started and finished this book in just a few short hours and I found myself hooked from page one. Isis is one of the best written characters I've ever read about in any YA book. She is incredible and I made multiple notes while reading about how sassy and funny she was and how much I genuinely loved her character. The writing was fantastic and despite my general disliking of split POV in books, it really worked for Love Me Never. A large majority of the book was in the point of view of Isis, but there were a few small parts where Jack cuts in and you get to see what he's thinking and feeling at certain important parts of the book. I enjoyed those small insights into his thoughts and it helped to get a better understanding of him as a person.

The character development throughout this book was very well done. Jack was pretty much the Ice Prince for a large majority of the book, but I think readers really got to see beneath the icy wall he has built up around him towards the end. He certainly got me smiling and happy at the Halloween party! With Isis, she was already the queen of sass and just an all around amazing character, but I think that she really opened up towards the end and allowed herself to feel things that she had previously thought she didn't deserve. She spent the entire book allowing the words of her previous love to warp her image of herself and it absolutely broke my heart to hear her think that she was fat and ugly and didn't deserve to be kissed or loved. While it is incredibly sad, I think it can be extremely relateable for a lot of readers, both male and female. A lot of people allow the negative words of others to change the way they see themselves, and it's difficult to change that way of thinking after years of hearing such awful things. It certainly sends a message that words really do hurt, and it's a powerful message that needs to be spread all over.

One of my favorite parts of this book (besides Isis, of course) was the writing. Sara Wolf really has a way of creating and keeping the flow of words throughout the entire book. I was not only in love with the characters that she created, but also the world that she built and how she wrote about it. Her words absolutely captured me from the very first page and kept me interested until the last word. There was just enough build up throughout as you learn bits and pieces of Jack and his past to keep you guessing and wanting to read more and more until you've uncovered his secrets. The way the story unraveled was so much fun to follow and I found myself immediately picking up the sequel, Forget Me Always, because I was so deep into the world of Isis and Jack that I had to find out what happened next!

I also really appreciated that the author touched on the issue of emotional and physical abuse in relationships. Isis was involved with Nameless, who really treated her terribly and caused some serious issues for her long after she left. Her mother was also in an incredibly physically abusive relationship that left her with crippling PTSD. Abusive relationships are something that seems to be a touchy topic to write about, but I think it's a good issue to bring to light, especially in YA books. It provides young readers with the knowledge of what an abusive (physical, mental, emotional, etc.) relationship is and allows them to be aware of the warning signs and take care of themselves. I really want to commend Sara Wolf on bringing it to light and writing about this issue in such an honest way.

Whether you like contemporary books or have been on the fence about picking one up, I highly encourage you to try Love Me Never. It will give you something completely different from the normal contemporary genre reads and you will absolutely fall in love with Isis and Jack, but maybe mostly Isis. It's funny, heartbreaking, intense, and just an all around fantastic read. Once you finish, you'll be dying to find out what happens next!