Review: The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

Title: The Here and Now
Author: Ann Brashares
Pages: 288
Format: e-ARC
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Summary: An unforgettable epic romantic thriller about a girl from the future who might be able to save the world . . . if she lets go of the one thing she’s found to hold on to. Follow the rules. Remember what happened. Never fall in love. This is the story of seventeen-year-old Prenna James, who immigrated to New York when she was twelve. Except Prenna didn’t come from a different country. She came from a different time—a future where a mosquito-borne illness has mutated into a pandemic, killing millions and leaving the world in ruins.  Prenna and the others who escaped to the present day must follow a strict set of rules: never reveal where they’re from, never interfere with history, and never, ever be intimate with anyone outside their community. Prenna does as she’s told, believing she can help prevent the plague that will one day ravage the earth.  But everything changes when Prenna falls for Ethan Jarves.  From Ann Brashares, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, The Here and Now is thrilling, exhilarating, haunting, and heartbreaking—and a must-read novel of the year.
Review: I received this book free from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  The cover was what made me look more into this novel, then knowing that that Ann Brashares wrote it made me want to desperately. Sadly, this book fell way short for me. I just found it to be a really slow and sometimes confusing read. I feel like there was so much potential for this novel and I keep thinking/ hoping it would pick up, but alas, it never did. I really couldn't connect with these characters and I wasn't a fan of the insta- love. I really wanted to love this book because it sounded so amazing, but I couldn't. I just wish it had lived up to my expectations.

About this author

Ann Brashares grew up in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with three brothers and attended a Quaker school in the D.C. area called Sidwell Friends. She studied Philosophy at Barnard College, part of Columbia University in New York City. Expecting to continue studying philosophy in graduate school, Ann took a year off after college to work as an editor, hoping to save money for school. Loving her job, she never went to graduate school, and instead, remained in New York City and worked as an editor for many years. Ann made the transition from editor to full-time writer with her first novel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Ann and her husband live with their three children in New York.