Review: From This Moment (Moment of Truth #3) by Lauren Barnholdt

From This Moment by Lauren Barnholdt

Before graduation, I will...learn to take a risk. In the final book in the Moment of Truth series, readers will learn if Aven is willing to take the ultimate gamble.
Aven has had a crush on her best guy friend, Liam, for years. Now with graduation looming and a week of nothing but sun, sand, and countless hours alone with him, Aven has decided that now is finally the time to see if he could possibly feel the same way about her.
Each book in this paperback original series is told from the perspective of a different girl—Lyla, Aven, and Quinn—former best friends who wrote emails to their future selves back in freshman year about one thing they hope to accomplish before they graduate. When the emails get delivered on the first morning of their senior trip, all three girls will spend the next three days trying to keep the promises they made to themselves four years ago. While each book follow’s one girl’s life-changing adventure, you have to read them all to get the whole story, including why they’re no longer friends and whether they can get their friendship back on track.
Smart, hilarious and full of heart, the thrilling finale to the Moment of Truth series is the perfect conclusion to an irresistible trilogy.

Publishes in US: July 14th 2015 by Harper Teen
Genre: ya contemp
Source: bought
Series? Moment of Truth #3

My reviews:
#1 Heat of the Moment
#2 One Moment in Time


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Author stalk away: ~site

      I wanted to read From this Moment because I enjoyed reading Lyla and Quinn's stories. We saw that their friendship fell apart, and some of the pieces of the puzzle through Lyla's eyes. Aven sounds like a character that I can relate to because she has been the catalyst to what seems like will be a turning point in their friendship at the end of the other two books, but she wants to do take a risk before graduation. I also liked the other two girl's character development so I hoped for more of the same as well as the readability of the other books.

   Aven has crushed on her best guy friend for years, and this book seems like it is going to focus on her acting on that crush instead of keeping silent even longer. But what I found out in the first chapter made me mad. Because she remembered and counted on that email, but now Liam is dating her friend Izzy. I mean, really. She should have spoken up before or wait until they break up. So there is that, dear readers. I am going to keep reading because maybe I just need a guilty pleasure summery read, or I am two story invested into this group of friends. 

    Given, she does feel a lot of guilt about it, and at one point, she resolves to just leave it alone. But the emails keep coming, and she keeps getting time alone with Liam. They do book club, she appreciates his music, and they are comfortable with each other. Luckily things worked out pretty well, and I liked the resolution of the romance. There was a lot of drama to get there, but finally it worked out.

    I feel like Aven didn't do as much growing as the other two but I did like her initiative to get the friends back together. She took time to listen to both of the girls even when they were distant to each other. She took responsibility for what she did wrong, and tried to get everyone to look at it from the others' perspective which really opened them up. 

    I feel like everything with Aven is introspective so I don't feel like I got as much a feel about her goals for the future, but really intense on what she is feeling in the moment as well as feelings that she's held for years, not only with Liam but with Quinn and Lyla. 

Bottom Line: Good wrap up of the series focusing on friendship getting a second chance and dealing with a long term crush that is also a best friend.


My question to you, my lovely readers:
Did you act on crushes or admire in silence?