*I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are mine and 100% genuine.

When I first saw The Here and Now, I was drawn from its synopsis. I then got excited when I realized that it was the written by the same author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling pants, which was a series that I loved. I was surprised by the genre difference though and started it hesitantly.

The plot of The Here and Now revolves around these "alien" species coming from a mosquitoes outbreak, which was definitely an unique aspect. Prenna travels back in time in hopes of changing history and stopping the virus from spreading. Although I'm not a huge fan of time travel some novels pull it off well for me and really stick to me, but sadly The Here and Now was not one of them. I had some trouble engaging the book in the beginning, but things really picked up about a half to three fourths of the way. I really enjoyed the end of the novel and I didn't see that plot twist coming.

I honestly didn't connect to Prenna or Ethan for the majority of the novel. I actually liked Ethan more than Prenna just because she was kind of a bland character. Also, their relationship fell flat for me. I love romance in my novels, but I simply didn't feel the chemistry between the two. It wasn't quite instalove but it definitely could have been more developed/less rushed.

Overall, The Here and Now had an unique plot that was definitely interesting but didn't blow me away. It might be something I recommend to lovers of Sci-Fi/time travel, but in the end I feel indifferent toward it. ( )

A book about time travel and self-described epic romance should not be this boring. ( )

I'd had this one on my shelf for quite a while, and I think that I kept skipping over it because of the YA tag. I really have to be in the right mindset to deal with an adolescent romance - no matter how much the "rest" of the story might appeal to me. Time travel is my favorite genre, so I finally broke down and got myself into the necessary mindset. Good thing that I took my time (ha!) getting myself psyched up for it, as the romance angle was huge. However, the time travel issues were meaty enough to almost compensate for the heavy romance parts.
In the end, I actually did enjoy this book quite a bit, in spite of the fact that the romance could've been completely removed and it wouldn't have radically affected the story. The romance was added solely to cater to a certain demographic (of which I'm obviously not a member of), but the rest of the story was strong enough to stand on it own.

Audiobook notes: Emily Rankin did a fine job; no pronunciation, pacing or voice issues. ( )

I wanted to give it 5 stars because it was really really good it just wasn't great. My expectations for this book were really high because I have loved all of Ann Brashares books so much. If any other author had written this it would have gotten 5 stars but I had really high expectations for this work and it didn't quite reach them. Overall though a good read with cool premise and plot. As always excellent characterization. ( )

Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ann Brashares may have just redeemed herself for the final Sisterhood book. Okay, just kidding, I am not one to be mean to authors. Anyway, as if I didn't already hate mosquitoes enough, this book talks about a world where mosquitoes really are the death of humankind as we know it. Prenna is a traveler and she has a different set of standards and rules to follow. Her life is closely monitored by several different higher authorities and one wrong move could have very serious consequences. Prenna, along with her outsider friend Ethan starts to discover some things about her life and the world and things aren't what they seem. I never quite knew where the story was going and was surprised throughout. Really good characters, interesting development and definite issues that made me think. Overall an enjoyable and thought provoking read. Just one more reason Brashares is a must read for me. ( )