Life As We Know It is the first book I've read by J.D. Hollyfield. Based on this book, I would read other books by her as well. Although this book is book 4 in a series it reads as standalone. Even if one of the characters may have been introduced in a prior book, which I have no idea if this is the case, there wasn't any confusion nor were there any scenes that alluded to something that the reader should already know. 
 Several times throughout the book I found myself thinking, awww this is a feel good story. Most of the book is a sweet, easy read with just the right amount of angst; but then there is a good mystery suspense drama twist written in. It kept me on the edge of my seat while I waited to see what would happen. The reason for the twist was pretty original and creative so I really enjoyed that it wasn't your run of the mill plot twist. 
 Our main character, Penny, has a douche bag ex who broke up with her for super douchey reasons. This breakup took place right after Henry (aka ex-boyfriend Douchey McDouche) gave Penny a bunch of money to book a vacation for the two of them. So naturally, Penny did what any jilted woman would do, she booked a trip anyway and took her best friend Patti to the Bahamas for 7 days on Douchey's dime. On her final night of the cruise, Penny met Sam, our other main character, and they had great sex. Penny left before Sam woke up wanting to avoid the one-night stand awkwardness. All of this a good lead in for the story because we all know damn well that isn't the last time she sees Sam. 
 There was certainly some instalove here but with this story it really worked and didn't come off as cheesy or fake. 
 I'm not a fan of secrets and lies and Penny tells a lot of white lies. Some of it is funny but others not so much. It started to piss me off when she was keeping stupid secrets that should be a no-brainer for telling Sam. 
 The crazy drama / mystery toward the end was a bit too fake for the analytical, detail oriented, problem solver in me. The sequence of events and how they transpired didn't make sense with what I think would happen in real life. Too many mistakes by the people involved. I mean really, do you want to be caught? Be smarter than that! That aside, it was still written really well. It is just a situation where I told myself to give creative liberties for the sake of a well-executed story. 
 I really liked the epilogue but thought it was weird that there was no mention of Patti or Jamie when they, especially Patti, were a huge part of her life. 
 Yessss, so much yes: (view spoiler)[ "Who would have thought that being a drunken hussy in the middle of the Caribbean would land me the love of my life." Awww. (hide spoiler)] 
 Overall, Life As We Know It was really entertaining and I had a good time reading it. I loved Sam and wish I could find my very own Sam. I give this book 4 stars. I would gladly read this author again and recommend this book to anyone wishing to read something fun, sweet, slightly angsty with a good and brief suspense element to it. 
 This review is based on an advanced copy of this book that I had the privilege of reading.