With most books, you dont need to know what led up to where someone’s story begins and, technically, I could say the same for Nate and Emi. But with them, I *wanted* to know what made them tick…what started their friendship…what led to Emi’s aversion to chocolate…I *needed* the back story. Thank you, Lori, for giving it to us. As always, it was well-written and grabbed my attention right away. It’s a must-read for anyone who’s read the Lost and Found series.
Mel, Goodreads review
Wonderful prequel to Emi: Lost and Found. It made me miss my “friends”, Emi and Nate.
Angela Meyer, Goodreads review
Again I got immersed in the life of Nate and Emi. I think that now I like Nate even more. The way Lori Otto managed to portrait the emotional connection of her characters is wonderful. This is a must read if you love the series as much as me.
V. Anton, Goodreads review
Aww this book was so sweet and I love Nate! I’m glad that this prequel exists and kind of gives us an insight into how Nate and Emi’s relationship began. It’s just a little frustrating that they waited so long for something to happen when it was obvious that there was something between them even in the beginning. But again, I understand why Emi and Nate couldn’t be together.
Klaudyna Z., Goodreads review
If you followed the series Emi Lost and found, this is a must read. Here you will learn how Nate and Emi meet each other and how their friendship was born.
Vivi, Kindle edition
I was thrilled when Lori L Otto started publishing this story to her blog. I am a great fan of the Emi Lost and Found Series, and having the opportunity to go back and see how Emi and Nate’s story began was so exciting. We get an insight into Emi’s vulnerability after her parents divorce and her basic distrust of men. We also get to learn why she doesn’t like chocolate!
A peek inside Nate’s head is always wonderful. A sensitive soul he’s all tough on the outside with yummy soft mush on the inside. And he immediately feels something for Emi. This story shows that while their love story might not have been meant to be, their friendship truly was epic. They got each other. We should all be so lucky to have had one friend in our lifetime like that.
Nix, Kindle edition
This is the beginning of the lost and found series it shoes you how everything started with Emi and Nate thought high school and in there personal life as best friends, I RECOMMEND THIS book to my friends or anyone. Enjoy
Sam539, Kindle edition
This is a book that should be read after book 3 of the series. Even though it is a prequel, I “get it.” I just wish there was more.
It’s over and I’m disappointed. Can we get a continuation? That’ll probably be too much, but I hate for this series to be over. I am happy that I read how Nate and Emily met. You appreciate many decisions that Nate made later in their relationship. I highlighted so many passages that correlate to other parts in the series. The endings summed everything up perfectly.
Hopeless Romantic, Kindle edition
I absolutely loved this book! The writing style is good, not many errors and it reads really well. I loved how we got both characters perspectives.
Emi is lovely and endearing and you automatically like her, I’m sure everybody can relate to her a little.
Nate, is every girl’s bad boy crush. In my mind he is gorgeous, confident and just perfect for Emi. Which i think is how the writer wanted me to feel. I was cheering for him through the whole book to get the girl. They are just perfect for each other and i can’t wait to see what happens next.
Zoe.Williams, Kindle UK edition
I love Nate and Emi, and it was so nice to be able to read about their youth and how they met. It helped me to better understand their relationship and provided valuable insight. Definitely read this one if you are reading the main books from this series!
Amy, Goodreads Review
“Not Today, But Someday” was an absolute joy to read.
Earlier today, I finished “Lost and Found,” book one of Lori L. Otto’s “Emi Lost & Found” Series, and it was tough for me to read. Not because it wasn’t very good and beautifully written–it was both of these. It was tough for me to read, because it hit so close to home. It showed me the agony possible when “best-friend/soul-mates” both wander from bad relationship to bad relationship, never admitting to themselves or each other that they are each other’s true love.
I’ve been there.
It was also difficult for me to bond with Nate. Many of his behaviors and attitudes made me wish I could smack him. Here was this beautiful Emi, already his best friend, so why couldn’t he just shut up and talk to her about their relationship? About how much he wanted more? Instead, he moved from disposable girlfriend to disposable girlfriend, at times choosing their brand of “love” over what he’d shared for so long with Emi.
Seriously, I could have smacked him, just as I wish somebody had popped out of a book and smacked me.
“Not Today, But Someday” is a novella prequel, and it shows how Nate and Emi meet in high school, where emotions are so very near the surface already. Nate is still dealing with his father’s death, although extensive therapy has gotten him to a decent place, and what therapy couldn’t help, his frantic sessions of painting–he is an acknowledged prodigy–and the less artistic ministrations of certain slutty girls have managed to assuage.
Emi, however, is one giant raw nerve. Her parents have just divorced, and Emi finds herself unable to trust anyone. She can’t understand why her mother isn’t more of a wreck, or how her brother and sister can stand to mention “Him.” Emi was the one who caught her father, out on a date with his girlfriend. She was mortified, and her heart is filled with hate. So now, she’s in a cramped apartment far from her friends, having to start at a new school, and all the while filled with hatred for a man she’d once adored.
In the first art class, she finds herself seated next to an unusual boy, who has incredible self-confidence. He makes her smile; she enchants him with her beautiful green eyes. That weekend, Emi fights with her sister, and sneaks out of the family’s new apartment. Nate finds her in an ice cream shop, on that bitter, snowy evening. She tells him she doesn’t want to go back to her mother’s new apartment, so Nate offers to let her stay in one of their guest rooms.
That night, their friendship truly begins, and as the next week progresses, both their devotion and trust are tested. They make a pact: neither of them is looking for a serious relationship at that point. Their pact is, basically, “not today, but maybe someday.”
The way this comes to be explains Nate’s callous behavior in “Lost and Found,” and how these two best friends find it so much easier to hook up with others, than to take that next step on their own.
As a stand-alone–even if you never read the “Emi Lost & Found” series–this is a charming, beautifully revealed story. As a prequel to the series, it is invaluable. If I’d read it first, I might not have wanted to smack Nate so much. Having read it now, he’s temporarily excused, depending on what he does in books two and three.
Highly recommended.
Tom, Goodreads review
Lori L. Otto, author 