Not If I Save You First

A survival stand alone.

One would suspect the President's son and the President's Head of Security's daughter would become friends, right? They have. They know every nook and cranny in the most famous house in the world. But after an incident, Maddie's dad is injured and they leave the luxury of the White House of the barren forests of Alaska. Six years pass and not a single letter has come back from the White House even though Maddie has sent them religiously. Maddie has learned to survive with the help of her bedazzled hatchet with no one else around for tens of miles--no one but bears that is.

Suddenly, Logan is here. In Alaska. Six years of no reply and he is here. And Maddie hates him. Can't stand the sight of him.

Her father leaves to go rescue someone before a storm and Maddie is left to watch over Logan (with the help of his Secret Service agents just outside the door). But suddenly, the agents can't be found and Maddie is thrown off a cliff and Logan is taken hostage by a Russian who forces him to cross the wilderness. Maddie is injured but managest to follow the two young men. No one gets to kill Logan except her. That is the rule.

It was a good story, much like the many that Ally Carter has written, and this race for survival was fun. Unlike her other books, this is a real place. Not some made up country where she can do her own political thing. She did her research well, from my vantage point.

The kids also felt very real to me. They were who would bedazzle a hatchet or make multiple social media accounts that your parents wouldn't know about. This one is very different from Ally Carter's other books where they are so many characters; here the pertinent characters number four or five. And I think it worked well enough. Maddie's voice was very prominent and sounded very much like a teenage girl who at least used to adore some frills and bedazzling. I very much liked her voice.

It isn't my favorite book  in Ally Carter's arsonal, but it was decent. It still had the "heist" feeling that I got from the Heist Society where Maddie is very smart and thinks ahead. I also really like how she jumped points of view with Maddie and Logan. It was needed to tell this story, and I think she did it well.

If you want a standalone book, feel free to pick it up and enjoy. A quick read, but full of adventure.