Review: Not If I Save You First

Not If I Save You First
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Dear Logan,
Someday I'm going to write a book: How Not to Die in Alaska - A Girl's Guide to Fashionable Survival. I bet you don't know that a hair pin can make an excellent fishing hook. You may think you can use just any kind of mud for mud masks, but trust me, you CAN'T! In a pinch, nothing starts a fire like nail polish remover. Alaska is tough. You might know this, if you ever replied to my letters. 

After Maddie's Secret Service dad takes a bullet for the President, he takes Maddie somewhere he thinks they'll be safe....far away from the White House and the President's son, Logan. But when Logan comes to Alaska, or more like...is sentenced there for bad behaviour, he brings the danger with him. If there's one thing Alaska has taught Maddie, it's how to survive. And now her best friends life depends on it....

I really enjoy Ally's books, they're always fun and exciting and have some cute romance to go with the badass female characters. Gallagher Girls was such a blast of a series, as was Heist Society, although I still need to pick up Embassy Row! I was expecting much the same from this book, and I wasn't at all disappointed. 

The opening is entertaining and light hearted as we get introduced to the characters before heading in to some action and serious tension before we hit a nice little time skip. I liked the letters interspersed throughout to show us how Maddie's mind set changed as she spent time in Alaska, and how she felt regarding Logan, it was a nice touch that helped you connect with her and what she was feeling. 

All I really needed to know about Maddie was that she's the kind of girl to bedazzle her favourite hatchet. I loved her, although I did side eye her a bit at the beginning because she was giving off "I'm not like other girls" vibes and I was a bit wary of that. She really can take care of herself and she's quite the badass...but she's still girly and she made for such an entertaining main character! 

Logan I wanted to smack multiple times. Don't get me wrong, I thought he and Maddie where cute and there where plenty of fluffy and cute moments with the two. I'm so here for the romance. My issue with Logan was that he never seemed to quite get that Maddie was perfectly capable of handling herself...even after she demonstrated that she was multiple times. I could handle that, even if it did have me sighing a few times, what really irritated me? The way that anytime Stefan (the kidnapper), or any other guy would look at her or whatever, he went full Hulk and lost all of his chill. There was screaming and shouting and overly testosterone fuelled displays of machismo as he screeched at people not to touch her, or look at her and blah blah blah. Like seriously dude....chill. Have a sit down and a cup of tea and just....relax. It's all good. I think he was a bit bothered by the way he was pretty much useless and Maddie was the capable one. Hit him right in the masculinity. 

Overall Not If I Save You First was a fast paced, action packed and hugely entertaining read (including Logan, sure it was irritating but at the same time I had a good eye roll and "really dude" every time), with some cute romance sprinkled in. I will say that I was expecting the book to go one way, like with Maddie's dad, and I did end up being surprised by the twist at the end! I will forever be wondering how much of Maddie's survival tips are true...