Reviews

Review: Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter

I'm All Booked Up YA
Amazon.com: Not If I Save You First (9781338134148): Carter, Ally: Books

Maddie’s childhood was perfect. As the daughter a U.S. Secret Service Agent, Maddie spent a lot of time at the White House. Her best friend happened to be the U.S. President’s son. 

After a failed kidnapping attempt of the first lady by a Russian organization, leaving Maddie’s dad shot in the process, he packs them up and moves to Alaska. He retires from the service and wants to keep Maddie safe from dangerous criminals.

Maddie has trouble adjusting. There’s no internet, they live in a shack essentially and the wilderness is the exact opposite of Washington, D.C. Maddie’s barely seen another human besides her dad in years. Plus, they don’t even have running water!

Six years after the night that changed everything, Logan comes back into Maddie’s life. 1. He never responded to her letters. 2. He became hot. Seeing him again brought back all of the emotions Maddie suppressed through the years. Logan had been getting in trouble back in D.C. so his parents thought sometime away from it all would bring perspective.

Except, 12 hours after he arrives, he’s kidnapped by a Russian man who attempted to kill Maddie. Something about him reminds Logan of the horrible night. Yet, this guy isn’t old enough to be one of the people who went after his mom six years ago.

Determined to save Logan, Maddie navigates through the snowy wilderness of Alaska. She wanted to hurt Logan herself, but she cannot…not unless she saves him first.

Not If I Save You First was a nonstop thriller. We enjoy books that feature our city, D.C.! But, we have to admit, we knew little about Alaska. 

Maddie is amazing with her survival skills. Let’s just say we’re not the most outdoorsy people and we would not do well in this situation. She’s quick on her feet and is able to put the puzzle pieces together on how this incident has to do with the one from six years ago. Without spoiling anything, Carter spins a twisted web. The mystery kept us glued to the book!

Maddie felt relatable based on her relationship with Logan. She cares about him even though he hurt her. Still, we wish the romance had been a little more developed, like Zack and Cammie’s in Gallagher Girls. We found ourselves rooting for Maddie and Logan from the beginning. We also wish the epilogue had been a bit longer. We really want to know what happened next to these two!

If you’re looking for an adventure to keep you on the edge of your seat, Carter’s latest YA book is for you. Definitely pick it up if you enjoyed Gallagher Girls or Embassy Row. Ally Carter, please write another YA thriller soon!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Published by I'm All Booked Up YA

We write recommendations and reviews for YA books.

23 thoughts on “Review: Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter”

  1. Pingback: Review: Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter — I’m All Booked Up | Sav’s Review

  6. While I’ve always enjoyed the damsel in distress stories, there’s just something about female MCs with survival skills that I really like – nothing like having the princess rescue the prince! And sounds like there’s room for a sequel too – nice write up, IABU! 😊

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