Not If I Save You First Paperback

Not If I Save You First (2018) is a standalone teen thriller/romance by popular NYT bestselling YA author, Ally Carter. As a colossal fan of her Heist Society and Embassy Row series, I was excited about her latest release in the same vein as her previous works, involving U.S. Secret Service agents, the President’s son, and an Alaskan adventure. Fun!This was a quick read. It’s light, entertaining, and feels like watching a movie – and those are compliments. It’s commercial fiction; I expect it to be that way. If we learn anything, it’s about Alaska and off-grid living. Not as technologically exciting as Heist Society or politically intriguing as Embassy Row, but I’ll take it.The story is about a sixteen-year-old girl named Maddie Manchester, whose father used to be the U.S. President’s Secret Service body guard. Maddie was best friends with the President’s son, Logan, but after a highly dangerous incident at the White House, her father moved her to an off-grid cabin in Alaska, where her life has been survival in the wilderness the last six years. For the first two years of her curious exile, Maddie wrote Logan every day, but he never wrote back. The loss of her best and only friend devastated Maddie. So when Logan reappears in her life, being sent to stay with Maddie and her father in Alaska as a sort of wilderness rehabilitation for bad behavior, Maddie is furious with him. All of that is short-lived, though, when Logan is suddenly kidnapped by a young Russian man the next day. Now Maddie, with the home court advantage, will stop at nothing to rescue Logan.My fondness for the author personally and her other works aside, I found this book somewhat lacking. Maybe because it wasn’t part of a trilogy or series, but it felt like we didn’t get to know the characters that well. We got to know their cutouts, but not who they truly are. Logan is supposed to be lovable troublemaker yet genius with a photographic memory, yet we don’t see a whole lot of his skills showcased and we never get a good reason out of him why he never replied to Maddie’s letters and broke her heart. As for Maddie, I felt that the author was pushing the girly-girl stuff way too hard. It didn’t feel organic. I think she may have been trying to distinguish Maddie apart from her other heroines – like Kat from Heist Society or Grace from Embassy Row, neither of whom are super feminine or into girly things, because it totally worked for their characters. Maddie worrying about her skin, hair, fashion, and nails in the middle of life-or-death situations – especially when she’s otherwise wielding axes and knives and guns and knows how to rough it in the wilderness – felt forced. Because I had trouble buying the characters individually, I couldn’t buy them together romantically either. But maybe I’m just old.The writing is easy to go along with, action-oriented, well executed. The plot is fast-paced and constantly churning, although not as clever or as intricate as the aforementioned Embassy Row or Heist Society series. I thought that what the kidnapper did to Maddie in cold blood was despicable, so in my eyes he was irredeemable regardless of the motive.At the end of the day, I have mixed feelings about Not If I Save You First. It wasn’t her best, but was still an entertaining ride and I wouldn’t discourage anyone from reading it. I love when I find a book I can’t put down, and despite some of its shortcomings, this was one of those books. I look forward to Ally Carter’s next release.

Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter is about Maddie Manchester the daughter of a Secret Service Agent and Logan the President's son. Maddie and Logan were best friends until the day Russians tried to kidnap the President's wife. Six years have passed since then and Maddie's dad has left the Secret Service and she now lives in Alaska with him away from civilization, phones, internet, and Logan who never answered any of her letters. But she keeps herself busy hauling wood, toting water, cleaning fish, fixing the roof and bedazzling her hatchet. However she gets an unwelcome surprise when Logan is suddenly dropped off on her doorstep on his parents orders for slipping away from his secret service too many times. Maddie isn't happy to see Logan, in fact she wants to kill Logan but before she can act on the impulse she is suddenly knocked off a cliff and Logan is kidnapped. Now Maddie has to rescue Logan even though she doesn't know if she'll kill him or kiss him.I liked Not If I Save You First. I liked how the story was from both Maddie's and Logan's point of view. Ally Carter has never done that before. (I wish she would have done that for Cammie and Zach and Kat and Hale in her other books.) I loved Maddie and Logan together. They were so cute! Maddie was tough, sassy and girly. Logan was smart, hot and brave.I liked the Blackthorne Institute reference from Ally Carter's Gallagher Girl Series although to be fair I thought Maddie should have been considered for the Gallagher Academy if Logan had been for the Blackthorne Institute.Although as much as I liked Not If I Save You First I felt like some parts were a bit dragging. And I wish Maddie's relationship with her dad and Logan's relationship with his parents had been a bit more explored especially since Logan said his dad hated him and nothing further was said about it. Also I felt it was weird when Maddie just assumed that the two secret service agents who came with Logan would soon be her backup and that it didn't occur to her that they could be hurt or killed. Moreover I felt it was strange too when Maddie wasn't really cautious about starting a fire when it could lead an enemy straight to Logan and her since they just escaped from Stephen and that Maddie should have known better since she'd been trained by her father and has survived in Alaska for six years.Still I liked Not If I Save You First. I loved Maddie and Logan as a couple. And I liked reading from both their viewpoints and their scenes together. And I know that even though Not If I Save You First is suppose to be a standalone book I wish it was going to be a series because I wouldn't mind reading more about Maddie and Logan.I give this four stars.

Overall just an amazing book and is truly almost seems real I can't wait to tell people about how good this book was!

Not if I Save You First by Ally Carter opens as ten-year-old Logan and his best friend Maddie witness the violence that occurs with the attempted kidnapping of his mother, the First Lady. Logan is the president’s son and his best friend is the daughter of the head of the Secret Service. Maddie’s father gets shot and badly injured during the kidnapping attempt, so he decides to move to Alaska with his daughter to recover and distance themselves from the danger. Now, six years later, Logan gets sent to stay with them for his own safety. Logan has a tendency to be careless and unconcerned about what happens to him and this has exasperated his parents. Maddie is extremely angry at Logan because she wrote letters to him for years after their move to Alaska and she never received anything from him. The day Logan arrives, Maddie’s father leaves to make a quick delivery because a terrible storm is coming. While he’s away, Maddie and Logan are confronted by an abductor who wants to use Logan for leverage. Maddie is shoved down a hill, left for dead and the kidnapper forces Logan to move on. The danger compounds because of the Alaskan wilderness and lack of food, shelter and heat. I thoroughly enjoyed Not If I Save You First for several reasons- the suspense, mystery and sarcastic humor and I love the characters! 5 solid stars for a fun, action-packed adventure!

this book was the best thing ive ever read ive reread it atleast 5 times

I don’t know...It was fast-moving and definitely made you fear Alaska. I enjoyed it and thought the characters were ok. Except, Logan could overreact way too much. He kept strangling characters for breathing the same air as Maddie?!!!Also, in every dramatic scene there was too much of “and then-” or “just then-”I liked the plot and the basic story, but there were moments which infuriated me just that tad too much.I am 15 and I think this book is definitely suited for 11-13 rather than 12-15

Plot had details that almost didn't make sense and weren't great. Some of the writing of Maddie and Logans relationship was also a bit lacking. Overall i was rather disappointed as it was an okayish book but i have come to expect far better from ally carter and it could have been so much more exciting and better written with a differently detailed plot which was a surprise and a disappointment for me. However it wasn't badly written because ally carter is incapable of that-it just could have been written better-. I am probably being a bit harsh as this would be a good book coming from most other authors for me i guess i just had too high expectations.

I can't expect any less from Ally Carter. I have read every book from her and they have all been fantastic. I do prefer her older books to this one however.

Didn’t finish this book, I was a bit disappointed

Honestly one of my favourite books that Ally Carter has ever written; the characters and storyline are fab and I really love the dynamic between Logan and Maddie. So worth a read and I really hope there is a sequel!!!