ARC Review – 72 Hours by Bella Jewel

Copy received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

★Book Basics★

Genre: – Cont. Romance
Series: – Stand Alone
Love triangle? – No
Cheating? – No
HEA? – Yes
Would I read more by this author/or in this series? – Yes
Rating – 3.5 stars

★Review★

I am so so torn between a 3 and a 4 for this.

Loved the whole concept of the story. It was original and I really wanted to read it.

And I did enjoy it. However, I have had a slight issue with this author before in that she can come up with great stories, I am not denying that, and overall I enjoy her books, but it seems like the bare bones, the foundations to hold up the story are sometimes forgotten about. And it felt like the case here.

We start with the prologue, which is after they have been captured and running for their lives, and then go back in time a bit to before it all happens. Yet, when we get to the point, later in the book, that the prologue should fit into, it just …..doesn’t.

And the heroine, she is a hard to like character, maybe as we never got to experience her really as she was, other than being told she used to be x,y,z. Just as she was now, full of self hatred and bitterness.

The hero, given how the story starts, you think you will not like him, thinking what we think he has done. But in the end, he is the saving grace of the book. I adored him, he was so determined that they were going to survive.

The villain….well….yes, the book was creepy and had my heart pounding at times, yet I think possibly, NOT having the villains POV might have actually helped. He was supposed to have planned this for YEARS! Picked the perfect couple etc, yet within hours they are not acting how he expects and he at times came across a bit petulant and stroppy and not all that clever. Which actually took something away from the book.

So, think I will sit firmly at 3.5 stars, and I would probably read it again for the hero.

It was enjoyable, and tense, and sad and all the things you expect. It just seemed to miss that something that can be so hard to define. I mean I knew, given the title it was not going to be a long book, time frame wise, but it felt rushed, character development felt rushed and it lacked depth.

Amazon UK Link – http://amzn.to/2nJsdPl
Amazon US Link – http://a.co/ehOqzTX