This is my first encounter with Ally Carter. I have been meaning to read for ages, and thus preview gave me an excellent opportunity. What can I say? I thoroughly enjoyed it and couldn't put it down. Following a tragic incident in the White House, the president's 10-year-old son Logan and his best and only friend Maddie are separated and grow apart, until fate reunites them 6 yeaes later and forces them to address and reassess their relationship while their past catches up with them.

Full of suspense and adventure set in snowy Alaska, A.C. managed to create wonderful and credible characters who you cannot help but feel for: The feisty and independent girl who tries so hard to retain her femininity in a lonely life in Alaska, and the clever boy who thanks to his father cannot lead a normal life. Obviously romance is thrown into thus, but at the end of the day it's a book about friendship and that human beings are not lone wolves but social animals and need affection and reciprocation to thrive. I think this is a very enjoyable book and would be a fab acquisition for any library that supplies girls with excellent reading material.

I've read majority of Ally Carter's books and loved them all and this was no different.
I expected it to be more about Maddie's journey to find Logan but this was still very enjoyable.
I read it within a few hours which is pretty normal for most of Ally Carter books for me.

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would - I’ve read a few Ally Carter books and remember enjoying gallagher girls but feeling let down by heist society and all fall down. But I’d read a sampler of this and it seemed cute and fun. And it is, in a way - I mean it’s also a thriller and those are rarely cute and fun so I mean that in a good way! I think it was hard to connect to Maddie - she seems to like glitter and bedazzling her axe but also has a very secluded life with no contact and no friends which must have been very hard indeed. But that’s all I could really say. There wasn’t enough for me on who she is. But I will say that I loved her tough girl attitude, quick thinking and loyalty to her dad. Her dad needs a bit of a smack round the head for isolating her and not telling her everything.

Logan was a bit easier to get a feel for, but again did well to stay strong through what he did. Those two are definitely gryffindor hufflepuff combos! 😂

I give it 3.5 stars for being entertaining and fun, and not being completely stereotypical in choice of bad guys (Though Russians? Really?? 😂)

Note for publisher - I will be posting this review to my blog and goodreads account on 21st March, and will come back to this review to add links.

I loved this. When I found out that Ally Carter had a new book coming out, I couldn’t wait. This book did not disappoint. It had me gripped throughout the whole story. It was amazing. Definitely a five star read.

Not if I Save You First is Ally Carter's latest and is an incredibly fun and easy to read YA thriller. It focuses on Maddie, the daughter of a former secret service agent and her best friend, Logan, who just so happens to be the President's fun. Set in Alaska this book is best enjoyed under many blankets with a hot drink as damn, you can feel the cold in some of the descriptions.



What I Liked

In typical Ally Carter style Not If I Save You First features a fun and feminine main character who can still kick butt. Maddie is a girl who considers her hair looking good important but knows that staying alive is more so and I like that. I feel like with this sort of character you could easily fall into stereotypes but Carter never does.

I also really liked Maddie's relationship with Logan. She's not quick to forgive him after what she considers a years-long slight but she also won't risk his life either. Though their relationship is maybe a little too quick in some ways, you can sort of understand why it does. They also have some really great chemistry and banter so that helps.

Not If I Save You First is also a really easy read so it's something you can pick up if you're sick and stuck in bed this winter or at any time really.

What I Didn't Like

The only problems I really had were that I did find the book a little slow to get into. Once I did, I didn't want to put the book down but it does take some warming up. I also found the epilogue at the end a little unnecessary but it was cute so I can forgive Carter for it.

Overall Thoughts

Generally, though I really enjoyed this book and I would recommend it.

I'd be the first to admit that I wasn't all that impressed by the last book Ally Carter released. I would even go so far as to say that I was a bit disappointed. This one, on the other hand, is a welcome return to how good her previous output had been.

Maddy Manchester is the daughter of the (former) head of the Secret Service. Following the attempted kidnap of the First Lady, Maddy's father moves them to the wilderness of Alaska, cut off from human civilisation, for reasons unknown. In doing this, she leaves behind her best friend Logan, the son of the President. Six years later, Logan is sent to Alaska following a string of misdemeanours to find Maddy completely changed from the girl he knew, and hating his guts.

What follows is typical Ally Carter. And it's great.

I have to say, Maddy Manchester might be one of my favourite Carter heroines. After Kat Bishop, of course, but I might even go so far as to say she's better than Cammie Morgan. I loved her so much, even despite the slight "not like other girls" thing going on at the start (which, maybe fair enough, I wouldn't know many girls who could survive alone in Alaska myself, let alone throw a hatchet with accuracy into a tree trunk so). I think one of the problems I had with Embassy Row was that I didn't really connect with Grace that much, or even like her really, in the way I had with Cammie and Kat. Maddy is a lot more like those two, and it's like returning to something familiar (imagine thinking I wouldn't die for Maddy Manchester).

Normally, I also really like the love interests. However, the thing that slightly irritated me about Logan was that he never seemed to realise how capable Maddy was, not even really at the end. It was all him being like "no, Maddy, don't do this!!" like this isn't a completely different Maddy than the one he knew aged 10. There's also the whole thing where whenever one of the bad guys so much as looks at Maddy, he pretty much jumps them and starts yelling "don't even look at her!!", like, my dude, chill. I know your masculinity has been impugned on and you want to make up for it because Maddy is clearly more capable than you could ever wish to be but please. Just chill.

There was also the small matter of the twist at the end being a little out there, but I kind of expect that with Ally Carter so, while a bit strange, it wasn't like it brought me out of the story any.

Carter does not disappoint. Once again, she uses her quirky writing style, sarcasm and sense of humour to weave a tale of intrigue, suspense and that little something different that has you laughing and on the edge of your seat at the same time. In fact, it was so enjoyable I had to read it in one sitting (which meant staying up into the early hours of the morning - I just couldn't put it down!) If I had one critique, it would be that the characterisation of younger-Maddie-and-Logan was a little off (they felt more seven or eight than ten), but it's only relevant for the first couple of chapters. Overall, everything is in place and it ties together a terrific tale!

Brilliant. I must admit to being a fan of Ally Carter's other books so I was very excited to read this and It didn't disappoint. I found her characters, as always, flawed but well rounded and engaging. Even the ancillary characters were fleshed out and it made for truly engaging reading.
The plot was basic but very well executed and the twists along the way were enough to keep us guessing.
Excellent would recommend.

'Not If I Save You First' is completely and utterly mind-blowing novel by Ally Carter. The reunion of old friends (Logan - the president's son and Maddie a security man's daughter) may not seem to go well til the Russian mafia tries to abduct him. Longan and Maddie try to escape the Russian kidnapper in the Alaskan wilderness and seek for help. I know it's the beginning of the year but I'm already sure is going to be one of the best YA books of 2018. It's pace is increadibly fast, the plot is immensely gipping and there are many swoonworthy moments. It's an ideal book for long winter evening! I highly recommend it and I'm definitely going to check out other Ally Carter's books.

From the very first page I knew I was going to love this book, hell from the blurb I knew I was going to love this book, and it didn't disappoint. It's fast paced, full of action and so so funny. Madison (Maddie, Mad Dog) Manchester is just the best main character. She's totally kick ass and runs rings around both teenage boys and trained assassins. I do think she's totally crazy and over the top but it makes for some fantastically fun reading. I love how she has all of these incredible survival skills, is super smart but seems most concerned about her beauty regime and how her hair looks. She plays the stereotypical silly little girl to perfection while really out plotting and scheming just about everyone. I loved how fearless she was and how independent and just how funny she could be.

Unfortunately though she leaves pretty much every other character in her shade. Logan is likeable enough and there's some great banter between them but he's not as strong a character so gets left behind a little.

I loved the Alaskan setting and the plot has plenty of action and excitement throughout. The writing is short and punchy adding a lot of pace to the story but still giving you a great sense of place and characters.

If I had one criticism, and it's a pretty minor one, it's that I thought it got a little bit repetitive in places. We get it Alaska is dangerous and there's a serious lack of bedazzled weapons.

Other than that I loved it and am off in search of more books by Ally Carter.