ARC Review--100 Hours by Rachel Vincent

A decadent spring break getaway on an exotic beach becomes a terrifying survival story when six Miami teens are kidnapped and ransomed.

Maddie is beyond done with her cousin Genesis’s entitled and shallow entourage. Genesis is so over Miami’s predictable social scene with its velvet ropes, petty power plays, and backstabbing boyfriends.

While Maddie craves family time for spring break, Genesis seeks novelty—like a last-minute getaway to an untouched beach in Colombia. And when Genesis wants something, it happens.

But paradise has its price. Dragged from their tents under the cover of dark, Genesis, Maddie, and their friends are kidnapped and held for ransom deep inside the jungle—with no diva left behind. It all feels so random to everyone except Genesis. She knows they were targeted for a reason. And that reason is her.

Now, as the hours count down, only one thing’s for certain: If the Miami hostages can’t set aside their personal problems, no one will make it out alive.

I received this ARC from a blogger friend in a trade. I was in no way compensated for this review. 

I was more than happy to read one of Rachel Vincent’s many new releases this year early! 100 Hours is the start of one of her newest YA series and it’s definitely a different kind of read for me. We’re back to high stakes, thrills that chill, and a kidnapping situation surrounding an even bigger mystery.

Genesis, her cousins Maddie and Ryan, her boyfriend Holden, and a few best friends are having an excellent spring break in Colombia even though her father was against it. In fact, it’s because her father was against it that she wanted to go, plus her grandmother lives there and Genesis pretty much does whatever she wants to. My first issue with this one was pretty much Genesis herself. She’s what you would refer to as a rich b*tch. She’s selfish, conceited, and a bit of hypocrite. She has no redeeming qualities to her and I found it really hard to even like her. By the end, I guess you can say I almost like her, but still find her hypocritical tendencies to be one of her biggest flaws.

Maddie is the complete opposite of her. She’s not as rich for she and her family live in an apartment while Genesis’s father owns one of the largest shipping companies ever. Maddie isn’t near the wild child tendencies like her cousin, Genesis either. I also kind of enjoyed the fact that Maddie was more vulnerable. She is a diabetic, and it’s not that I liked that, but I liked having a heroine who wasn’t perfect. I grew up with my own medical issues, so seeing something (albeit completely and utterly different than my own) like that reflected in a book is kind of heartening. Showing that even if you have vulnerabilities, you can still pretty much kick butt! The two cousins are as different as night and day, but when their little rebel spring break trip literally turns into a hostage situation things get dicey really fast and they’ll learn just how similar they really are!

The book alternates between Genesis and Maddie’s points of view. I found it so weird in some ways since these two basically have nothing in common but blood. Genesis is selfish and uncaring, Maddie sometimes feels too much. Yet when the going gets tough these two look out for one another. Though ironically, they are separated for nearly half the book. I think I preferred Maddie’s chapters the most, because as I said, Genesis was rather unlikeable, but maybe we’re supposed to not like her. I don’t know. I just know that I basically felt no sympathy for her when she got a few eye-opening surprises thrown her way. And she wasn’t even really emotionally upset about them. And the fact that she ignores that she basically did the same thing, but not as “badly” as those around her really grated on my nerves, if you couldn’t already tell! Hopefully you can make some sense about my ramblings and vagueities as I’m really trying to avoid spoilers, though in the long run, this is pretty minor!

The title itself pretty much describes the length of the book. From the start we basically watch things happen and see them get even more dangerous as the hours tick down. I was actually surprised when I heard that this one was going to be a series, not sure on what kind of length yet though. But based on how this one ended there should definitely be at least one more! I mean there kind of has to what with that ending!

Though you could call this one a thriller of sorts, there is still some sprinklings of romance. i.e. a few kisses here and there! I was particularly fond of the relationship budding between Maddie and her newfound (though not really new) fellow! Lol! Yeah, I’m being vague in a few ways here about a lot of things because I don’t want to give anything away!

100 Hours was a fast paced read that kept me guessing the entire way! I loved watching these two entirely different people try to save themselves and their friends from a group of hostile terrorists! It was thrilling and exciting and you could even say explosive! It definitely had its interesting times! And the fact that we have a whopper of a cliffhanger at the end doesn’t leave me screaming at the universe at all*!
 
*Lies
 

Overall Rating 3.75/5 stars


100 Hours releases March 28, 2017