"24" meets "contagion"

So I read the description for this one and immediately got excited. There was promise for action and a very engaging book. When I get into a book, honestly I cannot put it down. Sometimes I forget to eat and sleep becomes optional. I thought this was going to be one of those books. Nope, not this one. Don't get me wrong it wasn't bad, it just wasn't great. I found myself having to put it down a couple of times just to get through all the bureaucracy talk. Plus the connection between the two main characters Ava and River just did not captivate my attention.

Here is my Goodreads review:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1966099820

"*about 3-3.5 stars for me

Well this one was a bit of a whirlwind. Um. Well. Okay so I'm going to start out by saying this was definitely fast paced and had a whole bunch of bureaucracy to set up each scene. The whole premise surrounded a mystery virus that was quickly spreading around a college campus. This is how the main protagonists River, special forces, and Ava, CDC epidemiologist meet. He is her muscle throughout the whole ordeal but needless to say Ava is her own badass the story and has some very ballsy soliloquy's in very opportune times. Through their close proximity they develop a very "instant" attraction.

This story had a very big "24" feel to it. I mean that in the sense that the whole story is about the rush against time. The rush to find who is behind this virus, people are dying, everyone is in panic, is this terrorism. What was very throughly depicted was the tensions between the CDC, Homeland and FBI, that added to the frustrations of Ava, River and the reader. You could just feel the red tape and secrecy the author wanted you to feel. It was its own obstacle the main characters had to face.

I liked Ava and River, I thought they were a good match. I just was am not a fan of insta-love. You understand it because of the dire circumstances both of them were under and they looked to each other for comfort. However, that doesn't mean it always works. I just felt it took a back seat to everything else that was going on that it was almost like an afterthought. There were some really connected moments but then Ava would bring up her past and I felt it was so unnecessary, like you have a chance of dying, River is in front of you and all you do is bring up your past that really isn't explained all to well till later on in the story when too much time has gone by. I guess there was too much going on that I got annoyed.

The story itself was interesting and it almost read like a TV show. Just there was too much. It wasn't terrible, just wasn't great. Sometimes books like these you got to take and read in chunks. Give them a chance but proceed with caution. Plus the end after all this build up, felt rushed.

Recommendation: Wanna try a thriller/romance/special forces/combat themed story? Well try it. Maybe you will like it better than I did.

*This was advanced reader copy provided by the publisher vis Netgalley, thank you!"