Reviews

14 Days to Die by A.B. Whelan

yanaderartu's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

inkwithimagination's review against another edition

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

The premise intrigued me, but unfortunately, the writing fell short, and the plot felt too predictable. The protagonist's constant self-deprecation was a bit grating, and some of her choices frustrated me. And that ending—really, author? Leaving it hanging like that without proper closure left me feeling unsatisfied.

Despite these flaws, I couldn't put the book down; I was hooked till the end, eager to see how it would all unfold.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

namitakhanna's review

4.0

What an amazing book . It takes you through a roller coaster ride with all the ups and downs. Icannot believe this A.B. Whelan's first dab in mystery genre. You root for Sara through out the book and want to see her husband get his due . Her ways of revenge with the toothbrush and the laxative were humorous and had me saying "Good for her".The end was very surprising and caught me completely unawares. Did not expect that at all . Overall I would give it 4 1/2 stars and cannot wait to read more from this author in this genre.

ccrainbowflowers's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I don't usually read psychological thrillers as they're usually about kidnap or solving a murder which I'm not interested in.  This story was really neither as it looked at murder from a different angle before the event.
 I throughly enjoyed this and couldn't put it down. Even when not reading I was thinking about the story and the characters. 

holmstead's review

4.0

Holy shite! What an unexpected turn of events. This was a very decent thriller at a first attempt from this author. I will definitely like to see more from her. As I used to live and work in the area that this story takes place: the streets, shopping centers, and neighborhoods hit close to home. To think of something so sinister that unfolds in this safe and beautiful city is crazy. At times, I felt Sarah's actions were careless and silly. Then I realized how she behaved as a teenager and it makes more sense. There were a couple things in the book I really didn't need to read about (for instance, the racing and driving through the dangerous Ortega Highway). And I know this was an advanced copy. I just have one question, hope the pronouns gets sorted out in final production: Was Kona a boy or a girl??!

This was great entertainment and I am very excited to read more stories and what Ms. Whelan can conjure up in that twisted, wonderful mind of hers.

**I was honored to receive an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!!!

alessandrams's review

Awful, elementary writing.

erinld2005's review

4.0

http://angelerin.blogspot.com/2016/01/14-days-to-die-by-ab-whelan-review.html?m=0

(3.5 Stars)

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review an ebook copy of 14 Days To Die By: A.B. Whelan.

I have been looking forward to reading 14 Days To Die ever since I saw the summary for it on Goodreads. I am happy to say that I wasn't disappointed! I gave this one 3.5 stars, but it definitely deserves to be rounded up to 4 stars and not down to 3 stars based on enjoyment alone.

14 Days To Die is about a stay at home mom named Sarah who receives a call one day that her husband has put out a hit on her. She has 14 days to either come up with double the money that her husband Mike offered, or he will kill her. Sarah has to figure out a way out of all this, all the while wondering if karma from her past has caught up with her.

This book was intense from the beginning and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through. It was a very quick and easy read for me since it was so fast-paced. The writing was pretty well done, except there were a few times that I felt it was too repetitive. Also, when we finally got some information on Sarah's past it was a bit underwhelming. I was expecting something more dramatic I guess. I probably would have given this one 5 stars if it wasn't for that. I was pretty disappointed in her past transgressions. Insert eye-roll here.

I think part of the reason that I enjoyed this book so much is that as a housewife myself I found 14 Days To Die to be a little terrifying. Well not in the traditional manner, but if I think too hard about it. The whole "What if this happened to me?" thing. Which I'm still trying to not think about fully. Because even though it's ludicrous that my husband would ever hire a hit-man to kill me, there are other things in this book that I think most married women worry about. It's just a small leap to hiring a hit-man from there. Eep.

Overall 14 Days To Die is a pretty great, but not perfect psychological thriller. I enjoyed it quite a bit and I'm glad that it (mostly) lived up to my expectations. It's worth the read for sure!

I would recommend 14 Days To Die for fans of Gone Girl, Girl on the Train, and anyone looking for a good psychological thriller.

routergirl's review

1.0

Could not finish. Looking at the world through the main character's eyes was like being caught in an anxiety overload. Pages of pages go on about her insecurities - no one thinks she's beautiful, other women are better dressed, yadda yadda. I don't need books for anxiety - I can find that on my own. On top of all this silly stuff she made into huge issues, her husband had put a hit out on her, and she was going to die if she didn't pay off the killer? She spent about a second thinking of that. I gave up on this one. It was just...unpleasant, and not in a good way, if that makes sense.

lee_ann_a's review

2.0

2.5 Stars. What I liked: The concept for this book was interesting, and it was an easy read. It was definitely a page tuner and kept you wanting more. What I didn't Like: The writing was rather elementary. The editing was horrible with numerous typos, grammatical errors, and an overabundance of choppy fragmented sentences. The protagonist was a bit annoying as well. I felt she was very redundant in her constant complaints about her low self esteem, etc. etc. The ending was awful, a total let down and somewhat predictable. I was really wanting to be shocked by the conclusion, but that was not the case with this novel.

laura_lou_h's review

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5