180 Seconds By Jessica Park [Review]

 RELEASE DATE:  April 25th 2017
AUTHOR: Jessica Park
GENRE: New-Adult, Contemporary, Romance.
PUBLISHER: Skyscape
SUMMARY: 

Some people live their entire lives without changing their perspective. For Allison Dennis, all it takes is 180 seconds…

After a life spent bouncing from one foster home to the next, Allison is determined to keep others at arm’s length. Adopted at sixteen, she knows better than to believe in the permanence of anything. But as she begins her third year in college, she finds it increasingly difficult to disappear into the white noise pouring from her earbuds.

One unsuspecting afternoon, Allison is roped into a social experiment just off campus. Suddenly, she finds herself in front of a crowd, forced to interact with a complete stranger for 180 seconds. Neither she, nor Esben Baylor, the dreamy social media star seated opposite her, is prepared for the outcome.

When time is called, the intensity of the experience overwhelms Allison and Esben in a way that unnerves and electrifies them both. With a push from her oldest friend, Allison embarks on a journey to find out if what she and Esben shared is the real thing—and if she can finally trust in herself, in others, and in love.

I have mixed thoughts on this book. This is my first book by Jessica Park and it was really a pleasant read but I had few issues that made it a bit less enjoyable for me. I wanted to give this a shot because the premise of this book pretty much intrigued me and so many people seems to love this book. Honestly, I did liked this book because it was really good but sadly, It didn’t amazed me enough to love it. However, I can certainly say that many people gonna love this book. 

Allison has been bounced from one foster home to another since she was a kid and finally gets adopted when she’s sixteen. Due to her hard life she has hard time trusting others including her new adoptive father Simon whose been nothing but a great father to her. Her best friend Steffi, another foster child like her is the only one she trusts the most. When Allison starts new college she isn’t interested in making new friends and wanted to graduate silently without getting noticed but it all changes when she meets Esben Baylor, a popular social Media Star. During her stroll into the city, she gets forced into a social experiment called 180 seconds where she gets to interact eye to eye with a total stranger for 180 seconds without talking but the stranger is none other than Esben. The experiment totally overwhelms them and breaks down their inner walls which is something they’ve never felt before. Allison gets confused with her feelings so when Steffi encourages her to give Esben a chance, she sets out to find out whether the connection she felt with him is real.

Allison and Esben are actually good characters but I can’t seem to connect with either of them. Allison is quite tough girl who has build so many walls around herself and her inability to trust others is pretty understandable because of her hard life. I really liked her character development through out the story. I enjoyed how she slowly finds herself with the help of Esben and starts trusting others by letting people in. Esben is sweet, caring and adorable guy. Though he might seem like a perfect guy on the outside, he’s also fighting his own issues inside. Allison and Esben are definitely two flawed characters who are made for each other. What they feel for each other might seem like a insta-love but their relationship does develop slowly. I’m glad the romance isn’t rushed and I really liked the way they connected with each other. As for the secondary characters, I loved Simon, Allison’s single gay father. He’s pretty cool dad and also my favorite character in this book. I quite enjoyed the father daughter relationship between him and Allison. I also loved Allison’s childhood best friend Steffi, she’s sassy and so much fun. I adored the beautiful friendship between them. She’s Allison’s rock, she’s always there for her whenever she needed her. Esben’s sister is another character that I really liked. She’s  strong and confident. What she has gone through is horrifying and I’m glad that she finally overcame it. 

The plot is good but to be honest, it didn’t amazed me enough to fangirl over. The story moved in a slow pace and there are few parts that I felt bored. There are also some aspects that felt a bit unrealistic like Esben’s huge fame. Some parts seemed a bit over dramatic and the twist of the plot is easy to predict. It was pretty emotional read but it failed to move me because I wasn’t able to connect with the characters. However, I did enjoyed reading their story and my favorite part is the 180 seconds scene. The story is told from Allison[first-person] POV but I wish it was told in dual POV. I loved the captivating writing style of the author, it was compelling and addictive through out. 

Overall, it is a good read! It’s a heartfelt story that deals with family, friendship and love. Despite my issues, I still enjoyed the reading this book because there are some great aspects that I loved in this book such as:

• Best father-daughter relationship
• Best girl friendship
• flawed main characters
• Character development
• Sweet Romance

Recommend it?

I highly recommend this book to everyone! It’s not your typical contemporary romance it’s so much more and It’s definitely worth the read! 

MY RATING:  [3.5/5 Stars]

So, What do you think of this book? Have you read this yet?
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