Review: In 27 Days - Alison Gervais

In 27 Days
Alison Gervais
Series: In 27 Days, #1
Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
Publisher: Blink
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Goodreads

From award-winning Wattpad sensation Alison Gervais (@HonorInTheRain) comes a story of redemption, first love, and the strength it takes to change the future.

Hadley Jamison is shocked when she hears that her classmate, Archer Morales, has committed suicide. She didn't know the quiet, reserved guy very well, but that doesn't stop her from feeling there was something she could have done to help him.

Hoping to find some sense of closure, Hadley attends Archer's funeral. There, Hadley is approached by a man who calls himself Death and offers her a deal. If Hadley accepts, she will be sent back 27 days in time to prevent Archer from killing himself. But when Hadley agrees to Death's terms and goes back to right the past, she quickly learns her mission is harder than she ever could have known.

Hadley soon discovers Archer's reasons for being alone, and Archer realizes that having someone to confide in isn't as bad as he'd always thought. But when a series of dangerous accidents starts pushing them apart, Hadley must decide whether she is ready to risk everything-including her life-to keep Archer safe.

I think everyone has had a moment, when they wish they could go back in time and change the outcome of a particular situation. In 27 Days, Hadley gets the opportunity, and the stakes are high. She gets 27 days to prevent Archer from taking his own life. The concept is so beautiful, and I was in love with the idea of this book.

Gervais does a respectable job with this story, and there were so many things I really loved and thought she did well.

• I liked that Gervais hinted at some sort of previous connection between Hadley and Archer. It was a brief connection, but it made it seem more believable that she would feel some sort of loss with Archer's death. 
• I found myself smiling, when Hadley finally made a breakthrough with Archer. It was hard fought, and she didn't give up - on him, or herself. 
• Both Archer and Hadley were quite complex, and I really appreciated the way their backstory was revealed, and I cannot lie, I got really emotional the more I learned about Archer. 
• The Morales family and extended family! I loved them all so much, and had wished I was invited to dinners with them. They had suffered some great losses, but they had each other to ease the pain. I wanted to reach through my kindle and smack Archer, because he could not see what was right in front of him. He was surrounded by so much love. #FamilyGoals
• I was so happy to see Hadley's relationship with her parents grow and improve. She was the poor little rich girl in every sense of the cliche, but the author made an effort to move past that, and show that with effort, things can change and improve. I think that is a big overarching idea in this book, and I am onboard with that. 

I actually had no problems with the parts of the story that leaned more contemporary. It was the paranormal portions that left me with so many questions. I loved the inclusion of these characters and the magic they wielded, but  Gervais did not give me enough information regarding particular things with respect to the supernatural portions. For example, why mention a contract with some sort of terms should Hadley fail, if you are never going to mention the stakes? Since this is billed as book #1, I can forgive the few holes that left me wondering. And, yeah, I peeked at the synopsis for book 2, and I think it will answer those questions. 

Overall: a solid start to a series I am interested in reading more of. 

**I would like to thank the publisher for the advanced copy of this book.

This book takes place in New York City. I lived in Brooklyn until my early teens, and still live near NYC, and I get to enjoy the city often.

Have you even been to New York City?

Let us know in the comments!