So I shall start with saying that the story was totally cheesy and sentimental at times. However I don't really care because I loved this heartbreaking and heartwarming story of friendship, romance and family.

The book is full of fabulous characters that you just want to read more about, in particular Simon (her dad) who I adored.
Reading Allison grow as a person and open up to the people around her was beautiful to read and I especially liked that the romance was relatively drama free.

The book tackles some serious subjects but through it all was a wonderful feeling of happiness. Despite some rough emotional parts which had me crying the book left me with an overall feeling of contentment.

If I could, I would give this book a big hug.

This book is outstanding! But I don't expect any less from Jessica Park. Shes a master story teller! This story is much more then I expected I guessed a few things and was close on others but I'm sitting here with tears running down my face first in sorrow then in love. The message in this book is beautiful as well in this world it becomes hard to see the good this book reminds me there still is so much. The main characters I adored the side characters would just as fabulous. I wish Simon was my dad. Steffi was my bestie and I want my own Esben badly! I finished this book in one sitting and will recommend it to everyone.

4.5/5 stars


180 Seconds is a standalone New Adult contemporary romance.

The narrator is Allison Dennis. The book is told in 1st person POV. Allison is in her junior year at Andrews College in Maine.

I would categorize the book as NA because it takes place in college and deals with some difficult topics. But it's not steamy like most NA books.

I was very impressed with how Allison was written. She is not your average happy go lucky girl who wants to party at college. But rather she has had a very tough life. She grew up in foster care and was only adopted when she was 16 years old. She is damaged and does not trust people. She has anxiety. She is extremely closed off, very fragile and fearful about a lot of situations that most people would be able to easily handle. She is such a unique and amazing character. I really liked her.

This book is about so much. It is Allison's journey. The story features a lot of difficult topics. But at its core it is about the relationship between a father and daughter, the relationship between best friends, and a girl wanting to actually live vs closing herself off to the world.

180 Seconds is a very good title for this story. And it refers to a 180 second social experiment that is featured prominently in this story.

Social media is a very important aspect of this story. One of the main characters is Esben Baylor, who is a social media icon. I really enjoyed Esben, especially his relationship with his sister and what he did online. I was very impressed with his character and loved everything to do with the social experiments.

There were a few secondary characters that I loved. My favorite was Allison's adopted father Simon. He is is my favorite father character ever. I absolutely loved everything about him, especially his cooking, his care packages, and how he dealt with Allison and her issues.

I also really enjoyed Allison's friendship with Steffi. This was a very powerful friendship and I thought that it was written very well.

I read this book in one day. I could not put the book down. The characters were interesting and original. I wanted to see what would happen next. This is Allison's story. We see if she can learn to trust people. When the book begins she is arriving for her third year at college in a dark place. It was fascinating to see how she dealt with everyday things.

I really enjoyed this book. I was especially impressed by a very interesting development late in the story that I did not see coming. I love being surprised!

The story is emotional. At times it is heartbreaking. This book will make you feel. Some of it was difficult to read. And at times I had tears in my eyes. But overall it was touching, moving, and very beautiful.

I really enjoyed this book. I did not know what to expect. But I was very pleasantly surprised. This book was really good!

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I will revel in the opportunity to find rebirth and rejuvenation. To find myself completely ...

Wow.

That was how I felt at the end of this book. A book, mind you, that I almost failed to finish--even though I was better than 70% done.

My desire to quit had zero to do with the writing or the story. Both were absolutely stunning and, when I tell you I was emotionally spent by the end, It's not an exaggeration.

No, my issue was the presence of cancer.

It was introduced early on and I wasn't sure I would be emotionally capable of seeing where the story would lead after it was clear it wasn't going away. It was a personal thing, but I managed to continue, and I was glad I did.

The story itself is about growth, acceptance, and love.

Allison (the main character) isn't sure how to let down the walls she's so carefully built. She wants to, but she's not sure if she is ready to open her heart to a world that--to that point--has been such a disappointment.

She spent 16-years in foster care before she was adopted. The experience, understandably, left her broken.

While she has taken subtle steps towards building a life, it's clear she's not trying as hard as she can to be pro-active about her happiness.

Enter Steffi.

When I say Steffi may be the most amazing best friend ever. It's not hyperbole. Everyone needs a friend like Steffi. Every. One.

Steffi gives Allison the strength to finally take chances, and she does so unselfishly. The two girls bonded while in foster care and Allison considers Steffi to be her lifeline.

After Allison meets Esben--by happenstance--she tries to pull back into her shell. Steffi shows up to implore her to step away from her fears.
...tell me from now on, you will be brave. Take more risks. And mean it. It's time. You can't live in this room forever and never go out. You're going to miss too much. So tell me.

...I'll be brave, Steffi. From now on, I'll be brave.

That one declaration is the start of something beautiful for Allison.

Esben Baylor.

Sweet mercy, when I tell you that boy was perfection ...*fans self*.

Esben is what most dream about when they say they want a "Prince Charming". He is all that and then some, and I expected him to be nothing short of awesome.

The way the two meet--during a 180 second experiment in which they sit and stare into each other's souls--was as unusual as it gets. However, the experience causes an immediate connection.

Reading how these two fall into each other was gorgeous to devour. I don't care how storybook (and cliche) it was, it was needed in a story where there is so much pain running under the surface--in both Esben and Allison's case.

Every character in this book was purposeful and well placed in Allison's life. Simon, her father, was perfection.

He doesn't appear often but, every time he does, he does so with just the right amount of love and support for his daughter.

Kerry and Carmen offer a friendship that happens organically, but comes at just the right time.

And the stories that appear--due to Esben's humanity experiments--are subtle nods to how we can be better people: more tolerant, less judgmental, more accepting, more forgiving, and less hateful people.

Even better, NONE of the above happens in a preachy way.

In the end, it was a bittersweet story, but it was a good story.

It touched me and offered a few needed lessons about truly living life unscripted.
It's an interesting world, with interesting people. You just have to keep your eyes open.

And you should keep your eyes (and mind) open for this one.

You really have to read it for yourself to understand how heart-warming it truly was to experience.

I have a major book hangover! I read this book in one night. I couldn't put it down. The story was relevant to today's social media frenzy, but more importantly, it highlights the idea of connections. We're all connected in some way. Esben and Allison share an instant connection that defies logic, but it's in that one magical moment, the world just stops and divides into before and after meeting each other. It's in this moment, that this person becomes everything to you. Your souls connect and it's a perfect match. Yeah, it's like that. *fans self with envy!* I highly recommend this book!

This wasn’t terrible overall, there was just a bunch a little nitpicky things that annoyed me in the beginning of the story that clouded my view when reading, and nothing was able to overcome that.

Things I Liked:
-Growth. I liked that Allison became her own person. She’s had a tough life and has self-isolated as a form of protection and self-preservation. Through the course of the story, we see her begin to open up and experience life and all its quirks and trials and joys. Her growth is propelled by Espen, but she doesn’t want him to eclipse everyone else in her life. She doesn’t let a guy become her world, when the story could have easily went that way.
-Allison & Simon. Allison’s relationship with Simon, her adoptive dad, was absolutely beautiful in everyway. Simon is respectful and understanding about Allison’s reserved disposition and never forces her to do more than she’s comfortable with. Simon was supportive and encouraging and helped her open up and put herself out there. And when Allison was going through challenges, he didn’t let her regress or enable her self-isolation tendencies. So much love and care and such a happy family relationship.

Things I Didn’t Like:
-Esben. (Social media schtick, felt too centered on him in the beginning, thought pp; made way too big a deal about him being a “live blogger”) I didn’t get Esben’s social media schtick as a live blogger. It seemed like he was a blend of Humans of New York and The Buried Life, and I thought people made way too big of a deal about him. And I didn’t connect with him at all. I also felt like the story was too centered on him in the beginning,especially in Allison’s journey. She says she’s “barely felt life until this. Until him.” It was all very heavy, very quickly and I could never buy into him or their relationship.
-Social Media. I felt like Allison, and others, put too much faith into the 180 second social experiment. She had a staring contest with a stranger for 3 minutes that led to them throwing themselves at one another and kissing like their lives depended on it. I couldn’t believe how everyone held their instant connection up on a pedestal of love. It was really unbelievable to me. I also thought that Esben was incredible naive about negativity online. He’s been engaging in these social experiments for years, while his sister helped fitler negative and offensive comments. He takes over while his sister is busy and is so shocked and amazed by boldness of the anonymous that he’s ready to quit social media all together. It was another thing that I found really unbelievable.
-This line: “I wish he didn’t smell like cookies and love.” Said when Allison meets Esben and they haven’t had a full conversation yet.
-Steffi’s secret. When Steffi visited Allison after the video went viral, she told Esben she had cancer and asked him to get close with Allison, knowing Allison would need someone once she was gone. I did not like this reveal at all, it felt unnecessary and only created some temporary drama to have a cute reconciliation to end the story. It felt like this reveal tainted Allison and Esben’s relationship.

Overall, not a bad story but I never became fully invested. I LOVED Allison and Simon’s relationship and Allison’s growth through the story. But, I couldn’t take a lot of the social medial aspects seriously, and never connected with the leading man. This is a very easy book to read and has many enjoyable and heartwarming moments. I just never became invested.

How do I review this book? I simply do not have the words to explain how much I loved everything about it. So much so that I actually gave this book a 5-star rating on Goodreads and I never do that. Not unless I loooooove the book.

Actually no. . . . . . . That's not quite true. . . . . . .I didn't love everything about it. I didn't like the fact that 5 minutes before I was due to leave the house I was a snivelling, snot covered mess because I'd just read a section where Esben has explained to Allison something that happened when he was in high school. I didn't love the fact that I sat up in bed until 1am this morning finishing the book and that I was told off for waking my husband up with my sniffling and nose-blowing.

I did love the way that I immediately liked and felt as though I knew Allison and Esben, Simon and Kerry, Steffi and . . . you get the idea. Primary, secondary and even tertiary characters were real to me. Every single one of them brings something to 180 seconds

I have to admit, when I was about 20% into the book I was wondering when the triangle was going to begin or when either Allison or Esben going to mess up in some huge way and then spend the rest of the book trying to convince the other that it was all just a mis-understanding - you know, like just about every other book that has a relationship at the heart of the matter. Allison and Esben getting to know each other was just timed just right. I'm fed up of reading books where couples go from nothing to everything in a matter of pages. Yes, I am aware that this does happen, especially to teenagers who can be so damned obsessive about relationships but that wouldn't (in my opinion) have been right for Allison. For someone who keeps everyone, including her Father at arms length, rushing into a relationship just wouldn't happen. I loved how slowly things happened and how understanding Esben was. I felt as though I was literally watching Allison bloom before my eyes.

The awkward conversations that you have when you're at the beginning of a new relationship was spot on. The feelings of utter insecurity and being desperate not to make an arse of yourself. Trying not to say the wrong thing. Praying to God that you haven't got the wrong end of the stick and that he does actually like you. I may be old and farty but I still remember those days and I swear to God, Jessica Park has written every single feeling that I had during those awkward times.

This is the very, very first book by Jessica Park that I have ever read. In fact, I'm not even aware of ever having heard of her before but I can guarantee that it is not the last that I will read. In fact, I've already added all of her back catalogue to my Amazon wishlist.

Ok so, you know when you're reading a book, and you get pulled into the story and its characters completely, you forget where you are? And with that, the fact that you're surrounded by STRANGERS? It’s one thing to laugh and cry in the safety of your room when you're reading a book, but it’s an entirely different thing to cry while you’re on a plane, flying back home from a family trip.

And guess which one applied to me in this case?

Crying in public, of course.

But want to know something? I don’t regret or feel embarrassed by it in any way, because I can’t begin to describe how much I loved this book, and you can’t be embarrassed by something that makes you feel so good, even when you're crying. I know, that's weird.

I was captivated by this story from the second I started reading it. I'd only read Flat Out Love by Jessica Park before, but when I read the blurb of this one, it called me. Like, I knew I had to read this, and I can now thank the saints and angels at Netgalley that gave me the chance to read it.

180 Seconds is the kind of book that you just want to keep reading because it makes you smile like a complete dork in love. That was me yesterday morning. That was me last night. That was not me today though, because the tears just kept rolling down my face every five seconds, but you know what? Even though I cried most of my flight, I believe it was totally worth it.

Ok so, if you read the blurb, you know this book is about a girl who's had a tough time trough life and she just wants to be left alone so she can do what she needs to do to get through life. All that changes the second she realises she's in the middle of a social experiment. She has to interact with a total stranger, only they can't talk, or touch, only stare and see what each other's eyes tell the other one, for 180 seconds. As the seconds tick by, Allison experiences a rollercoaster of emotions, some she understands because they're the same she's felt her entire life, like anger and annoyance. But some are confusing her way too much and these are the kind of feelings she tries to stay away from. These are the feelings she stops with the walls she's put up since forever. Or more like it, these were the feelings she used to stop. Now, she can't seem to keep her walls up, not even for 180 seconds.

Who knew a simple stare could destroy years of building those walls that kept her away from everything and everyone, the walls that kept her safe from hurting? Who knew that outside these walls there was a world of possibilities, yes, some pain, but also great happiness?
We currently live in a world where social media is both a tool of empowerment and destruction. We all see good things happening all around the world, but mostly, I think our newsfeed is more occupied by awful things happening, even more frequently than we see the good stuff. And that's SO sad. I'm a true believer that there are good people out there, people who want to help or make someone smile with no expectation of getting something in return. And sometimes, whenever we do see something good, no matter how small or big, there's always someone ready to make rude comments or criticise whatever's going on. And I wonder why? Why can't they just shut up and let everyone live at peace? It annoys me to no end and in this book Jessica depicts realities that are both good and bad, but completely real, and how people react to them. I loved it.
These characters here, they're all just so incredibly awesome. From the main characters to the secondary ones, they all play a huge part in the development of the story. Every single one of them is gorgeous in their own way. They all have something to give to the story, to help the main characters grow. This book was completely refreshing to me. It felt like the kind of book you can pick up at any time and it will give you the smile you've been wanting to have plastered all over your face or the tears we sometimes need to let go. This book shows both sides of humanity, the one that still makes us believe there is good and lets us hope, and the one that can destroy even the strongest of smiles in seconds. But somehow, you end up feeling lighter and your smile is broader, or at least mine was once I finished it.

I swear, this book was incredibly amazing and I hope you guys give it a chance <3.

I have loved every Jessica Park novel I've ever read!! I couldn't wait to read 180 Seconds and once I started, I read the entire book straight through!!! I completely devoured it!!

Allison grew up in foster care until she was adopted at age of 16. Her life experiences have forced Allison to build an impenetrable wall around her heart and never let herself get attached to anyone with the exception of her best friend, Steffi. Now a junior in college, Allison unknowingly agrees to a social experiment that involves her socially engaging with a stranger for 180 seconds. Initially confused by her feelings, Allison has a strong emotional connection to her handsome counterpart in the experiment, Esben! From that point Allison has to navigate these new found feelings for Esben at the same time overcoming her intense knee jerk reaction to push him away. Luckily for Allison, she has the support of Steffi and her amazing adoptive dad, Simon!! As much as Allison wants to deny her feeling for Esben, the feeling are intense!!

What a emotional journey Jessica Park just took me on!! 180 Seconds has SO. MANY. FEELS!! The storyline was very original which is what hooked me, but the fantastic characters are what kept glued to my kindle. Ms. Park's novels always hold so much profoundness and 180 Seconds is chock full of depth! I truly didn't want to this book to end!! I loved the supporting characters and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we will get their stories in future novels!! 180 Seconds is a 5+++ star novel that EVERYONE should read!! Go 1-click it now!!

4.5 stars!

Oh wow. What a stunningly beautiful, emotional and unexpected NA read! Sweet, heartbreaking and heartwarming with a romance that had me swooning, this little read took me by surprise and completely stole my heart!

I say this book took me by surprise, but it really shouldn’t have – it’s Jessica Park! And this book recaptures the feeling, the sweetness and the emotion of my favourite book of hers – Flat-Out Love. Big words, but there you have it. I loved it!

Allison is entering her junior year of College. After spending the first 16 years of her life being shunted around the foster system, she has completely closed herself off and lives a very solitary life. She has a best friend on the other side of the country who went through the system with her and she is the only person that Allison relies on – despite the fact that she was adopted by the world’s greatest single dad at the age of 16. She is unable to open herself up to anybody else, and she pretty much lives her life in hiding.

In the middle of embracing her solitude, she is literally dragged off the street and into a social experiment one afternoon where she is sat in a chair and asked to stare into the eyes of a complete stranger for 180 seconds. Sounds weird, right? But when Allison finds herself staring into the eyes of a gorgeous guy she has seen on campus, neither of them expect that those three minutes will change their worlds forever.


We are engaged in a form of intimacy that scares the absolute hell out of me. It’s as if there is a weight on my chest that I want to shove off, and I’ve never been this terrified before.
Or this whole and hopeful and connected.
My body starts to tremble. I want more of what I’m feeling, and I also want none of it.


Allison is completely caught off guard, and not knowing how to deal with the intensity of the moment, she runs. She then discovers that the guy is Esben Baylor – a social media guru and internet sensation – and that their intimate moment has become a viral phenomenon. Again, she has no idea how to handle the vulnerability and anger that she is feeling, so she hunts down Esben to give him a piece of her mind. But when she meets him for real and actually gets to know him, she learns that he is nothing like what she had imagined him to be. He’s just a great guy who wants to do good in the world, and he is absolutely impossible not to fall for. And for the first time in her life, she wants to experience those feelings.


Those one hundred and eighty seconds with Esben somehow threw me into a whirlwind.
Either I get slammed to the ground by that force or I soar.


Oh Esben… the boy just stole my heart. He’s not your typical NA romantic hero - he’s not a bad boy or a manwhore or a sports star, he’s just a regular guy who is smart, funny and dynamic with a huge heart He's the kind of guy that every girl wants to fall for. And what develops between him and Allison is the sweetest romance. They learn each other, they open their hearts to each other, and they willingly and naturally fall, and every moment of it was beautiful to watch.


“I like you,” he says. “…I think there’s something between us, and I’m very afraid that I’m going to do the wrong thing again and send you running. And I don’t want that. If you’re going to go running anywhere, I’d prefer that you come running to me.”

“You know what feels better than anything physical?” Esben looks at me for a long time. “How it feels to be falling for someone the way that I’m falling for you.”


But this book is SO much more than just a love story. Allison has been so closed off for so long, that watching her not only come back to life, but embrace it, is gorgeous, and this book is her journey as she explores just how brave and strong she really is.


You can’t reach what’s in front of you until you let go of what’s behind you.


This book is not always an easy read. The feels in this book! OMG, the feels! The story is an emotional one - not overwhelming, and it’s not stupid, unnecessary drama, it’s real life and it’s incredibly emotional. The themes of family, friendship, loss and love are beautifully woven through every moment, and I felt it all, and there is a wonderful cast of supporting characters that add wonderfully to the story, and contribute so much, and I can honestly say that I fell in love with each and every one of them. And though the book does have its moments of cheesiness, given all that was going on, I was happy to embrace it.

I laughed, I cried, I fell in love and I ugly cried, and my heart ached for what the characters go through. But I healed, and I finished this book with a massive grin on my face and hugging my kindle tightly.

I loved it! 4.5 stars!

180 Seconds was an emotionally filled ride from start to finish. Though I didn't love every bit of it. Towards the end things took a fantastical turn that I had a hard time investing in. However, the whole 180 seconds moment that gives this book it's title...pure magic. Pure. Damn. Magic.

Really.

Truly.

I can't say enough about this one scene.

As always, with Park, the characters are unique in their quirkiness. They're lovable in their damaged ways. Park never fails to evoke a full spectrum of emotions and I always look forward to cracking one of her books open.