I absolutely tore through this book! The writing style, storyline, and atmosphere hooked me from the beginning, and the natural pacing and feel of the dialogue kept me going until the end. The only downside to this book is that it's a debut novel, so I nothing else to read by Ashley Tate right now!

2.5/5

I really wanted to like this book. It had a promise of a horror/thriller blend and I was craving that kind of read. This book fell very flat. With chapters divided up by characters, it was confusing to read seeing as POV never changed. This would’ve worked better as a “then” “now” style read with all the flash backs. The plot was very repetitive and it felt as if I was just re-reading the same chapter. I found that the last 10% was the most interesting, however it would’ve worked better if that was earlier in and there was more resolution and building within the story. It was paced nicely, but overall it did not keep me entertained and was very predictable.

Thank you NetGalley & the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So many of these characters felt so shallow. Becca was so irrational and her faded memory suddenly coming back was not realistic at all. The twist of Wyatt being dead made me roll my eyes.

A dual timeline from today and ten years prior.
A decade ago, an accident on a bridge caused many changes and turmoil within numerous families.
Today, they are having a memorial of the event.
Small town, long time friends, one night of 27 minutes changed so much!
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Quick read, but that’s because the opening chapter made me realize that there wasn’t going to be a lot of depth here. Do people really think about what their last thought will be as they’re dying?

This was a decent debut. It’s not perfect, it’s messy and could use some tightening up. The twist was pretty easy to spot, but I liked it. The characters were all unlikeable, but that was fine by me.

I’ll read the next book from her, but this was a decent starter book.


Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, all opinions are mine.

What happened on that bridge ten years ago that changed the lives of so many teens in their small town? As each character relates their version of what they either know (or think they know) about that fateful night, readers are challenged to figure out who is lying, who is delusional and is who is telling the truth. As the ten year anniversary of Phoebe's death approaches and her mother plans a memorial celebration of her life, we discover that there are many in this town who don't want to revisit that night, fearful that the truth will finally be told and the consequences they will face for their actions. As we approach the end of the book and the clock is ticking down, we finally find out what happened during those 27 crucial minutes that could have been used to save Phoebe's life. The back stories of the characters are fleshed out and the setting of a small and almost forgotten small town plays a big part in the actions of those who are desperate to leave. I found I wanted a bit less personal anguish from a couple of the female characters --which I felt slowed the story down. Readers will want to get to the end to find out if they figured out what happened during those 27 minutes on the bridge that night.

Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate was a slow burn... but a burn nonetheless. It took me a bit to get into it, but once I did, I was actively looking for opportunities to read.
This is a story about overwhelming grief, keeping secrets, and the pain of losing relationships. On a late, rainy night, leaving a party, Grant and his sister, Phoebe, along with resident crazy Becca, get into a terrible car accident on the bridge. Phoebe died as a result of Grant taking 27 minutes to call for help. What happened during those 27 lost minutes? Why does Becca feel so beholden to Grant?
On the same night, the town drug-dealer, Wyatt, disappeared after an argument with his Dad. He'd run away before but always came back. So where was he? And why wasn't he coming home?
Everything comes to a head on the day of the 10 year anniversary of Phoebe's death when her mother hosts a memorial. Do yourself a favor and read this book!

To use Reddit terminology... ESH. The characters are all awful, and the ending is so predictable that after just a couple chapters I skipped forward to see if I was right, and got tricked by the author's method of throwing us off. But in the end, despite my being thrown off, there's no "big twist" here. Exactly what I thought had happened did happen, and it wasn't even an enjoyable read to get there. Such misery on every page. What a waste of time.

Oh wow! This was a fantastic story td from multiple perspectives over a decade-span. I had an idea where the plot was headed, but there was plenty that I didn’t expect! It was a wonderful read and I found myself pushing bedtime back juuuust a bit so I could keep reading this. Quite a thrilling debut novel, I definitely cannot wait for more from her in the future!

'Twenty-seven minutes' written by Ashley Tate

Published on: 30th of January 2024
Positives:
● A strong hook at the beginning
● two timelines and times are included
● Every main character has an individually strong voice 
● Surprising story
● An ending twist
● There's a reading group guide of questions at the end of the book. I love this and believe it should be incorporated more.
● multiple perspectives

Negatives:
● There is an occasional wording error

You should read if you like:
● small town gossip and the stories that unfold
● mysteries
● multiple perspectives
● two timelines
● unlikeable characters
● who-dunnit stories

If you have ever watched one of those nature programs (and who among us hasn’t?), that features a pair of exotic birds, engaged in an elaborate mating ritual, then you have an idea as to what this book has to offer. Rich and colorful, building to a fabulous crescendo, filled with nuances along the way. Teasing, tempting, carrying you, willing or not, along with it. At first, the ride is slow and steady, but gradually it becomes quicker, more restless, more involved. You want to look away, if only briefly, but you can’t, swept up as you are, in all that’s happening.

The book, written in a unique character-driven style, I felt, was longer than it need be. As much as I liked it, three quarters of the way through I became weary of the sameness. I found it became repetitious and dragged a bit; it teased me longer than I would have liked to have been teased. I was ready to move on with things, to have something new happen, rather than continually rehash the past in a variety of ways, through a variety of voices. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, the author surprised me. The reader has to be willing to suspend disbelief. I had many questions that I wanted answered.

That’s not to say that I didn’t like the book because I did. Very much. I just didn’t quite like being played the fool for as long as I had been. All of this said, the book is excellent. It’s hard to believe that this is the first book to the author’s credit. I’m eager for more.

This book was well written and had a great, but predictable, twist. I really liked of it displayed the intricacies of small town relationships; the “everyone-knows-everyone”. As a mystery/thriller it was a little slow for my liking.

It has been decade since a brutal accident that shook a small town took the life of Phoebe, the best and the brightest. Her brother, Grant, and Becca, the unfortunate passenger, are both still dealing with the accident in their own ways. There is more to the tragic accident than meets the eye however. Poor unfortunate, wrong place at the wrong time Becca is looking for more in her relationship with Grant and Grant is cold as ever as his guilt weighs on him. Meanwhile, it has been a decade since Wyatt, June's brother went missing, a detail that no one has really paid attention to until June begins to ask questions. The anniversary is stirring up emotions & everyone is on edge. The novel had a good premise, but the characters were boring (and Becca was annoying in my opinion, I really did not enjoy her POV) and at the end it just went all over the place.

Twenty-Seven Minutes is a good read that will keep readers interested until the end. The story is told through the lens of multiple characters and their perspectives but it is done in a way that flows seamlessly throughout the story. Each character has a unique voice. Well done story and I would definitely recommend.

I enjoyed reading this book. The characters were interesting. The plot twist at the end wasn't exactly what i had guessed it would be. I did find some typos or misuse of words.
Thank you to Net Gallery for a chance to read an advanced reader copy.

So.....OMG!!!

I love love loved this book!!

The writing, the characters and the plot. It was simply fantastic!

Did I read that this is a debut for Ashely Tate?! Wow! She has firmly set herself among the genre's greats like: Ware, Jewell and Lapena!

If you love a dark, twisty, your own theory getting blown out of the water on the reveal, then this is the book for you!!

You must read it!!

I had a very hard time getting through this book. It just couldn’t grab my interest like I thought it would but it was a decent read as I wanted to see how the story ended.

Oh my gosh, such an amazing story of secrets, lies and skeletons in the closet. Each character is going through an enormous amount of trauma in different ways but all due to the same tragedy. Really interesting portrayal of the limitations of grief and sadness.

Conceptually this book sounded like one I would really enjoy, anticipating a big twist at the end.

Unfortunately, the premise was not enough to detract from the writing style, random plot holes and an entire cast of unlikable characters. I found it distracting how many times the author used ! In the middle of the sentence or when relaying facts about the character. The convenience of someone being missing for 10 years and then randomly showing up was bizarre. The multiple POV normally works well for me, but in this case I felt there were too many and it was not only overwhelming, but led to a lot of gaps not being filled in.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of “Twenty-Seven Minutes” in exchange for an honest review. Maybe this is not fair of me, but the second I realized how many exclamation points there were in this book I just had a feeling it was not going to be the book for me. I just really cannot fathom why that many exclamation points are necessary in a novel. This really felt like a YA novel to me. I also feel like many of these characters could benefit from some professional mental health support that was grossly lacking. Check it out for yourself, but this one wasn’t for me.