Count Down

by Michelle Rowen

Surviving the murder of her family and months on the streets of a plague-devastated world, Kira Jordan, a low-level psi user, wakes up one morning chained to the notorious Rogan Ellis in a room where their every move is controlled and televised to a vicious audience.

• ISBN10: 0373210906
• ISBN13: 9780373210909
• Publish Date: 24 September 2013
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Imprint: Harlequin Teen
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[inlibrisveritas]

Countdown follows two teens as they struggle to survive in a twisted televised game, while learning to trust each other and finding out just who their real enemies are. The story is set at a quick and breakneck pace and while the overall concept is interesting I found a few elements distracting.

The Countdown is a tv show broadcast to a limited number of subscribers where two unlikely and mostly unlikeable people are pitted against danger after danger, and offered the chance at a new life free from their prison binds if they can survive. Kira is now the only female competitor and the only person to be picked up outside of the prison walls, and the subscribers love her. She’s feisty and independent, and with added combo of a sad past and a rough life she’s just the kind of girl who might survive the Countdown. However she is paired with Rogan who is a notorious criminal with a wrap sheet she doesn’t want any part of. I initially enjoyed these two together because Kira is standoff-ish and keeps her distance, it’s a working relationship with no added tangles. However it does began to blossom into something more and while I understood the need for the emotional attachment, I just wasn’t really feeling the connection. I think it might have been the amount of twists and turns that theses two have to go through.I do like that Rogan is more than he seems, but he’s increasingly frustrating in his tough guy routine that he uses to deflect conversations with.

The plot is set at a heart-racing speed that really pulled me in. I loved the idea of the television show and how horrible it was. It reminded me a Doctor Who episode where is a network full of game shows all set to eliminate constants in the most permanent way possible. I even like the reason behind all of the evil. There isn’t much world-building to be had though we do get a bit of info on the world and why it is the way it is, but I wish there had been a bit more. However I did have one glaring problem with the plot which was her physic ability mentioned in the summary. It isn’t really brought up until about half-way into the novel and at that point it felt too late for it to be introduced. I was already committed to the story and the way it was going, so having this new element suddenly made it feel bulky. It wasn’t really a unnecessary addition it just felt odd to suddenly learn about something so out there and I wished it had been at least hinted at or mentioned earlier on.

Overall I found Countdown to be a high-octane ride with a lot of twists and turns and despite it’s issues I still enjoyed it. I believe this is a standalone novel, so it was nice to be to sit down and enjoy a complete story without having to wait a full year for the next one.

[boghunden]

I just finished this book and now I don't know what to do with my life. It was soooooo good! I need a moment to breathe.

Okay, first of all: Yes, this is very similar to The Hunger Games, yet it's completely different. The story's very fastpaced and you're thrown right into the game from page one. A lot of the world building is spared, instead it's just action, action, action. I like that! I didn't need any more description than what I got.

Let's take a moment to appreciate Kira. What a bad-ass heroine! She's an amazing MC, as well as Rogan is. I feared this would be another swooney lovestory, but fortunately that wasn't the case. Of course there was a bit of romance, but the main focus was on Countdown, the game. It was such a joy to finally read a YA book focusing on other things than love.

As I already said, this did remind me a lot of The Hunger Games, and I can't really point out why it didn't bother me. Sure, it was different at some points, but this "society will kill you if you don't XXX"-plot is such a big part of both books, that it's hard not to compare them. Whether it was the writing style, the characters or the plot itself, I don't know, but one thing I do know is this: it's one of the best books I've read so far this year. You should definitely pick this one up, it truly is an actionpacked book!

[elvinagb]

Kira Jordan is the only survivor after her family is murdered and one of the few people who survive a plague that has devastated the human race. Left at 14 to live on the streets she is forced to survive on her street smarts and her wits.
Suddenly she is taken from the empty city streets and wakes up locked and handcuffed in an empty cell with a handsome stranger. Only this stranger while incredibly handsome is also a mass murderer. They are forced to join together to beat a survivor type game where the loser also loses their life.
This sounded interesting and it turns out it’s because it’s like a lot of the dystopian destroyed world pretty teens on the run to beat the bad guys novels. Which is ok is that’s your thing. For me this book was just that, ok. The premise and story line was good but I did get rather tired of hearing how hot Rogan was constantly but if you’re a cute 16 year old girl on the run with the ultimate bad boy I guess that’s a good thing to focus on. It was nice to read a book that appears to be a stand alone and isn’t part of a series.
(an ARC reading copy of this novel was received in exchange for an honest review)