Twenty-Seven Minutes

I just finished Twenty-Seven Minutes by Ashley Tate and here are my thoughts.


One night changed the lives of so many people. 10 years ago the golden girl Phoebe, was killed in a car accident. Her brother was driving and a girl called Becca was injured in the back seat. It's the same night June's brother Wyatt leaves town, leaving her and her mother in despair.

Phoebe's mother is planning a memorial. All it is going to Grant, Phoebe's brother, is bringing up painful memories of that night and the secrets threatening to undo him are even more fragile now that June is asking all the right questions but is anyone listening to her?


The concept was super intriguing. Dual timelines so we can see what happened in the lead up to the car accident that night. It was a slower pace but it was well written enough that I got over that. It had some pretty nice twists in it too but they weren't earth shatteringly epic but they added nicely to a steady mystery.

I didn't connect with any of the characters because they were all really unlikeable. June was about the only one that wasn't awful but even then I didn't feel like she deserved me rooting for her either. Everyone had secrets, everyone was underhanded. It was a bit too character driven for my liking without any good characters. It needed more plot and build up.


The ending was OK. I get it went for a dramatic bow but I felt it needed something more.

3.5 stars.

Thank you to #netgalley and @penguinrandomca

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Personally, I found the book slow. The prologue was enticing enough to capture my interest, but once we got into the book itself I found it hard to capture my attention long enough to do a full read-through.
I've tried many times to push through and have forced myself to sit and read.

I think its general idea is great, and with a bit of a rework and editing of how the structure layout is (which I know they are working on!), it would be a good three-star read.

This is Ashley Tate's first novel and my first ARC! I'm really excited and thankful to be given the chance to read it.

For a first novel, it was okay. I'm not mad that I read it, but I'm not completely impressed with it. I would say it's a slow burn and it didn't really grasp me until around 50-60% in. One of the main characters simply was not needed in the story at all. Since they were a main character, though, I wish I could've seen more of their ending. The ending was good but I needed a little more suspense throughout the book. It felt like it was dragging a little. But once you got to around 60%, it picked up and had a good follow through to the end of the story.

Parts of the book were confusing to me, mainly how they talked to one another.

Again, for her first novel, I think she did a decent job! I look forward to more from this author.