I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

"Welcome to dinner, and again, congratulations on being selected. Now you must do the selecting."

What do the queen bee, star athlete, valedictorian, stoner, loner, and music geek all have in common? They were all invited to a scholarship dinner, only to discover it's a trap. Someone has locked them into a room with a bomb, a syringe filled with poison, and a note saying they have an hour to pick someone to kill ... or else everyone dies.

Amber Prescott is determined to get her classmates and herself out of the room alive, but that might be easier said than done. No one knows how they're all connected or who would want them dead. As they retrace the events over the past year that might have triggered their captor's ultimatum, it becomes clear that everyone is hiding something. And with the clock ticking down, confusion turns into fear, and fear morphs into panic as they race to answer the biggest question: Who will they choose to die?

Short and Sweet

Six students were invited to a dinner only to learn it was a trap. Now they’re stuck in a room with a bomb and a syringe of poison and an hour to choose who dies or they all die.

Characters

Amber: “The Orchestra Geek.” Amber is our main character and the book is told from her POV. All Amber wants is to get into USC and she thinks her best chance of doing that is convincing Sasha to let her make an original musical score for the schools play. In the end Amber becomes a member of Sasha’s group and that changes everything.

Priya: “The Loner.” Priya is Amber’s best friend and she ends up becoming a member of Sasha’s group because of Amber. I liked Priya she was just trying to get out of her shell but the way that she was treated was awful.

Sasha: “The Queen Bee.” Sasha is like most queen bees mean and selfish. Sasha was manipulative and did whatever she had to do to get her way. I found her the most annoying person in the room she only thought about her self and she was willing to kill the others just to survive.

Robbie: “The Jock.” Robbie had typical jock tendencies he was very aggressive when he couldn’t figure things out and I honestly thought he was also annoying especially when he would throw these tantrums.

Scott: “The Stoner.” Scott is basically an outcast and he was looked at as the main choice to be killed. I felt bad for Scott a lot of the other kids didn’t know his background but he really wasn’t a bad person.

Diego: “The Brains.” Diego is smart and he’s Sasha’s main competition. Diego also came up with an invention so he’s basically a millionaire. Diego was the one everyone turned to for answers and he was kind of the voice of reason.

Romance

Amber and Robbie: I did not like these two at all. The more we see of their relationship the more it was clear that they really shouldn’t have been together. They both wanted different things and I felt like sometimes Robbie didn’t care what Amber wanted and that was their downfall.

Amber and Diego: These two used to be friends growing up but they drifted apart when Diego and Amber’s dad had a falling out. I think the more they talked the more their feelings for each other were shown. I think these two would have made a better couple than Robbie and Amber.

My Thoughts

~ The book is told in flashbacks and current time. I liked the way this book was written. In each flashback we learn more about each character and their secrets slowly start to unfold. In the current time we see all six characters trying to decide what to do and who could’ve done this to them.

~ Even though the book is told in Amber’s POV each of the characters is developed very well. They were all different and had their own personalities.

~ In the hour that they were in the room each character learned something about themselves and what they were willing to do just to survive, there was even the lesson that one life is more valuable than another.

~ The suspense really builds up and I couldn’t guess who had them locked in that room so the ending was a shocker.

Overall

This book had me captivated till the very end. There was a big plot twist at the end that I was not ready for and I was satisfied with the ending. I thought the thrill and the mystery of who had them in the room and what they would eventually do was well written. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a thriller or mystery this one will keep you hooked!