I really enjoyed this book. Aside from one or two things here and there that bothered me, it was an excellent read.

The characters in this book were really interesting. I loved Rebecca. She was kickass heroine who knew how to shoot a gun, but also knew that she wasn’t immortal. She was confident, but she wasn’t confident. She understood and faced fear, but she never buckled against it. Her dynamic character brought a lot to this book and really made the novel feel real. It was interesting seeing the other characters ready to pledge their loyalty to her. She may be gutsy, but she was damn smart (for the most part). Ryan, on the other hand, actually didn’t show up as much as I thought he would. While some may think this reflect badly on the book, I mean who wants a book with no leading man, I liked the balance it gave the book. Whatever romance there was between her and other characters, it never took away from the plot and I appreciated that, ’cause I REALLY wanted to find out what happened.

Getting into the two things that bugged me a little: I thought her name was Mary for a good chunk of the first chapter. Then realized that it wasn’t when I read the name Beck and was like what?? and then figured out her name was Rebecca (yeah, I couldn’t remember what the synopsis said…). Second, one or two typos left me a little confused, or maybe they weren’t typos and I didn’t get them? But there was an “inside” joke or explanation here and there that didn’t make TOTAL sense to me. Maybe I missed something, but that was another thing that came to my attention. Honestly, it happened like twice, but I just got a little lost.

Moving past that, the plot was well constructed. There were hints here and there, but the way that they layered up, creating a puzzle, piece by piece, really kept me interested in the book. Sure, the twists weren’t that twisty, but the connections made were really well done. In the end, all the strings were tied together. I also really liked how in depth she was able to get with the characters, fully immersing us in their personalities and backgrounds, without overwhelming readers with information. It helped keep the pace of the plot and gave us a good look at the characters, fully developing them. Hansen also went in depth with the computer programming and spyware material, which I found interesting (and a tad freaky), as it really made it seem like these characters knew what they were talking about. She didn’t just label them hackers, she zoomed in closer, explaining how things worked, and how technology, honestly, wasn’t as private as we’d like to think it was. It added to the whole thriller factor, but also gives readers some perspective when it comes to technology.

In addition, I loved the iPhone text pictures. They helped pause the plot for a second at a time, as well as added to the plot, while providing comic relief. I liked that they were added to the book, and they really helped put a semi-visual aspect in the book.

I really enjoyed Before They Find Us. While I wasn’t always left guessing, the fact that certain details made me wary of characters was a interesting way of keeping me on my toes. This book was well written and I loved the characters and story. Overall, this was a great book, and I would definitely recommend you give it a shot.

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 4.5/5
Writing: 4/5
Cover: 3.5/5
Overall: 4/5
GoodReads Rating: 4.24/5

eBook provided by Xpresso Book Tours, in conjunction with the Before They Find Us book tour, in exchange for an honest review and participation in the tour.

-review by Between Printed Pages