Review: 44 Hours

44 Hours by Donna Jay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finished on April 18, 2021

Favorite Scene/Quote: "You were great in the bush."

This was a nice, fun read devoid of overly serious angst.
    
Jennifer and Ellaine are coworkers who don’t get along. This is due to Ellaine having dumped Jennifer’s best friend and left her heartbroken. The two are forced to spend time together when they are sent on a two-day teambuilding trip, including driving up together. A poorly timed bathroom break and subsequent prank finds the two stranded in the forest together when they can’t find their way back to the car. The two socialize and something new, something good, sparks from the experience and is explored through the remainder of the book.

I’ll get my biggest problem with the book out of the way right now. It’s not a serious problem more of something I had expected that wasn’t met. Based on the cover and summary I expected more of the book to have been about the two of them being lost in the forest together. It’s not a bad thing that it wasn’t, especially since it allowed the relationship to actually develop, it just wasn’t what I had been expecting.

Ellaine is a very sweet character. She’s so optimistic and positive about just about everything. She practically personifies the idea of “find the bright side” and it makes her such an easy character to like. It’s not hard to like Jennifer either though. She’s a bit misguided and confused at first but, when she finds the truth and her backbone, she is a nice character. She’s dealing with a homophobic mother that has led to her hiding her true feeling for women, but she finds the strength to stand up for herself.

The side characters seem nice enough, at least most of them. Ellaine’s friends and Jennifer’s sister seem like great people. Ellaine’s ex on the other hand is intriguing but not for the right reasons.

A nice sapphic book with some enemies-to-lovers and a well-built relationship. It’s sweet and the characters are adorable together once they talk everything out.

Bonus Favorite Quote: "You know this isn't your fight, sis."

                      "That's where you're wrong."