Really enjoyed this YA novel. Very engaging storyline, likeable protagonist, and a plot twist that was much less predictable than I am used to in YA novels. I found this to be genuinely engaging on an emotional level and actually got a bit misty eyed at one point, which is pretty rare. Some other reviewers mention that the "numbers" premise has been done before. I have not read those novels so cannot compare this one to them or comment on the originality of this, but I definitely consider this worth a read. Only thing that i wish would have happened here is some (any!) sort of explanation for the author's unique ability.

This was a beautiful and amazing novel, just as good as the author's other books. The storytelling and characters were amazing! I wish it had ended less happily ever after, but aside from that this is a re read for me!

This is the third book I've read from Kelsey Sutton and I really loved Gardenia and the mystery surrounding an interesting character who could see the countdown to a person's death. Although the synopsis reminded me of another book, When– it was a completely different story with some similarities in relation to the death part of it.

4 Stars for great pacing and for keeping me up past midnight finishing this book!

3.5

Ever since Ivy Erickson was a child she’s been able to see the exact moment that someone will die. It appears like a glaringly red countdown clock over their heads. That’s why three months ago Ivy knew her best friend Vanessa would die. But what she isn’t prepared for is the way the people around her die. The complicated events of three months ago culminated in Vanessa being murdered and Ivy finding the body. Now, Ivy is being ostracized by many people in her small community who believe she’s knows who killed Vanessa but is protecting them. Ivy is trying her best to just get through the torment and the bullying as it seems like Ivy’s countdown is on for one month, twenty-seven days, fifty-nine minutes, and two seconds. When another woman goes missing, Ivy knows that before her time is up, she needs to find the murderer.

There were two things the really drove the story for me. One, the mystery aspect. I thought Kelsey Sutton did a great job of twisting things around to cast shade on several characters. The possibilities were all completely plausible. Two, the countdown clock hanging over Ivy’s head. I kept wondering if Kelsey Sutton would be so bold as to kill off her main character, her heroine, our narrator by the end of the book. As a reader I kept trying to figure out some kind of loophole that Ivy could jump through to prevent her predicted demise, and I kept coming up blank. No spoilers, so if you want to know, you’ll have to pick up the book!

Besides the relatively quick-paced story, there were of course things that worked better for me than others.

I think because there’s such a constricted time-frame on the story we didn’t really get as much character development as I would have liked. Many of the secondary characters seemed very stock to me. The exceptions would be Ivy’s ex-boyfriend Myers and new-girl-in-school Amanda. Both these characters have, in Myers’ case, deep, sometimes painful history with Ivy, or, in Amanda’s case, are a new element to Ivy’s life and show her a different perspective of herself.

Ivy was also, at times, a difficult character. She is obviously going through a lot. I can’t even imagine the weight and burden upon her shoulders knowing, down to the second, when someone is going to die, let alone knowing when I would die. That’s heavy. It’s always kept her from getting too close to people and opening up. Then just recently Ivy loses one of the few people closest to her when Vanessa is murdered, and to lose that person in such a way is quite devastating. So when Ivy’s attitude appears more blasé than broken, I couldn’t fault her strength of character whatsoever. I questioned her viewpoint of not fighting until the end though. I suppose she’s made some smidgeon of peace with knowing her time is running out, but I didn’t want to see her give in so easily. Slowly, though, she does turn around towards the end, especially when she gets closer to figuring out the murderer.

Overall, a compelling read. The fact that we’re not given much in the way of why Ivy can see the countdown clocks was an interesting choice. Definitely leaves a lot open to speculation.

I am not often drawn to reading books that fall into the suspense/thriller genre but after reading this book's synopsis, I had to find out what Gardenia was all about.

Gardenia by Kelsey Sutton is beautifully written and full of characters that moved my heart. A plot full of bittersweet memories, poignant emotions, supernatural gifts and suspenseful moments that kept me on the edge of my seat! I also enjoyed the bit of romance thrown in as well.

To sum it up? Teenage angst at it's very best! I truly enjoyed reading this Gardenia and I can't wait to read Ms. Sutton's next book.

I received this book for free. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are my own. Thank you to Diversion Publishing, Ms. Sutton and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Ivy knew that when her best friend, Vanessa, was murdered she would only have 27 days to find her killer; because in 28 days Ivy would be dead.

In a small dead-end town, 17-year-old, grief-stricken Ivy, struggles to find her best friend murderer, although Ivy herself is harboring her own secret; she can see the countdown to people's deaths. She knows when they are going to die.

Upon first glance the book would appear to be a murder mystery, in my opinion it does fall short of that, nor would I describe it as a contemporary, I think it lies somewhere in between, not quite committing fully to either genre.

The book is centered primarily around Ivy's day-to-day life approaching her death. I really liked Ivy; she was determined, brave, focused and wise beyond her years. And it was so refreshing to have a female lead role that didn't annoy the hell out of me.

My absolute favorite aspect of the book is ow Ivy touches people lives in her final days; the nursing home residents, Amanda, Brent, Myers and especially her mother and sister. I loved watching them grow as a unit and how Ivy empowered them both.

If you are looking for an easy murder mystery(ish) read, with heart warming undertones, and an extremely likable main character then definitely give Gardenia a try.
A strong 3.5 star read!!

I will recommend this to readers over 16 due to the language and some subject matter. It was a good read and I liked it. I didn't love it. I didn't guess the killer until the author wanted me to, so that aspect worked. The story was disjointed and the character's motivations difficult to understand. They just didn't feel right. I also didn't think the law enforcement angle was realistic. I don't think this one will fly off the shelf. A few of my readers will like it.

When you're a teenager life sucks, it is a given fact of the universe. The fact that Ivy's life LITERALLY is counting down over her, and everyone else's, head some how compounds this fact and makes you pause to think about the shitty decisions you make on a day to day basis.. The actual concept of being able to see how many seconds you have left on earth is insane, knowing that this will be one of the last decisions you make before you die has every possibility of really screwing with your head; save for the fact that this book doesn't quite let you get lost in utter despair. The coupling of intense and insane moral concepts gets shoved to the wayside at certain points with hilarious relationships, confusing sexual encounters, and the mystery of it all. Definitely worth the read, and worthy of conversation after just to get some much wanted closure.

I loved this review from start to finish. I felt so closed to the characters. I loved the author's way of describing the life of Ivy. The colors and descriptions were perfect to give such a clear picture without slowing down the story. The story itself was wonderful and motivational. Constantly made me ask myself what I would do if time wasn't an issue.

A unique mystery. Ivy can see a life countdown clock over every person's head, including her own. A teenager, she lost her best friend and is using her last months trying to find who killed her and why. She is also trying to come to grips with her death and make sure her loved ones are in a good place.

The mystery itself was good. Add to that the interesting take on coming to terms with death and loss, and it was a better than expected YA story. To those who dont like YA love stories there is some of thar mixed in.

Thank you so much for choosing me to review this book, you and your publisher, that is. I truly questions a new fan, and want more of your work!!!!

I did not finish this book as I did not engage with this story at all.

I really liked the concept of this book (it was very similar to a book I read in 2010, Numbers by Rachel Ward) and I thought the writing was really great. The writing was actually my favorite part about Gardenia. I liked Ivy and even though I wasn't emotionally invested in her story, I was still interested to see what was going to happen. I believe this is a standalone, so I really liked that aspect as well. I'm a big fan of standalones so if you're looking for a good mystery but you don't want to get caught up a long series, Gardenia would be a good one to pick up.

This is a teen read featuring seventeen-year-old, Ivy who can see a running countdown to the exact moment everyone around her, including herself, will die. It was this premise that drew me to the book initially but there are a few different genres at play within the story. Adding to the paranormal aspect there is also a mystery regarding the death of Ivy's best friend and a strong focus on Contemporary Fiction involving family and romantic relationships.

A lot of page time was spent with Ivy's relationships with her family and Myers, her ex-boyfriend to whom she's still quite attached. Sutton delves into the various themes of life and death well and I liked how Ivy uses her paranormal knowledge to help those around her as her death draws nearer.

But with so much focus on Ivy's relationships the mystery wasn't nearly as engaging. It lost focus in a few spots and never took up the reigns, remaining on the fringe of the story. There are some tense moments towards the end of the book but, in the end, I'd call this more of a contemporary teen read with a side of mystery.

As a main character, Ivy is hardworking and the strongest force in her small family but she's lonely and has a bleak feel to her as she continues to mourn the loss of her one and only friend Vanessa. Her ability to see the countdown above each person is interesting but I would have liked to have known why she has this ability. It also didn't play enough of a role in the book, mainly being used to influence Ivy's relationships with others and not as a major part of the mystery.

While the suspense aspect was weaker than expected, this is a good contemporary read that makes you think about how you'll make the most out of the time you have left.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Diversion Books at NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary e-book copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Interesting premise, what would you do if you could see when you and those around you were going to die by a countdown above their head that only you could see and were helpless to stop it ? I loved the way we are gradually led in to the backstory of what happened the night Ivy's best friend Vanessa was murdered, how one moment can have a butterfly effect, a stolen kiss ruining so many lives. Then it's Ivy's turn, her countdown is almost over and the killer is closing in....

Kelsey Sutton is a talented writer who uses her incredible imagination to weave powerful stories that examine and embrace humanities fascination with the concepts of life and death. She’s able to create formidable imagery that forces us to define what life means to us and to look for the beauty in even the darkest of places.

In Gardenia, Sutton gives us strong and realistic characters we can emphasize with, particularly Ivy. Her emotions are so raw and open you can’t help but feel like you’re right next to her in the car of this emotional rollercoaster. Her character development is so thorough you’ll feel captivated by the thrilling suspense and explosive scenes they get into which keep the story’s pace from slowing down. The relationships crafted provided an additional depth to help bring out the beauty in the idea of living life full of passion. It was nice to see the love between family take center stage in a YA novel versus the standard dating stuff.

This is such a unique plot with plenty of intrigue entwined throughout to keep you glued to the pages all the way to the end. Even though there are some deep concepts that could have you ruminating on life and death for hours, the mystery part is far more interesting and compelling.

Seventeen-year-old Ivy Erickson has one month, twenty-seven days, four hours, fifty-nine minutes, and two seconds to live.

When Ivy was a child she learned that only she can see the numbers above others heads that count down until the exact moment that they will die. Ivy’s grandmother had suffered a heart attack right in front of young Ivy as her numbers counted down to zero and that was Ivy’s first experience with this deadly phenomena.

Ivy learned over the years there was nothing she could do to stop what was fated to happen with those around her or her own countdown which would expire before Ivy even graduates high school. Struggling with getting close to those around her she has an on again, off again relationship with Myers Patripski to deal with but for Ivy the most important thing to do before her time is up is to find the murderer who had claimed the life of Ivy’s best friend.

Gardenia had a new to me concept involved in the fact that Ivy can see when everyone will die, including herself. It’s my understanding there’s other books out there with this concept but being the first I’ve read it certainly had me thinking all throughout reading about just how horrible this must be for the main character to live with. How could you deal with knowing when those around you will go or just how many days you have left yourself?? This alone fascinated me with where the story would take a reader just knowing that Ivy knows her days are numbered so she could throw caution to the wind with chasing a killer knowing that it wasn’t her time yet.

The book is a bit of a mixed bag of genres involved in it with a lot of focus on the contemporary side of the story with Ivy’s family and relationships. As much as it’s nice to get to know a character and their lives I think the story lost a bit of focus on the mystery/thriller side to it which would have made it just that more intense of a read. I did think the story wrapped up rather nicely as far as the killer and ending but it seemed to be one that was concluded kind of suddenly instead of leading a reader to it a bit more.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

DNF 5%

For Those Who Enjoyed: Black Mirror, TiMER, The Ring

Would I Have Selected it as an Agent/Acquisitions Editor?

No. The writing is horrible, the narrative voice is juvenile. None of the characters are sympathetic. The protagonist has some really cringy edgy dialogue trying to be sassy and it just makes her look like a jerk for no reason. The death timer sounds like a really cool idea, but it’s executed like a really terrible, cheesy b-movie sci-fi where the numbers show up above people’s heads like microwave countdowns. The flashbacks and background information is also pretty basic. Sutton took a potentially compelling plot device and wrote it into a really stupid narrative. There’s not enough here to warrant a read beyond the first 15 pages. Even that’s a stretch.

Like a time bomb counting down the seconds to explosion, everyone has a finite amount of time to live. It is a mercy that we do not know when we will die, but Ivy doesn’t have the luxury of not knowing. Ivy sees the exact moment a person will die. It is in a counter that looms over them and only she can see them. Ivy even knows when her death will be and there is nothing she can do about it, but make sure those around her are prepared to go on without her, prepared to make the most of the time they have left.

Can you imagine knowing your best friend will die and not being able to stop it? What if, on that very day, only moments before, your shattered your friendship with her, betrayed the one boy you will always love and never got the chance to say I’m sorry? Vanessa is gone, killed in the woods and now Ivy is determined to find out who did it before she dies in less than two months, all without telling people what she sees and what she knows.

Kelsey Sutton’s GARDENIA is a young adult paranormal suspense tale with a “killer” ending. Ivy is mature far beyond her years, and for some reason no one knows about her “gift.” Ivy is in love, but she foolishly shattered her boyfriend with one drunken mistake. Now someone is out to warn her off from investigating who killed her best friend. Her list of suspects is long, she endures cruel and quite frankly illegal assaults on her person and I am disappointed that she never did more than take it. NO MATTER THE REASON she was attacked and abandoned to die. Not sure I could hold it together as she did knowing she wouldn’t even live long enough to graduate. Truly a tale with huge highs and a concept that is both intriguing and terrifying.

I received an ARC edition from Diversion Books in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Diversion Books (February 28, 2017)
Publication Date: February 28, 2017
Genre: YA Paranormal
Print Length: 260 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble