This book has really great cover art and the premise makes this out to be a fun story, but I had so many problems with this novella.
1. Too much telling. 50% of this book consists of a dry narrative that is terribly boring to wade through because it lacks detail and emotion.
2. No emotional connection to the characters. Because of the dry narrative there is no emotional connection to the characters. I really didn't care what happened next.
3. Ridiculous circumstances-
One sentence the narrative is describing a site like area 51 that exists in Yosemite, the next they are talking about Alaska, and then the black hills. I was so confused since I have a basic concept of the American map, so I know that these places are very far apart. It took me a page to realize that they were describing a network of caves that linked across the map.
So these 2 city girls get an email one September day and the next day they are hiking through the mountains for 12 hours with just the "basic equipment." First, they didn't have to call in to their jobs? Did they had time off? I couldn't do that at my job, just call in and say I needed a couple of days or just take off without covering my shift. Just sayin.
And, I have hiked in the hills (not mountains) of Ohio for 2-3 hours while in the best shape of my life and let me tell you, its hot and sweaty. You are tired afterward and there will be lots of breaks in between! But these girls just seem to breeze through a mountain trek while carrying equipment and managing to avoid trained military experts.
Overall: This wasn't the novella for me, but it has a nicely designed cover.