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luminous's review against another edition
3.0
Fabulous concept. I don't know a lot about cults, but the cult portion seemed realistic. The antagonist was a letdown, though as an example of banal evil (is there any worse?) I guess it works. I was hoping for the antagonist's goals to be described in more detail regarding the disease, as I either missed them entirely by skimming over them or they really weren't given to us.
The meat of the plot is your basic pick up and deliver quest. Probably the first half of that journey was a little dull, but it doesn't comprise more than maybe 10-15% of the book.
Protagonist, Wynter, was very likeable, and realistic except in that everything she is taught while on the run/journey she is instantly good at. I'm thinking here of challenging driving conditions, firearms, and physical self-defense. However, there was a realistic consequence of firearms use that I was happy to see. But by the end I was cringing at how capable she was after having just been shown moves once. I guess it's hard to strike a balance between "utterly helpless woman," which we don't want, and "Mary Sue." Also having her fail a bit at those challenges would have made the book longer.
Being a thriller, it's fast paced. I found the pace too breezy for the first half. Or maybe I just wasn't in the mood for the pace. I didn't feel like I was nestling in for a filling read, you know? But it's definitely skillfully written.
Characters lack differentiation in personality. TBH the most interesting one is the minor character Ara. I guess this book is more all about the plot.
There's also some romance, but it's understated and nothing graphic. There are a lot of sexually threatening situations, but again nothing graphic. This is an apocalyptic book that does not go in for major violence or disturbing brutality, and I was glad for that.
The meat of the plot is your basic pick up and deliver quest. Probably the first half of that journey was a little dull, but it doesn't comprise more than maybe 10-15% of the book.
Protagonist, Wynter, was very likeable, and realistic except in that everything she is taught while on the run/journey she is instantly good at. I'm thinking here of challenging driving conditions, firearms, and physical self-defense. However, there was a realistic consequence of firearms use that I was happy to see. But by the end I was cringing at how capable she was after having just been shown moves once. I guess it's hard to strike a balance between "utterly helpless woman," which we don't want, and "Mary Sue." Also having her fail a bit at those challenges would have made the book longer.
Being a thriller, it's fast paced. I found the pace too breezy for the first half. Or maybe I just wasn't in the mood for the pace. I didn't feel like I was nestling in for a filling read, you know? But it's definitely skillfully written.
Characters lack differentiation in personality. TBH the most interesting one is the minor character Ara. I guess this book is more all about the plot.
There's also some romance, but it's understated and nothing graphic. There are a lot of sexually threatening situations, but again nothing graphic. This is an apocalyptic book that does not go in for major violence or disturbing brutality, and I was glad for that.
natdotzip's review against another edition
5.0
Listen. If you rated this book below five stars your opinion is wrong.
bean_season's review
Read for book club, not my favorite genre. The author is super awesome! She came to talk with us and is very nice, smart, and cool!
ashjambud's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
teresaalice's review against another edition
3.0
3.75 stars. A good premise and interesting characters but all the God talk was a bit much for my atheist heart.
mrsmonstargh's review against another edition
challenging
tense
3.75
There were no warnings for the pandemic content. I wasn't prepared for it.
Also a little shocking to hear the word "spastically" being used to describe something, especially in a book from 2019.
Also a little shocking to hear the word "spastically" being used to describe something, especially in a book from 2019.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Pandemic/Epidemic
sparksofember's review
5.0
This book was excellent. Reading it right at the start of a global pandemic - not my brightest idea. lol
brittnb08's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first book I have ever read from Tosca Lee and I am blown away! I will definitely be reading more from her and be getting the next installment of this series. This book is completely different than what I normally read. I've read post-apocalyptic books plenty of times, but never one at the beginning of an apocalypse. Not only does this have an apocalypse it also has a cult. I'm a huge fan of the TV show Criminal Minds and they have many episodes dealing with cults, and this reminded me so much of those episodes. It did take a while to get into it because there was a lot of information, going back & forth with the past and present, but once her sister came to her house is picked up. Chase! I mean how can you not love him. I will be honest I did not trust him at first, but he earned it with everything he did for Wynter. I love their friendship and how they didn't know they needed someone until they had each other to help. This books basically happened within the span of 1 week, so the ending is the reason why I only gave this book 4/5 stars. It felt so rushed and I had to reread many sections because I felt that I had missed some information that explained why Chase & Kestral (or Celeste) were at the Enclave. And then when Chase kissed Wynter I was not expecting that, because yes, you can see they are growing feelings for each other, but I think their relationship should've stayed as a friendship for now. I guess more will be explained in the next book!
kkandrew7243's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0