The beginning of the end. The Apocalypse.
A nuclear fallout wiped out every living thing on the
planet, except for a few thousand of us who took shelter in underground bunkers
across the globe. Now, after thirteen long years, we were finally able to
return to the topside to begin to rebuild.
We thought we were alone. We were never more wrong.
Before the fallout, scientists had worked on creating an
anti-radiation vaccine (ARV). The first two attempts failed, but despite the
incomplete tests and results, the government approved and distributed the third
serum to the masses in an effort to aid those who had no shelter.
It worked, keeping those who remained on the topside
alive, but it also altered and mutated them. This new and infectious threat had
completely outnumbered us. Now, we not only had to rebuild our planet. We would
have to fight for it.
My name is Abigail Park. I'm seventeen, and this is my
story.
This book presented me with one of life’s greatest
conundrums: if there’s no sex in a book, can I still enjoy it? I was unsure as I began reading, but by the
end I was won. I don’t want to make it a
habit, but it’s good to know that I can still enjoy a non-smutty book. I’m not broken!
People have been living underground for the past 14 years in
what they call hives. They are now ready
to go to the surface and start to rebuild.
What they don’t expect is that the government had developed a vaccination
to help combat the radiation, and it had unforeseen side effects. So now, there’s a dangerous new breed of
human on the surface, the ARVYs. No
longer human, but not dead, they are dangerous.
Abigail and her family, and a small band of fellow hive survivors must
make it to the government safe zone.
Will they make it?
Well, this was a real nail biter! It was an interesting twist on the
ever-popular zombie read, and it had me hooked.
Though I thought it started off a little slow, it really got going and I
had a hard time walking away from it until I was done.
Abigail is 17 and the main character. She and her best friend Finn go on this
journey together and I have to say, I loved both of them. Their chemistry and dynamic between the two
of them was one of the best parts of this book, because it really invested you
in their story, and made you root for them to make it, in more ways than one.
Abi was a strong female lead for this book, and I loved that aspect as well.
Not to mention that Finn was a little alpha-male in training. I really hope in the next book we get to see
the full scope of he and Abi’s relationship together. In fact, all of the characters seemed well
thought out and complete, which is a testament to the strength of this writer’s
talent.
The writing was, in a word, tremendous. It didn’t get bogged down in jargon or
futuristic mumbo-jumbo; it flowed and found a good balance between action and
the aspects of the character’s interpersonal relationships. Plus, the whole ARVY thing is really original
and completely terrifying. As I was
reading this book at night, I was a little scared in parts. I will definitely be reading anything else
put out by this author.
Overall, this was an exciting and enjoyable read. From what I understand there will be more
books, so this isn’t the end of the story.
I cannot wait for the next one to come out; I have to see how it turns
out! 4.5 Stars.
I turned and shot at every
creature coming, but as soon as one dropped, another two took its place. All of
our efforts were useless. This was it. This would be our final resting place.
We’d come out from the safety of our hive, surviving thirteen years
underground, to die.
“God. If you’re out there, we
desperately need your help. Please,” I cried to myself. Tears streamed down my
face, after witnessing what happened to Dr. Lisa.
Kaboom!!! A huge explosion
rattled the whole mountain, sending a bunch of rocks tumbling and crashing down
all around us.
“What the hell?” Sergeant Powell
yelled, covering his face from the falling debris.
Then we heard it. Our redemption.
There was a God, and he sent someone to save us.
Two choppers were headed our way,
and in a matter of minutes a machine gun started firing and dropping the Arvies
surrounding us. They even dropped a few grenades on the side of the mountain.
The sound of gunfire and explosions were the most beautiful sounds I’d ever
heard.
Death. It was all around us.
Cameo Renae was born in San Francisco, CA, raised in
Maui, Hawaii, and recently moved with her husband and children to Alaska.
She loved reading from as
long as she can remember, and it was C.S. Lewis' - Chronicles of Narnia - which
sparked a fire in her soul and made her want to create her own wondrous,
magical worlds and awesome characters to go on adventures with.
In My Dreams & Hidden
Wings were both recently published through Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly
Publishing earlier this year. Descent (A Hidden Wings novella) was released May
15, 2013, and Broken Wings (Book 2 in the Hidden Wings Series) was released
June 1, 2013.
Her most recent release is
ARV-3. A YA Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian novel with a new twist on zombies.
She is currently working
on the next Hidden Wings Series book titled: Tethered Wings. No release date
yet. :)
One day she hopes to find
her own magic wardrobe, and ride away on her magical unicorn... Until then...
she'll keep writing!
Loved the book! sclong at gmail dot com!
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