Review: 'Til the World Ends by Julie Kagawa, Ann Aguirre, Karen Duvall

'Til the World Ends by Julie Kagawa, Ann Aguirre, Karen Duvall
Synopsis (Goodreads):

Dawn of Eden by Julie Kagawa

Before The Immortal Rules, there was the Red Lung, a relentless virus determined to take out all in its path. For Kylie, the miracle of her survival is also her burden-as a doctor at one of the clinics for the infected, she is forced to witness endless suffering. What's worse, strange things are happening to the remains of the dead, and by the time she befriends Ben Archer, she's beginning to wonder if a global pandemic is the least of her problems....

Thistle & Thorne by Ann Aguirre

After a catastrophic spill turns the country into a vast chemical wasteland, those who could afford it retreated to fortresses, self-contained communities run by powerful corporations. But for Mari Thistle, life on the outside-in the Red Zone-is a constant struggle. To protect her family, Mari teams up with the mysterious Thorne Goodman. Together, they'll face an evil plot in both the underworld of the Red Zone and the society inside the fortresses that could destroy those on the outside...for good.

Sun Storm by Karen Duvall

Sarah Daggot has been chasing storms since she was a child. But after the biggest solar flares in history nearly destroy the planet, she becomes a Kinetic, endowed by her exposure to extreme radiation with the power to sense coming storms-in the cosmos and beyond. And she's not the only one. Sarah believes the Kinetics are destined to join forces and halt the final onslaught of the sun. She'll vow to keep trying to convince the one missing link in their chain of defense, the enigmatic Ian Matthews, up until the world ends.

My Thoughts:

Dawn of Eden (Blood of Eden #0.5): Okay, this story was fantastic. It starts out strained and sad and then explodes into full on creepy territory as the truth of what the "cure" the scientists were working on has created. For those that have read books 1 and 2 in this series, these revelations aren't a surprise but the reality of what the survivors have to deal with is chilling.

While the romance part of the story moved quickly, it rang true. Kylie and Ben are dealing with life and death things every moment of every day. They see the best and the worst of one another in a very short amount of time. I'm a big fan of quick blossoming love stories anyway and I thought this one was done very well. *thumbs up*

Thistle & Thorne: I have honestly adored everything I've read by Ann Aguirre and this story is no exception. Dark, gritty, and with a tantalizing hint of potential romance, I wouldn't mind seeing more of this world. Beyond the gorgeously shattered world, the characters absolutely shine. I can't decide whether I like Mari or Thorne more. They're both scrappers - hanging on by their fingernails at times but still pushing forward no matter what obstacles are thrown in their way. Mari has her brother and sister to keep her centered, Thorne has his driving need for vengeance.

I'm a sucker for broken cities so it should come as no surprise that I want to see how this world (and the potential romance) expands and plays out. I totally loved this one. *draws glittery hearts around it*

Sun Storm: I'm not quite sure what I think of this one. I liked the idea of a world ravaged by a brutal sun but I never fell into the story the way I thought I should. It could be that this had a very clear-cut ending and I like my post-apocalyptics to leave me teetering between outright despair and this vague sense that *maybe* things will turn out okay. Karen Duvall is also a new-to-me author, whereas I'm a hardcore fangirl of both Julie Kagawa and Ann Aguirre. Regardless, while the story was enjoyable, it never grabbed me the way I like to be grabbed.

Final Thoughts: My fangirl flag has been raised. Survivors battling ravenous beasties and a thief and a future mobster owned me. Score one for broken places teeming with death and destruction!

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Buy links
'Til the World Ends - Paperback | Kindle

Julie Kagawa
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Ann Aguirre
| Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon |

Karen Duvall
| Website | Twitter | Facebook | Amazon |