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Survival Kit #1
Survival Kit's Apocalypse
Kit, a depressed but stubbornly vital twentysomething, travels aimlessly during a zombie hiding from marauders, joining and deserting small groups, enduring irritations ranging from the zombies (or “rotters”) themselves to roving fundamentalists. Kit is a survivor not only of this plague, but of a series of horrific programs her stepfather hosted, wherein the audience would bid for the opportunity to publicly torture the presented children. Kit discarded her birth name once society crumbled and has been trying on new ones since, much as she’s been restlessly wandering, seeking an environment in which she fits. Upon saving a woman and her children from rotters, Kit is invited to stay at a camp which seems ideal. Though she initially continues to feel isolated, Eric, a kindhearted bruiser, honors her with the name “Kit,” introducing her to feelings of friendship she’d never previously experienced. After Kit rescues Eric from a rooftop where a rotter swarm has him trapped, she is warmly embraced by his brothers, Thom and Matthew. The brothers grew up near Kit’s hometown and also suffered beneath an appallingly abusive father. This similarity of experience lets Kit feel comfortable starting to open up to, bond with, and enjoy spending time with them. Eric especially is determined to pull Kit out of her shell, and she begins to entrust him with her secrets, learning how to love, be loved, and trust someone other than herself. Ironically, it’s only when she is surrounded by the undead that Kit truly learns to live.
366 pages, Paperback
Published July 4, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 21, 2017
Kit is a tortured 20-something with a past that would kill most grown men and she wears the scars to prove it. She's the perfect survivor of the zombie apocalypse now plaguing her world. In her wanderings she saves a woman and her kids and is invited to stay in the small camp community. There she meets Eric who names her Kit and his brothers, Thom and Matthew who also understand what it is to be abused. As they get to know one another their bond grows into a family.
I was SOOO excited for this book! I'm the PERFECT demographic loving post apocalyptic stories with zombies, plus loving mental illness stories! And the focus is clearly on romance, which I LOVE! So, so perfect... or so I thought... well I was right in a way...
Slice of Life / Post Apocalyptic.
In other words we follow the day to day lives of Kit, Eric and his two brothers as they try to survive after the collapse of society due to a plague that creates rotters when a human is bitten. I loved the slice of life nature to the story. There is plot but it is rather formless and makes the story feel like you are experiencing the circumstances more than you are reading a story. That's a good thing with a post apocalyptic as the story reads as genuine and everything just feels less contrived. The rotters do have a really great back history and it is explored in the most subtle and genuine way that I have ever read. It felt like Kit and Eric were piecing together the mystery as they tried to survive and experienced different events.
Most of these events were either back history or near the end but there is a definite flow to it that stays true to the slice of life nature of the story. I'm not sure that the back history of the rotters is realistic but it works with the other aspect of the story, the mental health element. It is slower than a typical plot driven book so you really have to be behind your characters the whole way. I enjoyed how the group's responsibilities developed and how their day to day living adjusted as they found things and their feelings changed about wanting roots. In fact society's collapse facilitated a lifestyle that this new family would have struggled to maintain in modern society.
Kit is the last person who asks permission or for help. She has a plan and finds what she needs and does it. Eric is equally as capable but in a different way, taking the lead on handling dark forces that will rip their camp apart if he doesn't take care of them. When these aspects smash together it leads to a super cool bit of story arc that resolves their back history in a powerful way.
Mental Health.
This aspect of the story sneaks up on you. Kit seems like a really great survivalist who would be an asset to any group. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her mental facilities. Period. Then once Eric comes into the picture her struggles start to seep out as he notices things about her and she's either forced to share something or push him away. This creates this lovely relationship between Kit and Eric that you ship right away. You want these two together and to carve out some happiness the more you learn about both of them!!
As more and more of Kit's history comes to light I realized that this is about more than a struggle with depression or some child abuse. This is literally torture, I'm not really sure how she survived if what she says happened is true. I won't give away any details but it is graphic and gratuitous. If you struggle with serial killers and the graphic portrayal of their kills then this book IS NOT FOR YOU!! If you LOVE serial killer graphic-ness then you will LOVE this aspect of the story. It became a little much for me. I think this was the extent of which I needed the story to be brutal and base.
Eric and his brothers also had their share of atypical child abuse that was horrifying. Beyond horrifying actually as you learn that there are hidden connections running behind the story. To cope with their past these boys do drugs. Copious amounts of drugs. So many drugs I'm not sure 9-to-5 jobs would have supported their habits and themselves. In other stories it is about drinking but because their dad was an alcoholic alcohol is never mentioned.
Really though if the drugs had been left out there is this beautiful story of how a relationship saves two damaged people. Not by protecting them and keeping them from physical harm but by providing the love and support they'd never received before. When space is needed, space is given, when a little pressure is needed, just the barest of pressure is given and if that is not enough they back off. This was a really well done part of the story that was engaging and believable to me.
Okay, unfortunately none of this makes the mental health in this book accurate or the way they handled things in the end healthy. And definitely not mixing the cocktail of drugs with depression and suicidal thoughts. That can result in manic episodes and a steep dive to the pits (the drug use not thoughts of the past.) The tar pits was a fascinating way to discuss thoughts of depression. And in many ways accurate. When linked to specific events though no victim WANTS to linger on these events. Looking at the book as a whole the mental health was all over the place and the elements didn't mix accurately.
Drug Use.
When the first drug use was brought up I was shocked because Eric and Kit were NOT safe but in the middle of a mission! Why did she take it? Just because it's different... Umm where are your survival instincts? They desert her when it comes to drug use. Later they lie on a bench where rotters can wander by to kill them high on all manner of pills. There seemed to be an endless supply... Just as I'm about the forget about the drugs these sensible characters are doing right where it could get them killed but CONVENIENTLY never does BAM! There is another sudden (if inventive) use of drugs.
Graphic Sexual Primer.
This was the most disturbing aspect of the story. I'm not sure what is considered spoilers when it comes to talking about the sexual acts in a book... This is a NEW ADULT book, not what I would call YA (which is what I thought it was...) so sex to me is expected (if only i knew that NA was its genre!) This book though is a sexual primer. Each sex scene was unique and taught a new sexual act. I don't see this as a plus but some may. Like the drugs they were spaced out but near the end got frequent and even MORE graphic. I seriously thought about DNFing at 80% but thought no, you've read this far, you'll want to read the end... the sex scenes at the end made me regret NOT DNFing the book.
The Preaching.
This is what I said at 84%: "It's seriously tempting to DNF this book... the long, long pages of sex or drug use still continue this late in the book. Very consistent and all but I'm just not into reading other people have sex or extol drug use... there is some really great story here but it's mired down by the rhetoric that is pumped into the other moments in the story... I feel preached to."
From the very first pages of the book I felt like I was being preached to... this kind of rough beginning where the character is stuffed full of every thought of the writer is not uncommon. Most of the time I read past it and then rejudge the character based upon their actions and the thoughts that remain once all that philosophy info dump is done. This time it kept cropping up as regularly as the drugs and sex... it wasn't a part of the character per se so much as suddenly these ideas would crop up in Kit's thoughts. I don't mind if your story pushes an agenda but make it ring true.
While this isn't an untrue statement I felt like the zombie apocalypse was contrived to push not time to think but to lay around without a 9 to 5 doing drugs and having sex, picking up whatever was needed in nearby businesses that they conveniently didn't have to pay for.
I won't EVER read a book from this author again. As much as I appreciated Kit and Eric's strengths I didn't jive with their philosophy.
BOTTOM LINE: Justified Zombie Apocalypse.
Thanks to Curiosity Quills Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I was SOOO excited for this book! I'm the PERFECT demographic loving post apocalyptic stories with zombies, plus loving mental illness stories! And the focus is clearly on romance, which I LOVE! So, so perfect... or so I thought... well I was right in a way...
Slice of Life / Post Apocalyptic.
In other words we follow the day to day lives of Kit, Eric and his two brothers as they try to survive after the collapse of society due to a plague that creates rotters when a human is bitten. I loved the slice of life nature to the story. There is plot but it is rather formless and makes the story feel like you are experiencing the circumstances more than you are reading a story. That's a good thing with a post apocalyptic as the story reads as genuine and everything just feels less contrived. The rotters do have a really great back history and it is explored in the most subtle and genuine way that I have ever read. It felt like Kit and Eric were piecing together the mystery as they tried to survive and experienced different events.
Most of these events were either back history or near the end but there is a definite flow to it that stays true to the slice of life nature of the story. I'm not sure that the back history of the rotters is realistic but it works with the other aspect of the story, the mental health element. It is slower than a typical plot driven book so you really have to be behind your characters the whole way. I enjoyed how the group's responsibilities developed and how their day to day living adjusted as they found things and their feelings changed about wanting roots. In fact society's collapse facilitated a lifestyle that this new family would have struggled to maintain in modern society.
Kit is the last person who asks permission or for help. She has a plan and finds what she needs and does it. Eric is equally as capable but in a different way, taking the lead on handling dark forces that will rip their camp apart if he doesn't take care of them. When these aspects smash together it leads to a super cool bit of story arc that resolves their back history in a powerful way.
Mental Health.
This aspect of the story sneaks up on you. Kit seems like a really great survivalist who would be an asset to any group. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her mental facilities. Period. Then once Eric comes into the picture her struggles start to seep out as he notices things about her and she's either forced to share something or push him away. This creates this lovely relationship between Kit and Eric that you ship right away. You want these two together and to carve out some happiness the more you learn about both of them!!
As more and more of Kit's history comes to light I realized that this is about more than a struggle with depression or some child abuse. This is literally torture, I'm not really sure how she survived if what she says happened is true. I won't give away any details but it is graphic and gratuitous. If you struggle with serial killers and the graphic portrayal of their kills then this book IS NOT FOR YOU!! If you LOVE serial killer graphic-ness then you will LOVE this aspect of the story. It became a little much for me. I think this was the extent of which I needed the story to be brutal and base.
Eric and his brothers also had their share of atypical child abuse that was horrifying. Beyond horrifying actually as you learn that there are hidden connections running behind the story. To cope with their past these boys do drugs. Copious amounts of drugs. So many drugs I'm not sure 9-to-5 jobs would have supported their habits and themselves. In other stories it is about drinking but because their dad was an alcoholic alcohol is never mentioned.
Really though if the drugs had been left out there is this beautiful story of how a relationship saves two damaged people. Not by protecting them and keeping them from physical harm but by providing the love and support they'd never received before. When space is needed, space is given, when a little pressure is needed, just the barest of pressure is given and if that is not enough they back off. This was a really well done part of the story that was engaging and believable to me.
Okay, unfortunately none of this makes the mental health in this book accurate or the way they handled things in the end healthy. And definitely not mixing the cocktail of drugs with depression and suicidal thoughts. That can result in manic episodes and a steep dive to the pits (the drug use not thoughts of the past.) The tar pits was a fascinating way to discuss thoughts of depression. And in many ways accurate. When linked to specific events though no victim WANTS to linger on these events. Looking at the book as a whole the mental health was all over the place and the elements didn't mix accurately.
Drug Use.
When the first drug use was brought up I was shocked because Eric and Kit were NOT safe but in the middle of a mission! Why did she take it? Just because it's different... Umm where are your survival instincts? They desert her when it comes to drug use. Later they lie on a bench where rotters can wander by to kill them high on all manner of pills. There seemed to be an endless supply... Just as I'm about the forget about the drugs these sensible characters are doing right where it could get them killed but CONVENIENTLY never does BAM! There is another sudden (if inventive) use of drugs.
Graphic Sexual Primer.
This was the most disturbing aspect of the story. I'm not sure what is considered spoilers when it comes to talking about the sexual acts in a book... This is a NEW ADULT book, not what I would call YA (which is what I thought it was...) so sex to me is expected (if only i knew that NA was its genre!) This book though is a sexual primer. Each sex scene was unique and taught a new sexual act. I don't see this as a plus but some may. Like the drugs they were spaced out but near the end got frequent and even MORE graphic. I seriously thought about DNFing at 80% but thought no, you've read this far, you'll want to read the end... the sex scenes at the end made me regret NOT DNFing the book.
The Preaching.
This is what I said at 84%: "It's seriously tempting to DNF this book... the long, long pages of sex or drug use still continue this late in the book. Very consistent and all but I'm just not into reading other people have sex or extol drug use... there is some really great story here but it's mired down by the rhetoric that is pumped into the other moments in the story... I feel preached to."
From the very first pages of the book I felt like I was being preached to... this kind of rough beginning where the character is stuffed full of every thought of the writer is not uncommon. Most of the time I read past it and then rejudge the character based upon their actions and the thoughts that remain once all that philosophy info dump is done. This time it kept cropping up as regularly as the drugs and sex... it wasn't a part of the character per se so much as suddenly these ideas would crop up in Kit's thoughts. I don't mind if your story pushes an agenda but make it ring true.
"It was funny, though: the rest of the camp would certainly disagree, but neither the brothers nor I wanted to restore electricity to what we’d had Before. In spite of irritations like the lack of indoor plumbing, we’d grown to like camp life. There was an independence to it, free from the ever-more-strict schedules people had tried to live by Before. We had time to think, observe, commune, and just be, which were activities that didn’t always get accomplished in the stressful rush of civilization as it had been."
While this isn't an untrue statement I felt like the zombie apocalypse was contrived to push not time to think but to lay around without a 9 to 5 doing drugs and having sex, picking up whatever was needed in nearby businesses that they conveniently didn't have to pay for.
I won't EVER read a book from this author again. As much as I appreciated Kit and Eric's strengths I didn't jive with their philosophy.
BOTTOM LINE: Justified Zombie Apocalypse.
Thanks to Curiosity Quills Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 5, 2017
Goodreads Synopsis:
Kit, a depressed but stubbornly vital twentysomething, travels aimlessly during a zombie apocalypse: hiding from marauders, joining and deserting small groups, enduring irritations ranging from the zombies (or “rotters”) themselves to roving fundamentalists. Kit is a survivor not only of this plague, but of a series of horrific programs her stepfather hosted, wherein the audience would bid for the opportunity to publicly torture the presented children. Kit discarded her birth name once society crumbled and has been trying on new ones since, much as she's been restlessly wandering, seeking an environment in which she fits.
Upon saving a woman and her children from rotters, Kit is invited to stay at a camp which seems ideal. Though she initially continues to feel isolated, Eric, a kindhearted bruiser, honors her with the name “Kit,” introducing her to feelings of friendship she'd never previously experienced. After Kit rescues Eric from a rooftop where a rotter swarm has him trapped, she is warmly embraced by his brothers, Thom and Matthew.
The brothers grew up near Kit's hometown and also suffered beneath an appallingly abusive father. This similarity of experience lets Kit feel comfortable starting to open up to, bond with, and enjoy spending time with them. Eric especially is determined to pull Kit out of her shell, and she begins to entrust him with her secrets, learning how to love, be loved, and trust someone other than herself. Ironically, it's only when she is surrounded by the undead that Kit truly learns to live.
My Review:
I received an arc of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I chose it specifically because of not only the intriguing description, but also because I liked the cover. Ally, who changes her name often but finds a new home in Kit, is a twenty something year old girl in an apocalyptic wasteland, fighting for her life for far too long, carrying around an mp3 player badly in need of a charge. Not only does she have to worry about rotters, but also groups of survivors who take people like her hostage, tying them up and gagging them, bringing them along as a warning. I was instantly sucked into this book from the moment I started it. She's been through a lot of hardships in her life, but somehow none of that matters when you're literally fighting for your life on a daily basis. I loved the character, she seemed lifelike, really hit hard and although I haven't personally gone through the same struggles as her, she's very relate able and thoroughly thought out. The world she's in is and always has been a terrifying place and I'm glad i picked this book. It's written from the point of her telling stories of what's happened in her life, meeting new people along her endless journey, joining forces and then leaving, making friends. There are a lot of flashbacks to her many traumas, most of which are about her abusive stepfather who runs disgustingly violent events where people watch her and her step sibling be brutally mutilated by himself and by people in the crowd. The book itself is truly haunting at parts, and is completely unique and I absolutely loved every moment of it. I dreaded finishing it because I liked it so much. The description really does not do it justice and I really had no idea what I was in for when I started it. There are a few sex scenes so if you're not into that they're pretty brief. You really get to see the characters grow and blossom throughout the story and I think it's one of my new favourites. Definitely check it out!
Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)
Kit, a depressed but stubbornly vital twentysomething, travels aimlessly during a zombie apocalypse: hiding from marauders, joining and deserting small groups, enduring irritations ranging from the zombies (or “rotters”) themselves to roving fundamentalists. Kit is a survivor not only of this plague, but of a series of horrific programs her stepfather hosted, wherein the audience would bid for the opportunity to publicly torture the presented children. Kit discarded her birth name once society crumbled and has been trying on new ones since, much as she's been restlessly wandering, seeking an environment in which she fits.
Upon saving a woman and her children from rotters, Kit is invited to stay at a camp which seems ideal. Though she initially continues to feel isolated, Eric, a kindhearted bruiser, honors her with the name “Kit,” introducing her to feelings of friendship she'd never previously experienced. After Kit rescues Eric from a rooftop where a rotter swarm has him trapped, she is warmly embraced by his brothers, Thom and Matthew.
The brothers grew up near Kit's hometown and also suffered beneath an appallingly abusive father. This similarity of experience lets Kit feel comfortable starting to open up to, bond with, and enjoy spending time with them. Eric especially is determined to pull Kit out of her shell, and she begins to entrust him with her secrets, learning how to love, be loved, and trust someone other than herself. Ironically, it's only when she is surrounded by the undead that Kit truly learns to live.
My Review:
I received an arc of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I chose it specifically because of not only the intriguing description, but also because I liked the cover. Ally, who changes her name often but finds a new home in Kit, is a twenty something year old girl in an apocalyptic wasteland, fighting for her life for far too long, carrying around an mp3 player badly in need of a charge. Not only does she have to worry about rotters, but also groups of survivors who take people like her hostage, tying them up and gagging them, bringing them along as a warning. I was instantly sucked into this book from the moment I started it. She's been through a lot of hardships in her life, but somehow none of that matters when you're literally fighting for your life on a daily basis. I loved the character, she seemed lifelike, really hit hard and although I haven't personally gone through the same struggles as her, she's very relate able and thoroughly thought out. The world she's in is and always has been a terrifying place and I'm glad i picked this book. It's written from the point of her telling stories of what's happened in her life, meeting new people along her endless journey, joining forces and then leaving, making friends. There are a lot of flashbacks to her many traumas, most of which are about her abusive stepfather who runs disgustingly violent events where people watch her and her step sibling be brutally mutilated by himself and by people in the crowd. The book itself is truly haunting at parts, and is completely unique and I absolutely loved every moment of it. I dreaded finishing it because I liked it so much. The description really does not do it justice and I really had no idea what I was in for when I started it. There are a few sex scenes so if you're not into that they're pretty brief. You really get to see the characters grow and blossom throughout the story and I think it's one of my new favourites. Definitely check it out!
Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)
June 16, 2018
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
Survival Kit's Apocalypse was nothing like what I expected, based on the title. The main character has a past which puts the Apocalypse to shame, and is first just kind of aimlessly walking about until she stumbles on a bunch of brothers who almost fall over each other to please and woo her as she is such a special snowflake.
Maybe, had I expected less an Apocalypse survival story, I wouldn't have minded so bad, but now I didn't really care for it. It was very easy for me to put away, and more difficult to pick it up again (always a dangerous situation). It just really wasn't for me, I'm afraid, so I won't be continuing the series.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Survival Kit's Apocalypse was nothing like what I expected, based on the title. The main character has a past which puts the Apocalypse to shame, and is first just kind of aimlessly walking about until she stumbles on a bunch of brothers who almost fall over each other to please and woo her as she is such a special snowflake.
Maybe, had I expected less an Apocalypse survival story, I wouldn't have minded so bad, but now I didn't really care for it. It was very easy for me to put away, and more difficult to pick it up again (always a dangerous situation). It just really wasn't for me, I'm afraid, so I won't be continuing the series.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
June 9, 2017
I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I was initially drawn to this book due to its unique concept, and soon found the author completely did it justice. She did an excellent job creating complex, real characters, as well as imagining a brutal post-apocalyptic world unlike any I've read before. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to sci-fi and romance fans alike.
~~~~~
It's been a while since I've seen a book on netgalley I want as much as this. So, netgalley gods: gimme gimme gimme.
I was initially drawn to this book due to its unique concept, and soon found the author completely did it justice. She did an excellent job creating complex, real characters, as well as imagining a brutal post-apocalyptic world unlike any I've read before. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to sci-fi and romance fans alike.
~~~~~
It's been a while since I've seen a book on netgalley I want as much as this. So, netgalley gods: gimme gimme gimme.
September 23, 2017
I put off writing this review. How can I possibly write this review? How did I even feel about this book? Perhaps it's better captured by my conversations while I was reading it.
"I don't know what the hell I'm reading but I can't quit it"
I didn't really want to keep reading at first. I kept thinking it was ridiculous. I mean, we've already got a zombie apocalypse story, why do we need to add in outrageous abuse plots, gratuitous sex, a surrealistic survivors group, and a dozen spiraling plot lines?
"I finally decided that if I could suspend disbelief for a zombie apocalypse, could anything else really be impossible?"
Nope. Nothing could be impossible in the zombie apocalypse. Man eating zombies? Sure. An insane over-arching plot tie in? Why the hell not!
"Then, at the end, she threw a complete wrench in the romance plot by------"
Yeah, it happened. And by then, I have to say I was completely rooting for it. Seriously. It's the end of the world. Girl has GOT to live a little right?
Dirty little secret. I kind of guilty pleasure loved this book. I kept reading and kept reading until there was no more. Then, when the author said the story wasn't over, I may have done a little happy dance. Bring it on!
"I don't know what the hell I'm reading but I can't quit it"
I didn't really want to keep reading at first. I kept thinking it was ridiculous. I mean, we've already got a zombie apocalypse story, why do we need to add in outrageous abuse plots, gratuitous sex, a surrealistic survivors group, and a dozen spiraling plot lines?
"I finally decided that if I could suspend disbelief for a zombie apocalypse, could anything else really be impossible?"
Nope. Nothing could be impossible in the zombie apocalypse. Man eating zombies? Sure. An insane over-arching plot tie in? Why the hell not!
"Then, at the end, she threw a complete wrench in the romance plot by------"
Yeah, it happened. And by then, I have to say I was completely rooting for it. Seriously. It's the end of the world. Girl has GOT to live a little right?
Dirty little secret. I kind of guilty pleasure loved this book. I kept reading and kept reading until there was no more. Then, when the author said the story wasn't over, I may have done a little happy dance. Bring it on!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews