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Thorns and Fangs #3

Life After Humanity

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Ben is a recovering vampire determined to pick up the pieces of the life that came to a halt when he was murdered over a year ago--even if that means distancing himself from his few remaining friends. Nate, struggling to navigate his new identity as a Class 3 Unknown paranormal, knows it will take more than mastery of his affinity with plants to convince Ben they belong together. When Ben's application for human status is denied, he must fight to leave the paranormal world behind him while Nate's generous impulses drag him into conflict with a werewolf pack with designs on ruling New Camden. As Ben's vampire family draws closer to finding him, his vampire instinct awakens--throwing his continued existence into jeopardy. The hunt for the missing werewolf continues, and Nate and Ben become pawns in Councilor Wisner's plans to take control of the city. Their only hope is each other--if they can see that before all is lost.

374 pages, Paperback

First published January 8, 2018

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Gillian St. Kevern

36 books203 followers

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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
Profile Image for Joyfully Jay.
9,516 reviews533 followers
February 20, 2018
A Joyfully Jay review.

4.75 stars


Life After Humanity is the third book in Gillian St. Kevern’s Thorns and Fangs series and I would strongly recommend that these books by read in order. In fact, I wish I had had time to re-cap on Thorns and Fangs and Uprooted before I read this latest installment. As much as I enjoyed Life After Humanity, for me it was probably my least favorite of the theee books. This is literally by a margin, as my relating shows, but St. Kevern’s tightly knitted plot reflects the current chaos in New Camden. Not only was I confused about the significance of this supposedly rogue werewolf, but also concerned about the threat of the Final Register placed on Ben, as well as wondering whether Nate and Ben will make their relationship work, despite all the outside influences.

Life After Humanity is definitely not slow paced and I found I had to completely envelop myself in Ben and Nate’s world to keep track of events — and with two children also fighting for my attention, this wasn’t easy! St. Kevern references events that took place in the first book of the Thorns and Fangs series regularly and since I read that book a year ago, even I felt clueless at times! St. Kevern does an excellent job at tying the series together, though, not just by connecting events, but with her characters. In Life After Humanity, we are introduced to new characters like Councilor Wisner, Grant, Charlotte, and Vazul and recurrent characters like Gunn, George, Hunter, Kenzies, and Aki also play a role in the story.

Read Kirsty’s review in its entirety here.

Profile Image for Quincunx.
9 reviews1 follower
January 12, 2018
ARC provided by Author

Shit gets real.

Nate and Ben are at it again in the third installment of the Thorns and Fangs series. With their dynamic established in Thorns and Fangs and their backstories at our mercy in Uprooted, readers get a chance to see how the two twitterpated supernaturals react to when trouble and insecurities threaten to pull them apart.

Contrary to the first two volumes, this time we see the story from both leads' perspectives, allowing for smooth, simultaneous plotlines and well-intentioned truth omissions. This really helps to dynamize the storytelling while keeping it in the realms of the characters' surroundings and personalities. In seeing the same situation through both Ben and Nate's eyes, their interactions become more nuanced and deep without relying on blatant exposition of their feelings. Also, having the other perspective allows for a more complete understanding of the proceedings and scenes. I would say that this single ebb and flow of the two characters is GSK's point of mastery in this series.

As always, I continue to be a fan of the supporting characters with the sassy Aki and the irritating Gunn stepping up to play larger roles. I would have preferred a bit more of Kenzies, particularly with this particular antagonist, but I have faith that she'll make her debut in the series to come. The deliciously dark Hunter also makes an appearance, but for better or for worse? The cast continues to expand, so there's any number of ways the series can branch out.

If I were to pick something, I'd like a little bit more explanation of the world these characters are in. Even in the extended cast, there's no "normal Joe" type of character who is unfamiliar with the rules, written or not, of New Camden. This problem left me scratching my head a few times, wondering about certain scenes and implications. While a supernatural story is bound to have some stretches and leaps from logic, the workings of a city and the functions of supernatural powers should have a system and purpose, even if it is unseen.

All in all, Life After Humanity is the shining beacon of the Thorns and Fangs series. New residents to this world will definitely need to start at Book #1, but the journey is well worth it. GSK delivers on long-awaited trysts and reconciliations, while setting up a heartbreaking journey about redemption and tenacity in the face of life itself.
Profile Image for Gillian Kevern.
Author 36 books203 followers
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January 8, 2018
Life After Humanity is the third book in the Thorns and Fangs series, taking place a month after the events of Uprooted. Ben and Nate have taken a step back, working on getting their lives in order rather than working on their relationship—even though that relationship is never far from either of their thoughts.

When Ben's application for being recognised as human is denied, he draws the attention of Council Wisner, a powerful werewolf who believes the answer to New Camden's volatile supernatural community is the unification of the city's werewolf packs, with himself as pack leader. When Nate's attempts to impress Ben with his control of his supernatural abilities catch Wisner's attention in the worst possible way, Ben has to chose between his ordinary future or risking the Final Register—an existence worse than death.

Note: While previous books in this series have ended on solid HFN notes, Life After Humanity ends on what could be classified as a cliffhanger. If you're not sure that you want to deal with that, the good news is that Dead Wrong, the fourth and final book in the series, resolves everything and is due to be released late February.
Profile Image for J.P. Jackson.
Author 21 books197 followers
March 29, 2018
I believe I have done an injustice to St Kevern with her last two books in this series by not extolling their virtues further than an "I loved this book" type of review. Shame on me!

I shall attempt to remedy that with a more expanded review.

Life After Humanity is the third in the Thorns and Fangs series, and each installment of the series gets better. The saga revolves around Nate, a male escort, and Ben, a retired investigator for the ARX Security Company, and a vampire. Throughout the tale we see the two meet, watch them as they negotiate some rather tricky relationship issues, and are privy to their own journeys of self-discovery.

The setting is the city of New Camden, where the existence of supernatural entities is viewed as a normal occurrence, and the city denizens make allowances for such creatures, albeit with a healthy dose of respect. St Kevern has quite subtly added ripples of prejudice throughout the books - I mean, after all, who wouldn't be a little leery of ancient vampires who like to compel humans and werewolves with power-hungry political aspirations? The city even has a unique law enforcement branch referred to as Department Seven. Through laws and regulations, all supernaturals are given various classifications, including registries, one of which no one wants to be one: The Final Register.

Now Nate's case is unique. We're not exactly sure what he is - but the closest thing would be a dryad, but "Dryads are all girls." Nate has power over, or perhaps with plants, which brings some unusual abilities to the forefront.

Ben, on the other hand, started off as human, was changed to a vampire, and in Life After Humanity seeks to have himself reclassified as Human after his vampire form dies at the end of Uprooted (Thorns and Fangs #2). But can a vampire cease to exist?

St Kevern is a master at not revealing absolute truths. Nate's true form has never been given a name, and many questions were raised throughout Life After Humanity regarding Ben's human existence. The writing is comfortable and easy to slip into. The New Camden nightlife is vibrant and seedy, dark and creepy. Secondary characters are far from two dimensional, and I found myself wanting much more of Grant, the alpha-werewolf struggling to emancipate himself from his pack, and Vazul and Charlotte, two magic users. We can't forget Diya, the Department Seven caseworker with a vampire child, and Aki, Nate's best friend. There are many more characters, the cast of past books, that play minor roles throughout this story, and each remains true to their original introductions.

I've often said that finding really well-written LGBTQA+ Urban Fantasy stories is a tough task. Sure we have lots of them where there might be a gay secondary character or two, but the Thorns and Fangs series has definitely earned its spot on my bookshelves as one series I will go back and reread over and over. Thoroughly enjoyable, totally believable, and with creatures that are familiar and yet still have clever twists to the well-known mythos.
Profile Image for LOLA.
660 reviews2 followers
February 23, 2018
Be prepared for a major cliffhanger. Just left feeling flabbergasted.
How could you? Don't know whether to be pissed about cliffhanger or what you did to the character involved. Either way the cliffhanger was very well written. (Grumbling)
Nate and Ben are playing with werewolves this time. Power hungry officials are all around. We get some new allies. Gunn is here too.
This third book is a bit more emotional for the characters.
Dealing with humanity and paranormal at the same time while trying to achieve balance between the two. The paranormal aspect in this edition is stepped up a bit more than previous books.
Getting near the end you see what could happen..
Then it's poof gone. Whiplash has just occured. Now I will be looking for book four.
This series is good MM paranormal and just left you hanging. Of course you will want the next. You really just have to know what happens to ..(someone important)..
A good solid read. Very enjoyable.
(Given A Copy for an honest review) (Thanks)
Profile Image for Mari  Cardenas.
2,329 reviews26 followers
January 15, 2018
5 Stars!

Life After Humanity is book 3 in the Thorns and Fangs series and it needs to be read in order or you'll be thoroughly lost. Also, this book ends in sort of a cliffhanger, so if you don't like those, just wait until the last book of the series is released in February, thankfully, it won't be that long of a wait this time around.

Ben is trying to be re-classified as human now that he's come back to life and isn't a vampire any longer. Nate is struggling to find his place in the paranormal world while trying to convince Ben that they should be together.

I felt so bad for Nate, who was unsure of what was going on with Ben. I understand that Ben wanted to regain his human status, but pushing Nate away wasn't doing any of them any good anyway and it really made me want to slap some sense into him. I really love them together and I hope they'll finally get their HEA in the fourth installment of the series, because they deserve it after everything they've gone through.

I really enjoyed catching up with Gunn, Aki and Kenzies and I hope to see more of them, especially now that Nate has been recruited by Gunn. I hated Wisner and I hope he'll get his comeuppance.

This is a very plot-oriented book and there are several things going on in it, one thing is for sure, it will keep you on the edge of your seat with all the twists and turns. It's brilliantly written and entertaining, action-packed and angsty, with great main and secondary characters. Each installment has been better than the previous one and I just can't wait for the next book to see how it all will end! Highly recommendable!

*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
Profile Image for Meep.
2,265 reviews234 followers
February 5, 2018
ARC generously given, but I was slow getting to it!
This series definitely needs to be read in order; the characters have undergone a lot of changes and I don't think this would make sense without some familiarity with their story to this point. I plan a series re-read soon in order soon to better appreciate how far they've both come.

I was very quickly caught up in the story; agencies, classifications and various supernaturals; there's a lot going on but no info-dump, each book expands the world that bit further while it remains accessible. There's plenty of this world yet to discover and I love how colourful and unpredictable it is. Some things seemed obvious yet there was always something to wonder about. While the story focus in on the main characters there's still a lot going on, the plot woven around them.

Getting both povs meant a fuller picture of Ben and Nate; I enjoy the complexities Nate being both a sweet eager to please type and a strong 'dangerous' person. Ben distant but with so much churning inside. A lot of the story is their growth as individuals coming to realisations about themselves with enough plot-stuff going on that the push-pull of their relationship never felt contrived. It could easily have become an angst-fest but their concerns felt real, personal. I felt a stronger connection to them than in the previous books, as they both stop reflecting expectations and started to discover and show us who they really are.

Pleased to say Aki is present, still forthright and self-absorbed yet a good friend you can't but like. I hope to learn more of him. Gunn too, such a deplorable creature with questionable motivation, yet found him as strangely fascinating as ever. Kensie was only a brief greet but Hunter pops up and there are some new interesting side characters to meet.

Need to mention the ending - not what I consider a cliffhanger-of-doom, the main plot of this book is largely resolved. The threat faced. We leave the characters full of a determined ongoing vibe. BUT there is one big piece missing at the end, any fan of the series will be desperately wanting the next book queued up ready!
2,922 reviews16 followers
January 8, 2018
ARC from author - thank you!

I love the writing and characters but most of all, I love the story in this book. It's the strongest so far and gives a harsh, clear view of this universe. It ends with something that could be considered a cliffhanger but also an introduction to an entirely new phase. The blurb is accurate but the book is better. At any rate, I loved it from beginning to end - I could see it in my mind as I read the words and for me, there's nothing better. Time for the next one!

This is the 3rd book in the series and they should be read in order for maximum enjoyment.
Profile Image for Griffin.
61 reviews
September 26, 2019
Writing and worldbuilding remains excellent. I really like Grant. And Gunn grows on me with every book.

The relationship with Nate and Ben continues to be the part of the story I dislike the most. Every conceivable problem and setback causes any tentative progress they've made to shatter. They start to get comfortable with each other, then another insecurity comes along and "no no, they're wrong for each other they can't be together." It's very frustrating that it's still happening, three books into their "romance." This far along, it would have been nice to see them facing challenges and adversity together, as a couple; how their individual strengths and weaknesses compliment and support each other, how their powers work together, etc. Instead, it's more of the same: one tiny step forward, three huge leaps backward.

Toward the end of the book, they supposedly decide to get together For Real—though after all the we're together/now we're broken up again nonsense, it was neither a satisfying resolution nor one that made me feel like it was going to stick beyond five minutes—but then the plot forcibly separates them.

So now it's going into the final book, they're as separated as can be, and unless that part of the plot resolves relatively early, it's going to be another case where the story ends immediately after the two characters get together. Which, after all the worldbuilding and detail put into this, is kind of a huge disappointment.
Profile Image for Lisa.
154 reviews1 follower
March 19, 2018
I love this series! I can't believe I love this series as so much is outside my normal genre. But I do. I really enjoyed reading them. Full disclosure: I was given this book as an ARC, and the author was kind and sent me the first 2 books as well. I'll admit I often agree to ARcs on books I might not normally read, and figure it's good for me. But this series, initially it was a struggle in book one to stay in it...but then suddenly I was sucked in, and loving it.

I'm not going to lie, this one left me hanging at the end! Ben...I love Ben! I love Ben and Nate...I need book 4! I kind of prefer books to not leave me with a cliffhanger, but since I'm pretty sure I saw book for is out, I'll forgive it!

I'd say the reason I love the series is the writing. Gillian St. Kevern is a good writer. I can not recommend these books enough, especially for someone who like a quirky fun supernatural series that involves a rather interesting world building.

Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews