Review: The End by G. Michael Hopf

The End by G. Michael Hopf

Series: The New World #1

Publication date: January 7th, 2014

Pages: 384

Synopsis (according to Goodreads):

What would you do to survive?

Young Gordon Van Zandt valued duty and loyalty to country above all, so after 9/11, he dropped out of college and joined the Marine Corps. This idealism vanished one fateful day in a war-torn city in Iraq.

Ten years later, he is still struggling with the ghosts of his past when a new reality is thrust upon him and his family: North America, Europe and the Far East have all suffered a devastating Super-EMP attack, which causes catastrophic damage to the nation's power grid and essential infrastructures. Everything from cell phones to cars to computers cease to function, putting society at a standstill.

With civilization in chaos, Gordon must fight for the limited and fast dwindling resources. He knows survival requires action and cooperation with his neighbors, but as the days wear on, so does all sense of civility within his community--and so he must make some of the most difficult decisions of his life in order to ensure his family's safety.

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Review:

I originally signed up for this tour because I was approached about it and I had not read any dystopian books in a while. I need a break from the vampires, werewolves, and romance just to clear my head of all the love triangles and debauchery that often happens in stories of romance. I needed something exciting and that would keep me on the edge of my seat. This book and it's sequel definitely sounded like they fit the bill.

Gordon is a born soldier. He was the best of the best when it came to defending his country and fighting for his government. That was until he gunned down what appeared to be an unarmed Iraqi in the heat of war and was plastered all over the media for being a bloodthirsty tool of a ruthless government. Afterwards, Gordon lost his faith with his government and left the military. Ten years later, he lives a happy life with his wife, Samantha, and two children, Haley and Hunter. He had zero worries. Until the United States started suffering attacks from an unknown assailant which resulted in a Super-EMP being detonated over the country.

Gordon must now put all his long forgotten military training to use. The world with no electrical capability (including those that are used to produce food and drinkable water) has turned into an apocalypse only heard about in stories. Gordon rallies his neighbors and attempts to establish a harmonious community to get through the devastation. But eventually, lack of resources starts to plague even his small gated neighborhood.

Human morality and the customary code of conduct instilled in every living person is tested. It has become a world of kill or be killed. Starvation, gang violence, radiation sickness, and even small diseases and wounds left untreated threaten the lives of all. Gordon's main priority is to care for his family to the best of his ability. And he is set to kill anyone who risks the success of that mission.

I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. I am not a fan of politics. I normally just feel they are a means to debate people about things that can't be changed anyway. But I actually found myself not only intrigued by the decline of civility in the United States populace, but also the scrambling to save and preserves the government after a catastrophe of such epic proportions. It is interesting to see politicians struggle with who to help in the new world and who to leave out to dry. Then you add in the desperation of one man to keep his family safe, the determination of Gordon's younger brother, Sebastian, to find his older brother, and the rebellion of a decorated colonel against his government... you have the makings of a truly astounding work of realistic and believable fiction. Hopf outdid himself in this first novel and I hope that his streak of good fortune continues in the sequel, The Long Road.

If you are looking for a post-apocalyptic read where safety and peace are unrecognizable terms, then The End is definitely for you.

Review: The Long Road by G. Michael Hopf

The Long Road by G. Michael Hopf

Series: The New World #2

Publication date: January 7th, 2014

Pages: 320

Synopsis (according to Goodreads):

The End was just the beginning of the new world.

Only six weeks have passed since a super-EMP attack devastated the United States, but already, life has changed dramatically. Most of America has become a wasteland filled with starving bands of people, mobs and gangs. Millions are dead and millions more are suffering, with no end in sight.

For Gordon, Samantha, Sebastian, Cruz and Barone, the turmoil and chaos they dealt with in the early weeks after the attack will seem trivial in comparison to the collapse of society that plays out before their eyes. Uncertainly abounds as they all travel different paths in search of a safe place to call home. The only thing that is definite is that The Long Road will take its toll on all of them.

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Review:

Of course, I had to read the sequel! Why would I simply read the first book and not continue on in a series that marks one of the best dystopian worlds I have ever found myself entrenched in. When asked whether I wanted to read the first book, second, or both, I naturally went for all I could get (and that was even before I knew I was going to adore them). After reading The End, I couldn't wait to find out what happened to Gordon and the rest of the motley crew of characters.

In The Long Road, Gordon, his family, and a caravan of his best and brightest neighbors are on the way to Idaho where they hope to find safety and a place to start over. Gordon's family owns property out that way and he figures that's as good a place as any to begin forming his own community. What Gordon didn't count on was that danger would lurk around every corner. He and his group have not even made it out of California before they are plagued by violence and devastation.

Whereas before Gordon's instincts worked in his favor, now they threaten to be his downfall. His desperation to always have enough resources for his people drives him to investigate a military base outside of Barstow, California. This mistake in judgment and the determination of his eight-year-old son to help his father, leads them both to be captured by a religious zealot and his psychotic followers. Now Gordon can only hope to find a way to escape with his son and find his way back to his wife, daughter, and group.

Meanwhile, the government is collapsing and Colonel Barone has set himself up to be it's new leader with the help of his Marine followers. Little does he know but the current government and a drug cartel leader both have their eyes set on running the ruined country.

Sebastian has sought out his brother's neighborhood but found only death. Others and even, almost, his own when his helicopter crashes. He is rescued by a Mormon community headed by Bishop Sorenson and his very attractive daughter. Sebastian is torn between continuing his search for his older brother and staying with the Mormon's to be the leader they so desperately need.

Gordon, Sebastian, Colonel Barone, and others all have a lot to accomplish and a long road ahead of them in all their goals.

This book was vastly different from the first book. The first book set the stage for the new world and this one was more into a concise story line of events and character development. I was more emotionally drawn to the characters than I was in the first one. I felt their plights. I was teetering on the edge of my seat most of the time, reading as fast as I could so I could know what happened to some of the fictional people I had come to admire or love. Avoiding spoilers, I absolutely sobbed my eyes out at some points in the book. My heart broke, my stomach turned, and rage coursed through my veins the likes of which I have never experienced in all the books I have read. In short, this book rocked my world.

Hopf's New Work series continues to make me appreciative of the things I have and the world of luxuries our country have. A Long Road will make it's readers who have children clutch them tight and never want to let go.

Review: Forsaken by Jacquelyn Frank

Forsaken by Jacquelyn Frank

Series: The World of Nightwalkers #3

Publication date: January 7th, 2014

Pages: 368

Synopsis (according to Goodreads):

New York Times bestselling author Jacquelyn Frank continues her scorching and sensual new series set in the world of the Nightwalkers, where alluring entities known as Bodywalkers are the vanguards against the raging forces of darkness.

As a mercenary, Leo Alvarez has signed on for a lot--but he never signed on for his best friend becoming host to the soul of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Jackson is now inherited by a Bodywalker, and Leo is forced to grapple with a realm of supernatural beings far more dangerous than anything he's ever encountered.

But when Jackson is wounded by an attack from a demon god, Leo must team up with another supernatural creature--a Night Angel--to save his friend from utter destruction. With skin as black as midnight, hair as white as snow, and a body of pure perfection, the Night Angel arouses a burning desire in Leo, even as he refuses to be intimidated by her power--or the power of those who would destroy his friend. An unusual alliance is forged, electrified by sexual temptation, and together the two must unite their strengths to bring down a supreme evil.

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Review:

I received a physical copy of this book from the publishers via the blog host's request in exchange for an honest review and participation in the blog tour.

I had only heard about Leo in passing in the first two books. All I knew was that he was a mercenary that went through and incredible ordeal in Forever. I knew after that experience that he would have issues with most of the Bodywalkers due to the action of one. I couldn't imagine him actually letting himself fall in love with any supernatural creature, but according to the synopsis he does. I had to find out how this came about.

Leo is deep in the self-loathing abyss in which he has resided since his release from a tortuous few days. He doesn't know who to trust anymore now that he knows about the Nightwalker world. He doesn't even known if he can trust his best childhood friend, Jackson, and Jackson's baby sister that he helped raise, Docia. Everyone and everything is foreign to him. And foreign equals an enemy and a force to fight. His feelings on Nightwalker creatures starts to change with the appearance of a Dark Angel ironically named Faith. After Jackson is critically wounded it is up to him and Faith to set out on a journey to find a source who may heal the fallen pharaoh and his best friend. Along the way Leo must confront his prejudices about the Bodywalkers and also fight his mounting feelings for the noir skinned beauty beside him.

Faith knows Leo's type. He is too busy passing judgment on others to really get to know them. She has no reason to allow him to get to know her either. Unfortunately, she seems to have as many prejudices about the human race as Leo does about Nightwalkers. She knows the future of the Nightwalkers rests on the shoulders of the wounded Jackson/Menes. What she doesn't know is what her future holds with the Hispanic killer she is starting to grow rather fond of.

Can Faith and Leo overcome both of their prejudices and stubbornness to get to the love that could be a possibility between these two unlikely people?

I absolutely love Leo. He is one of my favorite characters. He is comical as well as deadly. He reminds me a lot of Edward from the Anita Blake series. We get to see a different side of him in Forsaken. We get to see a healthy dose of vulnerability in a man you would never think to be that weak. We see Leo come to grips with a world in which the only family he knows is a part of. We also see Leo start to open up and let someone in. A woman who he despises only because of her inhuman-like existence. 

Faith was a fun addition to the cast. She was not quirky like Docia and was not overly serious to the point of being stiff like Marissa. She was blunt but also very sweet. I think she's my favorite female character to date.

I thoroughly enjoyed Forsaken for it's psychological attributes carefully woven into the plot of a stellar work of fiction.

Review: Forever by Jacquelyn Frank

Forever by Jacquelyn Frank

Series: The World of Nightwalkers #2

Publication date: May 28th, 2013

Pages: 352

Synopsis (according to Goodreads):

After being brought back from death, police officer Jackson Waverly receives the shock of his life: he has become host to a Bodywalker, a spirit that is reborn in flesh and blood, and part of a proud, ancient race that uses its extraordinary gifts to battle dark, evil forces. Jackson's spirit is a powerful one--none other than the Egyptian pharaoh Menes, who longs to reunite with hi eternal love, the Egyptian queen Hatshepsut.

While Menes is obsessed with finding the perfect vessel for his queen, Jackson cannot stop thinking about Dr. Marissa Anderson, the gorgeous precinct shrink who keeps pushing him to confront his grief over the loss of his K-9 partner. But what Marissa really arouses most in Jackson is intense desire, which is exactly what Menes is looking for. To fight a great enemy, pharaoh and queen must join; but to host Hatshepsut, Marissa will first have to die. Fate has given Jackson a profound choice: save Marissa from Menes' plan or keep an entire species from the brink of extinction.

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Review:

I received a physical copy of this book from the publishers via the blog host's request in exchange for an honest review and participation in the blog tour.

I got through the first book without too many issues with the four spirits, two bodies dilemma. I have to say, I was a little weary going into the second book, especially with the synopsis talking about having to kill the woman that the original host was in love with in order for her to host the queen counterpart spirit to his king. That just has drama written all over it. Not to mention, I couldn't even imagine how exactly he would come to ask her for such a thing. "Hey baby, you're kind of hot, will you die and host the spirit of my alterego's queen? Pretty please?" I absolutely had to find out more about this story.

Jackson died and came back with a Bodywalker king living contentedly inside him. He was moderately okay with that. What he wasn't okay with was the fact that he would have to give up on his infatuation with the precinct psychiatrist in order to commit his heart and body to Menes' queen whenever she were to appear. He was struggling with the need to get closer to her while also knowing it cannot be anything permanent. He wouldn't ask her to host Hatshepsut's spirit. He would not disrupt her life in such a way. But what his head and his heart are telling him to do, not to mention the commentary from Menes who finds Marissa to be the perfect host for his queen, are completely different.

Marissa has always had a thing for the strong K-9 officer at her work. She couldn't explain why she was having such a hard time resisting him, but resist she must. She is his psychiatrist after he lost his K-9 partner in a tragic event and cannot cross that patient-doctor line. She must keep things professional. A tactic she has learned to use in many an uncomfortable emotional situation. But when faced with the otherworldly power of the spirit inside Jackson and what that spirit is capable of doing, she must wonder if what is professionally ethical is really what is keeping her away from him. Jackson is a frightening man all by himself to Marissa, add to that one royal alpha male and it makes for a very potent combination that makes Marissa question whether distance from Jackson is truly what she wants.

With the reappearance of Menes, the Bodywalker king, the Templars are quick to attempt to send him back to the Ether before his queen can join him, even if that means awakening an evil the likes of which the world has never known.

This book in the series focused a lot more on how Bodywalker sex can be odd. Ultimately the host is not just having sex with the other host, but also the Bodywalker... if sex is between two Bodywalkers, that is a whole lot of different personalities all mixed in there. What happens if one likes it one way and the other another? I couldn't see how any of that could be any more confusing. And I struggled even more with this book that the last, however, the connection between Marissa and Jackson seemed more real (if that's even possible in this sort of situation) than the one between Ram and Docia. I found myself falling in love with Jackson's quick wit as well as Menes's sexual innuendos. I started to (kinda, sorta) grasp how the Bodywalkers and the host kind of compliment each other. I found the insight into the Templars that was given to show them in a new light. Not all of them are bloodthirsty zealots bent on world destruction.

Forever is the perfect middle story. It fluffs out the details of the Bodywalker race and couples that with yet another steamy romance.