Author: David Joel Stevenson
Release: November 1, 2015
Series: The Surface’s End
Genre: Dystopian
Edition: Kindle
Pages: 2691 (219 pages)
Publisher: Createspace Publishing
Source: Author
Buy it here: Amazon

Rating: ★★★★ + 1/2

Blurb:

Near the edge of Jonah Whitfield’s small farming village lies the Deathlands – a strange desert in the middle of a lush, green landscape.

It is strictly forbidden.

Jonah often lingers at the border of the Deathlands out of curiosity, hunting wild game where no one else feels safe. When he follows a wounded deer into the desolate expanse, he stumbles upon a hatch to a futuristic underground society.

After setting eyes on a beautiful girl whose only wish is to see the surface, Jonah is determined to free her from a prison made of comfort and lies. Will he rescue her, or will he find himself trapped mere miles away from the life he has taken for granted?

Review

Plot/Story: The book is in the Dystopian genre. There are two worlds (one above the ground and the other below). They are so different from one another, but they’re both trying to survive.
I loved the name of the book as it played so beautifully in the book. I loved the twist the author put into the Dystopian genre and I think he did a great job plotting and showing us the worlds and the real struggle. The book has many layers underneath the surface of the main plot.

Characters: Jonah always lived above the ground and even though he knew better than to go out to The Deathlands, his curiosity was too much and he found his way to the world below. There he found Talitha. I loved how much Jonah changed and grew over from the beginning of the book to the end. He has become so different and strong, I loved reading and watching him grows throughout the book. Jonah is my favorite character. I always wanted the story to be more focused on him, his thoughts and his emotions…Just him, lol.

Romance/Kills: The romance here was built nicely into the plot and it wasn’t too much. I will say that it wasn’t my favorite part of the book, but as it was so necessary to the plot, I felt that the author did a great job with them and how showed their importance to the plot itself.

Writing: I loved the author’s writing style here and enjoyed the reading with each page I turned. It was so nice to just enjoy the read, without any struggle. It was a fast read and even the premise itself was very interesting and had a unique look to it. The writing itself had some editing issues, but not in a way that ruined my read.

Beginning: The beginning was a bit slow, but quickly I’ve been able to pick up the pace and read faster.

Ending: By the end of the book, Jonah is so mature and brave and even though I had a good idea of how the book is in the end, it still didn’t make the reading less enjoyable.

Cover Art: The cover is very simply made, but I still like it 🙂 From the cover you know what the book might be about.

Blurb: I think the blurb could use a bit more to it or change it in some way, but it was enough for me to pick it up from the list and not others. I really wasn’t sure about the book, but I’m glad I had picked it 🙂

Other Stuff

Opening Line: “Never go near the Deathlands. This was a rule that everyone in the village could agree on.”

Highlights: I loved the plot and the premise. Jonah was such an enjoyable character and I loved his journey and growth.

Lowlights: The start of the book was a bit slow and a few editing issues here and there.

Final Thoughts: I loved and enjoyed reading this book a lot and if you love the Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian genre, you will enjoy reading this one as well 🙂

You can also read this review at Goodreads and Amazon.

Author: Lincoln Cole
Release: August 2, 2015
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Edition: Kindle
Pages: 200 pages
Publisher: LC Publishing
Source: Author
Buy it here: Amazon

Rating: ★★★★

Blurb:

Calvin is alone for the first time in over sixty years, and he is discovering that it’s more difficult than he ever would have guessed. A long time family friend, Edward White, comes to visit and check up on him. Edward is worried because he knows what Calvin is planning, and he just hopes he isn’t too late to help. Help, though, isn’t always the easiest thing to offer, and it can be even more difficult to accept. Told from multiple perspectives, this is a story of love, loss and forgiveness.

Review

Plot/Story: This is the story of an old man who grieves over his wife and wishes to join her. The struggles of being alone and the feeling of loss were too much for him. But when Edward enters his life to see how he is, they both started to talk and memories came up and feeling of not only lost but struggle, forgiveness and regret.

Characters: Calvin is an old man, who grieves over his dead wife and think of really ending his own life. His thoughts, memories, and feeling were all about his wife, the life they shared together and how much he misses her and needs her. It was both heartbreaking and amazing to get to know Calvin. Edward enters Calvin’s life with the hope he is not too late to save him they start to talk as memories came to them. I really loved Calvin and I think that there’s more to be told about his life. Edward was a wonderful character as well, but I had a really hard time connecting to him.

Writing: This is a well-written story and I loved the author’s writing style. The author wrote all those difficult feeling so beautifully, that you cannot stand from the side and not feel as well. Cole the author did a wonderful job writing this story.

Beginning: The beginning of the story was a bit hard for me, but I still enjoyed reading and simply fell in love with Calvin and his struggle were very real to me. All his memories of the wife he lost made the story real and painful for me and it made the book worth reading.

Ending: The story ended well, but I really wanted to know more about Calvin and I still do, lol.

Cover Art: The cover art is beautiful.

Blurb: The blurb was to the point. It was short and said just what I needed in order to pick this book.

Other Stuff

Opening Line: “The damned doorbell is ringing.”

Highlights: I loved the characters so much and the struggle was so real and so true, that made me just want to know what will happen and what will the characters decide to do.

Lowlights: I have to say that at first I struggled with this book. The first time I’ve read it, I couldn’t go beyond the 60% so I put it aside and started reading again after things got a bit calmer in my life and I’m happy I did. I don’t know why I couldn’t connect at first but the only thing that pops into my head is that the first part was a bit too slow for me.

Final Thoughts: Even though the subject of the book is dark and hard to deal with, I really enjoyed reading the book. There are a lot of feels in this book.

You can also read this review at Goodreads and Amazon.