One day you're cleaning

the bottom of dirty cages,
then life wants you dead.

This book has given you the stink eye before stalking off into the Tag Game! :)

What a dramatic cover! I hope the storys' just as good! ;)

This arrived today, thank you!

This was a solid post-apocalyptic novel. The writing is fast-paced and the author did a good job balancing out info the reader would want about how humanity got to this point with the action-heavy survival story. I was left feeling a little skeptical about some of the mutations the virus caused, but that implausibility rarely impacted my ability to keep enjoying the plot. I didn't really care for the character of the Swiss, who I found overly trope-y and very flat and uninspired compared to the rest of the characters. I liked that, unlike many post-apoc novels, "survival of the fittest" is not a straight-forward category of unflappable, survival-trained, able-bodied men. Sometimes the diverse traits that have allowed people to stay safe and sane so far have little to do with what most survival fiction shows.

Added to the Sci-Fi Bookbox

Taken from lane1088's Sci-Fi bookbox! Haven't read too many post-apocalyptic books lately and this one sounded interesting!

An interesting story. I, surprisingly, liked the back and forth timeline. I usually don’t like flashbacks. But the brevity of each brought out the mood and tone of the story in just the right way. That’s what really had me turning the pages! Adams created a great atmosphere!

What I didn’t like:
The similes and metaphors were too many and too frequent. Toward the end, as I started skimming a bit, they made reading more difficult and I’d have to slow down or go back for it to make sense.
Parts of the story were unbelievable, not just the mutations, but more than that.

SPOILERS—>

How in the world did Zoe not die? I’ve no idea.
And when did she open the jar! So much was made of the jar that you get caught up in it. But the moment was so mundane I missed it. They kept referring to the jar being open and I was confused! When did it happen?! :/ I had to go back again and see where I missed it.
Etc.

<—END SPOILERS

Overall, I enjoyed the story. It’s categorized in some places as horror. I’d say more tense/thriller than horror.

👽 👽 👽 👽 👽 👽 👽 👽 👽 👽

Starting book for the To the Stars: A Science Fiction Bookbox.

👽 👽 👽 👽 👽 👽 👽 👽 👽 👽

I'm claiming this softcover from the SF bookbox.

Later: Hard to take at times, from the early scene of poor Lisa and her appalling relatives to the images of the plague and its aftermath. (The idea of a plague that mutates its victims, killing most but leaving many in new and awful forms, is truly chilling. The fact that it leaves its not-mutated-yet survivors with a chronic need to vomit... pretty awful too.) I liked the alternate-time-stream format, which highlighted the contrast between the world Just Before, During, and After. (I admit that the format of the book felt like a YA post-apocalypse, so it surprised me that main character Zoe was 30 when it all began!)

The main problem I had with the book was that it's so unrelentingly awful that I found it hard to imagine that anyone would try so hard to survive. I wouldn't want to live in a world like that, and found it pretty ghastly to accompany Zoe on her travels. The conclusion, while offering elements of hope, also felt a bit too pat, so... an OK but not awesome novel.

I'm adding this book to the Already Been Crossed bookbox, which will be on its way to its next stop soon. Enjoy!

[Update, 6/26/19: it seems that the box lost its contents en route from originalslicey to Chicvolley99; hope the book checks in someday from wherever it's gone!]

*** Released for the 2019 Keep Them Moving release challenge. ***

Removed from kaila-ann's Already Been Crossed Bookbox.

Continuing on in kaila-ann's Already Been Crossed Bookbox.

Adding to an Animals Book box.

This book has already had quite the adventure, so I shall let it rest for a bit (as all books that end up on Mt TBR do) -- hopefully I will get it on its journey soon.

(arrived home in my Zoo bookbox)