Survivors: Secrets

Title: Survivors: Secrets by Violet Cross
Media: ebook: Kindle

Rating: 4 out of 5

Recommendation: I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys post apocalyptic/survival stories.

Survivors is a survival story taking place after the apocalypse.  It follows the story of Lacey and her crew of survivors as they fight to regain items stolen from them by another crew.  As they do so, secrets are revealed.  Secrets that can change every and turn Lacey world upside down.

Medical experimentation has cause the beginning of the apocalypse.  Testing has caused some people to become super-human.  Those same people started killing those who were not altered, causing a sort of apocalypse.  Humans have run from major cities and are living a life of pure survival.  The "Divines" as the super humans are called, garner a "fee" from the humans for their survival.  Lacey is the leader of one of the small compounds outside the city.  They scavenge for food, artifacts (items of value that can no longer be found such as clocks, cameras, and anything else).  Out of the blue they are attacked by another crew, and all their artifacts are stolen.  Now Lacey acquires a small team to attack Plumber's army to regain their Artifacts.  Along they way they discover secrets and betrayals that could tear their team apart.  How will Lacey manage to keep her team, just that a team?

One of the things I liked right off the bat with this story was the beginning of the end story.  Most post apocalyptic stories have it happening from result of war, famine, meteor strike etc.  I haven't read a novel based on the apocalypse happening because of medical testing to cure diseases like cancer.  It added a unique quality to the novel straight from the get-go.  The rest of the story was well paced and interesting.  Some things were revealed that didn't make sense such as the Divine working with Plumber.  If the Divine feed off of Charlotte's aura or energy, how did Charlotte recover quickly enough to be among the crowd in Plumber's base?  Other than that I cannot find anything wrong with this novel.

The characters were well balanced and developed with strengths and flaws unique to each individual.  I liked the sarcastic nature of Lacey and the joking personality of Luke.  Both reminded me of people I know.  I honestly wanted more dialogue between the characters to get a better feel for their personalities.  Some things seemed a little predictable, but those are things that any avid reader would pick up on.  Things that would provide the reader with the "Woo I knew it!" thought.  A lot of people think predicting something is a bad thing, in this case it is not.  It gives a sense of excitement while you continue to read what happens next and how the other characters will respond to each secret that gets revealed.

The last few chapters felt like Miss Cross is beginning to set up things for another book.  The tension builds, drama increases even though you are on the downhill side of the climax.  The end is slightly frustrating, only because I didn't want it to end!  I turned the page to a note from Violet saying Lacey will return in another book.  So not fair Violet! 

**I was provided a copy of this book for an honest review**

Planet Urth

Title: Planet Urth by Jennifer and Christopher Martucci
Media Source: e-book: Nook
Rating 3 out of 5 stars

Recommendation:  I would recommend this novel for anyone who enjoys a post apocalyptic stories and stories of survival.

Planet Urth is a novel written by Jennifer and Christopher Martucci.  It is a post apocalyptic novel that takes place on Earth after a biological war.  The plants, animals, and humans have mutated into something hideous.  Avery and her younger sister June have survived for 6 years on their own.  When a herd of Urthmen and Lurkers threaten their safety, the girls need to decide the next steps they must take in order to survive.

Avery watched as the Urthmen killed her mother.  Avery, her sister June and their father managed to escape the mutated humans only to spend the next several years surviving in the woods. Their father passed away leaving Avery to care for her sister and ensure no harm comes to them.  One day while out hunting for food, Avery comes across another family of humans.  Her hopes rise, but as she heads back to her cave, she was attacked by a couple of Urthmen, gets tangled in a mysterious creature's web, and chased by the Lurkers (creatures that hunt at night, making sundown a dangerous time of day).  The Lurkers have discovered the girls' hiding spot and mark it in order to return.  As Avery returns to warn the family of humans they are attacked by the Urthmen.  No where in the woods is safe anymore and the group now must find another place to hide, hopefully a place with more humans.

The premise for the book is a great idea, but the execution of it is lacking.  The idea of a teenage girl trying to survive in a world unfamiliar to them.  Avery is a strong character with natural flaws that come with being a teenage girl.  There isn't much development with Avery, and very little with June other than her trying to hunt big enough game to feed both her and Avery.  This book has a lot of backstory and emotions throughout it.    The climax of the story happens to close to the end for there to be any satisfaction for the readers.  It sets the stage for the novels that come next in the series, and I do hope they get better in the progression of the story.   It is very slow moving and focuses a great deal on descriptions, and minute details.  In a story where the only humans are Avery and her sister, it seems there won't be much to the story, and as the story progresses the reader continues to feel that way.  That is until Avery stumbles across the other humans, the Urthman and the Lurkers.  Personally, there should have been more suspense earlier in the novel such as something happening with the Lurkers or something.  There needed to be more meat to the story.