A.G. HenleyRezensionen

I’ve been downloading free ebooks for ages now. Around Christmas I added categories for BookBub to look for free ebooks: YA and light fiction. Who knew I’d need light fiction because a pandemic was coming? This book was a perfect light read for cat lovers. A painfully shy “cat lady” seeks a man to pretend to be her fiancé to her father who’s withholding her inheritance until she “settles down.” Expected fallout ensues. An enjoyable easy read.½

I loved this book! This is a YA book, but I'm in my 40s and thoroughly enjoyed it. The premise, along with the allure of a blind protagonist, prompted me to purchase this book, and I'm so glad I did. I was curious how the imagery would be portrayed from the point of view of a blind person, and this author pulled it off with amazing precision. Visual imagery is created so richly through touch, sound, scent, and taste to the point where you won't even miss sight.
Read the full review here: http://www.chimerareviews.com/books/reviews/scourge

I first heard of this book from my best friend, Kristen. She had me so intrigued about it that I actually contacted A.G. Henley to see if she would give me a review copy. She did (Thanks, A.G.!). I didn't know much about the book at the time other than that my friend said it was similar to The Hunger Games (it isn't). I think the main similarity is that both books are dystopian in nature.

When trying to decide on what to rate The Scourge, I wavered between a 3.5 and a 4. I was leaning towards the 3.5 because although I liked it I thought the writing was a bit less simplistic in areas and that the characters could have had a bit more depth, but I ultimately decided to go with a solid 4 stars because the story was just so good!

I was literally up until after 1am last night finishing the book. I couldn't put it down. A.G. Henley has created what I think is a very unique dystopian world, with some unique challenges (as unique as you can get right now with zombies). I loved the story line and while I suspected some of the twists, I didn't figure out all of them.

The main problem for me with this story is that there wasn't enough of it. This is the author's first novel and I wonder if she might have rushed to finish it or was worried about making it too wordy. I would have been very happy if the author had added another one hundred pages or so of solid character development and slower plot development (the ending came together a little too quickly for me).

I would recommend this novel to fans of YA, dystopian and/or zombie literature. It is a very entertaining story! I will also be keeping on eye on A.G. Henley in the future...I think there will be some great things to come from her.

I'd been eyeing this book for a while and was out of good books to read so I thought I'd give it a try so I sent the sample to my Kindle and instantly fell in love with the story. I was so drawn into it that I'd forgotten it was a sample and when it ended I immediately bought the book and clicked as fast as I could to get back to where I was at. This is just one of those stories that sucks you in and you never want to leave. Halfway through the book I noticed I wasn't even seeing any of the words, I was there with Fenn and Peree, adventuring right beside them, seeing everything they see, or didn't see in Fenn's case and sharing their journey.

I love Dystopian books and I absolutely love the type of setting in this book. Even though there's horrible things going on, there's just something about a society that lives off the land that greatly appeals to me. I'm too much of a wuss to do it myself but I do love to daydream about it so this book gave me a lot to daydream about. The Scourge is a very character driven story. Sure there's action but the real meat of the story is in the characters and A.G. Henley does a great job of bringing them to life. What really impressed me was the way she described the world through the eyes of Fenn who is blind. I was wondering how a book could be descriptive with the main character being unable to see yet she handled it beautifully. You get a full detail of every little thing Fenn encounters, not only through her sharp senses but also through the eyes of those around her. I was simply amazed at how detailed this world is. I also enjoyed the fact that it's not just your average run of the mill zombie horde. There's some nice twists in this book that fit so well with the overall theme of the story.

It looks as if this was A.G. Henley's first book which impresses me even more. Not only is it a wonderful story that's beautifully written but it's also extremely well edited. I didn't find a single error or anything to distract me from my wonderful reading experience. It seems all too often some independent authors take editing for granted so it's very nice to see those that put their heart and souls into their work. It shows here and for that she deserves to be congratulated. I will definitely be buying the next book and recommend this book to anyone who loves strong characters, a great storyline with rich detail and a bit of romance. If you're looking for something a bit different then give The Scourge a try, you'll be glad that you did.

In this very enjoyable novel, civilization has been destroyed by some horrible event. Now two groups survive. the Groundlings who, of course, live on the ground and the Lofties who live in the trees above them. The two groups have little trust for each other but are forced to work together to deal with the Scourge, zombie-like creatures who roam the land, turning anyone who is unfortunate enough to be caught by them, anyone, that is, but the Sightless who, for some reason, can walk among the Scourge without being attacked.

Fennel is one of the sightless and it is her job to collect the water for both the Groundlings and the Lofties in the event of an attack of the Scourge. It is the role of one Loftie, in this case, Paree, to protect Fennel while she collects the water.

There are rumours that there is water somewhere which protects from the Scourge but, although many have sought it, they have either returned without finding it or they have never returned at all. When the Scourge comes and doesn't leave, Fennel volunteers to seek these waters and Paree, secretly, goes with her. What they find at the end of their journey will overturn everything they thought they knew about the Scourge and their communities.

Aimed at a YA audience The Scourge explores the question of prejudice and how it can make us blind to the world around us. It is also a rather sweet romance. And, oh yeah, it's a pretty darn good dystopian novel with some very interesting characters and a plot which makes it very hard to put down. My recommendation: if you're a fan of YA, of dystopian novels, you like a little romance thrown into the mix, and enjoy a well-written post-apocalyptic tale with a good message (but not one that smacks you on the head), and very little graphic violence, try The Scourge. Word of caution, though, it's short enough to read in a day but start early because it's a whole lot easier to pick up than it is to put down.

Originally Reviewed At: Mother/Gamer/Writer
Rating: 5 out of 5 Controllers
Review Source: Blog Tour
Reviewer: Bailey

The Scourge by A.G. Henley is the tale of a post-apocalyptic society struggling for survival, while facing a plague of humanoid monsters called the Scourge. The protagonist is a teenage Groundling called Fennel. Because she is Sightless, Fennel is protected from the Scourge and must gather water for her community as the rest of its members hide in a cave from the Scourge. With her community falling deeper into chaos, Fennel volunteers to go on journey to find a new source of water, safe from the Scourge, so her people and the Lofties, who live in the trees above them, can live in peace. With the fate of the people resting on her shoulders, Fennel sets out with her Keeper, Peree, in tow. What will happen when she learns dark secrets about the people she’s left behind and that the Scourge may not be the monsters they seem?

I absolutely loved this novel and would go so far as to deem it one of the best I’ve read recently. I’ll admit that I went to Google to find out when the sequel came out as soon as I finished it. I’m a huge fan of Dystopian societies, so this story was right up my alley. I liked that it had plot twists and things were often not exactly as they seemed. The characters were all compelling in their own way. Even characters I didn’t particularly like made me feel for them and understand why they were the way they were The book wasn’t excessively long and was a really easy read. It pulled me in. I would definitely recommend The Scourge to fans of post-apocalyptic worlds and for those who like stories that mix adventure and romance seamlessly.

I am an admitted fan of independently published authors, and that's how I discovered this enjoyable YA title with a unique twist on the wildly-popular "undead" movement that has overtaken the marketplace.

If there is one thing I would like to see, it would be a little more time spent on some of the plot developments. The book could have easily had another 50 pages or so to help the reader keep pace with certain important turns of events.

Otherwise, it was a good purchase, and I look forward to the sequels we have been promised!½