Heather Knight

The US and all the world has been destroyed by a volcanic eruption from Yellowstone. Bands of people wander what was the Eastern US. Bluefield Mountain is the only known civilization that has begun rebuilding itself. The people follow General Balenchuk not knowing the prison they are actually in. His daughter has been kidnapped by a rival general who rules the desolate outskirts around Bluefield. Will she get home?

What fantastic world building here! A world that has lost everything. People who are either part of the rebuilding or part of the enemy or surviving on their own. Prejudices are alive and well in this dystopian world. Watching how the privileged survive after the Ash, watching how the remaining thrive in this world gives this story its danger. Anything might happen to anyone at any time. It does not matter if you were privileged or poor. You are subject to the earth's desolation and the cannibals.

Ilsa, the general's daughter, is kidnapped as a political move but she knows what her fate will be because, while her father controlled her life, he could not keep her from reading the books in his library and she learned. She learned very well. Her kidnapper, Talon, is a man who hates her for taking away his family. She lives with her regrets on that and knows he is the only one who has ever told her the truth. She now has to rely on him for protection. Their interactions are harsh. Non-consensual sex occurs. Both have to exam their time together and decide if they should split or find a way out of their current situation. I liked these characters that I wanted them to find a solution.

I was hooked on this story from the first line. I liked the first person point-of-view. It put me in Ilsa's boots. I cannot wait to read the next book in this series because I want to know if the same thing happens. A scary world but one to which I will willingly return. The writing was that good.… (mehr)