Thursday, March 31, 2016

Personal Apocalypse (The Hopeless World Book 1) by Nazarea Andrews Blog Tour (Review)


Hey readers! Ethan here with quite possibly one of my most exciting reviews of 2015! I always love when I devour an extremely anticipated novel and it turns out to be everything I was anticipating and more. This time I'm reviewing the first novel in the spin-off series to another of my all-time favorite series. On the chopping block this time? Personal Apocalypse by Nazarea Andrews. Today's stop on the blog tour will feature my thoughts on the novel as well as some awesome promo. Before we get to my thoughts, here's a bit about the novel and our author:

Josiah grew up in a dying world. The Holdout survived, but when you are the son of Sylvia Cragen, you give up delusions early. He knew that they would die bloody--it wasn't a matter of if. Only when.

Parker shouldn't be alive. He should have died long before scouts from the Last Holdout rescued him. And he knows better than to believe that sailing away from the safety of the Holdout is a good idea.

Now, without the Holdout to protect them, all of his nightmares are coming true. Josiah is just crazy enough to believe that a fresh start is a good thing. But Parker has lived as prey, hunted by zombies and survivors before--and he knows that no one really survives. In the wild, zombie claimed world outside the walls of safety, there is only the dead walking.




          



Nazarea Andrews




Nazarea Andrews is an avid reader and tends to write the stories she wants to read. She loves chocolate and coffee almost as much as she loves books, but not quite as much as she loves her kids. She lives in south Georgia with her husband, daughters, and overgrown dog. She is the author of Girl Lost, Edge of the Falls, and The University of Branton Series. 

Find Nazarea Andrews




*****
My Thoughts:

As any of my regular readers will well know, Ethan here is not a huge fan of the zombie paranormal-sub genre. Well, I wasn't. Not until Nazarea Andrews. It's been a couple of years now since I was first introduced to Andrews and her incredible World Without End series, but I still cannot get over how incredible it was. When the series ended last summer, I was devastated to see a favorite of mine was finished. Imagine my shock and surprise when I discovered Andrews had an ace up her sleeve: a spin-off series!

Picking up right where the World Without End series finished, this new series, beginning with Personal Apocalypse continues to follow the story of life after Eli-Milan has decimated the planet, but with two new starring characters: Josiah and Parker. Anyone who finished the previous series will remember Finn (our former male-MC's) discovery of a brother and their interesting relationship. This first novel explores that relationship and really gives us an insight to the family dynamic we were really excited to discover in the previous series finale. While this is an entirely new series, we still have huge flashbacks from WWE. Nurrin and Finn are still major characters in Personal Apocalypse, but to avoid spoilers I won't mention too much there.

Now, this all being said, PA is an entirely new series. While a spin-off, it isn't necessarily imperative that you have read the previous series to understand what is happening. Andrews does an absolutely incredible job introducing her world to readers in a way that both series vets and new readers will be immersed into the world without being lost. It's an incredible novel to introduce you to this literary universe that Andrews has crafted.

One of my favorite parts about PA is that while it absolutely is full of the horror you would expect from a novel of this genre, you definitely don't have the gore and violence we've seen from her in the past. Why? Personal Apocalypse is just that. Personal. It's an extremely psychological read. Way more personal than I was expecting from Andrews and this new series. It's an emotionally gripping tale that will leave you hooked until the very last page.

I have to say that as much as I loved WWE, this new series is seriously a hard-hitter. Andrews has evolved so much as an author in the past few years that it is absolutely astounding to see the two compared. The characters in this series are definitely set to give Ren and Finn a run for their money as well. I can't say enough how absolutely blown away I was by Personal Apocalypse. It's truly a testament to the writing style of Andrews to be able to capture readers for so long and across series as she has.

Through emotional twists, horrific new terrain, and writing the history of a world we only thought we knew, Andrews blows the doors wide open with Personal Apocalypse. I know don't know about anyone else, but I know this reader was thoroughly impressed. It should come as no surprise that I am granting Personal Apocalypse a near-perfect 5-star review. Do not miss this opportunity to check out this read, add it to your TBR today! 

*****


Alright readers, that's all I have for you on the topic of Personal Apocalypse by the incredible Nazarea Andrews. As you guys can clearly see, I absolutely loved every page of this incredible novel and I absolutely cannot wait to see what Andrews does next with this series. This world she has built is one of my favorite literary realms and I know each installment is going to be better than the last! Huge thanks to InkSlinger PR for allowing me to be a part of the tour and supplying me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Until next time, Happy Reading!

-Ethan

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