Thursday, February 21, 2019

From my TBR shelf...

Title & Author:  Haven by Laury Falter

Why I bought it:  Have I mentioned how much I like disaster/survival novels? Including zombie apocalypse ones? Which is why I couldn't resist buying this particular book.

The premise:  Kennedy's at her high school when the zombie apocalypse beings. Only she and four other teens--Doc, Beverly, Mei and Harrison--manage to make it safely inside. At least Kennedy has some survival skills courtesy of her military father to help them survive. But the odds are against them. Then there's Harrison, who has a secret of his own. One that could affect ... or infect .... them all.

My thoughts:  I'd classify this YA novel as "survival lite". While there are several intense encounters with the Infected, the author spends more time focusing on Kennedy and Harrison, and their respective pasts and growing relationship. Which I actually didn't mind because I liked both of them. But it did lessen the suspense of whether or not they were going to survive. And Harrison's big secret was pretty obvious and easy to figure out. So no real tension there either. And being in the high school with food and shelter and safety meant the five teens' survival felt pretty easy at times. Despite these few flaws, I still enjoyed this one. It's well-written, and it reads fast, and it's also entertaining and fun. Will I read the sequel? Probably not. But I'm not sorry I read this one.

My rating:  3/5 stars.

Happy Reading!


P.S. This  one also counts as another book towards my Backlist Reader Challenge 2019 goal, a fun reading challenge that focuses on reading the books on your TBR shelf and on your TBR list. 

Similar read:
Virulent: The Release by Shelbi Wescott

22 comments:

  1. This one definitely sounds like a "survival lite" based from your thoughts and I'm glad you still enjoyed it despite the few flaws. Sometimes, it's more of the characters that draw us into the story. :)

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    1. If the characters are good then I can put up with a lack of plot. But without good characters I'm hard-pressed sometimes to finish the book.

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  2. I wouldn't mind trying it, but as you don't think you'll pursue a sequel, I won't go to any great effort to acquire it. I do like survival/dystopian books a great deal, though. :)

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  3. I can't see Haven without thinking about one of my favorite TV shows and then about how SyFy ruined the last season. I'm glad you enjoyed this one.

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  4. I like apocalyptic/disaster/survival novels, too, but there are so many of them out there that I only want to read the really good ones. I'll probably skip this one.

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  5. Hi Lark, I was a big fan of The Walking Dead the first three or four years. Never tried a zombie novel though. Remember when readers thought the most frightening kind of end of the world disaster book involved a nuclear bomb going off and how would humanity survive? The zombies have that beat. I can't think of anything worse.

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    1. You're right about that. I don't think there could be an end-of-the-world disaster worse than zombies.

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  6. You do like your disaster/survival themed novels! :D What do you think is the appeal for you? The scare factor? Or the what if factor? Or something else?

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    1. Not the scare factor. More the what would I do and could I survive a similar situation thing. I don't want to live through a disaster, but I can't help wondering what I could do to prepare for one, and also what I'd do if one really did happen. Mostly, I just like to read about the made up ones. :D

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  7. I prefer zombie books that are heavy on the zombie action and less about relationships!

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    1. Yeah, I knew this wouldn't be your kind of zombie book. :D

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  8. I love zombie apocalypse/disaster books. I haven't read one in awhile though. I think I need to change that soon. :)

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    1. Yeah, you should work one into your busy reading schedule at least once this year. ;D

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  9. Zombie apocalypse/disaster books are also some of my favorites. And this one looks awesome!

    Ash @ JennRenee Read

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  10. I don't read a whole lot of zombie stories, but there are a few on my TBR pile. This sounds like a decent one, even if not great.

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    1. It's not the best zombie book I've read, but it's readable and fun.

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  11. It almost sounds like a fluffy read from your review)))) I would probably have nightmares)))))

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    1. This is one zombie apocalypse book that would probably NOT give you nightmares because none of the scenes are graphic and the author spends more time on the human characters than on the zombies. :)

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