Review: Into The Fire by Lindsey Fairleigh & Lindsey Pogue

Into The Fire by Lindsey Fairleigh & Lindsey Pogue
Series: The Ending #2
Publisher: L2 Books
Source: Netgalley
ISBN: 9780988715431
Release Date: November 22, 2013
Pages: 356

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The Virus changed them, but that was only the beginning…
…death…mutation…insanity…corruption…terror…
…all that remains is hope.

In the wake of destruction left behind by the Virus, it took Dani and Zoe months to find each other. But their reunion was short-lived. Dani has been taken, and though little distance separates them, they might as well be worlds apart.

From the moment she hears Dani’s scream, Zoe’s only goal is to save her best friend. She and her companions scramble to come up with a rescue plan, but when a ghost from Jake’s past reappears, lines are blurred, decisions become harder, and secrets are revealed…and some secrets are best left buried. To keep heartache and fear from consuming her, Zoe must cling to her determination. She WILL see Dani again.

Dani awakens inside the final hold-out of civilization: the Colony. Remnants of the former world surround her—electricity, safety, social order—but all is not what it seems. As she faces her most manipulative adversary yet, she loses sight of who she is and who she can trust. Friends become enemies, enemies become allies, and allies will betray her. Dani will have to decide what she’s willing to do and whose lives she’s willing to risk if she is to have any chance of breaking free.

Earlier this year I read After The Ending, which I loved. I was pretty excited for the release of the second book, as the first ended with a major cliffhanger! I was confused at the beginning of the book because I have a hard time remember details of past books, and this series has a lot of characters to keep straight. I couldn’t remember who was who between Jason, Jake, and Jack, (and yes one turns out to be an actual dog)!

Into The Fire picks up where the previous book left off with Dani being kidnapped and taken to the Colony. Right away there are secrets about the past and why Dani was taken. The pacing of this book was perfect because it wasn’t too slow or too fast, but you never wanted to put the book down because new information was slowly being shown to you in each chapter.

The Colony is being run by General Herodson. I hated the General. He is sadistic and evil. His “projects” goes against human rights and were despicable. I know it was only a matter of time before we came across a breeding program. When the Earth’s population is decimated to almost extinction you could see how one would think that might be a good idea, but is it? We only see a peek of this program, but I feel like there will be more of it in future books. The General is a formidable foe. His ability allows him to control hundreds (if not thousands) of people to do his bidding. There is no going against the General. Either you do as he says, die, or become a mindless soldier under his spell.

This book was slightly lighter on the romance than the previous one. I felt like the authors were building love triangles for both Dani and Zoe. That’s the part I didn’t like. I like Dani and Jason. They make sense and it was hard to see them apart. I’m uncertain about Zoe and Jake. I feel like their relationship was more of a physical one than emotional, where Dani and Jason have both. Hopeful that was the end to these triangles, because I feel like the books are strong enough without that added to it.

We finally get some answers about how the virus happened and why everyone has developed abilities. Even with all the answers we have new questions and new secrets to wonder about. You also see how so many characters are connected between the Colony and the camp.

Even though it was around the same size as the previous book I think Into The Fire flowed better, and now I can’t wait for the third and fourth book!

My Rating:

Buy The First Book

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Review: After The Ending by Lindsey Fairleigh & Lindsey Pogue

After The Ending By Lindsey Fairleigh & Lindsey Pogue
Series: The Ending #1
Publisher: L2 Books
Source: Netgalley
ISBN: 9780988715417
Release Date: February 22, 2013

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When people started getting sick, “they” thought it was just the flu. My roommate, my boyfriend, my family…they’re all gone now. I got sick too. I should have died with them—with the rest of the world—but I didn’t. I thought witnessing the human population almost disappear off the face of the earth was the craziest thing I’d ever experience. I was so wrong. My name is Dani O’Connor, I’m twenty-six-years-old, and I survived The Ending.

The Virus changed everything. The world I knew is gone, and life is backwards. We’ve all had to start over. I’ve been stripped of my home, my dreams…all that is me. I’m someone else now—broken and changed. Other survivors’ memories and emotions haunt me. They invade my mind until I can no longer separate them from my own. I won’t let them consume me. I can’t. My name is Zoe Cartwright, I’m twenty-six-years-old, and I survived The Ending.

We’ve been inseparable for most of our lives, and now our friendship is all we have left. The aftermath of the Virus has stranded us on opposite sides of the United States. Trusting strangers, making sacrifices, killing—we’ll do anything to reach one another. Fear and pain may be unavoidable, but we’re strong…we’re survivors. But to continue surviving in this unfamiliar world plagued by Crazies and strange new abilities, we have to adapt. We have to evolve.

And more than anything, we have to find each other.

Overall, I liked this book. It had a good concept and somewhat likeable characters. I thought Dani and Zoe each had a distinctive voice in the narrative, which sometimes with multi POVs they end up sounding the same. I liked how Dani and Zoe wrote emails to each other for most of the book. I did find it unlikely that the power would be down, but the internet would still be up? But this is fiction and sometimes requires a little imagination. The emails were where I felt the most emotion from Dani. For example, when Cam died it just felt like bad acting on Dani's part. She said all the right stuff, but I didn't feel anything for her until she wrote to Zoe and told her about Cam dying.

When you actually think about the concept that 90% of the population is dead it is just saddening. Everyone who has survived has lost multiple loved ones. There were no children in the book, because the young didn't have the antibodies to survive. One of the survivors lost her kids and husband. You can see why none of the survivors wanted to talk about the "Before."

The Crazies were psychotic. You could tell there was something wrong with them even before they did something. They were creepy and unstable. But what kept urging me on reading was what they did. Each Crazy was unique and reacted to the situation differently.

Dani's ability was awesome! I didn't know how I was going to feel about the Abilities spin to this book. It definitely was different, but I think I really liked it. When she was attacked it was amazing how the animals circled around her to protect her. She really was like a Disney Princess.

Even though both women were separated for the majority of the book they overcame similar hurdles and both found a relationship. I liked how Zoe's relationship slowly developed. It wasn't just love/lust at first sight. Dani's relationship seemed sudden as she did lose her boyfriend, and she didn't seem to grieve that much, but that could be thanks to Chris' ability.

I thought the ending was great and I can't wait until the second book is out.

My Rating: