Zurvival Saturday (90) Review: Until the End of the World by Sarah Lyons Fleming

This week I'll be reviewing the 2013 release Until the End of the World by Sarah Lyons Fleming. I've had this book on my Kindle App since it's release and for whatever reason put off reading it right away. As luck would have it, my internet was on the fritz this past week (satellite wifi/bad weather=no bueno combo) and as I was downloading a bunch of choices from my cloud this was the only title to actually complete before I lost connection yet again. Needless to say, an annoyance turned into a blessing as Until the End of the World was way better than I expected it to be. Read on to find out why!

Author: Sarah Lyons Fleming

Series: Until the End of the World #1

Genre: Apocalyptic, Zombies

Publication: September 22, 2013

ADD TO GOODREADS

Cassie Forrest isn't surprised to learn that the day she’s decided to get her life together is also the day the world ends. After all, she’s been on a self-imposed losing streak since her survivalist parents died: she’s stopped painting, broken off her engagement to Adrian and dated a real jerk. Rectifying her mistakes has to wait, however, because Cassie and her friends have just enough time to escape Brooklyn for her parents’ cabin before Bornavirus LX turns them into zombies, too.

This is difficult enough, but Cassie’s tag along ex-boyfriend and her friend’s bratty sister have a knack for making everything, even the apocalypse, more unpleasant. When the two attract a threat as deadly as the undead to their safe haven, Cassie’s forced to see how far she’ll go to protect those she loves. And it’s a lot farther than she’d anticipated. This, coupled with Adrian’s distant voice on Safe Zone Radio and, of course, the living dead, threaten to put Cassie right back into the funk she just dragged herself out of.

Survival’s great and all, especially when you have leather armor, good friends and home-brewed beer, but there’s something Cassie must do besides survive: tell Adrian she still loves him. And to do that, Cassie has to find faith that she’s stronger than she thinks, she’s still a crack shot and true love never dies.

Review Until the End of the World follows the story of Cassie Forrest as she and a small group of friends try to make it out of NYC alive after a virus starts changing all those infected with it into Zombies. As far as Zombie books go Until the End of the World was a worthy addition to the genre and one I'm happy to have read finally. One of my favorite aspects to the story were the characters. I loved Cassie's determination to survive despite the odds stacked against her.  However, I think my favorite character was  Nelson. His love for Cassie and his enthusiasm for life had me swooning over him from the start. He's the protector of the group and the glue that binds them together and for that I loved him.  I also really liked Bits. She's the true survivor of the group and seeing her transform from this terrified child to strong and brave little girl with a zeal for life was truly a highlight for me. Another thing that really left an impression on me were the infected. We know it is the Bornavirus creating the Zombies right from the get go so the book isn't weighed down with everyone scrambling to figure out a cause. We know head shots kill them, bites are bad and that groups spell disaster if you come across them. Yet, despite this the Infected still remain scary.  Also they seemed to be evolving somewhat as the story progressed and their food supply shrank. It'll be interesting to see what will happen with them in the future considering it doesn't look like a cure will be in the works anytime soon. Lastly, I really liked the beginning of the story. Anytime I can see characters in their life before shtf I'm happy. It also gives so much insight into the characters mentality and how well they play with others. In this case since all the co-workers were friends we were given a peek into the group dynamic before things changed into a race for survival. I only wish we were given a few pages of Anna being well,Anna before she joined the group at the Apartment. It would've of probably helped me understand her more. Ah well, I suppose that is what Novellas are for. Now even though I really liked Until the End of the World I did not like a few things about the story. First off, All the Peter/Adrian drama was so unnecessary. It actually made me dislike Cassie some because she seemed heavily dependent on needing a man to justify her existence. Yes, Peter isn't very likable at first but I'm not sure he's as awful as Cassie tries to make him out to be. It's clear from the get go she was mostly using him to I don't know get back at Adrian or something. It's never really clear why she pushed him away in the first place. Nonetheless, I didn't care for the drama and wish the whole thing was reduced to maybe a chapter or two. Also, dude,Adrian have some self respect, Why the hell would you want her back?! I don't get that. As a friend sure but romantically no way. Secondly, I didn't like all the flashbacks as I found them to be really jarring. As with the romantic aspect of the story these should have been reduced some as  well as they created major pacing problems for me. Lastly, I think the book held back to much on the gore. Sometimes you just need to see a person being ripped into like an All you can eat buffet or blood and sinew flying as survivors fleeing for their lives fall prey to the Zombies. At times Until the End of the World felt sterilized and I didn't really enjoy that. Too much tell and not enough show in this one. Final Thoughts Until the End of the World might not have hit all the right notes for me but it was still a damn fine introduction to the world of Cassie Forrest.  Would I recommend it? Yup. If you liked Rhiannon Frater's As the World Dies trilogy or Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi then you'll probably enjoy Until the End of the World. Will I be reading the sequel? You bet. I am really curious what sort of direction the characters lives will take considering the ending to the first book was actually rather positive. With that being said, I'll be rating Until the End of the World by Sarah Lyons Fleming ★★★★.  *Copy purchased.  All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in an which way  for providing them.

About the Author

Follow: Goodreads / Website

Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, I now live in Oregon with my family and, in my opinion, not nearly enough supplies for the zombie apocalypse.
But I'm working on it.

My first novel, UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD, is a mixture of post-apocalyptic, zombie, women's and suspense fiction. I'm currently working on the sequel, AND AFTER.

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Out of curiosity, Have you read heard Until the End of the World? 

If yes, Have you be read it?

Do you like Zombie books with a large degree of romance?

 Leave me your answers in the comments below or feel free to tweet me them @Hermyoni  

Well that about wraps up this weeks Zurvival Saturday. Like what you see? Please share! I thank you if you do.  Want to check out past Zurvival Saturday's? Click Here