Review: After the Impact by Nicole Stark

Author: Nicole Stark
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopian
Publisher: Snow Press
Publication Date: January 8, 2016



At first, HOPE (Humanity's One Plan for Escape) habitat appears to be a well-oiled machine, preparing 5,000 carefully chosen inhabitants for a new Earth. However, a medical assistant named Ilium reveals that certain members of the habitat have been falling ill from a mysterious virus they were inoculated against. Soon, HOPE habitat's tranquil illusion is shattered as Avalon plays a perplexing message left by her father. If Avalon is to survive this dangerous new environment , she will have to find the strength to navigate a habitat enveloped in secrets.

Review After the Impact is a book that I received for review from the Author.  The story takes place years after a cataclysmic event happens on Earth. The survivors live in HOPE, a habitat designed to keep them safe until Earth is habitable again. However, things inside HOPE's Habitat aren't quite as they seem and it's up to Avalon and her companions to figure things out before it is too late.   Unfortunately, while I was at least entertained by the story, it wasn't really original and the writing fell into many of the typical pitfalls other stories in the genre have had before it. Do these things make it a bad book? No. Do they lessen my particular enjoyment of the story overall? Yes. One of the things that really sort of bugged me about After the Impact were the characters. Don't get me wrong, Avalon is all sorts of kick-ass but I think her female empowerment shtick lessened once the boys entered the picture. Now I've said it before and I'll say it again, love triangles are unnecessary. I know, I know, readers love them but I personally don't and since this is my review,  I am going to add it as a fault. Also the transitions between character dialogue could have been written better. Sometimes I'd get lost following which character was talking. As for the story, it was good. For the most part I was entertained and the mystery kept me intrigued. That being said, I do sort of feel it has been done before. I can't really dive too much into the story because I do feel it would spoil things but the main premise definitely reminded me of several stories I've read or watched before. A couple of tweaks to the story here and there could of really made a difference with the book and how I ultimately rated it.  Overall, I'd say that the Author has potential. While the dialogue may have been clunky at times, it was well written. I really can't wait to see how things go in the sequel because that ending was fantastic and normally I don't like those sorts where things just end but this worked. You can really tell that by stories end the Author had settled into a writing groove with this world and characters. Author Nicole Stark has nowhere to go but up from here and I can't wait to go along for the ride.   With that being said, I'll be rating After the Impact by Nicole Stark ★★★. Recommended For Fans Of: City of Ember , The Compound , PODS and the Fallout Video Game Series.   *Review copy provided by Author. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated by the publisher or Author for providing them.

About The Author
Nicole Stark is the author of the After Impact series. Her obsession with literature began at the age of four and she completed her first fanfiction at the age of seven. Nicole graduated with a degree in English and can often be spotted reading, baking, or binge-watching The Walking Dead on Netflix.

Follow Her: Goodreads