I'm DNFing this at about 20%. The premise was really interesting but after the first couple of chapters, it's literally just a bunch of kids sitting around in a house. The characters aren't developed or interesting enough for me to care about them. I can't spend any more of my time on this one.

If you thought butterflies were beautiful, innocent creatures, you may change your mind after reading this book. While daydreaming in class and gazing out the window, Shur notices swarms of huge monarch butterflies outside. In minutes, phones are buzzing with emergency alerts, and the school goes into lockdown. Cue the chaos. Shur, her twin brother, and a couple of their friends take their chances and leave school, pick up Shur’s four-year-old brother from daycare, and head home. Within hours, a shelter in place order is given. The butterflies are appearing all over the globe and attacking.

The first few chapters are full of tension and kept me flipping the pages. The teens’ parents are stuck elsewhere, and these four plus Shur’s little brother are on their own and forced to make decisions to ensure their survival. That part is covered well – food supplies, boarding up windows, making backup plans for when power is lost. According to news sources, the butterflies are a result of climate change, but no one can be sure. Graphic online videos show butterfly attacks and the slow demise and confusion of victims after being bitten. Trust me, it’s not pretty.

After those first chapters, pacing slows considerably. Although I liked how the teens are protective of Shur’s younger brother, much of the story is spent on rotating babysitting duty. The teens deal with conflict among themselves and the stress of their situation along with a couple of other dangerous incidents, but I never felt like the story returned to the intensity of the initial chapters.

This survival story features a great premise with strong themes of family and friendship and is one I’d recommend to younger YA readers.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

While I don't read a ton of young adult literature, I do enjoy a good thriller once in awhile. Several things made this stand out for me. First, our main character struggles with depression and severe anxiety, which plays an interesting role in the story. Second, I love a good survival story. Third, the inclusion of a young child complicates everything. The story starts with a bang as Shur sits in class at the end of the day. A large unusual looking creature appears outside the school window. It appears to be a butterfly but it's enormous. Despite seeming like a non-threat, as more and more of the creatures appear, tension grows and everyone is ordered to the gym. Shur, her twin brother, Keene, and their respective best friends flee the building, trying to get to their little brother and make it home. Along the way, they get a better glimpse of the creatures and realize that not only are there vast numbers of them, but they are highly dangerous with claws and fangs.

Barricading themselves in their home, the teens try to stay calm as the world crumbles around them. They listen to the radio, they talk to their respective parents, and hope things calm down soon. But as days pass with no end in sight, Shur uses the preparedness skills that her anxiety has forced her to develop to make plans including boarding up the windows, setting up living quarters in the basement if needed, and making sure they ration their supplies. Various disasters strike including broken windows, neighbors firing guns randomly around the neighborhood, and a bite that could prove to be fatal according to the information Shur and the others manage to gather.

As in all survival stories, one of the most interesting things is how the different characters respond to the challenges they face. Keeping a 5-year-old child from going bonkers proves to be one of the biggest challenges, along with keeping the creatures out. And just what does a bite from one of those creatures do to a person? Read and find out. A touch of romance adds to the tension between the characters as they struggle to cope and yet help each other. The story is certainly compelling with enough realism to be really creepy. In terms of content there is quite a bit of swearing (including liberal use of the f-word), along with a brief kiss, and some very violent life-or-death scenes. For those who don't mind such things, the story certainly drew me in and kept me turning the pages.

I am so thankful for not only the e-arc, but also the phsycial copy. Sourcebooks is always hooking me up!

Unfortunately I just couldn't stay interested in this.

It sounds like a pretty ridiculous concept for a book, monstrous butterflies attacking people. And if it had put more focus on attacks by the creatures it would likely have been laughable. But Lyle is smarter than that. There are a few attack scenes but they are brief and intense. The bulk of the book is about dealing with the fallout of the scenario. It's a group of teens trying to figure out survival on their own, especially when they are responsible for a small child. It's characters reflecting on who they are at their core, what things matter to them, and what sacrifices they are willing to make. As a result it's not an especially thrilling or intense book but it introduces ideas worth considering and discussing.

While at school, emergency alerts start pinging. That's because giant butterflies - better known as hybrid creatures created by climate change—multiply and swarm. Sixteen-year-old Shur, along with her brothers and friends, focuses on what they can now to get through: boarding up windows, stocking food, and preparing a shelter in the basement. They lose internet and power while vigilantes create terror outside. Meanwhile the creatures begin to fulfill their ultimate purpose: multiplying via parasitic load, and before long, the butterflies aren't the only thing trying to get in. To protect her family and survive the invasions, Shur must find the strength to protect their sanctuary at any cost.

Gripping me by the reigns in the first chapter I had such high hopes for Swarm. But as time went on, it slowly became more and more predictable. This however just could be because of my age. While there is a bit of violence and gore, it certainly is better suited for a younger audience. I did love the fact that such beautiful creatures and creatures that are often linked with souls and turned them in to hunting predators and the vision of nightmares.

If it wasn't for the predictability and the massive lulls in the story, this would have been a standout. It most certainly still is a hidden gem in the YA category.

Thank you to everyone involved for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Swarm is available now.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC of Swarm by Jennifer Lyle.

I really enjoyed how Swarm started. We are thrust straight into the story, which when reading a standalone book of a few hundred pages, I like. The first 25% of the book was fast paced, nail-biting, and action packed- but once Shur and the gang got home- that's all it really was.

The rest of the book to follow was essentially a really long babysitting story (the little boy in the book was never really fully aware of the extremity of the situation, and was just interested in watching Disney movies). There were a couple of moments where sh*t hit the fan, but I never really felt the intensity I felt at the beginning of the book.

I still liked the story, and read through it pretty quickly. I think Swarm would have made a great duology, or even trilogy, rather than the rushed end with questi9ns left unanswered.

I will say, there was a part of the book where the author says the little boy will 'develop ADHD if he watched TV for too long', and I implore the author to remove that line. Excessive television can cause some concentration difficulties, but the kid watched a few Disney movies and the MC is worrying about ADHD, which is not genuine and respectful towards those who do live with ADHD and similar diagnoses.

I highly recommend this book to Stephen king fans. A dystopia of creatures appearing suddenly one day taking over society’s ability to function, no one has the courage to leave their homes, and when will the swarm end???

Although this isn't my immediate 'go-to' genre, the plot intrigued me from the get go.

I did enjoy how dark and moody it got. I really liked it!

It’s got survival and zombie themes going on in it, which I liked because I love The Walking Dead, so that was cool.

There were a lot of moments of legit fear and stress! The main character, Shur, deals with anxiety, as do I, so it was interesting to see that representation because I could relate to that.

The book is in the YA range, but it reads more like older middle school / early high school age.

Definitely check the trigger warnings before going into this though!

I was going to do a typical AFM review for this book but honestly..... "killer butterflies." Need I say more?

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, this one was super cool. I've never read a book about giant man-eating butterflies and I can honestly say I was not disappointed whatsoever. Our heroes being cooped up in their house gave me quarantine vibes and a bit of ptsd BUT man-eating butterflies made up for it.

*More of a 3.5/4 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I’m a huge fan of the dystopian genre and it’s what got me into reading when I was in elementary school. This was a bit of a different experience post-COVID and I think it’ll be interesting reading post-COVID dystopians (but it makes them almost more compelling having a similar universal experience).

I LOVE Mothera so the idea of big killer butterflies was really interesting to me. The action was intense, the depictions were gruesome (more so than some of the adult horrors I’ve read) and this started to drag a bit at the 65% or so mark.

But this was overall really enjoyable and I would recommend this to any dystopian lover looking for something with heart-pounding action, but who can stomach some really gross depictions of death and gore.

This book was a deliciously creepy nightmare, a Stephen King-light considering it's a YA book. Shur notices an oversized butterfly outside of her school one day. Except it's the size of a car. And it turns out they bite. It's a hunker-down zombie survival that follows and it will keep you on the edge of your seat until the last page. I had to force myself to put the book down because I had to work the next day but I kept thinking about it and how it would turn out in the end. Truly effective horror without too, too much gore.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for this ARC

Guess what other animal we're going to skip? Butterflies. Too much like moths? Nah, it's cause these ones will hunt you down and murder you. Murder you bad, guys. I was worried because this one could have gone two ways: hokey, because giant butterflies, or awesome because giant butterflies. Happy to report, it was definitely the latter! What happens is this: giant, mutant butterflies have taken to the sky, and by the way, they do not like people. Or any animal, really, they'll attack whoever, they shan't be picky. But since Shur and her siblings and friends are people, they're mostly concerned about that.

They basically have to race home, and barricade themselves inside the house, hoping that no butterflies can smash through the windows or doors. If it sounds like a lot, that's because it is. Add to it, the last they heard from their mom, she's stuck at work and won't be able to join them. Oh yeah, and if you get bit by one of these monsters? It's game over, but painfully game over, and sort of zombie-esque. Shur has a pretty serious panic disorder to throw into the mix, which is no fun any day, but extra especially when you have to keep your wits about you at all times.

First and foremost, I love a survival story, and this one has all the best elements of characters trying to survive. It also had a great family focus, as you can imagine, since Shur was trying desperately to keep her siblings safe, along with their friends. Even their friends have to come to terms with being away from their own families during this time, so it is a huge focal point of the story. I also thought that the author handled the mental health piece very well. Shur is worried about having a panic attack at the worst times, sure, but she's also really worried about what happens if she can't get her medicine (after all, she only has a finite supply in the house), the withdrawal, etc.

The book was exciting from start to finish, and I loved the balance between character development and action. Sure, the killer butterflies required a bit of suspension of disbelief, but not much, and the author included the fact that it was wild and outrageous as part of the plot- Shur and the gang were just as shocked as we the reader are!

Bottom Line: An exciting and emotive survival story that you should not read before heading out to the butterfly sanctuary, but should definitely read in all other cases.

In this book we follow Shur and her family as they try to stay safe from flesh eating butterflies that seemingly sprung up out of nowhere. Shur, her two brothers, and two of their friends take refuge inside of their house to wait out the butterfly invasion. But they soon realize that help might not be on the way as quickly as they hoped. Can these five stay alive long enough to see the downfall of the butterflies? Or will the butterflies bite back?

I really enjoyed this book! I love dystopian type novels and this one really scratches that itch. The characters were all fantastic and I liked that we got to see all of them really fleshed out throughout the book. I loved the plot and I was really excited that the butterflies show up almost on page one. The book takes off at a breakneck speed and keeps it up for the rest of the book. If you are looking for a fast paced, entertaining read then I would highly recommend this one!

I specifically requested this title because the idea of giant killer butterflies was one that was just a little too good to pass up, and while it wasn't anything mind-blowing (I wasn't really expecting it to be) it was a fun, quick read that I think could appeal to a teen audience. First things first, I greatly appreciated the fact that the author seemed to have some "scientific" reason behind what was happening, instead of just being like "well, I thought it would be cool so who cares" (which I know for a fact is something that some authors do). Second, the anxiety rep is pretty decent here and it's nice to see a character with anxiety in a high stress situation being useful BECAUSE of the anxiety. I'm sure there are going to be some people who complain about this, but as someone with anxiety I feel like it was fairly accurately portrayed (although I am aware that everyone is different) and shows that they can be useful in stressful situations even though you would think this wouldn't be the case. Now onto the things I loved slightly less; one is that somehow we still seem to believe the myth that cauterizing a wound is actually a good idea. It is not. Two, the way the bites ended up evolving seemed like a missed opportunity, and I'm not sure it really made a ton of sense. It was interesting, bur it also seemed to come a little out of left field for me. And three, the ending was a little abrupt. After a fair amount of tension and dread things seemed somewhat anticlimactic at the very end. But, despite all of those things I was thoroughly amused throughout the entire book, and I think this was a fun addition to the YA apocalypse genre. I will be more that happy to direct teens looking for an end-of-the-world tale to this story, and I'll certainly be curious to see what Lyle comes up with for her next story.

What a wild ride! I must say of all the dystopian books I've read (let's just say its a fair amount) this is my first with giant killer butterflies. I'm not sure I'll ever look at the beautiful winged creatures the same way. LOL!

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, & Sourcebooks Fire for the eARC! I was definitely entertained! :-)

This one started off at a run...literally, there are giant killer butterflies. Shur starts out this tale seeing these creatures out the window of her classroom and then all hell breaks loose. It's exactly as you would imagine an event like this might play out. People loosing their da*n minds! Then with her brother and friends in tow these characters have to face life that has been completely upended and now is about survival of the fittest. This is a true YA read and not for those with aversion to the creepy crawly. Overall this was an enjoyable, quick and easy read. I may have rated it a bit higher if the science behind these buggy bastards was a bit more...well, just more, and if the ending hadn't felt like it was being rushed to get to, "THE END." While the epilogue did help (somewhat), I don't necessarily think it was being used to the best of its ability. It was just far too fast after the events of the rest of the book. I did really love the way these characters cared for their much younger sibling and how the subject of mental health was portrayed. I can imagine living through an experience like this would be traumatic to anyone.

Overall this is a 3 outta 5 stars for me.
NO REGRETTS!!!!

This book was a quick read. It hooked me and I read it in a day. The writing was very simple yet effective. The characters were all likeable. I enjoyed the new take on post apocalyptic situations. Killer butterflies, zombie like creatures, found families. I was worried this was going to read too juvenile but thankfully it didn't. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for any other books by Jennifer Lyle.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.

I’ve been a fan of monster stories forever. I still fondly remember watching the creature double features on TV every Saturday as a kid. Whether it was Godzilla, the blob, sharks, giant ants, or swarms killer bees I couldn’t resist. Despite all those movies, and no offense to Mothra, I can honestly say I never imagined reading a story about a worldwide swarm of giant killer butterflies would be so thrilling. There is just something wonderfully twisted about turning one of nature’s most innocent creatures into killing machines. As for the cast, Shur is a fantastic heroine with her anxiety issues making her feel well fleshed out and making her actions seem more heroic. This is a wonderful debut and I look forward to seeing what author Jennifer D. Lyle comes up with next. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Thanks so much to SOURCEBOOKS Fire and NetGalley for the eARC.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/swarm-jennifer-lyle/1142959263?ean=9781728270913&bvnotificationId=2cea2fae-7d98-11ee-8c03-0a2284c295a3&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/262768385

Thank you to NetGalley and Jennifer Lyle for a free ecopy in exchange for my honest review.

One day, at Shur’s school, giant butterflies begin congregating. Soon, she and her friends realize the creatures are carnivorous and infectious. The whole world goes into lockdown, finally knowing in survival mode what it’s like to live in Shur’s daily anxiety, yet it’s up to Shur to keep those she loves most alive.

The premise of Swarm is simultaneously unnervingly exhilarating and darkly cozy, a familiar apocalypse with an interesting and enticing spin. Shur is such a powerful, well-rounded character who has the most heart-warming, strong relationships with equally unique and loveable people. (I am particularly fond of her bond with her twin brother.) And the apocalypse’s trademark gruesome scenes do the gore, rot, and disease so well.

While undeniably suspenseful and eerie, the pace is rather easygoing with higher danger scenes posted at intervals, most of which connect somehow to future points but do not necessarily throw the plot forward. At moments, this pattern could get somewhat slow. The finale is definitely one of the higher-octane scenes, fun to read, but again feels like an individual occurrence, a final yet separate adventure before an environmentally induced resolution, rather than the culmination of the rest of the pages driven by the characters actions.

Because of this—depending on the perspective and preference—it could be seen as mildly anticlimactic. (But again, absolutely exciting.)

I was not a great fan of some of the crass or suggestive adult humor sprinkled throughout, but thankfully it was sparse.

Nonetheless, it is truly a fun experience, a comforting—and at moments chilling—dive into an apocalyptic disaster with struggles and relationships that truly have my heart.