Compelling fast-paced thrill ride that I read in 24 hours. Difficult to put down with relatable characters (although the villains are a little too broadly drawn). All in all a wild ride.

7% into this book and I couldn't put it down. This book is intense. The main characters are likeable and quirky while the storyline is creepy. It moves along at the perfect pace and sent me into small anxiety fits regularly over what would happen to Joan and Lincoln. I've already recommended this to every reader I've seen since finishing.

3.4 - perhaps less impactful on me, since I'm not a mother, but a solid, tense page-turner

I received an e-copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. This is the most terrifying book I have ever read and I have read a lot in the horror genre. Maybe this hits closer to home for me as I have a son the same age as Lincoln but I think anyone who is a mother will feel the same things that Joan is experiencing while reading this book. I can't even describe the terror this book brought and I inhaled it in one day needing to know how it ended. You will definitely never see a zoo the same way again. This book gets all the stars from me and will definitely be a favorite this year.

This started off intense and set the stage for a thrilling read, but it dragged a little in the middle. I also thought the setting never played into the story. With the setting being in the zoo, I was expecting tense moments with wild animals on top of the tense moments of the danger, but that was missing. I did enjoy the relationship between Joan and Lincoln and the struggles Joan had with protecting her son and also saving herself. I gave this 3 stars on goodreads.

First of all I would like to thank Netgalley for a free digital copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
I had such high hopes for this one. It sounded promising and I read several raving reviews on Instagram.
However this story just wasn't for me. I find it hard to pinpoint the exact reason but I think the main thing is that I didn't feel connected to the main characters. I remember thinking who are these people? This goes for both the victoms and the killers. As a reader I felt a bit lost, wanting to make sense of what was going on in that zoo but not finding the answers I was looking for. I was all but immersed in the story. I guess the fact that the story was told in "real time" didn't work for me and I have to admit that I only made it halfway through the book. Nevertheless this book has received nothing but good reviews so please don't let my opinion stop you from picking it up.

Joan and her four year old son, Lincoln, are enjoying a typical afternoon at the zoo. As closing time draws near, they make their way to the main entrance, only to see chaos - bodies on the ground, blood spatters, and a man with a riffle. Joan's only reaction is to run. What would you do?

'Fierce Kingdom' is told from various perspectives of a few different people inside the zoo over a four hour period. Throughout, Joan has to make decisions in a split second and hope they are the right choices. There were times when I was thinking "Why are you doing that??" but then had to stop myself, and realize, I don't know WHAT I would do if I were in her shoes.

The variety of voices gave the story a feeling of wholeness and depth that it would not have gotten had it only been told from Joan's perspective. I generally do not enjoy reading books with a large portion of internal dialogue, but Gin Phillips did an impeccable job with balancing the intensity of the plot with the internal monologues of the characters. My only real criticism is that the story tends to drag a bit through the middle, but makes up for it with an action-packed ending. I enjoyed this novel and would say it definitely gives the reader food for thought.

Joan and her young soon are about to leave the zoo at closing when she hears gun fire. I loved this book! I loved that it took place in real time, each move was thought out with emphasis on the fact that Joan's four year old was the key factor. I could not put this down, read it in one sitting.

Fierce Kingdom was truly a joy-ride of a read. I simply could not put it down! It tapped into the very core of just how far a mother would go to protect her child, how people react in such a tense and terrifying situation. The REALITY of it, the raw terror and emotion. What a wonderfully executed story, I sincerely hope to read more from this author!

I'm definitely glad I took the time to read Fierce Kingdom. Despite the fact I didn't give it the highest rating on the planet, Fierce Kingdom is without doubt a very suspenseful, refreshing and entertaining psychological thriller that reads like a train. I found myself literally flying through the pages and finished it in less than a day! The writing has a way of drawing you in and I loved the setting in a zoo. Very refreshing and original! The story follows Joan, her son and a bunch of other characters trying to find a way to keep safe in a very chaotic and dangerous situation. There are quite a few twists involved and danger is never far away, but Fierce Kingdom isn't just about the suspense. It is also about the bond between Joan and her son and how far she will go to protect him. And there is were the part comes in that made me lower the rating: the credibility. I'm not sure if the whole situation is actually credible and I wasn't sure about the decisions Joan made either or how things developed. Some of it just felt pretty chaotic and all over the place... BUT. Somehow I still managed to enjoy reading this story anyway. This has a lot to do with the writing, the refreshing and original plot and the constant presence of danger and suspense as you keep reading to find out what will happen to them. So while I ended up giving Fierce Kingdom 'only' three stars, it is a very good three stars for me. And I'm sure this book will be a right fit for those who are not affected by the credibility and are looking for a refreshing psychological thriller with a healthy dose of suspense and a touch of drama.

This storyline was so intriguing and I was excited to read the book; however, it fell flat. The story of the zoo shooting was spread out way too long with too much detail that I found wasn't important. There were so many loose ends that the book didn't have an ending, and I'm still not sure if some of the characters made it out alive or not. I enjoyed experiencing the bond between the mother and son, and some of the other characters along the way. This story was an excellent idea that wasn't excecuted to my liking unfortunately.

I just couldn't love it. Gin Phillips writing is solid, and sublimely detailed. The fault lies not in the story telling, rather in the fact that I found myself skimming entire pages, waiting for the next change of pace. Development is slow. And while we learn plenty about the protagonist, Joan, and her delightful son, Lincoln, it's not enough to carry the novel. The final third of the book outshines the rest by far with the introduction of several new characters. Unfortunately, the ending fell enormously short and ruined the small part of the book that had been redeeming.

Interesting premise with moments of anxiety, but constant flashbacks and long musings on movie and superheroes affected the tension.

Joan and her 4 year old son, Lincoln, are at the zoo nearing closing time when Joan realizes she's living every parent's nightmare: shooters are on the prowl in the zoo.

Joan scoops up Lincoln and gives in to her first impulse: run. Eventually she can’t continue and must find shelter and hide. As she hears the gunmen closing in she uses her ingenuity to find shelter in varying spots. As a mother, I physically felt Joan’s terror, my muscles tensed, and I found myself holding my breath until I knew they were safe again. Along the way, she meets other zoo visitors who create complications and/or moral dilemmas for Joan.

Although Lincoln is precocious, he’s also a typical 4 year old. He gets hungry, he has to use the bathroom, he forgets to whisper, all the things that can draw the attention of the shooters. And speaking of precocious, are there really 4 year olds who have his vocabulary and reasoning skills? I admit as my eyes were rolling and I was thinking “this doesn’t sound like any 4 year old I’ve ever known”, my heart was melting at how sweet and precious he was. He stole my heart in ways that perhaps a normal fictional 4 year old wouldn’t, so I understand why the author created him this way.

Joan’s instinct to protect her son was pure animal instinct and I felt for her as she had to make some heartbreaking choices. It made me think about what I would do to protect my own. How far would I go? And that’s what sets this apart from so many disaster/terror books that have come before it. As a mother and grandmother, I could put myself in Joan's shoes. Rarely are moral dilemmas a simple case of black and white.

One complaint is the narrative was interrupted by the backstory of not only Joan, but of several secondary characters. As my heart was pounding, I couldn’t flip the pages fast enough and it was jarring to be pulled out of the story into the past. I didn’t care. I only cared about the now so I found myself skimming to get back to the present situation at the zoo.

I also would have preferred to get closure on a few loose threads (view spoiler). And then there’s the matter of the cell phone. I wanted to reach through the pages and slap her for her stupidity. But despite these few quibbles I found the book to be a riveting page-turner that I devoured in one sitting.

This was a book I was very excited about. Unfortunately, I found it extremely slow and boring. And the whole situation just seemed too much of an impossible situation.

Fierce Kingdom is every parent's nightmare. Malls are no longer safe. Schools are no longer safe. And now we have the zoo - a classic entertainment spot for parents and young children - also no longer safe from the terror of evil gunmen.

There have been reviews as to the story's plot, so I will comment about the gut-wrenching emotions author Gin Phillips manages to summon. We all think "it can't happen here," and yet we're acutely aware that in today's society, yes, yes it can happen anywhere and everywhere. From Barcelona to Charlottesville, whether it's vehicles, guns, or knives used as weapons, terror has become part of our daily lives.

Gin paints Joan as a loving, determined mother who will do anything to save her child. Even at the expense of others. But before placing judgement on her, we're forced to ask ourselves what we would do in a similar situation. When I think about my own young child's trusting eyes and innocent interpretation about the world around her, I can't answer what I would do. And that's part of what makes the novel such an uncomfortable read.

It's a fascinating scenario with fleshed-out interesting characters. I would like to have read more backstory about the gunmen and also what happened with one of the scenarios, which left Joan feeling extremely guilty. (Don't want to spoil anything.) This is less the typical fast-paced quick-thrill genre and more literary - a knife, first scratching the surface, then gouging into the organs.

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I received an e galley of this book for an honest review. Thank you so much for allowing me to read it. I gave this book 2.5 stars and bumped it up to 3 stars. I enjoyed this book at first but I found myself disliking it more and more as the story went on. I wasn't attached to any of the characters except the 4 year old Lincoln.. Also the ending left me very unsatisfied.. The premise had a ton of potential but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. I did enjoy seeing the lengths a mother would go to keep her child safe. Lincoln was my favoritte and I enjoyed Kaylin's character for the most part. Joan was willing to do just about anything to keep her child safe, it never ceases to amaze me the length a mother will go to ensure her children are safe. I found myself at times annoyed by her actions but with that being said I am not a mother nor do I know how I would act in a situation such as this one. I was hooked from the beginning but I kept getting pulled out of the story by things that I thought were just filler and not necessary. I really wanted to love this book but unfortunately it lacked depth and left me wanting more from the characters, also the ending was less than desired. I will talk about this on my youtube channel during my August Wrap Up and I will link my video once it's live.

A woman and her small son are caught up in a shooting at a zoo. What will she and other people do to survive this horror? I liked the way the author expanded into multiple POVs, but frankly I didn't care enough about the main characters to fully engage in this story and it seemed there were a lot of plot points that were left hanging. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Net Galley.

The primal instinct of a mother's love for her son is the most powerful force of nature.

After a fun day at the zoo, Joan and her son find themselves in grave danger at the closed gate. Families are running, and three gunmen are actively shooting at anything moving. Joan's intimate knowledge of the zoo and running skills puts her at an advantage as she finds a remote place in the zoo the hide.

Overall, this was an intense novel but the story line at times dragged on during the flashbacks while Joan and her son were hiding. Several questionable actions by the protagonist left me with a feeling of implausibility, especially when it related to her cell phone. However, the descriptions of the zoo at night were eerie, and Joan's fierce love of her son was palpable. An excellent premise for a novel that fell slightly short on execution.

When I started reading this book I knew it was going to be good, but let me just say it exceeded all my expectations! The story flowed beautifully and I literally could not put it down. Joan took her son to the zoo for some quality time and what ended up happening flipped her world upside down. She and her son were literally trapped in the zoo where someone was shooting people. As a mom myself this book hit so close to home. Joan did exactly what I would do and she did what she needed to do to protect her son. If you love a fast paced thriller you really need to read this. I was literally on the edge of my seat and my heart was racing in parts. This is definitely a top read of 2017 for me!