This is one of the best books I've read this year. Tense, edge of my seat story! Absolutely loved it. I don't remember reading anything like Fierce Kingdom before.

How far would you go to protect your child? Joan finds herself and her small son in terrible danger on a trip to the zoo. What starts as a day out turns into a nightmare. Joan has to push herself to the limit to save them.

Thank you Netgalley for my copy.

An easy to read book which did not have as much suspense as I was hoping for. It is about a mother's love for her son in the face of danger. I expected more action and a more gripping story.

A very different book it kept me gripped and I needed to know what was going to happen. Definitely worth a read.

I absolutely loved this book, it was non stop. The things that she did to protect her son made me think about how I would react in that situation with my little boy. How do you live with yourself deciding that your sons life is more valuable than another's? I thoroughly enjoyed this and will be recommending it to everyone I know.

I absolutely loved this, it had me on the edge of my seat constantly from tart to Finnish. Read in one sitting and couldn't stop once I'd started. Really good book. Very nerve wracking situation to be in and I'm not sure what if of done in the same scenario!! Great read!

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book as an arc.
This was very well written and the tension is palpable throughout. However, it did lack a little something for me. It was perhaps too descriptive of the surroundings. Joan and her 4 year old son are at the zoo, it is nearly closing time so they make their way out. When they are leaving, Joan realises there are gunmen in the park and takes her son Lincoln as far back into the zoo as she can to hide.
It is a terrifying situation and all too relevant to situations happening around the world today. The first part of the book when they are hiding out and trying to be invisible is very realistic, but when Joan moves them because Lincoln is hungry, the story seems to lose credibility a bit. They have only been there an hour or so, they are not starving yet, so to risk their safety seems foolish at this stage.
It is a quick read and enjoyable but as I said, a little too overly descriptive and lost credibility about half way through.

Make time for this book, you will not be able to put it down, absolutely enthralling read that had me gripped from the first page.. Brilliant.

A real 'edge of the seat' read. There is an awful temptation to read this as quickly as possible, to find out if all is well.
But this book is beautifully paced, forcing you to slow down. In between the chases and hiding are sections about Joan's childhood and marriage, and also about Lincoln's development and Joan's love for him. This really takes it to another level. Instead of a simple baddies chasing goodies tale we have real rounded characters in an unbelievably tense situation.
I really enjoyed it. Brilliant !

What would you do if you found yourself trapped in a life-or-death situation? What would you think? How would you protect your young son if both of you were in danger?

Gin Phillips, author of “Fierce Kingdom,” places her protagonist Joan in exactly this position. Joan and her son Lincoln attempt to leave the local zoo when she discovers that people are being killed. Without any knowledge of who or how many shooters are present, she must find a way to keep them both alive until the police arrive.

Joan is predominantly featured in the book, although there are a few sections where the author allows us a peek into the mind of an alternate character. We don’t learn much about these other people, and that’s okay. This story is all about Joan, and Ms. Phillips grants us full entry into Joan’s thoughts. The story is strong, and I didn’t find that my attention wandered, nor did I wish for some incredibly exciting event to occur and thus engage me. Joan guides this story, and I actually felt annoyed the first time the point of view drifted to another character. I wanted to see what was going to happen to Joan!

Truthfully, I didn’t see the need to switch to other characters, although the original jump into the mind of one of the killers was a shock and I enjoyed the way that Ms. Phillips handled it. Vulgarities were few and when all was said and done, I am not sure why they were included in the first place. While they didn’t hurt the story, they really didn’t add to it, either.

This is a quick read, a fine study of character in the face of unknown danger. While one may not agree with everything Joan does, her choices are made based on one goal, the safety of her son. These difficult moments add flavor, and each of us is left to ponder our own potential decisions if we were thrust in a similar situation, Four stars.

I started reading this and didn't want to have to put it down until I had finished. This exhilarating story about a mother and her son stuck in a closed zoo after shots heard by the entrance prevent them from leaving. Joan, the mother, goes into flight mode thinking only of how to protect her young son, Lincoln. The casual manner of the attackers towards extinguishing life, and the decisions Joan has to make about how to survive force the reader to consider how they might respond in the same situation, sadly all too possible in this world we live in. A great read.

Each day, Joan collects Lincoln from school and they spend some time together - often at the local zoo. On this day, a handful of young men enter the zoo with guns and start shooting - at animals, at people - apparently indiscriminately. Joan realises that she and Lincoln have to hide, that they must not let the gunmen see them, but with curious, charming, chatty Lincoln, it's difficult to keep him quiet and calm. This book takes us inside Joan's head as she spends the next few hours doing everything she can to keep them safe. There are occasional forays into the minds of other people, but for the most part, we are with Joan.

The book explores her thoughts, feelings and reminiscences over the next few hours. She is a resilient mother who knows her son well, but this is an extraordinary situation and she cannot know what to do for the best. She has to balance risks - if she does not feed Lincoln, he will not cope well, he will begin to wail and perhaps shout - but she cannot feed him without leaving their hiding-place and moving into much riskier (she thinks, anyway) territory, well-lit areas with no shelter from the shooters' vision - or their bullets. When other individuals enter the picture, she's not sure who to trust, or who she can or should help. She has to make terrible decisions, take actions she would never, ever, on any other day, consider.

The book begs to be read in one sitting; there's no point at which the reader can set it down and ponder for a while (unsurprisingly, given that the entire story takes place over a period of less than four hours). While it's certainly a thriller, with all the drama and suspense that suggests, it's also an exploration of what it's like to be a mother: how it is to have this relatively helpless individual depending entirely on you; what you can and cannot do; what you should and should not do - and how you're supposed to know that, with nothing to rely on but guesswork and your limited ability to predict risk and the actions of others in a situation which is completely unfamiliar to you.

Did I enjoy it? I don't think that's the right verb. It pulled me in, I wanted to know what happened next, and I recognised and appreciated Joan's inner monologue. There are few other characters in the story who are more than bodies or sounds in the distance, but those few who are given shape are surprisingly well-developed for such brief acquaintance. There is no lapse in the action - even when Joan and Lincoln are just hiding and trying to stay quiet, Joan's mind is furiously busy and the level of suspense and fear is maintained without a break.

My only criticism is that I'd have preferred for the story to be tied up more neatly at the end, but everything is left very loose. It's unclear which - if any - of the main characters even survives. Clearly this lack of resolution was the author's intent, but I found it frustrating. Still, despite that, this is a great read.

A relaxing day at the zoo rapidly switches to a living hell for Joan. The story is far more than a basic thriller, but it has all the attributes of the genre. The credible hostage taking/murder spree story emerges as the chapters unfold through actions and the thoughts of various characters. However, the key thrust is the development of Joan as the mother cornered who shows true determination in seeking to save her son; selflessness and courage are in evidence here.

I enjoyed the many layers that Gin introduces in the story. It is truly unputdownable and I completed it in a single sitting (around 3 hours). Excellent story.

From the moment I started this book it utterly compelled me, I found myself back in the Zoo every time I closed my eyes or let my thoughts drift a little. What a Debut, quite simply, incredible! It almost feels like you read it in real time, every single breath of Joan's nightmare became my breath, I exhaled (quietly) as she exhaled, I felt the goosebumps on my skin as she did. A harrowing, adrenaline filled rollercoaster of a read.

Thank you to the Publisher and to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Highly recommended.

How far will a mother go for her son?
Joan and her four year old son Lincoln are visiting the local zoo playing with the Superhero toys in the Dinosaur Discovery sandpit when she hears sharp, loud sounds which come from the woods. Two cracks, then several more. Pops, like balloons bursting, or fireworks. She tries to imagine what anyone could be doing in a zoo that would sound like small explosions. Something related to the Halloween festivities? Or did a transformer blow? Is there construction going on; a jackhammer? On their way to the exit Joan sees a man by the water fountain, a gun in his right hand, kicking in the bathroom door. She grabs Lincoln and heaves him up, his legs swinging heavily as he lands against her hip, her right hand grabbing her left wrist underneath his bottom, linking her arms and she runs.
The rest of the book is about Joan trying to hide from the crazy gunmen, trying to keep Lincoln quiet so they are not discovered. When hunger prevails, Joan is forced to leave their hiding place in search of food for her son, thereby meeting up with Kailynn, a young worker at the zoo restaurant and Mrs Powell, a teacher who taught one of the gunmen in elementary school.
A mother’s love will lead her to do ANYTHING for her child and this is evidenced by Joan’s will to protect her son and to survive the nightmare in which she has been trapped
Saphira
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Wow Fierce Kingdom is like a rocket launched right at you - beautifully written, highly tense, this is without doubt a one sitting read (I rattled through it last night) and it is so utterly gripping I was slightly dazed when I came back out of it.

This works on many levels - first of all as a thriller, with our protagonists trapped in a Zoo not knowing when salvation might come - and then as a really emotive relationship drama that shows the maternal bond in all its glory - how far would you go to protect your child? Far of course is the answer and Joan is going to prove it.

Fierce Kingdom is full of layers - mostly we follow Joan and her child but with occasional insight from others trapped within the confines of the Zoo and from a man wielding a gun the wider picture gets painted in very hauntingly. I found myself clutching my hair at times and Gin Phillips just builds the pressure until BOOM the finale is brilliantly placed and emotionally resonant.

Overall I loved this. It is not a long book but it is hard hitting, emotionally traumatic and extraordinarily compelling.

Recommended.

**Review also on Goodreads. Amazon upon release**

This had been on my wish list for sometime. I thought the plot sounded brilliant and intriguing. Yet it is delivered in such a slow paced way that I became bored.
The essentially idea that it is a normal day at the zoo for mother & son Joan and Lincoln. towards the end of the day they become aware that shots have been fired and there is a potential shooter on the loose within the zoo.
Brothers Robby & Mark are playing a game of real life hunting at the Zoo, with both the animals and the people. Hiding out in the unused porcupine enclosure Joan hopes to hide until the police arrive. The added elements of the mother & baby, mobile phone add to the growing tension. But ultimately I felt the pace needed picking up much earlier.
I wish the author much success with it's release and publication.

Struggled with this one. Liked the concept but not enough happened.