I wonder If maybe I would have enjoyed these stories if I hadn’t read Dawn of Eden first, maybe it ruined me for the other stories in this anthology. This book is definitely worth the read for Dawn of Eden if nothing else.

I enjoyed reading these stories so much! I've read from Julie Kagawa and Ann Aguirre before, but not Karen Duvall, and all these stories, in worlds where society as we know it has crumpled from one disaster or another, was such a great read!

Dawn of Eden is the prequal to the Blood of Eden series, and it's of the time just after the rabids are created, and are just starting to spread. It was interested to see what it was like-since we follow a doctor, and a guy who was peripherally connected to the group trying to find a cure, and they do encounter Kanin, and that scene with the boat, I'm wondering. I plan on reread the series shortly, so I'll have to see if I'm right!

The whole time I read Thistle & Thorn, I thought that it was a prequel to the Razorland series. So I was wondering how things would connect. But it's not-and now I'm really hoping that we get a sequel, because it was an intriguing world, and like Mari thought, things aren't finished between her and Thorne!

Sun Storm, yeah, was my least favourite, and that's understandable, it's the one from the author I haven't read before. It just didn't quite make sense to me, the timing of things, and how the Kinetics worked and all that. But I did enjoy it!

Loved reading these stories, and I can't wait to read more of these authors!

I requested this title back before my blogging break. I have ended up with a number of titles that are overwhelming to catch up on now I am back from my blogging break. I am regretfully not going to be reading and reviewing this title, but now I am back from my blogging break, I am looking forward to reading and reviewing some of your future titles. Thank you so much for the opportunity and apologies.

- Dawn of Eden by Julie Kagawa

I have to admit, I mostly requested this book because I love The Immortal Rules books, and I wasn't disappointed. It told the story of Kylie, a doctor trying to keep up with the fallout from the Red Lung, which she survived, but many don't. In fact, she is just discovering the horrors of what happens to the people who don't. Ben brings a friend in, which is how Kylie and Ben meet. Unfortunately, Ben's friend doesn't make it, and when he turns. he seems to spread the disease on to the other patients, who then die and turn themselves. Ben and Kylie are forced to leave and make their way to Ben's family farm, but it proves to be a journey fraught with danger.

I enjoyed this story very much, although, like other reviewers have commented, this one leans more towards new adult than young adult. It's still a great addition to the series, though. Julie Kagawa is a goddess to me, so I loved every moment of this prequel short story.

- Thistle & Thorne by Ann Aguirre

I haven't read any books by Ann Aguirre, but I definitely will now! I was absolutely taken in by this short story. The post-apocalyptic world she created was chilling, and her descriptions of it gave me the chills. I don't even know how to describe the story without going into long detail, but I'll try to be brief: Mari is a thief who is raising her younger brother and sister in a horrible environment, where everyone looks only after themselves because it is unsafe to do anything else. Violence is a constant in the Red Zone, where some people would kill you rather than look at you, and steal anything you had afterward. Mari is forced into a job by the local warlord and only finds out afterward that she was set up to fail as an excuse to raze her section of town. She meets an "employee" of this warlord, Thorne, who helps her evade capture, but he has his own agenda.

I told you it would be long! And that's not even half of it! I absolutely loved this story. The setting was, as noted above, enough to give you nightmares, and the writing was superb. I look forward to reading more of this author's work.

- Sun Storm by Karen Duvall

I've never read anything by this author, either, and I don't think I will read anything else as I didn't enjoy this story. The description made me eager to read it, but the writing made me regret it. This story takes place after the biggest solar flare in history, and anyone caught out in the open during that flare, or any of the smaller ones that follow it, will either go crazy and die, turn into a crazed mindless monster, or become a Kinetic, someone who survives the flare and is left with "powers." Sarah's power is that she can feel and pinpoint where and when the next flare will happen, so she can warn people that it's coming and they can take cover, and so she can chase the storm because that's the only thing that recharges her abilities. She lives and works in a hospital where her father is being treated, and that's where she meets another Kinetic, Ian, who can control wind and rain, to some extent.

I was turned off immediately when Sarah and Ian met and she instantly fell in love with him. I detest instalove. There was no consistency to this story, either, as one minute she would say she had to stay away from him and the next she would say that she had to be with him, as if she hadn't just decided to avoid him at all costs! This happened all through the story. It was like she had dual personalities, and it was very disconcerting and really turned me off. The world building was just okay, and the plot didn't make much sense. I would have sworn I was reading a book written by an inexperienced author, with rather sophomoric writing abilities. It could be that this story followed the previous ones, which were so well written they made this one look bad by contrast, but I don't think so. Needless to say, I won't be searching out anything else written by this author.

In summary, I'm giving the first story and the second story each 5/5 stars, but the third one only 3/5 stars, which I'll average out to be 4/5 stars.

I received a copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is a great collection for dystopian readers. While none of the stories were remarkably memorable for me, I think there is something for every reader inside!

No rating or review. This didn't work out for me. Thank you for sending the book.